http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Medical researchers have manipulated human stem cells into producing types of brain cells known to play important roles in neurodevelopmental disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and autism. The new model cell system allows neuroscientists to investigate normal brain development, as well as to identify specific disruptions in biological signals that may contribute to neuropsychiatric diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-human-stem-cells-brain-neural.html Medical research Thu, 02 May 2013 13:37:10 EST news286720594 A research report released today from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) provides specific recommendations for optimizing the rear seat of passenger vehicles to better protect its most common occupants—children and adolescents. By bringing technologies already protecting front seat passengers to the rear seat and modifying the geometry of the rear seat to better fit this age group, the US could achieve important reductions in serious injury and death. Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for children older than 4 years and resulted in 952 fatalities in 2010 for children age 15 and younger. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-rear-seat-priority-children-safety.html Health Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:37:42 EST news286450656 New, low-tech teaching techniques used by novice instructors may improve training for healthcare providers in performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on children who suffer cardiac arrest. Researchers in a large multicenter study say their findings hold the potential to standardize and upgrade life support training by hundreds of thousands of instructors around the world. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-scripts-novice-instructors-pediatric-cpr.html Pediatrics Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:31:27 EST news286025365 A new report on teen driver safety released today by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm shows encouraging trends among teen passengers. In 2011 more than half of teen passengers (54 percent) reported "always" buckling up. From 2008 to 2011, risky behaviors of teen passengers (ages 15 to 19 years) declined: the number of teen passengers killed in crashes not wearing seat belts decreased 23 percent; the number of teen passengers driven by a peer who had been drinking declined 14 percent; and 30 percent fewer teen passengers were killed in crashes involving a teen driver. Overall, the report measured a 47 percent decline in teen driver-related fatalities over the past six years. Still, as recent high-profile multi-fatality crashes with teen drivers illustrate, crashes remain the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-national-teen-safety-gains-passengers.html Health Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:50:42 EST news284291435 Pediatric researchers, investigating the biology of brain tumors in children, are finding that crucial differences in how the same gene is mutated may call for different treatments. A new study offers glimpses into how scientists will be using the ongoing flood of gene-sequencing data to customize treatments based on very specific mutations in a child's tumor. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-gene-pathways-fine-tuning-drugs-child.html Cancer Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:35:47 EST news283520131 The poor growth seen in children born with complex heart defects may result from factors beyond deficient nutrition. A new study by pediatric researchers suggests that abnormalities in overall growth regulation play a role. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-abnormal-growth-children-heart-defects.html Pediatrics Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:02:45 EST news280494052 By broadly comparing the DNA of children to that of elderly people, gene researchers have identified gene variants that influence lifespan, either by raising disease risk or by providing protection from disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-gene-variants-affect-human-lifespan.html Genetics Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:15:12 EST news279216902 More powerful gene-sequencing tools have increasingly been uncovering disease secrets in DNA within the cell nucleus. Now a research team is expanding those rapid next-generation sequencing tests to analyze a separate source of DNA—within the genes inside mitochondria, cellular power plants that, when abnormal, contribute to complex, multisystem diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-scientists-one-step-gene-mitochondrial-diseases.html Medical research Tue, 29 Jan 2013 11:00:17 EST news278679551 A novel software tool, developed at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, streamlines the detection of disease-causing genetic changes through more sensitive detection methods and by automatically correcting for variations that reduce the accuracy of results in conventional software. The software, called ParseCNV, is freely available to the scientific-academic community, and significantly advances the identification of gene variants associated with genetic diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-gene-searching-software-accuracy-disease.html Genetics Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:46:41 EST news278091995 Experts from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia were among the leaders of two large national studies showing that extending CPR longer than previously thought useful saves lives in both children and adults. The research teams analyzed impact of duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in patients who suffered cardiac arrest while hospitalized. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-longer-cpr-survival-children-adults.html Cardiology Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:08 EST news277986076 An extensive genomic study of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma reinforces the challenges in treating the most aggressive forms of this disease. Contrary to expectations, the scientists found relatively few recurrent gene mutations—mutations that would suggest new targets for neuroblastoma treatment. Instead, say the researchers, they have now refocused on how neuroblastoma tumors evolve in response to medicine and other factors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-tumors-evolve-rapidly-childhood-cancer.html Genetics Sun, 20 Jan 2013 13:00:27 EST news277901484 Genetics researchers have identified 25 additional copy number variations (CNVs)—missing or duplicated stretches of DNA—that occur in some patients with autism. These CNVs, say the researchers, are "high impact": although individually rare, each has a strong effect in raising an individual's risk for autism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-autism-related-gene-variants.html Genetics Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:00:05 EST news277381059 New research from PolicyLab at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia shows that one of the nation's largest programs providing home visitation support for at-risk mothers and children may not be as successful in reducing early childhood injuries as it was in earlier evaluations. The researchers evaluated the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) over seven years of widespread implementation in Pennsylvania and found that children served by the program had no fewer injuries than children in comparable families not enrolled in the program—and in some less serious cases, had higher injury rates. The results of the study are published in the current issue of Maternal Child Health Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-home-first-time-moms-struggling-injuries.html Health Wed, 12 Dec 2012 09:41:13 EST news274527667 By reprogramming a 7-year-old girl's own immune cells to attack an aggressive form of childhood leukemia, a pediatric oncologist has achieved a complete response in his patient, who faced grim prospects when she relapsed after conventional treatment. The innovative experimental therapy used bioengineered T cells, custom-designed to multiply rapidly in the patient, and then destroy leukemia cells. After the treatment, the child's doctors found that she had no evidence of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-immune-cells-response-child-aggressive.html Cancer Sun, 09 Dec 2012 23:50:01 EST news274318776 An international team of genetics researchers has discovered four new gene regions that contribute to low birth weight. Three of those regions influence adult metabolism, and appear to affect longer-term outcomes such as adult height, risk of type 2 diabetes and adult blood pressure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-genes-linked-birth-weight-adult.html Genetics Sun, 02 Dec 2012 13:00:56 EST news273666993