Complementary administration of curcumin in PCOS: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: The clinical benefit of curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, among women diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is unclear. In this systematic review, we aim to provide a brief review of the existing literature on the association between curcumin supplementation and PCOS. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Published articles relevant to the topic was obtained through extensive search using relevant keywords such as "polycystic ovarian syndrome," "PCOS," "turmeric," and "curcumin." Inclusion criteria included studies that investigated PCOS and turmeric/curcumin, while studies that investigated the use of curcumin in other gynecological disorders, infertility, rodent studies, and non-RCTs were excluded. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: A total of 14 articles were found and only five studies were incorporated based on the exclusion criteria. The main findings were that curcumin supplementation aids in improvement of lipid and glycemic profiles, Body Mass Index (BMI) and lowers androgen levels associated with PCOS. CONCLUSIONS: We shed light on additional therapeutic management for PCOS other than the conventional treatment. Further studies are required with larger sample sizes and diverse patient population to derive definitive conclusions regarding benefits of curcumin supplementation in PCOS.

Increasing proportion of female patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a population-based study of trends in the incidence and prevalence of AS.

OBJECTIVE: With the introduction of MRI in diagnosis and tumour necrosis factor inhibitors for treatment, the field of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) has undergone significant changes. We carried out a population-based study of the trends in incidence and prevalence of AS over the past 15 years. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of provincial health administrative databases. Residents of Ontario, Canada aged 15 years or older diagnosed with AS between 1995 and 2010 were included in the study. Crude as well as age-standardised and sex-standardised incidence and prevalence of AS between 1995 and 2010 were calculated. Trends in prevalence and incidence of male and female patients with AS were separately analysed. RESULTS: We identified 24,976 Ontarians with AS. Age/sex-standardised AS prevalence increased from 79/100,000 in 1995 to 213/100,000 in 2010. Men had higher prevalence than women, but the male/female prevalence ratio decreased from 1.70 in 1995 to 1.21 by 2010. A higher proportion of male compared with female patients with AS were diagnosed in the 15-45 age group. Annual incidence rates revealed increasing diagnosis of AS among women after 2003. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of AS in Ontario has nearly tripled over the past two decades. The proportion of women with new diagnosis of AS is increasing, a trend that began around the year 2003. A higher proportion of male compared with female patients with AS are diagnosed at an earlier age.