Environmental Health Resources

ADHD Medications Do Not Cause Genetic Damage in Children
In contrast to recent findings, two of the most common medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not appear to cause genetic damage in children who take them as prescribed, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Duke University Medical Center.

Healing Process Found to Backfire in Lung Patients
A mechanism in the body which typically helps a person heal from an injury, may actually be causing patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) to get worse, researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and their collaborators have found.

NIH's National Children's Study Enters Next Phase: Increase In Number of Centers Recruiting Volunteers, Collecting Data
The National Institutes of Health announced today that its comprehensive study to examine the effect of genes and the environment on children’s health had entered the next phase of operations. At a briefing on the latest developments in the National Children’s Study, NIH officials named the study centers funded for 2008.

NIH Announces Funding for New Epigenomics Initiative
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces funding for the new NIH Roadmap Epigenomics Program. Epigenetic processes control normal growth and development, and epigenomics is a study of epigenetic processes at a genome-wide scale. The NIH will invest more than $190 million over the next five years to accelerate this emerging field of biomedical research. The first grants will total approximately $18 million in 2008.

NIEHS Invests $21.25 Million to Find Environmental Causes of Parkinson’s Disease
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced today that it will award three new grants totaling $21.25 million over a five-year period to study how environmental factors contribute to the cause, prevention and treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other related disorders.

NTP Finalizes Report on Bisphenol A
Current human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in many polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins, is of “some concern” for effects on development of the prostate gland and brain and for behavioral effects in fetuses, infants and children, according to a final report released today by the National Toxicology Program (NTP).

Alcohol Binges Early in Pregnancy Increase Risk of Infant Oral Clefts
A new study by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, shows that pregnant women who binge drink early in their pregnancy increase the likelihood that their babies will be born with oral clefts.

NIEHS/NTP Seeks Input on Cell-Based High Throughput Toxicity Screens
This notice is a Request for Information (RFI) and is for planning purposes only. It does not constitute a solicitation or Request for Proposal (RFP), nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach.

Seeking Exceptional Candidates for Director of NIEHS
This website is designed to host advertisements of senior-level, executive type positions such as the Senior Executive Service, IC Directors, Deputy Directors, and other positions with similar characteristics.

Newly Approved Ocular Safety Methods Reduce Animal Testing
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.

Dr. John A. Cidlowski Receives the 2008 Edwin B. Astwood Award Lecture from The Endocrine Society
The Endocrine Society is pleased to announce that John A. Cidlowski, Ph.D., is the 2008 recipient of its Edwin B. Astwood Award Lecture.

Long-term Pesticide Exposure May Increase Risk of Diabetes
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).

Brain Study May Lead to Improved Epilepsy Treatments
Using a rodent model of epilepsy, researchers found one of the body's own neurotransmitters released during seizures, glutamate, turns on a signaling pathway in the brain that increases production of a protein that could reduce medication entry into the brain.

Newly Awarded Autism Centers of Excellence to Further Autism Research
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced on April 1, 2008, the latest recipients of the Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) program. These grants will support studies covering a broad range of autism research areas, including early brain development and functioning, social interactions in infants, rare genetic variants and mutations, associations between autism-related genes and physical traits, possible environmental risk factors and biomarkers, and a potential new medication treatment.

Rodent Study Finds Artificial Butter Chemical Harmful to Lungs
A new study shows that exposure to a chemical called diacetyl, a component of artificial butter flavoring, can be harmful to the nose and airways of mice. Scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, conducted the study because diacetyl has been implicated in causing obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) in humans.

Increased Allergen Levels in Homes Linked to Asthma
Results from a new national survey demonstrate that elevated allergen levels in the home are associated with asthma symptoms in allergic individuals. The study suggests that asthmatics that have allergies may alleviate symptoms by reducing allergen exposures inside their homes.

NIH Collaborates with EPA to Improve the Safety Testing of Chemicals
Testing the safety of chemicals ranging from pesticides to household cleaners will benefit from new technologies and a plan for collaboration, according to federal scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who today announced a new toxicity testing agreement. The concept behind this agreement is highlighted in the Feb. 15, 2008 issue of the journal <em>Science</em>.

NIH/EPA Leading Scientists to Discuss New Chemical Testing Collaboration
On Feb. 14, leading scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will discuss a new research collaboration related to U.S. environmental health protection. The collaboration creates a toxicity testing process using state-of-the-art robotic technologies that rely less on animals and more on cell-based tests and will generate data that are specifically applicable to humans.

Plan Expedites Alternatives to Animal Testing
A new plan to further reduce, refine and replace the use of animals in research and regulatory testing commonly referred to as the 3Rs was unveiled today at a symposium marking the 10-year anniversary of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM).