News & Updates

An NIH-funded study shows promise in developing biomarker-based tool.

A technique that monitors the brain’s electrical activity could one day be used to predict which children who have had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) are likely to suffer progressive brain damage, according to a small study funded in part by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), a component of the National Institutes of Health.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that the blood protein tau could be an important new clinical biomarker to better identify athletes who need more recovery time before safely returning to play after a sports-related concussion.

Young people who sustain a traumatic brain injury before the age of 25 may be more likely experience a psychiatric illness and die earlier than those who have not had such an injury, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health. The researchers also found that those who had a head injury may complete fewer years of school and are more likely receive a disability pension.

NICHD Director Dr. Diana Bianchi shares some thoughts about joining NICHD.

NICHD joins other NIH Institutes in supporting a study that will collect brain imaging and other data to better understand teen behavior.

NICHD needs your input for NIH’s All of Us program.

Many U.S. hospitals may be missing the chance to find out if babies and toddlers have been physically abused. Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health found a large difference in whether hospitals followed long-standing guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics to order additional x-rays for children suspected of being victims of abuse.

Dr. Cathy Spong became NICHD’s acting director on October 1, 2015. Here she shares her plans for the year and her thoughts on what makes NICHD so unique.

Rehabilitation medicine includes efforts to improve function and minimize impairment due to illnesses or injuries. Learn more about NICHD’s rehabilitation research.

NICHD supports a variety of research projects and networks that are useful to neuroscientists. Find a detailed list here.

More than 50 million Americans, about 1 in 5 people, are living with a disability. People with disabilities tend to be less physically active than people without disabilities and have higher rates of corresponding health problems such as obesity, heart disease, hypertension and stroke.

TBIs and concussions get a lot of attention in the news. In football players at all levels, repeated concussions have been linked to long-term health problems. Veterans have come back from wars with brain injuries caused by explosions. TBIs also happen in daily life. Children fall on the playground, and elderly people have balance problems that lead to more falls. As common as TBIs are, though, there is still much to learn about how to treat these injuries and how to deal with related problems over the long term.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can happen to anyone, at any age. Approximately 1.7 million people experience a TBI in the United States each year; about 53,000 die from TBI-related causes.

A new therapy promises to shorten the recovery time for young people who have suffered a brain injury. It’s called “gist training,” and it involves getting the essence from complex information instead of memorizing facts.

During June—Men’s Health Month—the NICHD focused on encouraging men to make their health a priority.

On average, men die about five years earlier than women and have higher mortality rates from some cancers and heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It’s important, then, that men talk to their health care providers about what types of preventive medical tests and activities they need to stay healthy.

The National Institutes of Health has selected eight projects to receive support to answer some of the most fundamental problems on traumatic brain injury, including understanding long-term effects of repeated head injuries and improving diagnosis of concussions.

At the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience , held in San Diego, California, from November 9–13, more than 30,000 neuroscientists from around the world will share their latest research results and learn about new advances and opportunities in the field.

With 11 research programs, more than 75 researchers, and more than 1,100 support staff, the NICHD's DIR is among the largest at the NIH. But with good reason—The NICHD's DIR also has one of the broadest research portfolios at the NIH, covering nearly all aspects of human development and reproduction.