This is one of a series of news items from abstracts of studies presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine as complied by Dr. David Meldrum, Scientific Director of Reproductive Partners. We appreciate the enormous amount of work it takes to compile and comment on these abstracts.
Patients frequently ask what they can do to help their condition although they do not always heed the advice.
In an abstract presented at ASRM 2010, there was good evidence that women with PCOS can do something concrete to help their condition. We already know that weight loss has positive effects. Now you can add exercise to that list.
Strength training increased lean muscle mass, decreased serum testosterone and
increased menstrual function in PCOS women. In a study from UCLA, as little as a 10% increase of lean muscle mass lowered insulin levels. Weight loss, exercise, and strength training all increase insulin sensitivity and therefore can add together to improve PCOS.
Exercise may be one of the more difficult prescriptions for patients to take, but the rewards make it worthwhile.