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Objective was to evaluate serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and in its different phenotypes in relation to clinical, endocrine and metabolic parameters using a new automated VIDAS ® method and to compare it with the Gen II method. Study design was multi-center study including 319 PCOS women and 109 healthy controls. Serum AMH levels measured using VIDAS ® were significantly higher in PCOS women than controls ( p  < .001), and they correlated with those measured using the AMH Gen II method. An AMH cutoff value of 42.1 pmol/L distinguished PCOS women from controls with 67% sensitivity and 83% specificity. The PCOS women with three Rotterdam criteria or hyperandrogenism displayed significantly higher AMH levels compared with those with two Rotterdam criteria or normoandrogenism. In PCOS, AMH levels correlated positively with luteinizing hormone (LH), androgen and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels and negatively with BMI, abdominal obesity, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), fasting glucose and insulin, and insulin resistance. In conclusion, AMH evaluated using the VIDAS ® method distinguished PCOS patients from healthy controls relatively well, especially in those with more severe phenotypes. Further studies are needed to establish whether AMH measurements can distinguish PCOS patients with different metabolic risk factors.

Objective: To compare the effects of continuous use of oral (OC), transdermal, and vaginal combined contraceptives on the pituitary-ovarian axis and inhibition of follicular development., Design: Spin-off study of a prospective, randomized trial., Setting: University clinic., Patient(s): Forty-two of 54 healthy women completed the study., Intervention(s): Treatment with combined OCs (ethinyl E2 [EE] and desogestrel), transdermal patches (EE and norelgestromin), or vaginal rings (EE and etonogestrel) for 9 weeks continuously. Blood sampling was performed before and at 5 and 9 weeks of treatment., Main Outcome Measure(s): Changes in serum hormone levels induced by combined contraceptives., Result(s): Serum antimüllerian hormone (AMH), FSH, inhibin B, LH, and E2 levels had decreased significantly in all study groups after 9 weeks of treatment. Significant declines were already detected after 5 weeks' use of combined contraceptives with regard to all hormone levels apart from those of serum AMH, where the decrease between baseline and 5 weeks was only moderate. Between groups, serum levels of AMH, inhibin B, LH, and E2 were comparable at baseline and after 5 and 9 weeks of treatment., Conclusion(s): The decrease of serum AMH levels during the use of all combined contraceptives indicates that folliculogenesis is arrested independently of administration route., Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT01087879., (Copyright © 2013 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is secreted by ovarian granulosa cells and its serum levels reflect ovarian follicle reserve. The main objective of this study was to test the use of AMH assay in identifying women with primary amenorrhea (PA) and existing follicles and to study follicle phase dependent AMH secretion., Methods: Serum levels of AMH were measured in subjects with FSH-resistant ovaries (FSHRO, n= 12), primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) with PA (n= 11) or secondary amenorrhea (SA n= 20) of unknown etiology, and controls (n= 23), and in Turner syndrome (TS) [45,X (n= 18), mosaicism (n= 7), structural X chromosome abnormalities (SCA, n= 10)], and healthy controls (n= 34)., Results: Serum levels of AMH in women with FSHRO were comparable with those in control women (2.76 ± 2.37 versus 3.77 ± 2.36 ng/ml) and significantly higher than in women with PA (0.05 ± 0.04 ng/ml; P < 0.001) or SA of unknown origin (0.12 ± 0.20 ng/ml; P < 0.001). TS girls/women with 45,X or SCA had low serum AMH levels (0.13 ± 0.09 and 0.27 ± 0.19 ng/ml) compared with their controls (3.34 ± 2.23 ng/ml) or subjects with mosaicism (2.33 ± 2.81 ng/ml). AMH expression was detected in granulosa cells of women with FSHRO but not in any of the 45,X fetal ovarian specimens., Conclusions: A serum AMH assay could be used to identify patients with decreasing ovarian reserves and POI. Moreover, our results support the notion that AMH is secreted mainly by small non-selected follicles, since follicular granulosa cells were AMH-positive and serum AMH levels were normal/low normal in women with FSHRO, who lack follicle development beyond the small antral stage.