Disulfiram inhibits inflammatory gatekeeper protein: Could it be helpful in COVID-19?
Inflammation is the alarm system by which cells first respond to potential danger. But in excess, inflammation can be deadly. In new research from the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine (PCCM) at Boston Children’s Hospital, scientists discovered that disulfiram, an FDA-approved drug commonly used for treating alcoholism, blocks a key gatekeeper protein involved in ... Read More
Making an IMPACC: Examining immune responses in people hospitalized with COVID-19
We know that the consequences of COVID-19 disease start by infection from a virus. But how does the body react to that viral invasion? To answer that question, Boston Children’s Hospital will play key roles in a nationwide study designed to learn how the immune systems of people hospitalized with COVID-19 respond to the disease ... Read More
Adults with cancer appear more vulnerable to COVID-19
Cancer, particularly metastatic cancer, can be added to the list of medical conditions that pose a significant risk of worse COVID-19 outcomes , suggests a new study. Led by Boston Children’s Hospital and Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, it represents the first large cohort study to examine COVID-19 outcomes in cancer patients. Findings were published ... Read More
Boston Children’s Hospital to lead nationwide study on COVID-19 in children
Why are children largely spared from COVID-19 — and why do a tiny handful become extremely sick? To find out, Boston Children’s Hospital has launched a national study to perform real-time surveillance at more than 35 U.S. children’s hospitals. Called Overcoming COVID-19, the study has $2.1 million in funding from the Centers for Disease ... Read More
How the new coronavirus gets into respiratory tissue — and may exploit one of our defenses
What makes SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19, such a threat? A new study, led by Jose Ordovas-Montanes, PhD, at Boston Children’s Hospital and Alex K. Shalek, PhD, at MIT, pinpoints the likely cell types the virus infects. Unexpectedly, it also shows that one of the body’s main defenses against viral infections may actually help the ... Read More
A drug treatment for telomere diseases?
For years, Donna Martin carried a piece of scrap paper with the words “dyskeratosis congenita,” which she believed might explain her son Brad’s sudden, mysterious affliction. A routine blood test had revealed Brad’s bone marrow was failing, unable to keep up with his need for healthy blood cells. His condition, Donna knew, would worsen over ... Read More