NICHD News Releases

Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research 2012 Annual Report
This NICHD Division recently released its annual report highlighting research that covers a range of topics, from understanding fertility and preventing birth defects to promoting healthy lifestyles and behaviors and developing new ways to analyze data.

Delay in shifting gaze linked to early brain development in autism
At 7 months of age, children who are later diagnosed with autism take a split second longer to shift their gaze during a task measuring eye movements and visual attention than do typically developing infants of the same age, according to researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health.

March Is Trisomy Awareness Month
The term “trisomy” refers to conditions characterized by having 3 copies of a chromosome, instead of the usual 2-copy pair. An extra chromosome causes health problems ranging from mild intellectual and developmental disability, to severe physical problems. During Trisomy Awareness Month, the NICHD highlights the important role research plays in helping families and patients address challenges associated with trisomy conditions, such as Down syndrome.

NIH clinical trial begins for treatment of rare, fatal neurological disorder

Government, industry, academia, and patient groups collaborate on Niemann-Pick Type C research.

A Promising New Therapy for a Childhood Coordination Disorder
​Developmental coordination disorder, a disorder that impairs the development of a child’s motor coordination, can cause some children to fall behind their peers in terms of motor and coordination skills. NICHD-supported researchers are exploring technologies to assist children with this sometimes debilitating neurological disorder. [Photo: Courtesy of Indiana University]

Scientific Vision: The Next Decade
The NICHD embarked upon a collaborative process in 2011 to create a scientific Vision, identifying the most promising scientific opportunities for the Institute and its partners to pursue over the next decade. The newly published Scientific Vision statement presents the results of that process and outlines scientific goals for the coming decade.

NICHD reorganizes extramural program
​Alan Guttmacher, M.D., Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) announced a number of changes to streamline the institute’s organizational structure and accelerate the exchange of scientific ideas.

NICHD vision statement now available online
A document charting a research course for the many collaborators who share an interest in promoting the science concerning human development through the life span, child health, women's health, and rehabilitation research is now available online.

Research for a Lifetime: Commemorating the NICHD’s 50th Anniversary
On October 17, 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed into law the legislation establishing the NICHD to examine “the complex process of human development from conception to old age.” The Institute marks its golden anniversary with Research for a Lifetime, an all-day scientific colloquium to highlight the Institute’s mission, accomplishments, and future research directions.

Prenatal intervention reduces learning deficit in mice
​Mice with a condition that serves as a laboratory model for Down syndrome perform better on memory and learning tasks as adults if they were treated before birth with neuroprotective peptides, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

October NICHD Director's podcast now online
​The October 2012 NICHD Research Perspectives, the NICHD’s monthly podcast, is now online. The podcast features discussions of research of a study on a treatment to reduce the risk of preterm birth and the new Safe to Sleep campaign.

NICHD Director's Statement: Births: Preliminary Data for 2011
​Preterm births have fallen for the fifth straight year in a row, reported the National Center for Health Statistics of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in one of its recent National Vital Statistics Reports. This welcome decline was seen for all groups, and for each stage of pregnancy.

NIH Awards $100 Million for Autism Centers of Excellence Program
​The National Institutes of Health has announced grant awards of $100 million over five years for the Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) research program, which will feature projects investigating sex differences in autism spectrum disorders, or ASD, and investigating ASD and limited speech.

NIH seeks Proposals to Study Genomic Sequencing in Newborn Period
​The National Institutes of Health is seeking proposals for research projects on the implications of information obtained from sequencing the genome to identify diseases in newborns. The intent of funding such projects is to further the understanding of disorders that appear during the newborn period and to improve treatments for these diseases.

New Video Highlights NIH Investment in Zebrafish Research
​As they strive to develop new treatments for birth defects, or to prevent them, scientists at the National Institutes of Health have found a big ally in a small fish. An NIH video shows how the zebrafish, Danio rerio, is a valuable resource for scientists trying to understand the intricate process by which a fertilized egg develops into a fully formed individual, and the numerous diseases and conditions that can result when even a tiny part of the process goes wrong.

Cognitive Changes may be only Sign of Fetal Alcohol Exposure
​Most children exposed to high levels of alcohol in the womb do not develop the distinct facial features seen in fetal alcohol syndrome, but instead show signs of abnormal intellectual or behavioral development, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and researchers in Chile.

Alcohol & Drug-Related Birth Defects Research at the NICHD
Birth defects are structural or functional abnormalities present at birth that can cause physical, intellectual, or emotional problems. Birth defects caused by alcohol or drug use during pregnancy are an important focus of the NICHD’s research agenda. This Spotlight describes some of the Institute’s current research on birth defects caused by these types of prenatal exposures.

For Young Children with Autism, Directing Attention Boosts Language
An intervention in which adults actively engaged the attention of preschool children with autism by pointing to toys and using other gestures to focus their attention results in a long term increase in language skills, according to researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Health Benefits all Nations, HHS Secretary Tells NICHD Global Network
Secretary Sebelius addressed the researchers at the Network's Annual Steering Committee meeting this month. The Network, established by the NICHD and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, seeks to prevent maternal and infant deaths and illnesses worldwide. Scientists from developing countries, together with those in the United States, lead teams that identify the health needs of an area and address those needs through randomized clinical trials to test treatments and interventions.

Audio Briefing: NIH Researchers Develop Nanoprobe Treatment for Animal Model of Cerebral Palsy
The Chief of NICHD's Perinatology Research Branch and his colleagues recently held a news briefing to describe a prototype treatment for an animal model of cerebral palsy. The researchers injected a bacterial toxin into the uteruses of pregnant rabbits. Like human patients with cerebral palsy, the baby rabbits developed a severe disability affecting their ability to move. When injected with nanoparticles carrying an anti-inflammatory drug, the baby rabbits recovered much of their movement ability.