Since the 1970’s, advancements in medical technology have led to much higher survival rates among children cancer patients. Thanks to the invention and/or further development of cancer treatments like radiation, chemotherapy and surgery, the survival rate of children with cancer has risen dramatically in the past 30 years. But as the recipients of these treatments approach middle age, new data concerning their long term health effects is coming to light.
An analysis recently released by the Annals of Internal Medicine estimates that childhood cancer survivors are more likely to die earlier than their peers who have never undergone cancer treatment. While this information may seem disheartening,Lisa Diller,MD, senior author of the study and clinical director of Pediatric Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital Boston points out that despite the potential dangers of lasting effects, these types of medical advancements have done far more good than harm. [click to continue…]
This image shows the green fluorescent signal from telomeres, bits of DNA at the tips of chromosomes (shown in blue). The intensity of the green signal is one indicator of telomere length, which is a measure of cellular "aging" and determines how many times a cell can divide.
Stem cell research is in its infancy, but a new study led by Children’s Suneet Agarwal, MD, PhD, and George Q. Daley, MD, PhD, investigators in Children’s Stem Cell Transplantation Program, reveal these cells’ unique powers to teach us about devastating, hard-to-treat diseases – and, in this case, cancer and aging.
In Children with dyskeratosis congenita, a rare condition that leads to premature aging, genetic mutations impair a key enzyme called telomerase that builds up the tips of our chromosomes, known as telomeres. When cells aren’t able to maintain their telomeres, the chromosomes become vulnerable to all kinds of damage, and the cell “ages” more quickly and stops dividing. As a result, children with dyskeratosis congenita have bone marrow failure – they’re unable to make enough blood cells to sustain the body. This requires a bone marrow transplant – an especially punishing procedure for these children, whose other tissues and organs are also failing because of the disease. [click to continue…]
There are an estimated 24 million Americans suffering from eating disorders, 90 percent of whom are women between 12 and 25. Identifying and treating eating disorders as early as possible is critical, as months or even years of malnutrition can take an immense toll on the body, and can result in osteoporosis, slowed growth, heart disturbances, loss of menstrual periods, depression and anxiety. [click to continue…]
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on January 15, 2010
H1N1 and seasonal influenza beware – new heroes have arrived, ready to defend the population and fight a viral battle, via Facebook, in the form of ‘Flu Fighters!’
Developed by researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston, in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a new Facebook application called “I’m a Flu Fighter!” gives you the opportunity to mobilize and take action against the threat of influenza – by telling your friends that you got the H1N1/seasonal flu vaccine and encouraging them to do the same. Launching as part of National Influenza Vaccination Week, the app also provides information on influenza – including a flu vaccine locator – courtesy of HHS’s Flu.gov.
The app is garnering high profile attention and was even plugged on the White House blog on Saturday by Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius.[click to continue…]
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on January 13, 2010
A genetic discovery by researchers at Children’s and Brigham and Women’s Hospital brings new hope for a mysterious, devastating kidney disease called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). It’s the second leading cause of kidney failure in children and forces patients onto dialysis and, all too often, kidney transplant – only to recur in the transplanted kidney, sometimes within hours.
The research team, led by Elizabeth Brown, MD, of Children’s Division of Nephrology, performed a genetic linkage analysis in two large families with FSGS and identified a variety of mutations in a gene known as INF2. They then sequenced INF2 in 91 additional families. In all, they found INF2 mutations in 11 of 93 families, as reported online in Nature Genetics on December 20. [click to continue…]
What a whirlwind of a year. Since launching this blog in July, we’ve had more than 230,000 visitors, many of whom have left thought-provoking comments on our posts.
We’ve enjoyed bringing you personal stories and expert insight about current pediatric health topics, and we hope you continue reading us in 2010.
What were our readers most interested in this year? Our most widely read stories range from a video series about defeating a milk allergy to a news report about the discredited Baby Einstein videos. Did you miss any of our most popular posts? We revisit them below. [click to continue…]
So where does the science of embryonic stem cells stand after a decade of political wrangling? A lot of exciting basic research is being done with embryonic stem cells, says Len Zon, a stem cell researcher at Children’s Hospital in Boston. But using stem cells for therapy?
“I think that’s still a ways off,” Zon says. “Although there are some studies that the FDA is considering, I think we still have to figure out how to make these cells in a more efficient and effective way, and I think that’s going to take awhile. You have to remember that the stem cell field is only 10 years old at the moment.”
Zon points out that it’s frequently two decades or more before new medical technologies find their way into patients.
Editor’s note: This week and next, we will be doing a series on how kids can give back to other kids.One huge way kids are giving back to kids is by taking part in medical research studies. If you’re a research subject, or the parent of one, you already know that you’re mainly helping not yourself, but generations of kids to come — so that researchers can better understand the disease and find new and better treatments. In this video, the first of several posts about children in medical research, kids and parents talk about their experiences volunteering for a study and what they hope to gain. It was shot in Children’s Clinical and Translational Study Unit, our own “research central.”
Since the 1970’s, advancements in medical technology have led to much higher survival rates among children cancer patients. Thanks to the invention and/or further development of cancer treatments like radiation, chemotherapy and surgery, the survival rate of children with cancer has risen dramatically in the past 30 years. But as the recipients of these treatments approach middle age, new data concerning their long term health effects is coming to light.
H1N1 and seasonal influenza beware – new heroes have arrived, ready to defend the population and fight a viral battle, via Facebook, in the form of ‘Flu Fighters!’
A genetic discovery by researchers at Children’s and Brigham and Women’s Hospital brings new hope for a mysterious, devastating kidney disease called 
