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Review
. 2017 Jan;40(1):1-8.
doi: 10.1007/s40618-016-0523-8. Epub 2016 Jul 29.

New markers of insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome

K Polak  1 , A Czyzyk  2 , T Simoncini  1 , B Meczekalski  3
Affiliations
Review

New markers of insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome

K Polak et al. J Endocrinol Invest. 2017 Jan.

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine-metabolic disorder in women of reproductive age. The diagnostic criteria include two out of three features: hyperandrogenism, polycystic ovaries on ultrasound and menstrual irregularities (Rotterdam Criteria 2003). PCOS patients are more vulnerable to develop diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome. Insulin resistance (IR) is prevalent in women with PCOS independently of obesity and is critically involved in reproductive and metabolic complications of the syndrome. Several tests have been developed to measure IR, some very reliable but complex like the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic glucose clamp and others less precise but easier and less invasive like HOMA-IR. New markers are needed to reach a more reliable assessment of insulin resistance. To date, several surrogate markers have been proposed in the literature to facilitate and improve the determination of IR. Many new proteins are strongly involved with PCOS physiopathology and IR, such as some adipocytokines (adiponectin, visfatin, vaspin and apelin), copeptin, irisin, PAI-1 and zonulin. Many other proteins have been proposed as potential new markers of IR in PCOS, such as resistin, leptin, RBP4, kisspetin and ghrelin, but their role is still controversial. In this review, we provide a short characterization of these new markers, recently studied as indicators of metabolic state.

Keywords: Adipocytokines; Insulin resistance; Markers; Polycystic ovary syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Ethical approval This review article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. Informed consent For this type of study, informed consent is not required.

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