Patient Stories
Advocating for herself: Drew takes lymphedema in stride
Five-year-old Drew Rossi has no problem explaining why she wears a daily compression garment. “I have lymphedema,” she tells anyone who asks about the compression sock on her left leg. “She took this diagnosis and ran with it,” says her father, Don. “She’s already a great advocate.” Don and his wife, Kerri, knew that something ... Read More
Research
Chasing Rett syndrome biomarkers: Could overnight EEG studies improve care?
In Rett syndrome, a genetic condition affecting girls almost exclusively, mutations in the MECP2 gene cause a regression of language and motor skills starting at 12-to-18 months of age. Children then usually stabilize, but how Rett will ultimately affect them is hard to predict. Some girls develop epilepsy; others have no seizures at all. Language, ... Read More
Health and Parenting
Why families need routines (even in the summer)
They say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Maybe no one has realized this more over the last few years than children and young people who lost all semblance of normalcy with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even if the benefits of their day-to-day routines were more subliminal in the “before ... Read More
Research
A potential danger of CRISPR gene editing — and why base editing may be safer
Gene therapy using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing is currently in clinical trials around the world for a variety of diseases, including various cancers, blood disorders, and metabolic disorders. It works by making cuts in DNA — both strands of the double helix — to insert or remove genes. But CRISPR carries a potential, previously undiscovered danger, ... Read More
Research
New work transforms our knowledge of how blood is formed
The origins of our blood may not be quite what we thought. In groundbreaking research, scientists in the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children’s Hospital used cellular “barcoding” techniques in mice to track the development of blood in real time — and found that blood cells originate not from one type of mother cell, but ... Read More
Our Community
Addressing food insecurity: How Boston Children’s makes food accessible for patients
Food insecurity is more common than you might think, affecting an estimated 21% of Massachusetts households with children in 2022. To add to the stress, families of children with dietary restrictions who face food insecurity are frequently left with limited options to find proper nutrition. One of the biggest hurdles when it comes to addressing ... Read More
Patient Stories
From Toronto to Boston: Osteochondritis dissecans, hockey, and hope
Hockey is a fast and physical sport. Players need to think and act quickly as their team members, opponents, and the puck zip around the ice. Wherever the puck goes, high-speed collisions often follow. Osteochondritis dissecans is a joint disorder in which a segment of bone and cartilage starts to separate from the rest of ... Read More
Patient Stories
‘I did it!’ Micah is thriving after maternal-fetal care for a CPAM
Dr. Marla Lipsyc-Sharf is no stranger to the field of medicine: As a medical oncology fellow, she’s familiar with the human body and the health challenges that can arise. But it still came as a shock when — 20 weeks into a healthy pregnancy — she and her husband, Jeremiah, learned during an ultrasound that ... Read More
Clinical Care
Escaping the fire: How mental health care providers can fight burnout
It might feel like an occupational buzzword lately, but “burnout” is nothing new. It has plagued clinicians and other medical professionals for decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic and intensely spotlighted behavioral health crisis have only fueled the inferno. And maybe no one knows this better than the mental health professionals who have been on the frontline of both battles. ... Read More
Health and Parenting
Summertime Sadness: Helping children manage summer depression
Summer’s here, which means school is out and the sun is in. It’s everyone’s favorite season. Unless it’s not. Summer can bring with it feelings of depression or anxiety, which can be especially frustrating for young people who may think they’re supposed to unequivocally love this time of year. We spoke with Dr. Deepika Shaligram, ... Read More