Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Rats with Hyperandrogenic Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Therapeutic potential of endometrial stem cells encapsulated in alginate/gelatin hydrogel to treat of polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent endocrine disorder in women, often leading to infertility due to anovulation. Recent advances suggest that endometrial stem cells (EnSCs) hold considerable promise for tissue regeneration, which could be pivotal in treating PCOS. To enhance the survival and stabilization of EnSCs within the ovary, the EnSCs were encapsulated in an injectable alginate/gelatin hydrogel (SC-H), which has excellent biocompatibility to support the survival of EnSCs. Polycystic ovary syndrome was induced in female Wistar rats using intraperitoneal injection of letrozole over 21 days. Then the rats were treated with SC, SC-H and clomiphene citrate for one-month post-PCOS induction. The effects of these treatments were evaluated based on changes in body and ovarian weights, inflammatory markers, endocrine profiles, and ovarian histology. The Induction of PCOS led to a significant increase in body and ovarian cyst weight, elevated serum levels of testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), alongside reduced follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and progesterone levels. Histologically, there was a decrease in granulosa cells, immature follicles, and corpus luteum numbers. Treatment with SC and SC-H significantly mitigated these alterations, indicating improved PCOS conditions. Our findings demonstrate that SC and SC-H treatments can effectively ameliorate the symptoms of letrozole-induced PCOS in rats, primarily through their anti-inflammatory effects. This study lays the groundwork for potential clinical applications of EnSCs encapsulated in alginate/gelatin hydrogel as a novel therapeutic strategy for PCOS, highlighting the importance of biomaterials in stem cell-based therapies.

Androgen-Induced Cardiovascular Risk in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: The Role of T Lymphocytes

An estimated 15-20% of reproductive-age women are affected by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is associated with substantial metabolic and cardiovascular long-term consequences. In young women with PCOS, several cardiovascular risk factors may be found, including chronic inflammation, high blood pressure, and elevated leukocytes. These women are at an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), not only during the reproductive years, but also with aging and menopause; therefore, the early prevention and treatment of future cardiovascular adverse effects are necessary. The fundamental characteristic of PCOS is hyperandrogenemia, which is associated with increased pro-inflammatory cytokines and T lymphocytes. Whether these factors play a role in the pathophysiology of hypertension, a risk factor of CVD, due to PCOS is not well established. This review will briefly discuss how a modest increase in androgens in females is linked to the development of hypertension through pro-inflammatory cytokines and T lymphocyte subsets and the promotion of renal injury. Moreover, it reveals a few existing research gaps in this area, including the lack of specific therapy directed at androgen-induced inflammation and immune activation, thus emphasizing the necessity to explore the systemic inflammation in women with PCOS to halt the inevitable inflammatory process targeting the underlying abnormalities of CVD.

The Application of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Infertility

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a lifelong reproductive endocrine disease, which is the most common cause of anovular infertility. Modern medicine mainly treats infertile patients with PCOS by improving living habits, ovulation induction therapy, and assisted reproductive technology (ART), but the effect is not satisfied. Complementary alternative medicine (CAM) has conspicuous advantages in the treatment of PCOS infertility due to its good clinical efficacy, wide mechanism of action, and no obvious adverse reactions, but its safety and effectiveness in the treatment of PCOS infertility have not been proved. Based on the existing clinical and experimental studies, this paper looks for the therapeutic effect and the mechanism behind it, and explores the safety and effectiveness of its treatment in PCOS infertility, in order to provide reference for future clinical treatment and experimental research.

Image Analysis of TVCDS in Infertile Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

In order to analyze and examine the TVCDS images of infertile patients, this paper conducted an in-depth study based on the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome. Through the sample size estimation method, mathematical analysis, and other methods, the image examination of the polycystic ovary in TVCDS was successfully analyzed. 86 cases of infertile patients with PCS were divided into a control group treated with clomiphene alone and an observation group treated with clomiphene combined with TCM periodic therapy, with 43 patients in each group. The therapeutic effects of the two groups were compared and analyzed. Results show that the treatment effective rate and pregnancy success rate of the observation group were 95.35% and 88.37%, respectively, and those of the control group were 83.72% and 76.74%, respectively. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). It was understood that the main pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome is the abnormal balance of kidney, qi, and blood meridians. Thus, the balance of kidney-anemone-chong Ren-uprisal is broken and the result is infertility symptoms or irregular menstruation. After a study on TVCDS in infertile patients, it was observed that the levels of progesterone (P) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in patients with irregular menstruation were significantly increased. The increase was higher than that in the control group, with an overall negative rate of 4.00%, compared with 18.00% of the control group, showing a significant difference. It also indicates that TVCDS image examination has a very significant effect on improving menstrual irregularities and reducing the incidence of adverse reactions.

