News & Updates

Read about select research advances supported by NICHD in 2024, including work on women’s health, child and adolescent health, medical rehabilitation, health disparities, and more.

NICHD has awarded $15 million to fund two specialized centers to conduct research on the health disparities underlying uterine fibroids.

NICHD is co-hosting several workshops and virtual meetings on women’s health topics in summer 2024. Please consider registering to participate in discussions and to help shape future research and care.

Within NIH, NICHD leads research focused on women’s health “below the belt.” This includes addressing a spectrum of gynecological and reproductive health issues, from endometriosis to pelvic floor disorders.

Infants who underwent surgery for inguinal hernia—when intestinal tissue protrudes through an abnormal opening in the abdominal muscles—after discharge had fewer adverse events than those who had surgery while still in the hospital, a study suggests. The findings offer guidance on the best timing to perform this delicate surgery on fragile infants.

Patients with uterine fibroids who scored high on stress questionnaires also had high levels of certain microRNAs—which regulate genes--in their uterine muscle tissue. The findings add to previous studies linking stress to the development and severity of fibroids.

The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound found in green tea, appears to inhibit the biochemical processes that promote the growth and development of fibroid tumors cells, suggests a study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. In laboratory tests of human fibroid cells, EGCG reduced the amount of a compound that promotes cell division and the quantity of proteins responsible for the tumors’ fibrous contents.

Tranilast, a drug used to treat allergies and certain types of scars, reduced the size of human fibroid tumors implanted in mice, according to an NIH-funded study. The authors said the results warranted additional studies in animals and perhaps in later human trials to evaluate this potential treatment for non-cancerous gynecologic tumors that can cause bleeding and pain and sometimes interfere with fertility.

The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

Small businesses play a critical role in driving scientific progress by helping to move innovations out of labs and into the public marketplace. NICHD grants to small businesses have supported development of products ranging from the first FDA-approved endometriosis treatment to at-home rehabilitation devices.

The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

Uterine fibroids during pregnancy do not appear to result in undersized newborns, suggests a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The finding allays concerns from previous studies that fibroids might result in smaller-than-normal infants. In fact, the study found that infants born to mothers with fibroids had slightly larger head, arm and thigh circumferences, though not to the extent that they would interfere with birth. The researchers also confirmed prior results suggesting a link between fibroids and increased risk for preterm birth.

Read about NICHD’s research findings and activities from 2022.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health believe they have discovered how influenza viruses open a hole in the cell membrane to inject genetic material into the cell. The findings may inform the development of new technologies to combat infectious microbes and to insert medications, genes, and proteins into cells to treat diseases.

Exposure to a chemical found in a wide variety of consumer products may trigger the growth of uterine fibroid cells and delay the rate at which they die, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study provides a potential explanation for why women exposed to industrial chemicals known as phthalates—found in personal care products, food packaging, and medical products—have higher rates of fibroid tumors than other women. The findings may also inform future strategies to prevent or treat fibroids.

Patterns of gene expression—the degree to which genes are turned on or off—in uterine muscle tissue may help explain why fibroids disproportionately affect Black women, suggests a study supported by NICHD. Understanding the factors that contribute to racial disparities in uterine fibroid disease can inform treatment and prevention approaches.

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a prototype genetic test with the potential to predict the development and eventual severity of uterine fibroids—benign, but sometimes painful and debilitating tumors of the uterus. The test could be used to identify fibroid cases early and to better understand how they develop and how to treat them.

Read about NICHD’s research findings and activities from 2021.

Among American Black and white women, the risk and extent of fibroids—benign tumors of the uterus—are associated with ancestry to distinct regions and populations, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study provides information that may lead to insights on the origins and treatments for these common tumors.