The pathogenesis and pathophysiology of gestational diabetes mellitus: Deductions from a three-part longitudinal metabolomics study in China

Publication date: Available online 14 February 2017 Source:Clinica Chimica Acta Author(s): Kai P. Law, Hua Zhang Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a form of diabetes that is first recognised during pregnancy, with no evidence of pre-existing type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The prevalence of GDM has been rising steadily over the past few decades, coinciding with the ongoing epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Although GDM normally disappears after delivery, women who have been previously diagnosed with GDM are at a greater risk of developing gestational diabetes in subsequent pregnancies, and type 2 diabetes later in life. Infants born to mothers with GDM also have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes in their teens or early adulthood. There are many possible causes of insulin resistance, and multiple metabolic aberrants are known to be involved in the development of different forms of diabetes. Increasing evidence suggests that different forms of diabetes share common pathogenesis and pathophysiological dysregulation resulting from a progressive β-cell demise or dysfunction. The outcome manifests clinically as hyperglycaemia. The development of GDM may represent a very early stage of the progression to type 2 diabetes that is being manifested under the stresses of pregnancy. However, the exact mechanisms of GDM development are not clearly understood. Based on the results of a three-part longitudinal metabolomics study of Chinese pregnant women, in combination...
Source: Clinica Chimica Acta - Category: Laboratory Medicine Source Type: research