Over the past seven years, a team of researchers at The UWI St. Augustine has been working arduously to raise awareness of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and research new, non-invasive treatments.
Team co-supervisor, Dr Stephanie Mohammed recently spoke with UWI Today about the ongoing research which has been accepted for presentation in October, 2023 by The Androgen Excess-PCOS Society’s 21st Annual Meeting.
PCOS is a condition which causes the ovaries to produce an abnormal amount of androgens - male sex hormones. While there is naturally a small amount of androgen in women, this condition results in women experiencing hormonal imbalances, cystic follicles, hirsutism, weight gain, acne, insulin resistance and depression.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that up to 13 percent of reproductive-aged women (15-49) are affected by this condition which can even lead to infertility and other chronic conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM).
Despite the long-term health problems associated with PCOS, the WHO estimates as much as 70 percent of affected women are still undiagnosed.
This research started in 2017 as part of Dr Mohammed’s MPhil. She was inspired to investigate the effect of electromagnetic radiation on the development of PCOS after she learnt that an international company was treating cancerous ovarian tumours with similar methods.
Supervised by Dr Venkatesan Sundaram, Head of Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences and medical physics lecturer, Dr Nikolay Zyuzikov, Dr Mohammed was also motivated to undertake the research in light of what she found to be a lack of resources and information in T&T about PCOS.
She added, “The treatment options that they have now for PCOS are limited to: diet and exercise, medications and laparoscopic surgery.”
“These treatment options for managing the symptoms were invasive and had women experiencing a lot of side effects. Because of technological advancement and the potential use of radiation, I wanted to experiment on a non-invasive method that could prove useful for treating the condition. I also wanted to experiment with animal models so I reached out to Dr Sundaram who was already studying reproductive systems in animals and he agreed.”
In the initial stages of the research, there was focus on testing the effects of electromagnetic radiation on the development of PCOS in rats.
“To our surprise we realised that the radiation was able to slow down the growth of the follicular cyst in the PCOS-induced animals,” says Mohammed. With these results, Mohammed was able to earn first place in the Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT) Competition across all UWI campuses held by The UWI, Mona.
After completing her PhD, Dr Mohammed shifted focus to expanding the research under Sundaram’s supervision to develop a comprehensive understanding of PCOS on a national scale.
The project’s team was also expanded. Faculty of Science and Technology Dean, Dr Brian Cockburn, was also enlisted in the study due to his expertise in diabetes research and Founder and Executive Director of PCOS Challenge, Sasha Ottley, also joined the team to help advocate for women with PCOS.
Mohammed explains, “I reached out to Professor Ricardo Azziz - a top PCOS researcher [worldwide] and the CEO of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine - about our ongoing research and he agreed to guide and collaborate with us on the research. His expertise has been able to help us understand our research design much better.”
The current phase of the research has been focused on testing women across Trinidad to determine the prevalence of PCOS.
With the guidance of Sundaram, and other team members, she has been able to source additional funding and resources from donors including The UWI’s School for Graduate Studies and Research, Ramps Logistics, Caribbean Eye Institute, Rotary St Augustine, Rotary Club of Felicity/Charlieville and Rotary Club of Central Port of Spain.
To date, the team has been able to conduct an initial community-based survey of 250 women across Trinidad aged 18-45 to gather data on PCOS.
There are plans to survey a further 50 women to bring the total survey size to 300 as the initial part of their study. The study population was randomly chosen across eights locations in Trinidad reflecting a diversity of ethnicities and socioeconomic statuses.
“Because of the nature of the study, women have been receptive to providing their information and blood samples for testing to determine whether they have the condition or not. The community has been supportive in facilitating us to help recruit persons at designated locations.”
Preliminary results have shown a positive correlation between PCOS, Body Mass Index and infertility in Trinidad.
Throughout the study, the investigators observed that many women were also unaware of PCOS or being misdiagnosed with the condition.
The research also has an outreach component through which a webinar was hosted in July 2023, and an educational, secondary school tour is planned for PCOS Awareness Month.
