Asprosin: a novel peptide hormone related to insulin resistance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Asprosin associated with insulin resistance is a newly discovered peptide hormone. The peptide promotes hepatic glucose production. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a metabolic disorder. Insulin resistance plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of the disease. The aim of this study was to discover the association between insulin resistance and asprosin in women with PCOS. We recruited 78 subjects with PCOS and 78 age-matched and body mass index (BMI)-matched controls into this cross-sectional study. Circulating asprosin levels were validated using ELISA method. We also determined metabolic and hormonal parameters of the involved subjects. We found that circulating asprosin levels were elevated in women with PCOS with respect to controls. Asprosin levels showed a positive correlation with insulin resistance, BMI, and free androgen index (FAI). Moreover, subjects with the highest tertile of asprosin levels represented increased odds of having PCOS as compared to those subjects with the lowest tertile asprosin levels. Increased asprosin levels resulted to high possibility of having PCOS risk associated with insulin resistance.

Association between red blood cell distribution width and polycystic ovary syndrome.

AIMS: The red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is being recognized as a marker of chronic inflammation and routinely reported as part of a complete blood count (CBC) without any additional costs. High levels of RDW associate with oxidative stress and cardiovascular disease risk. We aimed to investigate the relation between the level of RDW and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), HOMA-IR, BMI and body fat percentage in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional and observational studies were conducted in 90 subjects with PCOS and 87 age- and BMI-matched controls. Body fat percentage, CBC, fasting serum glucose, serum insulin, hs-CRP, lipids, and total and free-testosterone levels were measured. RESULTS: RDW levels were significantly higher in the PCOS group compared with the control group (12.98 ± 0.92% versus 12.59 ± 0.84%, p = 0.004). RDW levels were positively correlated with hs-CRP, HOMA-IR and BMI. Multivariate analysis showed that high-RDW levels were associated with PCOS. Subjects with the highest quartile RDW levels were nearly 2.8 times more likely to develop PCOS compared with subjects with the lowest quartile RDW. ROC curve analysis showed that RDW levels were useful as a diagnostic marker for PCOS. The optimal cut-off value for detecting PCOS was ≥12.54% (sensitivity 67% and specificity 70%). CONCLUSIONS: RDW levels were higher in women with PCOS, and high-RDW levels were independently associated with PCOS. This link in between RDW and PCOS may be due to an underlying chronic inflammation in subjects with PCOS.