Research advances from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Intramural Research Program (IRP) often make headlines. Read the news releases that describe our most recent findings:
NIH network study first to compare oral medication, botox for type of incontinence
Oral medication for treating a type of incontinence in women is roughly as effective as Botox injections to the bladder, reported researchers who conducted a National Institutes of Health clinical trials network study, with each form of treatment having benefits and limitations.
GuLF STUDY makes final call for study participants
Time is running out for workers and volunteers who helped with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup to enroll in a long-term study of the possible effects of the oil spill on human health. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which is conducting the study, is seeking anyone who helped with the oil spill cleanup in any capacity to call and enroll. Enrollment in the GuLF STUDY (Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study) will close soon and would-be participants have until the end of December 2012 to sign up.
NIH study reveals multiple mechanisms may play role in complex disorder
Researchers investigating a known gene risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease discovered it is associated with lower levels of beta amyloid — a brain protein involved in Alzheimer's — in cognitively healthy older people. The findings suggest that a mechanism other than one related to beta amyloid accumulation may influence disease risk associated with the gene.
Scientists may have discovered why a protein called MYC can provoke a variety of cancers. Like many proteins associated with cancer, MYC helps regulate cell growth. A study carried out by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and colleagues found that, unlike many other cell growth regulators, MYC does not turn genes on or off, but instead boosts the expression of genes that are already turned on.
Fotonovela teaches young athletes about prevention
An English and Spanish fotonovela to teach children and teens how to avoid sports injuries, "Ana's Story," is now available through the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health. A fotonovela uses a comic-book style format to engage readers and deliver important health messages.
Researchers have launched a clinical trial to evaluate the drug candidate DEX-M74 as a treatment for a rare degenerative muscle disease, hereditary inclusion body myopathy (HIBM). National Institutes of Health scientists from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) will conduct the clinical trial at the NIH Clinical Center.
NIH study of rats shows DNA regions thought inactive highly involved in body’s clock
Long stretches of DNA once considered inert dark matter appear to be uniquely active in a part of the brain known to control the body’s 24-hour cycle, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
NIH study compares early preterm birth outcomes for caesarean, vaginal deliveries
Infants born to mothers attempting to deliver vaginally before the 32nd week of pregnancy are as likely to survive as those delivered by a planned cesarean, provided the fetus is in the head-first position, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered a genetic mutation that appears to increase production of red blood cells in tumors. The discovery, based on analysis of tissue from rare endocrine tumors, may help clarify how some tumors generate a new blood supply to sustain their growth, the researchers explained.
