Searching for the polycystic ovary syndrome genes

PCOS is a common disorder of unknown etiology. Studies of first-degree rela tives of women diagnosed with PCOS suggest familial clustering of the disea se. A prospective study of first-degree female relatives of women with PCOS conducted by NCPIR found that 46% of ascertainable sisters of women with P COS were hyperandrogenemic. NCPIR has conducted linkage and association stu dies using affected sibling-pair analysis and the transmission/disequilibri um test to explore candidate PCOS genes. These studies point a finger at a region 1 MB centromeric to the insulin receptor gene on chromosome 19.