NIH Evidence-Based Methodology Workshop on Polycystic Ovary; Syndrome, 59625-59626 [2012-23965]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
• National Institutes of Health

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 189 (Friday, September 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59625-59626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23965]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


NIH Evidence-Based Methodology Workshop on Polycystic Ovary; 
Syndrome

Notice

    Notice is hereby given of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 
Evidence-based Methodology Workshop on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, to be 
held December 3-5, 2012. The workshop's opening session will be on 
December 3, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Bethesda Marriott Hotel, 
5151 Pooks Hill Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. The workshop will 
continue December 4-5 at the NIH Natcher Conference Center, 45 Center 
Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20892; beginning at 8:00 a.m. on December 4 
and at 8:30 a.m. on December 5. The workshop will be open to the 
public.
    Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common hormone disorder that 
affects approximately 5 million reproductive-aged women in the United 
States. Women with PCOS have difficulty becoming pregnant (i.e., are 
infertile) due to hormone imbalances that cause or result from altered 
development of ovarian follicles. One such imbalance is high blood 
levels of androgens, which can come from both the ovaries and adrenal 
gland. Other organ systems that are affected by PCOS include the 
pancreas, liver, muscle, blood vasculature, and fat.
    In addition to fertility impairment, other common symptoms of PCOS 
include:
     Irregular or no menstrual periods (for women of 
reproductive age)
     Acne
     Weight gain
     Excess hair growth on the face and body
     Thinning scalp hair
     Ovarian cysts.
    Women with PCOS are often resistant to the biological effects of 
insulin and, as a consequence, may have high insulin levels. As such, 
women with PCOS are at risk for type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and 
high blood pressure. Obesity also appears to worsen the condition. 
Costs to the U.S. health care system to identify and manage PCOS are 
approximately $4 billion annually; however, this estimate does not 
include treatment of the serious conditions associated with PCOS.
    For most of the 20th century, PCOS was a poorly understood 
condition. In 1990, the NIH held a conference on PCOS to create both a 
working definition of the disorder and diagnostic criteria. The outcome 
of this conference, the NIH Criteria, served as a standard for 
researchers and clinicians for more than a decade. In 2003, a consensus

[[Page 59626]]

workshop in Rotterdam developed new diagnostic criteria, the Rotterdam 
Criteria.
    The 2012 NIH Evidence-based Methodology Workshop on PCOS will seek 
to clarify:
     Benefits and drawbacks of using the Rotterdam Criteria
     The condition's causes, predictors, and long-term 
consequences
     Optimal prevention and treatment strategies.
    The NIH workshop is sponsored by the Office of Disease Prevention 
and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and 
Human Development. A multidisciplinary steering committee developed the 
workshop agenda. The NIH Library created an extensive, descriptive 
bibliography on PCOS to facilitate workshop discussion. During the 2\1/
2\-day workshop, invited experts will discuss the body of evidence and 
attendees will have opportunities to provide comments during open 
discussion periods. After weighing the evidence, an unbiased, 
independent panel will prepare a report that summarizes the workshop 
and identifies future research priorities.
    Advance information about the workshop and workshop registration 
materials may be obtained by calling 888-644-2667, or by sending email 
to prevention@mail.nih.gov. Registration and workshop information are 
also available on the NIH Office of Disease Prevention Web site at 
https://prevention.nih.gov.

    Please Note:  As part of the measures to ensure the safety of 
NIH employees and property, all visitors must be prepared to show a 
photo ID upon request. Visitors may be required to pass through a 
metal detector and have bags, backpacks, or purses inspected or x-
rayed as they enter the NIH campus. For more information about the 
security measures at NIH, please visit the Web site at https://www.nih.gov/about/visitorsecurity.htm.


    Dated: September 24, 2012.
Francis S. Collins,
Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2012-23965 Filed 9-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P