Metabolic Health in Pregnancy

Metabolic and endocrine conditions present during pregnancy have important effects on maternal and fetal health. It is recognised that conditions occurring during pregnancy, including gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia, are important indicators of long term risk of metabolic disease - including hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Maternal obesity adversely affects maternal metabolism and is a contributing factor to such adverse pregnancy outcomes. Work in this area includes a number of national and international collaborations as well as projects shared with the School of Medicine (Professor Scott Nelson).

Current Research Areas:

• Prediction of preeclampsia using proteomics and other novel technologies (Dominiczak, Delles, Carty)
• Long term consequences of maternal diabetes and obesity (Lindsay, Nelson, Sattar)
• Lipid and lipoprotein metabolism in gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia (Freeman, Sattar)

Publications:

1. Lindsay RS, Nelson SM, Walker JD, Greene SA, Milne G, Sattar N, Pearson DW, Programming of adiposity in offspring of mothers with type 1 diabetes at age 7. Diabetes Care 2010;33(5):1080-5.
2. Lawlor DA, Fraser A, Lindsay RS, Ness A, Dabelea D, Catalano P, Davey Smith G, Sattar N, Nelson SM. Association of existing diabetes, gestational diabetes and glycosuria in pregnancy with macrosomia and offspring body mass index, waist and fat mass in later childhood: findings from a prospective pregnancy cohort. Diabetologia 2010;53(1):89-97.
3. Nelson SM, Freeman DJ, Sattar N, Lindsay RS. Role of adiponectin in matching of fetal and placental weight in mothers with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Care 2008;31(6):1123-5.
4. Gluck ME, Venti CA, Lindsay RS, Knowler WC, Salbe AD and Krakoff J: Maternal influence, not diabetic intrauterine environment, predicts children's energy intake. Obesity 2009(Silver Spring);17:772-7.
5. Nelson SM, Coan PM, Burton GJ and Lindsay RS: Placental structure in type 1 diabetes: relation to fetal insulin, leptin and IGF-I. Diabetes2009;58:2634-41.
6. Nelson SM, Freeman DJ, Sattar N and Lindsay RS: Erythrocytosis in offspring of mothers with Type 1 diabetes--are factors other than insulin critical determinants? Diabet Med 2009;26:887-92.
7. Jarvie E, Hauguel-de-Mouzon S, Nelson SM, Sattar N, Catalano PM, Freeman DJ. Lipotoxicity in obese pregnancy and its potential role in adverse pregnancy outcome. Clinical Science 2010;119:123-9.
8. Huda SS, Sattar N, Freeman DJ. Lipoprotein metabolism and vascular complications in pregnancy. Clinical Lipidology 2009;4(1):91-102.
9. Freeman DJ, Tham K, Brown EA, Rumley A, Lowe GD, Greer IA. Fetal CRH mRNA, but not phosphatidylserine exposing microparticles, in maternal plasma are associated with FVII activity in preeclampsia. Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis 2008;6:421-7.
10. Rodie VA, Young A, Jordan F, Sattar N, Greer IA, Freeman DJ Human placental PPARδ and γ expression in healthy pregnancy and in pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction. J Soc Gynecoc Investig 2005;12:320-9.
11. Rodie VA, Caslake MJ, Stewart F, Sattar N, Greer IA, Freeman DJ. Fetal plasma lipoprotein status in uncomplicated human pregnancies and in pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction. Atherosclerosis 2004;176:181-187.
12. Freeman DJ, McManus F, Brown EA, Cherry L, Norrie J, Ramsay JE, Clark P, Walker ID, Sattar N, Greer IA. Short and long term changes in plasma inflammatory markers associated with pre-eclampsia. Hypertension 2004;44:708-14.