Follistatin concentrations in women from Kerala with polycystic ovary syndrome

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder in which there are numerous benign cysts that form on ovaries under a thick white covering that is one of the causes of infertility. Follistatin is a single chain glycosylated polypeptide that can bind to activin. When follistatin binds to activin it suppresses the role of activin to stimulate the secretion of Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH). FSH plays an important role in folliculogenesis and decrease in FSH level may arrest follicular development.
Objective: The aim is this study was to determine the circulating follistatin concentrations in PCOS patients compared to regularly menstruating women.
Materials and Methods: The PCOS study group consisted of 88 oligo/amenorrheic women with PCOS. The control group consisted of 60 healthy women with regular menstrual cycles (26-30 days) and with no signs of hyperandrogenism. Body mass index (BMI, Kg/m²) was calculated. Serum follistatin, Serum Leutenizing hormone (LH), and FSH were determined. Student's t-test, and Pearson correlation coefficients were used carried out statistical analysis of the data.
Results: Serum follistatin levels were 0.11±0.04 and 0.31±0.08 ng/ml in control subjects and PCOS patients respectively (mean ± SD), and mean follistatin concentration in PCOS was high. The relationship between serum follistatin and FSH for control study was negatively correlated (r= -0.107, p=0.415) and was not significant, whereas for PCOS patients, the correlation was negative (r= -0.011, p=0.027) and however significant.
Conclusion: Follistatin concentrations were high in PCOS patients compared to control subjects in this study. The high concentration of follistatin in PCOS decreased the FSH level and thus follistatin and FSH levels were negatively correlated in this study.