Effect of gestational diabetes on the hippocampus of offspring

加拿大近四分之一的成年人被认为极度超重，而加拿大儿童肥胖症的稳步增加意味着这一数字将继续增长。虽然肥胖会导致广泛的健康问题，但其中最常见和最严重的是2型糖尿病（T2 D）。随着T2 D患者数量的增加，怀孕期间患有糖尿病的女性数量也会相应增加。过去十年的最新研究发现，产妇营养可能对儿童的健康产生长期影响;例如，产妇营养不良可能导致后代成年后患心脏病的风险增加。这项拟议中的研究将研究妊娠期糖尿病如何影响后代的发育。特别是，该提案将集中在一个已知对创造记忆很重要的大脑区域-海马体的发展上。雌性大鼠将被置于一个饮食，像许多人的饮食，是非常高的脂肪。随着时间的推移，动物会发展为T2 D。在此之后，他们将交配，并允许提供和护理他们的幼崽。使用各种技术，将不同年龄的糖尿病大鼠后代的海马体的结构和功能与喂食对照饮食的大鼠进行比较。所有的工作将有助于回答这个问题：如果一个女人在怀孕期间患有糖尿病，她孩子大脑中对学习和记忆很重要的区域会受到影响吗？这项研究的结果不仅会引起生物学家的兴趣，而且对那些参与公共卫生和政策的人也很重要。

Nearly one-quarter of adults in Canada are considered to be extremely overweight, and the steady increase in obesity among Canadian children means that this number will continue to grow. While obesity can lead to a wide range of health problems, one of the most common, and most serious, is type 2 diabetes (T2D). As the number of people with T2D increases, there will be a matching rise in the number of women with diabetes during their pregnancies. Recent work over the last ten years has found that maternal nutrition can have longlasting effects upon the health of children; for example, maternal undernutrition can lead to an increased risk of heart disease in offspring when they become adults. The proposed study would like to examine how diabetes in pregnancy affects offspring development. In particular, the proposal will focus on development of a brain region known to be important for creating memories - the hippocampus. Female rats will be placed on a diet that, like the diets of many people, is very high in fat. Over time, the animals will develop T2D. After this, they will be mated and allowed to deliver and nurse their pups. Using a variety of techniques, structure and function of the hippocampus in offspring of diabetic rats at different ages will be compared to those from rats fed a control diet. All of the work together will help to answer the question: if a woman has diabetes during her pegnancy, will the areas of her child's brain important for learning and memory be affected? The outcome of the proposed study will not only be of interest to biologists, but should also be important to those involved with public health and policy.