EDITORIAL

Recent epidemiological studies have demonstrated a close relationship between low birth weight and a high predisposition to arterial hypertension, hyperlipidemia and non-insulin-de-pendent diabetes in adulthood. These findings may coexist as Syndrome X, more recently named as Metabolic Syndrome, and understood as precur-sory of coronary heart disease and cer-ebral stroke. It is conceivable that fe-tal adaptation to the adverse condi-tions of intrauterine environment can determine permanent metabolic altera-tions that could bring repercussions i