News

Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will assess whether a single oral dose of the antibiotic azithromycin during labor reduces the risk of maternal and infant bacterial infection and death in seven low- and middle-income countries.

Teens who take positive risks, such as enrolling in a challenging course or initiating a new friendship, tend to be more involved in school and less likely to act impulsively, compared to those who take negative risks like drinking alcohol or stealing, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Researchers to evaluate medical records of 21,000 pregnant women

Roughly 3 to 5% of children with an aunt or uncle with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can also be expected to have ASD, compared to about 1.5% of children in the general population, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings call into question the female protective effect, a theory that females have a lower rate of ASD than males because they have greater tolerance of ASD risk factors.

An NIH-funded study found that youth with Fragile X syndrome experienced verbal improvements from a parent-based language intervention, but a drug treatment paired with the intervention did not provide additional benefit.

Program will include lessons learned from caring for pregnant women with COVID-19.

A small study funded by the National Institutes of Health suggests that sleep problems among children who have a sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may further raise the likelihood of an ASD diagnosis, compared to at-risk children who do not have difficulty sleeping.

Whole body diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW MRI) may aid in the assessment of cancer treatment response in children and youth at much lower levels of radiation than current approaches, suggests a small study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Four years after high school, adolescents who were binge drinkers during their senior year were more likely than non-binge drinkers to drive while impaired, to ride with an impaired driver, to black out from alcohol, to extreme binge drink, and to engage in risky driving practices, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

High school students who began classes roughly an hour later than students at neighboring schools slept an average of 43 minutes more per night, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study authors wrote that the later morning start times accommodated the teens’ natural sleep period, which begins about two hours later than that of younger children.

Research on the causes of and effective treatments for endometriosis is a high priority for NICHD. Our grantees share their findings and ongoing research.

Exercise during pregnancy stimulates fetal production of brown fat, which boosts metabolism and burns calories, even after birth, suggests a mouse study funded by the National Institutes of Health. When fed a high-fat diet, mice born to mothers who exercised had less weight gain than mice whose mothers did not exercise.

The earlier in pregnancy infants were born, the more likely they were to fail a screening test for developmental delay by age 3, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. Although infants born at 39 weeks, considered full term, had a lower risk than those born earlier, infants born at 40 and 41 weeks had even lower risks. The findings may have implications for elective induction—labor induced when there is no medical need—at 39 weeks.

Adolescents with chronic pain—persistent or recurrent pain for an extended period of time—may be less likely than adolescents without chronic pain to attain a high school or college degree and have a job with employer-provided benefits, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Teens with a learner’s permit who had regular, behind-the-wheel practice sessions had a lower crash risk in the year after they obtained their driver’s license, compared to teens who practiced less frequently, according to a study by researchers at the NICHD and other institutions.

Drug labels for doxycycline, clindamycin and caffeine citrate now include better information for healthcare providers on recommended usage and dosage in pediatric populations.

James A. Griffin, Ph.D., named new Chief of NICHD’s Child Development and Behavior Branch

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered a second gene that causes melorheostosis, a rare group of conditions involving an often painful and disfiguring overgrowth of bone tissue. The gene, SMAD3, is part of a pathway that regulates cell development and growth. The researchers are now working to develop an animal model with a mutant version of SMAD3 to test potential treatments for the condition.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered in mice what they believe is the first known genetic mutation to improve cognitive flexibility—the ability to adapt to changing situations.

Researchers have developed a test to measure the expressive language skills of people with Fragile X syndrome, a genetic disorder that may result in intellectual disability, cognitive impairment and symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. Expressive language refers to the use of words to convey meaning to others. The work was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health.