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The majority of children experience personal changes and changes in relationships one year after their sibling has died from cancer; however, positive and negative changes are not universal. These are the findings from the first study – published online November 3, 2011 in Cancer Nursing – to examine changes in siblings after the death of a brother or sister to cancer from three different perspectives: mothers, fathers and siblings.

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Edward G. Shepherd, MD, has been appointed Chief of the Section of Neonatology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

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The Commission on the Approval of Teams of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA) and the Cleft Palate Foundation (CPF) recently voted to fully approve the Cleft Lip and Palate Center and the Center for Complex Craniofacial Disorders at Nationwide Children’s Hospital as a Cleft Palate‐Craniofacial Team for a period of five years beginning January 1, 2012.

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Gail Besner, MD, principal investigator in the Center for Perinatal Research in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, has been awarded a 4-year RO1 grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue her work on heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) and intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury.

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Two decades after the first edition, a third edition of the definitive textbook on stroke in children -- Pediatric Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disorders -- has been published by Demos Medical Publishing of New York City. Lead author E. Steve Roach, MD, is Chief of Neurology and Vice-Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He is about to begin a two-year term as President of the Child Neurology Society. Co-authors Warren D. Lo, MD, and Geoffrey L. Heyer, MD, are also pediatric neurologists at Nationwide Children’s and faculty members at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

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Thanks to funding from the National Institutes of Health, Nationwide Children’s Hospital will test the ability of a drug commonly used to improve immune function in pediatric cancer patients to help prevent hospital-acquired infection after severe trauma. It will be the first clinical trial aimed at improving immune function in critically injured children.

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Jerry Mendell, MD, director of the Center for Gene Therapy in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and his fellow researchers, are the latest recipients of the Annals of Neurology prize for an outstanding contribution to clinical neuroscience. The study which helped Dr. Mendell, also attending neurologist in the Neurosciences Center at Nationwide Children’s, and his team receive this award is titled, “Sustained α-sarcoglycan gene expression after gene transfer in limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, type 2D.”

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With cold and flu season quickly approaching, and allergy season already upon us, doctors at Nationwide Children’s Hospital remind parents to take simple action steps that will protect their asthmatic children from having severe flare-ups. Parents may not realize it, but even something as simple as the common cold, when combined with asthma, can be dangerous for children with asthma.

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An innovative approach to treating neonatal feeding problems at Nationwide Children’s Hospital has allowed infants who were struggling to feed orally to be discharged earlier and without feeding tubes, subsequently saving millions of annual healthcare charges.

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Today, Nationwide Children’s Hospital marked a major milestone toward the opening of its expanded downtown campus by unveiling concepts for new hospital interiors, outdoor green space as well as a refreshed identity and logo. The hospital is now less than one year away from completing the most expansive pediatric health care construction project undertaken in U.S. history, and transforming the experience for patients during the more than 1 million visits recorded at Nationwide Children’s annually.

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A new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that approximately 5,200 children and adolescents 17years of age and younger were treated in U.S. emergency departments each year from 1990 through 2008 for injuries sustained due to falls from windows. This translates to approximately 14 children being injured as the result of a window fall every day in the U.S.

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For decades, scientists have studied a laboratory mouse model that develops signs of the paralyzing disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as they age. In a new study appearing in Nature Biotechnology, investigators at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have developed a new model of ALS, one that mimics sporadic ALS, which represents about 90 percent of all cases.

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According to a recent study by the American Academy of Pediatrics, concussions among middle and high school students are skyrocketing sending more than 100,000 adolescents and children a year to the emergency room. The Sports Medicine team at Nationwide Children’s Hospital recently introduced an extensive awareness program – called “Concussions in the Classroom” – in which they educate high school teachers about how to work with students who have suffered concussions.

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Leif Nelin, M.D., has been appointed Chief of the Division of Neonatology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

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Between injuries from severe storms that ripped across the country this spring, to the typical blood donation shortage seen each and every summer, experts say that the nation’s blood supply is running low. At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, doctors are helping to offset that demand by what’s known as “bloodless” techniques.

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As the weather gets warmer, many parents will turn to pools to keep their family cool. Due to their low cost and ease of use, portable pools - which include wading pools, inflatable pools and soft-sided, self-rising pools - have become an increasingly popular alternative to expensive in-ground pools or water park visits. While portable pools can be a great way for children to cool off during hot summer days, a new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital has found that these pools may be more dangerous than many parents realize.

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Carter and Mason Osborne have a lot in common. Not only are they brothers who love to laugh, they also share one unique characteristic; they were born with forms of cleft lip and palate. Fortunately, the Osborne’s have a team of nationally-recognized experts in the Cleft Lip and Palate Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital to help with their sons’ overall treatment and care. While the odds of having a child born with cleft lip and palate are 1 in 700, the odds increase significantly for parents who already have a child with cleft lip and palate.

