Clinical Care
Innovations in transcatheter valve replacement
The Cardiac Catheterization Program at Boston Children’s Hospital has been at the cutting edge of pediatric care for more than 60 years, developing and refining innovative catheterization techniques and procedures. “The program was built on a culture of collaboration, training, and innovation,” says Diego Porras, MD, FAAP, program chief. “We continue to foster new ideas ... Read More about Innovations in transcatheter valve replacement
Research
An advance for drug-eluting contact lenses: Delivery to the back of the eye
Drug-eluting contact lenses, which gradually release drugs into the eye, offer a promising alternative to daily eye drops, which can be unpleasant and hard for patients to properly administer. In a 2016 pre-clinical study of glaucoma, the engineered lenses lowered eye pressure at least as well as daily eye drops. New work from Massachusetts Eye ... Read More about An advance for drug-eluting contact lenses: Delivery to the back of the eye
Patient Stories
Gavin: My Crohn’s disease story
When I was 10 years old, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. For a few months at the end of fourth grade, I didn’t feel well on and off. I was having stomach pains and diarrhea a couple times a week. In June I went to see my doctor and she thought I was developing ... Read More about Gavin: My Crohn’s disease story
Research
Babies’ EEG patterns predict whether they will develop autism
Signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically start to become apparent only in a child’s second year of life or later, but earlier identification could allow children to receive interventions as babies, when they have greater brain plasticity and thus may receive more benefit. A new study in Nature Communications finds that periodic EEGs in ... Read More about Babies’ EEG patterns predict whether they will develop autism
Patient Stories
Minimally invasive approaches help ease Sydney’s chronic pain
Sydney Hart wants to reimagine the traditional “handicap” symbol. In her online shop, she offers pins, stickers, and other products that infuse the classic wheelchair silhouette with yin-yang symbols, LGBTQ and transgender flags, and even sassy devil horns. “I hope that having symbols with more character will open up the conversation and humanize people with ... Read More about Minimally invasive approaches help ease Sydney’s chronic pain
Our Community
From local teams to elite athletics: Caring for youth athletes with disabilities
Anna Johannes considers herself lucky. “My swim coaches were oblivious to my disability — in a good way,” says the U.S. Paralympic medalist. Anna, who joined Boston Children’s Hospital as a cause marketing coordinator in 2018, was born with amniotic band syndrome, a condition that led to the loss of her left hand and forearm. ... Read More about From local teams to elite athletics: Caring for youth athletes with disabilities
Research
Meet BORIS: A new culprit in drug-resistant cancer?
Like a Russian bot corrupting U.S. elections, or a new prime minister wreaking havoc in the U.K., a protein named BORIS is showing itself to be a malevolent player in some childhood cancers. New research fingers BORIS as a culprit that can hack the neuroblastoma genome, rousing the cancer cells from dormancy after certain types ... Read More about Meet BORIS: A new culprit in drug-resistant cancer?
Clinical Care
In surgery for people with sepsis, choice of anesthetic may matter
Sepsis, an extreme immune response to infection, has no specific treatment and is a leading cause of hospital deaths. As part of their care, patients often undergo imaging procedures and surgery to pinpoint and help eliminate the infection. New preclinical findings suggest that the choice of general anesthetic used for these procedures can influence sepsis ... Read More about In surgery for people with sepsis, choice of anesthetic may matter
Research
How breast cancer uses exosomes to metastasize to the brain
Metastasizing breast cancers typically seek out the bones, lung, and brain. Brain metastases are especially dangerous; many women survive for less than a year after diagnosis. How is the cancer able to get past the blood brain barrier? And can it be blocked? Those questions led PhD candidate Golnaz Morad, DDS, and her mentor Marsha ... Read More about How breast cancer uses exosomes to metastasize to the brain
Research
How new loops in DNA packaging help us make diverse antibodies
Diversity is good, especially when it comes to antibodies. It’s long been known that a gene assembly process called V(D)J recombination allows our immune system to mix and match bits of genetic code, generating new antibodies to conquer newly encountered threats. But how these gene segments come together to be spliced has been a mystery. ... Read More about How new loops in DNA packaging help us make diverse antibodies