[Morphological changes in the brain of fetuses and newborn infants with diabetic fetopathy]

Brains of 13 newborns and 7 foetuses dying intranatally from mothers suffering from diabetes mellitus were examined. Morphological changes found permit making the conclusion about an unfavourable influence of diabetes mellitus on the developing foetus. Developmental disturbances in the central nervous system, such as slow down of the migration and differentiation of cells and degenerative changes in nervous and glial cells were observed. The cortex and brain stem were equally damaged. Certain morphological alterations in the hippocamp and vessels allow one to presume a relatively specific action of the mother diabetes mellitus on the foetal brain as similar changes are observed in adults with diabetes mellitus.