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Armed with new grant support, investigators at Nationwide Children’s Hospital plan to examine how a common gene of the nervous system leads to the development of a devastating brain tumor, ependymoma. Robert A. Johnson, PhD, principal investigator in the Center for Childhood Cancer at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s, has received a one-year $75,000 grant from the Matthew Larson Foundation for this research.

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Investigators at Nationwide Children’s have received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to help move a therapy for MPS IIIB that has been shown effective in mice toward clinical trials in humans.

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While the disturbing act of self-injury is nothing new to adolescents, researchers and physicians at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have identified a more severe type of behavior that is raising some concern among medical professionals. Often misdiagnosed, ignored and under-reported, Self-Embedding Behavior (SEB) is a form of self-injurious behavior that involves inserting foreign objects into soft tissue – either under the skin or into muscle. A recent study, published in the June issue of Pediatrics, stresses the importance of quickly identifying this dangerous behavior while distinguishing it from other forms of self-injury to prevent future episodes.

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Nationwide Children’s Hospital Board of Directors Chair Abigail Wexner announced today the merger of the Center for Child and Family Advocacy (CCFA) with the Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence (CCAFV). The combined new organization is now called the Family Violence Coalition at Nationwide Children’s, bringing together the strengths of two well-established programs, both combating the impact of family violence.

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A gene known to be important in cardiac development has been newly associated with congenital heart malformations that result in obstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract. These are the findings from a study conducted by Nationwide Children’s Hospital and appearing in the journal Birth Defects Research Part A.

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William E. Shiels, II, DO, FAOCR, was awarded the 2011 Dr. Floyd J. Trenery Memorial Medal at the American Osteopathic College of Radiology (AOCR) Annual Convention held in Palm Beach, Florida in early April. The Dr. Floyd J. Trenery Memorial Medal is the highest honor bestowed to a member of the AOCR.

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Nationwide Children’s Hospital has been accepted to join an elite group of research centers dedicated to studying neonatal medicine. The Neonatal Research Network, developed by the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD), is comprised of 18 research centers focused around one cause: to improve the care and outcome of neonates.

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When it comes to plastic surgery, the changing of one’s physical appearance is normally just the first step of a long process. Expert surgery is only the beginning, and Nationwide Children’s Hospital recognizes the importance of caring for the whole child. The Section of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, led by Richard Kirschner, MD, FACS, FAAP, chief of Plastic Surgery, has expanded its services and offers comprehensive care from a multi-disciplinary team for each service to address the unique needs of infants, children and adolescents in need of plastic surgery procedures.

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A new study conducted by researchers in the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments between 1990 and 2007. The annual number of football-related injuries increased 27 percent during the 18-year study period, jumping from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007.

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A study appearing in the journal Investigational New Drugs and conducted by researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, discovered that two new small molecule inhibitors are showing promise in blocking STAT3, a protein linked to the most common malignant bone tumor, osteosarcoma. These small molecule inhibitors – one derived from a portion of the turmeric spice – may serve as a new, non-toxic treatment for these deadly tumors.

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Medical Animatics, a 3D animation company, was asked by Ohio based Nationwide Children’s Hospital to provide the technology component expertise for the hospital’s “Play It Safe” innovative educational flash game for youth. The media rich program enables children ages 6-12 to create an avatar to guide them through the various learning modules designed as games that teach safety information.

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Two surgeons from Central Ohio recently traveled to Nicaragua on a humanitarian mission to treat children with serious ear, nose and throat conditions. However, this year they brought along some help in the form of high-tech equipment designed to appeal to a generation that grew up playing video games – not to entertain the children, but to train the local doctors and medical students.

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The risk and nature of injury in the sport of boxing has generated a great deal of controversy in the medical community, especially in relation to youth boxing. A new study, conducted by researchers in the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, examined boxing injuries among participants 6 years of age and older from 1990 to 2008.

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A new study by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital examined emergency department (ED) visits for drug-related poisonings and found that in just one year (2007) in the U.S., there were approximately 700,000 ED visits costing nearly $1.4 billion in ED charges alone. This equates to an average of 1,900 drug-related ED visits and $3.8 million in ED charges each and every day in this country.

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Nationwide Children’s Hospital has been selected to join the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN), connecting Columbus with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the University of Missouri as the nation’s only ATN institutions in the Midwest region.

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A nearly $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will help investigators at Nationwide Children’s Hospital search for biomarkers that may be linked to the development and outcome of hemangiomas, the most common soft tissue tumor in children. Nationwide Children’s is home to the only Hemangioma and Vascular Malformations Clinic in the United States with an NIH-sponsored clinical study.

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Parents and caregivers have traditionally relied on cribs, playpens and bassinets to protect children while they sleep. The massive crib recalls followed by the announcement in December 2010 by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to ban drop-side cribs have caused many families to question the safety of these products. A new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital examined injuries associated with cribs, playpens and bassinets among children younger than 2 years of age from 1990 through 2008.

