Philly train fire adds to strike's pain Nov 5, 2009
Wayne Rafferty, 27, of Pottstown, a lab technician at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said he had to calm down another passenger on the packed train, and he saw other passengers kicking out the removable emergency windows. Once outside the train, he took a picture of the front of it with flames and smoke. (Pensacola News Journal)
Gene therapy experiment restores sight in a few Oct 27, 2009
"All 12 patients given gene therapy in one eye showed improvement in retinal function," Dr Katherine High of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and colleagues wrote in a report to be released at the same time by the Lancet medical journal. LCA causes the retina to degenerate and the researchers found that the younger the patient treated with the therapy, the better the effects. (MSNBC -- Health)
Gene Therapy Restores Vision in Blind Children Oct 26, 2009
But co-author Dr. Katherine High of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia cautioned against considering this treatment a cure at this point. "We don't know how long it will last," she said, though noting that the effect has lasted at least 10 years in animals. (ABC News)
1 shot of gene therapy and children with congenital blindness can now see Oct 25, 2009
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have used gene therapy to safely improve ... The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, used gene therapy to safely improve vision in five children and seven adults with Leber's congenital... (EurekAlert!)
X-Linked Thrombophilia with a Mutant Factor IX (Factor IX Padua) Oct 22, 2009
From the Department of Cardiologic, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, 2nd Chair of Internal Medicine, University of Padua Medical School, Padua, Italy (P.S., D.T., G.T., S.G., C.B., L.S., C.R.); and the Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (N.P.I., J.D.F., V.R.A.), and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (V.R.A.) both in Philadelphia. Address reprint requests to Dr. Simioni at the Department of Cardiologic, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, 2nd Chair of... (New England Journal of Medicine)
Experts summarize state of the science in autism disorders Oct 15, 2009
Scientific understanding and medical treatments for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have advanced significantly over the past several years, but much remains to be done, say experts from the Center for Autism Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who published a scientific review of the field today ... About Autism Programs at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: The Center for Autism Research (CAR) is a collaborative effort between Children's Hospital and the University of... (EurekAlert!)
Metabolic syndrome linked to liver disease in obese teenaged boys Sep 30, 2009
The link between metabolic syndrome and the suspected liver disease did not appear in adolescent girls, said study leader Rose C. Graham, M.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia ... Graham's co-authors were Nicolas Stettler, M.D., of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; and Ann Burke, of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center ... About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the... (EurekAlert!)
Some Parents Aren't Giving Kids Pain Meds Post-Surgery Sep 11, 2009
The authors, from the University of Pennsylvania and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, could not say if the increase was the result of more actual cases or better detection. SOURCES: G. Patricia Cantwell, M.D., professor and chief, pediatric critical care medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Kenneth Goldschneider, M.D., director, division of pain management, Cincinnati Children's Hospital; October 2009, Pediatrics. (MEDLINEplus)
Obstructive sleep apnea is prevalent in adults with Down syndrome Aug 15, 2009
professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Sleep Center, it is well known that children with Down syndrome are at risk for OSA, with a prevalence of 30 to 55 percent, and adults with Down syndrome have even more predisposing factors for OSA than children, as they still have the craniofacial anomalies and are more likely to be obese or hypothyroid. "Patients with Down syndrome have a great deal of risk factors for OSA (based... (EurekAlert!)
Diabetes Gene Raises Odds Of Lower Birth Weight Jul 30, 2009
Researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine published the study July 10 in the online version of the journal Diabetes ... D., a researcher at the Center for Applied Genomics of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia ... The National Institutes of Health, the Cotswold Foundation and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia supported this study. (Science Daily)
Eliminating Cell Receptor Prevents Infection In Animal Study Jul 29, 2009
ScienceDaily (July 28, 2009) New research from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia sheds light on the role of cell receptors in acting as gatekeepers for infectious viruses ... "This finding is a step to understanding how cell receptors operate in infections," said study leader Jeffrey M. Bergelson, M.D., a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. (Science Daily)
New map of genomic variations will enable disease research Jul 16, 2009
A team from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia published its high-resolution map and analysis of CNVs in the human genome in the July 10 online edition of the journal Genome Research ... About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. (EurekAlert!)
Gene Findings Revealing Reasons For Neuroblastoma Risk Jun 27, 2009
ScienceDaily (June 26, 2009) Two new studies from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia advance the search for genetic events that result in neuroblastoma, a puzzling, often-deadly type of childhood cancer ... "Only two years ago we had very little idea of what causes neuroblastoma," said study leader John M. Maris, M.D., chief of Oncology and director of the Cancer Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia ... Maris's second study, spearheaded by Dr. Sharon Diskin, also of The... (Science Daily)
Gene mutations linked to autism risk Jun 27, 2009
WASHINGTON: A collaborative team of geneticists from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and several other institutions say that they have found more autism susceptibility genes ... "We focused on changes in the exons of DNA--protein-coding areas in which deletions or duplications are more likely to directly disrupt biological functions," said study leader Dr. Hakon Hakonarson, director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's... (India Times, India -- Health/Science)
More gene mutations linked to autism risk Jun 26, 2009
More pieces in the complex autism inheritance puzzle are emerging in the latest study from a research team including geneticists from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and several collaborating institutions ... D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and associate professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine ... The researchers compared genetic samples of... (EurekAlert!)
ADHD Genes Found, Known To Play Roles In Neurodevelopment Jun 24, 2009
"Because the gene alterations we found are involved in the development of the nervous system, they may eventually guide researchers to better targets in designing early intervention for children with ADHD," said lead author Josephine Elia, M.D., a psychiatrist and ADHD expert at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Unlike changes to single DNA bases, called SNPs or "snips," the alterations examined in the current study are broader changes in structure. (Science Daily)
Genes May Raise Risk of Neuroblastoma in Kids Jun 19, 2009
SOURCES: John Maris, M.D., director, Center for Childhood Cancer Research, and chief, Division of Oncology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; John S. Yu, M.D., director, surgical neuro-oncology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles; June 18, 2009, Nature; June 17, 2009, news release, New York University Langone Medical Center. HealthDay. (MEDLINEplus)
Kids should be priority for H1N1 vaccine Jun 5, 2009
The second reason for giving initial vaccinations to children is statistical, says Dr. Kathleen Sullivan, chief of allergy and immunology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "There's a pretty powerful argument for giving priority to children, in that kids are little virus factories and tend to infect a larger number of contacts than adults do," she said yesterday in an interview from a conference in Ireland. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Children's picked to be center for brain research Jun 4, 2009
" The lead centers of excellence, meanwhile, have to develop multi-phase, continuum-of-care master plans suitable for their own geographic area. Phases include prevention; acute care; the post-acute care reintegration phase; the adult transition stage; mild TBI identification, assessment and treatment; rural telehealth; and an online resource center, which will start off with the family registry of patient records. One lead center of excellence was chosen in each state, the District of Columbia... (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
In Rare Disease, A Familiar Protein Disrupts Gene Function May 29, 2009
The study leader was Ian D. Krantz, M.D., a specialist in pediatric genetics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he directs a unique full-service clinic for children with CdLS.. First described in 1933, CdLS affects multiple organs and typically results in distinctive facial features, such as thin eyebrows that join, long eyelashes, thin lips, and excessive body hair. (Science Daily)
Gene Transfer Technology May Lead To HIV Vaccine May 19, 2009
"We used a leapfrog strategy, bypassing the natural immune system response that was the target of all previous HIV and SIV vaccine candidates," said study leader Philip R. Johnson, M.D., chief scientific officer at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Johnson developed the novel approach over a ten-year period, collaborating with K. Reed Clark, Ph. (Science Daily)
Autism Genes Help Shape Brain Cell Connections Apr 29, 2009
D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia ... "This comprehensive research opens the door to more focused investigations into the causes of autism disorders," said Philip R. Johnson, M.D., chief scientific officer at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia ... Support for both studies was provided by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the National Institutes of Health, Autism Speaks, and many other sources, including the Margaret Q.... (Science Daily)
World's largest DNA scan for autism uncovers new gene variant for disorder Apr 29, 2009
Additional co-authors included scientists from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, USC, Autism Speaks, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Miami, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the University of Washington, the University of North Carolina, UC Davis, Yale University, the University of Illinois, the University of Utah, Indiana University, Vanderbilt University and the University of Pittsburgh. The UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment provides diagnosis, family... (EurekAlert!)
Don't Rely On Jaundiced Eye For Assessing Newborns, New Research Says Apr 2, 2009
"Our study tells clinicians that our ability to estimate a baby's bilirubin level, or predict the baby's risk of developing clinically significant hyperbilirubinemia, by visually observing the extent of visual jaundice, is inadequate, and not very helpful," said study leader Ron Keren, M.D., M.P.H., a pediatrician in the Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia ... (Credit: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia). (Science Daily)
Early Switch From IV To Oral Meds Is Effective For Children With Acute Bone Infection, Study Suggests Feb 23, 2009
A study team from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia analyzed hospital records for nearly 2,000 children treated at 29 U.S. pediatric hospitals between 2000 and 2005. Their report appeared in the February issue of Pediatrics. (Science Daily)
Teaching Hospitals' Post-Op Gains Not Extended to Blacks Feb 18, 2009
A team at the Center for Outcomes Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania analyzed data on more than four million Medicare patients, ages 65 to 90, who had general, orthopedic or vascular surgery at 3,270 U.S. hospitals between 2000 and 2005. Among all hospitals and all surgical procedures combined, the overall death rate in the 30 days after surgery was just over 4. (MEDLINEplus)
Study adds to evidence of vaccine safety Feb 8, 2009
"This becomes the fourth study to look for subtle signs of mercury toxicity and show the answer was 'no,'" said Dr. Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the author of a book on autism research and the co-inventor of a rotavirus vaccine. Tozzi said comparing children with no exposure to thimerosal could have improved the study. (Chippewa Falls Chippewa Herald, WI)
