Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Ovarian Morphological Changes And Follistatin Preliminary Study

Objectives:1. To discuss the connection between the cystoid type and the sclerous type polycystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS).2. To investigate preliminarily the correlation between follistatin(FS) and PCOS by examining the expression of human FS mRNA signals in ovarian atresic follicles.Methods:1. To compare the similarity and difference between the cystoid type and the sclerous type PCOS by blood sex hormone measuring, laparoscopy, ovarian biopsy, pathomorphology and so on, of 19 cystoid type and 26 sclerous type PCOS women, as well as 10 age-matched non-PCOS women as control.2. In situ hibridization was used for detecting the expression of FS mRNA in ovarian atresic follicles of 5 cystoid type and 5 sclerous type PCOS women, and 10 non-PCOS women as control.Results:1. Compared with the cystoid type PCOS women, the sclerous type PCOS women have longer course of disease, thicher ovarian tunica albuginea, more collagen, hyperplasia medulla and stroma. There is no remarkable difference of the sex hormone level between two groups of PCOS.2. A light FS mRNA signal was found in granulose cells, whereas no signal was detected in the thecal cell layer, of the atresic follicles from the cystoid type and the sclerous type PCOS women. The intensity of FS mRNA signal was not distinctly different in granulose cells between thesetwo types. But no FS mRNA signal was detected in any cell type of atresic follicles from non-PCOS women. Conclusion:1. The pathomorphologic changes of the cystoid type and the sclerous type ovaries from patients with PCOS accord with those in different period with the development of disease. It's suggested that the cystoid type PCOS may develop into the sclerous type PCOS as the disease progresses.2. The expression of FS mRNA in granulose cells of small atresic follicles is stronger. It's suggested that the abnormal expression of human FS mRNA is most potentially associated with the etiology of PCOS.