Each year, nearly 16,000 U.S. children and teens are diagnosed with cancer. But only 4 percent of federal cancer research funding is earmarked to develop new treatments and cures for children battling this heartbreaking disease – an amount that is far below what is actually needed.
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland clinical researchers, in conjunction with other sickle cell centers and scientists at Emmaus Life Sciences, Inc., have demonstrated that therapy with L-Glutamine reduced the frequency of pain episodes in both pediatric and adult patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). The results of the 48-week, phase 3 clinical trial are published in the July 19, 2018, issue of New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
A pilot clinical trial by UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) researchers has found that targeted nutrient therapy can improve lung function in obese individuals with asthma, without requiring weight loss. The study, published in The FASEB Journal, demonstrated that eating two CHORI-Bars daily for eight weeks improved lung function in obese adolescents with a form of asthma that is resistant to usual treatments.
Dave Grohl, frontman of rock band Foo Fighters, joined renowned authors for the ninth annual Notes & Words on Saturday, May 12, at the historic Fox Theater. This one-night-only event raised more than $1.8 million for our Oakland campus.
Interim results of clinical trials by investigators at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago reveal that a majority of the 22 patients in two Phase 1/2 studies followed for two years or longer remained free from transfusions. The results of the trials “Gene Therapy in Patients with Transfusion-Dependentβ-Thalassemia,” are published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The results are from two separate, two-year clinical studies using LentiGlobin® gene therapy to stop or reduce chronic blood transfusions in patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDT).
A new study by UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland researcher Dr. June Tester examined national data on preschool-aged children from 1999 to 2014 to highlight characteristics of children with the highest degree of obesity and found a strong correlation between the amount of “screen time” these children are exposed to and the likelihood of them being severely obese. The study also found that preschoolers with severe obesity are also more likely to be of an ethnic or racial minority and more likely to be living in poverty.
A study by UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland researchers, has found that “park prescriptions” provided by physicians to their low-income patients can help reduce stress and improve physical well-being in patients and their families.
A study by UCSF Benioff's Children’s Hospitals sports medicine researchers finds that among elite NBA athletes, those who participated in multiple sports in high school had fewer injuries and longer careers, on average, than players who played only basketball in their adolescence.
UCSF Benioff's Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) researcher Dr. Deborah Dean is the recipient of a new award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that will support the development and evaluation of new diagnostics tools that can determine the antibiotics to which a patient’s strain of gonorrhea is susceptible. Dean is among the 25 investigators that the CDC awarded more than $9 million in total to pilot innovative solutions and explore knowledge gaps about antibiotic resistance related to the human microbiome, healthcare settings, and surface water and soil.
One-year-old Elias will never remember all the doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals who took care of him for the first five months of his life, but his parents, Gabriela and Rogelio Ramirez, will never forget them.
Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) Senior Scientist Dr. Dan M. Granoff, has been awarded the 2017 Distinguished Medical Alumnus Award from his alma mater, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The trauma center at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland has been re-verified as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Verification by the ACS is the highest possible ranking for trauma centers and this re-designation recognizes the trauma center's continuing dedication to providing optimal care for injured pediatric patients.
An international US-Danish team of scientists, led by Damini Jawaheer, Ph.D. at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, has identified a possible link between type I interferons and a natural improvement of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during pregnancy. These findings could have significant implications in the development of safer therapies for RA. This study entitled, “Pregnancy-induced gene expression changes in vivo among women with rheumatoid arthritis: a pilot study,” was published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.
A new study by researchers from the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) shows that a modest 4 milligrams of extra zinc a day in the diet can have a profound, positive impact on cellular health that helps fight infections and diseases. This amount of zinc is equivalent to what biofortified crops like zinc rice and zinc wheat can add to the diet of vulnerable, nutrient deficient populations.
A team of scientists led by Julie Saba, MD, PhD at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, has unveiled a novel role of thymic dendritic cells, which could result in new strategies to treat conditions such as autoimmune diseases, immune deficiencies, prematurity, infections, cancer, and the loss of immunity after bone marrow transplantation.
Supporting the intersection of children’s health and the outdoors, the REI Foundation is awarding a $200,000 grant to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland’s Center for Nature and Health (CNH). CNH develops clinical programs, conducts original research, and seeks to address health inequities by promoting access to nature as part patients’ care and overall well-being.
A team at the Oakland and San Francisco campuses of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, UCSF, and UC Berkeley have been awarded $1.2 million by California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine (CIAPM) to help advance precision medicine in the state.
A team of physicians and laboratory scientists has taken a key step toward a cure for sickle cell disease, using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to fix the mutated gene responsible for the disease in stem cells from the blood of affected patients. For the first time, they have corrected the mutation in a proportion of stem cells that is high enough to produce a substantial benefit in sickle cell patients.
A study conducted by UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) scientists shows greatly improved protective antibody responses to a new mutant vaccine antigen for prevention of disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis - also known as meningococcus - that has the potential to improve the current vaccines for meningitis.
