The basic research effort to implicate soluble endoglin (sEng) and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) in preeclampsia was led by a coauthor of the current paper, S. Ananth Karumanchi, M.D., a nephrologist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
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.
Zeroing in on preeclampsia
Preeclampsia is a disorder of pregnancy that strikes without warning. The condition results when pregnant women develop high blood pressure and protein in the urine. Preeclampsia is estimated to complicate from 3 to 5 percent of all pregnancies.
Molecules in Blood Foretell Development of Preeclampsia
High levels of two proteins in the blood of pregnant women appear to indicate the subsequent development of preeclampsia, a life-threatening complication of pregnancy, report a team of researchers from the National Institutes of Health and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Overweight in Early Childhood Increases Chances for Obesity at Age 12
Children who are overweight as toddlers or preschoolers are more likely to be overweight or obese in early adolescence, report researchers in a collaborative study by the NIH and several academic institutions.
Story of Discovery: Research to Prevent Brain Damage in Newborns
The journey of hope to improve the lives of infants born with oxygen deprivation has taken 65 years. Loss of oxygen to the brain may result in death or a lifetime of blindness, mental retardation, or cerebral palsy. In October 2005, Seetha Shankaran and her colleagues in the NICHD Neonatal Research Network reported that lowering a newborn’s body temperature a few degrees could reduce the likelihood of death or disability associated with depleted oxygen.
Video: Study Reveals Multiple Factors That Influence Premature Infant Outcomes
Every day, physicians and new parents must struggle with the type of care to provide extremely low birthweight infants, the smallest, most delicate category of preterm infants. These infants are born in the 22nd through the 25th week of pregnancy—far earlier than the 40 weeks of a full term pregnancy. Most die soon after birth. Although some survive and reach adulthood unaffected, others experience some degree of life-long disability.
Membrane Protein in a Lysosome
The images depict a membrane protein in a cellular organelle known as a lysosome. The image on the right shows a conventional fluorescent image of a portion of the lyososome, whereas the image on the left shows the corresponding PALM image in the region outlined.
Study Provides Evidence that Autism Affects Functioning of Entire Brain Previous View Held Autism Limited to Communication, Social Behavior, & Reasoning
A recent study provides evidence that autism affects the functioning of virtually the entire brain, and is not limited to the brain areas involved with social interactions, communication behaviors, and reasoning abilities, as had been previously thought. The study, conducted by scientists in a research network supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), found that autism also affects a broad array of skills and abilities, including those involved with sensory perception, movement, and memory.
New Findings Offer More Complete View Of Breast Cancer Gene Mutations in U.S. Population
A large study funded by the National Institutes of Health today provided the clearest picture yet of the prevalence in the U.S. population of mutations in two genes associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.
New Light Microscope Can View Protein Arrangement in Cell Structures
Researchers at Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus, the National Institutes of Health, and Florida State University have developed and applied a new light microscopy technique that will allow them to determine the arrangement of proteins that make up the individual organelles, or structures, within a cell.
Interview with Dr. Duane Alexander
Interview with Duane Alexander on the Report on America's Children, 2006.
NICHD Researchers Honored by World Health Organization for Developing Vaccines Against Hemophilus Influenzae
Two scientists at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Develpment (NICHD), John Robbins, MD, and Rachel Schneerson, MD, will receive the World Health Organization Children's Vaccine Initiative Pasteur Award for Recent Contributions in Vaccine Development for the landmark development of a polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccine for Hemophilus influenzae type b (Hib).
NIH - Study Finds Calcium Does Not Prevent Potentially Fatal Disorder of Pregnancy
Contrary to prevailing medical opinion, taking high doses of calcium during pregnancy does not prevent preeclampsia in women who do not have any risk factors for the disease, according to the largest, most comprehensive clinical trial of its kind to date.
Adolescent Birth Rate Falls to Record Low, Kids' Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Drops Infant Mortality Rate Falls to Former Level, But Birth Rate for Unmarried Women Rises
The federal government's yearly statistical report on the well-being of our Nation's children shows that the adolescent birth rate fell to the lowest level ever recorded.
Researchers Gain Insight into Why Brain Areas Fail to Work Together in Autism
Researchers have found in two studies that autism may involve a lack of connections and coordination in separate areas of the brain.
Lack of Key Enzyme Associated with Development of Rare Tumor
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered that a rare tumor of the adrenal glands appears to result from a genetic deficiency of an important enzyme. The enzyme is one of a class of enzymes involved in halting a cell's response to hormones and appears to stop cells from dividing.
Youth Overweight Increases Risk of Bone Fractures, Muscle & Joint Pain
Children and adolescents who are overweight are more likely than their normal weight counterparts to suffer bone fractures and have joint and muscle pains, according to a study conducted at the National Institutes of Health.
Materials Help Youth Evaluate Media Messages, Make Food, Activity Choices
A new after-school program helps kids interpret the numerous messages they receive every day to make healthier choices about food and physical activity. The materials, available free on the Web, were developed by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Combined Surgery Reduces Incontinence in Women with Pelvic Organ Prolapse
By performing two surgical procedures during the same operation, researchers in an NIH network reduced by half the incidence of urinary incontinence in women with a condition known as pelvic organ prolapse.
Male Fat Distribution Pattern & Coronary Risk Profile Linked to X Chromosome
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.