News & Updates

A new method to detect genetic material from the placenta in the blood of pregnant women could potentially identify the risk for gestational, or pregnancy-related, diabetes in the first trimester, suggests a small study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The placenta supports pregnancy and influences the lifelong health of both mother and child. Yet it is the least understood, and least studied, of all human organs. In a guest post for the NIH Director’s Blog, Dr. Bianchi discusses work from NICHD’s Human Placenta Project to understand how the placenta functions in real time during pregnancy.

Infants who were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at 24 months old had differences in the visual processing areas of the brain that were apparent at 6 months old, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The researchers theorized that disruption in visual processing could interfere with how infants see the world around them, changing how they interact with and learn from caregivers and their environment. These early changes could affect further brain development and play a role in ASD symptoms.

People who reported in survey that they felt worried, depressed or lonely had a greater chance of being hospitalized after a COVID-19 diagnosis, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

New drivers who performed poorly on a computerized driving simulator were more likely to fail their road test, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings suggest that the virtual driving assessment—which mimics situations in which new drivers are more likely to crash—can identify drivers lacking the skills to avoid crashes so they can benefit from interventions on how to reduce their crash risk.

Technique adapted from cancer treatment shows promise in mouse study.

NICHD-funded small business programs have led to innovations for patients, healthcare providers, researchers, and more. Learn about these success stories.

Researchers have developed a calculator to estimate the risk that cytomegalovirus (CMV) will pass to a fetus during pregnancy. By offering a noninvasive way to predict the chance of congenital CMV based on individual characteristics, this tool may help healthcare providers counsel pregnant women with CMV.

Vaccination against COVID-19 appears to be safe for children who have had multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and does not appear to increase the risk for inflammation of the heart or other organs, suggests a small study funded by the National Institutes of Health. MIS-C, a serious inflammation of the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, gastrointestinal organs or other body parts, occurs in children about 4 to 6 weeks after COVID-19.

Youth aged 13 to 24 years who were offered HIV testing by a digital health tool on a tablet computer were at least as likely to accept as those who were offered testing face-to-face, according to an NICHD-funded study.

Infertility treatments with ovulation drugs or intrauterine insemination—in which sperm is placed directly into the uterus—are associated with a higher likelihood of preterm birth, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Clinical research networks bring together scientists, clinicians, and community stakeholders to identify important clinical questions and design and conduct high-quality studies to answer them. Scientific evidence generated by such studies can impact clinical care, as several recent findings from NICHD’s networks demonstrate.

Treating newborns at risk for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) with a preventive oral dose of the sugar dextrose does not appear to increase their overall risk for neurological or sensory impairment at age 2, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. However, compared to a similar group of at-risk infants treated with a placebo, children treated as infants had a slightly higher risk of motor delay and slightly lower scores on a test of cognitive, language, and motor skills. The authors concluded that the study may not have included enough participants to detect an increased risk for adverse effects. They urged caution in treating infants at risk for hypoglycemia preventively with dextrose gel and called for future evaluations of the study participants later in childhood.

Findings from study highlight importance of preconception health for fathers.

Dr. Hazra, an expert in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases, brings a wealth ofexperience as a researcher, clinical trialist, and science administrator to his new role.

The amygdala—a brain structure enlarged in two-year-old children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)—begins its accelerated growth between 6 and 12 months of age, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The amygdala is involved in processing emotions, such as interpreting facial expressions or feeling afraid when exposed to a threat. The findings indicate that therapies to reduce the symptoms of ASD might have the greatest chance of success if they begin in the first year of life, before the amygdala begins its accelerated growth.

Hydrocortisone is no more effective than placebo at preventing damage that can result from oxygen and ventilator therapy necessary to keep preterm infants alive, according to research funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study of a potential treatment for the condition, known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia, appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.

To help spur innovation against a growing maternal health crisis, NICHD launched the Decoding Maternal Morbidity Data Challenge last year. Learn about the winning proposals.

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a prototype genetic test with the potential to predict the development and eventual severity of uterine fibroids—benign, but sometimes painful and debilitating tumors of the uterus. The test could be used to identify fibroid cases early and to better understand how they develop and how to treat them.