“At this point, because this is fairly preliminary, we don’t know how these differences in cells grown in the lab correspond to the physiology of these children after birth,” Boyle said. “But it’s clear that there is an inherent propensity toward more fat content in the cells from offspring of obese moms, in culture. We also know that the fat accumulation in these cells corresponded to the baby’s fat mass at birth. The next step is to follow these offspring to see if there is a lasting change into adulthood.”
Boyle and her team expect to soon have additional information on how the cells use fat for energy production and whether this contributes to the greater fat accumulation in the cells from the offspring of obese mothers. They are continuing to conduct a full, metabolic assessment of the cells to determine whether the cells in the offspring of obese moms display inflammation, insulin resistance or other metabolic differences.
For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (800-342-2383) or visit www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.
