Effects of maternal vanadate treatment of fetal development.

Oral vanadate treatment is effective in normalizing blood glucose in both Type I and Type II diabetics. Using Sprague Dawley rats we examined the effectiveness of such treatment in amelioration of hyperglycemia in diabetic pregnancy and its effect on fetal growth in both normal and diabetic pregnant dams. Initiation of vanadate treatment to diabetic and normal pregnant dams increased blood vanadium levels in both groups, but this concentration in the diabetic pregnant group reached approximately twice the value present in the normal group. Despite this high blood vanadium level in the diabetic pregnant dams, oral vanadate treatment was not effective in normalizing blood sugar in this group. Additionally, vanadate treatment was found to be toxic during diabetic pregnancy, causing death to 45% of the test animals. Maternal blood vanadium had a negative effect on fetal development, markedly reducing the number of live fetuses per pregnancy. In summary, oral vanadate treatment is toxic and ineffective during diabetic pregnancies and interferes with fetal growth and development in both normal and diabetic pregnancy.