Public-private consortium will fund three gene therapy clinical trials at UT Southwestern and Children’s Health

A consortium of government, industry, and nonprofit partners will fund gene therapy clinical trials for three different rare diseases at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Health, where scientists are working on gene therapies to treat neurodevelopmental disorders in children.

Public-private consortium will fund three gene therapy clinical trials at UT Southwestern

A consortium of government, industry, and nonprofit partners will fund gene therapy clinical trials for three rare diseases at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where scientists are working on gene therapies to treat neurodevelopmental disorders in children.

Children With Drug-Resistant Epilepsy Live Longer After Cranial Surgery

Survival rate beyond 10 years in children with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) was highest after cranial epilepsy surgery and lowest when treated only with antiseizure medications, according to a study published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. This large, retrospective study was the first to compare long-term survival in children with DRE among cohorts treated with medications only, vagus nerve stimulation plus medications, and cranial epilepsy surgery plus medications. Results show that risk of early death was reduced by over 80 percent after surgery and by 40 percent after vagus nerve stimulation, compared to medication-only treatment.

GW Experts: U.S. Surgeon General Issues Advisory on Social Media Concerns for Children & Teens

WASHINGTON (May 25, 2022) – The U.S. Surgeon General is sounding the alarm on the risk social media poses to children’s mental health. It comes amid a national youth mental health crisis. In an advisory issued Tuesday, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy…

Skin Patch Shows Promise for Toddlers with Peanut Allergy

A global phase 3 clinical trial that included Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago found that a year-long immunotherapy through a skin patch safely desensitized toddlers with peanut allergy, lowering the risk of a severe allergic reaction from accidental exposure. Results of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial for children 1-3 years of age, funded by DBV Technologies, were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

New study sheds light on complex genetics of autism in East African families

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified hundreds of genomic variants associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in East African families who have a markedly higher prevalence of the neurodevelopmental condition than other populations worldwide. The study, published in Cell Genomics, is the first to investigate the genetics of ASD in an African population, an important step toward decreasing racial and ethnic health disparities for this condition, the authors said.

Learning to save lives can start as early as age 4, according to new scientific statement

Building the skills for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can begin as early as age 4 and layer on as children get older, so that by age 10 they may be able to perform effective chest compressions on training manikins, according to a new scientific statement from ILCOR, the American Heart Association and the European Resuscitation Council.

Lurie Children’s Hospital First in Illinois to Be Designated as a Rare Disease Center of Excellence by National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is the first in Illinois to receive designation as a NORD Rare Disease Center of Excellence, becoming one of 40 U.S. academic medical centers selected to be a part of the first-of-it-kind national network of U.S. medical institutions dedicated to diagnosing, treating, and researching all rare diseases. The network is led by the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) and is designed to foster knowledge sharing between rare disease experts across the country to help meet the unmet needs of more than 25 million Americans living with a rare disease.

NEWS RELEASE: Government of Canada invests $6.5 million in research to support the health and mental wellbeing of young children

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, announced an investment of $6.5 million over five years for six projects funded through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Mental Health in the Early Years (MHITEY) initiative. MHITEY, led by the CIHR’s Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health, will help to advance Canada’s mental health strategy by identifying solutions for safe and equitable programs and services for diverse populations, and through adopting, adapting and improving the use of evidence-based practices in clinical, community, and public health settings.

UT Southwestern, Children’s Health to lead clinical trial on pediatric cancer patients

UT Southwestern Medical Center will lead a national multicenter clinical trial to test a treatment strategy for pediatric cancer patients that has shown promising results in adults. The trial will examine the effects of combining several chemotherapy agents with an immunotherapy drug in children with solid tumors that have recurred or shown no significant response after initial treatment.

Study Finds Disparate Gender Differences in Victims of Child Sex Trafficking

Youth involved in sex trafficking have extensive victimization experiences during childhood, and these experiences vary by gender. In the nationally representative study, 75 percent were males and 25 percent were females. Almost two-thirds of the girls were molested as a child, half were raped, and three-fourths were emotionally abused as a child, compared to 36 percent of males who were molested, 31 percent who were raped, and 37 percent who were emotionally abused. Eighty percent of females reported three or more victimization types compared to males (49 percent), and 31 percent of females experienced all five types of prior victimization compared to 11 percent of males.

UT Southwestern surgeon offers insight on elbow injuries among young baseball players

Spring marks the arrival of baseball, and with it the risk of elbow injuries among young players. Tears or ruptures of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) are the most common elbow injury among baseball players from youth leagues to the major leagues, especially pitchers. The most severe cases require reconstructive surgery, commonly known as Tommy John surgery.

UT Southwestern researchers create model to assess post-tonsillectomy bleed rates

Researchers led by a team at UT Southwestern Medical Center have created a statistical model to identify standards for typical, high, or low rates of bleeding after pediatric tonsillectomies. The findings, published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, could help doctors and hospitals improve outcomes for the third-most common pediatric surgery in the U.S.

