Blog | Page 15 of 158 | Boston Children's Answers

Helping manage ‘sensitive issues’: How our psychosocial team helps kids with urologic concerns

Posted on October 14, 2024 by Jessica Cerretani | Our Community

In Boston Children’s Department of Urology, urologists, pediatricians, and nurses aren’t the only ones who care for kids and their families. Psychologists, social workers, and child life specialists all work together to help children manage urologic conditions. We sat down with members of the department’s psychosocial team to learn more. Why did you choose to ... Read More

Tagged: urology

‘A lot better now’: Andrew’s recovery from Rocky Mountain spotted fever and a stroke

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Jessica Cerretani | Patient Stories

Tags: neuroimmunology, neuroinflammation, stroke

When Andrew was bitten by a tick in 2021, he and his parents could hardly have imagined that just a month later, he would be coping with a series of health problems that would culminate in a stroke. Andrew, then 7, didn’t even realize he’d been bitten until he began to feel sick with a ... Read More

Tagged: neuroimmunology, neuroinflammation, stroke

Shoring up heart muscle’s mini ‘managers’ to treat heart failure

Posted on October 8, 2024 by Nancy Fliesler | Basic/Translational, Research

Tags: arrhythmia, cardiac research, cardiology, cardiovascular genetics, gene therapy, heart, heart center

Our heart muscle is studded with tiny dyads, intricately designed structures that manage incoming electrical signals and calcium release to coordinate our heartbeats. Could gene therapy help maintain dyads’ structure and boost the function of failing hearts? A new study suggests it can. “We know that in heart failure from many causes, dyads become disorganized,” says ... Read More

Tagged: arrhythmia, cardiac research, cardiology, cardiovascular genetics, gene therapy, heart, heart center

EarlyBird: Addressing dyslexia through game play

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Nancy Fliesler | Primary Care, Therapeutics/Diagnostics/Devices

Tags: digital health, learning disabilities, primary care

Up to 10 percent of the population has dyslexia, yet many children are diagnosed only after struggling with reading for years. The stigma can cause low self-esteem, depression, and antisocial behavior. But imagine we could identify children at risk for dyslexia before they start formal reading instruction, then help them build the skills they need ... Read More

Tagged: digital health, learning disabilities, primary care

Will early intervention prevent asthma in school-age children?

Posted on September 30, 2024 by Nancy Fliesler | Clinical, Research

Tags: allergy, asthma, clinical trials, research

Asthma affects about 1 in 10 children, often sending them to the emergency room or causing them to miss school. Allergic conditions in young children — like food allergies or eczema — are often a precursor. Susceptible children begin producing IgE antibodies, which trigger allergic reactions and spur the “allergic march” toward asthma. IgE antibodies ... Read More

Tagged: allergy, asthma, clinical trials, research

Novel procedure may bridge the treatment gap for symptomatic flexible flatfoot

Posted on September 27, 2024 by Joanne Barker | Clinical, Research

Tags: flatfoot, lower extremity, orthopedics, surgery

Most children develop arches in their feet by early adolescence. About 20 percent, however, have pes planovalgus (PPV), also known as flexible flatfoot. Most children with PPV can participate in sports and other activities without issue, but others have ongoing pain in their feet that limit function and activities. Until recently in the U.S., children ... Read More

Tagged: flatfoot, lower extremity, orthopedics, surgery

Finding a possible genetic treatment for rare arrhythmias

Posted on September 18, 2024 by Albert McKeon | Basic/Translational, Research

Tags: arrhythmia, cardiac research, cardiology, cardiovascular genetics, congenital heart defect, heart, heart center, long qt syndrome, research

Variants in a gene that plays a key role in heart function can cause potentially life-threatening arrhythmia syndromes known as calmodulinopathy. Calmodulinopathy is rare and causes arrhythmias that are poorly treated by current options. Boston Children’s cardiologist William Pu, MD, believes he has found a promising custom genetic treatment: antisense oligonucleotides that deplete the disease-causing gene product. ... Read More

Tagged: arrhythmia, cardiac research, cardiology, cardiovascular genetics, congenital heart defect, heart, heart center, long qt syndrome, research

Born with congenital scoliosis, Thelma looks to the future

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Joanne Barker | Patient Stories

Tags: halo traction, orthopedics, scoliosis, spinal fusion surgery, spine division

Sixteen-year-old Thelma Alemnji probably enjoys student life more than most high school juniors. After all, up until last year, activities like drama club, debate club, and student government were out of reach. Born with severe congenital scoliosis and thoracic insufficiency syndrome, Thelma’s childhood and early adolescence were marked by regular hospital visits and frequent surgeries: ... Read More

Tagged: halo traction, orthopedics, scoliosis, spinal fusion surgery, spine division

‘We’re going to Boston’: Why Aydan’s family temporarily relocated for craniopharyngioma care

Posted on September 16, 2024 by Jessica Cerretani | Patient Stories

Tags: brain health, brain tumor, hydrocephalus, surgery

One evening in October 2022, 2-year-old Aydan Arguello arrived at Boston Children’s Hospital. It wasn’t a routine visit, but instead the final stop in an urgent journey from his home in South Florida. Months earlier, the toddler had been diagnosed and treated for a large brain tumor — but it was a related concern that led ... Read More

Tagged: brain health, brain tumor, hydrocephalus, surgery

Curbing blood cancers by teaching immune cells to kill mutant stem cells

Posted on September 13, 2024 by Nancy Fliesler | Basic/Translational, Research

Tags: blood disorder, cancer, stem cells

Blood stem cells, which give rise to all of our blood cell types, undergo a quality assurance process after they’re born. As the lab of Leonard Zon, MD, director of the Stem Cell Research program at Boston Children’s, has documented, immune cells known as macrophages interact with each newly born cell. They engulf and eat ... Read More

Tagged: blood disorder, cancer, stem cells