After administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG; 500 IU/kg intramuscularly), the blood concentration of free fatty acids increases within 30 min in 1-day-old full-term, premature and small-for-date newborns. This effect does not appear in 1-day-old newborns of diabetic mothers with insulin-dependent diabetes, in 7-day-old newborns nor in adults. Glucose concentration rises in all groups of newborns, and no effect is observed in adults. In the in vitro study, HCG increases lipolysis in newborns’ adipose tissue. This effect was not observed in adults.
Changes of glycogen content in the subcutaneous adipose tissue were followed in 43 infants of insulin-treated diabetic mothers, in 25 infants of gestational diabetic mothers and in 89 infants of healthy mothers. In infants of diabetic mothers and in infants of healthy mothers oxygen consumption and carbon dioxyde output were also examined. Newborns of insulin-treated diabetic mothers and gestational diabetic mothers exhibit in comparison with control newborns higher values and diverse dynamics of glycogen content in the subcutaneous adipose tissue as an indicator of glycogen reserves in the first hours and days after delivery. The low oxygen consumption and increased RQ indicate preferential utilization of carbohydrates possibly together with increased lipogenesis in newborns of mothers with overt diabetes.
Glycerokinase activity was measured in brain and liver tissue of decreased low birth weight newborns. No glycerokinase activity was found in the brain. In the liver a relatively high activity of glycerokinase was ascertained even in very immature newborns.
The glycogen content of the subcutaneous adipose tissue was examined in 164 newborns of different birth weights. It amounted to 0.48 ± 0.05 mg glycogen/g wet weight on average and did not depend on the weight of the newborn, week of gestation in the 38th to 41st week of pregnancy and duration of labor. In small-for-date newborns the glycogen content per gram wet weight was equal to the eutrophic and large-for-date newborns. The amount of fat tissue and also the total glycogen content in small-for-date newborns, however, is substantially lower. The glycogen content decreases in the first hours of life. It reaches the lowest values at 24–48 h of life. This bears witness to the quick depletion of glycogen reserves of the subcutaneous adipose tissue. The different amounts of carbohydrate and fat reserves stress the importance of early nutrition in some groups of newborns, especially of low-birth-weight newborns.
Subsequent to the spontaneous rupture of membranes in the 40th week of pregnancy, and in the course of labour inductions in cases of prolonged pregnancy (42nd week) and of diabetic mothers in the 40th week of pregnancy, the concentration of amino acids in the amniotic fluid was studied. In the group of diabetic mothers the concentrations of lysine, histidine, cysteic acid, taurine, serine, glutamic acid, glycine, alanine and phenylalanine are significantly higher. The arteriovenous difference found for some amino acids in the umbilical blood of physiological fetuses is absent in the fetuses of diabetic mothers.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.