Screening recommendations for gestational diabetes mellitus

Article Abstract:

Gestational diabetes mellitus (carbohydrate intolerance), first recognized or beginning during pregnancy, is the most common metabolic disorder of pregnant women. Due to lack of insulin, or its ineffectiveness, the ingestion of glucose and other sugars results in abnormally high blood levels of glucose. It is important to identify women with this disorder because it is associated with significant metabolic alterations leading to increased maternal illnesses such as high blood pressure (hypertension) and higher rates of illness or death at delivery. Long-term complications from gestational diabetes include increased risk of permanent diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and maternal death; the infant also has a higher risk of childhood obesity, diabetes, and mental and physical impairment. A variety of methods have been proposed for screening gestational diabetes. The most recommended single screening method is testing blood glucose levels one hour after the pregnant patient ingests 50 grams of glucose. The blood glucose level that is considered abnormal should be no more than 140 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl); more cases are detected when the threshold is 130 mg/dl. Due to the high rate of illness and death associated with gestational diabetes, all pregnant women should be screened at least once for the disorder, preferably between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation. Women with glucose levels that exceed the designated threshold should then be given a three hour oral glucose tolerance test to ascertain whether diabetes is indeed present. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Evaluation, Diagnosis, Medical screening, Health screening, editorial

---

A population-based study of maternal and perinatal outcome in patients with gestational diabetes

Article Abstract:

Gestational diabetes is a disorder of sugar intolerance during pregnancy. Diabetes is characterized by a lack of insulin production, a hormone essential for the metabolism of glucose, or blood sugar. Infants born to mothers having gestational diabetes are larger, have lower blood sugar, and higher levels of bilirubin, a by-product of red blood cell destruction, than normal infants. In this population-based study, 2,272 patients were evaluated for the effect of gestational diabetes on the health of the mother and the infant. When compared with a group of healthy patients, the mothers with gestational diabetes were generally older, shorter in stature, weighed more and had more children. Although the cesarean section rate was higher in the diabetic group, this statistic could be explained by the need for a repeat section because of a previous cesarean delivery. The increased cesarean rate may have been responsible for the higher infection rate in the diabetic patients. Controlling high maternal blood glucose by insulin administration and diet did not offer improvements in infant weight and there was no statistical relationship between insulin or diet and infant weight. Maternal weight was the only predictive indicator of infant weight in the mothers with gestational diabetes. It is suggested that control of the mother's weight could prevent the larger babies born to these mothers. It is suggested that factors influencing growth in fetuses born to mothers having gestational diabetes be further investigated.

Research, Physiological aspects, Infants (Newborn), Newborn infants

---

Dual fluorescence analysis of DNA apoptosis in sperm

Article Abstract:

The Hoechst 33342 stain combined with propidium iodide is a more effective stain than Hoechst 33342 alone for identifying damaged sperm. This is important because sperm are used during intracytoplasmic sperm injection for treating infertility. However, damaged sperm are less likely to fertilize the egg so they must be identified and separated from the normal sperm.

Medical examination, Spermatozoa, Sperm, Apoptosis

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Dental considerations for the patient with renal disease receiving hemodialysis. The dental patient with asthma: an update and oral health considerations
• Abstracts: Defibrillator failures: causes of problems and recommendations for improvement. Frequency and types of medical emergencies among commercial air travelers
• Abstracts: Fetal genitourinary tract anomalies: evaluation, operative correction, and follow-up. Lethal fetal anomalies: sonographic demonstration
• Abstracts: Progress toward eradicating poliomyelitis from the Americas. Progress toward global eradication of poliomyelitis, 2002
• Abstracts: The frequency and natural history of diabetes insipidus in children with Langerhans-cell histiocytosis. Molecular insights into diabetes mellitus

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.