Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : A US National Health Care System? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mary Cluney who wrote (3136)	12/7/2007 9:30:42 AM
From: Road Walker	Respond to of 42652

Mary, I just read an article in the New Yorker about the 'Barker Hypothesis' that is fascinating stuff. Here is an abstract of the article - newyorker.com And a basic definition: The Barker Hypothesis Coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension, and diabetes mellitus (DM) occur in epidemic proportions worldwide. Unhealthy lifestyle practices and behaviors are well accepted as contributing factors, but the true origins of these diseases may actually be found in utero. According to the Barker hypothesis, disturbed intrauterine growth has a negative influence on the development of the cardiovascular system and favors the occurrence of hypertension, insulin resistance, hypercholesterolemia, and hyperuricemia in adult life.[1] Many chronic disorders that manifest later in life may be related to 2 seemingly opposing factors potentially present early in life: (1) poverty (ie, malnourished mothers give birth to malnourished infants with low birth weight [LBW]), and (2) prosperity (ie, exposure of an infant with LBW phenotype to a high-energy [caloric] diet). These factors contribute to the biological phenomenon of developmental plasticity, or the ability of a genotype to produce multiple forms and behaviors in response to environmental conditioning. Living things are often plastic during early development and, consequently, can be molded by the environment. By adapting to a limited supply of nutrients, it appears that the human fetus trades off the development of nonessential organs, such as kidney (nephron mass) and pancreas (beta cell mass), in favor of more essential organs such as the brain. These developmental adaptations may be the origins of a number of diseases in later life[2] and are thought to be consequences of fetal programming, whereby adaptations invoked in response to deficient maternal-placental nutrient supply have permanent effects on structure, physiology, and metabolism.[3] medscape.com