Infants of Diabetic Mothers With Special Reference to Neonatal Adrenocortical Function as Assessed by Urinary Excretion of Corticoids and Tests Using Adrenocorticotrophic Hormones

Excretion of corticosteroids by infants of diabetic and pre-diabetic mothers.

“…However, the output of this particular steroid in the urine of infants of diabetic mothers has been no higher than has been found in the urine of full-term or of premature infants, whether normal or stressed, and the difference in steroid output in infants of diabetic mothers is due to a general increase in other Zimmermann chromogens in this Fraction. This over-all increase in Zimmermann chromogen excretion in the infants of diabetic mothers lends support to the earlier study of Bjorklund and Jensen (1955) and is a further pointer to some degree of hyperadrenocorticism in these infants. Osler and Pedersen (1960) have put forward convincing arguments against hyperadrenocorticism being a major cause of the foetal overgrowth in infants of diabetic mothers.…”

“…Using such methods for the assay of groups of steroids, Rose (1960) found the corticosteroid excretion of infants of diabetic mothers to be normal, while Bjorklund (1954) and Farquhar (1956a) found it increased, and Field, Smith, and Reardon (1963) reported that the output of Porter-Silber chromogens in the urine of such infants when they developed respiratory distress was approximately twice as high as the output of these compounds in stressed premature infants born to women who did not suffer from diabetes.…”

Infants of Diabetic Mothers With Special Reference to Neonatal Adrenocortical Function as Assessed by Urinary Excretion of 17-Ketosteroids

“…In case 4 the administration of 5 mg. of ACTH on the sixth day did not produce any rise in the urinary 17-KS. The administration of ACTH to infants of diabetic mothers has been shown in the majority of cases to give a significant fall in the total number of eosinophils (Björklund, 1954). The previously mentioned hypothesis (Venning et al, 1949), that stress associated with atelectasis may be the cause of the increased adrenocortical function in these infants, is not supported by this investigation.…”