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Abbie Miller

Specialty Pharmacy for Cystic Fibrosis Improves Access to Medication
Specialty Pharmacy for Cystic Fibrosis Improves Access to Medication 150 150 Abbie Miller

In a project started to increase the number of patients taking Orkambi®, access and adherence increases for all medications. The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Program cares for a large population of patients of all ages with cystic fibrosis.  The program has participated in many recent clinical trials, including one that led to the FDA approval…

First Implantable Hemodynamic Monitoring Device in Single Ventricle Fontan Anatomy
First Implantable Hemodynamic Monitoring Device in Single Ventricle Fontan Anatomy 150 150 Abbie Miller

The first IHM in a patient with Fontan anatomy and physiology enables real-time monitoring of central venous and pulmonary artery pressures. While the Fontan procedure has improved the short- and mid-term outcomes for patients born with single ventricle anatomy, long-term complications of Fontan circulation include heart failure. These complications are thought to be secondary to…

Achieving CLARITY
Achieving CLARITY 1024 575 Abbie Miller
conceptual art of DNA

Multidisciplinary team from Nationwide Children’s wins international genomics competition. Accurate, patient-centered, comprehensive. That’s how the judges and leaders of the CLARITY Undiagnosed Challenge described the work of a team from Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Those same words could be used to describe the highly motivated and diverse team who surprised themselves by winning the challenge. “When we entered the challenge, we knew we would…

Simulating Surgery With High-Performance Computing
Simulating Surgery With High-Performance Computing 1024 575 Abbie Miller

By applying high-performance computing to the field of otolaryngology, a team of researchers is developing a simulation environment for teaching surgical techniques related to the temporal bone. The purpose of training — whether a fire drill or practicing a surgical technique — is to create successes and avoid failures. “The impact of training is safety…

The Smallest Victims of the Opioid Crisis
The Smallest Victims of the Opioid Crisis 1024 575 Abbie Miller
Black and white photo of infant crying in hospital

Research, protocols and community connections lead to help infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome and their mothers. It’s a sound you’d never forget. The panicked, high-pitched cry of a newborn withdrawing from the drugs his mother took. All the sensations that drive an addict to use again and again just for the relief – shaking, vomiting,…

Vaccine Fails to Reactivate Immunity to Hepatitis C Virus
Vaccine Fails to Reactivate Immunity to Hepatitis C Virus 150 150 Abbie Miller

T cells remain inactivated even after immunization in subjects with persistent, controlled infections. Two papers recently published in Hepatology uncovered evidence of permanent immune system damage after hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The studies used a vaccine currently in clinical trials to attempt to restore immunity against HCV in animal models and humans with chronic HCV infection. “In chronic HCV, CD8+…

Taking Aim at the Opioid Problem
Taking Aim at the Opioid Problem 1024 683 Abbie Miller
open bottle of pills

Pediatric specialists offer practical advice for protecting vulnerable patients from a growing epidemic. The opioid epidemic in the United States is so widespread that even parents and teachers are now being issued opioid overdose kits complete with naloxone. It’s in rural communities, suburban neighborhoods and inner cities. It’s so far-reaching that physicians and non-experts alike are being called to work together…

How to Increase Adherence to Screening Guidelines for Children With Down Syndrome
How to Increase Adherence to Screening Guidelines for Children With Down Syndrome 150 150 Abbie Miller

Recent study shows that while most families and physicians support the guidelines, patients are not receiving the recommended screenings. Children with Down syndrome have multiple medical conditions and cognitive impairments related to the additional genetic material from chromosome 21. Because of common comorbid conditions in the Down syndrome population such as heart defects, hearing loss,…

New Approach to Gathering Protein Signatures
New Approach to Gathering Protein Signatures 150 150 Abbie Miller

In the first comprehensive study of its kind, researchers simultaneously analyzed both host and bacteria protein signatures from a single, tiny tissue sample. A novel study from researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital has shown that it is possible to obtain both host and bacteria protein signatures in a sample smaller than the average human biopsy.…

Loss of MHCI in Motor Neurons Leads to ALS Astrocyte Toxicity
Loss of MHCI in Motor Neurons Leads to ALS Astrocyte Toxicity 150 150 Abbie Miller

New research shines a light on the role of MHCI in astrocyte-induced death of motor neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and pointing to a potential therapeutic target. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a devastating progressive neurodegenerative disease that results in the death of motor neurons, the nerve cells that…

Putting the Brakes on Myopia Progression
Putting the Brakes on Myopia Progression 150 150 Abbie Miller

Researchers are studying how well commercially available bifocal contact lenses limit the progression of myopia. Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a growing problem in the United States and around the world. Research suggests 30 to 40 percent of adults in Europe and the United States and up to 80 percent in Asia have myopia. It usually…

Boosting Research With a Down Syndrome Biobank
Boosting Research With a Down Syndrome Biobank 150 150 Abbie Miller

A new biobank for Down syndrome blood samples will enable clinical and translational researchers everywhere to shed light on conditions related to Down syndrome, including Alzheimer’s disease. Certain conditions such as congenital heart disease, childhood leukemia and epilepsy are more common in patients with Down syndrome than in the general population. Other conditions, including solid…

HIV in the Millennial World
HIV in the Millennial World 150 150 Abbie Miller

Adolescents and young adults ages 13 to 24 comprise an increasingly large proportion of new HIV infections in the United States. A new generation of youth is experiencing increasing rates of HIV transmission, and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate half of those infected youth (ages 13-24) don’t even know…

The Transfusion Evolution
The Transfusion Evolution 576 367 Abbie Miller

The first successful open heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass was performed in 1953, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that these surgeries began to have high success rates — due in large part to the availability of fresh whole blood transfusions. However, fresh whole blood is difficult to attain. In response, blood component transfusions became…

