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Updated: Mar 25, 2026
14:19
Fetal Echocardiography and Pulsed-wave Doppler Ultrasound in a Rabbit Model of Intrauterine Growth Restriction
Published on: June 29, 2013
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Intrauterine Growth Restriction: Hungry for an Answer
Sherin U Devaskar1, Alison Chu2
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California sdevaskar@mednet.ucla.edu.
Physiology (Bethesda, Md.)
|February 19, 2016
Summary
Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) impairs fetal development and can lead to long-term metabolic issues. Research explores how IUGR impacts glucose regulation and potential interventions for affected offspring.
Area of Science:
- Perinatal Medicine
- Developmental Biology
- Metabolic Health
Background:
- Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a critical pregnancy complication characterized by poor fetal growth.
- IUGR significantly increases offspring morbidity and mortality, posing a public health challenge.
- Altered fetal glucose and insulin homeostasis in IUGR aims to conserve energy but compromises growth.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of IUGR on fetal glucose metabolism.
- To examine the postnatal reprogramming of energy metabolism in IUGR offspring.
- To explore the role of epigenetic modifications in IUGR-related metabolic programming.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing various animal models to simulate human IUGR.
- Analyzing fetal glucose handling and insulin homeostasis.
- Investigating epigenetic modifications in key glucose regulatory genes.
Main Results:
- IUGR leads to significant alterations in fetal glucose and insulin regulation.
- Postnatal metabolic handling is reprogrammed, potentially predisposing to adult cardiometabolic disease.
- Epigenetic modifications are implicated in the developmental programming of glucose homeostasis.
Conclusions:
- IUGR has lasting impacts on offspring metabolic health through developmental programming.
- Epigenetic mechanisms play a role in mediating these long-term effects.
- Further research is needed on therapeutic interventions to mitigate IUGR-associated metabolic risks.
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