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Seattle Children’s Launches Pioneering Immunotherapy Clinical Trial Targeting Four Antigens at the Same Time to Combat Pediatric Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors

April 25, 2023  |  Cancer and Blood Disorders, Cancer and Research, Research Comments Off on Seattle Children’s Launches Pioneering Immunotherapy Clinical Trial Targeting Four Antigens at the Same Time to Combat Pediatric Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors

Dr. Nicholas Vitanza is the program lead for Seattle Children’s Therapeutics BrainChild clinical trials

Seattle Children’s Therapeutics has launched BrainChild-04, a first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial that will be our first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell clinical trial that targets four antigens at the same time, by delivering CAR T cells directly to the brain.

The trial is for children, teens, and young adults with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), diffuse midline glioma (DMG), and other recurrent or refractory brain and spinal cord tumors.

“We believe this is the first CAR T-cell product in the world to target four antigens at the same time,” said Dr. Nicholas Vitanza, a neuro-oncologist at Seattle Children’s and the study chair for BrainChild-04.

CAR T-cell immunotherapy is an experimental treatment that stimulates the immune system to fight disease. The treatment reprograms T cells (white blood cells in the immune system that fight disease) to engage and kill cancer cells.

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Jiana Is Seizure Free After Epilepsy Surgery at Seattle Children’s Leads to the ‘Best Out of the Worst Situation’

April 4, 2023  |  General, Neurosciences, Patient Stories, Pediatric Surgery Comments Off on Jiana Is Seizure Free After Epilepsy Surgery at Seattle Children’s Leads to the ‘Best Out of the Worst Situation’

When Jiana was born in August 2021, she appeared to be a typical, healthy newborn baby.

“I still remember her pediatrician called her a textbook baby,” recalled Latika, Jiana’s mom.

Unfortunately, that normalcy was short lived. On her first day home from the hospital, Jiana’s parents noticed their daughter was twitching.

“We were first-time parents and thought it was colic or gas,” said Kunal, Jiana’s dad. “We didn’t know what to expect.”

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What to Know About a Neurosurgical Procedure to Treat Cerebral Palsy

March 28, 2023  |  General, Neurosciences, Pediatric Surgery Comments Off on What to Know About a Neurosurgical Procedure to Treat Cerebral Palsy

Dr. Samuel Browd, surgical director and neurosurgeon for the Cerebral Palsy and Tone Management Programs at Seattle Children’s

March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. Cerebral palsy is a condition that causes differences in how someone moves and controls their muscles. The differences are caused by an injury to a child’s developing brain. The brain injury can happen before, during or after birth. The injury does not change (it is non-progressive), but the effects can change over time and worsen as children grow. The condition affects a child’s strength, muscle tone and motor control.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cerebral palsy is the most common motor disability of childhood and approximately 1 in 345 children have been identified with the disorder.

The Cerebral Palsy Program at Seattle Children’s features a team of providers, surgeons and therapists with expertise and experience treating children, teens and young adults with cerebral palsy.

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Seattle Children’s Research Featured in Worldwide Study on COVID-19 Vaccine Safety in Young Children

February 16, 2023  |  General, Research Comments Off on Seattle Children’s Research Featured in Worldwide Study on COVID-19 Vaccine Safety in Young Children

New findings from Seattle Children’s Research Institute’s Center for Clinical and Translational Research reveal that a three-dose primary series of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was safe and effective in children 6 months to 4 years of age, even when a new variant (Omicron) was circulating.

The findings were released on Feb. 16 in the New England Journal of Medicine by an international team conducting the study, including Seattle Children’s lead study investigator, Dr. Janet Englund.

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Virtual Urgent Care Opens at Seattle Children’s

January 18, 2023  |  General, Health and Safety, Media and Technology Comments Off on Virtual Urgent Care Opens at Seattle Children’s

The new service brings care closer to home and increases access to urgent care for kids and teens across the state.

Beginning today, Seattle Children’s is offering telemedicine for urgent care services for the first time.

