Latest News

• share
• favorite_border

Neighborhood characteristics, including poverty and crowding within homes, were associated with higher rates of SARS-CoV-2 in pregnancy during the prevaccination era of the pandemic, according to a new study led by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The findings, which were published today in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, may partially explain the high rates of COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, among Black and Hispanic patients.

• share
• favorite_border

In a new study, researchers demonstrated that the benefits of endurance exercise can vary based on the type of mutation involved in mitochondrial disease, and while the benefits of exercise outweigh the risks, the mitochondrial genetic status of patients should be taken into consideration when recommending exercise as therapy.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers found that new drivers licensed before age 18 who are subject to mandatory driver education, including behind-the-wheel training and Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) restrictions, were less likely to crash than drivers licensed at age 18 who are exempt from these requirements.

• share
• favorite_border

The combined effects of systemic and interpersonal racism layered on top of negative experiences within the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with depression and anxiety among Black people in the postpartum period, according to a new study by researchers in The Intergenerational Exposome Program (IGNITE) of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The findings were published today in JAMA Psychiatry.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have shown that a targeted treatment they developed is effective at controlling blood sugar in patients with hyperinsulinism (HI), a genetic disease in which the pancreas produces too much insulin. The findings, which were published today in Diabetes Care, provide further evidence that the treatment could prevent hypoglycemia in patients with HI and may preclude the need for a full removal of their pancreas, a current standard treatment for severe diffuse HI.

• share
• favorite_border

An international team including researchers from the Lifespan Brain Institute (LiBI) of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania have created a new tool that benchmarks brain development over the human lifespan, based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from more than 100,000 individuals. The work was jointly led by LiBI researchers and colleagues at the University of Cambridge. Described today in Nature, the interactive open resource, known as BrainChart, harmonizes brain images in a way that will allow researchers to measure brain development against reference charts like those used for evaluating children’s height and weight.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers found that opioid prescriptions for children who underwent one of eight common outpatient surgeries declined over a period of five years. These findings suggest that clinicians are using more discretion when considering which pediatric patients require an opioid prescription after their procedures.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have found that dysfunction in an important cell subtype in the brain’s neuronal network contribute to chronic symptoms in the neurodevelopmental disorder Dravet syndrome.

• share
• favorite_border

Adding the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib to chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival in children and young adults with newly diagnosed T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LL), according to a Children’s Oncology Group (COG) study led by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). This international phase 3 clinical trial also found that radiation could be eliminated in 90% of children with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) when the chemotherapy regimen was intensified.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have found that developmental delays associated with Leigh syndrome, the most common pediatric mitochondrial disorder, may occur earlier than previously recognized – even before metabolic stroke and regression – which could provide clinicians with an opportunity for earlier diagnosis and therapeutic interventions.

• share
• favorite_border

Fusion oncogenes, such as RET- and NTRK-gene fusions, are associated with more invasive pediatric thyroid cancers, correlating with the highest risk of metastases and a lower likelihood of achieving remission one year after initial therapy, according to a new study by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The findings, which were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, contrast those previously established in adults, for whom BRAF mutations, not fusion oncogenes, are associated with more invasive disease that is less response to therapy.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have developed a new method of measuring motor imitation, adding to a growing set of computational behavior analysis tools that can detect and characterize motor differences in children with autism.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have developed a comprehensive sequencing test specifically for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). This new clinical diagnostic test provides important information as to whether and to what level variations in the mtDNA are present in different tissues from a patient with suspected mitochondrial disease, leading to more precise diagnosis and more personalized treatment options.

• share
• favorite_border

Infants born via uncomplicated cesarean delivery, without labor or membrane rupture before delivery and no concern for infection, should not need antibiotics at birth, according to a study by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The findings, which were published today in Pediatrics, could help clinicians tailor the use of early antibiotics in newborns. Only those deemed at risk for infection should receive antibiotics, thereby reducing unnecessary use.

• share
• favorite_border

Rising temperatures due to climate change will lead to an increase in cases of kidney stones over the next seven decades, even if measures are put in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Based on data from South Carolina, the study found the increase will be steeper if no action is taken, but an uptick will occur even with mitigation actions, costing the state healthcare system approximately $57 million in the latter scenario and $99 million if nothing is done. The findings were published today in Scientific Reports.

• share
• favorite_border

Aberrant splicing of messenger RNAs encoding surface antigen CD22 leads to downregulation of this protein in pediatric B-lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), rendering malignant cells resistant to the effects of CD22-directed immunotherapies, according to a recent study by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The findings could allow oncologists to screen new patients to see if their leukemic cells contain alternatively spliced CD22 mRNA variants, which could reveal which patients might not respond to anti-CD22 therapies and would need alternative treatment plans. The study was published in Blood Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

• share
• favorite_border

Being the parent or sibling of a child with a life-threatening condition can take a mental and physical toll on other members of the family. A new study is one of the first to empirically measure the extent of this burden on families, with parents and siblings 50% to 70% more likely than their peers to receive health care for mental and physical health issues, accompanied by medication for these issues, than families of children without a life-threatening condition.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study found that only 8% of pediatric healthcare and behavioral service providers feel prepared to assess whether their autistic patients are ready to drive. These findings suggest a critical need to develop resources that prepare providers and others who work with autistic youth to effectively facilitate independence and mobility as their patients become adults.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study has implicated several genes involved in a variety of bodily functions associated with the hypothalamus, a notoriously difficult-to-study region of the brain. The findings could help clinicians identify potential causes of dysfunction for many important traits regulated by the hypothalamus, such as sleep, stress, and reproduction.