MANIFESTATIONS AND MECHANISMS OF DEVELOPMENT OF SYNDROME X

Metabolic syndrome, characterized by a constellation of metabolic abnormalities, including central obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, poses a significant risk for the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases and type II diabetes mellitus. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome necessitates the presence of 3 or more of these metabolic abnormalities, signaling an urgent need for proactive identification and intervention strategies. The prevalence of MetS is rapidly increasing worldwide, largely as a consequence of the ongoing obesity epidemic. Environmental factors during periods early in development have been shown to influence the susceptibility to develop disease in later life. In particular, there is a wealth of evidence from both epidemiological and animal studies for greater incidence of features of MetS as a result of unbalanced maternal nutrition. The mechanisms by which nutritional insults during a period of developmental plasticity result in a MetS phenotype are now beginning to receive considerable scientific interest.