[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 30, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E777-E778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL K. SIMPSON

                                of idaho

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 30, 2008

  Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
National Institutes of

[[Page E778]]

Health (NIH) and the important research it is doing. There are few 
investments the Federal Government makes that regularly pay dividends 
to the American taxpayer. The National Institutes of Health, the lead 
government agency tasked with preventing and curing diseases and 
disorders, is one such investment. NIH conducts biomedical research at 
its Maryland campus and also supports biomedical research at medical 
centers, independent research laboratories and colleges and 
universities across our country. I would like to highlight one example 
of research that NIH is supporting to improve our constituents' overall 
health and well-being through the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National 
Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
  Premature birth is a major public health priority for the United 
States and a major research priority for the NICHD. In 2003, one out of 
every eight infants was born premature--resulting in more than $18 
billion in hospital expenditures. Premature infants are at high risk 
for a variety of disorders, including mental retardation, cerebral 
palsy, and vision impairment.
  The primary goal of prematurity research is to find a way to prevent 
births from occurring before an infant is strong enough to survive 
outside of the womb. Because women who have one premature birth are 
considered to be at high risk for another premature birth, NICHD 
investigators have focused their attention on trying to prevent 
premature birth among these high-risk women. Researchers in an NICHD 
funded Maternal-Fetal Medicine Network set out to test the use of a 
specific type of progesterone called 17P that the body makes to support 
pregnancy. The results were remarkable--for women who have a history of 
premature delivery that are carrying one baby, injections of 17P 
reduced premature birth by one-third. The results of this research are 
currently being translated into real world results as obstetricians 
across the country are putting them into practice with their patients. 
This research is a clear and important step towards achieving our goal 
of bringing healthy babies into the world.
  This is just one example of how the research funded with taxpayer 
dollars at the NIH is improving the health and well-being of all 
Americans.

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