New research grant for link between diabetes and ovary condition

The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry in Truro in Cornwall has been awarded a GBP15,000 research grant to study whether ovary condition known as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) causes some women who suffer from it to go on to develop diabetes.
The grant, provided by the Duchy Health Charity and which will involve research on women in Cornwall, will help the college assess the risk of women with the ovary condition also then suffering from diabetes, and attempt to find the most effective means to lower their risk of diabetes.
PCOS results from abnormal hormone levels that develop small cysts in the ovaries, so that eggs are not always released on a regular basis. The researchers argue that this is a common problem for young women, and one that is often unrecognised by women as well as their GPs.
Jonathan Pinkney, who will head up the study, commented “However, another longer term and largely-neglected consequence for women with PCOS appears to be an increased risk of developing diabetes and possibly heart disease. The reasons for this are currently unclear.”
He added “In this research, women with PCOS are being compared with healthy women without PCOS in order to understand how the predisposition to diabetes arises.”