Edina Berberović

Cardiac myxoma in diabetic pregnancy

Myxomas are very rare and benign neoplasms [1]. These tumors usually presentwith specific signs or symptoms related to their location and size. Cardiac myxomas have been reported during pregnancy in 17 previous cases [2]. Most common clinical symptoms include dyspnea, dizziness, or syncope. Less commonly, symptoms arise from arterial or venous emboli with resulting cerebral ischemia [3]. Myxomas must be considered as a surgical emergency to prevent complications such as embolic events and sudden death [4]. The present case describes a right atrial myxoma diagnosed in a 31-year-old diabetic patient in her first pregnancy. The patient had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy at the age of 9 years, and had received ongoing treatment with an insulin pump. In October 2011 hypertension was diagnosed at 13 weeks of

Higher cord blood levels of fatty acids in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Context Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is associated with a disturbance of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Objective To determine whether T1DM alters maternal and neonatal fatty acid (FA) levels. Design Observational study. Setting Academic hospital. Patients Sixty pregnant women (30 women with T1DM with good glycemic control and 30 healthy women) were included in the study. Maternal blood, umbilical vein, and artery blood samples were collected immediately upon delivery. Following lipid extraction, the FA profiles of the total FA pool of maternal serum and umbilical vein and artery serum were determined by gas chromatography. Results Total FA concentration in maternal serum did not differ between the study groups; it was significantly higher in umbilical vein serum of the T1DM group compared with that in the control group [median (interquartile range)]: T1DM 2126.2 (1446.4 to 3181.3) and control 1073.8 (657.5 to 2226.0; P < 0.001), and in umbilical artery vein serum: T1DM 1805.7 (1393.1 to 2125.0) and control 990.0 (643.3 to 1668.0; P < 0.001). Composition of FAs in umbilical vein serum showed significantly higher concentrations of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated FAs (SFAs, MUFAs, and PUFAs, respectively) in the T1DM group than compared with those in the control group (P = 0.001). Furthermore, cord blood levels of leptin (P < 0.001), C-peptide (P < 0.001), and insulin resistance (P = 0.015) were higher in the T1DM group compared with controls. Conclusion The neonates born to mothers with T1DM had higher concentrations of total FAs, SFAs and MUFAs, as well as PUFAs, compared with control newborns.