Blog

Genomic sequencing transforms a life: Asa’s story

Posted on by | Patient Stories, Research
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Asa Cibelli feels like he’s been reborn. The straight-A middle schooler plays basketball and football, does jiu jitsu, is learning guitar, and can solve a Rubik’s cube in 40 seconds flat. But he once wondered if he’d ever feel better. From birth, Asa experienced chronic abdominal pain and severe diarrhea. The many doctors he saw ... Read More
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What orthopedic trauma surgeons wish more parents knew about lawnmower injuries

Posted on by | Health and Parenting
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Summer is full of delights: lemonade, ice cream, and fresh-cut grass to name a few. Unfortunately, the warmer months can also come with a type of injury that takes many families by surprise. Mowing the lawn may seem perfectly normal and safe. However, the blades that cut the grass can also do serious damage to ... Read More
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Could the falcine sinus hold the key to vein of Galen outcomes?

Posted on by | Clinical, Research
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A Boston Children’s Hospital study uncovers how fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could be a game-changer in predicting outcomes for infants born with vein of Galen malformations (VOGMs). The study, just published in Stroke, focused on the width of the falcine sinus (FS) — the fetal structure that channels blood from the malformation back to ... Read More
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The thalamus: A potential therapeutic target for neurodevelopmental disorders

Posted on by | Basic/Translational, Research
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Years ago, as a neurology resident, Chinfei Chen, MD, PhD, cared for a 20-year-old woman who had experienced a very small stroke, affecting only the thalamus. “It was so tiny that she wouldn’t have noticed any symptoms had the stroke been in any other area of the brain,” says Chen, who is now an investigator ... Read More
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‘A football game changed my life’: Jamison’s non-directed kidney donation

Posted on by | Patient Stories
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When recess is your favorite school subject, and you’re so naturally funny that the adults in your life belly laugh after everything you say, you get the title of a “cool kid” — well, at least if you’re Jamison. At 10, Jamison has an easy-going attitude that you wouldn’t expect once you hear he experienced ... Read More
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Using her voice: After tracheomalacia treatment, Claire keeps her eye on the ball

Posted on by | Patient Stories
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Claire Kantany is only 10, but she knows what she wants to do when she grows up — in fact, she’s already doing it. Combining an interest in acting with her family’s love of football, she has her mind set on a career in sportscasting. Not only is she reporting on local games from the sidelines, ... Read More
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Partnering diet and intestinal microbes to protect against GI disease

Posted on by | Basic/Translational, Research
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Despite being an everyday necessity, nutrition is something of a black box. We know that many plant-based foods are good for us, but we don’t always know why. Our intestinal microbiome, which helps break down these foods once we consume them, is another black box. What role do our gut bacteria play? Seth Rakoff-Nahoum, MD, ... Read More
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When to refer a pediatric patient for endometriosis

Posted on by | Clinical Care, Specialty Care
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Endometriosis is a complex disease in which endometrium-like tissue grows in locations such as the fallopian tubes, ovaries, or pelvic tissue, leading to serious pelvic pain and other symptoms.  Although there is a common assumption that the disease only affects adults, approximately two-thirds of people with endometriosis report that their symptoms were present before age ... Read More
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‘What I want you to know about endometriosis’: Iva’s story

Posted on by | Patient Stories
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Growing up, I heard stories about how everyone’s first period is usually no big deal. The cramps, the fatigue, the cravings—just uncomfortable to most. But my first period at age 11 brought excruciating pain that caused me to double over and wonder if I was the only one who experienced this. I had “the talk” ... Read More
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Past patient outcomes could help single-ventricle surgery decisions

Posted on by | Clinical, Research
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When considering whether a child who has a single-ventricle heart defect would benefit more from biventricular repair or the Fontan procedure, heart specialists have lacked a key tool to guide them: data that shows possible long-term health risks of each surgical option. But Boston Children’s heart specialists — who perform biventricular repair more often than any other pediatric hospital — ... Read More
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