Doppler parameters of uterine and ovarian stromal blood flow in women with polycystic ovary syndrome and normally ovulating women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation

Abstract

Objective: To test the hypothesis that the increased ovarian sensitivity to gonadotropins observed in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may be due to changes in ovarian stromal blood flow in these patients.

Design: Uterine and ovarian stromal arterial blood flow (with transvaginal color Doppler ultrasound) were measured in ten women with PCOS and 12 normo-ovulatory women (control group), undergoing gonadotropin stimulation before in vitro fertilization.

Methods: A careful ovarian stimulation strategy was adopted for the study group in order to avoid ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and achieve an ovarian response which was comparable to that of the control group. Resistance and pulsatility indices (RI and PI) of the uterine and ovarian stromal arteries were calculated before the onset of gonadotropin treatment, on cycle day 5 (after commencing treatment), day of human chorionic gonadotropin injection, day of ovum pick-up as well as on the day of embryo transfer, and 7 and 12 days later.

Results: No significant differences were found in RI and PI between the study and control groups throughout the treatment cycle.

Conclusions: It seems that polycystic ovaries do not bear an inherent disturbance in blood flow dynamics of the uterine and ovarian arteries, as measured by color Doppler, which would explain the increased sensitivity of polycystic ovaries to stimulation with gonadotropins.