August 2007
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Marrow gone bad
When blood-forming stem cells go awry and cause precancerous conditions, it may be their environment that's to blame, finds a study by Stuart Orkin, MD, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Children' Hospital Boston. Orkin and colleagues showed that myeloproliferative syndromes, which are difficult to treat and can lead to leukemia, may arise not from faults within the stem cells themselves, as previously believed, but through a flawed interaction with support cells in the bone marrow. This improved understanding may explain why stem-cell transplants for these conditions sometimes fail, and may pave the way to novel therapies. The study appeared in the June 15 issue of CellRegrowing heart tissue
When human hearts are injured, as they are during a heart attack, healthy tissue normally can't regrow. Research led by Bernhard Kuhn, MD, in Children's Department of Cardiology, shows that rats' mature heart cells, given the right environment, can begin replicating. They created a sponge-like patch soaked in a stimulating compound called periostin. Placed over the cardiac injury site, it reduced the amount of scarred heart tissue, increased the amount of muscle tissue, stimulated growth of nourishing blood vessels and improved cardiac pumping ability. Kuhn believes periostin could benefit not only heart-attack patients, but also children with congenital heart disease. The study appears in the July 15 online edition of Nature Medicine.Testing turnout
June 27 was National HIV counseling and testing day so the Martha Eliot Health Center teamed up with the National Latino Health Institute and the Whittier Street Health Center in Jamaica Plain to promote HIV awareness within the community. The event offered rapid HIV testing, food and entertainment.MEHC grows online presence
The Martha Eliot Health Center (MEHC) Web site recently got a makeover. Jim Cote, executive director of MEHC, was the driving force to boost its online presence and to transform the Web site from a single page into a full-fledged site. Starting in June, Dana Calabro, networking market manager, helped increase it to more than 30 pages and has given MEHC its own URL. "We've created an online community," she says. The new site outlines the programs and services offered at the Jamaica Plain clinic and offers information that's not available on Children's main Web site. A calendar of events and glossary of terms are all available. "It's a great coincidence that the launch of the site coincides with Martha Eliot's 40th anniversary," Calabro says. www.childrenshospital.org/mehc.NASCAR visits Children's
The FedEX NASCAR racing team and #11 driver Denny Hamlin visited Children's last month to host an event in the Patient Entertainment Center. Hamlin (right) donated a $25,000 check to Child Life, while patient Francisco Pilante (left) presented Hamlin with a Children's helmet designed by patient Moira Welch.Nurses help enhance care
Children's was chosen by the American Organization of Nurse Executives as one of 68 hospitals to participate in the two-year "Transforming Care at the Bedside" project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The project aims to improve the safety and quality of patient care, encourage manager leadership and improve the effectiveness and quality of care teams.Transplanted to Fenway Park
Children's obtained a number of Red Sox tickets through the support of the National Kidney Foundation of MA-RI-NH-VT for some of our kidney transplant recipients. Eight patients, 11 to 19, will head to Fenway Park and settle into their EMC box seats on August 17. Theresa Pak, RN, MPH and Mary Tattan, RN, BSN will join the group for the game, lunch and a behind-the-scenes tour of the park.Buckling down
On June 25, nationally certified car seat technicians volunteered for Martha Eliot Health Center's Car Seat Checkpoint. The event was cosponsored by Children's Injury Prevention Program. Technicians replaced six car seats that were damaged, recalled or expired and installed and inspected another 22.
