An early prenatal exposure to excess glucocorticoid leads to hypertensive offspring in sheep

Abstract

Recent studies in animals have linked fetal exposure to excess maternal glucocorticoids with the later occurrence of cardiovascular disorders, particularly hypertension. 2. To test the hypothesis that prenatal treatment could impact on adult blood pressure two groups of pregnant ewes were transported from the farm to the Institute at either 22-29 days of pregnancy (pretreatment group 1) or 59-66 days of pregnancy (pretreatment group 2), subjected to 48 h treatment with dexamethasone (0.28 mg day-1 kg-1 for 2 days) and then returned to the farm. The control group remained at the farm for the entire pregnancy. Lambs were then studied at approximately 4, 10 and 19 months after birth. 3. The bas..