Archive for newborn medicine
Newborn genetic screening for pediatric cancer risk could save lives
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 about Newborn genetic screening for pediatric cancer risk could save lives
Tuber locations associated with infantile spasms map to a common brain network
About half of all babies with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) develop infantile spasms, a type of epilepsy that can have serious long-term neurologic consequences. Infantile spasms occur more often in children who have more brain tubers — groups of cells that do not divide into normal neurons and brain cells — but we haven’t known ... Read More about Tuber locations associated with infantile spasms map to a common brain network
Therapy developed at Boston Children’s stops preeclampsia before it starts
Preeclampsia occurs in about 3 to 5 percent of all pregnancies. Characterized by very high maternal blood pressure, it can lead to serious, sometimes fatal, complications in both mother and baby. In severe cases, early delivery is often the only effective treatment, usually before the baby’s lungs are fully developed. Researchers within the Division of ... Read More about Therapy developed at Boston Children’s stops preeclampsia before it starts
How does the placenta protect unborn babies from COVID-19?
Evidence has shown that pregnancy is a risk factor for severe illness in women with COVID-19. A recent CDC study reviewed case reports of approximately 400,000 women aged 15 to 44 with symptomatic COVID-19. Those who were pregnant had a roughly tripled likelihood of ICU admission and invasive ventilation and 70 percent higher mortality. Yet ... Read More about How does the placenta protect unborn babies from COVID-19?
In the coronavirus crisis, when should your child see the doctor?
If your child is sick or is due for a checkup or vaccine, you may wonder if it’s okay to go to the doctor right now. With more pediatricians seeing patients remotely in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, the majority of routine and sick visits can be managed via telehealth. But there are still some ... Read More about In the coronavirus crisis, when should your child see the doctor?
Care in the NICU during the COVID-19 outbreak
Having a baby requiring specialized care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is stressful under any circumstances. But if your baby is being cared for in the NICU during the current COVID-19 outbreak, you may have even more questions and concerns than usual. To address these worries, we spoke with Dr. Kristen Leeman, associate ... Read More about Care in the NICU during the COVID-19 outbreak
How do you implement change? Lessons from a QI project in the NICU
Kristen Leeman, MD, is Director of Quality in the Division of Newborn Medicine and Associate Medical Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Boston Children’s Hospital. What if you were taught to do things a certain way, the way things were always done, and then a randomized clinical trial comes out supporting a different ... Read More about How do you implement change? Lessons from a QI project in the NICU
Going into science: Women scientists at Boston Children’s offer advice to girls
In honor of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11), we invited women scientists at all stages of their careers at Boston Children’s Hospital to share their scientific agendas. Here is some of what they had to say. The scientists also offered their advice for girls interested in entering the field. ... Read More about Going into science: Women scientists at Boston Children’s offer advice to girls
Solving genetic mysteries – in the NICU and beyond
A growing number of children with suspected genetic disorders are having their complete exomes sequenced, since it’s now often faster and cheaper to sequence all the protein-coding genes at once rather than test limited groups of genes. But even after whole-exome sequencing, 70 to 75 percent of children come away without a genetic explanation for ... Read More about Solving genetic mysteries – in the NICU and beyond
Small samples, big data: A systems-biology look at a newborn’s first week of life
The first week of a baby’s life is a time of rapid biological change. The newborn must adapt to living outside the womb, suddenly exposed to new bacteria and viruses. Yet scientists know surprisingly little about these early changes. Reporting in Nature Communications, an international research team provides the most detailed accounting to date of the ... Read More about Small samples, big data: A systems-biology look at a newborn’s first week of life