WEDNESDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Excess postnatal weight gain exacerbates disruptions in reproductive phenotype caused by excess prenatal testosterone exposure, and can increase the severity of polycystic ovary syndrome, according to research published online Oct. 30 in Endocrinology.

Teresa L. Steckler, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues examined the effect of postnatal weight gain on an animal model of polycystic ovary syndrome, in which sheep were prenatally treated with testosterone. After weaning, female sheep were divided into groups and either fed normally or overfed to achieve a 25 percent increase in body weight. Blood samples were taken to determine the effect of excess weight gain on menstrual cycle and periovulatory dynamics.

A definable luteinizing hormone surge was observable in 100 percent of non-treated controls, but only 43 percent of the prenatal testosterone-treated sheep, the researchers report. This dropped to 14 percent in overfed prenatal testosterone-treated sheep. Similarly, 100 percent of control sheep, 87.5 percent of prenatal testosterone-treated sheep and 14 percent of overfed prenatal testosterone-treated sheep showed an elevation in luteal progesterone.

This study found that excess weight gain increases the reproductive defects previously shown in prenatal testosterone-treated sheep. According to the authors, the findings "agree with the increased prevalence of anovulation observed in obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome."

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