BACKGROUND Fetal exposure to testosterone has been implicated in programming childhood behaviour, but little is known about the determinants of fetal testosterone concentrations. AIMS To investigate the relation between fetal testosterone and maternal and fetal cortisol. METHODS Clinically indicated blood samples taken from 44 human fetuses (mean gestational age 27 weeks, range 15-38), toge...

Epidemiological studies indicate that the origins of high blood pressure initiates in fetal life. Recent reviews highlight a role for numerous factors in the pathogenesis of the developmental programming of hypertension including epigenetic processes, glucocorticoids, reduced nephron number, activation of the sympathetic nervous system, and the renin–angiotensin system (RAS) and endothelial dys...

Intrauterine and perinatal life are critical periods for programming of cardiometabolic diseases. However, their relative role remains controversial. We aimed to assess, at weaning, sex-dependent alterations induced by fetal or postnatal nutritional interventions on key organs for metabolic and cardiovascular control. Fetal undernutrition was induced by dam food restriction (50 % from mid-gesta...

High-fat programming, by exposure to a high-saturated-fat diet in utero and/or during lactation, compromises beta-cell development and function in neonatal and weanling offspring. Therefore, high-fat programming effects were investigated on metabolism and islet architecture in young adult rats. Three-month-old male and female Wistar rat offspring were studied: HFG (maintained on a high-fat diet...

BACKGROUND Environmental alternations leading to fetal programming of cardiovascular diseases in later life have been attributed to maternal factors. However, animal studies showed that paternal obesity may program cardio-metabolic diseases in the offspring. In the current study we tested the hypothesis that paternal BMI may be associated with fetal growth. METHODS AND RESULTS We analyzed the...

The fetal programming and developmental origins of disease models suggest that experiences that occur before birth can have consequences for physical and mental health that persist across the lifespan. Development is more rapid during the prenatal period as compared to any other stage of life. This introductory article considers evidence that fetal exposure to stress and stress hormones influen...

Fetal origin of adult diseases Epidemiological studies have shown a close correlation between intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and the onset of insulin resistance, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and cardiovascular diseases in adult life. To explain this association, the concept of re-programming has been introduced: intrauterine exposure to...

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between maternal glucose levels and intrauterine fetal adiposity distribution in women with a normal oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 28 weeks gestation. STUDY DESIGN We recruited 231 women with a singleton pregnancy. At 28 and 37 weeks gestation, sonographic measurements of fetal body composition were performed. Multiple regression analysis was used...