Ovulatory and Metabolic Effects of d-Chiro-Inositol in the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia, which can occur in otherwise normal persons, are risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus, 1 – 4 dyslipidemia, 5 – 7 hypertension, 5 – 7 and atherosclerosis 5 — a constellation of findings termed syndrome X, or the metabolic syndrome. 5 Both are also prominent features of the polycystic ovary syndrome, 8 – 10 a disorder characterized by chronic anovulation and hyperandrogenism that affects approximately 6 percent of women of reproductive age. 11 In these women, hyperinsulinemia both inhibits ovulation 12 and stimulates ovarian testosterone production 13 , 14 ; the women also have an increased incidence of impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes mellitus 10 , 15 – . . .