More than 20% of pregnant women beginning anti-HIV treatment were prescribed an antiretroviral treatment that did not meet federal guidelines for use during pregnancy, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health.
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.
Media Advisory: Vesicles released by bacteria may reduce the spread of HIV in human tissue, NIH study suggests
Nano-sized vesicles released by certain bacteria that inhabit the vagina may protect
against HIV infection, suggests a study of human cells and tissues by researchers at the National Institutes of
Health and the University of Bologna, Italy. Known as extracellular vesicles, these bubble-like particles are
produced by many kinds of cells and are thought to transport molecules from one cell to another.
Release: Exposure to HIV drug in the womb may increase risk of microcephaly, developmental delays in children
Children born to women on HIV therapy containing the drug efavirenz were 2 to 2.5 times more likely to have microcephaly, or small head size, compared to children born to women on regimens of other antiretroviral drugs, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health. The children with microcephaly also had a higher risk for developmental delays, compared to children with normal head size.
Media Advisory: Risk of neural tube defects slightly higher for babies of women on HIV therapy containing dolutegravir
Children born to women on HIV therapy containing the drug dolutegravir since conception have a slightly higher risk of neural tube defects, compared to children born to women on regimens of other antiretroviral drugs.
Science Update: Drug combination may lead to slight bone loss in young adolescent males, NIH-funded analysis suggests
Truvada, a drug combination that reduces the chances of HIV infection in high-risk people may result in small, yet persistent bone loss in younger adolescent males, suggests a study supported by the NICHD. The researchers added, however, that the protection against HIV offered by Truvada far outweighs any possible risks from bone loss.
Spotlight: Maternal Health Research Advances
NICHD was established more than 50 years ago to help understand maternal health and improve pregnancy outcomes. These selected advances highlight NICHD’s contributions to advancing the health and well-being of pregnant women, mothers, and families everywhere.
Item of Interest: NICHD Data and Specimen Hub (DASH) Releases New Biospecimen Request Functionality
Now available in DASH: Researchers can request access to NICHD biospecimens for secondary analyses.
Media Advisory: NICHD chronicles its major research advances of 2018
As 2018 winds down, a new slideshow highlights a selection of initiatives, therapies, and scientific advances supported by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2018
In 2018, researchers funded by NICHD made significant progress in advancing the health and well-being of infants, children, teenagers, and adults across the United States and around the world.
Release: NIH funds study to prevent, treat HIV among adolescents in poor countries
The National Institutes of Health has awarded $7.5 million for an international research program to prevent and treat HIV infection among adolescents and young adults in seven African countries and Brazil.
Item of Interest: NIH extends study on HIV drug, dolutegravir, to evaluate potential safety concerns for pregnant women
The study seeks to determine if exposure poses a risk for neural tube defects.
Item of Interest: FDA approves PrEP therapy for adolescents at risk of HIV
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an anti-HIV drug combination for use in at-risk adolescents. FDA’s decision was informed by an NICHD-supported study of adolescent males.
Drug combination reduces risk of HIV infection among teen males
A National Institutes of Health network study has confirmed that a combination of two drugs taken daily to reduce the chances of HIV infection among high-risk adults also works well and appears safe in males ages 15 to 17 years.
Release: Anti-HIV drug combination does not increase preterm birth risk, study suggests
A drug combination aimed at preventing transmission of HIV from a pregnant woman to her fetus likely does not increase the risk for preterm birth and early infant death, according to a re-analysis of two studies funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Item of Interest: NICHD reports success of data sharing resource, two years after launch
More than two years after its inception, NICHD’s Data and Specimen Hub (DASH) has received 73 data access requests and resulted in 3 published studies.
News Release: NIH Begins Large HIV Treatment Study in Pregnant Women
The National Institutes of Health has launched a large international study to compare the safety and efficacy of three antiretroviral treatment regimens for pregnant women living with HIV and the safety of these regimens for their infants.
Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2017
Over the past year, NICHD contributed to numerous scientific advances and key initiatives.
High doses of vitamin D3 may decrease bone loss associated with anti-HIV drug
A monthly high dose of vitamin D3 may prevent the loss of bone density often experienced by people taking the anti-HIV drug tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF).
HIV hijacks surface molecule to invade cell
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered a key step in the process that HIV uses to inject its genetic material into cells.
Malaria drug protects fetal mice from Zika virus, NIH-funded study finds
Hydroxychloroquine, a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat malaria and certain autoimmune diseases in pregnant women, appears to reduce transmission of Zika virus from pregnant mice to their fetuses, according to a study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.
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