'Diabetes gene' may be linked to polycystic ovar...( (BETHESDA MD) -- Polycystic ovary syn...)

(BETHESDA, MD) -- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) occurs when ovarian cysts block a woman's normal ovulation and menstrual cycle. While the problem sounds straightforward, the disease is complex, born from both multiple genetic components and environmental factors. PCOS affects up to five percent of the female population, and those diagnosed with the disease have a 2- to 7-fold risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). For this reason researchers believe a gene related to diabetes may also play a role in the onset of PCOS. A new study of 146 PCOS patients has found that the "diabetes gene" (calpain-10 (CAPN10)) is in fact an interesting candidate for explaining the syndrome.

A New Study

The findings are contained in a new study entitled "Calpain-10 Variants and Haplotypes are Associated with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Caucasians." The study was conducted by Caren Vollmert, Claudia Lamina, Cornelia Huth, Melanie Kolz, Andreas Schopfer-Wendels, Friedhelm Bongardt, Florian Kronenberg, Hannelore Lowel and Thomas Illig, all of the GSF-National Research Center for Environment and Health, Neuherberg; Susanne Hahn, Klaus Mann and Onno E. Janssen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen; H.-Erich Wichmann, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich; Jakob C. Mueller, Technical University, Munich; Christian Herder, Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf; and Rolf Holle, GSF-National Research Center of Environment and Health, Neuherberg, Germany.

Their study appears in the online edition of the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism (http://ajpendo.physiology.org). The journal is one of the 14 scientific publications published by the American Physiological Society (APS) (www.The-APS.org) each month.

Methodology

The study comprised 752 females. Of the total, 146 were diagnosed with PCOS and 606 were unrel
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Contact: Donna Krupa
dkrupa@the-aps.org
301-634-7209
American Physiological Society
6-Dec-2006