Effect of maternal undernutrition on human foetal pancreas morphology in second trimester of pregnancy.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Maternal undernutrition and hyperglycaemia during pregnancy, as well as foetal undernutrition affecting the development of foetal endocrine pancreas structure and function, especially that of ß-cells is well known. This study was undertaken to look into the changes in pancreatic islets morphology of aborted normal human foetuses (16-20 wk old) of undernourished and adequately nourished mothers. METHODS: Foetuses were collected over a 24 month period from medically terminated pregnancies of six undernourished mothers (BMI <18.5 kg/m² and eight adequately nourished mothers (BMI >18.5 kg/m². The sections were stained with haematoxylin & eosin as well as Masson trichrome for morphometric estimates such as islet count, area, volume, etc. and immunohistochemistry analysis of ß-cells for insulin presence was done. RESULTS: Significant correlations between maternal and foetal parameters were seen. However, there were no statistically significant differences in the number, size or density and beta cell counts of the pancreas among foetal pancreas of mothers with BMI <18.5 and >18.5 kg/m². INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that nutritional status of the mother may not have profound influence on the morphology of beta cells of foetal pancreas in second trimester of pregnancy. Further studies need to be done to confirm these findings.

Excessive ingestion of fluoride and the significance of sialic acid: glycosaminoglycans in the serum of rabbit and human subjects.

The levels of sialic acid and glycosaminoglycans were explored in the sera of rabbit and human subjects who ingested fluoride and had clinical manifestation of fluorosis. Changes observed in the level of these chemical constituents in sera possibly reflect changes occurring in calcified and noncalcified tissues due to fluoride intoxication. The ratio of sialic acid content vs glycosaminoglycans revealed there was a 50% reduction in rabbit and human sera. The test is recommended for evaluating the prognosis of fluoride poisoning/fluorosis.