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.
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.
NIH-Funded Researchers Transform Embryonic Stem Cells into Human Germa Cells
Researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health have discovered how to transform human embryonic stem cells into germ cells, the embryonic cells that ultimately give rise to sperm and eggs. The advance will allow researchers to observe human germ cells--previously inaccessible--in laboratory dishes.
NICHD Researcher Elected to Institute of Medicine
Dr. Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz recently joined a distinguished group of American and international scientists when she was elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences.
NIH Newborn Screening Research Program Named In Memory of Hunter Kelly
The National Institutes of Health today announced the establishment of a research program to enhance newborn screening, in memory of the son of National Football League Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly.
The NICHD & Newborn Screening: A New Era
Today, the NICHD debuted its Hunter Kelly Newborn Screening Research Program in honor of Hunter and his family’s work.
National Children's Study Scholars Program
The National Children's Study (NCS) is a unique epidemiological study of children's environmental health. The largest child health study ever undertaken in the United States, the NCS will longitudinally assess the effects of the chemical, biological, psychosocial-cultural, and physical environments on child health and development, with a special emphasis on gene-environment interaction and gene expression. The NCS will follow women through pregnancy and birth and their children through 21 years of age. Further information about the Study is available at http// www.nationalchildrensstudy.gov.
NICHD Welcomes Acting Director
Susan B. Shurin, M.D., assumed the duties of Acting Director of NICHD on October 1, 2009. Last week, Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., NIH Director, announced that Dr. Shurin would serve as Acting Director of NICHD upon the departure of Duane Alexander, M.D., for the Fogarty International Center.
Treating Even Mild Gestational Diabetes Reduces Birth Complications
A National Institutes of Health network study provided the first conclusive evidence that treating pregnant women who have even the mildest form of gestational diabetes can reduce the risk of common birth complications among infants, as well as blood pressure disorders among mothers.
NICHD Director Announces Departure
Duane Alexander, M.D., Director of the NICHD, announced recently that he would soon leave the institute on October 1, 2009, to begin a new assignment within the NIH.
New Technique Could Eliminate Inherited Mitochondrial Disease
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed an experimental technique with the potential to prevent a class of hereditary disorders passed on from mother to child. The technique, as yet conducted only in nonhuman primates,involves transferring the hereditary material from one female's egg into another female's egg from which the hereditary material has been removed.
U.S. Updates Clinical Guidelines for Prevention & Treatment of Opportunistic Infections among HIV-Exposed & HIV-Infected Children
New guidelines to assist health care workers in preventing and treating the secondary infections that can afflict U.S. children exposed to, or infected with, HIV, were published by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Imitation Promotes Social Bonding in Primates
Imitation, the old saying goes, is the sincerest form of flattery. It also appears to be an ancient interpersonal mechanism that promotes social bonding and, presumably, sets the stage for relative strangers to coalesce into groups of friends, according to a study by a team of scientists at the National Institutes of Health and two Italian research institutions.
Statement of Duane Alexander, M.D., Director, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development National Institutes of Health
The entire world owes a debt to Eunice Kennedy Shriver for her foresight in calling for an institute at the National Institutes of Health to study the myriad aspects of human development, both as it unfolds without problems and when medical and environmental factors prevent it from doing so.
NIH Issues Research Plan on Fragile X Syndrome & Associated Disorders
The National Institutes of Health has developed a research plan to advance the understanding of fragile X syndrome and its associated conditions, fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome and fragile X-associated primary ovarian insufficiency. Fragile X syndrome causes intellectual and developmental disabilities and results from a mutation in a gene on the X chromosome.
New Technique Could Sustain Cancer Patients' Fertility
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have completed a critical first step in the eventual development of a technique to retain fertility in women with cancer who require treatments that might otherwise make them unable to have children.
Federal Report Shows Slight Declines in Preterm Birth & Low Birthweight
American infants were less likely to be born preterm or of low birthweight, when compared to the previous year, according to the federal government's annual statistical report on the well-being of the nation's children. However, the report also showed economic setbacks for the nation?s children. Children were more likely to live in poverty, and less likely to have at least one parent employed year round, full time.
In Memory of Eunice Kennedy Shriver
The world has lost a great leader in the struggle to improve and enhance the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
New NIH Research Plan on Fragile X Syndrome and Associated Disorders
Researchers working for and with support from across the NIH have made significant advances in the understanding of FXS and the associated disorders FXTAS and FXPOI.
Understanding America's Children
Understanding the changing needs of the nation's children and the conditions they live in can play an important role in helping the country thrive both today and in the future. To create a comprehensive picture of children's lives, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, of which the NICHD is a member, compiles data on indicators of health and well-being for children and youth and reports its findings every year.
Second Gene Linked to Familial Testicular Cancer
Specific variations or mutations in a particular can gene raise a man's risk of familial, or inherited, testicular germ-cell cancer, the most common form of this disease, according to new research by scientists at the National Institutes of Health.