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Monthly Archives :

August 2020

When Should Breastfed Babies Be Supplemented?
 When Should Breastfed Babies Be Supplemented? 1024 575 Vanessa Shanks
By: Vanessa Shanks

This question has received increasing attention in the last several years, especially when considering supplementation for late preterm and early term babies. As more hospitals focus on promoting and supporting breastfeeding, supplementation rates have decreased for infants in the newborn nursery. However, there has been increasing awareness from primary care providers who may see these…

New Newborn Screening Approach Allows for Earlier Detection of Menkes Disease
 New Newborn Screening Approach Allows for Earlier Detection of Menkes Disease 1024 575 Natalie Wilson
By: Natalie Wilson

Targeted next generation DNA sequencing can enable improved clinical outcomes for any genetic disorder not detectable through other biochemical newborn screening methods. Menkes disease is a rare, X-linked recessive pediatric disease caused by gene mutations of the copper transporter gene, ATP7A, leading to low levels of copper in infants’ blood and brain, as well as abnormal…

An Expanded, Multicenter Look at Gene Therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy
 An Expanded, Multicenter Look at Gene Therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy 1024 575 Mary Bates, PhD
By: Mary Bates, PhD
Colorful illustration of gene therapy in action

New study confirms safety and efficacy in children under two years old. In May 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a gene replacement therapy for the inherited, progressive neuromuscular disease 5q-linked spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Approval included all children with SMA under the age of two years; however, the gene therapy had only been…

Best Practices for Patient-Centered Contraception Counseling About the Etonogestrel Implant
 Best Practices for Patient-Centered Contraception Counseling About the Etonogestrel Implant 1024 683 JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM
By: JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM

Patient-centered, age-appropriate contraception counseling helps health care providers educate adolescents about the etonogestrel implant and other contraceptive methods.   Preventing unplanned pregnancies in adolescents with effective and easy-to-use contraception is key to ensuring that adolescents do not become parents before they are ready. Nexplanon, the newest version of the etonogestrel (ENG) implant, is an increasingly…

Novel Genetic Variant Identified in CARMIL2 Deficiency
 Novel Genetic Variant Identified in CARMIL2 Deficiency 1024 575 Lauren Dembeck
By: Lauren Dembeck

International program facilitates the diagnosis of a rare immunodeficiency in two children caused by a novel genetic variant. A multidisciplinary team of physicians and scientists at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have identified a novel loss-of-function variant causing CARMIL2 deficiency, an inborn error of immunity, in two Saudi Arabian brothers born to consanguineous parents. The case was…

How Do Parents and Surgeons Evaluate Treatment Options for Uncomplicated Appendicitis?
 How Do Parents and Surgeons Evaluate Treatment Options for Uncomplicated Appendicitis? 1024 575 Natalie Wilson
By: Natalie Wilson
Parent and provider at child's hospital bed

The most recent in a series of publications on management of uncomplicated appendicitis showed patients and families cited the same concerns when electing either surgery or nonoperative treatment. Antibiotics alone have been shown to successfully treat uncomplicated appendicitis in children. But patients, families and surgeons may differently evaluate risks and benefits of this treatment option.…

Novel Intervention Helps Infants With Cerebral Palsy Develop Arm and Hand Function
 Novel Intervention Helps Infants With Cerebral Palsy Develop Arm and Hand Function 1024 683 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller

A new NIH-funded randomized controlled trial shows that an intervention combining a patented soft restraint harness, therapist coaching and parent training increases reach smoothness, fine motor skills and tactile sensation in the more-affected upper extremity. For the first time in infants with CP under 2, a clinical trial of this type of intervention was shown…

Additions to Neuro-Oncology Team Bring CONNECT Consortium to Nationwide Children’s
 Additions to Neuro-Oncology Team Bring CONNECT Consortium to Nationwide Children’s 1024 575 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller

Maryam Fouladi, MD, has been named the co-executive director of the Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Rachid Drissi, PhD, will join the Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute as a principal investigator focused on cellular aging and telomerase inhibitors to suppress brain tumor growth in children. Dr. Fouladi will continue her…

COVID-19 in Children With Congenital Heart Disease
 COVID-19 in Children With Congenital Heart Disease 1024 683 Mary Bates, PhD
By: Mary Bates, PhD

Data are still emerging, but COVID-19 – and the subsequent inflammatory syndrome sometimes seen in children – could have serious cardiac impacts. In a recent review article, researchers from institutions including Nationwide Children’s Hospital outlined the impact of COVID-19 in pediatric patients with heart disease. The review, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association,…