Acetabular “Fleck” Sign Predictive of Labral Avulsion
Acetabular “Fleck” Sign Predictive of Labral Avulsion 150 150 Abbie Miller

A “fleck” sign on the postreduction CT scan calls for high suspicion of labral pathology, even in cases of congruent closed reductions. Traumatic posterior hip dislocations and subluxations are typically treated with a closed reduction in pediatric patients. For patients who have a congruent hip reduction, the course of treatment often ends here. However, a new study…

Revealing the Secrets of Sepsis
Revealing the Secrets of Sepsis 969 533 Abbie Miller
Illustration of NK Cells, T Cells, other immune cells floating across white background

Charting new territory in the understanding of how the immune system responds to sepsis. Two children are admitted to the hospital with sepsis. Both receive antibiotics and fluid resuscitation within the critical first hour. Why does one get better after the initial crisis while the other goes on to develop additional infections and multiple organ…

Sickle Cell Disease: Global Disparities in Prevalance and Outcomes
Sickle Cell Disease: Global Disparities in Prevalance and Outcomes 150 150 Abbie Miller

Unique challenges exist for people with sickle cell disease depending on where they live. An estimated 300,000 to 500,000 babies worldwide are born with sickle cell disease (SCD) each year. In Africa and India, where SCD is most prevalent, newborn testing is not performed, and many children with sickle cell disease die before they are…

Methadone Weaning: The Role of the Pharmacist
Methadone Weaning: The Role of the Pharmacist 150 150 Abbie Miller

Pharmacist-led methadone tapers are improving outcomes and reducing practice variation in pediatric intensive care units. In neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, opioid use is necessary for controlling pain and as an adjunct to sedation during mechanical ventilation. However, after as few as five days of use, approximately 50 percent of patients will experience withdrawal…

Visualizing Gene Therapy for SMA
Visualizing Gene Therapy for SMA 150 150 Abbie Miller

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a degenerative neuromuscular disease, is the most common genetic cause of death for infants. Virtually all children affected with SMA type 1 die by 2 years of age. In 2014, Jerry Mendell, MD, director of the Center for Gene Therapy in the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, began a phase 1 gene transfer clinical…

Planning, Teamwork and Technology Essential to Conjoined Twins’ Separation
Planning, Teamwork and Technology Essential to Conjoined Twins’ Separation 150 150 Abbie Miller

In a meticulously planned 16-hour operation, a 30-person team from four specialties successfully separated 11-month-old twins conjoined at the buttocks and lower spine. Specialists from General Pediatric Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Neurosurgery and Colorectal Surgery worked together to plan and execute a successful separation of conjoined twin girls, Acen and Apio, earlier this month. “In surgery,…

Stress Dose Hydrocortisone Effects on Neurodevelopment for Extremely Low Birthweight Infants
Stress Dose Hydrocortisone Effects on Neurodevelopment for Extremely Low Birthweight Infants 150 150 Abbie Miller

First placebo-controlled study on stress dose hydrocortisone and neurodevelopment shows that higher doses of hydrocortisone are not associated with brain injury or neurodevelopmental impairments, but may not be effective in reducing risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Hydrocortisone is one of the 15 most frequently prescribed medications in extremely low birth weight (≤1000 g) infants in the…

Treating Sickle Cell Disease in the United States
Treating Sickle Cell Disease in the United States 1024 575 Abbie Miller

While people with sickle cell disease have better outcomes in the United States and other Western countries, progress in treating the disease has been slow moving. Sickle cell disease is marked by painful sickle cell crises, in which sickle-shaped cells get distorted in the small vessels and cause problems including disrupting blood flow and a…

Making Progress: Advances in Life-Long Care for ACHD
Making Progress: Advances in Life-Long Care for ACHD 150 150 Abbie Miller

With adults comprising two-thirds of the CHD population, the AHA has released a scientific statement outlining the needs of this growing demographic. The need for a life-long approach to cardiac care for patients with congenital heart disease is a crusade that has been long fought by pediatric cardiologists and adult CHD specialists for over 40…

Researchers Describe Molecular Switch Controlling “Chameleon” Bacteria
Researchers Describe Molecular Switch Controlling “Chameleon” Bacteria 150 150 Abbie Miller

Closing the gap on developing a vaccine for middle ear infections. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics in Australia have discovered groundbreaking evidence that will help vaccine developers in their search for a vaccine against multiple infections of the respiratory tract, including middle ear infections. The research, published today in Nature…

Adolescents, Young Adults and Cancer: What Are the Issues?
Adolescents, Young Adults and Cancer: What Are the Issues? 150 150 Abbie Miller

Adolescents and young adults with cancer have unique needs that may explain their plateau in survival rates, despite improved survival rates in other age groups. At an age when achieving independence and experiencing life milestones are most important, adolescents and young adults facing a cancer diagnosis must meet unique challenges. These challenges may contribute to…

Technology Expands Access to Translational Medicine
Technology Expands Access to Translational Medicine 150 150 Abbie Miller

When primary care physicians, specialists and all the lab work in their arsenal fail to provide a diagnosis for debilitating symptoms, patients earn the label of “undiagnosed.” These undiagnosed patients wait with unresolved symptoms for medical research to catch up with them. The Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP) at the National Institutes of Health sees 120-150 previously undefined…

Early Detection of Bipolar Spectrum Disorders in High-Risk Children
Early Detection of Bipolar Spectrum Disorders in High-Risk Children 150 150 Abbie Miller

A new study finds key symptoms are associated with the development of bipolar disorder among children of parents with the condition. New research published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry indicates a strong link between subthreshold manic episodes and likelihood of developing bipolar disorder in children of parents with bipolar disorder. The study’s findings could…