News

Metformin, a drug used to treat diabetes and thought to hold great promise at overcoming the infertility associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), is less useful for helping women with the condition achieve pregnancy than is the standard treatment with the infertility drug clomiphene, report researchers in an NIH research network.

When the Institute celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding in 2003, director Duane Alexander, M.D., initiated the NICHD Hall of Honor as a way to recognize NICHD-supported scientists whose achievements have been especially noteworthy.

A woman's response to HIV treatment with drug combinations that contain nevirapine is improved if at least six months have passed after she received the drug as a single dose during labor to prevent passing HIV on to her child. (The response to treatment is measured by the reduction of HIV in the blood.)

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered that a previously unexplained fatal form of Osteogenesis Imperfecta-a disorder that weakens bones and which may cause frequent fractures-results from a genetic defect in a protein involved in the production of collagen.

Malaria—a disease caused by a single-celled parasite—can result in severe headache, high fever, chills, and vomiting. Worldwide, an estimated 300 to 500 million clinical cases of malaria occur each year, and the disease kills more than 1 million children annually.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have developed an experimental vaccine that could, theoretically, eliminate malaria from entire geographic regions, by eradicating the malaria parasite from an area's mosquitoes.

Using hormonal contraception does not appear to increase women's overall risk of infection with the AIDS virus, report the authors of a large study commissioned by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.

The brain's fear hub Likely becomes abnormally small in the most severely socially impaired males with autism spectrum disorders, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have discovered.

A new technology for measuring blood oxygen levels of a baby during labor--expected to provide information useful for preventing birth complications--offers no apparent benefit, report researchers in a National Institutes of Health research network.

Abuse of children and adolescents is a complex international problem that seems to defy simple analysis and easy answers. To understand child abuse and exploitation, and to make an impact on the outcomes of these children, the NICHD is joining the American Psychological Association in marking the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse on November 19.

When autism was first named in 1943 by Dr. Leo Kanner, it was thought to be a rare condition, occurring in fewer than three children in 10,000. By 1996, the estimated incidence of autism was about 12 cases per 10,000 children—not exactly the rate of a rare disorder.

Infants who die of sudden infant death syndrome have abnormalities in the brainstem, a part of the brain that helps control heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, temperature and arousal, report researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The current study appears in the November 1 Journal of the American Medical Association provides additional evidence that brainstem abnormalities may impair an infant's ability to sense high carbon dioxide and low oxygen levels.

In the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind to date, researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have shown that when stroke survivors who've lost function in one arm are given a unique, two-week rehabilitation regimen that involves restraining their functional arm, they show improvements that last for as long as one year post-treatment.

The National Institutes of Health opened a new health information center today at the Jackson Medical Mall in Jackson, Mississippi, affirming NIH's commitment to providing accurate, up-to-date health information to Mississippi residents.

A version of a gene has been linked to autism in families that have more than one child with the disorder. Inheriting two copies of this version more than doubled a child's risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder, scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have discovered.

The drug misoprostol provides a safe, convenient, and inexpensive means to prevent postpartum hemorrhage, a major killer of women in developing countries. The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Missouri, India's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, and the National Institutes of Health.

A compendium of findings from a study funded by the National Institutes of Health reveals that a child's family life has more influence on a child's development through age four and a half than does a child's experience in child care.

What is the best way to teach kids about science? A new report seeks to help children learn science more effectively by improving the way science is taught in the classroom.

Need information on reading disability? Want to know how much calcium is in a serving of broccoli? Trying to find out how to apply for a research grant to study spinal cord development in zebrafish? Check out http://www.nichd.nih.gov.