Latest News

• share
• favorite_border

Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland is hosting the 2nd annual international Advanced Workshop on Sickle Cell Disease October 28 and 29. This impressive conference will bring together hematologists from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, and beyond, and the premier sickle cell experts from the United States for a dialogue on research, comprehensive care, and new treatments and therapies.

• share
• favorite_border

Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists identified that an injection of the protein apolipoprotein (apo)A-V may reduce high triglyceride levels in the blood and subsequently reduce coronary artery disease. Like cholesterol, elevated levels of triglyceride, a fat in the blood, is associated with the increased risk of heart disease—the number one cause of death in the United States.

• share
• favorite_border

Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland’s Pediatric Residency Program is the recipient of California’s largest individual Affordable Care Act - Primary Care Residency Expansion (ACA-PCRE) program grant from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) totaling $3.84 million to fund up to 20 new pediatric residents over a 5-year period in order to expand the country’s primary care workforce.

• share
• favorite_border

Sugar molecule used In common food and household products like Febreze® Fabric Refresher called Hydroxypropyl Beta Cyclodextrin (HPßCD) will be delivered into twins’ central nervous system in an attempt to stop neurological progression of Niemann Pick Type C disease.

• share
• favorite_border

The National Institute of Health (NIH) Pharmacogenetics Research Network (PGRN) just awarded $13.23 million to Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) Senior Scientist Ronald Krauss, MD, for a five-year renewal of his grant, Pharmacogenomics and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease (PARC). Dr. Krauss and the national, interdisciplinary PARC team will use the grant to continue research into identifying a genetic basis for the wide variation in effectiveness of statin treatment for reducing the risk of coronary heart disease.

• share
• favorite_border

A study conducted by Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland scientists identifies a new class of therapeutic agents found naturally in soy that can prevent and possibly treat colon cancer, the third most deadly form of cancer. Sphingadienes (SDs) are natural lipid molecules found in soy that research shows may be the key to fighting colon cancer.

• share
• favorite_border

A landmark study conducted by Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland is the first to reveal a new syndrome in children that presents with a combination of allergy, apraxia and malabsorption. Autism spectrum disorders were variably present. Verbal apraxia has until now been understood to be a neurologically based speech disorder, although hints of other neurological soft signs have been described.

• share
• favorite_border

A groundbreaking study conducted by Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland is the first to reveal a new avenue for harvesting stem cells "“ from a woman's placenta, or more specifically the discarded placentas of healthy newborns. The study also finds there are far more stem cells in placentas than in umbilical cord blood, and they can be safely extracted for transplantation.

• share
• favorite_border

Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland is the first children's hospital in the country to use groundbreaking technology that could revolutionize the way blood is analyzed at pediatric hospitals. This new method uses smart-card technology, similar to that used in some debit or credit cards at the supermarket or gas station, to read a child's blood sample.

• share
• favorite_border

Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland's Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT) program recently earned a renewal accreditation by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). FACT accreditation requires that programs meet the highest standards on the basis of rigorous on-site performance reviews.

• share
• favorite_border

Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland has the region's first sports medicine clinic just for kids. The Sports Medicine Center for Young Athletes, a division of the hospital's pediatric orthopedic surgery department, evaluates treats and rehabilitates children and adolescents with sports-related injuries. The center also designs injury prevention programs specific to adolescents, whose growing bones and cartilage are more susceptible to injuries than those of adults.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study led by Elizabeth Theil, Ph.D., is the first to suggest that a small protein or heptapeptide (seven amino acids wrapped into one unit) could be used to accelerate the removal of iron from ferritin. The results of this study may help scientists develop new medications that dramatically improve the removal of excess iron in patients diagnosed with blood diseases such as B-Thalassemia (Cooley's anemia) or Sickle Cell Disease.

• share
• favorite_border

Children with cochlear implants require a different approach to learning. Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland (CHRCO) in California is one of the few hospitals in the state with a program to educate teachers on how to lead students with cochlear implants to their full academic potential. Teachers from all over California come to CHRCO to attend the monthly seminars.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), the University of Iowa and Roche Molecular Systems are the first to identify a new gene variant that makes women more susceptible to developing heart disease. The affected gene is called Leukotriene C4 Synthase (LTC4S) and its variant could be identified through a genetic test at birth. The use of such a test would allow physicians to initiate preventative treatments to reduce or even eliminate the risk of heart disease in those women possessing the variant gene.

• share
• favorite_border

Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland will conduct a series of workshops to teach physicians how to talk to parents about their child's obesity-related health problems.

• share
• favorite_border

Children's Hospital Oakland Scientist First to Show Certain Pregnant Women at Risk for Iron Overload Study proves current recommendations for iron supplementation can cause birth complications.

• share
• favorite_border

Experts are preparing to see a spike in shoulder injuries starting in April.