Fetal Brain Activity in Pregnancy of Women with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

We previously found gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) to be associated with prolonged fetal auditory evoked brain responses (fAER) in fetal magnetoencephalography (fMEG). We asked whether maternal type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) may alter fetal brain activity. Pregnant women with well-controlled T1D (n=4, A1c <6.5%) were measured with fMEG before and 60 min. after a defined meal. Latencies of fAER were analyzed. We obtained two control groups of women with GDM (n=8) and normal glucose tolerance (NGT, n=8) out of 151 pregnant women with fAER measurements during a 75g OGTT. The groups were carefully matched by gestational age and pre-pregnancy maternal BMI. ANOVA showed a main effect of group on the change in latency between baseline and postprandial state (F(2)=4.14, p=.034). In accordance with our previous results, in post-hoc tests the change of latency was smaller in the GDM than the NGT group (p=.032). No difference was found in the change of latency between T1D and NGT or GDM. The number of fetuses showing faster fAER postprandially is higher in T1D and NGT than in GDM. For details see Table. To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating fAER in maternal T1D. In contrast to GDM, our preliminary results indicate that well-controlled maternal T1D does not impair fetal postprandial brain activity. These findings may indicate that fAER are associated with metabolic features mainly present in maternal insulin resistance.Latency of fetal auditory evoked responses in ms (mean±SD)GroupnBaseline (0 min)Postprandial (60 min)ChangeNumber of fetuses with speeding up of fAERNGT8277 (±103)204 (±89)- 72 (±81)7/8 (88%)T1D4257 (±57)262 (±151)+ 6 (±119)3/4 (75%)GDM8222 (±82)288 (±74)+ 65 (±100)3/8 (38%) Disclosure E. Fehlert: None. F. Schleger: None. K. Linder: None. M. Heni: Research Support; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Novo Nordisk Inc.. H. Haering: None. H. Preissl: None. A. Fritsche: Advisory Panel; Self; Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, Novo Nordisk A/S, Eli Lilly and Company, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH.