Japanese study aims to reduce disease risk for low birthweight babies

A recent study by a Japanese team could pave the way for the development of treatments aimed at reducing health issues like kidney disorders for low birthweight babies, while also working towards breaking the intergenerational cycle of related diseases.

The research comes as a growing number of babies in Japan are born weighing less than 2,500 grams, causing them to face a higher and yet unexplained risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes in adulthood.

In the research led by Tohoku University, the team developed a method to produce a low birthweight mouse that developed kidney disorders and hypertension as it aged, according to the study published in the U.S. journal iScience on Oct 11.

The team also found that when the low birthweight mouse itself later becomes pregnant, its fetal growth-supporting liver and placenta functions were lacking. But the administration of a special drug with vasodilating effects to the pregnant mouse helped increase the fetal weight of its offspring and curb later-life hypertension, it said.

In Japan, around 10 percent of babies are born with low birthweight and the figure has been growing larger as more women give birth later in life, according to the team.

Emiko Sato, an associate professor of clinical pharmacy who led the study, said the "impacts of babies being born underweight could also affect their future (offspring)."

"We hope the research will help us develop treatments to break this negative cycle," she said.