Two risk factors that place males at greater risk for heart disease than women appear to be influenced by genes on the X chromosome, report researchers at the NIH and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. The finding appears in a Research Letter in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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.
Electrical Impulses Foster Insulation of Brain Cells, Speeding Communications
Electrical impulses foster myelination, the insulation process that speeds communication among brain cells, report researchers at two institutes of the National Institutes of Health.
Common Reflux Treatment Linked to Life Threatening Bowel Infection in Premature Infants
Researchers in an NIH network have found that premature infants given a common class of non-prescription drugs used to treat acid reflux are slightly more likely to develop a potentially fatal bowel disorder than are infants who are not treated with the drugs.
NICHD Alerts Parents to Winter SIDS Risk & Updated AAP Recommendations
The number of infants who die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, increases in the cold winter months, according to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), one of the National Institutes of Health.
Most Behaviors Preceding Major Causes of Preventable Death have Begun by Young Adulthood
By the time they reach early adulthood, a large proportion of American youth have begun the poor practices contributing to three leading causes of preventable death in the United States: smoking, overweight and obesity, and alcohol abuse. This finding is according to an NIH-funded analysis of the most comprehensive survey of adolescent health behavior undertaken to date.
Cold Treatment Protects Against Infant Disability & Death from Oxygen Loss
Lowering infants' body temperature to about 92 degrees Fahrenheit within the first 6 hours of life reduces the chances of disability and death among full term infants who failed to receive enough oxygen or blood to the brain during birth.
Announcement of Vanguard Centers, National Children's Study
Remarks of Duane Alexander, M.D., Director, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
National Children's Study Seeks to Explain African American Child Health Disparities
The planned National Children's Study would be the largest research study of the environment's effects on children's health and development ever conducted in the United States.
National Children's Study Seeks to Explain Hispanic Child Health Disparities
Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic minority group in the country, and by 2050, one of every four Americans will be Hispanic. (Population projections can be found on the U.S. Census Web site in Table 1a at http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/usinterimproj/natprojtab01a.pdf.)
National Children's Study Seeks to Explain Native American Child Health Disparities
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that there are approximately 2.5 million American Indians in the United States, constituting 0.9 percent of the total population, and that they live primarily in the West, Southwest, and Midwest. Modest growth of these communities is predicted in the next few decades (http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/c2kbr01-15.pdf).
NICHD Announces Contracts to First Research Centers for Planned National Children's Study
The National Children's Study-planned to be the largest study ever undertaken to assess the effects of the environment on child and adult health-took a major step forward today with the announcement that contracts have been awarded to 6 Vanguard Centers to pilot and complete the first phases of the Study.
Remarks of Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, United States Surgeon General: Announcement of Vanguard Centers, National Children's Study
This is the most comprehensive agenda ever set forward by a U.S. Surgeon General for a single year. It includes all aspects of a child's life - body, mind, and spirit - starting with prenatal care and going through the developmental stages of childhood and adolescence.
Researchers Discover How Malaria Parasite Disperses From Red Blood Cells
Researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development have determined the sequence in which the malaria parasite disperses from the red blood cells it infects. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is one of the National Institutes of Health.
Researchers Discover How Compounds Prevent Viruses From Entering Cells
Compounds called defensins - known to prevent viruses from entering cells - appear to do so by preventing the virus from merging to cells' outer membrane, according to a study by researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, both of the National Institutes of Health, and the University of California at Los Angeles.
Drug Offers Alternative to Surgical Treatment After Miscarriage
A drug first used to reduce the risk of stomach ulcers in people taking certain types of painkillers offers an alternative to surgery after miscarriage, according to a study by researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health and other research institutions.
Teens' Driving Riskier with Male Teen Passenger: Teen Boy's Driving Safer with Female Teen Passenger
Teenage drivers--both males and females were more likely to tailgate and exceed the speed limit if there was a teenage male passenger in the front seat, according to a study by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.
Family Structure & Children's Well-Being
New to the report this year is a special section presenting five indicators of child well-being analyzed by family structure.
Parents Report Estimated 2.7 Million Children with Emotional & Behavioral Problems
A special feature in the report, America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2005 shows that nearly 5 percent, or an estimated 2.7 million children are reported by their parents to suffer from definite or severe emotional or behavioral difficulties, problems that may interfere with their family life, their ability to learn, and their formation of friendships.
Teen Birth Rate Continues Decline, Fewer Childhood Deaths, More Children Immunized Children More Likely to Live in Poverty, be Involved in Violent Crime
The adolescent birth rate has reached another record low, the death rate for children between ages 1 and 4 is the lowest ever, young children are more likely to receive their recommended immunizations, and fourth graders are scoring better in math, according to a yearly compendium of statistics from federal agencies concerned with children.
Study Casts Doubt on Lung Treatment for Preterm Infants
Contrary to an earlier finding, inhaled nitric oxide therapy (a treatment for lung problems in premature infants) does not reduce the infant's chances for death or further lung problems, according to a study by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.