Susceptibility to pregnancy disease in ewes and its relation to gestational diabetes.

The ability of 8 pregnant ewes to maintain glucose homeostasis following an intravenous glucose load (glucose tolerance test) and during starvation in late pregnancy was studied. Following an intravenous load 2 out of 7 ewes tested showed an impaired insulin secretion during the first 10–15 min. An increase in plasma insulin concentration was found 50–60 min after the injection. The results of the effect of a starvation on a number of blood constituents are demonstrated. Two of the twin–pregnant ewes developed symptoms of pregnancy disease following starvation, these were the same ewes that showed an impaired insulin secretion after the glucose load. However, no difference was demonstrated in the clinical chemical parameters whether the experimental ewes developed pregnancy disease or not.