Working with mice, a team of researchers has pinpointed the location of bone generating stem cells in the spine, at the ends of shins, and in other bones. The team also has identified factors that control the stem cells' growth. The research was conducted at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
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.
Risk of Newborn Heart Defects Increases with Maternal Obesity
The more obese a woman is when she becomes pregnant, the greater the likelihood that she will give birth to an infant with a congenital heart defect, according to a study conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and the New York state Department of Health.
Vitamin C and E Supplements Do Not Reduce Risk for Blood Pressure Disorders of Pregnancy
Taking vitamin C and E supplements starting in early pregnancy does not reduce the risk for the hypertensive disorders and their complications that occur during pregnancy, according to a study by a National Institutes of Health research network.
Study Finds Link Between Preeclampsia & Reduced Thyroid Function
Women who experience preeclampsia, a serious complication of pregnancy, may have an increased risk for reduced thyroid functioning later in life, report a team of researchers from the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
NIH-Funded Researchers Transform Embryonic Stem Cells into Human Germa Cells
Researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health have discovered how to transform human embryonic stem cells into germ cells, the embryonic cells that ultimately give rise to sperm and eggs. The advance will allow researchers to observe human germ cells--previously inaccessible--in laboratory dishes.
Treating Even Mild Gestational Diabetes Reduces Birth Complications
A National Institutes of Health network study provided the first conclusive evidence that treating pregnant women who have even the mildest form of gestational diabetes can reduce the risk of common birth complications among infants, as well as blood pressure disorders among mothers.
New Technique Could Eliminate Inherited Mitochondrial Disease
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed an experimental technique with the potential to prevent a class of hereditary disorders passed on from mother to child. The technique, as yet conducted only in nonhuman primates,involves transferring the hereditary material from one female's egg into another female's egg from which the hereditary material has been removed.
U.S. Updates Clinical Guidelines for Prevention & Treatment of Opportunistic Infections among HIV-Exposed & HIV-Infected Children
New guidelines to assist health care workers in preventing and treating the secondary infections that can afflict U.S. children exposed to, or infected with, HIV, were published by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New Technique Could Sustain Cancer Patients' Fertility
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have completed a critical first step in the eventual development of a technique to retain fertility in women with cancer who require treatments that might otherwise make them unable to have children.
NIH Podcast Advises Women On How to Achieve a Healthy Pregnancy
Women can increase their chances for a healthy pregnancy by eating right, exercising, not smoking, and getting early medical care, says a podcast featuring a National Institutes of Health obstetrician who oversees research on pregnancy and birth.
Researchers Identify Key Proteins Needed for Ovulation
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and other institutions have identified in mice two proteins essential for ovulation to take place.
Plan Offers Guidance For Evaluating Menopause-Like Condition in Girls & Young Women
A comprehensive plan to help health care professionals diagnose and treat primary ovarian insufficiency--a menopause-like condition affecting girls and young women that may occur years before normal menopause is expected--has been developed by a scientist at the National Institutes of Health.
Roughly One Quarter of U.S. Women Affected by Pelvic Floor Disorders
Nearly 24 percent of U.S. women are affected with one or more pelvic floor disorders, report researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. Their analysis is the first to document in a nationally representative sample the extent of pelvic floor disorders, a cluster of health problems that causes physical discomfort and limits activity.
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.
Findings Offer Insights into Role of Breastfeeding in Preventing Infant Death, HIV Infection in Resource Poor Countries
In many poor countries, mothers with HIV face a stark choice: to nurse their infants, and risk passing on HIV through their breast milk--or to formula feed, and deprive their infants of much of the natural immunity needed to protect against fatal diseases of early infancy. Now, two studies supported by the National Institutes of Health offer insights into preventing early death and HIV infection among breastfeeding infants of mothers with HIV in these countries.
Focus on NICHD Women's Health Research
During Women’s Health Month, attention turns to the many advances in knowledge about women’s health as well as the gaps that remain in understanding many conditions. The NICHD was founded with a specific focus on women’s health as a way of understanding “the unsolved health problems of children and of mother-infant relationships.”
Mothers' High Normal Blood Sugar Levels Place Infants at Risk for Birth Problems
Pregnant women with blood sugar levels in the higher range of normal--but not high enough to be considered diabetes--are more likely than women with lower blood sugar levels to give birth to babies at risk for many of the same problems seen in babies born to women with diabetes during pregnancy, according to a study funded in large part by the National Institutes of Health.
Intensive Training for Medical Staff in Latin American Hospitals Reduces Serious Complication of Pregnancy
An intensive educational program for physicians and midwives involving 19 hospitals in Argentina and Uruguay dramatically reduced the rate of postpartum hemorrhage, according to researchers from the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
Excess Fat Around the Waist May Increase Death Risk for Women
Women who carry excess fat around their waists were at greater risk of dying early from cancer or heart disease than were women with smaller waistlines, even if they were of normal weight, reported researchers from Harvard and the National Institutes of Health.
Gene Variation Predicts Response to Treatment in Common Infertility Disorder
NIH-sponsored researchers have discovered that women who have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are less likely to ovulate in response to a promising new drug treatment for the condition if they have a variation in a particular gene.