In another study, researchers found that brothers of women with PCOS and insulin resistance are themselves at greater risk of developing insulin resistance or diabetes, suggesting that factors associated with the condition can be passed down to sons as well as daughters.
The two studies were presented to the 25th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
One researcher states: “These findings suggest a new pathway for the development of PCOS. We think that factors associated with the pre-existence of cardiovascular dysfunction in the mother or the father, and which operate during pregnancy, may create adverse conditions for the fetus, which alter the metabolic profile of offspring, leading to insulin resistance and reproductive consequences, such as PCOS, for daughters. A family history of diabetes is, therefore, not essential to observe an insulin resistance-related disease in offspring.”
The study was the first to show that brothers of women who had PCOS and insulin resistance were themselves more likely to develop insulin resistance or even diabetes or dyslipidaemia (a disruption in the levels of lipids (or fats) in the blood).Another researchers states: “These results mean that we should pay attention to the health not only of women with PCOS but also to their brothers as they seem to have an increased risk for the medical problems that make up the metabolic syndrome, such as insulin resistance, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Our findings are also in accordance with the hypothesis that not only is PCOS is a heritable disease, but that factors associated with it, such as insulin resistance, can be passed down to the next generation of either sex."
Steve - another indicator of the wide ranging effect of epigenetic activity.
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