Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of infertility and endocrinopathy in women due to lack of ovulation. Silymarin has anti-inflammatory properties and is a modulator of the immune system. In this experimental study, the effect of silymarinon PCOS-induced rats was studied.Materials and methods: In this experimental study, 144 adult Wistar rats were divided into groups of control, sham, PCOS (S.C. injection of 2mg estradiol valerate/ rat, once) and treated with silymarin. After induction of PCOS during 60 days, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg BW silymarin was injected intraperitoneally for 10 days. Sham and control groups received DMSO and no injection, respectively. All groups were anesthetized and the serum and ovary of groups were collected in order to investigate the histological and serologic changes. Data were tested using ANOVA in Instat software and P <0.05 was considered significant.Results: PCOs induction resulted in elevation of follicular cyst formation, abnormal follicular development and increasing of androgen compared with control rats. Silymarin attenuated ovarian cysts and thickness of theca layer and improved hormonal balance and follicle development in PCOS rats.Conclusion: Silymarin can reduce the histological and hormonal symptoms of PCOS, and has a protective effect on ovary. It seems that this potency is due to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of silymarin, which can reduce cyst counts and improve the development of ovarian follicles.

In this study, microspheres containing estradiol valerate were prepared by solvent evaporation method using poly (glycolide-co-lactide) (PLGA 50:50) and poly (lactide). The effect of different process variables such as polymer type, drugpolymer ratio, stirring rate, volume of internal phase and temperature of external phase on the morphology, particle size distribution, encapsulation efficiency and in vitro release profile were investigated. All microspheres had spherical shape with smooth surface. Increasing the internal phase volume and decreasing the external phase temperature resulted in smaller particles. At low drug loadings, PLGA microspheres were larger than PLA ones. Changing the theoretical drug loading from 5 to 20% decreased the drug release rate from PLGA microspheres whereas the result for PLA microspheres was the opposite.

Introduction & Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex endocrine and metabolic disorder and one of the most common causes of an ovulation among women in their reproductive age. Presence of cysts in the ovaries alteration in the blood levels of gonadotropine hormones and gaining weight are some of the main characteristics of PCOS among humans. Our goal was to investigate the possible occurrence of such conditions in animal models of PCOS.Materials & Methods: Forty five Sprague Dawely rats were divided into 3 equal groups: the treatment and sham groups were intramuscularly injected by a single dose of Estradiol Valerate (4 mg/rat, dissolved in 0.4 ml) and equal volume of olive oil, respectively, and the control group without any injection. During the 12 weeks of study, the animal’s weights were measured once a week. After 8 weeks, serum levels of testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, Follicular Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Latinizing Hormone (LH) and glucose were measured. Following 12 weeks, ovaries were removed and prepared for light microscopy. Histological characteristics of ovaries were observed after hematoxylin-eosin staining.Results: Animal weight and serum level of testosterone were significantly reduced among PCOS induced rats while progesterone, LH and glucose levels were elevated. There was no significant difference in estradiol and FSH levels among different group of animals. Many cysts and degenerating follicles were observed in the treatment group.Conclusion: PCOS can be experimentally produced by a single injection of Estradiol Valerate in the rat, but some of the complex aspects of PCOS are not clearly defined.

Objectives: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. Polycystic ovary (PCO) is a criterion for PCOS. Several animal models of polycystic ovary morphology (PCOM) are developed in order to study PCOS aspects. The present study aimed to develop a polycystic ovarian model in mice.Materials and Methods: Thirty-four young adult female mice were divided equally into estradiol valerate (EV) treated and control groups. Mice in experimental group (n=18) received a single dose injection of EV (IM, 4 mg/kg). Weight and fertility rate of all mice were recorded. Morphology of ovarian follicles was assessed too. Chi-square and independent t test were used for comparison between groups. P value less than 0.05 was considered as significant level.Results: After 60 days, the weight of EV-treated mice was significantly lower than control (P<0.04) and the experimental group did not show any significant changes in their body weight. Fertility rate in experimental group was significantly lower (P<0.001) than the other group. Follicle count showed that the number of preovulatory follicles and corpora lutea were lower (P<0.001) and atretic follicles were higher (P<0.001) significantly in EV-treated group in comparison to control. However, there were no significant differences in the number of primary, preantral and antral follicles between two groups.Conclusion: The polycystic ovary morphology can be induced in adult mice with a single dose of EV. This model may help to improve our knowledge on all aspects of PCOS.

Estrogen as a female sex hormone involved in reproductive system has also many important metabolic effects. This hormone could exert beneficial protective effect on the cardiovascular system of women. This protective effect is due to its effects on liver and plasma lipids and lipoproteins. In this study, the effect of two different doses of estradiol and ethinyl estradiol valerate on concentrations of serum lipids and lipoproteins in female rats (n = 30) were investigated. For this purpose, two concentrations (0.1 and 1 mg/ml) of hormones were prepared. Thereafter, 4 different test groups were daily injected with 0.2 ml of one concentration. The control group received only 0.2 ml of sesame oil. Estradiol was injected subcutaneously daily for two months. During all experiments, rats received normal standard pelleted food. Finally, blood samples were taken and the concentrations of total cholesterol, triglyceride, VLDL, HDL and LDL were measured using autoanalyzer. The results suggested that ethinyl estradiol and estradiol valerate may decrease concentrations of the serum total cholesterol and LDL. It was also indicated that ethinyl estradiol increases the concentrations of serum triglyceride and VLDL, but none of them have any effect on serum HDL concentration.

For the present study, and follow-up of histochemical changes in estradiol valerate-induced polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), 48 virgin 90-day-old female rats were used. The rats were divided into the treatment and control groups. For each rat of the treatment group, 4 mg estradiol valerate was injected through intramuscular route for the induction of PCOS. The control group was taken the same amount of sterile sesame oil. After 63 days of hormone administration, all rats were sacrificed and their ovaries were collected immediately and processed for histochemical studies. These studies were consisted of localization of carbohydrate using PAS method, saturated and unsaturated lipids using Oil-Red-O and Sudan Black B, lipase and alkaline phosphatase. The PAS reaction was seen in some structures of the atretic and cystic follicles such as on zona pellucida (ZP), basement membrane of granulosa cells, connective tissue fibers of ovarian stroma, follicular fluid and granulose cells. This reaction was enhanced in basement membrane of granulose cells of cystic follicles. The lipid droplets were seen in follicular structures of both the atretic and cystic follicles. The presence of macrophages was confirmed in cystic ovaries by this study. The lipase reactions were seen in granulose and theca cells of atretic and cystic follicles. The lipase reaction in the theca layer of cystic follicles was stronger than in the granulose cell layer of such follicles. The alkaline phosphatase reaction was seen in the theca and granulose cells of atretic and cystic follicles and by the progression of these processes and cystic follicle formation, the reaction was increased accordingly. We concluded that, during follicular atresia and cystic follicle formation, histochemical alterations are occurred in follicular structures.