Copyright (c) 2009 Children's Hospital Boston. All rights reserved.http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P0.htmlThe News Room was created by the Department of Public Affairs to offer members of the news media and public easy access to up-to-date information about Children's and increase the public understanding of pediatric health issues. Public Affairs media relations staff are available to assist local, regional, national and international news media in answering questions about the hospital, locating an expert spokesperson, or obtaining more information about a news release or event.en-usSat, 21 Nov 2009 12:00:00 ESTwebteam@childrens.harvard.edu (Web Team)http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel582.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel582.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston today unveiled its first textmessage fundraising campaign. The campaign encourages New Englanders to become a Champion for Childrens by using text messaging on wireless devices to donate to Children's Hospital's patient care, cuttingedge research and community outreach initiatives. With each text donation, $5 will be donated to Children's Hospital Boston.Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel579.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel579.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston and its physicians are creating a unique partnership with the state's major health plans to accelerate the transformation of the pediatric care delivery system by expanding innovative approaches and models of care. The approaches and models currently being piloted at Children's are designed to improve health outcomes and reduce costs by eliminating care that is not effective and over utilized. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel580.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel580.htmlAs flu season approaches, parents around the country are starting to face school closures. But how bad should an influenza outbreak be for a school to shut down? A study led by Children's epidemiologists tapped a detailed set of Japanese data to help guide decision making by schools and government agencies. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel578.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel578.htmlA study by emergency physicians at Children's Hospital Boston provides a wakeup call to parents to get rid of their old glass thermometers. A 12year review of patients seen in Children's emergency department (ED) shows that glass thermometers pose one more safety hazard in addition to mercury exposure injuries from broken glass.Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel581.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel581.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston, one of the world's leading providers of pediatric research and care, presented Boston Red Sox Ace Josh Beckett with the 2009 Champion Award at the hospital's Champions for Children's dinner and auction Tuesday night at the Seaport World Trade Center. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel577.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel577.htmlA study led by Heather Rosen, MD, MPH, research fellow in the Department of Plastic Surgery at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, found that uninsured children were over three times more likely to die from their traumarelated injuries than children who were commercially insured, after adjustment for other factors such as age, gender, race, injury severity and injury type in an analysis of data from the National Trauma Data Bank. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel576.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel576.htmlChildren born with certain heart defects have impaired blood flow from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery leading to the lungs, requiring implanted devices (known as rightventricular outflow tract conduits) to maintain the flow. Now, a prospective multicenter study at Children's finds good preliminary outcomes with a valve that can be delivered nonsurgicallythreaded up a leg vein to the heartpotentially avoiding the need for repeated openheart operations.Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel573.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel573.htmlA new study appearing in the upcoming Pediatrics suggests that children between the ages of 1 and 11 may suffer from optimal levels of vitamin D, and black and Hispanic children are particularly at risk. The research builds on growing evidence that levels have fallen below what has been considered healthy.Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel574.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel574.htmlResearchers at Children's have found an essential factor for regenerating neurons in the central nervous system, which normally can't regenerate. This enzyme, or factors that stimulate it, could lead to a possible treatment for stroke, spinal cord damage and traumatic brain injury. The findings build on previous research which uncovered other nerve growth factors all through this newly recognized enzyme, called Mst3b. Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel572.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel572.htmlCRAFFT, the diagnostic test developed and currently being employed at Children's, allows primary care physicians to accurately screen teens for high risk drug and alcohol use in a matter of minutes. Now, according to a new study appearing in the Journal of Adolescent Health, Children's researchers have established that the CRAFFT diagnostic test can also identify teens that are more likely to be engaging in high risk sexual behaviors.Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel571.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel571.htmlA conference hosted by Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School with more than 100 thought leaders, including representatives from the Executive Office of the President, the Department of Health and Human Services, Google, Microsoft, and IBM, explored how health information technology can be modeled on iPhonelike platform to spur innovation and reduce costs. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel569.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel569.htmlA new technique being tested in stemcell transplants from imperfectly matched donors has revealed a striking, unforeseen response that can suppress graftversushost disease, a common and dangerous complication of mismatched transplants, report scientists led by Eva Guinan, MD of DanaFarber Cancer Institute and Childrens Hospital Boston, and Jeff Davies, MD, PhD, of DanaFarber. Both are also on the Harvard Medical School faculty.Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel575.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel575.htmlIn one of the first studies of its kind, an international team of researchers has uncovered a singleletter change in the genetic code that is associated with autism. The finding, published in the October 8 issue of the journal Nature, implicates a neuronal gene not previously tied to the disorder and more broadly, underscores a role for common DNA variation.Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel570.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel570.htmlNew research integrates sophisticated interdisciplinary approaches to solve a molecular mystery that may lead to alternative therapeutic strategies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The study, led by Dr. Kimberly Stegmaier from Children's Hospital Boston, DanaFarber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, identifies a previously unrecognized AML target that responds well to pharmacological inhibition and may be an excellent candidate for use in future clinical trials. Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel567.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel567.htmlTapping commonly available electronic health records, predictive computer models could help doctors diagnose domestic abuse an average of 10 to 30 months earlier, by highlighting subtle patterns that are easy to miss, report researchers from Children's Hospital Boston.Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel568.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel568.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston, with the Broad Institute and Harvard Medical School, has been awarded a Grand Opportunity grant from the National Institute of Mental Health as part of the federal stimulus package, to pursue wholegenome sequencing of patients with autism, using new technologies for rapid DNA sequencing to better understand autism's causes. The roughly $4.5 million grant, part of the federal stimulus package, officially starts September 30.Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel566.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel566.htmlThe Technology and Innovation Development Office (TIDO) at Children's Hospital Boston announced awards totaling $1.2 million to support the advancement of promising research into potentially life saving products. The awards support efforts that range from pharmaceuticals and diagnostics and medical devices to vaccines and tissue engineering. Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel565.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel565.htmlAn 11year national analysis at Children's Hospital Boston shows that side effects or accidental overdoses of medications are a common complication of outpatient care in children, generating more than half a million additional visits per year, particularly in children age 4 and younger. Findings are reported in the October issue of Pediatrics.Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel564.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel564.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston scientists Fernando Camargo, PhD, and Gabriel Kreiman, PhD, are among the 55 recipients of the 2009 NIH Director's New Innovator Award, a high risk research award given to earlystage investigators whose projects have the potential for unusually high impact. Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel563.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel563.htmlMany medical conditions, such as chronic pain, cancer and diabetes, require medications that cannot be taken orally, but must be dosed intermittently, on an asneeded basis, over a long period of time. A few delivery techniques have been developed, using an implanted heat source, an implanted electronic chip or other stimuli as an onoff switch to release the drugs into the body. Researchers at Children's have devised a solution that combines magnetism with nanotechnology. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel561.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel561.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston and eClinicalWorks(R) today announced a collaboration that will enable patients who are seen at Children's ambulatory programs and in primary care practices in the Pediatric Physicians' Organization at Children's (PPOC) to aggregate health data from both sites of care into a single personally controlled health record (PCHR).Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel560.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel560.htmlWith new prenatal tests for Down syndrome on the horizon promising to be safer, more accurate, and available to women earlier in pregnancy, the medical community must come together and engage in dialogue about the impact of existing and expected tests, argues a new leading article published Online First by Archives of Disease in Childhood.Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel562.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel562.htmlToday Children's Hospital Boston announced that the efforts of one heroic patient are proving instrumental in inspiring corporations, celebrities and other kids to join the Generation Cures movement. Generation Cures is an online community created by Children's where kids and their families learn and have fun while raising funds for research that helps cure sick children worldwide.Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel559.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel559.htmlA new iPhone application, created by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab, enables users to track and report outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as H1N1 (swine flu), on the ground in real time.Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel554.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel554.htmlResearch indicates that the social stigma that surrounds lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) teens leads to a variety of health risks such as substance use, risky sexual behaviors, eating disorders, suicidal ideation, and victimization. An editorial in the September issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health calls on clinicians and health researchers to lead the charge in improving the health and wellbeing of U.S. LGBT teens. Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel556.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel556.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston today announced the winners of its first Generation Cures online tween poster contest. The competition, which attracted over 700 entries from across the United States, was designed to encourage young people to think creatively about how to communicate the core Generation Cures message of kids helping kids.Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel552.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel552.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston is kicking off Milagros Para Nios (Miracles for Children), its firstever Latino community fundraising campaign. This pioneering initiative, the first of its kind among New England hospitals, aims to raise money and awareness to support Children's clinical care and research for its increasingly diverse patient population.Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel551.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel551.htmlInjured heart tissue normally can't regrow, but researchers at Children's have now laid the groundwork for regenerating heart tissue after a heart attack. In the July 24 issue of Cell, they show that a growth factor called neuregulin1 (NRG1), which is involved in the initial development of the heart and nervous system, can spur heartmuscle growth and recovery of cardiac function when injected systemically into animals after a heart attack.Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel550.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel550.htmlResearchers led by Daniel Kohane, MD, PhD, director of the Laboratory for Biomaterials and Drug Delivery at Children's Hospital Boston, have developed special contact lenses that can gradually dispense a constant amount of medication to the eye, at adjustable rates. They describe their prototype lens in the July issue of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel553.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel553.htmlHealthy Kids, Healthy Futures (HKHF) children, caregivers, families and partners were honored during a special Boston Red Sox pregame ceremony on Friday, July 10th. Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel548.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel548.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston's Generation Cures (www.kids.generationcures.org) movement has been honored for creating the Website of the Year by the Moms Choice Awards, which recognize excellence in familyfriendly media, products and services. Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel547.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel547.htmlUsing mouse embryonic stem cells, researchers in the Stem Cell Program at Children's Hospital Boston have managed to recapitulate the creation of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in the lab, capturing the stem cells' gene activity as they differentiated to form PGCs. The findings, published in the July 5 issue of Nature, also offer a unique window on cancer.Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel549.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel549.htmlAn otherwise effective treatment for cystic fibrosis places patients at a high risk of sensorineural hearing loss, according to new research published in the July edition of OtolaryngologyHead and Neck Surgery.Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel545.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel545.htmlAppendicitis is the most common childhood surgical emergency, but the diagnosis can be challenging, especially in children, often leading to either unnecessary surgery in children without appendicitis, or a ruptured appendix and serious complications when the condition is missed. Now, emergency medicine physicians and scientists at Childrens demonstrate that a protein detectable in urine might serve as a biomarker for appendicitisTue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel546.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel546.htmlResearchers at Children's Hospital Boston have isolated a potent inhibitor of tumor metastasis made by tumor cells, one that could potentially be harnessed as a cancer treatment. Their findings were published in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of June 22. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel544.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel544.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston has been ranked first in Heart and Heart Surgery, Neurology and Neurosurgery and Orthopedics in the U.S. News Media Groups 2009 edition of Americas Best Childrens Hospitals to be published online at www.usnews.comchildrenshospitals and featured in the August issue of U.S. News and World Report. Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel543.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel543.htmleading health care information technology (IT) researchers, physicians, and renowned experts in innovation today released a set of core principals to guide the creation of a new health information infrastructure to better support the nation's complex and evolving health system. The principles follow up on a Perspective piece published in The New Journal of Medicine in March, authored by researchers at the Informatics Program at Children's.Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel541.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel541.htmlThe Children's Hospital Ophthalmology Foundation (CHOF), the professional corporation of the Department of Ophthalmology of Children's Hospital Boston (Children's), and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (Mass. Eye and Ear) will begin a formal relationship in patient care on Aug. 1, creating one of the most comprehensive pediatric ophthalmology networks in the country. Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel542.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel542.htmlNearly 4,500 walkers from New England logged miles for miracles along the Charles River at NSTAR's Walk for Children's Hospital Boston this weekend. Childrens Hospital patients, families and staff, NSTAR employees and other partners laced up their sneakers and rallied to raise money for Children's patient care, research and community health programs. Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel540.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel540.htmlSeeking ways to improve blood recovery after chemotherapy or bone marrow transplant, researchers at Childrens have discovered that fat cells, which accumulate in bone marrow as people age, inhibit the marrow's ability to produce new blood cells. Their study, published online June 10 by the journal Nature, suggests that blocking this fatty infiltration could help enhance patients' recovery after transplant.Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel539.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel539.htmlA drug derived from the hydrangea root, used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine, shows promise in treating autoimmune disorders, report researchers from the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Immune Disease Institute at Childrens Hospital Boston (PCMMIDI), along with the Harvard School of Dental Medicine in the June 5 edition of Science. Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel537.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel537.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston has been named the National Lead Center for the Prevention of Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury (PABI) and the Massachusetts Lead Center for PABI by the Sarah Jane Brain Project (SJBP), a national organization focused on the prevention and treatment of acquired brain injury in children.Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel536.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel536.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston will soon be welcoming patient families into its new patient family home, The Yawkey Family Inn at Children's Hospital Boston, located at 241Kent Street in Brookline. For more than a year, Children's has been transforming an old Victorian, former fraternity house into homeawayfromhome for patient families. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel538.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel538.htmlFrom cyberbullying and violent video games to social networking and sexting, parents are overwhelmed by the new media environment and how it affects their children. To help parents navigate this new and changing landscape, the Center on Media and Child Health (CMCH) at Children's is launching Ask the MediatricianSM. Pediatrician, former Hollywood producer, parent, and CMCH founder Dr. Michael Rich will tackle any and all questions parents have related to media and their child's health. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel535.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel535.htmlA protein abundant in embryonic stem cells is now shown to be important in cancer, and offers a possible new target for drug development, report researchers from the Stem Cell Program at Children's Hospital Boston.Sun, 31 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel534.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel534.htmlChildren's recently kicked off Milagros Para Nios (Miracles for Children), the hospital's firstever fundraising campaign specifically aimed at the Latino community. This pioneering initiative aims to raise money and awareness to support Children's clinical care and research for its increasingly diverse patient population.Wed, 27 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel533.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel533.htmlMost cancers are rare in people with Down syndrome, whose overall cancer mortality is below 10 percent of that in the general population. Since they have an extra copy of chromosome 21, it's been proposed that people with Down syndrome may be getting an extra dose of one or more cancerprotective genes. The late cancer researcher Judah Folkman, MD, founder of the Vascular Biology Program at Children's, popularized the notion that they might be benefiting from a gene that blocks angiogenesis.Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel532.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel532.htmlBiologists have long wondered why the embryonic heart begins beating so early, before the tissues actually need to be infused with blood. Two papers next week in Cell and Nature show that the mechanical stresses of a beating heart and blood flow are required for the blood system to develop, and offer clues that may help in developing cellbased therapies for blood diseases such as leukemia, immune deficiency and sickle cell anemia. Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel531.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel531.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston launched a new Technology Development Fund aimed at advancing promising earlystage hospital technologies, such as drugs, diagnostic tests and medical devices. The program will ultimately spend more than $1 million per year to fund projects that are not traditionally carried out in academic labs but are necessary for technology validation, including largescale animal studies, prototype development and advanced preclinical testing.Fri, 08 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel530.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel530.htmlTapping the Internet including personal Web searches, news reports, blogs, chat rooms and social networking sites is fast becoming a way to get a complete, uptotheminute view of public health threats, say researchers from the Informatics Program at Children's Hospital Boston (CHIP) in a Perspectives article published Online First by The New England Journal of Medicine on May 7. In an accompanying sidebar, they describe the use of HealthMap.org in tracking the current swine flu outbreak.Thu, 07 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel529.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel529.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston announced today that it has received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support an innovative global health research project conducted by Ofer Levy, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, entitled Tolllike receptor 8 agonists adjuvants to enhance neonatal vaccination.Mon, 04 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel528.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel528.htmlA new study out of Children's Hospital Boston suggests that children who view adulttargeted TV and movies may become sexually active earlier in life. The research found that for every hour the youngest group of children watched adulttargeted content over the days they were studied, their chances of having sex during early adolescence increased by 33 percent.Mon, 04 May 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel526.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel526.htmlA new paper published in the latest issue of the open access publication Journal of Medical Internet Research evaluates consumers' experiences with the Indivo personally controlled health record (PCHR) system a system developed by researchers in the Children's Hospital Informatics Program more than a decade ago that has been adapted by PCHR providers including Dossia, Microsoft and Google. This is the first report to be published that investigates consumers response to a platform PCHR.Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel527.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel527.htmlHuman beings far outpace computers in their ability to recognize faces and other objects, handling with ease variations in size, color, orientation, lighting conditions and other factors. But how our brains handle this visual processing isnt known in much detail. Researchers at Childrens, demonstrate for the first time that the brain, at a very early processing stage, can recognize objects under a variety of conditions very rapidly. Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel524.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel524.htmlHealthMap, an online global diseasetracking and mapping tool, is tracking the outbreak of the swine flu in realtime at its freely available Web site. Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel525.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel525.htmlTaylor Twellman, an allstar forward for the New England Revolution, wants to make an even bigger impact off the field and in the community than he has on the field during the last eight years in Boston. Twellman has formed Taylor's Team, a charitable initiative in conjunction with the New England Revolution, New England Revolution Charitable Foundation and the worldrenowned Children's Hospital Boston. Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel523.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel523.htmlGeneration Cures from Children's Hospital Boston (www.generationcures.kid.org), officially launched the country's first Game for Good gameathon. The twomonth competition lets tweens use their gaming powers for good to fuel the discovery of cures and treatments for serious childhood diseases.Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel522.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel522.htmlMayor Thomas Menino today joined Northeastern University President Joseph Aoun, Boston Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino, and Dr. James Mandell, CEO of Childrens Hospital Boston, to announce the launch of Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures (HKHF), a communitybased early childhood pilot initiative aimed at preventing childhood obesity. Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel521.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel521.htmlResearchers at Children's Hospital Boston have developed a slowrelease anesthetic drugdelivery system that could potentially revolutionize treatment of pain during and after surgery, and may also have a large impact on chronic pain management. In NIHfunded work, they used specially designed fatbased particles called liposomes to package saxitoxin, a potent anesthetic, and produced longlasting local anesthesia in rats without apparent toxicity to nerve or muscle cells.Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel520.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel520.htmlHighdeductible health plans are increasingly used by healthy people who are unlikely to incur high medical expenses. But they also end up enrolling many lowincome, vulnerable families, finds a study of Massachusetts families from Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School's Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention (DACP). The study appears in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics.Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel519.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel519.htmlAs childhood obesity continues its thirtyyear advance from occasional curiosity to cultural epidemic, health care providers are struggling to find out whyand the reasons are many. Researchers are finding more evidence that the first clues for childhood obesity may begin as far back as early infancy. A new study, has found that rapid weight gain during the first six months of life may place a child at risk for obesity by age 3. Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel518.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel518.htmlThe more than $19 billion dollars of funding provided for health care information technology (IT) in President Obama's economic stimulus package offers a unique opportunity to deliver on the promise of computerized health care, say researchers from Children's Hospital Boston in a Perspective article published in the March 26 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel517.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel517.html Sepsis, an infection of the blood, can quickly overwhelm the bodys defenses and is responsible for more than 200,000 deaths per year in the U.S. alone. Premature newborns and people with weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable. Since most existing treatments are ineffective, researchers at Children's have come up with a first line of defenseusing magnetism to quickly pull pathogens out of the blood.Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel516.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel516.htmlMany households harbor a threat to young children that safety regulations, surprisingly, have overlooked glasstopped tables and tables with glass panels. A review by Children's Hospital Boston, in collaboration with Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, finds that glasstable injuries aren't as rare as one might think, and that many could have been avoided had tempered glass been used.Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel514.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel514.htmlThe practice of obtaining informed consent from patients and families enters difficult territory when it comes to administering anesthesia, finds a study from Children's Hospital Boston and the Institute for Professionalism & Ethical Practice (IPEP). The study appears in the March issue of Anesthesiology, accompanied by an editorial. Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel513.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel513.htmlIn the first longitudinal study of its kind, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School have shown that TV viewing before the age of 2 does not improve a child's language and visual motor skills. To be published in the March issue of Pediatrics, the findings suggest that maternal, child and household characteristics are more influential in a child's brain development than TV.Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel512.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel512.htmlBrian Skotko, MD, MPP, physician at Children's Hospital Boston, has coauthored a new book for teenage siblings of people with Down syndrome. Written in an easytounderstand Q&A format, the book addresses the most common questions posed to Skotko and coauthor Susan Levine by teens over their years conducting workshops for brothers and sisters.Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel510.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel510.htmlA new statistical model could be used to predict an individual's lifetime risk of stroke, finds a study from the Children's Hospital Informatics Program (CHIP). Using genetic information from 569 hospital patients, the researchers showed that their predictive model could estimate an individual's overall risk of cardioembolic stroke the most common form of stroke with 86 percent accuracy. The findings are reported in the March issue of Stroke.Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel508.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel508.htmlKeeping cholesterol levels in check may not only benefit heart health, but may also delay the progression of prostate cancer, suggests a study from Childrens Hospital Boston published in the March issue of The American Journal of Pathology. When mice with human prostate tumors were fed a nocholesterol diet in combination with the cholesterollowering drug ezetimibe (Zetia, ScheringPlough), tumor growth was slowed.Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel509.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel509.htmlTumor cells revert to a lessdifferentiated state, stop adhering to each another and become more mobile and prone to invade and proliferate. Now, researchers at Children's show, for the first time, that a small protein called lipocalin 2 triggers the epithelial to mesenchymal transition in human breast cancer and that the same protein, when measured in tissues and urine, can predict a cancer's invasiveness. Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel507.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel507.htmlInfluenza rates are on the rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A child from Massachusetts appears to have died from the flu virus, becoming the state's first child victim of the flu this winter. This is the first flu season where the CDC recommended that all children between 6 months and eighteen years of age receive the flu vaccine. Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel506.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel506.htmlThree months after Childrens Hospital Boston launched Generation Cures (www.kids.generationcures.org), an innovative online philanthropic community for tweens, the site has been honored with eight prestigious national awards. The awards recognize the sites kidfriendly content and interactive design, and demonstrate how Generation Cures is empowering kids to positively impact each other.Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel505.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel505.htmlIn big health news yesterday, a special federal court declared that vaccines are not to blame for autism. The court ruled there was little if any evidence to support claims of a vaccineautism link. One special master who decided the case called the evidence weak, contradictory and unpersuasive. While the special court expressed sympathy for the claims of the three families who brought the case, pediatricians welcomed the news.Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel511.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel511.htmlA new study looks at the volume at which adolescents listen to their iPods, howif their knowledge and beliefs about hearing loss from headphones influences their behavior, and whether their listening behaviors put them at increased risk for musicinduced hearing loss.Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel501.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel501.htmlThe Obama administration's economic stimulus initiatives should include investment in infrastructure to decrease obesity, providing an immediate and longterm boost to the economy and to public health, argues a commentary in the February 4 JAMA. Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel500.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel500.htmlChildren's Hospital Boston is offering a new therapy that uses radioiodine labeled metaiodobenzylguanidine (I131 MIBG) to treat patients with relapsed neuroblastoma. It is the first therapy of its kind to be offered in New England.Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel499.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel499.htmlThe Immune Disease Institute (formerly the Center for Blood Research) and Children's Hospital Boston have entered into an affiliation which is expected to be completed in early 2009. IDI will become Children's sixth multidisciplinary research program and will be called the Program in Cellular and Molecular MedicineThu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel498.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel498.htmlBeijing Olympic triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker, his coach Tim Crowley and local triathlon director Bill Burnett have joined forces to found a new triathlon in Marlborough, MA on July 26, of which Children's Hospital Boston is the official charitable partner. Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel493.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel493.htmlThe discovery more than a decade ago of leptin, an appetitesuppressing hormone secreted by fat tissue, generated headlines and great hopes for an effective treatment for obesity. Now, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report the first agents demonstrated to sensitize the brain to leptin oral drugs that are already FDAapproved and known to be safe.Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel495.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel495.htmlWhen babies develop a fever high enough or abrupt enough to cause a seizure, frightened parents often rush them to the emergency room, where their workup frequently includes a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to rule out bacterial meningitis. Now, in the largest study to date, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston find that this uncomfortable procedure is probably not necessary in wellappearing children who have had a simple febrile seizure. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel496.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel496.htmlOn Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at 4 p.m. EST, during a LIVE Webcast, specialists at Children's Hospital Boston will show excerpts from a surgical procedure performed to repair frontal encephalocele (protruding brain tissue through an opening in the skull which also causes elongation of the orbits and forehead) and a lifethreatening arachnoid cyst in a young patient who traveled to Children's from Haiti.Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel492.htmlhttp://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel492.htmlGuardian Angel Motorsports (GAM), an organization of racecar enthusiasts whose mission is to harness the power of motorsports to support Children's Hospital Boston's Competing for Kids program, is entering a Porsche 997 GrandAM Spec GT3 Cup race car in the famous Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car endurance race.Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST