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Science Showcase
- Wechsler Lab Renamed to Wechsler and CURED Laboratory
News from the Manne Research Institute Pillars
- Study Reveals Most Common Medical Emergencies in Schools
- Optimal Heart Health in Children Cuts Risk of Chronic Diseases in Adulthood
- Socioeconomic Status Found to Be a Major Factor in Whether Deaf Children with Cochlear Implants Communicate Primarily Through Speech
- Study Evaluates Pregnancy and Breast Milk for Clues to Childhood Obesity
- Lurie Children’s Pharmacist Helps Shape National Best Practices for Pediatric Cancer Drug Trials
Manne Research Institute in the Media
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Wechsler Lab Renamed to Wechsler and CURED Laboratory
Josh Wechsler, MD, MS, announced recently that his lab has been renamed in recognition of the Campaign Urging Research for Eosinophilic Disease (CURED)’s extraordinary commitment over the past decade, particularly in support of the Wechsler Lab's research team. In addition to establishing the CURED Research Scholar position, which Dr. Wechsler currently holds, this continuing partnership has been further honored through the naming of the lab as the Wechsler and CURED Laboratory. In a May ceremony, an updated plaque was introduced outside the lab to commemorate the occasion.
| | Pictured (left to right): Dr. Josh Wechsler, Fred Kodroff, Ellyn Kodroff, Postdoctoral Associate Zeinab Dehghani, Research Scientist Michael White, Dr. Patrick Seed | | | | NEWS FROM THE RESEARCH PILLARS | | |
The three most common reasons schools called emergency medical services (EMS) were for neurological crises such as seizures, psychiatric conditions or substance abuse, and trauma related injuries, according to data from the national EMS registry analyzed by researchers from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
During the study period (2018-2022), school-based medical emergencies constituted 11 percent of EMS encounters for children and two-thirds resulted in transport to the hospital. Findings, published in Pediatrics, can help schools prioritize training so staff can respond even before EMS arrival.
“While many schools have taken steps to ensure they are prepared for medical emergencies, many can still enhance their preparedness,” said lead author Michael Harries, MD, MAT, MA, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellow at Lurie Children’s. “Our study results highlight specific target areas for training of school staff, given that timeliness of treatment in an emergency is essential. We also stress that certain emergency medications should be available in the school setting, including benzodiazepine for seizures, epinephrine for food allergies and albuterol for asthma.”
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Optimal heart health from birth through adolescence, as measured by a combination of metrics, leads to long-lasting cardiovascular and overall physical, cognitive and mental health, according to the systematic review published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Benefits include lower risks of cancer, dementia, lung disease, liver disease, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression and hearing loss, as well as better cognitive, dental and eye health.
The metrics, developed by the American Heart Association, include lifestyle variables – diet, physical activity, sleep and avoiding smoking – as well as clinical factors, such as body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Researchers found that even at younger ages, prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health is very low.
“Childhood is a unique window where keeping these cardiovascular health metrics in optimal ranges will have a long-term benefit to all body systems, not just the heart,” said senior author Amanda Marma Perak, MD, MSCI, pediatric cardiologist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
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A recent study of outcomes in infants and young deaf children with cochlear implants (implanted electronic hearing device), suggests that socioeconomic status (SES) plays a major role in whether spoken language becomes their primary communication mode. The researchers found that communication primarily using spoken language occurred in 85 percent of commercially insured children with cochlear implants compared to 33 percent of Medicaid-eligible children. Results were published in the journal Laryngoscope.
“We know from previous research that early implantation of children born with severe to profound hearing loss for whom hearing aids don’t provide access to spoken language is advantageous. Our study shows that socioeconomic status also is a very important influence on spoken language after implantation,” said lead author Nancy M. Young, MD, Medical Director of Audiology and Cochlear Implant Programs at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Professor of Pediatric Otolaryngology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “For many reasons, socioeconomic status affects language and literacy in hearing children, so it's not surprising that it is also a major factor for children with cochlear implants.”
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Childhood obesity may be caused by more than poor diet and insufficient physical activity. The latest research suggests that at least some of the risk for obesity may originate in the womb, where the fetus is exposed to the mother’s metabolic state, including her blood sugar levels.
This is called “metabolic programming.” When maternal blood sugar is high during pregnancy, children tend to have higher rates of obesity and disordered glucose metabolism. They may have higher body fat in infancy, then childhood and eventually in adulthood. But could this trajectory be altered?
Researchers at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and colleagues are now turning their attention to breastfeeding as the next critical stage of metabolic programming. They are investigating how blood sugar levels in pregnancy affect nutrient composition of breast milk, focusing on fatty acids known to regulate offspring body fat. They also are trying to determine the impact on the child’s weight and body fat, accounting for the child’s diet.
“We are studying the influence of maternal metabolism during pregnancy on both breast milk composition and the child’s metabolism,” said Co-Principal Investigator Jami Josefson, MD, pediatric endocrinologist and scientist at Lurie Children’s, the lead site for the study. “We are considering the entire range of blood sugar levels during pregnancy, from normal to gestational diabetes.”
| | Lurie Children’s Pharmacist Helps Shape National Best Practices for Pediatric Cancer Drug Trials | |
The Children’s Oncology Group recently released its Investigational Drug Service Best Practices Guidelines, and Tara Mongkolpradit, PharmD, MBA, Research Pharmacist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (pictured), was one of the key workgroup participants who contributed expertise to this important work. The collaboration resulted in the development of guidelines for investigational drug service pharmacies to follow to ensure they are prepared for an audit by the Children’s Oncology Group. Tara has worked for Lurie Children’s for almost 16 years, six of those as an investigational drug service pharmacist. As a member of the workgroup, she shared her experience taking part in two Children Oncology Group audits of the Lurie Children’s investigational drug service pharmacy.
| | MANNE RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN THE MEDIA | | | | |
