Plasma dopamine levels in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome women

Abstract

Background: Raised levels of testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate and problems in ovulation are the hallmarks of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The objective of this study was to compare the plasma dopamine (DA) and blood parameters (CBS) in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and normal women. Methodology: This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted at the University of Health Sciences (UHS), Lahore between Jan and Dec 2017 in reproductive women of age 18?40 years. Patients of PCOS (40) were recruited from the tertiary care hospitals of Lahore and their anthropometric measurements, physical examination, complete blood count and plasma DA levels were assessed. Age and weight matched samples (40), were also collected from normal women. CBC was performed using Medonic (MERCK) automated analyzer. Dopamine was measured according to competitive ELISA method. Data were collected on predesigned questionnaires and was analyzed using SPSS-20. Results: Plasma white blood cell (WBC) count (p=0.02) and platelet count (p=0.05) were significantly higher in PCOS than normal women. Median (IQR) plasma dopamine levels of PCOS women [5324 (3810–5900) pg/ml] were significantly higher (p<0.001) than the normal women [3908 (3470–4716) pg/ml]. Conclusion: PCOS women had higher WBC and platelet counts indicating inflammatory and hypercoagulable states in their body while raised plasma DA levels of PCOS women points towards the role of catecholamines in pathogenesis of PCOS.

Pak J Physiol 2019;15(3):49?52