Archive for kidney failure
Getting COVID-19 vaccines to medically fragile children
As COVID-19 vaccines slowly roll out, should children who need complex care or have serious medical conditions be vaccinated? We asked experts around Boston Children’s Hospital, and their resounding answer is: Yes, if they are age 16 or older. Boston Children’s is actively planning to make vaccination happen for as many patients as possible, as ... Read More
A master regulator of kidney health?
End-stage kidney disease often begins with injury to podocytes. These highly specialized cells are a critical part of the glomeruli, clusters of capillaries that serve as the filtration units in our kidneys’ tightly-packed nephrons. As their name suggests, podocytes extend tiny foot processes to intermingle with the capillaries and filter the blood, maintaining the proper ... Read More
Looking for clues to improve the life of a transplanted organ
The Transplant Research Program (TxRP) at Boston Children’s Hospital is the only pediatric transplantation research program in the U.S committed to better understanding the molecular basis for organ rejection after transplantation in children. Within the last year, members of the TxRP have initiated a new initiative to extend the longevity of transplanted organs and to ... Read More
Finding ways to give thanks for the gift of life
The holiday season is a time for families to count their blessings. But for Elizabeth Molina-Cordero, the meaning of this time of year — and the gratitude she feels — goes much deeper and lasts throughout the year. Five years ago, her son Julian, who is now 7 years old, received the ultimate gift of life ... Read More
Four things to know about your child’s kidneys
If you’re like most parents, you probably know that the kidneys filter waste from the body and produce urine. But fewer people understand the full extent of the role that these bean-shaped organs play in our health. “When we meet with families, we typically educate them on all the responsibilities that kidneys have in the ... Read More
We are Boston Children’s: Meet Isis and Emily
While interviewing patients for the Pediatric Transplant Center, writer Emily Williams was struck by the long journeys that transplant patients face while waiting for an organ donation match. She decided to do something that no employee had ever done — donate her kidney to a Boston Children’s patient. Watch how Emily and her donor recipient, ... Read More
Precision medicine for end-stage kidney failure? 40 percent of kids needing transplants have identifiable mutations
In adults, end-stage renal disease, or ESRD, is most commonly a complication of diabetes or hypertension. In children, teens and young adults, it’s a different picture entirely. New research finds that more than half of people needing a kidney transplant before age 25 have a congenital anomaly of the kidney or urinary tract, and that ... Read More
From math major to transplant pioneer: An interview with William Harmon, MD
William Harmon, MD, a pioneer in pediatric dialysis and kidney transplantation, passed away on May 29, 2016 after 45 years at Boston Children’s Hospital. He was 72 years old. Starting as an intern in 1971, the year the hospital performed its first kidney transplant, he worked his way up to Nephrologist-in-Chief, a position he held ... Read More
Is rapamycin the new aspirin?
I’ve heard it said that if aspirin had to go through today’s FDA approval process, it would never be approved for over-the-counter use because it just does so many things. Lately, it’s been hard to cover biomedical research at Children’s without stumbling on another drug that’s also FDA-approved and also seems to have multiple uses: ... Read More
A new target in polycystic kidney disease
In polycystic kidney disease, fluid-filled cysts gradually take over the kidneys, forcing patients to go on chronic dialysis — or wait for a kidney transplant. Hopes for a cure were raised when animal models showed promise in drugs inhibiting mTOR, a protein that coordinates cell growth and is over-active in PKD. But recent clinical trials ... Read More