title: Microvascular reactivity in women with gestational diabetes mellitus studied during pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare microvascular reactivity assessed in the skin using laser Doppler fluximetry (LDF) in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and gestational age-matched control during pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  110 pregnant women at ~33 weeks gestation participated in the study. Skin microvascular reactivity was evaluated by LDF, at rest, during the response to brief arterial occlusion (post occlusive hyperaemic response) and during sympathetically mediated vasoconstrictor response to deep inspiratory breath hold.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No statistically significant differences were found in the microvascular variables studied (resting and maximum rate flux, post-ischaemic reactive hyperaemia and deep inspiratory breath holds) between +GDM and -GDM groups women. In women with GDM there was a negative correlation between resting flux and the response to the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), r = -0.282 (p = 0.037). There was also a negative correlation between the response to the OGTT and the sympathetically mediated constrictor response to inspiratory breath holds (r = -.298, p = .030) but not in women with GDM (r = .102, r = .468).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Attenuated microvascular reactivity as an early marker of endothelial dysfunction is not present in women with GDM when assessed during pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Mother and Child Unit, Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira (IMIP), Rua dos Coelhos, 300, 50070-550 Boa Vista Recife, Pernambuco Brazil.
authors.forename: Isabelle Ea
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Pontes
authors.affiliation: Mother and Child Unit, Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira (IMIP), Rua dos Coelhos, 300, 50070-550 Boa Vista Recife, Pernambuco Brazil.
authors.forename: Karine F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Afra
authors.affiliation: Mother and Child Unit, Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira (IMIP), Rua dos Coelhos, 300, 50070-550 Boa Vista Recife, Pernambuco Brazil.
authors.forename: José R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Paulo Sn
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Borges
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Geraldine F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Clough
authors.affiliation: Mother and Child Unit, Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira (IMIP), Rua dos Coelhos, 300, 50070-550 Boa Vista Recife, Pernambuco Brazil.
authors.forename: João Gb
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Alves
keywords: Endothelium function; Gestational diabetes; Microcirculation; Pregnancy