Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether myo-inositol, an insulin-sensitizing substance, may improve some features of metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women.
Methods: Eighty postmenopausal women affected by the metabolic syndrome were enrolled prospectively in the study and treated with diet plus supplementation of myo-inositol (2 g BID plus diet: intervention group) or with diet plus placebo (control group) for 6 months. They were evaluated at baseline and after 6 months for insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment ratio [HOMA] insulin resistance), lipid profile, and blood pressure.
Results: Myo-inositol plus diet improved systolic and diastolic blood pressure, HOMA index, cholesterol, and triglyceride serum levels with highly significant differences, compared with the groups treated only with diet and placebo. In the group treated with myo-inositol, a decrease in diastolic blood pressure (−11%), HOMA index (−75%), and serum triglycerides (−20%) and an improvement in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (22%) were shown.
Conclusions: Supplementation with myo-inositol may be considered a reliable option in the treatment of metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women.
Introduction
After menopause, women are at increased risk for obesity, insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia with consequent dyslipidemia and hypertension. All these conditions are features of metabolic syndrome, which has been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. In fact, cardiovascular events are a rare occurrence in premenopausal women, but their incidence increases most markedly after the age of 45 to 54 years, at the time of menopause. Substances that are able to reduce hyperinsulinemia are of interest for women affected by metabolic syndrome, with a view to reducing cardiovascular risk.
Inositol (either in the isoform d-chiroinositol or as myo-inositol) has been reported to improve insulin sensitivity and ovulatory function in young women affected by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Inositol has been described as a second messenger system that may exert an insulinlike effect on metabolic enzymes.
We carried out a 6-month, perspective, randomized, placebo controlled study on postmenopausal women affected by metabolic syndrome, with the aim of evaluating whether myo-inositol may affect cardiovascular risk by a mechanism such as insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and high blood pressure.