Insulin resistance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with insulin resistance. There are also defects in pancreatic beta-cell function in affected women. These abnormalities are heritable. There are post-binding defects in insulin receptor signaling, with selective resistance to insulin's metabolic actions and constitutively activated mitogenic signaling in skeletal muscle. Intrinsic and environmental abnormalities interact to produce peripheral insulin resistance in PCOS. A susceptibility gene region for PCOS is located on chromosome 19p13.2. The susceptibility allele is also associated with a metabolic phenotype.