The July 2012 NICHD Research Perspectives, the NICHD’s monthly podcast, is now online. This month’s podcast features research sponsored by the NICHD’s Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal AIDS Branch.
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.
Adding Nevirapine to HIV Regimen Halves Newborn Transmission Rate
Adding the drug nevirapine to the regimen given to newborns of women diagnosed with HIV shortly before or during labor halves the newborns' risk of contracting the virus, according to findings by a National Institutes of Health research network.
Extra Treatment During Prolapse Repair Reduces Incontinence Rate
Surgery to repair pelvic organ prolapse often carries a risk of incontinence. To avoid scheduling a second surgery, some women may opt to have a second procedure to reduce incontinence at the time of their prolapse repair surgery.
Health Benefits all Nations, HHS Secretary Tells NICHD Global Network
Secretary Sebelius addressed the researchers at the Network's Annual Steering Committee meeting this month. The Network, established by the NICHD and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, seeks to prevent maternal and infant deaths and illnesses worldwide. Scientists from developing countries, together with those in the United States, lead teams that identify the health needs of an area and address those needs through randomized clinical trials to test treatments and interventions.
NICHD Research on Women's Health
During their lifetimes, many women will face a wide array of health issues. Some will seek treatment for gynecological conditions, such as endometriosis and uterine cancer. Others will experience conditions that affect both males and females, but that follow a different course in women, such as heart disease. Women's health is also affected by factors like socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity, sometimes in ways that they cannot control directly.
NIH releases Research Plan on Painful Vulvar Condition
Although it could affect anywhere from 9% to 18% or more of women age 18 to 64 at any time during their lives, there are few definitive answers about vulvodynia—a group of conditions characterized by unexplained pain of the vulva.
Anti-HIV Drug Use During Pregnancy does not Affect Infant Size, Birth Weight
Infants born to women who used the anti-HIV drug tenofovir as part of an anti-HIV drug regimen during pregnancy do not weigh less at birth and are not of shorter length than infants born to women who used anti-HIV drug regimens that do not include tenofovir during pregnancy, according to findings from a National Institutes of Health network study.
NIH Study Finds Women Spend Longer in Labor Now Than 50 Years Ago
Authors S. Katherine Laughon and Branch Ware were available last week for a news briefing to explain the results of their recent study on changing labor patterns.
Endometriosis Awareness Month & NICHD Research
In 2011, the NICHD-led Endometriosis: Natural History, Diagnosis, and Outcomes (ENDO) study found that 11 percent of a group of women with no symptoms of endometriosis actually had the disorder. If this finding is applied to all the women in the United States, the number of American women with endometriosis would well exceed previous estimates of 5 million.
NICHD HIV/AIDS Research & National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
HIV/AIDS continues to be a serious public health concern. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 290,000 women were living with HIV in the United States in 2008.
Release of the 2011 Division of Intramural Research (DIR) Annual Report
The newly released 2011 DIR Annual Report reviews the latest basic, clinical, and translational research being pursued by the staff scientists within DIR at the NICHD. Contributing to this effort are 79 tenured and tenure-track investigators and approximately 1,200 administrative and research staff. In 2011, DIR project areas ranged from vaccine development to genomics, from reproduction to regenerative medicine, and from the neurosciences and early human development to biophysics and imaging.
Vitamin D shrinks fibroid tumors in rats
Treatment with vitamin D reduced the size of uterine fibroids in laboratory rats predisposed to developing the benign tumors, reported researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health.
NIH Study Links High Levels of Cadmium, Lead in Blood to Pregnancy Delay
Higher blood levels of cadmium in females, and higher blood levels of lead in males, delayed pregnancy in couples trying to become pregnant, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other academic research institutions.
High Animal Fat Diet Increases Gestational Diabetes Risk
Women who consumed a diet high in animal fat and cholesterol before pregnancy were at higher risk for gestational diabetes than women whose diets were lower in animal fat and cholesterol, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Harvard University.
Audio Briefing: Annual Cost of Fibroid Tumors in the United States
Uterine fibroids are common non-cancerous tumors that affect the majority of American women at some point in their lives. Fibroids may be painful and result in such reproductive problems as infertility, miscarriage, and early labor.
Study Shows Additional Benefits of Progesterone in Reducing Preterm Birth Risk
An analysis of five previous studies has uncovered additional evidence of the effectiveness of progesterone, a naturally occurring hormone, in reducing the rate of preterm birth among a high-risk category of women.
NICHD Recruits Associate Director for Extramural Research
The NICHD is conducting a national search for an Associate Director for Extramural Research. This position offers a unique and exciting opportunity for an extremely capable individual to develop and implement an overall vision for the Institute's extramural research activities, which include more than 3,100 projects and involve 130 staff members.
Inefficient Developing World Stoves Contribute to 2 Million Deaths a Year
An international effort to replace smoky, inefficient household stoves that people commonly use in lower and middle income countries with clean, affordable, fuel efficient stoves could save nearly 2 million lives each year, according to experts from the National Institutes of Health.
Two NICHD Grantees Awarded National Medal of Science
Two grantees of the NICHD's Reproductive Sciences Branch were among the seven researchers named by President Obama as recipients of the National Medal of Science, an honor bestowed by the United States government on scientists, engineers, and inventors.
Violence During Pregnancy Linked to Reduced Birth Weight
Pregnant women who are assaulted by an intimate partner are at increased risk of giving birth to infants of reduced weight, according to a population-level analysis of domestic violence supported by the National Institutes of Health.