Children born to women on HIV therapy containing the drug efavirenz were 2 to 2.5 times more likely to have microcephaly, or small head size, compared to children born to women on regimens of other antiretroviral drugs, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health. The children with microcephaly also had a higher risk for developmental delays, compared to children with normal head size.
News
NICHD issues News Releases and Media Advisories to the news media. Spotlight and Research Feature articles explain NICHD research findings and public health issues to the general public. An Item of Interest is a short announcement of relevant information, such as a notable staff change.
Science Update: Positive family relationships in adolescence may reduce depression risk during midlife, NIH-funded study suggests
Adolescents who had a positive relationship with their families were less likely to have depressive symptoms not only in adolescence, but also in midlife, according to an analysis funded by the NICHD.
Item of Interest: Now Available: NIH Research Plan on Fragile X and Associated Conditions
The Trans-NIH Fragile X Coordinating Committee, led by NICHD, recently published the final NIH Strategic Research Plan on FMR1-Associated Conditions.
Media Advisory: NIH-funded study shows placenta imaging method may aid early diagnosis of pregnancy complications
A new imaging technique to track maternal blood flow to the placenta has the potential to help diagnose several common complications in early pregnancy, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Researchers used the technique, referred to as pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging (pCASL MRI), to identify women with reduced placental blood flow who later developed one or more complications.
Science Update: NIH-funded researchers identify subtle motor differences in Fragile X premutation carriers
Many carriers of the FMR1 premutation—a mutation in the gene associated with the developmental disorder Fragile X syndrome—may have subtle changes in grip strength, fine motor control, and reaction time before other symptoms develop, according to a small study supported in part by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Media Advisory: NIH-funded study suggests acetaminophen exposure in pregnancy linked to higher risk of ADHD, autism
Exposure to acetaminophen in the womb may increase a child’s risk for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality.
Media Advisory: High rates of dementia, Alzheimer’s observed among older people with Down syndrome
A study of Wisconsin Medicaid enrollees with Down syndrome has found that more than half of those ages 55 and older have filed at least three claims for dementia and nearly a third have filed at least three claims for Alzheimer’s disease. The analysis was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality.
Science Update: Mouse X chromosome genes linked to male infertility, NIH-funded study suggests
The mouse X chromosome contains two amplicons—regions in which a single gene is copied multiple times—that appear to control male fertility and offspring sex ratios, an NIH-funded study suggests. The findings could provide insight into male infertility among humans.
Item of Interest: Joint study finds safe infant sleep practices need improvement
A study from federal researchers shows that information about ways to reduce the risk of sleep-related infant deaths is not reaching all caregivers or healthcare providers.
Science Update: Parents’ early adversity may affect offspring health, NIH-funded animal study suggests
Early life adversity among female baboons is directly linked to lower survival rates for their offspring, suggests an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study includes 45 years of data from a wild baboon population and overcomes a limitation of analyses of human populations, which have had difficulty distinguishing environmental effects on parents from environmental effects on children.
Media Advisory: High lead levels during pregnancy linked to child obesity, NIH-funded study suggests
Children born to women who have high blood levels of lead are more likely be overweight or obese, compared to those whose mothers have low levels of lead in their blood, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health and Health Resources and Services Administration.
Science Update: Sleeping position during early and mid pregnancy does not affect risk of complications, NIH-funded study suggests
Sleeping on the back or side through the 30th week of pregnancy does not appear to increase the risk of stillbirth, reduced size at birth, or high blood pressure disorders of pregnancy, suggests an analysis funded by the NICHD.
Release: Surgery may benefit women with two types of urinary incontinence
Surgery for stress urinary incontinence improves symptoms of another form of incontinence, called urgency urinary incontinence, in women who have both types, according to a study supported by NIH.
Release: Mesh implants have similar outcomes to hysterectomy for vaginal prolapse repair
Two surgical procedures used to correct vaginal prolapse—one to remove the uterus and one that supports the uterus with mesh—have comparable three-year outcomes.
Media Advisory: NIH-funded study suggests teen girl ‘night owls’ may be more likely to gain weight
Teen girls—but not boys—who prefer to go to bed later are more likely to gain weight, compared to same-age girls who go to bed earlier, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Media Advisory: Prolonged antibiotic treatment may alter preterm infants’ microbiome
Treating preterm infants with antibiotics for more than 20 months appears to promote the development of multidrug-resistant gut bacteria, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The research appears in Nature Microbiology.
Media Advisory: NIH scientists call for coordinated research to improve pregnancy-related health in the United States
Improved data reporting among the factors critical to reducing life-threatening complications of pregnancy and childbirth
Science Update: Fragile X carriers may be at higher risk for several health conditions, NIH-funded study suggests
Carriers of the FMR1 premutation—a mutation in the gene associated with the developmental disorder Fragile X syndrome—may have a higher risk for several health conditions, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Science Update: Naltrexone could hold promise for treating opioid use disorder during pregnancy, NICHD-funded study suggests
Infants born to mothers taking the drug naltrexone to treat opioid use disorder showed no signs of drug withdrawal and had shorter hospital stays than infants born to mothers undergoing the standard treatment, according to a small study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Science Update: Risk for autism spectrum disorder mainly influenced by genetics, suggests NICHD-funded study
Inherited genetic factors account for approximately 80 percent of the risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to estimates published in a study funded by NIH.