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Prenatal therapeutics and programming of cardiovascular function
Lesley J Brennan1, Styliani Goulopoulou2, Stephane L Bourque1
1Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Pharmacology, and Pediatrics, Women and Children's Health Research Institute, University of Alberta, Canada.
Insights
Early life interventions can prevent cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Therapeutic strategies during development offer long-term protection against CVD, reducing mortality risks.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Cardiovascular health
- Preventive medicine
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a primary global cause of death.
- Effective patient treatment for CVD remains difficult.
- Preventing risk factors early in life is increasingly recognized as crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review models of developmental programming.
- To discuss perinatal therapeutic interventions' impact on offspring cardiovascular function.
- To focus on bioactive food components and pharmacological agents for use in pregnancy and early childhood.
Main Methods:
- Overview of developmental programming models.
- Discussion of perinatal therapeutic interventions.
- Focus on specific bioactive food components and approved pharmacological agents.
Main Results:
- Developmental programming models illustrate early life influences on long-term health.
- Perinatal interventions show potential for long-term cardiovascular protection.
- Bioactive food components and certain medications may mitigate CVD risk.
Conclusions:
- Targeted therapeutics during critical developmental periods can confer long-term CVD protection.
- Early life interventions are key to reducing the future burden of cardiovascular disease.
- Further research into perinatal interventions holds promise for CVD prevention.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Despite recognizing the importance of risk factors in dictating CVD susceptibility and onset, patient treatment remains a challenging endeavor. Increasingly, the benefits of prevention and mitigation of risk factors earlier in life are being acknowledged. The developmental origins of health and disease posits that insults during specific periods of development can influence long-term health outcomes; this occurs because the developing organism is highly plastic, and hence vulnerable to environmental perturbations. By extension, targeted therapeutics instituted during critical periods of development may confer long-term protection, and thus reduce the risk of CVD in later life. This review provides a brief overview of models of developmental programming, and then discusses the impact of perinatal therapeutic interventions on long-term cardiovascular function in the offspring. The discussion focuses on bioactive food components, as well as pharmacological agents currently approved for use in pregnancy; in short, those agents most likely to be used in pregnancy and early childhood.
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