Objective: To investigate the functional significance of CYP11α microsatellite polymorphism (tttta)
n (−528 base pairs) in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome.
Design: Follow-up study.
Setting: ...Academic research center.
Patient(s): Eighty patients and 90 controls.
Intervention(s): Body mass indices and waist-to-hip ratios were determined. Blood samples were obtained for DNA analysis and hormone measurements.
Main Outcome Measure(s): CYP11α marker (tttta)
n genotyping and serum total testosterone levels.
Result(s): All the women were assigned to one of two genotype groups: 216+ (for women who had at least one copy of high frequency allele 216 with four repeat units) or 216− (for women who did not have allele 216). Fifty-nine patients (73.75%) had genotype 216+; their mean (±SD) total testosterone level was 78.0 ± 19.8 ng/dL. Twenty-one patients (26.25%) had genotype 216−; their mean (±SD) total testosterone level was 100.0 ± 23.3 ng/dL. The difference in total testosterone levels was statistically significant. Seventy-eight controls (86.67%) had genotype 216+ and 12 controls (13.33%) had genotype 216−; the total testosterone levels of these two groups were similar (38.6 ± 15.5 vs. 40.3 ± 12.1 ng/dL). The difference in genotype distribution between the women with polycystic ovary syndrome and the controls (26.25% vs. 13.33% with genotype 216−) was statistically significant.
Conclusion(s): CYP11α (tttta)
n allelic variants were associated with both polycystic ovary syndrome and total testosterone levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, suggesting the existence of an epistasis phenomenon.
Hyperthyroidism is a common endocrine disorder affecting 2% of females and 0.5% of males worldwide and antithyroid drugs constitute the first line of treatment in the majority of cases. These agents ...may cause severe adverse effects and among them liver failure, although rare, is a potential lethal one. This case illustrates the sudden and abrupt deterioration of hepatic function due to antithyroid drug administration. This case along with a concise literature review is presented aiming to increase the awareness of endocrinologists of possible fatal complications from the everyday use of common agents such as antithyroid drugs.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder with a significant psychological burden throughout the life course of affected women. Thus, use of mindful awareness may be beneficial ...as an adjunct to conventional medical management of women with PCOS. A randomized, controlled trial was conducted at the Evgenideion Hospital of the Athens University Medical School to explore the impact of an 8-week mindfulness stress management program on measures of depression, anxiety and stress as well as on the quality of life in reproductive age women with PCOS. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee. Twenty-three and 15 women with PCOS were randomly allocated to the intervention or control group, respectively. All participants were administered DASS21, PSS-14, PCOSQ, Daily Life and General Life Satisfaction Questionnaires and provided three-timed daily samples of salivary cortisol, before and after the intervention. Intervention group participants were provided with the Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire at the day of enrolment, to check for possible placebo effect on the outcome. Post-intervention, between-group results revealed statistically significant reductions in stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as in salivary cortisol concentrations, along with an increase in Life Satisfaction and Quality of Life scores in the intervention group only. There was no significant "placebo" effect on the outcome measures. Mindfulness techniques seem promising in ameliorating stress, anxiety, depression and the quality of life in women with PCOS and could be used as an adjunct method to the conventional management of these women.
PDF
