The research team of the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, led by Dr. Lourdes Ibañez, has collaborated with Ciberdem and the University Rovira I Virgili in a study that has allowed to identify an early marker in blood whose levels reflect the inability to mature lipoproteinsHDL high density, known as good cholesterol.

This affectation can cause metabolic alterations linked to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Researchers have identified this marker in a group of 16 -year -old teenagers, all with excess androgens and insulin resistance.These metabolic characteristics are linked to the so -called polycystic ovary syndrome, a disorder that affects between 8 and 21% of women of reproductive age.

The identification of these markers allows to facilitate early therapeutic intervention.The work has shown that the medication they have received for 18 months this group of girls has reversed the excess of androgens and restored insulin sensitivity, and has also normalized the function of good cholesterol.

The results demonstrate, as indicated by Sant Joan de Déu, that these benefits are not observed after a treatment with oral contraceptives, so far the treatment of choice in these patients