title: Effect of gestational diabetes and intrauterine growth restriction on the offspring's circulating galanin at birth.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Experimental studies linked gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) with altered expression of the offspring's hypothalamic galanin mRNA, possibly contributing to the development of obesity and metabolic syndrome in later life. We hypothesized that plasma galanin levels at birth would reflect presumably altered hypothalamic galanin expression and production that cannot be assessed in the human offspring.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our objective was to investigate whether neonates born to GDM mothers or being IUGR differ from healthy ones in circulating galanin at birth.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-five neonates born to GDM mothers, 25 with IUGR, and 15 healthy neonates (controls) were prospectively studied. Neonatal plasma galanin levels were assayed immediately after birth by using enzyme immunoassay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Neonatal plasma galanin showed a high variability within each group and did not differ significantly among the three groups of neonates. No correlation between plasma galanin and anthropometric maternal and neonatal data was found. Multiple linear regression confirmed that the neonatal group (infants of diabetic mothers, IUGR, and controls) was not an independent predictor for galanin levels at birth after controlling for possible confounders, i.e. maternal body mass index and weight gain during pregnancy and neonatal body mass index.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Circulating galanin levels at birth are not affected by GDM and IUGR, providing no evidence for alternations in hypothalamic galanin expression and secretion in humans, as they were previously documented in experimental models. This fact precludes the use of plasma galanin as an early indicator for the development of obesity and metabolic syndrome in this high-risk population.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Neonatology, Hippokration Hospital, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54352 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stergiou
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Diamanti
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Agakidis
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sarafidis
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mantzou
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Drossou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D019004:Galanin / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D036801:Parturition / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019004:Galanin