The new Virtual Urgent Care will expand services beyond our four in-person urgent care locations in Seattle, Federal Way, Everett and Bellevue to any eligible patient in the state of Washington.

This new service will bring care even closer to home and increase access to urgent care for kids and teens across the state.

Virtual urgent care allows patients to stay at home, or in another location of their choosing within Washington state, and use technology to see, hear and talk with a provider through a computer, tablet or other digital device.

At a time when health care organizations everywhere continue to see high patient volumes, this service will provide a new option for care for families in communities across Washington state.

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Updated (Bivalent) COVID-19 Vaccines Are Now Available for Kids Who Are 6 Months to 5 Years Old

December 15, 2022  |  General, Health and Safety Comments Off on Updated (Bivalent) COVID-19 Vaccines Are Now Available for Kids Who Are 6 Months to 5 Years Old

Beginning Dec. 14, Seattle Children’s began offering updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines to children aged 6 months to 5 years old at our hospital campus.

The Moderna bivalent vaccine is available as a booster to children aged 6 months to 5 who have received two doses of the monovalent Moderna COVID-19 vaccine series.

The Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine is available to children aged 6 months to 4 years as a third dose to those who have not completed their three-dose primary Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine series. The Pfizer bivalent vaccine is not yet approved for use as a booster for this age group.

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What You Should Know About the Flu Vaccine This Year

October 6, 2022  |  General, Health and Safety Comments Off on What You Should Know About the Flu Vaccine This Year

Flu season is here. Dr. Annika Hofstetter, whose research focuses on pediatric and adolescent vaccination, especially in high-risk populations, answered a few questions parents may have about the flu vaccine this year for On the Pulse.

Hofstetter is co-leader of the Maintenance of Certification Influenza Vaccination Project at Seattle Children’s and is a member of the Seattle Children’s Influenza Steering Committee.

Beginning Oct. 3, patients can get a flu vaccine during their visit at Seattle Children’s, including at a clinic appointment, urgent care or emergency department visit, or during hospitalization.

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Innovative Epilepsy Procedure Offers New Avenue of Treatment to Reduce Seizures

September 15, 2022  |  Neurosciences, Patient Stories Comments Off on Innovative Epilepsy Procedure Offers New Avenue of Treatment to Reduce Seizures

Caitlin with Dr. Stephanie Randle

A cutting-edge procedure for epilepsy at Seattle Children’s, known as responsive neurostimulation (RNS), is offering hope and seizure reduction relief to some patients who are still looking for solutions after exploring other treatment options.

With RNS, a battery-powered device is placed in a patient’s skull to reduce seizures. A neurosurgeon connects thin wires from the device to one or two parts of the brain where a child’s seizures start. When the device senses that a seizure may be starting, it sends a signal to stop it.

Seattle Children’s is one of only a handful of centers across the country to offer this device and the only one in the northwestern U.S. to use this device on a child.

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Seattle Children’s Announces Chief Research Operations Officer

September 13, 2022  |  General, Leadership Comments Off on Seattle Children’s Announces Chief Research Operations Officer

Eric Tham, MD, MS

Seattle Children’s has appointed Dr. Eric Tham as its new senior vice president and chief research operations officer. Tham will focus on research administration, finance, operations and continue broader research leadership, effective immediately. Since 2021, Tham has served as interim senior vice president of Seattle Children’s Research Institute.

“I’m excited to help guide the research division as it continues to grow and tackle big questions around improving child health and health equity,” said Tham. “I look forward to continuing to work with Seattle Children’s leadership to help steer the research division into its next chapter.”

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New Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Shots Are Now Available at Seattle Children’s

September 12, 2022  |  General, Health and Safety Comments Off on New Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Shots Are Now Available at Seattle Children’s

Beginning today, Seattle Children’s is offering the new Pfizer COVID-19 bivalent vaccine booster. It will be available to patients, community members and workforce members.

We will begin offering the new bivalent Moderna vaccine booster later this week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the updated COVID-19 boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for people ages 12 years and older and from Moderna for people ages 18 years and older.

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