CORAL GABLES, Fla. – A team of scientists from the United Kingdom has found that oral contraceptives have a secondary benefit in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS.
Dr. Trisha Shah, a fertility specialist with Conceptions Florida, said the study showed that birth control pills lowered the risk of developing Type-2 diabetes, or pre-diabetes, by 26% in PCOS patients.
“Birth control pills, when we use them in women with PCOS, can reduce androgen levels, this then is interplayed with insulin, so it can help lower the insulin levels and therefore reduce the metabolic risk of women developing diabetes and insulin resistance in PCOS,” Shah said.
She said that women with PCOS have twice the risk of developing Type-2 diabetes or pre-diabetes compared to women who don’t have the condition.
PCOS affects 10% of women worldwide and is also associated with a number of other conditions including endometrial cancer, cardiovascular disease and non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease.
Cats and dogs with COVID
And another study in the U.K. found that it is possible that cats and dogs that become infected with COVID-19 may experience heart problems.
The findings, published in the journal Veterinary Record, showed an uptick in pets with symptoms of heart inflammation last year, during the same time COVID cases went up in the U.K.
Weeks after showing symptoms of heart inflammation, several pets tested positive for COVID or tested positive for antibodies.
The study also found that none of the animals showed the typical symptoms of a respiratory infection.