Health and Parenting
Talking with your child about suicide
For three weeks in late spring of 2018, it seemed like suicide dominated the media. On May 18, the second season of the controversial series 13 Reasons Why began airing on Netflix. Eighteen days later, fashion designer Kate Spade died by suicide, followed three days later by celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. Such news came on the heels ... Read More about Talking with your child about suicide
Research
Do antibiotic-impregnated shunts reduce infection in hydrocephalus?
Every year, nearly 400,000 children worldwide develop hydrocephalus, in which excess fluid accumulates in the brain. Many of these children have shunts placed to allow this fluid to drain. Antibiotic-impregnated shunts are widely championed as the best choice, but a recent study calls their necessity into question. The study, published in the Journal of Neurosurgery ... Read More about Do antibiotic-impregnated shunts reduce infection in hydrocephalus?
Research
Eavesdropping on mitochondria, tissue by tissue
Mitochondria are essential to life: they produce energy, synthesize building blocks critical to cell function and help regulate cellular activity, including programmed cell death. Mitochondrial diseases can cause severe metabolic disorders in children and dysfunctional mitochondria are thought to play a role in cancer, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, Parkinson’s disease and more. A new research ... Read More about Eavesdropping on mitochondria, tissue by tissue
Patient Stories
Having Faith: A novel approach to heart surgery
When Rachel and Rudy Fasano of New Haven, Connecticut learned they were having their first baby after three years of trying, they were overjoyed, as were their families. At Rachel’s 15-week ultrasound to learn their baby’s sex, both grandmothers were also in tow, eager to hear the news. But the visit delivered some unexpected results. ... Read More about Having Faith: A novel approach to heart surgery
Research
Blood stem cell transplants from any donor, without toxicity?
Many blood disorders, immune disorders and metabolic disorders can be cured with a transplant of hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells, also known as bone marrow transplant. But patients must first receive high-dose, whole-body chemotherapy and/or radiation to deplete their own defective stem cells, providing space for the donor cells to engraft. These “conditioning” regimens are highly ... Read More about Blood stem cell transplants from any donor, without toxicity?
Our Community
Gun violence and children: Why it’s a public health issue
“There have been more than 52,000 pediatric firearm deaths in the past 18 years,” says Dr. Eric Fleegler, a pediatric emergency physician at Boston Children’s Hospital as he kicks off his talk. It’s May 3, 2018, and he’s sharing the startling statistic with a rapt audience at the hospital’s Special Grand Rounds on Trauma and Gun ... Read More about Gun violence and children: Why it’s a public health issue
Clinical Care
Partnering with families to minimize exposure to anesthesia
In medicine, the best imaging can mean the difference between the right diagnosis and the wrong one. A successful treatment and an ineffective one. The radiology team at Boston Children’s Hospital carries out more than 200,000 imaging exams on children each year. Ranging in length from five minutes to two hours, all MRI scans require children to ... Read More about Partnering with families to minimize exposure to anesthesia
Research
Dually-targeted liposomes curb triple-negative breast cancer, metastases in mice
Some 15 to 20 percent of all breast cancers are triple-negative, meaning they lack receptors for estrogen, progesterone and human epidermal growth factor type 2. They have the worst prognosis of all breast cancers and very limited treatment options. Finding a treatment that distinguishes between cancer cells and normal cells has been especially challenging. A ... Read More about Dually-targeted liposomes curb triple-negative breast cancer, metastases in mice
Health and Parenting
Noisy breathing? It could be tracheomalacia
DJ is at his pediatrician’s office with his third bout of pneumonia this year. Katie wants to play soccer, but gasps for air when she exerts herself. Sarah’s parents have learned CPR because she has stopped breathing so many times. Although these kids appear to have very different problems, they all have one underlying cause: tracheomalacia. ... Read More about Noisy breathing? It could be tracheomalacia
Health and Parenting
Four things I learned at the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Family Symposium
I’m sure most parents treat clinic visits as I do… an opportunity to get every last drop of information out of your child’s doctors while you have their undivided attention. So, when the opportunity presents, you take advantage of a full day of learning about your kiddo. I had that chance recently — along with ... Read More about Four things I learned at the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Family Symposium