The thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T 4) and triiodothyronine (T 3), are essential for normal
growth and development of the fetus. Their bioavailability in utero depends on development …

Plasticity in developmental programming has evolved in order to provide the best chances of
survival and reproductive success to the organism under changing environments …

Inflammation is increasingly recognized as being of both physiological and pathological
importance in the immature brain. The rationale of this review is to present an update on this …

BACKGROUND The placenta is of utmost importance for intrauterine fetal development and
growth. Deregulation of placentation can lead to adverse outcomes for both mother and …

Autistic-spectrum conditions and psychotic-spectrum conditions (mainly schizophrenia,
bipolar disorder, and major depression) represent two major suites of disorders of human …

Depending on the definitions used, up to 10% of all live-born neonates are small for
gestational age (SGA). Although the vast majority of these children show catch-up growth by …

Associations between maternal obesity and adverse fetal outcomes are well documented,
but the mechanisms involved are largely unknown. Most previous work has focused on …

DNA damage in the male germline is associated with poor fertilization rates following IVF,
defective preimplantation embryonic development, and high rates of miscarriage and …

Genomic imprinting causes genes to be expressed or repressed depending on their
parental origin. The majority of imprinted genes identified to date map in clusters and much …

Size at birth is critical in determining life expectancy and is dependent primarily on the
placental supply of nutrients. However, the fetus is not just a passive recipient of nutrients …