Prenatal programming of hypertension in common marmoset Mmnkeys by dexamethasone

Introduction: The hypothesis of the foetal origin of disease proposes that small size at birth is associated with a predisposition to obesity, metabolic syndrome and hypertension in adult life. Experimental studies with rodents and sheep showed that prenatal treatment with synthetic glucocorticoids such as dexamethasone (DEX) induced low birth weight, hypertension and/or obesity in the offspring. It is not clear, however, whether prenatal exposition to glucocorticoids would have adverse effects on body mass or blood pressure also in other species, such as non-human primates. Methods: Common marmoset monkeys (Cal…