ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the therapeutical effects of visfatin and metformin on insulin resistance and reproductive endocrine disorder in rats with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty female Wistar rats were divided into 4 equal groups, and in groups A, B and C, the rats were injected subcutaneously with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) for PCOS modeling, with group D as the blank control injected with soybean oil. Vaginal smears and serological testing were taken to assess the modeling. After the modeling, the rats in group A received 10 µg reorganized visfatin injection and those in group B were treated with metformin (14 mg/100 g) on a daily basis for 15 days. Serum levels of T, LH, FSH, FINS and blood glucose levels during OGTT were measured before and after the treatments, and HOMA-IR and LH to FSH ratio were calculated. The ovaries were then dissected for pathological examination.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In groups A and B, FINS, FPG, T, HOMA-IR and blood glucose levels during OGTT were significantly decreased after the treatments (P<0.05), which resulted in recovery of regular menses in 8 (80%) rats in group A and 7 (77.8%) rats in group B with the development of normal follicles. Visfatin and metformin produced equivalent therapeutic effects in improving the insulin resistance and hyperandrogenism in PCOS rats.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Visfatin and metformin have equivalent therapeutic effects in improving insulin resistance and hyperandrogenism and in promoting the recovery of regular menses and development of normal follicles in PCOS rats.</p>