March 24th, 2010
The current issue of PCOS Health Review cites new research about the positive effect of berries on the liver. Women with PCOS have a 50% risk of developing Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), a “hidden” symptom of the disorder.
Sixty-one women were divided into two groups for the study undertaken by Finland’s University of Turku. One group ate 1/3 lb of berries every day; the other did not.
The berry-eating group was found to have a 23 per cent decrease in the market for liver disease.
A variety of berries are recommended to achieve a protective effect on the liver and for overall good health. The article recommends: blackberry, lingonberry, blueberry, boysenberry, raspberry, gooseberry, dewberry, elderberry, youngberry, loganberry and strawberry.
To read the complete article in PCOS Health Review, visit:
www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/news102.html#sec2
November 18th, 2008
By Dr. Nancy Dunne and Bill Slater
PCOS Review
Nov. 2008
We can hardly stress enough how important vitamin D is for you. Some of you may be wondering why there is so much vitamin D in our d-pinitol formula.
In the full article on our site, we list a number of previous newsletter articles that review the benefits of vitamin D for ovarian health and reducing insulin resistance.
We then go on to review some new research data about vitamin D. Several studies indicate a correlation between low levels of vitamin D and an increased incidence of breast cancer. One study suggested that intake of 2,000 IU of vitamin D could increase vitamin D levels in your body enough to reduce the incidence of breast cancer by 50%. Fifty percent is a very big drop in risk!
The other interesting study showed large doses of vitamin D for one year were useful for depression in people who were overweight.
In summary, there are multiple health benefits from making sure your vitamin D levels are optimal. You may need to take a significant amount of supplemental vitamin D to reach an optimal level. This is why there is so much vitamin D in the d-pinitol product.
Read the full article here:
www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/news69.html
To purchase D-pinitol (U.S. Only):
www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/store/pinitol
November 7th, 2008
Science Daily
Nov. 6, 2008
A two-year study conducted by researchers at George Mason University, INOVA Fairfax Hospital and the National Cancer Institute may open the door to new therapies for combating chronic diseases associated with obesity, a condition that affected more than 33 percent of American adults in 2005-06 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While analyzing samples taken from morbidly obese patients undergoing weight loss surgery, the researchers discovered that substantial quantities of melanin—a pigment that gives the skin, the hair and the iris of the eye their natural color—were being produced in the study participants’ fat tissue.
Ancha Baranova, assistant professor in George Mason University’s Department of Molecular and Microbiology and the paper’s lead author, explains that melanin production has never before been identified in fat tissue. She believes that the antioxidant, which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties, could be the body’s natural defense against obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, fatty liver disease, polycystic ovary syndrome and some cancers.
“Stockpiling extra calories is difficult even for specialized fat cells; having too much lipid molecules takes its toll on the fat cells, producing oxidative stress,” says Baranova. “It’s not unthinkable that these cells would adapt and produce melanin as a form of self-protection. As a side benefit, melanin may suppress inflammatory properties of the extra pounds of the fat.”
Baranova notes that a larger study is needed in order to confirm the role that the body’s production of this compound plays in fat tissue. However, the discovery suggests that melanin-based therapies may one day be used to reduce the incidence of chronic diseases among the morbidly obese.
“This opens an entirely new avenue for medical interventions because the process of biosynthesis of melanin is relatively easy to meddle with,” says Baranova. “We hope that this study will spur the development of preventive medications aimed at curtailing devastating metabolic complications in obese and overweight populations.”
The paper was co-authored by Manpreet Randhawa, Tom Huff and Vikas Chandhoke of George Mason University; Julio C. Valencia and Vincent J. Hearing of the National Cancer Institute; and Zobair Younossi of INOVA Fairfax Hospital. The study was funded by the Thomas F. Jeffress and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust and by the Intramural Research Program of the National Cancer Institute at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
The findings appear in the current Web edition of the FASEB (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) Journal and will be published in the March 2009 print edition.
Journal reference:
1. Randhawa et al. Evidence for the ectopic synthesis of melanin in human adipose tissue. The FASEB Journal, 2008; DOI: 10.1096/fj.08-116327
Adapted from materials provided by George Mason University.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081106164818.htm
October 30th, 2008
Sathyapalan T, Kilpatrick ES, Coady AM, Atkin SL
Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, University of Hull, Hull, UK; Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hull Royal Infirmary, Hull, UK; Department of Obstetric Ultrasound, Hull & East Yorkshire Women’s & Children’s Hospital, Hull, UK.
Source J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2008 Oct 21.
Abstract Context: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity whereas statins are proven to reduce cardiovascular mortality and morbidity through lipid lowering and perhaps through their pleotrophic effects. Statins can also reduce testosterone in vitro by inhibiting ovarian theca-interstitial cell proliferation, steroidogenesis and reducing inflammation in vivo.
Objective: To assess the effect of atorvastatin on inflammatory markers, insulin resistance and biochemical hyperandrogenemia in patients with PCOS.
Design: Randomised, double blind placebo controlled study.
Setting: Tertiary care setting in United Kingdom.
Patients: Forty medication naïve patients with PCOS and biochemical hyperandrogenaemia.
Methods: Patients were randomised to either atorvastatin 20mg daily or placebo.
Main outcome measures: The primary end point of the study was a change in the inflammatory marker hsCRP. The secondary end points were a change in insulin resistance and total testosterone.
Results: After 12 weeks of atorvastatin there was a significant reduction (mean+/-SEM) in total cholesterol (4.6+/-0.2 vs. 3.4+/-0.2 mmol/L,p<0.01), LDL cholesterol (2.9+/-0.2vs.1.8+/-0.2 mmol/L,p<0.01), triglycerides (1.34+/-0.08vs.1.08+/-0.13mmol/L,p<0.01), hsCRP (4.9+/-1.4vs.3.4+/-1.1mg/Lp=0.04), free androgen index (13.4+/-0.6vs.8.7+/-0.4 p<0.01), testosterone[4.1+/-0.2vs.2.9+/-0.1 nmol/Lp<0.01) and insulin resistance as measured by HOMA-IR(3.3+/-0.4vs.2.7+/-0.4). There was a significant increase in SHBG (31.1+/-1.0vs.35.3+/-1.2 nmol/L,p<0.01). There was a positive correlation between the reduction in HOMA-IR in the atorvastatin group with the reduction in triglycerides and the reduction of FAI. There was a significant deterioration of HOMA-IR in the placebo group (3.0+/-0.4vs.3.8+/-0.5).
Conclusions: This study suggests that atorvastatin is effective in reducing inflammation, biochemical hyperandrogenemia and metabolic parameters in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome after a 12 week period.
PubMed ID 18940877
