Source: Hypertension  |  Posted 8 years ago

The insulin sensitising drug metformin appears to lower C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), suggesting that CRP or other inflammation parameters could be used to evaluate treatment efficiency in these patients.

Low-grade chronic inflammation, as indicated by elevated levels of serum CRP, is linked to obesity, an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and insulin resistance syndromes such as PCOS. Metformin has been shown to improve metabolic disturbances in patients with PCOS, but whether the beneficial effects of these improvements are reflected in CRP levels is unclear.

Laure Morin-Papunen, MD, with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University Hospital of Oulu, Finland, and colleagues studied 20 nonobese women [body mass index (BMI) 25 kg/m[^]2[] or less] and 32 obese women (BMI 27 kg/m[^]2[] or more) with PCOS. Participants received either metformin, 500 mg twice daily for 3 months, then 1000 mg twice daily for 3 months; or ethinyl estradiol (35