Functional Study of the Hypothalamus in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) (MRI-PCOS)

December 4, 2025 updated by: University Hospital, Lille

Functional Study of the Hypothalamus in High-resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): a Comparative Study

The aim to evaluate whether activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in PCOS is associated with transient microstructural and metabolic changes in the female hypothalamus using MRI approaches to assess water diffusion and measure proton magnetic resonance spectra.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
52

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • France
      • Lille, France
        • Hôpital Jeanne de Flandres, CHU

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

19 years to 30 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

For all subjects

  • Aged from 19 to 30 years
  • Body mass index : 18-25
  • Informed consent before inclusion
  • Do not smoke the 3 days before the MRI

For Healthy volunteers subjects :

  • Regular cycles (between 25 and 35 days) AND ovulatory.
  • No signs of hyperandrogenism.
  • Subjects desirous of taking oral contraceptives (estrogen/progestin combination).
  • For the realization of the 2nd MRI: to be during the 3rd month of a treatment well followed by oestro-progestative monophasic minidose to 0,02mg of Ethinyl-oestradiol / 0,1mg Levonorgestrel.

PCOS women:

  • PCOS defined by Rotterdam criteria
  • Needing a treatment with cyproterone acetate
  • To carry out the 2nd MRI: to be in progress during the 3rd month of a treatment well followed by 50 mg of Cyproterone acetate in association with 2mg / day of natural estradiol.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Hormone treatment within 3 months prior to inclusion (including birth control pill )
  • On-going pregnancy (determined before each MRI scan visit)
  • Claustrophobia
  • Any metal or foreign implants (e.g., aneurysm clips, ear implants, heart pacemakers or defibrillators)
  • Diabetes or known dysthyroidism.
  • Current substance abuse (including smoking more than 5 cigarettes/day; determined using drug screening at the screening visit)
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding the last 3 months.
  • Practice of intense physical exercise (ex jogging> 10km) the day before the MRI.
  • Person incapable of consenting, or enjoying legal protection (guardianship / curatorship).
  • Unability to understand the treatment protocol

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Other: PCOS women
26 PCOS women who receive consultation for hyperandrogenism needing treatment with Cyproterone Acetate + estradiol will be recruited.
Drug: Cyproterone Acetate + estradiol

PCOS will receive:

50mg cyproterone acetate (Androcur®) in combination with p.o. 2mg estradiol daily

Other Names:
  • Androcur, Provames
Other: Healthy volunteers
26 Healthy volunteers subjects who receive consultation contemplating oral contraceptives (Levonorgestrel, Ethinyl Estradiol 0.1-0.02Mg Oral Tablet ) will be recruited.
Drug: Levonorgestrel, Ethinyl Estradiol 0.1-0.02Mg Oral Tablet
Healthy volunteers receive combined oral contraceptive (COC) consisting 0.02 mg ethinylestradiol and 0.1mg of progestins (Leeloo Gé®)
Other Names:
  • Leeloo Gé®

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC)
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months after treatment start
The change in the ADC will be analyzed in healthy volunteers and PCOS women before starting the oral contraceptives, and next during the third sequence of treatment.
Baseline and 3 months after treatment start

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in the metabolite concentrations
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months after treatment start
The change in the metabolite concentrations will be analyzed in the two groups before starting the oral contraceptives, and next during the third sequence of treatment.
Baseline and 3 months after treatment start
Correlation coefficient (Spearman or Pearson) between the ADC and serum hormonal levels (FSH,luteinizing hormone,oestradiol, AMH)
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months after treatment start
The correlation between ADC and hormonal levels in the two groups will be analysed before starting the contraceptive treatment and during the third processing sequence.
Baseline and 3 months after treatment start
Correlation coefficient (Spearman or Pearson) between the metabolite concentrations and serum hormonal levels (FSH, luteinizing hormone, oestradiol, AMH)
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months after treatment start
The correlation between metabolite concentrations and hormonal levels in the two groups will be analysed before starting the contraceptive treatment and during the third processing sequence.
Baseline and 3 months after treatment start
Plasma GnRH concentration before and after treatment (PCOS patient and control group)
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months after treatment start
Baseline and 3 months after treatment start
Correlation between brain metabolite concentrations and plasma GnRH concentration before and after contraception.
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months after treatment start
Baseline and 3 months after treatment start

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University Hospital, Lille

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Research Agency, France

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Didier Dewailly, MD,PhD, University Hospital, Lille

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 26, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 15, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 15, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 31, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 2, 2017

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 6, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 11, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 4, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2016_22
  • 2016-A01391-50 (Other Identifier: ID-RCB Number, ANSM)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings