Archive for newborn medicine
A perfect genetic hit: New gene mutation implicated in rare congenital diarrhea
When the 1-year-old boy arrived from overseas, he was relying on total parenteral nutrition — a way of bypassing the digestive system to provide nutrients and calories completely intravenously — to survive. From the time of his birth, he had experienced unexplainable diarrhea. Answers were desperately needed. Sequencing his genes in search of clues, neonatologists ... Read More about A perfect genetic hit: New gene mutation implicated in rare congenital diarrhea
Inspired research in newborn lung disease: Stella Kourembanas, MD
Stella Kourembanas in the NICU with Julian (photos: Katherine Cohen) During the NICU rotation of her clinical training, Stella Kourembanas, MD, sat at the bedside of newborn babies with hypoxia. The newborns weren’t getting enough oxygen and were suffering from pulmonary hypertension — abnormally elevated blood pressure in the lung’s blood vessels. What was triggering ... Read More about Inspired research in newborn lung disease: Stella Kourembanas, MD
Using newborns’ own umbilical cords as shunts for heart surgery
Cardiac surgery is reducing the use of plastic — starting with an operation for newborns who have life-threatening heart disease generally called single ventricle. Single ventricle is so dangerous because it means only one of the heart’s two ventricles can adequately pump blood. Typically, affected infants undergo open-heart surgery to receive a Blalock shunt, which ... Read More about Using newborns’ own umbilical cords as shunts for heart surgery