Forensic Study Sheds Light on the Remains of Infants, Children

A forensic science study sheds light on how the bones of infants and juveniles decay. The findings will help forensic scientists determine how long a young person’s remains were at a particular location, as well as which bones are best suited for collecting tissue samples to help ID the deceased.

‘All Work, No Independent Play’ Cause of Children’s Declining Mental Health

A new study suggests the rise in mental health disorders in children and teens is attributed to a decline over decades in opportunities for them to play, roam and engage in activities independent of direct oversight and control by adults. Although well intended, adults’ drive to guide and protect children has deprived them of the independence they need for mental health, contributing to record levels of anxiety, depression, and suicide among young people.

Prompt Treatment for Functional Neurological Disorder in Children Is Highly Effective

Treatment is scarce for functional neurological disorder (FND), which requires a multidisciplinary approach. A special report published in the March/April issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry (HRP) aims to show clinicians and institutions around the world what is needed to establish effective community treatment programs for FND, as well as hospital inpatient and outpatient interventions, in their own health care settings. HRP is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

University of Delaware education expert releases “Making Schools Work: Bringing the Science of Learning to Joyful Classroom Practice”

“Making Schools Work” offers three case studies of schools, including a statewide system, that are all realizing a 6 Cs approach to learning focused on collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation, and confidence.

Kids with Cerebral Palsy Have More Small Muscle Fibers, More Stem Cells in Contractured Muscles

Article title: Resident muscle stem myogenic characteristics in postnatal muscle growth impairments in children with cerebral palsy Authors: Ryan E. Kahn, Timothy Krater, Jill E. Larson, Marysol Encarnacion, Tasos Karakostas, Neeraj M. Patel, Vineeta T Swaroop, Sudarshan Dayanidhi From the…

Johns Hopkins Nursing’s Silver Linings from Pew Research study ‘Parenting in America Today’

Raising children is, has been, and almost certainly will remain one of life’s great challenges. (Ask your parents.) Yet new data from the Pew Research Center show that 62 percent of parents across the board and the nation are finding it even more difficult than they ever imagined.

Autoantibody linked to rare disorder that destroys fat, UT Southwestern researchers find

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered the first molecular biomarker for acquired generalized lipodystrophy (AGL), a rare disorder in which fat deposits are destroyed, causing patients to have dangerously low body fat, signs of accelerated aging, and severe metabolic diseases including diabetes and fatty liver.

Young pregnant adolescents at increased risk of preeclampsia, C-section, UTSW study shows

Young adolescents face different challenges in pregnancy compared with their older teenage peers and adults that are sometimes exacerbated by high rates of obesity, a new study by UT Southwestern researchers suggests. The findings, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM, could highlight at-risk populations for targeted prevention efforts.

Children use the same brain network as adults for tough problems

Children as young as 4 years old show evidence of a network in the brain found in adults that tackles difficult cognitive problems, a new study found.The multiple demand network helps people focus their attention, juggle several things in memory at the same time, and solve difficult problems like those involving math.And while this network is not fully developed in kids, the study showed it operated similarly as it does in adults, said Zeynep Saygin, senior author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at The Ohio State University.

Nearly Half of Children on Medicaid Lack Outpatient Follow-up Within a Month After Emergency Care for Mental Health

Only 56 percent of Medicaid-enrolled children received any outpatient follow-up within 30 days after discharge from the Emergency Department (ED) for a mental health concern, according to a large study published in the journal Pediatrics. Rates of timely follow-up among Black children were particularly low, with 10 percent fewer receiving an outpatient mental health appointment within 30 days compared to white children.

Copy-cat? Youth with Few Friends Conform to Stay in a Friend’s ‘Good Graces’

What gives one friend influence over another? Considerable attention has focused on who influences whom; much less is known about why one partner is prone to be influenced by the other. A study tested the hypothesis that within a friend dyad, having fewer friends than one’s partner increases susceptibility to influence, because it reduces dissimilarity and promotes compatibility. Results showed that partners with fewer friends were influenced by children with more friends. In each case, the partner with fewer friends became more similar to the partner with more friends. Academic engagement was the only domain where partners with fewer friends also influenced partners with more friends.

Screening teens for vaping history key to diagnosing lung disease during pandemic

The severity of a lung disease associated with e-cigarettes in teens decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but hospitalizations from the disease continued to mount, according to a study of more than three dozen patients by UT Southwestern researchers published in Pediatric Pulmonology.

NIH-Funded Research to Develop Pneumonia Severity Prediction Tool to Improve Emergency Care of Children

Todd Florin, MD, MSCE, from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago recently was awarded a $5.8 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for a multicenter study to derive and broadly validate the first emergency department (ED)-based pediatric community-acquired pneumonia severity (PedCAPS) score. This objective score will help avoid many unnecessary hospitalizations in children at low risk of severe outcomes, while targeting more focused therapies towards the lower proportion of children at highest risk for severe disease.

Community gardens: Growing global citizens one child at a time

It’s often said that ‘from little things, big things grow’. Now, research at the University of South Australia is showing that the simple act of gardening can deliver unique learning experiences for primary school children, helping them engage with their curriculum while also encouraging a sustainable future.