Simon C Langley-Evans

..The evidence thus suggests that prenatal undernutrition may programme renal structure in later life, but that renal programming is not one of the primary mechanisms leading to hypertension...

..There was no evidence that undernutrition programmed lifespan through oxidative processes in the major organs. Fetal programming is an important contributor to the ageing process...

..There was no evidence of increased oxidative injury in fetal tissue that might explain the long-term programming effects of the diet...

..A limited body of evidence implicates fetal programming in the development of autoimmune disorders. This area represents an interesting target for further research and preventive medicine...

..Mechanisms of ageing appear to be subject to nutritional programming during early development...

..The early life programming of appetite and obesity is a complex phenomenon and our understanding of how maternal nutrition determines later energy balance is at a very early stage...

..Nutrition-related factors may drive these processes by disturbing placental function, including control of materno-fetal endocrine exchanges, or the epigenetic regulation of gene expression...

..It is suggested therefore that programming is a product of altered expression of key genes. This drives the tissue remodelling response and future disease risk...

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..Secondary to this activity, the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis may stimulate renin-angiotensin system activity, resulting in increased vascular resistance and hypertension...

..001). The model will provide a useful vehicle for the investigation of the complex interactions between dietary- and obesity-related factors during pregnancy in their effects on fetal development and postnatal metabolic function...

..Therefore these findings offer an insight into the underlying mechanisms associated with the development of the embryo during conditions of poor iron status, and its health in adult life...

..The data suggest that programming of feeding behaviour is likely to be gender-specific and dependent upon the timing of nutrient insult in fetal life. This work may have implications for the development of the metabolic syndrome...

..Undernutrition during development may increase susceptibility to CHD by impairing recovery from coronary events...

..The present findings indicated that any role for DNA methylation in programming of physiology is not related to major perturbations of folate metabolism, and is likely to be gene-specific rather than genome-wide...

..This study further establishes a role for prenatal nutrition in programming the genes involved in lipid metabolism and appetite regulation...

..No effect was noted in the F3 generation. It is concluded that fetal protein restriction may play a critical role in determining blood pressure and overall disease risk in a subsequent generation...

..Together these studies demonstrate that foetal over-exposure to glucocorticoids, through indirect mechanism, play a crucial role in low-protein-diet-induced changes in lipid metabolism regulating genes...

..Despite being targeted to the postnephrogenic period, inhibition of type 1 angiotensin receptor had an inhibitory effect on renal and somatic growth, additionally indicating its unsuitability during early life...

..In conclusion, a maternal low-protein diet mainly during mid-pregnancy reduced muscle fibre number and density in 4-week-old rats, but there were muscle-specific differences in the fibre types affected...

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..The data implicate altered expression of SREBP-1c and ChREBP as key mediators of the programmed phenotype, but the basis of the switch in metabolic status that occurred between 9 and 18 mo of age is, as yet, unidentified...

..A nutritionally-imbalanced developmental environment may increase susceptibility to coronary heart disease through the programming of myocardial glutathione metabolism...

..These findings offer novel insight into the primary causes and mechanisms leading to the pathologies which have been identified by previous programming studies...

..Maternal nutrition may thus promote changes in systems that are involved in control of appetite or the perception of palatability...

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..Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, may also be important processes in early-life programming...

..This may play a key role in the impairment of renal development and the elevation of blood pressure noted in rats exposed to intra-uterine protein restriction...

..The present study demonstrates that pre-gestational, gestational and lactational maternal CD programme behaviour in the offspring with lactational CD reducing anxiety in the male offspring...

..Although the effects on glucose homeostasis were independent of offspring adiposity, the programming of a glucose-intolerant phenotype was only observed when offspring were weaned on a diet that induced greater fat deposition...

..01). Hypothalamic DA metabolism (DOPAC+HVA/DA ratio) was overall lower in females than in males (P<0.01). This study indicates a programming effect of lactational CD on feeding behaviour and brain monoaminergic neurons...

..In conclusion, we find that disturbance of fetal growth by maternal dietary protein restriction is associated and therefore potentially indicated by changes in maternal and fetal ketone body metabolism...

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..Such a disparity between central and peripheral blood pressure measurements could have important clinical implications regarding cardiovascular risk assessment and treatment...

..Women had significantly lower total antioxidant status than men, regardless of periodontal health. Periodontal disease is associated with reduced salivary antioxidant status and increased oxidative damage within the oral cavity...

..049). In conclusion, maternal protein restriction programmes cardiac sympathetic activity in a sex-specific manner, and may explain increased susceptibility to ischaemia-reperfusion injury in males subject to fetal undernutrition...

..This study investigated the views of UK dietitians about their training needs and experience in relation to communication skills in dietetic practice...

..In contrast, females exhibiting both decreased membrane expression of β(2)-AR and catecholamine levels were protected from IR injury...

..Brain sparing does not appear to play a role in this early life programming...

..Given the evidence of tracking of body mass index (BMI) from childhood to adulthood, this systematic review investigated the independent relationship between childhood BMI and adult CVD risk...

..The availability of glycine appears to be of critical importance for normal cardiovascular development...

..An improved understanding of the role antioxidants play in periodontitis, and the influence of nutrition on antioxidant status, may lead to a possible nutritional strategy for the treatment of periodontal disease...