The SPIOMET4HEALTH clinical trial release and an interview with the project coordinator have been published in “La Vanguardia”, relevant newspaper at the European level

A total of 400 women diagnosed  with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) between 12 and 24 years of age will participate in the SPIOMET4HEALTH clinical trial all over Europe. In Spain (Catalonia), where the clinical trial has already been launched,  70 patients are expected to be recruited in Sant Joan de Déu Hospital (Barcelona) and 46 in Josep Trueta Hospital (Girona). La Vanguardia, relevant newspaper at european level, has interviewed in Spanish the project coordinator, Dr Lourdes Ibáñez, to offer some key insights into the SPIOMET4HEALTH clinical trial.

You can consult the article here. 

In the coordinator’s words

Dr Lourdes Ibáñez coordinates SPIOMET4HEALTH project, pediatrician and endocrinologist at Joan de Déu Hospital. She won the Premi Nacional de Recerca de Catalunya in 2014 and has been recently awarded by two leading international institutions, such as the American Endocrine Society and the American Human Growth Foundation.

In the article in La Vanguardia, she explains how 98% of patients are treated with contraceptives to control some of the symptoms as the “easy solution”: “Contraceptives are given even to girls of 12 or 13 years of age.”

However, several decades of research and clinical experience have led Ibáñez to discern that ovarian malfunction is not the cause, but the consequence: “The cause of the syndrome is a major weight change from birth to the onset of PCOS. It is a very fast path in a very short time. If the excess fat derived from the intake can accumulate in the subcutaneous adipose tissue, there is no problem, but if not, it has to be placed somewhere and it goes to the viscera, the muscle, the liver…. This is what encourages the ovary to begin to function abnormally”.

She also details that previous to this study, two pilot studies were carried out seven years ago with patients in the Barcelona area, which provided satisfactory results. The drug hardly presents any possibility of sequelae, since it is made up of known drugs that have been used for years and in doses lower than those normally used. According to Ibáñez, the only contraindication is that the patient cannot become pregnant during the therapy.

Meet Alexandra

The article also tells the story of Alexandra Hervàs, who is 21 years old and was diagnosed with PCOS when she was 14. As she explains in the article, when she was diagnosed and treated, she missed some understanding: “In the turbulent time as a teenager, with the hormonal changes, maybe you miss being able to talk about the situation with someone and being asked how you are doing“.

She is now part of the SPIOMET4HEALTH patient advisory board and she has shared her story with us too. You can consult it here.