Authors: Rachel Hart
In the sleep clinic, co-investigators Melinda Garberich, left, and Jennifer Patano are looking at how iron supplements affect quality of life.
Katie Davenport and the other nurses on the surgical unit at Seattle Children’s Hospital generally use oral or underarm thermometers to take patients’ temperatures. But in other areas of the hospital, clinicians use temporal thermometers, which take readings with a simple forehead swipe.
Parents who have seen the temporal thermometers in action often ask Katie and her colleagues why they can’t use this tool on the unit, since it can take a temperature without even waking a child.
The question got Davenport and her colleagues thinking.
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Authors: Rose Ibarra (Egge)
It is fascinating to watch an infant, who cannot yet talk or walk, play games on a tablet computer. But many parents wonder, should children so young be playing with these devices? Despite previous recommendations that children under age 2 should not use any media, a Seattle Children’s Research Institute expert now says children may benefit from playing with age-appropriate apps for 30 to 60 minutes each day.
In 2011, Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH, was part of a panel of experts who supported a statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) discouraging the use of media by children under 2 years old. But in a new opinion essay, Christakis says that statement should be updated to address new technologies – specifically, the iPad and other tablet computers.
“The AAP statement was in press before iPads existed,” Christakis says. “It treats all screens the same, but there are a lot of theoretical reasons to believe tablet computers are quite different and prior research on traditional media doesn’t apply.”
While he still believes young children should not watch television, Christakis says tablets may be harmless, or even beneficial to infants. Given most parents are ignoring the AAP’s recommendation and 90 percent of children under age 2 watch video screens regularly, Christakis says tablets with interactive apps could be a better alternative. Read full post »
Authors: Kathryn Mueller
Big changes could soon be coming to grocery stores across the U.S., but for those who don’t pay attention to the black and white nutrition label located on the back of food and beverage packages, the change might not seem very drastic.
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed giving Nutrition Facts labels a makeover, a change Michelle Obama, an advocate for preventing childhood obesity, says “will make a big difference for families all across this country.” The tweaks are intended to help consumers make more informed decisions about what they put into their bodies. The proposed Nutrition Facts label, if approved, will be the first new look the label has received in over 20 years. Read full post »
Authors: Rose Ibarra (Egge)
From left: Christina, Lance and Justin Hughes.
As a child, Christina Hughes had trouble paying attention in school. She was criticized for her outbursts in the classroom and constantly forgot her homework. Doctors diagnosed her with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), but her symptoms were never relieved by therapy. Her academics and social life suffered.
“It was always hard for me to make friends, and the ones I did make weren’t the best influence,” Hughes says.
Thirty years later, Hughes is raising two sons with similar behavioral challenges. Justin, 9, is especially impulsive and emotional. Two years ago, he had a fit and began punching himself in the face. He has been bullied and suspended from school for fighting.
Justin was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in 2012. Read full post »
Authors: Casey Calamusa
Courtesy of Paul Joseph Brown/GAPPS
Globally, 15 million babies are born preterm each year, and more than 1 million of those do not survive their first month of life. Here in Washington, more than one in every 10 babies will be born preterm – before 37 weeks gestation – increasing the chance of birth complications, developmental disabilities, and lifelong health issues like cerebral palsy, asthma, and vision and hearing problems.
Today the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS), an initiative of Seattle Children’s, has announced that it’s granting a total of $2.8 million to two international pregnancy research sites as part of its Preventing Preterm Birth initiative (PPB). The international sites, located in Zambia and Bangladesh, will mirror similar sites GAPPS has developed in the U.S., and will enroll women early in pregnancy and collect information and biological specimens during their pregnancies and deliveries.
The data and specimens collected for the research will be used to identify the causes of preterm birth as well as novel strategies for prevention. For more information, please refer to the press release.
Resources:
Authors: Rose Ibarra (Egge)
Seattle Children’s clinicians do everything they can to accurately diagnose concussions and recommend the most appropriate treatment. But those tasks are difficult without definitive diagnostic tools to determine when concussions have occurred or objective evidence to prove which treatments are best.
To provide better care, physicians need better research. That is why Seattle Children’s Research Institute has created the Youth Concussion Research Program.
The new program, made possible by a generous $5 million gift from The Satterberg Foundation, is designed to develop new concussion diagnostic tools; measure sports impacts using real-time sensors; and begin clinical trials to determine which concussion treatments are most effective.
“There are so many people who want to know how to prevent concussions and long-term effects,” said Frederick Rivara, MD, MPH, who will lead the Youth Concussion Research Program. “I hope we will soon be able to answer a lot of their questions.” Read full post »
Authors: On the Pulse
Dr. David Suskind
Late last year, David Suskind, MD, shared the good news with The Seattle Times that he saw positive results in the first FDA-approved studies of fecal transplants in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and, more specifically, in those with Crohn’s disease.
Our blog post on the research, published last June, has generated interest from families as far away as Japan.
Fecal transplants — a hot topic? Actually, it is. The research has been widely covered by the media and is even more important to the patients with IBD and families who clamor for new treatments and information that can make daily living easier and more “normal.” On the Pulse sat down with Suskind to follow up on his research, and to find out what’s next.
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Authors: Rose Ibarra (Egge)
Last fall, 20-year-old Milton Wright III was given a death sentence. Today, he is expected to live a long, healthy life. This is the incredible story of how two determined researchers and the parents of a young boy came together to save him.
On Sept. 18, 2013, 20-year-old Milton Wright III walked into Seattle Children’s Hospital and received some devastating news.
Leukemia. Again. The third time in his young life, to be precise.
Wright wasn’t surprised by the diagnosis. He had been worried his cancer was back and went to the hospital alone to avoid worrying his mom and three younger siblings. Still, the news was paralyzing.
“I really felt like I was coming up in the world,” he said. “I thought I was done with cancer.”
Then the news got worse. Wright’s leukemia had become resistant to chemotherapy. A bone marrow transplant could cure his cancer, but he would have to be in remission first, and that couldn’t happen without chemotherapy. His chances of survival were dismal. Read full post »
Authors: Rose Ibarra (Egge)
Scientists at Seattle Children’s Research Institute are using a unique species of fish to find out why some babies are born with heart malformations and how a defective heart might repair itself.
About one percent of U.S. babies are born with a heart defect, requiring medication, surgery or catheter procedures. While the condition is common, the cause is often unknown. Multiple genes are believed to contribute to heart malformations so genetic testing is difficult.
That’s where the minnow-sized zebrafish comes in. Zebrafish are ideal research subjects because they carry many of the same genes that are found in humans, including those that contribute to heart defects. Zebrafish also have transparent embryos that grow outside the mother, allowing scientists to easily observe their development. Read full post »
Authors: Rose Ibarra (Egge)
Jessica Schend, now 17, was born with a cleft lip and palate. She has been treated at the Seattle Children’s Craniofacial Center her entire life.
In 2014, the Seattle Children’s Research Institute will implement life-saving projects, begin new studies to keep children safe and continue searching for ways to prevent and cure diseases that threaten some of our youngest patients. We are celebrating the New Year by highlighting some of the work that has researchers excited about 2014.
Cleft lip is one of the most common facial malformations in the world, affecting one in 700 children. Still, few researchers focus on this condition. But craniofacial scientist Timothy Cox, PhD, is leading efforts at Seattle Children’s Research Institute to determine how cleft lip might be prevented in the future.
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