The May-June edition of DiabetesFEDE featured an interesting interview with Dr. Lourdes Ibáñez, leader of the CIBERDEM group at the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona and coordinator of the SPIOMET4HEALTH project
The magazine highlights the European project led by Dr. Ibáñez, SPIOMET4HEALTH, which aims at developing a tablet for treating polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). As Dr. Ibáñez explains, “We have been studying this disorder for over two decades. Our research group at Sant Joan de Déu had conducted pilot studies with a smaller number of patients. The present research, however, is on a large scale, with the participation of seven hospitals from six countries: in addition to Spain – with two hospitals, Sant Joan de Déu and Hospital Trueta in Girona – Austria, Denmark, Italy, Norway, and Turkey.”
The interview also addresses the lack of currently available treatments for PCOS, despite its high prevalence. Nowadays, contraceptives are administered “as early as 13 years of age.” According to the doctor, this approach presents a major drawback, as it only addresses the symptoms and not the root of the problem. Dr. Ibáñez emphasizes the importance of PCOS, as one of its consequences may be insulin resistance (increasing the risk of developing diabetes) or infertility. “In women with PCOS, the excess of androgens interferes with ovulation. If a woman doesn’t ovulate, she cannot get pregnant,” she states.
Dr. Ibáñez’s team is confident in solving this problem that affects between 5% and 10% of women by means of a combination of medications that would normalize fat deposits in the liver and, therefore, normalize all the alterations associated with PCOS. According to Dr. Ibáñez, “the tablet will decrease liver fat and, as a result, improve the lipid profile, normalize ovulation rate (and thus reverse infertility), and help prevent type 2 diabetes. It would also prevent high-risk pregnancies in women with PCOS, who often develop gestational diabetes and may have premature babies.”
To achieve this new medication, the SPIOMET4HEALTH project is conducting the clinical trial in different countries. “The research is strategic and has the financial support of the European Commission. PCOS is receiving increasing attention due to its impact on the health, quality of life, and emotional well-being of many women worldwide,” she concludes.
You can read the full interview in PDF (in Spanish) here.
Additionally, for more information about the clinical trial SPIOMET4HEALTH for PCOS, you can visit this link.
