National Institutes of Health (NIH) News Releases
Sun May 9 22:42:18 EDT 2010
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National Eye Institute Shares Tips to Promote Eye Health During Healthy Vision Month 2010 - During Healthy Vision Month this May, the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, is encouraging Americans to make vision health a priority and schedule an eye exam to help prevent unnecessary vision loss and blindness. Early detection and timely treatment can help save your sight and ensure that you're seeing your best.

NHGRI Researchers Use New Sequencing Strategies To Discover Rare Inherited Illness Rapidly - A team of researchers from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has demonstrated a new technical strategy that promises to rapidly determine the genetic cause for very rare inherited illnesses. Relying on inexpensive, high-speed sequencing and a newly developed ability to capture pieces of the genome that encode genes, the team diagnosed an extremely rare X chromosome-linked cleft palate syndrome known to affect just two families.

Endometrial Stem Cells Restore Brain Dopamine Levels - Endometrial stem cells injected into the brains of mice with a laboratory-induced form of Parkinson's disease appeared to take over the functioning of brain cells eradicated by the disease. The finding raises the possibility that women with Parkinson's disease could serve as their own stem cell donors. Similarly, because endometrial stem cells are readily available and easy to collect, banks of endometrial stem cells could be stored for men and women with Parkinson's disease.

NIDDK and ORWH Team Up For Mother's Day and National Women's Health Week to Raise Awareness of Gestational Diabetes and Steps to Reduce Risks for Women and Their Children - Women who have had gestational diabetes are at increased risk for developing diabetes in the future, and their child is also at increased risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) at the National Institutes of Health are teaming up this May to raise awareness of these risks as part of the National Diabetes Education Program's (NDEP's) "It's Never Too Early…to Prevent Diabetes" campaign.

NIDA News Scan #66 - NewsScan #66 includes recently published NIDA-supported research on a variety of issues, including co-occurring disorders, detoxification, risk and resilience in children of opiate-dependent parents, key receptors in nicotine withdrawal, potential viability of HIV medications for HIV prevention in high-risk populations, drug prevention programs, outpatient substance abuse treatment needs and neural activity in real and hypothetical discounting.

Trends Suggest Increase in Cancers of the Lower Stomach for Younger Whites in U.S. - Cancer of the lower stomach has decreased overall in American adults but has increased in whites age 25-39, a study finds. The work, led by researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, is published in the May 5, 2010, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

NIH Podcast Shines Light on Prescription Drug Abuse in Women - Prescription drug abuse means taking a prescription medication that is not prescribed for you, or taking it for reasons or in dosages other than as prescribed. Abuse of prescription drugs can produce serious health effects, including addiction. In 2008, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 15.2 million Americans age 12 and older had taken a prescription pain reliever, tranquilizer, stimulant, or sedative for nonmedical purposes at least once in the year prior to being surveyed.

NIH Announces Ten Awards for Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities - The National Institutes of Health announced today the awarding of 10 new Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities, designed to better understand and address inequities associated with the two leading causes of death in the United States -- cancer and heart disease.

Magnetic Stimulation Scores Modest Success as Antidepressant - Some depressed patients who don't respond to or tolerate antidepressant medications may benefit from a non-invasive treatment that stimulates the brain with a pulsing electromagnet, a study suggests. This first industry-independent, multi-site, randomized, tightly controlled trial of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) found that it produced significant antidepressant effects in a subgroup of patients, with few side effects.

Study Provides New Leads into Genetics of Cleft Lip and/or Palate - A consortium of scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health reported today that it has identified two human genes that, when inherited in a slightly altered form, may play a role in causing cleft lip and/or palate (roof of the mouth), one of the world's most common congenital malformations.

Statement of Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., and Daniel Rotrosen, M.D. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, on Food Allergy Awareness Week 2010 - The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the lead institute at the National Institutes of Health for food allergy research, is pleased to commemorate Food Allergy Awareness Week from May 9–15, 2010. First established in 1997 by the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), a patient and family advocacy organization, this week is set aside each year to focus public attention on this growing health problem. FAAN’s theme for this year, Respect Every Bite, reminds us of the daily threat faced by people with food allergy, as exposure to even trace amounts of allergenic foods can cause allergic symptoms.

U.S. Commerce Department, NIH, NSF Announce "i6 Challenge" to Bring Innovative Ideas to Market - The U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Administration (EDA), today announced a new $12 million innovation competition, in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF). EDA will award up to $1 million to each of six winning teams with the most innovative ideas to drive technology commercialization and entrepreneurship in their regions.

U.S. Latinos Have High Rates of Developing Vision Loss and Certain Eye Conditions - Latinos have higher rates of developing visual impairment, blindness, diabetic eye disease, and cataracts than non-Hispanic whites, researchers found. These are the first estimates of visual impairment and eye disease development in Latinos, the largest and fastest growing minority population in the United States. The research was part of the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study (LALES), which was supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health. LALES began in 2000 as the nation's largest and most comprehensive study of vision in Latinos.

Statement from Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, during Healthy Vision Month, May 2010 - During the eighth annual Healthy Vision Month observance this May, the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, encourages community organizations and the American people to make vision health a priority. This year's theme, "Your Eyes are the Windows to Your Health," highlights the importance of scheduling an eye exam to maintain good quality eye health and preserve the sense of sight.

Patient's Whole Genome Reveals Risk of Diseases and Adverse Drug Responses - Scientists at Stanford and Harvard Universities collaborated to assess the clinical usefulness of analyzing a patient's full genome for disease risks and unusual drug responses. The work brings closer to reality the concept that whole-genome sequencing might one day play a clinical role. The analysis, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), appears in the May 1, 2010 issue of Lancet.