The Influence of Non-Esterified Fatty Acids on Ovarian Androgen Production in IVF – Preliminary Results

The document presents several studies related to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and its associated conditions. One study found that women with PCOS have a lower basal metabolic rate (BMR) even after adjusting for body mass index (BMI), which may be due to lower lean body mass and skeletal muscle mass, particularly in the legs. This could contribute to obesity in PCOS patients. Another study involving 254 subjects with PCOS found that 22% had clinical evidence of androgenic alopecia (AGA). AGA in PCOS patients was associated with other clinical signs of hyperandrogenism like acne or hirsutism but not with biochemical or metabolic abnormalities, suggesting that AGA may be influenced by local androgen levels rather than systemic ones. A cross-sectional study with 15 women with PCOS and 13 controls examined the effect of cream ingestion on nuclear factor kappa B (NFKB) activation and its relationship with ovarian androgen response to HCG administration. The study found that NFKB activation in response to cream ingestion was higher in both lean and obese women with PCOS and was associated with greater androgen production, suggesting that lipid-induced inflammation may promote insulin resistance and ovarian androgen production in PCOS. Lastly, a study with 5 PCOS and 32 non-PCOS women undergoing IVF found that non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) levels were correlated with testosterone and inflammation markers in non-PCOS women, while PCOS women had higher levels of androgens and IL-6 despite similar NEFA levels, indicating that NEFA might induce more lipotoxicity or have a greater impact on androgenesis in PCOS.