Dr. Nauf AlBendar

What if the foundations of lifelong health begin long before birth? Yet most conversations about health begin decades too late. The science tells a different story. 🧵👇

What if pregnancy leaves some of another person’s cells in your brain? During pregnancy, cells pass between mother and baby. Some may persist for decades, even in the brain. Scientists are still investigating what these microchimeric cells do. The biological connection between mother and child doesn’t end at birth.

We measure ageing in years. But might ageing begin before birth? A study of nearly 2,500 Norwegian women found that those born small for gestational age had greater epigenetic age acceleration in adulthood, according to one molecular measure. Perhaps the science of ageing needs to start with the science of development.

Two babies can both be six months old, but are their organs the same biological age? At the European DOHaD conference, I came across fascinating research on how different organs develop during infancy. Using blood samples from 613 children, researchers analysed 5,416 proteins to estimate the developmental maturity of organs such as the brain, lungs, liver and heart. They found that organs do not necessarily develop at the same biological pace, and differences in estimated developmental age were associated with health outcomes years later. 🧠 A more advanced brain proteomic age at six months was associated with increased neurodevelopmental risk at age 10. 🫁 A more advanced lung proteomic age was associated with an earlier onset of asthma and a greater risk of developing it. The researchers also identified distinct metabolic signatures associated with these developmental patterns. But there is an important distinction. Being biologically older does not necessarily mean being developmentally better. During infancy, organ maturation follows complex, carefully timed processes. A faster molecular trajectory may not always be beneficial. Could understanding the biological pace of organ development help us identify vulnerability earlier, rather than waiting for disease to appear? Perhaps biological development can tell us how our health trajectories are unfolding.

What if one of the most powerful ways to improve newborn survival isn’t medicine, but financial security? In Flint, Michigan, a programme called Rx Kids gives families $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 each month throughout infancy. A new study reports striking changes after the programme was introduced. Neonatal mortality fell by 50%. Deaths during the first seven days of life fell by 74%. Earlier research also found reductions in preterm births, low birth weight and neonatal intensive care admissions. The programme addresses something medicine often overlooks: the economic conditions surrounding pregnancy. Financial insecurity can affect nutrition, housing, stress, access to healthcare and families’ ability to provide a safe environment for a newborn. Sometimes the best opportunities to improve health early in life lie outside the hospital. The environment in which a pregnancy unfolds matters. And sometimes improving that environment means giving families the resources they need. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam…

A premature baby’s brain isn’t simply developing more slowly; it may be following a different developmental trajectory. A new study in Science found that premature birth altered cell maturation in the cerebellum, a brain region involved in movement, language and cognition. Remarkably, babies of the same postmenstrual age could be at different stages of cellular development. This suggests that reaching the expected due date does not necessarily mean the brain has reached the same biological state as the brain of a baby born at term. The findings could help researchers develop more individualised neonatal care, guided by biological maturity rather than age alone.