Researchers have found in two studies that autism may involve a lack of connections and coordination in separate areas of the brain.
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.
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.
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.