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Francesco Orio, Stefano Palomba, Teresa Cascella, Biagio De Simone, Sebastiano Di Biase, Tiziana Russo, Donato Labella, Fulvio Zullo, Gaetano Lombardi, Annamaria Colao, Early Impairment of Endothelial Structure and Function in Young Normal-Weight Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 89, Issue 9, 1 September 2004, Pages 4588–4593, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2003-031867
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The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of early vascular damage in young normal-weight women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Thirty young normal-weight women with PCOS, who had no additional metabolic or cardiovascular diseases, and 30 healthy women (controls) matched for age and body mass index were studied. A complete hormonal assay was performed in each subject. Serum insulin and glucose levels were measured at baseline and after the oral glucose tolerance test. Plasma endothelin-1 levels and serum lipid profile were also assessed. The endothelial function was studied by flow-mediated dilation on the brachial artery, and arterial structure was evaluated by intima-media thickness measurement using Doppler ultrasound of both common carotid arteries.
A significant (P < 0.05) difference in flow-mediated dilation (14.3 ± 1.9% vs. 18.1 ± 2.0% for PCOS patients and controls, respectively) and in intima-media thickness (0.53 ± 0.09 mm vs. 0.39 ± 0.08 mm for PCOS patients and controls, respectively) was found between PCOS and control subjects. Serum endothelin-1 levels were also significantly (P < 0.05) higher in PCOS patients compared with controls (1.1 ± 0.4 pmol/liter vs. 0.5 ± 0.2 pmol/liter for PCOS patients and controls, respectively).
In conclusion, our data show that young, normal-weight, nondyslipidemic, nonhypertensive women with PCOS have an early impairment of endothelial structure and function.