Prenatally programmed hypertension: role of maternal diabetes

• Main Authors: G.N. Gomes, F.Z. Gil
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Associação Brasileira de Divulgação Científica 2011-09-01
• Series: Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research
• Subjects: Hypertension; Maternal diabetes; Renal impairment; Sodium retention
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-879X2011000900011

Epidemiological and experimental studies have led to the hypothesis of the fetal origin of adult diseases, suggesting that some adult diseases might be determined before birth by altered fetal development. Maternal diabetes subjects the fetus to an adverse environment that has been demonstrated to result in metabolic, cardiovascular and renal impairment in the offspring. The growing amount of obesity in young females in developed and some developing countries should contribute to increasing the incidence of diabetes among pregnant women. In this review, we discuss how renal and extrarenal mechanisms participate in the genesis of hypertension induced by a diabetic status during fetal development.