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Specific alpha and beta receptor binding is significantly reduced in the brains ofadult rats that were undernourished perinatally. From kinetic studies it may be concluded that this effect is the result ofa diminished number ofbinding sites, not changes in receptor affinity.

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Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) is an independent and inherited risk factor for coronary artery disease. Concentrations of Lp(a) have been widely described in adolescents, but little is known about its concentration in children born small for gestational age (SGA). To assess the influence of intrauterine growth on Lp(a) levels we examined 50 children born SGA and 21 children born adequate for gestational age (AGA). Lp(a) blood levels (mean ± SD) of the SGA children differed significantly (p < 0.05) from AGA children (22.3 ± 22.1 vs. 10.9 ± 7.6 mg/dl). 14 out of 50 adolescents of the SGA group but 1 out of 21 of the AGA group had elevated Lp(a) (>30 mg/dl) concentrations (p < 0.05). These children also had higher triglyceride (1.0 ± 0.6 mmol/l vs. 0.74 ± 0.38 mmol/l) levels (p < 0.05) compared to children with Lp(a) levels <30 mg/dl. Adolescents with Lp(a) levels >30 mg/dl showed a significant inverse relation between Lp(a) levels and gestational age (r = –0.68, p < 0.005). We hypothesize that impairment of fetal growth might influence serum Lp(a) levels in later life.

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Stress-induced analgesia was evaluated in adult rats submitted early in life to a protein deprivation schedule. Rats were undernourished with a hypoproteic diet containing 80 g casein/kg diet from d 14 of gestation until 50 days of age. Rats were thereafter fed a balanced nonpurified diet until 140 days of age, when they were exposed to two stressors: forced swimming and acute restraint, after which the analgesic response was evaluated. In addition, the analgesic response induced by different morphine doses was determined in another group of rats. Basal latency was not different in deprived and control rats. Undernourished rats presented a significantly lower analgesic response in both stress situations. However, when the analgesic response induced by different morphine doses (1, 2, 4 and 8 mg/kg, s.c.) was assessed, a significantly higher response occurred in undernourished rats compared to control rats. This lower stress-induced analgesia in undernourished rats may account for the behavioral alterations attributed to early undernutrition.