Response of unborn children to glucose associated with mother's insulin sensitivity - Medical News Today
A study published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) is the first to provide direct evidence that fetal brain response to a dose of sugar given orally to its mother is associated with the mother's insulin sensitivity. This may indicate that the risk of subsequent obesity and diabetes may be pre-programmed in the womb. The study is by Dr Hubert Preissl and Dr Andreas Fritsche, University of Tübingen, Germany and German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Neuherberg, Germany, and colleagues.
(snip)
They suggest that the findings support a hypothesis first made almost 50 years ago (1967) by scientist Jørgen Pedersen. The authors say: "It is possible that insulin-resistant mothers have higher glucose levels accompanied by increased insulin levels after a meal. As glucose passes the placenta, these increased glucose levels induce excess insulin (hyperinsulinaemeia) in the fetus. Therefore, high insulin levels in the mother may correspond to high insulin levels in the fetus."
They add: "It is possible that high insulin levels are a prerequisite for appropriate brain maturation. However, chronic hyperinsulinaemia, which is present in insulin-resistant mothers and corresponds to high insulin levels in the fetus, might induce insulin resistance in the fetal brain."
The authors also discuss other possible reasons for the difference in audio response times, including that the insulin resistance of the mother may be associated with limited insulin transport into the fetal brain; alternatively, the insulin resistance of the mother may be associated with a variety of other hormonal and metabolic fuel effects that control the response of the fetal brain.
The consequences for the unborn child are also spelt out, with the authors saying: "The insulin resistance of the fetal brain may be interpreted as metabolic imprinting of insulin resistance with important consequences for later life. The consequent effect of hyperinsulinaemia on fetal development has already been shown. Compared with newborns of non-diabetic women, children of diabetic mothers with poorly controlled glycaemia show neurophysiological impairment and have a higher risk for metabolic syndrome, obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus in later life."
A study published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) is the first to provide direct evidence that fetal brain response to a dose of sugar given orally to its mother is associated with the mother's insulin sensitivity. This may indicate that the risk of subsequent obesity and diabetes may be pre-programmed in the womb. The study is by Dr Hubert Preissl and Dr Andreas Fritsche, University of Tübingen, Germany and German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Neuherberg, Germany, and colleagues.
(snip)
They suggest that the findings support a hypothesis first made almost 50 years ago (1967) by scientist Jørgen Pedersen. The authors say: "It is possible that insulin-resistant mothers have higher glucose levels accompanied by increased insulin levels after a meal. As glucose passes the placenta, these increased glucose levels induce excess insulin (hyperinsulinaemeia) in the fetus. Therefore, high insulin levels in the mother may correspond to high insulin levels in the fetus."
They add: "It is possible that high insulin levels are a prerequisite for appropriate brain maturation. However, chronic hyperinsulinaemia, which is present in insulin-resistant mothers and corresponds to high insulin levels in the fetus, might induce insulin resistance in the fetal brain."
The authors also discuss other possible reasons for the difference in audio response times, including that the insulin resistance of the mother may be associated with limited insulin transport into the fetal brain; alternatively, the insulin resistance of the mother may be associated with a variety of other hormonal and metabolic fuel effects that control the response of the fetal brain.
The consequences for the unborn child are also spelt out, with the authors saying: "The insulin resistance of the fetal brain may be interpreted as metabolic imprinting of insulin resistance with important consequences for later life. The consequent effect of hyperinsulinaemia on fetal development has already been shown. Compared with newborns of non-diabetic women, children of diabetic mothers with poorly controlled glycaemia show neurophysiological impairment and have a higher risk for metabolic syndrome, obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus in later life."