Maternal malnutrition affects energy metabolism and heart functionality in old rats.

The Developmental Origin of Health and Disease (DOHaD) approach aims to elucidate the correlation between the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases with exposure to adverse events during pregnancy and/or early childhood. One of the most relevant experimental models used inDOHaD studies refers to maternal exposure to a low protein diet (LPD), which has already been described as responsible for the increased incidence of heart disease with aging.