The effects of fetal and post-natal growth rates on the development of type 2 diabetes in Yucatan miniature pigs

McKnight, Leslie Louise (2008) The effects of fetal and post-natal growth rates on the development of type 2 diabetes in Yucatan miniature pigs. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Epidemiological studies have linked small birth weight and rapid compensatory growth to a number of chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease (Chapter 1). Despite their many uses in biomedical research, few studies have used swine as a model for fetal programming. The overall goal of this research was to develop a Yucatan miniature pig model of fetal programming. Specifically we wanted to determine the effects of birth weight, postnatal growth rate and early postnatal nutrition on the development of type 2 diabetes in Yucatan miniature swine (Chapter 2). In order to do so, we needed to demonstrate compensatory growth (Chapter 3) and validate the miniature pig as a model for type 2 diabetes (Chapter 4). Although runt pigs displayed compensatory growth, growth characteristics were not related to any markers of type 2 diabetes development (Chapter 5).

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