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Helping your child understand puberty

Posted on by | Health and Parenting
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We all remember the changes — and awkwardness — of puberty. But helping your child navigate puberty is a whole different matter. For answers, we turned to Boston Children’s Primary Care Alliance physician Caitlyn Hark, MD, at Framingham Pediatrics, and Frances Grimstad, MD, a pediatric and adolescent gynecologist in the Division of Gynecology at Boston ... Read More
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Creating the next generation of mRNA vaccines

Posted on by | Basic/Translational, Research
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, mRNA vaccines came to the rescue, developed in record time and saving lives worldwide. Researchers in the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital have developed two novel technologies that could make these and future mRNA vaccines more potent and longer-lasting — at smaller doses and with fewer side effects. The ... Read More
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Going for gold starts with breakfast: Nutrition advice for athletes

Posted on by | Health and Parenting
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As they speed-climb 49-foot walls or spring across narrow balance beams, athletes rely on nutrition to provide the energy they need to achieve their dreams. As the world turns its attention to the summer Olympics, sports dietitian Laura Moretti Reece offers all athletes this simple nutrition advice: 1. Eat enough. Food is fuel, says Reece ... Read More
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July 2024 coloring pages

Posted on by | Health and Parenting
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Celebrate summer and the Olympics with our latest coloring pages! MAC_30808_ColoringPages_Summer_Olympic-3-1Download MAC_30808_ColoringPages_Summer_Olympic-1Download MAC_30808_ColoringPages_Summer_Olympic-2Download Images: Adobe Stock/Illustration: David Chrisom Get more coloring pages, news, and tips for your family from our weekly newsletter. Sign up now! Share this:
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Tracking influenza in its first battleground: The nose

Posted on by | Basic/Translational, Research
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The answer to curbing influenza could be right under our noses — or, more accurately, inside them. New research maps happenings in the nose during the course of influenza in exquisite detail, and could potentially lead to new targets and more effective nasal flu vaccines. The nose is often the gateway to respiratory infections, where ... Read More
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No labels or limits with Apert syndrome: A letter to parents

Posted on by | Patient Stories
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Dear parents, If you’re reading this, your child might have been recently diagnosed with Apert syndrome and you don’t know what comes next with this rare genetic disorder that causes fusion of your child’s skull, hands, and foot bones. Or maybe you’ve been in the Apert world for a while and are looking for people ... Read More
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From injury to backflips: A path to recovery for gymnasts

Posted on by | Clinical, Research
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Gymnasts can create the illusion that gravity doesn’t exist. As they spring from one acrobatic skill into the next, they leave spectators little time to consider the strain they’re putting on their wrists, elbows, and shoulders. Nonetheless, a single back handspring exerts force equal to two to four times an athlete’s weight on their upper ... Read More
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From ‘hit to vial’: Discovery and optimization of a promising vaccine adjuvant

Posted on by | Basic/Translational, Research
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Many vaccines are only partially effective, have waning efficacy, or do not work well in the very young or the very old. For more than a decade, Ofer Levy, MD, PhD, and David Dowling, PhD, in the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, have tried improving vaccines by adding compounds known as adjuvants to ... Read More
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The power of a second opinion for Merritt’s spina bifida care

Posted on by | Patient Stories
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In March 2020 — at the height of the COVID-19 lockdown — Jenna, Brian, and their 2-year-old daughter Merritt were practically the only passengers on their flight from Charlotte to Boston. Waiting for them in Massachusetts were Dr. Benjamin Warf, Dr. Carlos Estrada, and other experts from the Spina Bifida and Spinal Cord Conditions Center ... Read More
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Firearm suicides in children and youth: A state-by-state look

Posted on by | Data Science, Research
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At a time when mental health problems are skyrocketing, a new study provides one of the most comprehensive state-by-state accountings to date of firearm suicides in children and youth. The findings, published in JAMA Pediatrics, are eye-opening — but could also help in crafting interventions. Lois Lee, MD, MPH, in the Division of Emergency Medicine ... Read More
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Making genome sequencing a first-line test in rare disease

Posted on by | Clinical, Research
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Children with rare diseases often undergo years of medical visits and genetic testing before they get a diagnosis. Over the past few years, clinics have started to embrace exome sequencing as a first genetic test, skipping time-consuming testing of individual genes and gene panels and getting to a diagnosis faster. But exome sequencing doesn’t always ... Read More
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