Cincinnati Children’s and University of Cincinnati Name New Chair of Pediatrics, Chief Medical Officer, Research Foundation Director

Tina L. Cheng, MD, MPH, will be the new chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the new chief medical officer at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and director of the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation.

The Search for a Biological Link between Reactivated HSV and Neurological Disease

New research data in the journal PLoS Pathogens suggests that reactivated HSV in trigeminal nerves of laboratory mice kills off at least a portion of sensory neurons. The findings provide additional evidence that as humans get older, the long-term consequences of HSV infection in the nervous system can accumulate and cause neurological damage.

Scientists May Have a Way to Let Preemies Breathe Easier

The continuing epidemic of pre-term birth includes this stark reality: tiny, fragile babies are born with underdeveloped lungs and prone to lifelong respiratory infections and related chronic illnesses. Cincinnati Children’s researchers report in Immunology the discovery of a complex biological process could in the development of cost effective treatments to help babies develop lifelong pulmonary resistance to respiratory infections.

Stem Cell Therapy Helps Broken Hearts Heal in Unexpected Way

A study in Nature shows stem cell therapy helps hearts recover from a heart attack, although not for the biological reasons originally proposed two decades ago that today are the basis of ongoing clinical trials. The study reports that injecting living or even dead heart stem cells into the injured hearts of mice triggers an acute inflammatory process, which in turn generates a wound healing-like response to enhance the mechanical properties of the injured area.