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Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of myo-inositol treatment in hirsute women; changes in lipid pattern and insulin sensitivity were also considered. Forty-six hirsute women were enrolled at the first Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology and evaluated at baseline and after receiving myo-inositol therapy for 6 months. Body mass index (BMI), hirsutism, serum concentrations of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoprotein B, lipoprotein(a), serum adrenal and ovarian androgens, fasting glucose and insulin concentrations were evaluated. No changes in BMI were observed. The hirsutism decreased after therapy (P < 0.001). Total androgens, FSH and LH concentrations decreased while oestradiol concentrations increased. There was a slight non-significant decrease in total cholesterol concentrations, an increase in HDL cholesterol concentrations and a decrease in LDL cholesterol concentrations. No significant changes were observed in serum triglyceride, apolipoprotein B and lipoprotein(a) concentrations. Insulin resistance (P < 0.01), analysed by homeostasis model assessment, was reduced significantly after therapy. Administration of oral myo-inositol significantly reduced hirsutism and hyperandrogenism and ameliorated the abnormal metabolic profile of women with hirsutism.
Keywords
References
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Biography
Vittorio Unfer is a gynaecologist specializing in the fields of reproductive endocrinology and clinical infertility for the last 15 years. He was born in Rome in 1963. He received his MD from the Università di Roma ‘La Sapienza’, where he has been an active professor since 1999, and continued his DSc in gynaecology there. Dr Unfer is the author of more than 100 articles in national and international scientific publications and has participated as a guest speaker in more than 30 meetings concerning specific topics in gynaecology. Since 2000, Dr Unfer has been cited in Who's Who in the World. Currently his research interests are related to gynaecological endocrinology and reproductive and perinatal endocrinology.
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
June 11,
2008
Received:
November 16,
2007
Footnotes
Declaration: The authors report no financial or commercial conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd, Duck End Farm, Dry Drayton, Cambridge CB23 8DB, UK. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
