Oxidative stress and anti-oxidant defense system in Iranian women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common disorder of infertility which affects more than 100 million women. It is characterized by chronic anovulation, hyper androgenism and obesity. PCOS is also associated with oxidative stress changes.

Objective: Here, we aimed to investigate the level of antioxidants and oxidative stress in Iranian women with PCOS as a predictive factor for cardiovascular disease for the first time in Iran.

Materials and methods: In this cross sectional study 30 women with PCOS and 30 healthy women were included. C-reactive protein, serum insulin, advanced oxidation protein products, and level of total antioxidants status were measured from blood samples.

Results: The levels of serum insulin, C-reactive protein, advanced oxidation protein productswere significantly increased in women with PCOS compared with healthy women but there was a decrease in level of total antioxidants status in PCOS women.

Conclusion: These changes show that oxidative stress contributes to PCOS and the decrease of antioxidants leads to increase of oxidation products contributing to PCOS.