The intake of a fructose-rich diet (FRD) in the normal female rat induces features similar to those observed in the human metabolic syndrome phenotype. We studied the impact of FRD administration to mothers on pregnancy outcome. On gestational day (Gd) zero rats were assigned to either group: ad libitum drinking tap water alone (normal diet, ND) or containing fructose (10% w/vol; FRD) through pregnancy; all rats were fed a Purina chow diet ad libitum ND and FRD rats were daily cotreated or not with metformin (60 mg/Kg/day oral; ND + MF and FRD + MF) and submitted to a high glucose load test on Gd 14. Additionally, placentas from different groups were studied on Gd 20. Data indicated that: (1) although FRD rats well tolerated glucose overload, their circulating levels of insulin were significantly higher than in ND rats; (2) the mesometrial triangle blood vessel area was significantly lower in placentas from FRD than ND dams; (3) the detrimental effects of FRD administration to mothers were ameliorated by metformin cotreatment. Our study suggests that excessive intake of fructose during pregnancy enhanced the risk for developing gestational diabetes and subsequent preeclampsia, and that metformin prevented the poor pregnancy outcome induced by FRD.
Key Points
Question
How did the incidence and nature of Kawasaki disease (KD) in the United States change during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Findings
In this cohort study of 3922 children with KD, cases of KD across the United States fell by 28% and remained low during periods of COVID-19–related masking and school closure. In the San Diego region, there was a disproportionate decline in KD cases in children aged 1 to 5 years, male children, and Asian children, and clinical features including strawberry tongue, enlarged cervical lymph node, and subacute periungual desquamation were rare.
Meaning
These findings suggest that social behavior is associated with exposure to the agent(s) that trigger KD and are consistent with a respiratory portal of entry for the agent(s).
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