David Killilea, PhD, a staff scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), co-authored a study into the causes of kidney stones. The study was conducted by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), in collaboration with the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Marin County and Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI). Published in the prestigious scientific journal PLOS ONE, the study revealed that high levels of zinc in the body may contribute to kidney stone formation.
In 2009, more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat milk were included in the food voucher package provided by USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). As a result, the diet quality improved for the roughly 4 million children who are served by WIC, according to a study by researchers at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, UC San Francisco and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources’ Nutrition Policy Institute.
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) dietary pattern, which is high in fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy foods, significantly lowers blood pressure as well as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). In a study to be published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition’s (AJCN) February issue, researchers at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) found that a higher fat DASH diet lowered blood pressure to the same extent as the DASH diet, but also reduced triglycerides and did not significantly raise LDL cholesterol.
In a study to be published in February's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers at the UCSF Benioff's Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) found that a higher fat DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet lowered blood pressure to the same extent as the DASH diet, but also reduced triglycerides and did not significantly raise LDL-C.
The Tara Health Foundation announced today a grant of $4.8 million dollars to fund a research collaboration that will investigate how childhood adversity affects children’s health. The Bay Area Research Consortium on Toxic Stress and Health, composed of the Center for Youth Wellness, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and UCSF Medical Center, aims to bolster research and scientific tools to comprehensively address the negative health outcomes associated with exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) Senior Scientist Dr. Ronald Krauss has received a five-year, $13,184,000 grant from the NIH for precision medicine research in statin response. The grant will enable Dr. Krauss and his colleagues to apply a multi-disciplinary approach to identify genetic determinants of the efficacy of statin drugs in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), as well as the risk for adverse effects of statins, specifically myopathy and type-2 diabetes.
A fruit-based micronutrient and fiber-dense supplement bar (the “CHORI-bar”) conceived by Drs. Bruce Ames and Mark K. Shigenaga at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), was shown in clinical trials to improve metabolism in overweight/obese (OW/OB) otherwise healthy adults in ways that are consistent with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Consumption of the bar for two months also reduced chronic inflammation, and initiated a reduction in weight and waist circumference.
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland hosted its 8th annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation signature head-shaving event on March 13 and March 14 and made over $215,000 for life-saving childhood cancer research. Two-hundred and forty-two participants shaved their heads to support the event that seeks conquer childhood cancers. Shave-a-thon participants at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland have cumulatively raised $1.4 million for the St. Baldrick's Foundation, the largest non-government funder of childhood cancer grants worldwide.
Although essential marine omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D have been shown to improve cognitive function and behavior in the context of certain brain disorders, the underlying mechanism has been unclear. In a new paper published in FASEB Journal* by Rhonda Patrick, PhD and Bruce Ames, PhD of Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), serotonin is explained as the possible missing link tying together why vitamin D and marine omega-3 fatty acids might ameliorate the symptoms associated with a broad array of brain disorders.
A team of Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland (CHORI) researchers has found that a category of lipids known as sphingolipids may be an important link in the relationship between diet, inflammation and cancer. In a paper published online this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Dr. Julie Saba, MD, PhD and her team provide evidence that a sphingolipid metabolite called sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) found in both mammalian food products and generated by normal human cells can contribute to inflammation of the colon, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and inflammation-associated colon cancer, whereas soy and plant-type sphingolipids called sphingadienes may protect against these conditions.
The trauma center at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland has been verified as a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This achievement recognizes the trauma center's dedication to providing optimal care for injured patients and establishes the hospital as the only Bay Area, free-standing children’s hospital with ACS Pediatric Level 1 verification.
A group of scientists from Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute and UC Berkeley report the first mapping of genome methylation in the fruit-fly Drosophila melanogaster in their paper “Genome methylation in D. melanogaster is found at specific short motifs and is independent of DNMT2 activity,” published this month in Genome Research.
CHORI Scientists Rhonda Patrick, PhD and Bruce Ames, PhD, find causal link between Vitamin D, serotonin and autism. The findings point towards possible prevention and treatment options.
Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland is ranked 10th in the nation for research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to children’s hospitals. In 2012, Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland received more than $15 million in awards from the NIH for 25 separate research grants. Children’s Oakland is the only children’s hospital in Northern California ranked as a top recipient of NIH awards.
Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland’s Cystic Fibrosis Center was recently awarded the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s 2012 Quality Care Award. This prestigious award recognizes cystic fibrosis (CF) centers committed to improving the quality of patient care and providing better health outcomes for people with the life-threatening genetic disease.
Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland’s promising pilot study of deferiprone for the treatment of the neurodegenerative disorder, PKAN, leads to an international trial with potential implications for Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland announced today a $5 million grant from Kaiser Permanente to benefit the 100-year-old, not-for-profit medical center’s rebuild and modernization efforts. This contribution will make a profound impact in the community and the quality of care available to all children.
Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland was just named one of the nation’s Top Performers on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of healthcare organizations in America. Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland was recognized by The Joint Commission for exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children’s asthma, stroke and venous thromboembolism, as well as inpatient psychiatric services
Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland is celebrating its 100th birthday. The free-standing, not-for-profit pediatric medical center was founded in 1912 and opened for business in 1914. Originally called the “Baby Hospital,” Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland was founded by nurse Bertha Wright and social worker Mabel Weed, and a group of charitable Bay Area women dedicated to creating a hospital just for babies. One hundred years later, the founders' mission - to deliver specialized healthcare to all children in the region and beyond – has remained an essential component of the mission of Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland.
New drug, vismodegib, is effective in dramatically shrinking and preventing the formation of basal cell skin cancers – the most common cancer in the United States – in patients with basal cell nevus syndrome (BCNS), a rare genetic condition that causes hundreds to thousands of skin cancers primarily treated by surgical removal.
Scientists at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) led by Vladimir Serikov, MD, PhD, and Frans Kuypers, PhD, report in the current Epub issue of Stem Cells Translational Medicine that placental stem cells with important therapeutic properties can be harvested in large quantities from the fetal side of human term placentas (called the chorion). The chorion is a part of the afterbirth and is normally discarded after delivery, but it contains stem cells of fetal origin that appear to be pluripotent -- i.e., they can differentiate into different types of human cells, such as lung, liver, or brain cells. Since these functional placental stem cells can be isolated from either fresh or frozen term human placentas, this implies that if each individual’s placenta is stored at birth instead of thrown away, these cells can be harvested in the future if therapeutic need arises. This potential represents a major breakthrough in the stem cell field.
A study conducted by Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland scientists identifies how skeletal muscle stem cells respond to muscle injury and may be stimulated to improve muscle repair in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a severe inherited disease of muscle that causes weakness, disability and, ultimately, heart and respiratory failure.
A landmark study conducted by Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) Senior Scientist Elizabeth Theil, PhD, and collaborators at Hunter College/ Graduate Center City University of New York and Case Western Reserve University, demonstrates for the first time that ferrous iron (Fe2+) binds directly to a ribonucleic (RNA) complex to result in a conformational change that ultimately increases iron synthesis. This discovery has profound implications on the fundamental understanding of how Fe2+ and other metal ions interact with RNA, but also provides a potential model for treating dangerous and life-threatening iron overload and for targeting viruses that use similar mechanisms to bind to RNA.
Scientists at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute’s (CHORI) Nutrition & Metabolism Center, led by National Medal of Science winner Bruce N. Ames, PhD, have developed a low-calorie fruit-based high fiber vitamin and mineral nutrition bar called the “CHORI-bar” that improves biological indicators (increased HDL-c and glutathione, lowered homocysteine) linked to risk of cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, and associated decline in anti-oxidant defenses.
A groundbreaking study conducted by Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) Senior Scientist Elizabeth Theil, PhD, is the first to reveal the existence of at least two independent mechanisms for iron absorption from non-meat sources-and a potential treatment for iron deficiency, the most common nutrient deficiency worldwide. The discovery of an alternative mechanism for iron absorption from vegetables and legumes may provide the key to helping solve iron deficiency by providing an alternative, affordable, and readily available source of iron.
Each year 300,000 to 500,000 babies are born with severe forms of hemoglobin disorders worldwide. It is estimated that 7% of the world’s population are carriers of the genes that may cause these diseases. While originally most common in warm climates, extensive population migration has resulted in hemoglobinopathies becoming a worldwide public health problem, including the United States and particularly California. Leading the World Health Organization’s effort to address this public health crisis is distinguished physician and researcher Sir David Weatherall who will present “The Inherited Disorders of Hemoglobin: An Increasing Global Health Problem" at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland on Thursday, November 10, 2011.
More than two dozen international sickle cell disease leaders from Latin America, the Middle East, and the United States will gather tomorrow at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland for the 3rd annual Advanced Workshop on Sickle Cell Disease, an intensive two-day conference on sickle cell disease. This meeting is part of a global health initiative involving international countries dedicated to addressing sickle cell disease. There are over 300,000 newborns diagnosed every year.
Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland announced today a $1 million gift from The Clorox Company to support research with an aim of developing a vaccine against meningococcal disease – a potentially deadly bacterial infection that affects millions of children and young adults throughout the world.
An analysis of the essential mineral selenium by Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) suggests that adequate intake of essential mineral selenium may prevent age-related conditions such as cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Results of Study May Help Eradicate Dangerous Disease, Contribute to Solving Global Health Problem: A study conducted by Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland and University of Massachusetts Medical Center scientists and published in the Journal of Immunology identifies a new mutant vaccine antigen for Neisseria meningitidis (also called meningococcus) that has the potential to improve vaccine development against dangerous bacterial infections including meningitis.
Study shows testing for hemoglobin H disease at birth leads to better medical care and decreased morbidity, may lead to change in national public health policy.
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