Parents’ Obesity Causes Heart Dysfunction in Male Rats Soon after Birth

Article title: Sex differences in the impact of parental obesity on offspring cardiac SIRT3 expression, mitochondrial efficiency, and diastolic function early in life

Authors: Jussara M. do Carmo, Ana C. M. Omoto, Xuemei Dai, Sydney P. Moak, Gabriela S. Mega, Xuan Li, Zhen Wang, Alan J. Mouton, John E. Hall, Alexandre A. da Silva

From the authors: “It is noteworthy that these early signs of diastolic dysfunction were present only in young male offspring from obese parents despite the fact that female siblings exhibited similar metabolic alterations. This finding suggests important sex differences regarding the impact of parental obesity to cause cardiac dysfunction in their offspring as early as [three weeks] of age.”

This study is highlighted as one of September’s “best of the best” as part of the American Physiological Society’s APSselect program.