Researchers Exploring Childhood Roots for Many ‘Diseases of Aging’
Researchers Exploring Childhood Roots for Many ‘Diseases of Aging’
Cup those perfect little feet in the palm of your hand, and it’s nearly impossible to imagine that the seeds of future adult diseases – asthma, heart disease, diabetes and more – might have already been sown.
But it’s true. And the closer researchers look into the connection, the more they’re discovering that many of these so-called “ailments of the aging” have roots reaching to early life – perhaps as far back as the prenatal period.
To better understand how childhood – even gestational – influences and exposures might pave the way for serious conditions in adulthood, a group of pediatric researchers at URMC have launched “PPOD” – the Perinatal and Pediatric Origins of Disease program.
Led by scientist Dr. Michael O’Reilly, this cohort of experts in pediatrics, obstetrics, environmental medicine and ophthalmology is seeking to better appreciate the threats kids face in the womb and the outside world – and how interventions and treatments might alleviate or prevent these diseases altogether.
To hear more about the new PPOD program, just listen to Dr. O’Reilly in the clip below.
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Still curious about the new PPOD research initiative? Click here
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* The above story is adapted from materials provided by University of Rochester Medical Center
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