The National Institutes of Health has awarded eight research grants to refine new technologies for early diagnosis of severe illnesses resulting from SARS-CoV-2 infection in children. The new awards follow grants issued in 2020 to foster methods for diagnosing children at high risk for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a rare, severe and sometimes fatal after-effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection or exposure in children.
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.
Science Update: Analyzing birth stories may predict risk for childbirth-related PTSD
Computational analysis of the word usage in personal stories of recent birthing experiences can identify women likely to develop PTSD related to childbirth, suggests an NIH-funded study. The findings may aid development of a low-cost screening tool to help diagnose and treat childbirth-related PTSD.
Science Update: Compound in olive leaves may provide endometriosis treatment, NIH-funded mouse study suggests
Oleuropein, a compound found in olive oil and olive leaves, may have the potential to treat endometriosis with fewer side effects than current treatments, suggests a study of mice and human tissue cultures funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Director's Corner: Reflecting on NICHD’s 60th Anniversary Year
Research conducted at NICHD and at NICHD-funded institutions continues to bring us closer to fulfilling our vision of ensuring healthy pregnancies, healthy children, and healthy and optimal lives.
Science Update: Youth injured by firearms at risk for subsequent mental health disorders, NIH-funded study suggests
Children and teens injured by a firearm were 50% more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder in the year after the injury, compared to children and teens injured in a motor vehicle crash, according to an analysis of medical records funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings suggest that firearm injuries may increase the risk for mental health disorders more than other kinds of traumatic injuries and that children injured by firearms may benefit from mental health screening.
Science Update: Cellular metabolism regulates developmental rates, suggests NIH-funded study
Cellular metabolism helps govern the speed of embryonic development, according to an NIH funded study. Insights from the work help explain why different animal species develop at distinct rates. The findings also suggest the potential to manipulate developmental rates at the cellular level.
Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2022
Read about NICHD’s research findings and activities from 2022.
Release: Alzheimer’s progression in Down syndrome appears similar to other genetic, early onset forms of the disease
Amyloid plaques—protein clumps that are one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease—occur at roughly the same level in the brains of people with Down syndrome who have Alzheimer’s as they do in people with forms of hereditary, early-onset Alzheimer’s, according to research funded by the National Institutes of Health. Based on the largest study of its kind to date, the findings suggest that individuals with Alzheimer’s and Down syndrome may benefit from participating in studies on Alzheimer’s therapies aimed at slowing formation of amyloid plaques.
Director's Corner: The Promise of Precision Nutrition Research
What defines eating for health? Clearly, there is no one-size-fits-all healthy diet. The emerging field of precision nutrition aims to deliver personalized dietary recommendations to optimize health and quality of life based on an individual’s genetics, gut microbes, and other biological, lifestyle, environmental, and social factors.
Science Update: NIH scientists appear to decipher how flu viruses enter cells
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health believe they have discovered how influenza viruses open a hole in the cell membrane to inject genetic material into the cell. The findings may inform the development of new technologies to combat infectious microbes and to insert medications, genes, and proteins into cells to treat diseases.
Science Update: NIH-funded researchers examine uterine prolapse surgical trial outcomes
Study finds that a second operation benefits the small subset of women who choose reoperation for recurring symptoms.
Release: Simulated driving program reduces crash risk for teens with ADHD in small study
A program that combines computer-based and driving simulator training may reduce the proportion of crashes and near crashes among teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a small study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Teens who took the training, which aims to reduce the number of long glances away from the roadway, had a nearly 40% lower risk for crash or near crash, compared to a similar group who did not undergo the training.
Science Update: Common chemical may promote fibroid growth, small NIH-funded study suggests
Exposure to a chemical found in a wide variety of consumer products may trigger the growth of uterine fibroid cells and delay the rate at which they die, suggests a study
funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study provides a potential explanation for why women exposed to industrial chemicals known as phthalates—found in personal care products, food packaging, and medical products—have higher rates of fibroid tumors than other women. The findings may also inform future strategies to prevent or treat fibroids.
Science Update: NIH-funded study in mice suggests bacteria rely on metal tolerance to cause pregnancy-related infection
A bacterial species that causes chorioamnionitis—an infection of the placenta and fetal membranes that often leads to preterm birth—relies on a gene for metal tolerance to hijack immune cells, suggests a study in mice funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings indicate that strategies to target the gene and its products could eliminate one of the most common causes of preterm birth.
Media Advisory: NIH-funded researchers to begin study of intravenous iron treatment for post-pregnancy anemia
Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health are launching a large study to evaluate a single dose of intravenous iron to treat women experiencing anemia
after giving birth. The study will enroll nearly 5,000 women in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Zambia and Guatemala.
Director's Corner: Expanding Contraceptive Choices
A safe, highly effective, reversible method of male contraception would fill an important public health need. Additionally, multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs)—products that prevent both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections—would increase sexual and reproductive health options for both women and men. NICHD supports a broad range of contraceptive research, including efforts to develop male contraceptives and MPTs.
Media Advisory: No increase in risk of serious pregnancy complications during early pandemic, NIH-funded study suggests
Compared to giving birth in 2019, giving birth in 2020 during the early stages of the pandemic was not associated with a higher risk of maternal death or a serious complication of pregnancy, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Science Update: Placental malaria may slow glucose flow to the fetus, NIH-funded study suggests
Malaria infection of the placenta may reduce the amount of glucose that passes to the fetus, according to an NIH-funded study. The research involves a placenta on a chip model—a laboratory device incorporating placental tissue to simulate the interface between maternal blood and the outermost part of the placenta. The findings offer insight into how placental malaria may deprive the fetus of an essential nutrient and may inform the development of strategies to prevent or treat the condition.
Release: Study confirms link between COVID-19 vaccination and temporary increase in menstrual cycle length
A large international study has confirmed the findings of a previous U.S. study that linked COVID-19 vaccination with an average increase in menstrual cycle length of less than one day. The increase was not associated with any change in the number of days of menses (days of bleeding). Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the new study included data from nearly 20,000 people from Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe and other parts of the world who received any of nine different vaccines. For most study participants, the increase resolved in the cycle following vaccination.
Release: Prenatal steroid treatment may improve survival, reduce complications for extremely preterm infants
Steroid treatment before birth appears to improve survival and reduce complications among extremely preterm infants, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Antenatal steroid therapy, given to women at risk of preterm delivery, causes the fetal lungs to mature and has been shown to improve survival and reduce complications among infants born from 24 to 34 weeks of pregnancy. However, previous studies of the treatment for infants born between the 22nd and 23rd week—those at greatest risk for death and disability—were inconclusive.