Management of Severe Graves' Hyperthyroidism in Pregnancy Following Immune Reconstitution Therapy in Multiple Sclerosis.

CONTEXT: Alemtuzumab (ALZ), a CD52 monoclonal antibody, is highly efficacious in multiple sclerosis; however, side effects are common. Autoimmune thyroid disease (Graves' disease and Hashimoto thyroiditis) is a well-known complication of ALZ. Treatment of ALZ-induced Graves' disease can be challenging, and even more difficult during pregnancy. CASE DESCRIPTION: We present a case of severe ALZ-induced Graves' disease with a rapid increase in thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRAb 240 IU/L) and thyrotoxicosis in early pregnancy. Treatment with high doses of antithyroid medication was needed. There was high risk of both fetal and neonatal thyrotoxicosis. Serial fetal sonography showed normal development. The newborn baby presented high levels of TRAb (240 IU/L) and developed neonatal thyrotoxicosis on day 8. Adequate monitoring, treatment, and follow-up of the newborn baby ensured normal thyroid function until disappearance of TRAb 6 weeks after birth. CONCLUSION: Multiple sclerosis patients treated with ALZ may develop severe Graves' disease with an increased risk of both fetal and neonatal thyrotoxicosis. Close follow-up with a multidisciplinary approach is needed to ensure a healthy outcome.

Vitamin D-binding protein and 25-hydroxyvitamin D during pregnancy in mothers whose children later developed type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH D) during late pregnancy have been linked to type 1 diabetes risk in the offspring. Vitamin D-binding protein increases in concentration during pregnancy. We aimed to test whether concentrations of vitamin D-binding protein and 25-OH D throughout pregnancy differed between women whose offspring later developed type 1 diabetes (cases) and controls. METHODS: A nested case-control study was conducted within a cohort of pregnant women from all over Norway in 1992-1994. Offspring registered in The Norwegian Childhood Diabetes Registry, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes before age 15, defined the case women, giving 113 cases in the study. Two hundred twenty controls were randomly selected within the same cohort. One to four serum samples from each participant drawn at different time points during pregnancy were analysed for vitamin D-binding protein and 25-OH D by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: Vitamin D-binding protein and 25-OH D significantly increased by gestational week (p < 0.001) and tended to be lower in cases than in controls, -0.27 µmol/L (95% CI -0.57, 0.03) and -5.01 nmol/L (95% CI -8.03, -0.73), respectively. While first and second trimester concentrations of vitamin D-binding protein and 25-OH D alone were not significantly different, lower third trimester concentrations tended to be associated with higher risk of type 1 diabetes in the offspring, albeit at borderline significance after mutual adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: In this first study of maternal vitamin D-binding protein measured throughout pregnancy and risk of type 1 diabetes in offspring, lower concentration, particularly in the third trimester, tended to be associated with type 1 diabetes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Maternal serum levels of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D during pregnancy and risk of type 1 diabetes in the offspring.

Previous studies indicate reduced risk of type 1 diabetes after intake of vitamin D supplements during pregnancy or early childhood. We aimed to test whether lower maternal serum concentrations of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25-OH D) during pregnancy were associated with an increased risk of childhood-onset type 1 diabetes. In this case-control study nested within a cohort of 29,072 women in Norway, 25-OH D levels were measured using a radioimmunoassay on samples from late pregnancy in 109 women delivering a child who developed type 1 diabetes before 15 years of age (case subjects) and from 219 control women. Dividing the levels of maternal 25-OH D into quartiles, there was a trend toward a higher risk of type 1 diabetes with lower levels of vitamin D during pregnancy. The odds of type 1 diabetes was more than twofold higher for the offspring of women with the lowest levels of 25-OH D compared with the offspring of those with levels above the upper quartile. Given future replication in independent cohorts, our findings provide support for the initiation of a randomized intervention trial to prevent type 1 diabetes in children by enhancing maternal 25-OH D status during pregnancy.