Evaluation of Endocrine and Menstrual Disturbances in Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): Impact of Weight, Metabolic Status, Age and Ethnicity.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder in reproductive age women, which causes disordered follicle growth and ovulation resulting in infertility. In addition women with PCOS have hyperandrogenemia and a dysregulated hormonal profile, resulting in altered feedback on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Obesity, insulin resistance, vitamin D (VD) deficiency and ageing worsen the symptoms. The gonadotrophins - follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) & luteinising hormone (LH), along with the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) have structural similarities. The altered levels of FSH and LH in women with PCOS cause production of hCG from the brain leading to false positive pregnancy tests. Part one of this project will involve the investigation of this over-production of hCG in urine and serum of women with PCOS to develop suitable ovulation and pregnancy test kits, in collaboration with Swiss Precision Diagnostics (SPD). In Part two of the project, we would like to see if intervention with VD supplementation and/or using myo-inositol supplement compared with metformin (insulin sensitiser), improves prediabetes, distribution of fat/water content, weight loss and menstrual cyclicity in women with PCOS. We aim to correlate these interventions with particular serum & urine markers to develop better diagnostic tools.