This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a related Letter to the Editor Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wachs, D. S. Articles by Chang, R. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wachs, D. S. Articles by Chang, R. J. Related Collections Female Endocrinology

Increased Androgen Response to Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Administration in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Department of Reproductive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: R. Jeffrey Chang, M.D., Department of Reproductive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0633. E-mail: rjchang{at}ucsd.edu.

Context: In women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), excess ovarian androgen production is driven by increased LH secretion. Studies conducted in animals suggest that the granulosa cell may influence LH-stimulated theca cell androgen production.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether FSH enhances androgen production in women with PCOS compared with that of normal women.

Design: A prospective study was conducted to compare androgen production in response to FSH in two groups of women.

Setting: The study was conducted in a General Clinical Research Center in a tertiary academic medical center.

Patients: Women with PCOS, 18–35 yr (n = 20), and normal ovulatory controls, 18–35 yr (n = 10), were recruited for study.

Interventions: Serial blood samples were obtained over a 24-h period after an iv injection of recombinant human FSH (150 IU).

Main Outcome Measures: The main outcome measures were serum 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), androstenedione (A), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), testosterone (T), and inhibin B (Inh B) responses after FSH administration.

Results: Basal serum 17-OHP, A, and T levels were markedly increased in women with PCOS compared with that observed in normal women. Basal DHEA and Inh B levels were similar to those of normal controls. After FSH injection, PCOS women demonstrated enhanced production of 17-OHP, A, DHEA, and Inh B, whereas in normal women no increases were observed. T levels declined slightly in both groups.

Conclusions: These findings provide evidence that, in PCOS women, theca cell androgen production is enhanced by FSH administration and suggest a granulosa-theca cell paracrine mechanism.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. A. Dissen, C. Garcia-Rudaz, A. Paredes, C. Mayer, A. Mayerhofer, and S. R. Ojeda Excessive Ovarian Production of Nerve Growth Factor Facilitates Development of Cystic Ovarian Morphology in Mice and Is a Feature of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in Humans Endocrinology, June 1, 2009; 150(6): 2906 - 2914. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Hirshfeld-Cytron, R. B. Barnes, D. A. Ehrmann, A. Caruso, M. M. Mortensen, and R. L. Rosenfield Characterization of Functionally Typical and Atypical Types of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., May 1, 2009; 94(5): 1587 - 1594. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]