ABSTRACT
A study of 15 insulin-dependent diabetics (IDD), 4 gestational diabetics (GDM), and 21 non-diabetic women was undertaken to assess non-enzymatic glycosylation in maternal hair, cord skin, and cord blood. Glycosylation of maternal hair was stable from tip to root in controls. In the IDD group, levels were highest at the tip, but were significantly lower in the middle and scalp segment (p less than 0.01), both tip and middle segments were higher than control values (p less than 0.01). In contrast, only the scalp segment of hair from the GDM group had a higher than normal level of glycosylation (p less than 0.01). Cord skin and cord blood glycosylation were significantly increased in the IDD group compared with normal (0.100 +/- 0.002 vs 0.074 +/- 0.008 mumol fructosamine/100 mg, p less than 0.01, and 0.160 +/- 0.002 vs 0.14 +/- 0.008, p less than 0.05, mean +/- S.E.M.), respectively. Only cord skin glycosylation was increased in the GDM group (0.116 +/- 0.003, p less than 0.01). Thus near normal glycaemic control of maternal insulin-dependent diabetes during pregnancy was associated with small but significant increases in cord skin glycosylation and a fall towards normal in maternal hair glycosylation which may provide a useful retrospective index of diabetic control.
