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Children with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) – a chronic inflammatory disease that injures the esophagus – who temporarily eliminated cow’s milk, wheat, egg and soy from their diet for eight weeks had their symptoms and esophageal swelling resolve, according to a study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. This elimination diet is less restrictive than the standard of care six-food elimination diet that is approved to treat EoE, a condition in which an abnormal immune response is triggered by certain foods, causing symptoms that range from difficulty swallowing to abdominal pain and vomiting. After remission, foods are reintroduced one by one until the food that triggers esophageal swelling and symptoms is identified and eliminated from the child’s diet. This is a lengthy process that involves multiple endoscopies to monitor the effect of reintroduced foods on the esophagus.

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Aimen Shaaban, MD, a pediatric surgeon and leading expert in the area of fetal surgery, has joined Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago as Director of The Chicago Institute for Fetal Health.

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Heart health in children will be the focus of three closely synergistic research projects and an integrated multidisciplinary training program, that are newly funded by a $3.7 million four-year grant led by Bradley S. Marino, MD, MPP, MSCE, a pediatric cardiologist from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. As one of only four centers selected to participate in the American Heart Association’s Strategically Focused Children’s Research Network, research by Marino and colleagues will provide evidence for innovative policies, programs and practices to preserve cardiovascular health in childhood and beyond.

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A study published in Molecular Cancer Research reveals that a tumor suppressor gene p16 is turned off by a histone mutation (H3.3K27M), which is found in up to 70 percent of childhood brain tumors called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). This insight suggests that restoring p16 is a promising therapeutic strategy. The authors have demonstrated that this can be accomplished in vitro using a drug that is approved for treatment of adult leukemia and other cancers.

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Children with differences of sex development (DSD) are born with reproductive organs that are not typically male or female. They may face infertility from abnormal development of testes or ovaries, and in some patients these organs are surgically removed to prevent an increased risk of germ cell cancer. With advancing techniques, however, children with DSD may be able to preserve their fertility for the future. This potential also presents important ethical issues, which are examined in an article published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

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Results from a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine revealed that children with Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy, had fewer seizures after taking a daily oral solution of the cannabis compound called cannabidiol, which does not have the psychoactive properties of marijuana. Over a 14-week treatment with cannabidiol, convulsive seizures dropped from a monthly average of 12.4 to 5.9. In comparison, seizures in the placebo group decreased from a monthly average of 14.9 to 14.1. During the study, seizures stopped completely in 5 percent of patients taking cannabidiol.

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For the first time, a variant in UBQLN4 gene has been associated with Lou Gehrig’s disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – a progressive disease resulting in the loss of nerve cells that control muscle movement, which eventually leads to paralysis and death. The study published in the journal eLife also describes how this gene variant disrupts a cellular process that drives motor neuron development. This new insight opens the door to potential treatment targets for ALS.

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While regular exercise is known to reduce inflammation over time, it actually increases inflammation in the short term. This is a concern for children with sickle cell disease, a condition that is marked by increased inflammation that can cause severe pain. The pain episodes in sickle cell disease are due to the abnormally shaped red blood cells that can get clogged in the blood vessels, a situation that could get exacerbated by more inflammation. But is there a level of exercise that is safe for these children? Primary Investigator Robert Liem, MD, from Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and colleagues will address this question in a five-year multicenter study recently funded by a $2.7 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

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A study published in the Journal of Pediatric Urology found that people born with reproductive organs that are not typically male or female had negative views of the term “disorders of sex development” or DSD commonly used by the medical community to refer to these conditions. Affected individuals and their caregivers preferred the terms “intersex,” “variation in sex development,” and “differences of sex development.” A majority of participants (69 percent) reported a negative emotional reaction to a term used during a medical visit, and 81 percent changed their care because of it.

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A 15-year follow-up study of young adults with epilepsy found that those with uncomplicated epilepsy who were seizure-free for five years or more did as well as their siblings without epilepsy in measures of education, employment, family arrangements and driving status. Youth with complicated epilepsy had worse social outcomes and were less likely to drive, even if living without seizures. Results were published in the journal Epilepsia.

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A study published in the Journal of Pediatrics suggests that children born with lower or higher weight than normal may be at increased risk for developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). These children also were at higher risk for more severe disease, but in different ways. Advanced scarring of the liver was associated with low birth weight, while more inflammation was linked to high birth weight. The study is the first to characterize the relationship between high birth weight and NAFLD.

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Young athletes who specialize in an individual sport – such as gymnastics, tennis and dance – were at higher risk for overuse injuries (i.e. gradual onset of pain and symptoms), compared to those who focus on a single team sport, according to a study published in The Physician and Sportsmedicine. Acute injuries (i.e. from a single traumatic event) were more common in young athletes whose single sport was a team sport, especially football, cheerleading and soccer.

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Using state-of-the-art gene editing technology, scientists from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago have discovered a promising target to treat atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) – a highly aggressive and therapy resistant brain tumor that mostly occurs in infants. They found that these tumors’ growth and tendency to metastasize are regulated by a protein kinase called Polo-like kinase 4 (PLK4), which is increased in AT/RT. They also have demonstrated that an experimental drug, a PLK4 inhibitor, stopped tumor growth. Findings were published in Pediatric Blood & Cancer.

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Findings published in the Journal of Pediatrics describe growth factors in cord blood that may identify premature infants at risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia-associated pulmonary hypertension (BPD-PH) – an often fatal lung disease in which the vessels carrying blood from the heart to the lungs become narrowed and dysfunctional. Identifying these babies at birth would allow earlier interventions to prevent the disease that manifests in some preemies two to three months after birth.

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Few transgender adolescents opted to pursue fertility preservation, according to a report from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. While all patients were counseled about available options for fertility preservation prior to initiating hormones for medical transition, only 12 percent chose to see a fertility specialist and less than 5 percent completed fertility preservation procedures.

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The Galat laboratory at Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, has developed an elegant system to derive blood cell precursors from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC). This type of stem cell has the potential to develop into many different kinds of cells in the body, and is capable of participating in organ repair and function. These qualities have prompted scientists to test the use of hPSC to treat some diseases. However, the development of a fully defined system to generate functional blood cell precursors has proven to be a significant challenge. The Galat lab’s findings hold promise to overcome this challenge.

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Researchers at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago propose new terminology for social and environmental influences on health, in efforts to balance the predominant emphasis on genes in precision medicine.

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Researchers from Northwestern Medicine and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago have revealed new insight into how the most deadly pediatric brain tumor, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), may develop. They also have identified a compound that targets the “on” switch for cancer-promoting genes, which resulted in shrinking tumor size and increased survival in an animal model of DIPG. Preparations for a clinical trial at Lurie Children’s are now under way.

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Healthcare marketplace data show that pediatric specialty physicians are more likely to be missing from provider networks in Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans than adult specialists

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Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago has an innovative care coordination model to keep young people from being incarcerated.

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More support from friends, family and school was linked to less risk-taking among adolescents and young adults with food allergies, according to a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.

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While obesity is a well-known risk factor for surgical site infections among adult patients, this is the first research showing it is equally significant in pediatric populations. And since the incidence of childhood obesity in the US continues to climb, this indicates more and more children will possibly be at risk for these infections.

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A randomized clinical trial published in AIDS and Behavior showed that personalized two-way daily text messaging improved adherence to antiretroviral therapy in HIV-positive youth ages 16-29. The HIV/AIDS Prevention Research Synthesis (PRS) project at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified this intervention as meeting criteria for good evidence of efficacy.

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Early exposure to a food allergen through broken skin might prompt the development of food allergy. This theory gained further support from a recent study that found increased prevalence of food allergy if a child had skin infection or eczema in the first year of life.

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Arun Gosain, MD, a pediatric plastic surgeon at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, was recently named to the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). As a Governor he is one of the leaders of the largest organization of surgeons in the world.

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A study found that consumers with food allergy concerns often misunderstand food labels about allergens that say “may contain” or “manufactured on shared equipment.” While they should avoid such products to prevent what could be a serious allergic reaction, up to 40 percent bought food items with precautionary allergen labels.

