Archive for Nancy Fliesler
Advancing mother-child health globally: Grace Chan MD, MPH, PhD
First in an ongoing series profiling researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital. Globally, five million children die annually before the age of 5. Forty percent of these deaths are in the first month — and many are preventable. Grace Chan, MD, MPH, PhD, finds these numbers unacceptable. They contrast starkly with U.S. medicine, including at Boston ... Read More about Advancing mother-child health globally: Grace Chan MD, MPH, PhD
Another angle on Alzheimer’s: CSF, proteomics, and metabolic enzymes
Currently there are no objective, easily assessed diagnostic markers for Alzheimer’s disease, and no good therapeutic options. Taking an agnostic approach, proteomics expert Hanno Steen, PhD, and neurobiologist Judith Steen, PhD, who share a lab at Boston Children’s Hospital, teamed up to analyze proteomics data from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that bathes the brain, combining ... Read More about Another angle on Alzheimer’s: CSF, proteomics, and metabolic enzymes
BMI and the adolescent brain: A concerning connection
We all know that obesity is a growing epidemic in children and adults. A large national study now finds that preteens carrying excess weight have notable differences in cognitive performance, brain structures, and brain circuitry when compared to preteens with normal body-mass index (BMI). Funded by the National Science Foundation’s Harnessing the Data Revolution initiative, ... Read More about BMI and the adolescent brain: A concerning connection
Could we make blood anywhere in the body?
Our bodies make blood in a specialized niche — a “nursery” within our bone marrow that nurtures blood stem cells so they can replicate and make different kinds of blood cells. The lab of Leonard Zon, MD, has even shown how blood stem cells, once they settle in the niche, are “cuddled” by nearby cells. ... Read More about Could we make blood anywhere in the body?
A new cancer mechanism: Failed cellular housekeeping
Cancer can stem from mutations in many different genes. New research from Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute pinpoints a gene that, when mutated, causes cancer through a mechanism not before seen: Inability of cells to dispose of their trash, namely defective strands of RNA. This mechanism appears to cut across many different malignancies, ... Read More about A new cancer mechanism: Failed cellular housekeeping
Rethinking cerebral arachnoid cysts through genomics
Cerebral arachnoid cysts are the most common mass-occupying brain lesion in humans. Some cause no noticeable symptoms and may just be incidental findings. Others are quite severe, causing hydrocephalus and potentially nerve damage; these clearly require surgery to drain the cyst fluid and relieve pressure on the brain. But a middle ground sits between these ... Read More about Rethinking cerebral arachnoid cysts through genomics
An unexpected journey reveals a potent way to attack tumors
Research on the effects of prenatal exposure to the Zika virus has yielded an unexpected dividend: a potentially promising way to trigger natural killer (NK) cells to fight cancer. NK cells are first-responder immune cells. When enough of their activating receptors are triggered, they mobilize to kill infected, stressed, or cancerous cells at an early ... Read More about An unexpected journey reveals a potent way to attack tumors
Deep plasma proteomics: Back to the future
Blood plasma is collected from people routinely during clinical care and for research. It is potentially a rich source of protein biomarkers for diagnostic and prognostic purposes, for measuring response to treatment, and for revealing disease biology. Yet identifying such biomarkers in plasma with proteomics, our best available tool, has been a challenge: Ninety-nine percent ... Read More about Deep plasma proteomics: Back to the future
Conquering a rare metabolic condition: A family, a pediatrician, and two labs join forces
As a newborn, Sam Hoffman never cried or made a sound. His mother, Carolyn, often had to wake him up to feed him. He missed many of his infant milestones. At one visit, his pediatrician tapped his leg and couldn’t get a reflex. A urine test found extremely high levels of 4-hydrobutyric acid or GHB ... Read More about Conquering a rare metabolic condition: A family, a pediatrician, and two labs join forces
Making ionocytes: A step toward cell or gene therapy for cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulators were a breakthrough for cystic fibrosis, improving the movement of chloride and water and moistening mucus secretions. But these drugs are expensive, don’t work in all patients with cystic fibrosis, and have side effects and interactions with other drugs. People who do respond to CFTR modulators must take ... Read More about Making ionocytes: A step toward cell or gene therapy for cystic fibrosis