Hormonal
Weight loss restores insulin sensitivity in obese women with PCOS to levels comparable to BMI-matched controls, but early insulin secretion remains persistently elevated.
For obese women with PCOS, significant weight loss (approx. 12-13 kg) can fully restore insulin sensitivity to that of a healthy, non-PCOS woman of the same weight. However, even after this success, the body may still over-secrete insulin early in response to glucose, suggesting that PCOS involves a persistent beta-cell or secretory abnormality independent of fat mass. Weight loss is critical for metabolic health, but may not fully correct all hormonal dysregulations in PCOS.
In conclusion, insulin sensitivity is restored to similar levels to the control subjects by weight loss in PCOS, suggesting that insulin resistance is not a feature of PCOS per se. A persistently increased early insulin response to glucose is independent of obesity and could be involved to be an abnormality in PCOS.
Why this rating
Randomized controlled intervention with rigorous metabolic testing (clamp/IVGTT) and matched controls.
Source
Restored insulin sensitivity but persistently increased early insulin secretion after weight loss in obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
Jan Holte et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 1995
DOI 10.1210/jcem.80.9.7673399
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