Effect of a Six-Month Treatment Regimen of Metformin on 17-Hydroxyprogesterone Responses to GnRH Agonist in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
September 2002
in “
Fertility and sterility
”
TLDR Metformin can start ovulation and may lower 17P response in PCOS, but six months is too short to improve hair growth or change body fat distribution.
In a study from 2002, seven anovulatory PCOS patients were treated with metformin (MET) at a dose of 850 mg twice daily for six months. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of MET on 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17P) responses to GnRH agonist (GnRH Ag) stimulation. Prior to and after treatment, patients underwent GnRH Ag stimulation tests, and various parameters including hirsutism score, BMI, and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels were measured. Results showed that MET treatment initiated regular ovulatory cycles in three patients and led to a trend towards lowered 17P response to GnRH Ag. However, there were no significant improvements in hirsutism, BMI, waist to hip ratio, or SHBG levels after six months of MET treatment. The study concluded that while MET can initiate ovulation and potentially reduce 17P response, a six-month treatment period may be insufficient to improve hirsutism, and it does not affect the distribution of body fat. The research was supported by NICHD/NIH and NIH grants.
