The study was carried out to estimate the prevalence of glucose intolerance and insulin sensitivity in adolescents and young women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). One hundred sixty eight young women who attended our Endocrine Clinic for hirsutism and/or oligo-menorrhea were enrolled for the study. National Institute Of Child Health and Human Development 1990 consensus criteria were used for diagnosis of PCOS. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was done to study the glucose intolerance and insulin sensitivity parameters. Analaysis of plasma glucose was done before and, 60 and 120 minutes after 75 gm of oral glucose challenge. Insulin sensitivity was calculated based on fasting insulin levels in all subjects. The degree of glucose intolerance and insulin resistance was correlated with severity of hyperandrogenism, body mass index (BMI), and family history of diabetes mellitus. Results indicate higher incidence of glucose intolerance even at younger age in PCOS females. Thirty six percent of PCOS women had impaired glucose tolerance and 9% had diabetes mellitus with WHO 1999 criteria. With the application of ADA 1997 criteria, we observed impaired fasting glucose in 15% and diabetes mellitus in 3% of patients. Higher BMI and hyperandrogenism was directly correlated with the severity of glucose intolerance. Family history of known diabetes was present in 42.8 % subjects and when correlated with OGTT abnormality, it showed no significant correlation, although a rising trend was seen in plasma glucose and plasma insulin levels in subjects with family history of diabetes mellitus in first and second-degree relatives. We conclude that glucose intolerance and insulin resistance is common in Indian PCOS women and its poor correlation with rampant diabetes mellitus in he general population may indicate early modification of lifestyle factors by those with positive family history.

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Insulin resistance, the condition in which there is a decreased response of target tissues to insulin is a significant predisposing factor to various metabolic abnormalities like type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, hypertension and dyslipidemia. It is also the common unifying mechanism in the constellation “Insulin resistance syndrome� or the metabolic syndrome whose prevalence is rising to alarming proportions. As diabetes and related disorders account for a high percentage of health cost incurred by the society, early detection of individuals at risk and appropriate intervention helps in preventing the onset of these disorders thus reducing the burden on the society. Despite a widespread awareness among clinicians about metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, there is lack of awareness about its measurement. Hence this article discusses various methods to diagnose and quantify insulin resistance. The choice of technique to measure insulin sensitivity depend on the study objective, sample size and experimental limitation. The hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp technique still remains the ‘gold standard’ in measuring insulin sensitivity, as it is the most accurate index. However the cost, complexity and the required involved restricts it to highly specific metabolic studies. The ‘minimal models’ where a computer programme is used to derive insulin sensitivity from values obtained form in travenous glucose tolerance test correlates well with the clamp technique and is used much more frequently. A number of indices have been formulated form OGTT for estimating insulin sensitivity depending on the sampling intervals and has shown to have varying correlation with the clamp values. Values from OGTT also represent a true physiological state, as there is no intravenous infusion. As fasting insulin based indices such as HOMA IR and QUICKI are simple and relatively inexpensive, these are used in large-scale epidemiological studies where the end point is not necessarily insulin resistance. Himsworth in 1930s reported for the first time, a state in which there is a decreased response of target tissues to insulin. Insulin 'insensitivity' since then has been one of the most extensively investigated areas in medicine and continues to generate a great deal of research interest among clinicians and scientists around the world.

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Flow Cytometry is a powerful tool in modern biology and in recent years has become widely used in all branches of biological science. The applications to which it can be applied have expanded rapidly from cell sorting, to measurement of cell surface and intracellular antigens, and analysis of DNA. Its ability to measure several parameters on many thousands of cells in very short period of time, by the measurement of their fluorescence and the way they scatter light, makes it a very powerful technique. This review tries to highlight the application of Flow Cytometer in the field of Biological Science.

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Full text not available  [PDF]

Full text not available  [PDF]

Full text not available  [PDF]