[Plasma hormonal pattern of the late diabetic pregnancy (author's transl)].

Plasma estradiol, estriol, progesterone, H.C.S. and cortisol were measured (RIA methods) every two days, in 20 diabetic pregnancies (classes B, C or D of White), between the 33th week and the delivery, and were compared with normal pregnancies. Estriol was always normal, and progesterone values were at the upper limit of the normal range; estradiol, H.C.S. and cortisol were normal or elevated, with mean values significantly higher than controls. E2 and/or progesterone dramatically decreased in 5 cases before birth, just as the urinary measurements. In this study, the insulin requirements were not correlated with these plasma hormone values. Besides pathogenic hypothesis )glycemic control of H.C.S. and cortisol--abnormalities of metabolic pathways of estrogens ?), this work informs the inferred hormonal deficiency in diabetic placenta. Also, it is unable to determine the practical usefulness of these plasma measurements in the management of diabetic pregnancy.