NICHD News Releases

Drug safety for children and pregnant women topic of March NICHD Director’s Podcast
Once the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves a drug, physicians can use their best judgment to prescribe it to their patients—whether or not their patients are similar to those who took part in the clinical trials. Physicians can also prescribe drugs for diseases or conditions other than those for which they were originally tested.

NIH clinical trial begins for treatment of rare, fatal neurological disorder

Government, industry, academia, and patient groups collaborate on Niemann-Pick Type C research.

Scientific Vision: The Next Decade
The NICHD embarked upon a collaborative process in 2011 to create a scientific Vision, identifying the most promising scientific opportunities for the Institute and its partners to pursue over the next decade. The newly published Scientific Vision statement presents the results of that process and outlines scientific goals for the coming decade.

NICHD reorganizes extramural program
​Alan Guttmacher, M.D., Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) announced a number of changes to streamline the institute’s organizational structure and accelerate the exchange of scientific ideas.

NICHD vision statement now available online
A document charting a research course for the many collaborators who share an interest in promoting the science concerning human development through the life span, child health, women's health, and rehabilitation research is now available online.

Research for a Lifetime: Commemorating the NICHD’s 50th Anniversary
On October 17, 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed into law the legislation establishing the NICHD to examine “the complex process of human development from conception to old age.” The Institute marks its golden anniversary with Research for a Lifetime, an all-day scientific colloquium to highlight the Institute’s mission, accomplishments, and future research directions.

Research on Breastfeeding & Breast Milk at the NICHD
​​Breastfeeding offers benefits to both mothers and babies. Not only does human milk provide essential calories, vitamins, minerals, and other bioactive components for optimal growth, health, and development, but the process of breastfeeding also helps mother-infant bonding. To mark World Breastfeeding Week, the NICHD describes some of its current research and research findings on breastfeeding and breast milk.

Focus on Children's Mental Health Research at the NICHD
At the NICHD, researchers provide insight into many aspects of children's development, including their mental and emotional health. This research ranges from traumatic brain injury's effect on children's behavior to depression among young victims of cyber bullying. The Institute also works within children's many environments—schools, communities, homes—to understand ways of encouraging and promoting children's mental health.

NICHD Research on Women's Health
The term "women's health" covers many topics ranging from disease prevention, to pregnancy and childbirth, to gynecological diseases, to illnesses that affect women uniquely. Following last week's celebration of National Women's Health Week, the NICHD highlights its diverse portfolio of research and collaborative efforts on the many aspects of women's health.

NICHD Director's Lecture Series: "Pharmacogenomics: Beyond Biomarkers"
​The NICHD Director's Lecture Series continues into 2012 with a focus on pharmacogenomics, the study of genes, inheritance, and their effects on individuals' response to drugs. Dr. Richard M. Weinshilboum, from the Mayo Clinic, shares his expertise in pharmacogenomics with NICHD staff and others.

World AIDS Day: NICHD Research on HIV/AIDS
​​World AIDS Day, commemorated on December 1, marks a day of global unification in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In a recent presentation at the NIH, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton shared a vision for turning the tide on HIV/AIDS, drawing on 30 years of U.S. leadership in the fight against the disease and recent scientific advances. The NICHD highlights some of its research activities in HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness.

Research Advances in Pediatric, Adolescent, & Maternal HIV/AIDS
​​As the NICHD continues its efforts to improve prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and related diseases in infants, children, adolescents, and pregnant women, several recent research findings help to advance the field.

Former NICHD Center Director Passes Away
Sumner J. Yaffe, M.D., a former center director at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, has passed away.

New Online Education Activity for Pharmacists
​​The NICHD’s Back to Sleep campaign launches an online continuing education activity to teach pharmacists about sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and about reducing babies’ risk for SIDS.

An Unexpected Benefit & A Cause for Concern
​NICHD-funded researchers find that as global smallpox immunization programs were phased out because of their success, monkeypox moved in and is on the rise.

NIH Awards $8.5 Million for Research on Pharmaceuticals for Children
Studying drugs in pediatric populations is challenging because drugs often affect children differently than they do adults. The scarcity of pediatric studies limits the ability of doctors and scientists to predict drug dosing, safety and efficacy in children. To address this gap, the National Institutes of Health announced today 18 grants to help determine outcome measures and increase the likelihood of success of future trials of treatments for children.

H1N1 Influenza (flu) Information for NICHD Audiences
​H1N1 Influenza (flu) Information for NICHD Audiences

Treating Pediatric Seizures
​Status epilepticus—continuous, unrelenting seizures that continue beyond several minutes—is a serious, life-threatening condition that affects up to 60,000 children and adults in the United States every year.

NIH Outlines Plans for Study of Pediatric Seizure: Transcript
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to the Pediatric Seizure Study. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later we will conduct a question and answer session. Instructions will be given at that time. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host today, Mr. Bob Bock, Press Officer, NICHD.

NIH Outlines Plans for Study of Pediatric Seizure
The scenario unfolds almost every day in the United States. A crowd gathers at a playground, or perhaps on a soccer field. A child has fallen to the ground, gripped by a seizure. Usually, the twitching and jerking stop within a few minutes.