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      Intrauterine Growth Retardation and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children

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          Abstract

          Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), the most important cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity, is defined as a foetal growth less than normal for the population, often used as synonym of small for gestational age (SGA). Studies demonstrated the relationships between metabolic syndrome (MS) and birthweight. This study suggested that, in children, adolescents, and adults born SGA, insulin resistance could lead to other metabolic disorders: type 2 diabetes (DM2), dyslipidemia, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD may evolve to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and it is related to the development of MS. Lifestyle intervention, physical activity, and weight reduction represent the mainstay of NAFLD therapy. In particular, a catch-up growth reduction could decrease the risk to develop MS and NAFLD. In this paper, we outline clinical and experimental evidences of the association between IUGR, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, and NAFLD and discuss on a possible management to avoid the risk of MS in adulthood.

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          Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia (syndrome X): relation to reduced fetal growth

          Two follow-up studies were carried out to determine whether lower birthweight is related to the occurrence of syndrome X-Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia. The first study included 407 men born in Hertfordshire, England between 1920 and 1930 whose weights at birth and at 1 year of age had been recorded by health visitors. The second study included 266 men and women born in Preston, UK, between 1935 and 1943 whose size at birth had been measured in detail. The prevalence of syndrome X fell progressively in both men and women, from those who had the lowest to those who had the highest birthweights. Of 64-year-old men whose birthweights were 2.95 kg (6.5 pounds) or less, 22% had syndrome X. Their risk of developing syndrome X was more than 10 times greater than that of men whose birthweights were more than 4.31 kg (9.5 pounds). The association between syndrome X and low birthweight was independent of duration of gestation and of possible confounding variables including cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and social class currently or at birth. In addition to low birthweight, subjects with syndrome X had small head circumference and low ponderal index at birth, and low weight and below-average dental eruption at 1 year of age. It is concluded that Type 2 diabetes and hypertension have a common origin in sub-optimal development in utero, and that syndrome X should perhaps be re-named "the small-baby syndrome".
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            The thrifty phenotype hypothesis.

            The thrifty phenotype hypothesis proposes that the epidemiological associations between poor fetal and infant growth and the subsequent development of type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome result from the effects of poor nutrition in early life, which produces permanent changes in glucose-insulin metabolism. These changes include reduced capacity for insulin secretion and insulin resistance which, combined with effects of obesity, ageing and physical inactivity, are the most important factors in determining type 2 diabetes. Since the hypothesis was proposed, many studies world-wide have confirmed the initial epidemiological evidence, although the strength of the relationships has varied from one study to another. The relationship with insulin resistance is clear at all ages studied. Less clear is the relationship with insulin secretion. The relative contribution of genes and environment to these relationships remains a matter of debate. The contributions of maternal hyperglycaemia and the trajectory of postnatal growth need to be clarified.
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              The fetal insulin hypothesis: an alternative explanation of the association of low birthweight with diabetes and vascular disease.

              Low birthweight is associated with insulin resistance, hypertension, coronary-artery disease, and non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM). A suggested explanation for this association is intrauterine programming in response to maternal malnutrition. We propose, however, that genetically determined insulin resistance results in impaired insulin-mediated growth in the fetus as well as insulin resistance in adult life. Low birthweight, measures of insulin resistance in life, and ultimately glucose intolerance, diabetes, and hypertension could all be phenotypes of the same insulin-resistant genotype. There is evidence to support this hypothesis. Insulin secreted by the fetal pancreas in response to maternal glucose concentrations is a key growth factor. Monogenic diseases that impair sensing of glucose, lower insulin secretion, or increase insulin resistance are associated with impaired fetal growth. Polygenic influences resulting in insulin resistance in the normal population are therefore likely to result in lower birthweight. Abnormal vascular development during fetal life and early childhood, as a result of genetic insulin resistance, could also explain the increased risk of hypertension and vascular disease. The predisposition to NIDDM and vascular disease is likely to be the result of both genetic and fetal environmental factors.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Int J Endocrinol
                IJE
                International Journal of Endocrinology
                Hindawi Publishing Corporation
                1687-8337
                1687-8345
                2011
                30 November 2011
                : 2011
                : 269853
                Affiliations
                1Liver Research Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital and Research Institute, 00165 Rome, Italy
                2Department of Maternal and Pediatric Sciences, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda—Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
                Author notes

                Academic Editor: Daniela Jezova

                Article
                10.1155/2011/269853
                3235463
                22190925
                9c2e5ca1-d0cf-4a2b-9c6b-c6b652544b25
                Copyright © 2011 Anna Alisi et al.

                This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 27 July 2011
                : 11 October 2011
                Categories
                Review Article

                Endocrinology & Diabetes
                Endocrinology & Diabetes

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