U.S. National Institutes of Health

NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit the http://www.nih.gov.

Scientists detect two decision-making pathways in human brain

In a classic Aesop fable, the Ant diligently stores food for the upcoming winter, while the Grasshopper lounges in the summer sun oblivious to the impeding change of season. Like the characters in this tale, people are often torn between impulsively choosing immediate rewards or more deliberatively planning for the future. And now new research suggests why: human decision-making is influenced by the interactions of two distinct systems in the brain which– like the Ant and Grasshopper–are often at odds.

Breathing problems during sleep may affect mental development

Children who have problems breathing during sleep tend to score lower on tests of mental development and intelligence than do other children their age, according to two studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The first study found that at one year of age, infants who have multiple, brief breathing pauses (apnea) or slow heart rates during sleep scored lower on mental development tests than did other infants of the same age. The second study showed that 5-year-old children who had frequent snoring, loud or noisy breathing during sleep, or sleep apneas observed by parents scored lower on intelligence, memory, and other standard cognitive tests than other children their age. They were also more likely to have behavioral problems.

Artificial Neural Networks Can Predict Clinical Outcomes

Government researchers have used artificial neural networks and DNA microarrays to successfully predict the clinical outcome of patients diagnosed with neuroblastoma. The ANNs also identified a minimal set of 19 genes whose expression levels were closely associated with this clinical outcome. Currently, physicians stratify patients with neuroblastoma into high-, intermediate- and low-risk groups based on several factors. However, while stratification can guide patient treatment, it is not a predictor of survival. Now, the predictive power of microarray gene expression analysis coupled with ANNs could assist physicians in the treatment of individual patients.

Inhaled Nitrite May Help Babies in Low-Oxygen State

Scientists have found that use of an inhaled nitrite spray may help babies diagnosed with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. Premature newborns and those with pneumonia or heart problems often develop PPHN. This often-fatal disease causes high blood pressure in an infant’s lungs and places the baby in a low-oxygen state. Nitrite, a simple salt in the blood that dilates the blood vessels in the lungs, reacts with de-oxygenated hemoglobin (the respiratory protein of the blood) and is converted to nitric oxide when the human body is in a low-oxygen state. Nitric oxide or NO is a short-lived gas produced by cells lining the blood vessels and has an important role in regulating blood flow.

Schizophrenia Gene Variant Linked to Risk Traits

Researchers at the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have identified a relationship between a small section of one gene, the brain chemical messenger glutamate, and a collection of traits known to be associated with schizophrenia. The finding confirms the gene responsible for management of glutamate is a promising candidate in determining risk for schizophrenia. Glutamate is a key neurotransmitter long thought to play a role in schizophrenia.

US Latinos have high rates of eye disease and visual impairment

Latinos living in the United States have high rates of eye disease and visual impairment, according to a research study, and a significant number may be unaware of their eye disease. This study, called the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study (LALES), is the largest, most comprehensive epidemiological analysis of visual impairment in Latinos conducted in the U.S.

Better hepatitis C treatment for people with HIV

The preferred treatment for hepatitis C, peg-interferon and ribavirin, is safe for people who are also infected with HIV, according to a new study in the July 29 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. Moreover, this treatment proved superior for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in HIV-coinfected persons when compared with the previously accepted treatment, standard interferon and ribavirin.

Location of potential familial lung cancer gene discovered

Researchers have discovered a possible inherited component for lung cancer, a disease normally associated with external causes, such as cigarette smoking. An interdisciplinary consortium consisting of 12 research institutions and universities, including the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), both part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), identified a major lung cancer susceptibility region on a segment of chromosome 6.

Fact Sheet–Project Bioshield

President Bush today signed into law Project BioShield, which provides new tools to improve medical countermeasures protecting Americans against a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) attack. The President first proposed Project BioShield in his 2003 State of the Union address and Congress approved it last week. Project BioShield is a comprehensive effort overseen jointly by Secretary Thompson and Secretary Ridge, and involving other Federal agencies as appropriate, to develop and make available modern, effective drugs and vaccines to protect against attack by CBRN weapons.

Woof! Dog genome assembled

The first draft of the dog genome sequence has been deposited into free public databases for use by biomedical and veterinary researchers around the globe, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced today.

Intranasal SARS vaccine protects monkeys from infection

A single dose of a test vaccine sprayed into the nose protects monkeys against the SARS virus, according to Alexander Bukreyev, Ph.D., Peter Collins, Ph.D., and coworkers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The study, published in the June 26 issue of the British journal The Lancet, is the third recently issued by NIAID that describes a promising candidate vaccine against SARS. This vaccine differs from the previous two in that it is delivered directly into the respiratory tract, the primary site of SARS infection; it is the first U.S. vaccine to be tested in monkeys; and only one dose is needed for protection.

Scientists ID arthritis risk marker

A team of researchers has discovered a genetic variation that doubles the risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The variation, referred to as a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, pronounced ”snip”), is present in about 28 percent of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis and 17 percent of the general population.

Estrogen-Only Therapy Could Increase Risk of Dementia

Older women using estrogen-alone hormone therapy could be at a slightly greater risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), than women who do not use any menopausal hormone therapy, according to a new report by scientists with the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS). The scientists also found that estrogen alone did not prevent cognitive decline in these older women. These findings from WHIMS appear in the June 23/30, 2004, Journal of the American Medical Association*.