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Katherine Barsness, MD, MS, pediatric surgeon at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has received a funding award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) that will support a project that brings together patients and clinicians to discuss ways to improve the pediatric surgery patient experience.

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A study published in Scientific Reports describes a potential new strategy that may be utilized to correct hypospadias, a birth defect which occurs when boys are born with a urinary opening on the underside of the penis, found in up to one in every 200 boys. Current treatment involves surgical reconstruction with a graft using tissue taken from the inside of a child’s cheek. This approach is associated with multiple complications and sometimes requires repeated surgeries.

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Researchers from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago will play leadership roles in the new Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) consortium, as part of the $11 million grant awarded to Northwestern University by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The seven-year national study will explore the impact of exposures on children that range from air pollution, to societal factors, to individual behaviors like sleep and diet.

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Bronchodilator responsiveness, nasal inflammation and allergy were among the most significant baseline features that distinguished hard-to-control asthma in inner-city children and adolescents. These characteristics identified patients whose asthma did not improve throughout the year, despite adherence to the most intensive treatment based on national guidelines. Patients with hard-to-control asthma also had exacerbations peaking in the spring and fall, and more nighttime symptoms in the fall and winter.

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Atopic dermatitis, or eczema, is a common skin disorder that usually starts by 5 years of age, but virtually all of the studies that have defined the immune changes underlying eczema and are directing new treatment options have been done in adult skin. A study just published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology characterizes immune changes for the first time in the skin of young children with eczema.

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Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago was selected to participate in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded Prematurity-Related Ventilatory Control (Pre-Vent) study consortium. Physicians and researchers at Lurie Children’s will partner with investigators from other leading national hospitals to expand knowledge of neurorespiratory maturation in premature infants. Lurie Children’s site-specific study will investigate how autonomic, neurologic control of breathing matures in infants born at less than 29 weeks of gestation.

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For the first time, scientists found that in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the affected nerve cells that control muscle movement, or motor neurons, have defects in their mitochondria, which generate energy used by the cell. Impaired mitochondrial function and structure in motor neurons were discovered before symptoms occurred, suggesting a role in disease development.

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A blood test used to measure patterns of ribonucleic acid (RNA) expression can help determine if fever in infants under 2 months old is caused by bacterial or viral infection, according to a preliminary study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Children with mild, persistent asthma did not have worse asthma symptoms after taking acetaminophen (e.g., Tylenol) for pain or fever, compared to using ibuprofen (e.g., Advil), according to the results of a randomized, double-blind clinical trial recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Results of a study published in PLOS ONE show that asthma risk increased 17 times when children who had bronchiolitis in the first two years of life also had a common variation of the Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) gene.

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Experts give advice on parents coping with a child of autism

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A major milestone was reached when nusinersen, an investigational treatment for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), was shown to significantly improve achievement of motor milestones in babies with infantile-onset SMA.

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Grimm statistics on homicides in Chicago

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First of its kind study on validity of shaken baby syndrome as medical diagnosis

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Lurie Children's Hospital data suggests that the risk of food allergy in siblings of an affected child is only minimally higher than in the general population.

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Lurie Children's Hospital is part of a nationwide research effort on precision medicine

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The level I verification — the highest of three — is awarded by a multi-organizational taskforce led by the ACS, the body responsible for setting the nation’s standards for quality of surgical care, practice and training.

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A smartphone app designed to support parents of premature infants as they transition from neonatal intensive care unit to home

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Babies born with heart defects live longer than ever thanks to advances in the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease. Yet, despite substantial progress, many continue to face bleak odds, lifelong medication, multiple surgeries and progressive heart failure, often requiring a transplant.

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Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago – one of the top children’s hospitals in the country - is announcing a new advertising campaign that stresses “All, for your one” – the hospital’s promise to families to give its “all” for each and every child.

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Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has appointed Grant Stirling, PhD, an international leader in healthcare philanthropy as the Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer for Lurie Children’s Foundation.