Long-term effects of early postnatal food restriction on growth hormone secretion in rats.

Background: Malnutrition in early life retards growth permanently in both humans and rats, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that early postnatal food restriction induces long-term changes in the growth hormone-insulin-like growth factor I (GH-IGF-I) axis.

Methods: We examined the effect of increasing litter size to 20 during lactation [food restriction (FR)] on growth and spontaneous GH secretion and serum IGF-I levels in 14- to 15-week-old rats.

Maturity of the adrenal cortex in very preterm infants is related to gestational age.

To study the maturity of the adrenal cortex in preterms born before 33 wk of gestation, basal levels of cortisol and cortisone and the cortisol and 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) response to 1 microg/kg adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation were measured in 24 appropriate-for-gestational age preterm infants (26-33 wk; 690-1985 g). Gestational age influenced the response of cortisol, 17-OHP, and the ratio between cortisol/17-OHP in the studied infants. In preterms born <30 wk of gestation, levels of cortisol, and the ratio between cortisol/17-OHP were lower compared with preterms born between 30 and 33 wk.

Bone metabolism markers and bone mass in healthy pubertal boys and girls.

Objective: During puberty, bone growth and mineralization as well as bone turnover increase dramatically. The relation between height velocity and bone turnover is already known, but there are few studies in which both bone metabolism markers and bone mass throughout puberty have been measured.

Design: Semi-longitudinal study.

Delayed first cycle in intrauterine growth-retarded and postnatally undernourished female rats: follicular growth and ovulation after stimulation with pregnant mare serum gonadotropin at first cycle.

In the present study we examined the consequences of intrauterine growth retardation and postnatal food restriction on the maturational process of sexual development by studying onset of first cycle. In addition, we investigated the effect of pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) on ovarian growth and ovulation in intrauterine growth-retarded (IUGR) and postnatally food-restricted (PFR) rats. Intrauterine growth retardation was induced by uterine artery ligation on day 17 of gestation and food restriction was achieved by enlarging the litter to 20 pups per mother from day 2 after birth until weaning (day 24).

Components of the insulin resistance syndrome in seven-year-old children: relations with birth weight and the polyunsaturated fatty acid content of umbilical cord plasma phospholipids.

Aims/hypothesis: According to the foetal origins hypothesis, there is a relation between foetal nutrition and adult glucose intolerance. In adults, insulin resistance has been associated with dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids. We examined whether the availability of polyunsaturated fatty acids during foetal life, as indicated by the fatty acid composition of cord blood samples, relates to childhood body composition and glycaemic control.