Using a novel genetic technology that covers up genetic errors, researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health have developed a successful treatment for dogs with the canine version of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a paralyzing, and ultimately fatal, muscle disease.
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.
Speaker's Prepared Remarks
National Children’s Study Announcement of Study Launch
Common Treatment to Delay Labor Decreases Preterm Infants' Risk for Cerebral Palsy
Preterm infants born to mothers receiving intravenous magnesium sulfate--a common treatment to delay labor--are less likely to develop cerebral palsy than are preterm infants whose mothers do not receive it, report researchers in a large National Institutes of Health research network.
NIH Researchers Find That Rett Syndrome Gene Is Full of Surprises
A study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has transformed scientists' understanding of Rett syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes autistic behavior and other disabling symptoms. Until now, scientists thought that the gene behind Rett syndrome was an "off" switch, or repressor, for other genes. But the new study, published today in Science1, shows that it is an "on" switch for a startlingly large number of genes.
Newly Awarded Autism Centers of Excellence to Further Autism Research
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced on April 1, 2008, the latest recipients of the Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) program. These grants will support studies covering a broad range of autism research areas, including early brain development and functioning, social interactions in infants, rare genetic variants and mutations, associations between autism-related genes and physical traits, possible environmental risk factors and biomarkers, and a potential new medication treatment.
In Honor of Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, executive vice president of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation and founder and honorary chairperson of Special Olympics, has been a leader in the worldwide struggle to improve and enhance the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities for most of her life. Her vision and unrelenting efforts helped to establish the NICHD in 1962. In recognition of her dedication, Congress passed Public Law 110-154 on December 21, 2007, renaming the Institute as the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
New NIH Research Plan on Down Syndrome
Research on lifelong disorders, such as Down syndrome, has been a fundamental part of the NICHD’s mission since the Institute was established 45 years ago. To build on this research foundation and coordinate Down syndrome research the NIH created its Working Group on Down Syndrome. Down syndrome is the most common genetic cause of intellectual and developmental disability and occurs in one out of 800 births in the United States.
NIH Develops Down Syndrome Research Plan
The National Institutes of Health has developed a research plan to advance understanding of Down syndrome and speed development of new treatments for the condition, the most frequent genetic cause of mild to moderate intellectual disability and associated medical problems. The plan sets research goals for the next 10 years that build upon earlier research advances fostered by the NIH.
NIH Funds New Program to Investigate Causes & Treatment of Autism
The National Institutes of Health will intensify its efforts to find the causes of autism and identify new treatments for the disorder, through a new research program.
Report Shows Gains, Setbacks for Nation's Children
Compared to national statistics for the previous year, there has been an increase in the percentage of children living with at least one working parent and the percentage of children living in households classified as food insecure has declined. High school students were more likely to have taken advanced academic courses and the percentage of young adults who completed high school has increased. The adolescent birth rate has dropped to a record low.
Boys with Autism, Related Disorders, Have High Levels of Growth Hormones
Boys with autism and autism spectrum disorder had higher levels of hormones involved with growth in comparison to boys who do not have autism, reported researchers from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital and the University Of Cincinnati College Of Medicine.
Researchers Discover Gene For Rare Skin Disorder
Researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health have identified the gene that accounts for most cases of Goltz syndrome, a rare skin disorder that can also affect bone and eye development.
Largest-ever Search for Autism Genes Reveals New Clues
The largest search for autism genes to date, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has implicated components of the brain's glutamate chemical messenger system and a previously overlooked site on chromosome 11.
Brain's Fear Center Shrinks in Autism's Most Severely Socially-Impaired
The brain's fear hub Likely becomes abnormally small in the most severely socially impaired males with autism spectrum disorders, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have discovered.
An Ending and a Beginning: Landmark Research Network Concludes
When autism was first named in 1943 by Dr. Leo Kanner, it was thought to be a rare condition, occurring in fewer than three children in 10,000. By 1996, the estimated incidence of autism was about 12 cases per 10,000 children—not exactly the rate of a rare disorder.
Gene Linked to Autism in Families with More Than One Affected Child
A version of a gene has been linked to autism in families that have more than one child with the disorder. Inheriting two copies of this version more than doubled a child's risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder, scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have discovered.
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.
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.
Brains of People with Autism Recall Letters of the Alphabet in Brain Areas Dealing With Shapes
In contrast to people who do not have autism, people with autism remember letters of the alphabet in a part of the brain that ordinarily processes shapes, according to a study from a collaborative program of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.
NICHD Funded Researchers Discover Gene for Cornelia De Lange Syndrome
A team of researchers has discovered a gene for Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, a disorder consisting of mental retardation, heart defects and a number of physical abnormalities.