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NIAID Creates HIV Vaccine Discovery Branch to Promote Synergy between Basic HIV Researchers and Vaccine Designers
6/26/2008
To accelerate the translation of basic discoveries about HIV into advances in vaccine design and evaluation, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has formed a new Vaccine Discovery Branch within the Vaccine Research Program in the Division of AIDS (DAIDS).

Newly Approved Ocular Safety Methods Reduce Animal Testing
6/26/2008
Federal regulatory agencies have accepted recommendations of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) for two methods that can reduce live animal use for ocular safety testing, the committee announced today. ICCVAM is a permanent interagency committee composed of representatives from 15 federal regulatory and research agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that use, generate or disseminate toxicology testing information.

Study Shows That Small Protein Can Broaden Immune Response in Humans
6/26/2008
Treating cancer patients with interleukin-7 (IL-7), a small protein that can stimulate the immune system, leads to an increase in lymphocytes, key to the production of effective immune responses, in the body, according to a new study by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The demonstration that IL-7 is able to broaden the possible immune responses in humans could have a wide range of clinical implications. This study was published online June 23, 2008, in The 'Journal of Experimental Medicine'.

Scientists Isolate a Toxic Key to Alzheimer's Disease in Human Brains
6/26/2008
Scientists have long questioned whether the abundant amounts of amyloid plaques found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's actually caused the neurological disease or were a by-product of its progress. Now, using new research techniques, scientists have shown that a two-molecule aggregate (or dimer) of beta-amyloid protein fragments may play a role in initiating the disease. The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, suggests a possible new target for developing drug therapies to combat the irreversible and progressive disorder.

Blocking a Single Protein Proves Toxic to Myeloma Cells in Laboratory Studies
6/26/2008
Researchers have found that cells from a blood-borne cancer called multiple myeloma rely on the activity of a single protein, called IRF4, for the activation of a wide range of genes responsible for cell survival and spread. Blocking the production of this protein can be strikingly effective in eliminating cancer cells in laboratory models of multiple myeloma. Scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), published their results in the June 22, 2008, issue of 'Nature', which highlight this potentially powerful new therapeutic target in multiple myeloma.

Researchers Seek Participants for a Study of Antibiotic Use in Children with a Urinary Tract Disorder
6/21/2008
Researchers conducting a study to learn if children with a urinary tract disorder known as vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) should be treated with an antibiotic for an extended period of time are seeking to enroll more participants. The study, known as the Randomized Intervention for Children with Vesicoureteral Reflux (RIVUR) study is funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Surgeon General's Conference Outlines Agenda to Prevent Preterm Birth
6/20/2008
Experts convened by the National Institutes of Health for the Office of the Surgeon General released an agenda today for activities in the public and private sectors to reduce the nation's rate of preterm birth.

NIAMS Scientists Find Potential New Way to Block Inflammation in Autoimmune Disease
6/20/2008
Researchers from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have identified a promising new target for autoimmune disease treatment -- a cell-surface receptor called DR3.

Hearing Loss Is Common in People with Diabetes
6/17/2008
Hearing loss is about twice as common in adults with diabetes compared to those who do not have the disease, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Surgeon General's Conference on the Prevention of Preterm Birth
6/13/2008
Congress directed the office of the U.S. Surgeon General to hold a conference that would establish a research agenda to 'speed the identification of, and treatments for, the causes of and risk factors for preterm labor and delivery.' In 2007, the Surgeon General named the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health as the scientific lead for the conference.

NIDA NewsScan #53
6/13/2008
The NIDA NewsScan #53 examines drug abuse risk, prevention, and treatment in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, substance use screening tools, and the link between substance abuse and risky sexual behavior.

Give Dad the Gift of Good Health for Father’s Day this Year
6/13/2008
Increasing physical activity is a primary goal of We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition), a science-based national education program to help children ages 8-13 maintain a healthy weight. We Can! is a program of the National Institutes of Health, which is part of the U.S. Department Health and Human Services.

Three Sequencing Companies Join 1000 Genomes Project
6/13/2008
The 1000 Genomes Project, which was announced in January 2008, is an international research consortium that is creating a new map of the human genome that will provide a view of biomedically relevant DNA variations at a resolution unmatched by current resources. Organizations that have already committed major support to the project are: the Beijing Genomics Institute, Shenzhen, China; the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, U.K.; and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Tune-Deaf People May Hear a Sour Note Unconsciously
6/13/2008
Researchers from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health, have found that people with tune deafness, an auditory processing disorder in which a person with normal hearing has trouble distinguishing notes in a melody, are able to detect a wrong note unconsciously.

ACCORD Clinical Trial Publishes Results
6/7/2008
Intensively targeting blood sugar to near-normal levels in adults with type 2 diabetes at especially high risk for heart attack and stroke does not significantly reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events, such as fatal or nonfatal heart attacks or stroke, but increases risk of death, compared to standard treatment. Researchers from the ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) clinical trial compared a medical strategy aimed at near-normal blood sugar levels -- below current recommendations -- to a strategy to reach more standard blood sugar levels. Supported by the National Institutes of Health, the study evaluated the effects of intensively targeting blood sugar control among adults with established diabetes, high blood sugar levels, and pre-existing heart disease or at least two cardiovascular disease risk factors in addition to diabetes.

Time To Talk About CAM
6/7/2008
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has launched Time to Talk, an educational campaign to encourage patients — particularly those age 50 or older — and their health care providers to openly discuss the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM ).

NIH Director Announces Enhancements to Peer Review
6/7/2008
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., announced today at the 96th Meeting of the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) critical changes to enhance and improve the NIH peer review system.

Findings Offer Insights into Role of Breastfeeding in Preventing Infant Death, HIV Infection in Resource Poor Countries
6/5/2008
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.

Long-term Pesticide Exposure May Increase Risk of Diabetes
6/5/2008
Licensed pesticide applicators who used chlorinated pesticides on more than 100 days in their lifetime were at greater risk of diabetes, according to researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The associations between specific pesticides and incident diabetes ranged from a 20 percent to a 200 percent increase in risk, said the scientists with the NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Clusters of Genetic Variants Linked to Distinct Treatment Responses for Smoking Cessation
6/3/2008
Scientists have identified distinct clusters of genetic markers associated with the likelihood of success or failure of two smoking cessation treatments, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and the medication bupropion (Zyban). This study, supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was published in the June issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

NIDA Highlights Best Drug Abuse Treatment Approaches At Blending Conference
6/3/2008
The most difficult challenge in finding substance abuse treatment for a loved one is how to know which programs have a proven track record. That is just one of the topics being discussed today at the conference 'Blending Addiction Science and Treatment: The Impact of Evidence-Based Practices on Individuals, Families and Communities.' Held at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati, the conference is hosted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health.

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