Hello and thank you for dropping by the research section of the Verity website.  

At Verity, we are very committed to helping research into PCOS and we find a very effective way of doing this is to help recruit participants for studies.  If you would like to help further research into PCOS, then please always take time out of your visit to the Verity website, to check out this page.  Here is where you will find recruitment requests for the latest research being carried out in relation to PCOS.

If you match the criteria for any of the studies and would like to help then please follow the information in the relevant advert.  If you do not match the criteria for a particular study please do not forget, you can still help by maybe mentioning this page to a friend or relative you think may be interested.  

Biochemical and ultrasound studies to improve diagnosis and management of PCOS

 

The aim of our project is to identify specific markers in the blood (Biomarkers) in addition to check for the thickness of endometriun (lining of the womb), number and size of follicles and the blood flow to the ovaries which may be altered in women with PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) (using new scientific techniques which now make this possible) compared with women without it to determine what is different. In this project, 100 women with PCOS and 100 women without PCOS will be approached. The purpose of the study will be explained, and following informed consent, a fasting blood test and a pelvic 3D ultrasound test will be obtained. This project may improve our understanding of PCOS and may help us identify new factors which could be targeted in the future to improve management of women with PCOS. On the other hand, we may not find any significant changes between women with and without PCOS in this study.

Dr Zeina Haoula

If you are interested in taking part please contact Dr Haoula directly at: mgxzh@nottingham.ac.uk

Exploring women's attitudes and experiences of acupuncture for treating PCOS I am a mature student studying Acupuncture and I have PCOS. I am particularly interested in learning more about other women’s experiences if they have had acupuncture and also if you haven’t then to look at the reasons why. I would like to gather as much information as possible and in order to do this I am asking other women who have PCOS to complete an online questionnaire (you don’t need to have had acupuncture in order to take part in the study). As well as this, I will be inviting people to also have a short interview with me over the telephone so that we can talk more about PCOS and acupuncture. When the study is complete I will share the results with you and it will form a large part of my University assessment. I will protect your identity and confidentiality at all times throughout the study. The survey will only take 10 minutes of your time at most to complete so follow this link if you would like to help: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/acupuncturepcos and for any direct emails it's also: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/acupuncturepcos Please note, this study finishes on March 8th 2011 so if you would like to take part, you've only got this week to do it.

Body composition and vascular function in women with and without PCOS Blood pressure and the amounts of fat and muscle a person has can be an indicator of heart disease risk and may be able to act as an ‘early warning system’ to allow earlier interventions to occur in otherwise healthy people. Understanding how these measurements vary within population groups is key in using them to shape future monitoring and treatment. Women with PCOS (around 5-10% of the population) may be at increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. Symptoms of PCOS may include being overweight, having excess hair growth and fertility problems. Why this occurs is not fully understood but it is now recognised that there are also potential long term health risks which need to be effectively managed. This study aims to investigate how body composition and the heath of the blood vessels can be most accurately measured in people both at high and low risk of cardiovascular disease (in this case women with and without PCOS respectively). Participation will involve completion of a three day food and activity diary, and one visit to the University of Surrey for a maximum of two hours for measurement of height, weight, blood pressure, blood vessel function (a painless, non invasive technique) and waist to hip ratio and collection of a fasting blood sample. These will be analysed anonymously for the purposes of the research and you will also be offered a copy. If you are interested in taking part please contact: Miss Melanie Hargreaves at mh00077@surrey.ac.uk

Suspecting that you may have or being diagnosed with PCOS raises many questions about appearance, physical symptoms, fertility, emotional issues, long-term health concerns and what this all means for the choices we make from this point on. Confusion is often made worse by a lack of agreement between different doctors and between doctors and their patients.

I would like as many women as possible, from multiple discussion forums, to complete a short, on-line questionnaire that deals with the ways in which decision-making is approached in all areas of day-to-day life. All members and visitors are welcome to participate, from those that have never posted to those who post regularly. Completing the questionnaire takes around 10 minutes. All identifying details will be changed and respondents are assured of anonymity.

There is no obligation to participate further. The questionnaire will ask whether you are willing to take part in future interviews. It is planned to hold in-depth interviews via email with around 30 women who responded to the questionnaire and who consented to further interview. Individual histories and especially PCOS health and social experiences (including relationships with partners, friends and family, employment issues, fertility issues as well as experiences of medical consultations) will be gathered during follow-up interviews. There will also be opportunity to discuss the role that Verity and the newsgroup have played.

Link to survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QVMXV5W

 

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the commonest hormone condition in women of reproductive age. In addition to its well-recognised effects on weight gain, excessive hair growth and infertility, it is becoming increasingly clear that PCOS is associated with long-term health risks including diabetes and arterial (blood vessel)/heart muscle disease, both of which are related to impaired action of insulin throughout the body, also known as insulin resistance.

There is increasing evidence that a major underlying cause of insulin resistance is a build up of a particular type of fat around the bowel called visceral fat. There have not been any studies on the relationship between visceral fat and arterial disease (or 'stiffness') or heart muscle function in young women with PCOS, but this may be an importnat area to study as research in middle-aged women with PCOS has shown that visceral fat is associated with increased 'furring' of the arteries in the neck, which is a marker for early heart disease.

We aim to measure visceral fat area in women with PCOS and relate this to arterial stiffness and heart muscle function.

Subjects will have blood and urine tests, an oral glucose tolerance test, CT and DEXA scans to assess body fat distribution, heart ultrasound scan and non-invasive studies of blood vessels to assess cardiovascular health.

If you wish to know more about participating in this study, please contact: Dr Rosie Hocking at hockingrk1@cardiff.ac.uk

Thank you,

Dr Rosie Hocking

Use of Online Support Groups in individuals affected by PCOS

 

THIS STUDY IS NOW CLOSED

Are you interested in contributing to the understanding of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and how internet resources such as support groups like Verity can enhance how women cope with the syndrome?

As part of my post-graduate degree within the University of Nottingham, I am researching the views and experiences of women such as yourself, in using internet-based support groups for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

If you would like to take part and can spare ten-fifteen minutes of your time to respond to an online questionnaire, I would like to hear from you. Participation is completely voluntary and any responses will be both confidential and anonymous.

I am looking for fifty women with PCOS to take part. But even if you don't have a diagnosis, you can still take part if you wish.

You don't need to be a regular poster either - even if you just prefer to look at the discussion forums rather than post yourself, we are still interested in hearing your views.

The link to the online questionnaire can be found here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KF35Mx8

If you have any queries about this research, please e-mail me at:
lwxsh@nottingham.ac.uk

Sarah Holbrey

This research is independent of Verity.