It’s all in the PV loops: New analytical model could improve circulation assessments before heart surgery
The double-switch operation corrects the congenital reversal of the heart’s ventricles and its two main arteries. It’s a practical way of putting the ventricles into the position they belong so that children with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (CC-TGA) can benefit from enhanced circulation. Surgery, though, doesn’t come without risks. Some children’s left ventricles — ... Read More about It’s all in the PV loops: New analytical model could improve circulation assessments before heart surgery
Modifying macrophages in the lung could head off pulmonary hypertension
In the 1980s, when Stella Kourembanas, MD, began her career in neonatology, she cared for newborns with pulmonary hypertension, a disease that results in abnormally high blood pressure in the lung arteries and can lead to heart failure. Since then, treatments like inhaled nitric oxide, new vasodilators, new modalities of mechanical ventilation, and extracorporeal membrane ... Read More about Modifying macrophages in the lung could head off pulmonary hypertension
A new tool could exponentially expand our understanding of bacteria
How do bacteria — harmless ones living in our bodies, or those that cause disease — organize their activities? A new study, combining powerful genomic-scale microscopy with a technical innovation, captured which genes bacteria turn on in different situations and in different spatial environments. The technology, described January 23 in Science, promises to take the ... Read More about A new tool could exponentially expand our understanding of bacteria
MRI could reduce the mystery of brachial plexus injuries in infants
About one in 1,000 children are born with brachial plexus birth injury (BPBI), upper extremity weakness or paralysis resulting from trauma to the brachial plexus nerves during childbirth. Most children with BPBI recover with observation and minimally invasive care, but about 30 percent have injuries severe enough to lead to long-term impairment. Thanks to recent ... Read More about MRI could reduce the mystery of brachial plexus injuries in infants
Bringing order to disorder: Jhullian Alston, PhD
Proteins typically fold into orderly, predictable three-dimensional structures that dictate how they will interact with other molecules. Jhulian Alston, PhD, is drawn to intrinsically disordered proteins, whose key feature is a lack of structure. They are difficult to study and far less explored. “They’re floppy, they don’t have specific folds, they can’t slot into each ... Read More about Bringing order to disorder: Jhullian Alston, PhD
Conduction tissue mapping is shown to significantly reduce heart block
New research by Boston Children’s validates an innovative approach to mapping the heart’s invisible conduction tissue during surgery. Key takeaways Using a catheter to map unseen conduction tissue drastically reduces heart block during biventricular repair surgeries for several heart conditions. Conduction tissue was identified in 96 percent of patients who were mapped. Only 4 of ... Read More about Conduction tissue mapping is shown to significantly reduce heart block