Top 5 online reproduction/androgen disorder stories posted in the last month

Endocrine Today compiled a list of the top five news reports on reproduction/androgen disorders posted from June 15 to July 15.

Healio.com/Endocrinology readers were interested in a proposed name for PCOS, quality of life in PCOS after intervention, CV risk profile in women with premature ovarian syndrome, and much more.

‘Metabolic reproductive syndrome’ proposed as new name for PCOS

NEW ORLEANS — Polycystic ovary syndrome will be renamed to “metabolic reproductive syndrome” as a result of debates and surveys of women affected by the condition and the health professionals who support their care, according to a speaker here.

“It is time to assign a new name that actually reflects the complex features of the condition,” Helena J. Teede, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, professor and head of the Women’s Public Health Research Program at Monash University in Victoria, Australia, said during her presentation. “The new name needs to enhance the recognition of this major public health issue ... and can then lead to greater educational outreach and better public relations.” Read more.

Quality of life improves in PCOS with weight-loss intervention, hormonal contraception

Use of hormonal contraceptives and an intensive lifestyle intervention, either alone or in combination, were effective in improving physical and mental domains in relation to quality of life, depressive symptoms and anxiety disorders in women with overweight or obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Anuja Dokras, MD, PhD, director of the Penn PCOS center, medical director of the reproductive surgical facility and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues evaluated data from the OWL-PCOS trial on 132 women with PCOS aged 21 to 40 years to determine the effect of weight loss and decreasing hyperandrogenism on health-related quality of life and mood and anxiety disorders. Read more.

Unfavorable CV risk profile found in women with premature ovarian syndrome

Higher abdominal fat, elevated chronic inflammatory factors and a trend toward increased hypertension and impaired kidney function were found among women with premature ovarian insufficiency compared with healthy controls.

However, an increased risk for subclinical atherosclerosis was not found among women with premature ovarian syndrome, according to study researchers. Read more.

Estradiol deficiency may mediate vasomotor symptoms in men with hypogonadism

Vasomotor symptoms in men with hypogonadism may be mediated be estradiol deficiency and high levels of testosterone may suppress the effects, according to study findings published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Joel S. Finkelstein, MD, of the department of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted two randomized trials between September 2004 and April 2011 on men aged 20 to 50 years with normal testosterone levels to determine the contributions of testosterone and estradiol deficiency to vasomotor symptoms in men with hypogonadism. The primary outcome was incidence of visits with vasomotor symptoms. Participants were from a single-setting academic medical center. Read more.

Early life events may affect testicular function in adulthood

Maternal smoking status, serum cord blood estrogen concentrations, and fetal and childhood growth patterns are likely associated with testicular function in adulthood, according to recent study findings.

“This study shows that optimal adult testicular function is associated with good intrauterine growth, without exposure to maternal smoking or higher concentrations of endogenous cord serum estrogens, and being delivered at term,” Roger J. Hart, MD, MRCOG, FRANZCOG, CREI, professor of reproductive medicine at the School of Women’s and Infants’ Health at the University of Western Australia, and colleagues wrote. “Optimal testicular function is also associated with good growth through childhood, with a normal BMI trajectory and a lean tissue mass, to become a tall adult.” Read more.