The Point Count Method of Histopathological Examination of Diabetic Placentas

Abstract

Placental insufficiency has been considered a cause of intrauterine fetal death in diabetics during pregnancy. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the histopathological changes occurring in diabetic placentas. We examined the terminal villous system of 20 diabetic placentas by the point count method and assessed the characteristics of the diabetic placentas.
The percentage of villous area and syncytial knotting in the terminal villous system of the placentas was significantly higher in the diabetic group than in the control group. The percentage of trophoblasts in the terminal villous system of the placentas was significantly lower in the diabetic group than in the control group. The percentage of intervillous fibrin deposits in the terminal villous system of the placentas was not significantly different between the two groups. The ratio of the percentage of trophoblasts to syncytial knotting was significantly lower in the diabetic group than in the control group. The percentages of villous area, trophoblasts and intervillous fibrin deposits in the placentas were not significantly different between the group with diabetic retinopathy and those without diabetic retinopathy. However, the percentage of syncytial knotting in the placentas of maternal diabetics with retinopathy was significantly higher than in those without. It was found that the placentas of maternal diabetics already showed histopathological changes leading to placental insufficiency before its clinicl symptoms actually developed.