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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.