Blog | Page 8 of 158 | Boston Children's Answers

Understanding and treating Mason’s congenital nevus

Posted on April 22, 2025 by Staff Writer | Patient Stories

Kim and Ryan noticed their son’s birthmark almost immediately after he was born. They knew birthmarks were common, but Mason’s was different — it covered a large portion of his right leg and calf. Their doctor classified it as a giant congenital melanocytic nevus and suggested they monitor it closely, but that didn’t answer all ... Read More

Tagged: plastic surgery, surgery

Unique data revealed just when Mickey’s heart doctors could operate

Posted on April 18, 2025 by Albert McKeon | Patient Stories

Tags: blood, cardiac surgery, cardiology, complex biventricular repair, congenital heart defect, heart, heart center, heart patient, international

When Mikolaj “Mickey” Karski’s family traveled from Poland to Boston to get him heart care, they weren’t thinking about pressure-volume (PV) loops. His parents simply wanted him to receive treatment for a complex condition that he couldn’t get back home. Little did they know the mathematical computational power of those PV loops would play a ... Read More

Tagged: blood, cardiac surgery, cardiology, complex biventricular repair, congenital heart defect, heart, heart center, heart patient, international

No limitations: How Flora found answers for MOG antibody disease

Posted on April 17, 2025 by Jessica Cerretani | Patient Stories

Tags: autoimmune disease, infectious diseases, neuroimmunology, neuroinflammation

Flora Ringler’s fifth birthday didn’t turn out as she had hoped. She and her family were vacationing in New Hampshire last year when she started feeling tired. But she wasn’t just worn out from celebrating: She also developed a bad headache and started throwing up. Concerned, her mom, Maureen, contacted a pediatrician, who thought she ... Read More

Tagged: autoimmune disease, infectious diseases, neuroimmunology, neuroinflammation

Forecasting the future for childhood cancer survivors

Posted on April 16, 2025 by Nancy Fliesler | Clinical, Research

Tags: brain tumor, cancer, epidemiology, leukemia, research

Children are much more likely to survive cancer today than 50 years ago. Unfortunately, as adults, many of them develop cardiovascular disease, secondary cancers, or both, believed to result from the toxic effects of chemotherapy and radiation. But the full risk picture for survivors hasn’t been clear. “Patients want to know how long they’ll live ... Read More

Tagged: brain tumor, cancer, epidemiology, leukemia, research

Genetic causes of congenital diarrhea and enteropathy come into focus

Posted on April 15, 2025 by Nancy Fliesler | Clinical, Research

Tags: gastroenterology, genetics and genomics, intestinal rehabilitation

Congenital diarrheas and enteropathies are rare and devastating for infants and children. Treatments have consisted mainly of fluid and nutritional management. But in recent years, targeted dietary and drug therapies have emerged based on genetic discoveries. Now, research led by Boston Children’s Hospital, The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and UCLA takes a major ... Read More

Tagged: gastroenterology, genetics and genomics, intestinal rehabilitation

Genomic sequencing transforms a life: Asa’s story

Posted on April 15, 2025 by Nancy Fliesler | Patient Stories, Research

Tags: gastroenterology, genetics and genomics, rare disease, research

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

Tagged: gastroenterology, genetics and genomics, rare disease, research

What orthopedic trauma surgeons wish more parents knew about lawnmower injuries

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Joanne Barker | Health and Parenting

Tags: infectious diseases, injury prevention, neurosurgery, orthopedics

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

Tagged: infectious diseases, injury prevention, neurosurgery, orthopedics

Could the falcine sinus hold the key to vein of Galen outcomes?

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Katie Paradis | Clinical, Research

Tags: cerebrovascular surgery and interventions center, developmental milestones, nicu, pulmonary hypertension, research, vein of galen malformation

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

Tagged: cerebrovascular surgery and interventions center, developmental milestones, nicu, pulmonary hypertension, research, vein of galen malformation

The thalamus: A potential therapeutic target for neurodevelopmental disorders

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Nancy Fliesler | Basic/Translational, Research

Tags: autism, developmental medicine, neurology, neuroscience

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

Tagged: autism, developmental medicine, neurology, neuroscience

‘A football game changed my life’: Jamison’s non-directed kidney donation

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Veronica Giarla | Patient Stories

Tags: transplant, urethral valves

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

Tagged: transplant, urethral valves