IVF Mice Prone to Diabetes

摘要

A/Prof Leonie Heilbronn of Adelaide University says: "A couple of studies 2-3 years ago showed 200 IVF children had higher fasting glucose levels than a control group and also tended to be fatter. These are risk factors for diabetes." However, Heilbronn adds that "in those studies we couldn't separate whether this was diet or genetics or if the IVF was responsible. Maybe IVF children are more coddled, or maybe parents with greater risk factors are more likely to use IVF." Heilbronn did her study using mice with the same genetic profiles. Unsurprisingly there are no signs the IVF babies were raised differently. "Regardless of diet, IVF male mice showed an increased risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, whereas only the female mice that ate a high-fat diet showed a higher susceptibility to the disease," she says. Strangely, the female IVF mice, but not the males, were more likely to be obese.