Subject(s)
Endocrine Disruptors/toxicity , Estrogens, Non-Steroidal/toxicity , Fertility/drug effects , Guidelines as Topic , Research Design/standards , Animals , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Ethinyl Estradiol/toxicity , Female , Genitalia, Female/abnormalities , Genitalia, Female/drug effects , Male , Maternal Exposure , No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level , Pregnancy , Rats , Rats, Long-Evans , Toxicity Tests/methods , Toxicity Tests/standardsSubject(s)
Gonads/embryology , Gonads/physiology , Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/physiology , Animals , Embryo Implantation/physiology , Female , Gametogenesis/genetics , Gametogenesis/physiology , Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental , Gonads/growth & development , Gonads/metabolism , Humans , Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/genetics , Male , Pregnancy , Reproduction/genetics , Reproduction/physiologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To report the baseline characteristics and racial differences in the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) phenotype from a large multicenter clinical trial (PPCOS). DESIGN: Double-blind, randomized trial of three treatment regimens (with extended release metformin or clomiphene citrate). SETTING: Academic medical centers. PATIENT(S): Six hundred twenty-six infertile women with PCOS, aged 18-39 years, with elevated T levels and oligomenorrhea (exclusion of secondary causes), seeking pregnancy, with > or = 1 patent fallopian tube, normal uterine cavity, and a partner with sperm concentration > or = 20 x 10(6)/mL in > or = 1 ejaculate. INTERVENTION(S): Baseline characterization. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Historical, biometric, and biochemical measures of PCOS. RESULT(S): There were no significant differences in baseline variables between treatment groups. The overall mean (+/-SD) age of the subjects was 28.1 +/- 4.0 years, and the mean body mass index was 35.2 kg/m2 (+/-8.7). Polycystic ovaries (PCOs) were present in 90.3% of the subjects, and the mean volume of each ovary was 10 cm3 or more. Of the subjects, 7% had ovaries that were discordant for PCO morphology. At baseline, 18.3% of the subjects had an abnormal fasting glucose level (> 100 mg/dL). Asians tended to have a milder phenotype, and whites and African Americans were similar in these measures. CONCLUSION(S): The treatment groups were well matched for baseline parameters, and we have added further information to the PCOS phenotype.
