News

Two experimental compounds prevent one of the cellular events that is a likely contributor to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), according to a new study supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

In contrast to the pattern seen with singleton births, twins born to older mothers do not appear to have a greater risk of birth complications than do twins born to younger mothers, according to a recent study by researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the University of Kansas.

A new study confirms earlier reports that Depo-Provera, an injectable contraceptive popular among young and low-income American women, is strongly associated with bone density loss.

Women with spontaneous premature ovarian failure (POF) are three hundred times more likely than members of the general population to develop a serious condition in which the body attacks the adrenal glands, according to a study by researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Scientists at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the University of South Florida, Tampa, have come one step closer to identifying the cause of uterine fibroids - a condition that affects up to 70 percent of all reproductive age women and can lead to heavy menstrual bleeding, pain, and in some cases, infertility.

Women between the ages of 35 and 64 who took oral contraceptives at some point in their lives are no more likely to develop breast cancer than are other women the same age, according to findings from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Women's Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences Study (Women's CARE).

Few of the women who undergo tubal sterilization or whose husbands undergo vasectomy later go on to regret either procedure, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Fertility researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have discovered a gene present in the human egg that may be essential for early embryo development.

The anti-diabetes drug metformin appears to reduce the likelihood of early miscarriage in women with a common form of female infertility, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Portable monitors that detect contractions of the uterus do not appear to be useful for identifying women likely to have a preterm delivery, according to a study by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

A sharp drop in stress hormones after giving birth to a child may predispose some women to develop certain conditions in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissues, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

A short cervix early in the second trimester of pregnancy appears to be a warning sign of impending premature birth among women who have previously given birth prematurely, according to a study by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's (NICHD) Maternal Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network.

Using the drug metronizadole to treat pregnant women who have the sexually transmitted disease trichomoniasis does not reduce the women's chances for giving birth prematurely, and may actually increase them, according to a study appearing in the August 16 New England Journal of Medicine.

Contrary to what had previously been reported, epidural analgesia, used to relieve women's pain during labor, does not appear to increase a woman's chances of having a Cesarean section, according to an analysis of hospital records by researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and Tripler Army Medical Center, in Hawaii.

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) will fund three sites to conduct research to increase understanding of how infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects adolescent and adult women.

Lawrence Nelson, MD, a fertility researcher at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, has received "The Art of Listening Award" from the Genetic Alliance for his ability to listen carefully to his patients when evaluating their conditions.

Researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) are recruiting women who have premature ovarian failure--formerly known as premature menopause--to determine if restoring testosterone will help prevent osteoporosis.

Fertility researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have found that a gene in female mice is essential for their egg cells to later develop beyond the two-cell stage after fertilization.

A shorter course of AZT therapy than currently prescribed for HIV-infected pregnant women may allow women in developing countries to afford the treatment that can reduce their babies' chances of contracting AIDS, but at a much lower cost, according to a study in the October 5 New England Journal of Medicine.

In a major new effort to stimulate women's health research across a variety of disciplines, the National Institutes of Health announced it will fund 11 awards to support development of new research in women's health.