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Mountain biking, also known as off-road biking, is a great way to stay physically active while enjoying nature and exploring the outdoors. The good news is that mountain biking-related injuries have decreased. A new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found the number of mountain bike-related injuries decreased 56 percent over the 14-year study period (1994 to 2007) – going from a high of more than 23,000 injuries in 1995 to just over 10,000 injuries in 2007.

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R. Lawrence Moss, MD, has been named Surgeon-in-Chief at Nationwide Children's Hospital, effective February 1, 2011. He will also be appointed Professor of Surgery at The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Medicine and will serve as the primary surgical liaison between Nationwide Children’s and the OSU College of Medicine.

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Researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital examined running-related injuries among children and adolescents 6 to 18 years old and found that an estimated 225,344 cases were treated in U.S. emergency departments from 1994 through 2007, for an average of more than 16,000 each year. During the 14-year study period, the annual number of running-related injuries increased 34 percent.

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Known by many as one of the least favorite wintertime chores, shoveling snow can also be hazardous and is associated with many serious, even fatal events among both adults and children. A recent study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that an average of 11,500 snow shoveling-related injuries and medical emergencies were treated in U.S. emergency departments each year from 1990 to 2006.

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Nationwide Children's Hospital was awarded $11.5 million from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) late last year to continue its role as one of two Biospecimen Core Resources (BCR) for The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Contract awards to Nationwide Children's could total up to $49.2 million over six years.

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Nationwide Children’s Hospital commits to addressing the epidemic of childhood obesity, and promotes the value of health and well-being for patients, families and staff members. On January 3, 2011, Nationwide Children’s will join just a handful of other healthcare institutions by eliminating all sugared-sweetened drinks from its campus. This new policy applies to the hospital’s cafeterias, gift shops, vending machines, patient room service and on-site catering service.

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Recently, Nationwide Children’s Hospital unveiled publically for the first time the clinical interiors of its new main hospital – the centerpiece of its six-part master facilities plan. On target to open in June 2012, Nationwide Children’s is undergoing the most expansive pediatric healthcare construction project ever undertaken. When complete, the hospital will add one million square feet of clinical and research space to the existing two million square feet; add an additional 2,400 hospital and research jobs; and generate a projected $1.3 billion in new regional economic activity. Once the new facility is open, and renovations have been made to the existing hospital, it will house 460 patient beds.

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Every year, more than 50,000 babies are born premature in the United States. Despite the notable advances in neonatal care, these premature infants often suffer from preterm birth complications – the single largest cause of infant mortality. In order to better understand preterm birth, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University Medical Center (OSUMC) have partnered to form the Ohio Perinatal Research Network (OPRN).

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Nationwide Children’s Hospital announced today the introduction of a new pediatric diagnostic tool that assesses developmental milestones in early childhood while helping identify problems so that treatments for various conditions or disorders can begin sooner.

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A new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital examined exertional heat-related injuries that were treated in emergency departments between 1997 and 2006. Exertional heat-related injuries are injuries that occur as a result of exercise or physical activity during warm or hot temperatures. The study found that an estimated 54,983 exertional heat-related injuries, an average of 5,500 cases each year, were treated in emergency departments during the 10-year study period. Overall, half (48 percent) of the injuries were sustained by children and adolescents 19 years of age and younger.

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A new book entitled “Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring” has been published by Cambridge University Press, co-authored by Nationwide Children’s Hospital Pediatric Neurologists Gloria M. Galloway, MD, and Khaled M. Zamel, MD; Marc R. Nuwer, MD, of UCLA; and Jaime R. Lopez, MD of Stanford University.

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E. Steve Roach, MD, Chief of Neurology at Nationwide Children's Hospital, has been elected President-Elect of the Child Neurology Society (CNS). The CNS is the professional association of pediatric neurologists in the United States, Canada and throughout the world whose mission is to foster the discipline of child neurology and promote the optimal care and welfare of children with neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders.

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The holidays are an exciting and busy time of year as parents race to finish the shopping, decorating and baking. As the number of days left in the calendar year winds down, be sure to allow plenty of time in that hectic schedule for playing with your child and sharing holiday traditions as a family. Nationwide Children’s Hospital reminds parents to keep alert to various holiday dangers.

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The National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) announced today the FOCUS on a Fitter Future II task force. Nationwide Children’s Hospital alongside 25 children’s hospitals across the country will collaborate to identify best practices of hospital-based clinical pediatric weight management programs. Nationwide Children’s is hosting the task force’s first meeting today and tomorrow October 25-26, as the group will continue its work through 2011.

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On a night full of costumes and candy, parents should not have to live in fear for the safety of their children. To help ensure little witches and goblins enjoy a safe Halloween, Nationwide Children’s Hospital offers a few quick safety tips.

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A new book, “Current Topics in Pediatric Epilepsy” has been published by Research Signpost with Pedro Weisleder, MD, PhD, and John F. Kerrigan, MD, serving as co-editors.