PCOS and metformin: from pharmacology to clinical use for women's health
Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: Metformin is an old compound optimal for treatment of type 2 diabetes. Since when PCOS patients have been reported to have insulin resistance, metformin has been demonstrated to modulate several aspects of PCOS and to improve the most common cause of menstrual irregularity, inesthetisms and infertility. Metformin induces a better control of glucose uptake inducing a lower synthesis/secretion of insulin. Such effect permits to reduce insulin resistance which is the cause of the compensatory hyperinsulinemia typical in most but not all of PCOS patients. The positive control of metabolism has many positive effects on the hormonal patterns such as the restoration of menstrual cyclicity, ovulatory cycles and fertility since abnormal insulin levels affect the hypopthalamus-pituitary-ovarian functionas well as peripheral tissues use of glucose. The combination of an improved life-style with metformin treatment improves the impairments typically observed in hyperinsulinemic PCOS patients, reducing the possible evolution towards to the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes; and when pregnancy occurs, it consistently reduces the risk of gestational diabetes, eclampsia and hypertension. Though it might seem that metformin is the “optimal treatment” for PCOS patients, only hyperinsulinemic PCOS patients are those with higher chances to get the best results from metformin administration, mainly if diet and life-style are attentively combined.
Language: English
Subfield: Reproductive Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2182968975