Adults with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can have multiple metabolic abnormalities. However, studies in the adolescent population are still limited and these results seem to vary widely. This ...study was to investigate the metabolic abnormalities in adolescents with PCOS in South China and the potential risk factors contributed to these health risks.
Anthropometric measurements and biochemical parameters were evaluated in 128 adolescents with PCOS and their age- and BMI-matched controls.
The prevalence of pre-diabetes, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome in adolescents with PCOS was 11.7%, 46.9%, 29.7%, 22.7% and 4.7%, respectively. 16.3%, 74.4%, 67.4%, 39.5% and 14% of the PCOS subjects with BMI > 85th had pre-diabetes, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome, whereas 9.4%, 32.9%, 10.6%, 14.1% and 0% of the PCOS subjects with BMI < 85th had such disturbances.
Adolescents with PCOS in South China had more metabolic abnormalities than their age- and BMI-matched non-PCOS counterparts. Obesity could worsen insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia and metabolic syndrome in PCOS adolescents.
Abstract Objective This study was designed to: (1) measure metastin levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and in adolescent controls; (2) investigate the possible correlations between ...metastin and PCOS-related reproductive and metabolic disturbances. Study design The study was a clinical study. Nineteen adolescent women with PCOS, twenty-three adult women with the syndrome, and twenty adolescent controls were selected. Blood samples were collected between day 1 and day 5 of a spontaneous bleeding episode in the PCOS groups and of a menstrual cycle of the controls at 9 a.m. after an overnight fast. Circulating levels of LH, FSH, prolactin, testosterone (T), free testosterone, DHEAS, sex hormone-binding globulin, insulin, glucose and metastin were measured. Result(s) Plasma metastin levels are increased in adolescent women with PCOS compared to adolescent controls. Plasma metastin levels were positively correlated with LH levels, 2-h glucose levels and T levels. Conclusion(s) These results indicate that metastin is increased in adolescent PCOS women. The increased metastin levels were positively correlated with LH and T levels, and may affect the development of PCOS in adolescents.
To report a dichorionic quadramniotic quadruple gestation with monochorionic triamniotic triplets after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment and transfer of two embryos.
Case report.
...Academic reproductive medicine center.
A 28-year-old nulligravida who underwent first ICSI cycle.
After 4 years of primary infertility for andrologic subfertility, the patient underwent her first ICSI cycle, with transfer of two fresh embryos on day 3.
Transvaginal sonogram performed at 5 weeks after embryo transfer showed a dichorionic quadramniotic quadruple gestation with monochorionic triamniotic triplets and a singleton.
After extensive counseling, the couple decided to proceed to a selective reduction of two of monochorionic triamniotic triplets and a twin pregnancy remained. Fetal reduction was successfully performed by intracardiac puncture and aspiration at 5 + 3/7 weeks after embryo transfer. Two healthy baby girls were born.
Several factors have been suggested to explain the increase in monozygotic multiple pregnancies after assisted reproductive technique (ART): advanced maternal age, superovulation, and manipulation of the zona pellucida (ZP) including ICSI and assisted hatching, prolonged culture, and in vitro culture condition. All patients should be informed that monozygotic multiple pregnancies occur at a significantly higher rate after ART procedures and could be an important complication after IVF-ICSI treatment.
The performance of aqueous Zn ion batteries (AZIBs) is highly dependent on inner Helmholtz plane (IHP) chemistry. Notorious parasitic reactions containing hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) and Zn ...dendrites both originate from abundant free H2O and random Zn deposition inside active IHP. Here, we report a universal high donor number (DN) additive pyridine (Py) with only 1 vol. % addition (Py‐to‐H2O volume ratio), for regulating molecule distribution inside IHP. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation verify that incorporated Py additive could tailor Zn2+ solvation sheath and exclude H2O molecules from IHP effectively, which is in favor of preventing H2O decomposition. Consequently, even at extreme conditions such as high depth of discharge (DOD) of 80 %, the symmetric cell based on Py additive can sustain approximately 500 h long‐term stability. This efficient strategy with high DN additives furnishes a promising direction for designing novel electrolytes and promoting the practical application of AZIBs, despite inevitably introducing trace organic additives.
