Can We Prevent Future Language Delays in the NICU?
Can We Prevent Future Language Delays in the NICU? 150 150 Abbie Miller

Researchers investigate the use of event related potentials to measure the effects of mother’s voice exposure on speech sound differentiation. Preterm infants are at high risk for neurosensory impairments and developmental delays, including hearing loss, which may have lasting consequences. Compared to babies born…

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The National Mortality Rate for the Comprehensive Stage 2 Procedure
The National Mortality Rate for the Comprehensive Stage 2 Procedure 1024 683 Jeb Phillips

A substantial overall U.S. rate, in contrast to the low rates reported by a few single centers such as Nationwide Children’s, shows room for improvement in handling the hybrid approach for left ventricular physiology. Most published outcomes data on the pediatric Comprehensive Stage 2…

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What Happens When Cancer Remission Is in Question?
What Happens When Cancer Remission Is in Question? 1024 575 Mary Bates, PhD

A new study looks at outcomes for children with leukemia when two tests of remission disagree. In both clinical practice and clinical trials, remission in leukemia is determined by morphological assessment — a person counting cancer cells in a bone marrow sample under a…

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Quality Improvement Boosts Use of Enteral Therapy in Patients With Crohn’s Disease
Quality Improvement Boosts Use of Enteral Therapy in Patients With Crohn’s Disease 1024 575 Kevin Mayhood

Refined procedures, tools and support promote this proven alternative to steroids. A team of researchers found that employing quality-improvement methods increased use of exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) to induce remission in children with Crohn’s disease at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. By increasing awareness of the…

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Solving the Puzzle of Transfusion-Related Immune Reactions
Solving the Puzzle of Transfusion-Related Immune Reactions 576 367 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Now that physicians have the “how” of blood transfusions mastered, they are starting to explore the “what” — and they’re learning that the effects of sharing human blood may be even more far-reaching and complex than previously imagined. With the initial safety challenges addressed…

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Dr. Gail Besner in an operating room wearing scrubs and smiling at the camera
Growing Tissue to Help Children With Short Bowel Syndrome
Growing Tissue to Help Children With Short Bowel Syndrome 1024 575 Kevin Mayhood

Research using a small animal model shows that it matters where in the body the cultured intestine is grown. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital are hoping to use short bowel syndrome patients’ own cells to grow extra tissue needed for their small intestine to…

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Small Trial of Omega Fatty Acid Supplementation in Toddlers Born Preterm Points to Possible Therapeutic Intervention
Small Trial of Omega Fatty Acid Supplementation in Toddlers Born Preterm Points to Possible Therapeutic Intervention 1024 575 Abbie Miller

Researchers show that supplementation of omega fatty acids may improve symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorder in toddlers who were born very preterm. Researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital have shown that omega fatty acid supplements may improve autism spectrum disorder symptoms in toddlers who were born…

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A Better Non-Invasive Method To Monitor Liver Disease in Short Bowel Syndrome?
A Better Non-Invasive Method To Monitor Liver Disease in Short Bowel Syndrome? 150 150 Jeb Phillips

A pilot study suggests that acoustic radiation force impulse elastography can help monitor liver disease in children with short bowel syndrome. Patients with intestinal failure (most frequently caused by short bowel syndrome) are at risk for developing liver disease due to multiple contributing factors,…

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Somali-Born Women Have Lowest Preterm Birth Rate in Ohio
Somali-Born Women Have Lowest Preterm Birth Rate in Ohio 1024 575 Kevin Mayhood

Researchers hope the immigrants can teach them how to reduce the rates of prematurity in the general population. Year after year, studies have found that non-Hispanic white women have the lowest preterm birth rate in Ohio, but new research found a different trend. Somali…

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Four Reasons Hospitals Fail to Prioritize Drug Abuse in Communities Plagued by Opioids
Four Reasons Hospitals Fail to Prioritize Drug Abuse in Communities Plagued by Opioids 150 150 Kevin Mayhood

Lack of money and expertise, risk and stigma appear to forestall community benefit programming. Communities in Appalachian Ohio are among the hardest hit in America’s opioid crisis, but a study of hospitals in the region shows that under half make substance abuse a priority…

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A Different Way of Measuring Undesired Events Can Better Clinical Performance
A Different Way of Measuring Undesired Events Can Better Clinical Performance 150 150 Kevin Mayhood

