Introduction:Polycystic ovary disease is a common endocrine condition which is rapidly gaining epidemic proportions. No community based prevalence data is available for this syndrome in India.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional community-based study was undertaken in a sampled census block of Mumbai to assess the prevalence of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) among 778 adolescents and young girls aged 15-24 years. Among them, 600 completed all clinical, ultrasonography (USG), and biochemical investigations.Results:The prevalence of PCOS among them was 22.5% by Rotterdam and 10.7% by Androgen Excess Society criteria. Nonobese comprised 71.8% of PCOS diagnosed by Rotterdam criteria. Mild PCOS (oligomenorrhea and polycystic ovaries on USG) was the most common phenotype (52.6%). History of oligomenorrhea had a positive predictive value of 93.3% and negative predictive value of 86.7% to detect a possible case of PCOS. Hyperinsulinemia (serum insulin >15 μlU/mL) was present among 19.2% of diagnosed PCOS cases. Obese girls with PCOS were more hirsute, hypertensive, and had significantly higher mean insulin and 2 h post 75 g glucose levels compared with nonobese PCOS.Conclusion:To our knowledge, this is the first urban community-based study diagnosing PCOS and phenotypes among adolescent and young girls in India. This study demonstrates that PCOS is an emerging disorder during adolescence and screening could provide opportunity to target the group for promoting healthy lifestyles and early interventions to prevent future morbidities.

Mitr1 and Mitr2 from Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (common ice plant) are members of a family of genes homologous to H+[or Na+]/myo-inositol symporters (ITRs), not previously studied in plants. MITR1 complemented an Itr1-deficient yeast strain. Mitr1 is strongly expressed in roots, moderately in stems, and weakly in leaves. Its transcripts increased in all organs, most dramatically in roots, under salinity stress. Mitr2 constitutes a rare transcript, slightly upregulated by salt stress in leaves only. Mitr1 transcripts are present in all cells in the root tip, but become restricted to phloem-associated cells in mature roots. Peptide antibodies against the two proteins indicated the presence of MITR1 in all organs and of MITR2 in leaves. Both are located in the tonoplast. MITR1 acts in removing sodium from root vacuoles, correlated with findings of low root sodium, while leaf vacuoles accumulate sodium in the ice plant. Up-regulation in leaves and stems is also found for Na+/H+-antiporter (Nhx-type) transcripts. Under comparable stress conditions, Nhx-and Itr-like transcripts in Arabidopsis were regulated differently. In the ice plant, co-ordinate induction of Na+/H+-antiporters and Na+/myo-inositol symporters transfers sodium from vacuoles in root cells into the leaf mesophyll as a halophytic strategy that lowers the osmotic potential. The tissue-specific differential expression of Itr- and Nhx-type transcripts suggests that the vacuolar sodium/inositol symporters function to reduce sodium amounts in cells of the root and vascular tissue, while sodium/proton antiporters in leaf tissues function to partition sodium into vacuoles for storage.

Summary Mitr1 and Mitr2 from Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (common ice plant) are members of a family of genes homologous to H+[or Na+]/myo‐inositol symporters (ITRs), not previously studied in plants. MITR1 complemented an Itr1‐deficient yeast strain. Mitr1 is strongly expressed in roots, moderately in stems, and weakly in leaves. Its transcripts increased in all organs, most dramatically in roots, under salinity stress. Mitr2 constitutes a rare transcript, slightly upregulated by salt stress in leaves only. Mitr1 transcripts are present in all cells in the root tip, but become restricted to phloem‐associated cells in mature roots. Peptide antibodies against the two proteins indicated the presence of MITR1 in all organs and of MITR2 in leaves. Both are located in the tonoplast. MITR1 acts in removing sodium from root vacuoles, correlated with findings of low root sodium, while leaf vacuoles accumulate sodium in the ice plant. Up‐regulation in leaves and stems is also found for Na+/H+‐antiporter (Nhx‐type) transcripts. Under comparable stress conditions, Nhx‐and Itr‐like transcripts in Arabidopsis were regulated differently. In the ice plant, co‐ordinate induction of Na+/H+‐antiporters and Na+/myo‐inositol symporters transfers sodium from vacuoles in root cells into the leaf mesophyll as a halophytic strategy that lowers the osmotic potential. The tissue‐specific differential expression of Itr‐ and Nhx‐type transcripts suggests that the vacuolar sodium/inositol symporters function to reduce sodium amounts in cells of the root and vascular tissue, while sodium/proton antiporters in leaf tissues function to partition sodium into vacuoles for storage.