Researchers may have found a solution to improve fertility in obese women, after a successful trial in mice using diabetes medications to lower blood glucose levels.
The University of Queensland study found that the common drug for type 2 diabetes, Dapagliflozin, altered reproductive hormones in obese mice and could be the key to improving fertility in humans.
Professor Chen Chen of the UQ School of Biomedical Sciences said the results were a promising sign, as human and mouse reproductive cycles are similar.
“After eight weeks of treatment, the blood glucose levels of the mice were normalized, body weight was reduced, reproductive cycles and reproductive hormones were recovered, and ovulation was largely restored, compared to with the mice that were not treated, “said Professor Chen.
“The drug we used, Dapagliflozin, is known to lower blood glucose levels and improve other biomarkers of metabolic health, but its effects on reproductive health and fertility have not yet been fully investigated.
“Our results suggest that normalizing blood glucose metabolism with Dapagliflozin in obesity may be a promising way to restore reproductive function, at the very least.”
Many obese women experience fertility problems and altered reproductive hormone levels, and Professor Chen said this could be related to changes in energy metabolism, which altered reproductive hormone levels and altered the menstrual cycle. ovulation.
“People who are obese also have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and often have high blood glucose levels as well as other metabolic changes, which makes things even more complicated,” he said.
“The results of this study in mice show that Dapagliflozin has the potential to improve women’s fertility when no other successful therapy is currently available. This treatment could improve the quality of life for many women.
“Our findings are encouraging, but much more work needs to be done to confirm that these findings can be replicated in women.”
Researchers will now investigate the therapeutic benefits of using Dapagliflozin to improve reproductive function by examining molecular pathways in women’s reproductive systems.
This study is published in the Journal of Endocrinology. (DOI: 10.1530 / JOE-21-0449)
Media: Professor Chen Chen, chen.chen@uq.edu.au, +61 7 336 53856; UQ Communications, med.media@uq.edu.au+61 (0) 436 368 746.