Clinical care indexes allow departments to track failures and harm and continually upgrade processes for delivering optimal care. Three Nationwide Children’s Hospital departments that developed and applied their own clinical index to the care of patients with a certain illness or who underwent specific…

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The Challenge of Studying Supplementation: Omega Fatty Acids to Prevent Preterm Birth and Associated Complications
The Challenge of Studying Supplementation: Omega Fatty Acids to Prevent Preterm Birth and Associated Complications 1024 683 Abbie Miller

Dietary supplements: it seems that medical professionals either love them or hate them. And while much research shows that the average healthy adult with a good diet probably doesn’t need them, studies of specific supplements in specific patient populations may show efficacy. For example,…

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Tissue engineered vascular graft
A Key to Preventing Stenosis in Tissue-Engineered Vascular Grafts
A Key to Preventing Stenosis in Tissue-Engineered Vascular Grafts 600 400 Kevin Mayhood

Seeding a high number of bone marrow mononuclear cells on graft appears to prevent narrowing. Tissue-engineered vascular grafts hold promise for children with congenital heart disease because the grafts, which carry a patient’s own cells, have the potential to grow and regenerate just as…

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How Primary Care Providers Can Address Suicidal Youth and Self-Harming Behaviors
How Primary Care Providers Can Address Suicidal Youth and Self-Harming Behaviors 150 150 John Hofmeister

Pediatricians are in an optimal position to see early warning signs and recommend treatment. Pediatricians are often in an optimal position to see early warning signs of suicidal and self-harming behavior in their patients, to diagnose and recommend treatment, and to provide referrals depending…

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Immune Cell Subtype Tied to Asthma in Mice Found in Humans With Viral Infections
Immune Cell Subtype Tied to Asthma in Mice Found in Humans With Viral Infections 969 533 Kevin Mayhood

If asthma development in people parallels mice, the cells’ mechanisms may provide a target for disease prevention. A subtype of neutrophil, labeled CD49d+ PMN, which is necessary to drive asthma and allergies in a mouse model, also accumulates in the nasal fluid of people with symptoms…

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After Bariatric Surgery, Adolescents Show Decreased Risk for Cardiovascular Disease
After Bariatric Surgery, Adolescents Show Decreased Risk for Cardiovascular Disease 150 150 Gina Bericchia

Three years after surgery, only 5 percent of study participants had three or more risk factors for cardiovascular disease, a significant reduction from 33 percent before surgery. Adolescents with severe obesity who had bariatric surgery showed significant improvements in cardiovascular disease risk factors, according…

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Large-Scale Genomics Study Identifies Children With High-Risk Cancer
Large-Scale Genomics Study Identifies Children With High-Risk Cancer 150 150 Mary Bates, PhD

Some subtypes of leukemia have a poor prognosis. Genomic studies are helping to identify these subtypes, leading to targeted therapies. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a malignancy of the white blood cells, is a common childhood cancer. Understanding the genomic changes underlying ALL has led…

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Conquering the Biological Politics of Cancer: Corruption, Coercion and Collusion
Conquering the Biological Politics of Cancer: Corruption, Coercion and Collusion 150 150 Timothy Cripe, MD, PhD

Understanding the “Three C’s” may provide the insights need to move the needle on the cancers with the bleakest prognoses. Broadly speaking, cancers fall into three categories: leukemias, brain tumors and other solid tumors. Since the dawn of chemotherapy in the 1940s, we’ve converted…

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To Test or Not to Test: The Inherited Thrombophilia Question
To Test or Not to Test: The Inherited Thrombophilia Question 150 150 Abbie Miller

When a result provides questionable or limited clinical utility, physicians and genetic counselors must educate patients and providers on the pros and cons of genetic testing. Between the increased ease of clinical genetic testing and the direct-to-consumer genetic testing kits now available, physicians and…

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Making Stem Cell Transplantation Work for Sickle Cell Disease
Making Stem Cell Transplantation Work for Sickle Cell Disease 150 150 Mary Bates, PhD

New regimen offers a promising approach for unrelated donor transplants. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a blood disorder affecting 1 in every 500 African-American newborns. It is characterized by extreme pain and decreased longevity. Currently, the only cure for SCD lies in hematopoietic stem…

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