Review of general suggestions on physical activity to prevent and treat gestational and pre-existing diabetes during pregnancy and in postpartum.

The aim of this review is to provide general suggestions on physical activity (PA) in pre-gestational and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and encourage women to take part in safe and effective activities throughout pregnancy, in the absence of other contraindications. PA before and during pregnancy and in postpartum has many positive effects on the mother, as it could reduce the risk of GDM, excessive weight gain and lower back pain and also prevents, in the postpartum, diabetes mellitus. It may also reduce the duration of labour and complications at childbirth, fatigue, stress, anxiety and depression, thereby leading to an improved sense of wellbeing. Clinically, it is thought to help prevent preeclampsia and premature birth even though RCTs provide conflicting evidence with regard to the prevention of GDM. The main reason for this rests on the fact that the majority of clinical trials have not been able to replicate the preventive effect of PA on the onset of GDM, such as the different adherence of the patient to PA. Herein, we survey the literature regarding exercise and PA on GDM prevention and treatment as well as on clinical outcomes in pre-GDM in pregnancy. On the basis of the current literature, we also present a series of general recommendations and suggestions on PA and exercise training in pregnancy among both diabetic patients and those at risk for GDM.

Fetal pancreatic function in infants of diabetic and rhesus-isoimmunized women.

OBJECTIVE: To measure insulin and glucagon concentrations in amniotic fluid (AF) collected near term in basal conditions and after an arginine test in diabetic, rhesus-isoimmunized, and control pregnant women. METHODS: At baseline, AF was collected from 44 diabetic, 32 rhesus-isoimmunized, and 27 control pregnant women in late pregnancy. Fifty-two diabetic, six rhesus-isoimmunized, and nine control pregnant women had amniocentesis 2 hours after arginine infusion (30 g intravenous/30 minutes) at 33-36 weeks. RESULTS: Baseline AF glucose concentrations were significantly greater in diabetic women than the other conditions, and they related to the gestational age in the women with hemolytic disease of the newborn. Insulin and glucagon AF content of isoimmunized pregnancies overlapped controls, whereas insulin and insulin/glucagon molar ratios were significantly higher, and glucagon values lower, in diabetic pregnancies compared with isoimmunized and control pregnancies. In isoimmunized pregnancies, the AF concentrations of glucose, insulin, and glucagon were correlated with gestational age (less than 34, 34 weeks or more). The samples collected after arginine infusion, compared with those collected at baseline, showed significantly greater insulin and insulin/glucagon molar ratio values in diabetic (28 +/- 5 versus 11 +/- 1 microU/mL, P = .001; 29.4 +/- 1.7 versus 12.0 +/- 2.8, P = .001) and in Rh pregnant women (18 +/- 6 versus 7.7 +/- 0.7 microU/mL, P = .001; 30 +/- 9 versus 3.4 +/- 0.4 I/G, P = .001), whereas no significant difference was observed in the controls. CONCLUSION: Basal islet hormone concentrations in AF are modified by maternal diabetes and further influenced by arginine administration. Arginine produces an AF response that is similar in pregnancies complicated by diabetes mellitus and rhesus-isoimmunization, despite different (hyperglycemia and euglycemia) maternal blood glucose levels.

Blood pressure monitoring in diabetic pregnancy.

Hypertensive disorders which complicate 5-10% of all pregnancies are more frequent in diabetic women. We longitudinally monitored blood pressure (BP) for a 24 h period in 54 diabetic out patients, at each trimester of pregnancy, in order to observe the relationship between the blood pressure behaviour and the main clinical features of these subjects. A relationship was found between blood pressure and the diabetes type. In insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) women, the age of diagnosis and the diabetes duration played the major role whereas, in non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) women only the patients' age was correlated with the BP levels. Higher BP levels were found in women belonging to the White class D, and whose diabetes duration was more than 10 years. An interesting correlation was also demonstrated between BP and insulin requirement, in late pregnancy as well as the time of delivery. Early in pregnancy, BP levels, even if within normal range, were undoubtedly higher in those women who developed hypertension compared to those who continued to be normotensive. Daytime BP values were always found higher than night-time BP values but, the physiological biorhythm seemed to be altered at the end of pregnancy.

Diabetes and pregnancy: prophylaxis of genital infections.

Diabetic pregnant women have many potential reasons to have genital infections such as poor metabolic control and impairement of leucocyte function. Relative immune deficiency exists in pregnancy. This study was designed to test the hypotheses that pregnant patients with insulin-dependent diabetes have a higher rate of ante partum genital infections when compared with a pair-matched control population. Two groups of pregnant women consisting of 23 patients with and 23 without diabetes mellitus, underwent colposcopy and cytology between 16th and 24th week of gestation to detect the presence of human papilloma virus (HPV), Gardnerella vaginalis, Candida albicans and aspecific infections. No significant differences were observed between the two groups.

Telemedicine in the treatment of diabetic pregnancy.

Good diabetic control requires that treatment be continuously adapted to the patient behavior. We investigated whether the use of telemedicine could present an advantage to the management of the diabetic woman during pregnancy. A system completely automatic (DIANET system) was used. Twenty IDDM women participated in the study: 10 treated by telemedicine and 10 by conventional system, at times "entry" (9.5 weeks), "basal" (9.5-16.8 weeks), "1st month" of investigation, and "end" (near delivery). All women used intensified protocols of insulin administration. The treatment with DIANET vs conventional showed a better metabolic control as estimated by profile of blood glucose absolute values (at time "end": values significantly lower before breakfast: 87 +/- 6 vs 104 +/- 4 mg, lunch: 85 +/- 5 vs 104 +/- 4 mg, and after dinner: 102 +/- 5 vs 124 +/- 6 mg). These results were associated with higher insulin doses in the DIANET vs conventional treatment, and a significant reduction of hypoglycemic reaction in both group. Our results suggest that telemedicine-DIANET is a practical way of providing specialist care in the pregnancy area.

IGF-1 levels in diabetic pregnant women and their infants.

Plasma IGF-1 was measured in 38 diabetic pregnant women (DPW) and in 12 non diabetic pregnant women (NDPW) during the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy. IGF-1 was measured in the cord blood of 24 infants of diabetic mothers (IDDM) and IGF-1 in 11 infants of non diabetic mothers (NIDDM). A progressive and significant (p < 0.0001) increase of IGF-1 values was found throughout the pregnancy both in DPW and NDPW IGF-1 (149 +/- 18 ng/ml vs 181 +/- 14 ng/ml, 184 +/- 17 ng/ml vs 232 +/- 25 ng/ml, 279 +/- 20 ng/ml vs 325 +/- 17 ng/ml). Furthermore IGF-1 decreased significantly soon after delivery in both groups of women. In type 1 diabetic pregnant women IGF-1 values were significantly lower than the controlled non diabetic patients. IGF-1 in the cord blood was significantly higher in IDDM than in NIDDM 86 +/- 7 ng/ml and 62 +/- 7 ng/ml respectively (p < 0.03). In addition, DPW plasma levels IGF-1 were positively correlated with the weight of the placenta (r = 0.233, p < 0.03) and negatively correlated with the diabetes duration (r = 0.412, p < 0.05). No correlations were found between IGF-1 cord blood concentrations and gestational age, birth weight and length, but there was a significant correlation with weight percentile (r = 0.846, p < 0.001). No correlation was found between maternal IGF-1 plasma levels and other parameters like insulin need, weight gain, metabolic control and time of delivery.

Plasma met-enkephalin levels in diabetic patients: influence of autonomic neuropathy.

The presence of opioid peptides within pancreatic islets in several animal species and in humans suggests that these peptides could play a role in pancreatic endocrine secretion, influencing glucose metabolism. We measured plasma met-enkephalin (met-Enk) levels in eight neuropathic (four with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [IDDM] and four with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [NIDDM]) and eight nonneuropathic (four IDDM and four NIDDM) diabetic patients to study met-Enk secretion in diabetic patients with asymptomatic autonomic neuropathy. Plasma met-Enk levels were significantly lower in neuropathic compared with nonneuropathic patients both in the IDDM group (28.7 +/- 4.8 v 61.6 +/- 4.1 pg/mL, P < .0025) and in the NIDDM group (26.5 +/- 3.6 v 44.3 +/- 4.6 pg/mL, P < .0125). This study suggests that the presence of neuropathy in diabetic patients, even if asymptomatic, is associated with a significant decrease of plasma met-Enk levels, thus contributing to a worsening of metabolic control under stress conditions.

[Somatomedins/insulin-like growth factors (IGFs): chemical and functional characteristics]. / Somatomedine/fattori di crescita insulino-simili (IGFs): caratteristiche chimiche e funzionali.

The insulin-like growth factors constitute a family of peptides which have structural homology with proinsulin, and which possess broad anabolic and mitogenic action in wide variety of tissues. The two main forms of IGFs in serum of adults are insulin-like growth factor I (IGFI) and insulin-like growth factor II (IGFII). IGFI appears to be the major growth factor involved in postnatal growth and is believed to mediate most (if not all) of the growth promoting effects of growth hormone (GH). IGFII may be involved in embryonic and fetal growth. It is the aim of this article to present an account of recent advances in the understanding of the origins, functions, and clinical significance of these peptides. Particularly the role of IGFs in fetal growth during normal and diabetic pregnancies.

Influence of maternal metabolic control and insulin antibodies on neonatal complications and B cell function in infants of diabetic mothers.

Circulating insulin antibodies at birth and the degree of maternal metabolic control were measured in 68 infants of insulin-treated diabetic mothers. Their correlation with neonatal B cell function and with the clinical features of the infants was evaluated in order to better understand their influence on fetal outcome. Maternal metabolic control was assessed on the basis of blood glucose levels, glycosuria and the occurrence of hypoglycemia and/or ketonuria. All infants were clinically evaluated for gestational age, macrosomia, hypoglycemia, hyperbilirubinemia, hypocalcemia, and respiratory distress syndrome. Cord blood plasma glucose, C peptide, and IgG insulin antibodies were also measured. It was shown that poor maternal metabolic control was associated with a higher prevalence of fetal morbidity as well as with signs of B cell hyperfunction. Also the presence of circulating insulin antibodies correlated well with higher C peptide levels and with several neonatal complications. B cell hyperfunction, indicated by high C peptide levels in the infants of diabetic mothers, may possibly play a causal role in the pathogenesis of fetal morbidity. In conclusion, a good fetal outcome in insulin-treated diabetic pregnancies was associated with and may have depended upon: (1) good maternal metabolic control, and (2) absence or low levels of circulating insulin antibodies.