The performance of aqueous Zn‐ion batteries is improved by regulating the inner Helmholtz plane (IHP) chemistry. Pyridine (Py) as high donor number organic electrolyte additive (only 1 vol. % addition) is used to efficiently regulate the solvation sheath structure, which results in depressed H2O activity at the IHP interface. The thus‐formed IHP interface enables a superior stable Zn anode with high reversibility and utilization rate.
The lithium–sulfur (Li–S) battery is considered as an appealing candidate for next‐generation electrochemical energy storage systems because of high energy and low cost. Nonetheless, its development ...is plagued by the severe polysulfide shuttling and sluggish reaction kinetics. Although single‐atom catalysts (SACs) have emerged as a promising remedy to expedite sulfur redox chemistry, the mediocre single‐atom loading, inferior atomic utilization, and elusive catalytic pathway handicap their practical application. To tackle these concerns, in this work, unsaturated Fe single atoms with high loading capacity (≈6.32 wt%) are crafted on a 3D hierarchical C3N4 architecture (3DFeSA‐CN) by means of biotemplated synthesis. By electrokinetic analysis and theoretical calculations, it is uncovered that the 3DFeSA‐CN harnesses robust electrocatalytic activity to boost dual‐directional sulfur redox. As a result, S@3DFeSA‐CN can maintain a durable cyclic performance with a negligible capacity decay rate of 0.031% per cycle over 2000 cycles at 1.0 C. More encouragingly, an assembled Li–S battery with a sulfur loading of 5.75 mg cm−2 can harvest a high areal capacity of 6.18 mAh cm−2. This work offers a promising solution to optimize the carbonaceous support and coordination environment of SACs, thereby ultimately elevating dual‐directional sulfur redox in pragmatic Li–S batteries.
An Fe–N2 single‐atomic catalyst accommodated by a biomorphic hierarchical C3N4 support from a biomass template readily boosts the dual‐directional conversion kinetics of lithium sulfide and realizes high‐performance Li−S batteries.
This study evaluated the consistency of manual and automated measurements of monodominant follicle diameter with different follicle size in infertile patients. Transvaginal two-dimensional (2D) ...ultrasound and SonoAVC (Sonography-based Automated Volume Calculation) were both performed in 226 infertile patients with monodominant follicle growth. 2D diameters were separately compared with SonoAVC-generated d(V) and m-d values in different follicle category, i.e. >10 to 14 mm, >14 to 18 mm, >18 to 22 mm and >22 mm. There was moderate degree of consistency between 2D diameter and SonoAVC-generated parameters regardless of follicle size. The mean differences were 0.82 mm between 2D diameter and SonoAVC-generated d(V) value, and 0.22 mm between 2D diameter and SonoAVC-generated m-d value, respectively. The discrepancy of manual and automated measurements tended to increase as follicle size increased. Our study suggested that compared with manual measurement, SonoAVC might underestimate follicle size. The absolute size of a follicle affected the consistency of two techniques.
Abstract Objective To compare the effectiveness of urinary human chorionic gonadotropin (u-hCG) at reduced doses of 4000 IU and 6000 IU in inducing final oocyte maturation during in vitro ...fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. Study design 164 patients with an indication for IVF or ICSI recruited in this randomized, single-blinded and controlled study in IVF clinic at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital. Patients were prospectively randomized to receive 4000 IU (Group A, n = 83) and 6000 IU (Group B, n = 81) of hCG for triggering final oocyte maturation. Number or percentage of mature oocytes retrieved per patient, fertilization rates, pregnancy rates were the main outcome measures. Results No evidence of statistically significant difference in the number or proportion of mature oocytes retrieved was observed in both groups. The lower fertilization rate and significantly lower clinical pregnancy rate were observed in Group A. The ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) rates in both groups were also similar. In the subgroup of BMI < 20 kg/m2 , fertilization rate were significantly higher in the administration group of hCG at the dose of 6000 IU when compared with the dose of 4000 IU (82.40% vs. 70.92%, P = 0.017); in contrast, no significant difference in clinical pregnancy rates was observed in both groups. In the subgroup of BMI 20–25 kg/m2 , clinical pregnancy rates were significantly higher in patients treated with hCG at dose of 6000 IU than patients treated with hCG at dose of 4000 IU (65.3% vs. 35.0%, P = 0.004); however, no significant difference in fertilization rates was observed. Conclusion Both doses of u-hCG revealed an equal effect on the induction of final oocyte maturation in the patients with moderate or high ovarian response; however, the reduced dose of hCG could result in an obvious impact on clinical pregnancy rates and did not exhibit an obvious effect on OHSS rates.