Metabolic and Molecular Mechanisms of Diet and Physical Exercise in the Management of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine systemic disorder mainly characterized by a hormonal and metabolic disbalance that leads to oligo/anovulation, hyperandrogenism and the formation of ovarian cysts. Despite the progress that has been reached in its diagnosis and management, little is known about the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways underlying the pathogenic mechanisms. In this sense, recent research has suggested that the influence of multiple factors, including age, environment, lifestyle and the disease state environment can change the clinical presentation of PCOS via epigenetic modifications. Variants in the genes encoding for proteins involved in steroidogenesis and glucose homeostasis play a crucial role in the development of the disease. Other genes involved in inflammation and cell proliferation seem to undergo an epigenetic control. Moreover, lifestyle factors influence the PCOS course and prognosis, including diet and physical activity, which are fundamental in reducing oxidative stress, inflammation and in improving metabolic and hormonal parameters. In the present review, literature evidence on molecular and epigenetic mechanisms related to PCOS etiology will be discussed, with a particular attention on the positive influence of diet and physical activity as nonpharmacological ways of intervention in the management of the disease.

Progress of Adipokines in the Female Reproductive System: A Focus on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Adipose tissue, one type of loose connective tissue in the human body, maintains the primary task of energy storage. Adipose tissue is not only an energy reservoir but also plays a vital role as the largest endocrine organ of the whole body via releasing a variety of adipokines, which participate in many pathophysiological processes, such as energy metabolism regulation, glucose and lipid metabolism, and inflammation. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder that mainly involves the female reproductive system, affecting women of childbearing age particularly. Insulin resistance (IR) and hyperandrogenemia (HA) have been implicated as a critical link involving the etiology and outcome of PCOS. A great deal of studies has bridged the gap between adipokines (such as Adiponectin, Chemerin, Metrnl, Apelin, Resistin, Visfatin, Leptin, Vaspin, Lipocalin 2, and Omentin) and reproductive fitness. In this review, we will focus on the adipokines' functions on PCOS and come up with some points of view on the basis of current research.

Elevated Serum Leptin Levels as a Predictive Marker for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

BACKGROUND

Leptin may have important implications in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)-related metabolic disorders. However, the changes in serum leptin levels in patients with PCOS and its predictive value for PCOS remain obscure. We intend to analyze the association between leptin and PCOS in this study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study comprised 89 patients with PCOS and 139 individuals without PCOS. Each group was stratified as either normal- or hyper-fasting serum insulin (FSI), and lean or overweight/obese; and the patients were further categorized as normal- or hyper-androgenic. The validity of leptin toward the diagnosis of PCOS, or leptin combined with total testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), and free testosterone was estimated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and correlations between paired variables was estimated by Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Associations between the clinical and metabolic variables and PCOS were analyzed via logistic regression.

RESULTS

The serum leptin levels of patients with PCOS were significantly higher than that of the control, and especially the PCOS in hyper-FSI, hyperandrogenimic and overweight/obese subgroups. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of leptin was 74%, with cutoff value, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) 11.58 ng/mL, 77.5%, 62.6%, 57.0%, and 81.3%, respectively. Combined leptin and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) had the highest AUC (92.3%), excellent sensitivity (93.3%), moderate specificity (78.3%), PPV (73.5%) and NPV (94.8%). Serum leptin levels of the patients were correlated with the FSI, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), body mass index (BMI), and total testosterone levels. Elevated serum leptin was associated with a high risk of PCOS [P = 0.015; OR (95% CI) 1.128 (1.024-1.244)].

CONCLUSION

Substantially elevated serum leptin is significantly associated with PCOS. These findings warrant further investigations into the function of leptin in the pathogenesis of PCOS.