Potentially life-saving steroids commonly given to preterm babies also increase the risk of long-term cardiovascular problems, but a new study in rats has found that if given in conjunction with statins, their positive effects remain while the potential negative side-effects are ‘weeded out’.
A new study in laboratory rats has discovered a direct link between low oxygen in the womb and impaired memory function in the adult offspring. It also finds that anti-oxidant supplements during pregnancy may protect against this.
We’re used to the idea that as adults we have some control over our destiny: what we eat and drink and how much we exercise can affect our health. But the risks of heart disease and diabetes can be programmed much earlier – even before we are born.
Mitochondrial therapy in complicated pregnancies lowers the chance of cardiovascular problems in the offspring.
Scientists at the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge have suggested that subtle changes to the drugs administered to mothers threatened with preterm birth or to premature babies could further improve clinical treatment and help increase their safety.
Offspring whose mothers had a complicated pregnancy may be at greater risk of heart disease in later life, according to a new study in sheep. ̽»¨Ö±²¥research, led by a team at the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge, suggests that our cards may be marked even before we are born.
Smoking, lack of exercise, bad diet and our genes are all well-known risk factors for heart disease, cancer and diabetes. But, as researchers are beginning to understand, the environment in the womb as we first begin to grow may also determine our future.
̽»¨Ö±²¥process of ageing begins even before we are born, according to an international team of researchers led by the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge. In a study using rats to model pregnancy and fetal development, the researchers also found that providing mothers with antioxidants during pregnancy meant that their offspring aged more slowly in adulthood.
Studies in La Paz, the highest city in the world, are helping to uncover a link between prenatal conditions and heart disease in later life.
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