The theme for this year’s World Down Syndrome Day—With us, not for us—reflects a major goal of NIH’s INCLUDE project, which NICHD co-leads. INCLUDE aims to increase the participation of people with Down syndrome and their families in clinical research to expand our knowledge about the condition and its links to other health issues, with the ultimate goal of improving the health and quality of life of affected individuals.
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.
Release: New, non-invasive imaging tool maps uterine contractions during labor
The tool has the potential to assist with preterm birth, labor management and clinical decisionmaking.
Science Update: High-intensity walking intervals better than moderate walking for stroke rehabilitation, NIH-funded study suggests
A program with intervals of high-intensity walking promotes greater gains in fitness for stroke patients than the currently recommended program of moderate-intensity walking, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study enrolled chronic stroke patients—those at least six months past their stroke—often considered more difficult to rehabilitate than recent stroke patients.
Science Update: Biomarker for Niemann-Pick type C may be useful for diagnosing other class of rare disorders, NIH study suggests
A biomarker used to detect a rare neurodegenerative disorder of cholesterol metabolism, Niemann-Pick disease type C1 (NPC1), may also be useful for diagnosing another class of rare diseases known as congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG), suggests a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Spotlight: Scientific Advances from the Division of Intramural Research
The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.
Science Update: Uterine fibroids may slightly increase fetal size but not enough to interfere with birth process, NIH study suggests
Uterine fibroids during pregnancy do not appear to result in undersized newborns, suggests a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The finding allays concerns from previous studies that fibroids might result in smaller-than-normal infants. In fact, the study found that infants born to mothers with fibroids had slightly larger head, arm and thigh circumferences, though not to the extent that they would interfere with birth. The researchers also confirmed prior results suggesting a link between fibroids and increased risk for preterm birth.
Media Advisory: Researchers identify compounds that could lead to an on-demand, short-term contraceptive for men
In a mouse study, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have identified a potential non-hormonal contraceptive that men could take shortly before sexual activity and have fertility restored the next day. Researchers gave male mice a compound that temporarily disables soluble adenylyl cyclase, the enzyme essential for activating a sperm cell’s ability to swim and mature so that it can travel through the female reproductive tract and fertilize an egg.
Science Update: Infants’ cries may predict later developmental problems, NIH-funded study suggests
Characteristics of the cries of preterm infants may help predict their risk for long-term developmental and behavioral problems, suggests an NICHD-funded study. The findings may lead to tools to identify babies at highest risk for such issues, aiding early treatment or prevention efforts.
Release: Single-dose antibiotic prevents maternal sepsis and death
A single oral dose of the antibiotic azithromycin can reduce the risk of postpartum sepsis and death among women who deliver vaginally by one-third, according to a large multi-country clinical trial funded by NICHD.
Science Update: NIH researchers discover cellular protein’s role in bone remodeling
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have determined that a protein interacting with RNA molecules in cell nuclei plays a role in forming osteoclasts—cells that break down old or damaged bone tissue so it can be replaced with new bone. The findings have implications for understanding degenerative bone disorders like osteoporosis and fibrous dysplasia.
Director's Corner: Understanding How Digital Media Affects Child Development
In this increasingly digital world, we must strive to better understand how technology and media affect development, health outcomes, and interpersonal relationships from infancy through adolescence. NICHD has a longstanding commitment to research on these topics.
Media Advisory: New MRI method provides detailed view of the placenta during pregnancy
NIH-funded technique enables automatic detection of placental compartments, oxygen status and structural abnormalities.
Item of Interest: NICHD Scientific Director Christopher McBain Elected AAAS Fellow
Christopher McBain, Ph.D., scientific director of the Division of Intramural Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), has been elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Release: Neuroscientist McBain appointed director of intramural research at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Christopher McBain, Ph.D., has been appointed scientific director and director of the Division of Intramural Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Science Update: Postpartum depression, reduced breastfeeding may help account for developmental delays seen in children born to women with depression during pregnancy
Researchers know that children born to mothers who have depression in pregnancy are at risk for developmental delays but haven’t known why. Now, a National Institutes of Health study suggests that depression persisting after pregnancy and reduced breastfeeding may account for at least part of the increased risk. Based on their results, researchers conclude that physicians may be able to reduce this risk by offering treatment for depression both during and after pregnancy and by counseling new mothers on how to breastfeed successfully.
Media Advisory: Adopting pediatric readiness standards improves survival in hospital emergency departments
Emergency departments that have the highest levels of coordination of health care, personnel, procedures and medical equipment needed to care for ill and injured children have far higher rates of survival than hospitals with low readiness, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Researchers found that more than 1,400 children’s deaths may have been prevented if hospital emergency departments had adopted national pediatric care readiness standards as laid out by the National Pediatric Readiness Project. The six-year study of 983 emergency departments in 11 states followed nearly 800,000 children.
Release: NIH funds eight studies to advance rapid diagnosis of COVID-19-related inflammatory syndrome in children
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.
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.