Context:
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Whether differently expressed miRNAs contribute to promoting granulosa cell ...proliferation in polycystic ovarian syndrome disease (PCOS) remains unknown.
Objective:
We explored whether certain miRNAs are involved in the ovarian dysfunction of PCOS and the mechanism of increased granulosa cells proliferation.
Patients and Cells:
miRNA expression was analyzed in excised ovarian cortexes from 16 women with PCOS and 8 non-PCOS. An immortalized human granulosa (KGN) cell was used for the mechanism study.
Main Outcome Measures:
Expressions of miRNAs in ovarian cortexes were measured using qRT-PCR and KGN granulosa cells were cultured for proliferation assays after overexpression or inhibition of miR-93 or after insulin treatment. Bioinformatics were used to identify the potential miRNA targets. Protein expression analysis, luciferase assays, and rescue assays were used to confirm the substrate of miR-93.
Results:
MiR-93 expression was higher in PCOS ovarian cortex and its identified target, CDKN1A, was downregulated. MiR-93 overexpression promoted cell proliferation and G1 to S transition. Knocking down CDKN1A promoted cell growth and cell cycle progression in granulosa cells, and CDKN1A re-introduction reversed the promotional role of miR-93. High concentrations of insulin induced upregulation of miR-93, stimulated KGN cells proliferation and reduced CDKN1A expression.
Conclusions:
miR-93 was increased in PCOS granulosa cells and targeted CDKN1A to promote proliferation and cell cycle progression. Insulin could upregulate the expression of miR-93 and stimulate cell proliferation. This might provide a new insight into the dysfunction of granulosa cells in PCOS.
Abstract Objective To determine the normative cut-off levels of free testosterone (FT), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) and total testosterone (TT) among reproductive age women in China. Study ...design A total of 450 reference subjects without known factors affecting androgen levels were selected from a total study population of 904 presumably healthy women undergoing annual check-ups. The upper limits of normal levels of biochemical androgens were computed by k -means cluster analysis, with the results categorized by age and expressed as both concentrations and percentiles. Results The upper limits (cut-off levels) of normal FT, DHEAS and TT levels as determined by k -means cluster analysis are 26 pmol/L, 4.92 μmol/L and 2.39 nmol/L, respectively, in the selected reference subjects. The corresponding percentiles of the cut-off levels of FT (91.8th vs. 87.9th), DHEAS (69.8th vs. 67.6th) and TT (90.0th vs. 83.8th) were all higher in the reference subjects than in the total study population, suggesting that there were fewer abnormal subjects with elevated androgens in the healthier reference population than in the total study population. The level of DHEAS significantly declined by age ( P < 0.05), whereas there was no significant difference in the mean FT or TT levels between age groups among these women of reproductive age. Conclusions The normal hyperandrogenism cut-off values for FT, DHEAS and TT are 26.00 pmol/L, 4.92 μmol/L and 2.39 nmol/L, respectively, among women of reproductive age in China who are without factors that might affect androgen levels. The cut-off levels in percentiles are 91.8th for FT, 69.8th for DHEAS and 90.0th for TT.
Abstract Objective To explore the clinical and metabolic features of Chinese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods The clinical data of 273 Chinese women diagnosed as having PCOS were ...retrospectively studied. Results Of these women 34.8% had hirsutism, 45.1% had acne, 94.1% had some menstrual abnormality, and 96.7% had typical appearances of polycystic ovaries on ultrasonographic examination. The prevalence of overweight women was 30.4%, and the prevalence of insulin resistance was 12.8% using the glucose to insulin ratio (GIR) and 21.6% using the homesostasis model assessment (HOMA). Body mass index was significantly correlated with fasting insulin level ( r = 0.50), GIR ( r = 0.37) and HOMA ( r = 0.53). Conclusion Menstrual abnormality and polycystic ovaries were the main clinical manifestations in this cohort of Chinese women with PCOS. The prevalence of hyperandrogenism, obesity, and insulin resistance was lower in this cohort than in women from other races with the same condition. Ethnic differences needs to be considered when studying the clinical and metabolic features of women with PCOS.
PDF
