Roughly a third of recent high school graduates have ridden in a motor vehicle with a substance-impaired driver, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
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.
Spotlight: What to Know About Endometriosis
Understanding endometriosis, causes and treatment, is part of NICHD’s mission. Learn more about signs and symptoms.
Release: Antiviral drug not beneficial for reducing mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B when added to existing preventatives, study shows
An antiviral drug commonly prescribed to treat hepatitis B infection does not significantly reduce mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus, according to a clinical trial funded by NIH.
Media Advisory: NIH researchers find a potential treatment for disorders involving excess red blood cells
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have cured mice with Chuvash polycythemia, a life-threatening disorder that involves the overproduction of red blood cells, with the experimental drug, Tempol.The findings offer hope that Tempol or a similar drug may treat polycythemias that affect humans, such as mountain sickness—a serious blood complication experienced in low-oxygen, high-altitude settings.
Release: NIH-funded researchers identify risk factors for sleep apnea during pregnancy
Snoring, older age and obesity may increase a pregnant woman’s risk for sleep apnea—or interrupted breathing during sleep—according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Science Update: Brain stimulation treatment may help children with cerebral palsy recover limb function, NICHD funded study suggests
Using a mild electrical current to either boost or inhibit the brain’s own electrical impulses may one day help rehabilitate its function, according to researchers funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Science Update: Restoring gut microbiome may help women with polycystic ovary syndrome, suggests NIH study
Hormonal changes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common condition that contributes to infertility, may alter their intestinal microbe populations, according to an NICHD-funded study.
Media Advisory: Induced labor after 39 weeks in healthy women may reduce need for C section
Healthy first-time mothers whose labor was induced in the 39th week of pregnancy were less likely to have a cesarean delivery, compared to a similar group who were not electively induced at 39 weeks, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Release: Graduates of early childhood program show greater educational gains as adults
Students who participated in an intensive childhood education program from preschool to third grade were more likely to achieve an academic degree beyond high school, compared to a similar group that received other intervention services as children, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
News Release: NIH Begins Large HIV Treatment Study in Pregnant Women
The National Institutes of Health has launched a large international study to compare the safety and efficacy of three antiretroviral treatment regimens for pregnant women living with HIV and the safety of these regimens for their infants.
News Release: Zika infection during pregnancy may disrupt fetal oxygen supply
Zika virus infection appears to affect oxygen delivery to the fetuses of pregnant monkeys, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Science Update: Folic acid, multivitamins before and during pregnancy may reduce autism risk, suggests NIH-funded study
Children born to women who took either folic acid or a daily multivitamin before or during pregnancy were less likely to have a child diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, compared to children whose mothers did not take any prenatal vitamins, according to researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.
News Release: NIH researchers report first 3D structure of DHHC enzymes
The first 3D structure of DHHC proteins—enzymes involved in many cellular processes, including cancer—explains how they function and may offer a blueprint for designing therapeutic drugs, according to an NICHD study.
News Release: Iodine deficiency may reduce pregnancy chances, NIH study suggests
Women with moderate to severe iodine deficiency may take longer to achieve a pregnancy, compared to women with normal iodine levels, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Science Update: Maternal genetic material essential for embryo development, NIH-funded study suggests
A molecule containing genetic instructions passed on from the mother to the egg must be present for the fertilized egg to survive and develop into a normal embryo, according to results of an NICHD-funded zebrafish study.
Science Update: NICHD-funded researchers determine optimal blood pressure levels during CPR for infants and children
Infants and children who suffer cardiac arrest while in the hospital have a greater chance of survival if their blood pressure is maintained at a targeted level throughout life-saving CPR treatment.
News Release: Clinical research must include underrepresented groups, NIH experts say
To realize the promise of personalized medicine, new research studies must include segments of the population often overlooked in clinical research: children, older adults, pregnant women, and individuals with physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities, according to an article by NICHD’s Director and Deputy Director.
Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2017
Over the past year, NICHD contributed to numerous scientific advances and key initiatives.
Science Update: Preschool program to boost executive function leads to success in primary grades
A program to teach preschoolers pre-reading, social, and thinking skills appears to have benefits through third grade, particularly in executive functioning—the mental skills that include planning, paying attention, organizing, and remembering details.
News Release: NIH study of WWII evacuees suggests mental illness may be passed to offspring
Mental illness associated with early childhood adversity may be passed from generation to generation, according to a study of adults whose parents evacuated Finland as children during World War II.