NICHD researchers found changes in DNA methylation of children born to older mothers. The children have changes in DNA tags, called methyl groups, which switch genes on and off. The findings may provide an explanation for the slightly higher health risks children born to older parents have.
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: Youth with HIV may have shorter lifespans than youth without HIV, NIH-funded study suggests
Researchers developed a simulation to estimate the life span of youth with HIV and found that some could lose from 10 to 20 years of life, compared to youth without HIV. Life expectancy depends on such factors as whether they acquired HIV around the time of birth, later in life, or received ideal care.
Item of Interest: NIH funds two additional Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence
NIH awarded two new grants to expand its Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence. These institutions design and implement research projects seeking to reduce pregnancy-related complications and deaths and promote maternal health equity in the United States.
Item of Interest: NICHD announces funding for two fibroid research centers
NICHD has awarded $15 million to fund two specialized centers to conduct research on the health disparities underlying uterine fibroids.
Item of Interest: NIH selects new service provider for DS-Connect®: The Down Syndrome Registry
NIH awarded $1.4 million in first-year funding to the University of Colorado Denver to manage and improve DS-Connect®: The Down Syndrome Registry. DS-Connect® enables the Down syndrome community to connect with researchers, express interest in clinical studies, and complete surveys to improve understanding of their health.
Director's Corner: BRAIN at 10: A View from NICHD
NIH’s BRAIN Initiative is marking a milestone—10 years of advancing neuroscience and neurotechnology research by funding innovative projects. Dr. Bianchi shares her perspective on the impact BRAIN has made on NICHD’s mission.
Media Advisory: Service dogs may reduce PTSD symptoms for military members and veterans, NIH-funded study suggests
For military members and veterans who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), adding a service dog to their usual care could reduce the severity of PTSD symptoms, feelings of anxiety, and lower depression while enhancing their quality of life and psychosocial functioning, a new study suggests. The trial is the largest nationwide study comparing service dog partnerships to usual care alone.
Science Update: Early childhood adversity may affect neurological and cognitive development, NICHD study suggests
Children with a history of adverse childhood experiences scored lower on tests of neurological and cognitive development than kids not exposed to early life adversity. Researchers called for the development of interventions to protect children from adversity’s potential neurological and cognitive effects.
Item of Interest: NICHD Leads Summer Workshops on Women’s Health
NICHD is co-hosting several workshops and virtual meetings on women’s health topics in summer 2024. Please consider registering to participate in discussions and to help shape future research and care.
Science Update: Common surgeries for pelvic organ prolapse are comparable and safe, according to NIH-funded clinical trial
Results from an NICHD-funded clinical trial suggest that three common surgeries to repair pelvic organ prolapse are generally
comparable and safe. This work provides healthcare providers and patients with clinical evidence to discuss available surgeries and decide upon the most appropriate treatment.
Science Update: Blood transfusions for preterm infants not associated with risk for necrotizing enterocolitis, NIH-funded study suggests
Blood transfusions for preterm infants to do not appear to increase the risk of a life-threatening intestinal condition, a new study suggests.
Science Update: Cerebral palsy increased among extremely preterm infants from 2008 to 2019, NIH-funded study suggests
The odds of cerebral palsy among surviving preterm infants born before 27 weeks of pregnancy increased by an average of 11% per year and study authors say the increase may reflect improved survival due to advances in infant care.
Science Update: Prediction strategies may reduce inappropriate CT scans for children and youth, NIH-funded study suggests
To avoid radiation exposure, researchers developed prediction strategies to prevent pediatric trauma patients from receiving unneeded CT scans, which slightly increase the risk for radiation induced cancers.
Science Update: NIH scientists identify cause of rare, infant-onset neurodegenerative disease
NICHD scientists and colleagues identified genetic variants that disable the protein complex BORC as the cause of a severe neurodegenerative disorder that begins early in life. Subsequent work helped unravel the role of BORC in neurons and explain how defects in BORC function may contribute to neurodegeneration.
Director's Corner: Prioritizing Women’s Health
Within NIH, NICHD leads research focused on women’s health “below the belt.” This includes addressing a spectrum of gynecological and reproductive health issues, from endometriosis to pelvic floor disorders.
Science Update: Exposure to tobacco smoke from fetal development through adolescence may increase high blood pressure, diabetes risk in midlife, NIH-funded study suggests
Individuals born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy and when they were children may be at an increased risk for high blood pressure and diabetes.
Item of Interest: NIH Distinguished Investigator Gisela Storz Elected AAAS Fellow
Gisela Storz, Ph.D., an NIH Distinguished Investigator at NICHD has been elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Storz was honored for her distinguished contributions to the field of microbiology.
Science Update: Steroid treatment in late pregnancy does not appear to affect children’s neurodevelopment, NICHD-funded study suggests
Children born to mother who received a steroid injection in late pregnancy do not appear to be at risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. The findings help to allay concerns that the treatment—given to help fetal lungs mature in case of preterm birth—could affect neurodevelopment.
Spotlight: Genetic Research Offers Hope for Targeted Therapies for Lymphatic Malformations
Anomalies of the vascular system include lymphatic malformations that can cause lymphedema, or swelling in parts of the body. These anomalies arise from gene mutations that can be hereditary or occur spontaneously after conception. Research led by the Sheppard Lab at NICHD is seeking to understand the genetic causes of vascular anomalies, examine how they change over a lifetime, and identify drugs to treat them.
Media Advisory: AI model has potential to detect risk of childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder
An AI program has the potential to identify signs of childbirth related post-traumatic stress disorder by evaluating short narratives of patients who have given birth. With further refinements, the program could potentially identify a large proportion of those at risk.