The Impact of Diabetes on Hippocampus

Maternal Diabetes is one of the most common metabolic disorders resulting an increased risk of abnormalities in the developing fetus and offspring. It is estimated that the prevalence of diabetes during pregnancy among women in developing countries is approximately 4.5 percent and this range varies between 1 to 14 percent in different societies. According to earlier studies, diabetes during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of maternal and child mortality and morbidity as well as major congenital anomalies including central nervous system (CNS) in their offspring. Multiple lines of evidence have suggested that infants of diabetic women are at risk of having neurodevelopmental sequelae. Previous studies reveal that the offspring of diabetic mothers exhibit disturbances in behavioral and intellectual functioning. In the examination of cognitive functioning, a poorer performance was observed in the children born to diabetic mothers when compared with the children of non-diabetic mothers. Therefore, it is important to study the possible effects of maternal diabetes on the hippocampus of these infants.