Blog | Page 26 of 159 | Boston Children's Answers

Exposing a tumor’s antigens to enhance immunotherapy

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Nancy Fliesler | Basic/Translational, Research

Tags: cancer, cellular and molecular medicine, immunotherapy

Successful immunotherapy for cancer involves activating a person’s own T cells to attack the tumor. But some tumors have a trick: They hide themselves from the immune system by preventing their antigens from being displayed, a necessary step in activating T cells. In new work published in Science, researchers in the Program in Cellular and ... Read More

Tagged: cancer, cellular and molecular medicine, immunotherapy

Combining CAR-T cells and inhibitor drugs for high-risk neuroblastoma

Posted on February 16, 2024 by Nancy Fliesler | Clinical Care, Research

Tags: cancer, car t-cell therapy, neuroblastoma

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy is a potent emerging weapon against cancer, altering patients’ T cells so they can better find and destroy tumor cells. But CAR-T cell therapy doesn’t work well in every cancer — including many cases of neuroblastoma, a cancer that begins in young children’s nerve tissue and can metastasize to ... Read More

Tagged: cancer, car t-cell therapy, neuroblastoma

One day closer: Second opinion for urologic pain changes Iker’s life at last

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Jessica Cerretani | Patient Stories

Tags: pain, surgery, urology

Like many kids, Iker Guzman enjoys playing with LEGO toys. But there was nothing lighthearted about the day a few years ago when he used the tiny bricks to spell out one word on the floor: HELP. It was a message his parents, Elsa and David, had already taken to heart. For years, they had ... Read More

Tagged: pain, surgery, urology

Rowan the Remarkable: Defying the odds with CPAM

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Katie Paradis | Patient Stories

Tags: Fetal Care and Surgery Center, fetal medicine, MFCC, nicu, surgery

This is the story of a baby named Rowan and his remarkable journey of beating the odds after doctors discovered a potentially fatal mass on his lung in utero. This is also the story of his mother, Casey, who fought for him every step of the way, and the medical professionals whose collaboration and planning ... Read More

Tagged: Fetal Care and Surgery Center, fetal medicine, MFCC, nicu, surgery

Twenty years after a groundbreaking biventricular repair, Faith gives back by helping children with CHD

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Albert McKeon | Patient Stories

Tags: biventricular repair, cardiac surgery, cardiology, congenital heart defect, heart, heart center, heart patient, hlhs

Faith Brackett doesn’t remember every detail of the time she was among the first children to have a new life-saving heart surgery. She was 7, after all, when she had a biventricular repair — a procedure that creates two functioning ventricles in a heart relying on just one. But she does remember how the surgery finally gave ... Read More

Tagged: biventricular repair, cardiac surgery, cardiology, congenital heart defect, heart, heart center, heart patient, hlhs

It takes a village and the world: Tariq’s care for Tourette syndrome

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Katie Paradis | Patient Stories

Tags: brain health, international, neurology, second opinion

When your child is sick but you can’t figure out the cause or how to fix it, it can leave you feeling helpless and frustrated. It can also test how far you’ll go for answers. Just ask Salem of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who moved with his family to Boston so his son Tariq ... Read More

Tagged: brain health, international, neurology, second opinion

When diagnosis is just the first step: The Brain Gene Registry

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Nancy Fliesler | Basic/Translational, Clinical Care

Tags: exome sequencing, genetics and genomics, neuroscience, rare disease, research

Through advances in genetic sequencing, many children with rare, unidentified neurodevelopmental disorders are finally having their mysteries solved. But are they? “Once families receive results of genetic testing, that’s just the beginning of a new journey,” says Maya Chopra, MBBS, FRACP, an investigator with the Rosamund Stone Zander Translational Neuroscience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. ... Read More

Tagged: exome sequencing, genetics and genomics, neuroscience, rare disease, research

Revisiting race and ethnicity in clinical guidelines

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Nancy Fliesler | Clinical Care, Primary Care

Tags: diabetes, eczema, emergency medicine, fever, health equity, medical training, racism

Health care institutions often rely on clinical pathways in assessing patients and making decisions about their care. Some of these care algorithms incorporate race, ethnicity, or ancestry as factors in decision making. But is this helpful or harmful? And is there solid evidence to justify treating people of different racial or ethnic backgrounds differently? Robert ... Read More

Tagged: diabetes, eczema, emergency medicine, fever, health equity, medical training, racism

Helping clinicians embrace family-centered rounds

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Nancy Fliesler | Clinical Care, Research

Tags: family partnerships, health equity, medical training, safety

If you’ve ever been hospitalized, you may have experienced this: groups of doctors coming in and talking about you like you’re not there or addressing you in a perfunctory manner, using medical jargon you don’t understand. Peggy Markle was taken aback when her son was hospitalized for a not-yet-defined condition in Washington and his care ... Read More

Tagged: family partnerships, health equity, medical training, safety

New possibilities: How Caden learned to manage chronic pain — and found an unexpected path

Posted on January 30, 2024 by Jessica Cerretani | Patient Stories

Tags: motility, pain

In October 2020, Caden Deutsch started feeling sick. Although the 17-year-old had been coping with juvenile idiopathic arthritis since he was in sixth grade, this was different. By the following year, what had begun as brief episodes of gastrointestinal discomfort had progressed to constant, excruciating pain. “I’d been living with chronic joint pain for years, ... Read More

Tagged: motility, pain