Blog | Page 79 of 159 | Boston Children's Answers

Predicting the best treatment for vesicoureteral reflux in kids: The power of machine learning

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Jessica Cerretani | Research

Tags: artificial intelligence, urinary tract infection, urology

The result of abnormal formation of the normal valve between the kidney and bladder, vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) can lead to recurrent febrile urinary tract infections (UTIs) and kidney scarring in children. Previous research has shown that when taken continuously, prophylactic antibiotics can reduce the risk of recurrent UTI in about half of this population. However, ... Read More

Tagged: artificial intelligence, urinary tract infection, urology

Back to school… back to what?

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Ellen Greenlaw | Health and Parenting

Tags: coronavirus, mental health

This month, many children and teens in Massachusetts and around the country are finally heading back to school in person. For some kids this news might elicit jumps for joy, while others might feel nervous or afraid. Wherever you or your kids land on this range of feelings, there will no doubt be an emotional ... Read More

Tagged: coronavirus, mental health

Pinpointing Karlijn’s seizures: Neurosurgery helps teen get back to her life

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Jessica Cerretani | Patient Stories

Tags: brain tumor, epilepsy, international, neurosurgery, seizures

Karlijn Kuiper was visiting her home country of the Netherlands a few years ago when the trouble began. At first, her family noticed she would zone out. “She had these strange spells where she would just stare,” remembers her mother, Marieke. At first, it didn’t occur to Karlijn’s family that they could be seizures. Like ... Read More

Tagged: brain tumor, epilepsy, international, neurosurgery, seizures

Piecing together the preterm infant microbiome

Posted on April 20, 2021 by Alice McCarthy | Basic/Translational, Research

Tags: fetal medicine, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, microbiome, newborn medicine

The human microbiome — the collection of microbes living in the gut — is now recognized as an important contributor to health and disease. The environment, the host, and microbe-microbe interactions are all likely to shape the microbiome’s dynamics, but the unique roles of each are not well understood. Now, a Boston Children’s Hospital infectious ... Read More

Tagged: fetal medicine, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, microbiome, newborn medicine

From Virginia to Boston for a kidney transplant: Joshy’s story

Posted on April 19, 2021 by Ellen Greenlaw | Patient Stories

Tags: kidney failure, MFCC, transplant

Joshy Buchheit is a lot like most 4-year-old boys. He loves playing in the mud, riding his scooter, and keeping up with his three older brothers, Joseph, Ethan, and Evan. But what sets Joshy apart is that he was born with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and had a kidney transplant when he was just 20 ... Read More

Tagged: kidney failure, MFCC, transplant

Can we prevent leukemia in patients with Shwachman-Diamond syndrome?

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Nancy Fliesler | Research

Tags: blood disorder, cancer, genetics and genomics, leukemia, shwachman diamond syndrome

Anna Nazarenko doesn’t see herself as sick. The strong-willed, spunky 6-year-old loves to dance and ski, and spent much of April Fool’s day pranking her parents. Aside from the enzymes she takes to help digest her food, you wouldn’t know that she has Shwachman-Diamond syndrome (SDS). The rare, inherited type of bone marrow failure has ... Read More

Tagged: blood disorder, cancer, genetics and genomics, leukemia, shwachman diamond syndrome

Newborn genetic screening for pediatric cancer risk could save lives

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Nancy Fliesler | Clinical Care, Primary Care

Tags: cancer, genetics and genomics, newborn medicine, oncology, policy, research

Numerous genetic mutations increase children’s risk for various cancers. When they are detected early, cancers can potentially be caught at an early, more treatable stage — or avoided entirely. Could adding such “cancer predisposition” genes to routine newborn “heel-stick” screening save lives? Lisa Diller, MD, chief medical officer at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood ... Read More

Tagged: cancer, genetics and genomics, newborn medicine, oncology, policy, research

Transitioning to adult care for sickle cell disease: Ariyanna’s journey

Posted on April 14, 2021 by Dominic Malfara | Patient Stories

Tags: blood disorder, sickle cell disease

Ariyanna Agnew sits in a waiting room at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). The 22-year-old, who has been a patient of the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center Sickle Cell Disease Program for more than a decade, is seeing an adult hematologist for the first time. It’s a milestone event that would ordinarily ... Read More

Tagged: blood disorder, sickle cell disease

What it’s like to have brain surgery: Peyton’s story

Posted on April 13, 2021 by Jessica Cerretani | Patient Stories

Tags: chiari malformation, headaches, surgery

During the summer before my junior year of high school, I started getting a lot of dull headaches at the base of my head and upper neck. I got so used to them that I built up a tolerance to the pain — I didn’t see them as a big deal, or would make excuses for ... Read More

Tagged: chiari malformation, headaches, surgery

What is health equity and how does it affect children?

Posted on April 9, 2021 by Joanne Barker | Our Community

Tags: health equity

Put simply, health equity is a commitment to ensuring every person can obtain the highest level of health possible, no matter where they live or who they are. In 2020, many hospitals around the country — including Boston Children’s — made public commitments to health equity for their patients. This was part of a national ... Read More

Tagged: health equity