February 9, 2016

21016Cooperflu640Super heroes come in many shapes and sizes, and Texas Children’s Health Plan encouraged students to channel their inner super hero by protecting themselves and their families against the flu. Schools from eight school districts in Houston, Beaumont and the surrounding areas were invited to participate in a month-long super hero themed flu vaccination contest. The school in each district with the most students receiving the flu vaccination won a pizza party that included pizza and drinks. A portion of the drinks were provided by Kroger.

“With more than 2 million Texans admitted to the hospital last year because of flu, it is very important we do something to protect children and their families,” stated Dr. Heidi Schwarzwald, Chief Medical Officer, Pediatrics, Texas Children’s Health Plan. “Texas Children’s Health Plan wanted to empower children to be an active part in their health and wellness in a fun way. We are very excited that so many schools and students participated in the contest.”

During the month-long contest (October 15 through November 15), more than 2,000 students from 93 schools in eight school districts were immunized against the flu. The winning schools were:

  • Johnson Elementary – Aldine ISD
  • Fletcher Elementary – Beaumont ISD
  • McFee Elementary – Cy-Fair ISD
  • Dick Dowling – Port Arthur ISD
  • Taylor Ray Elementary – Lamar CISD
  • Hopper Elementary – Goose Creek ISD
  • Jessup Elementary – Pasadena ISD
  • Rhoads Elementary – Katy ISD
  • Cooper Elementary – Spring ISD

Texas Children’s Health Plan began their cold and flu initiative in the fall of 2015 to help educate parents about flu and cold. In addition to the school contest, Texas Children’s Health Plan also launched www.coldandfluhero.org and created Cold and Flu Defender kits to distribute to their members. The kits included tissues, nasal saline, hand sanitizer, bulb syringe and information on how to prevent cold and flu symptoms.

February 8, 2016

 

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Bench and Bedside is a digest of the previous month’s stories about the clinical and academic activities of our physicians and scientists. We welcome your submissions and feedback.

January 5

Zoghbi to receive Vanderbilt prize in Biomedical Science

2116zoghbilab300Dr. Huda Zoghbi, professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, and director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s, will be honored with the 2015 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science. This award is given by the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine to recognize women scientists with a stellar record of research accomplishment who have also mentored other women in science. More

January 5

Second location of The Center for Children and Women celebrates milestone

2116TheCenterAnniv300Texas Children’s Health Plan recently celebrated the first anniversary of The Center for Children and Women in Southwest Houston. During the past 12 months, the Center has provided care to more than 5,800 patients, including 356 births, demonstrating The Center’s remarkable footprint in the community. More

 

 

 

January 12

Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan selected for Baylor Young Alumni Award

Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan will receive the 2016 Young Alumnus Award from the Baylor College of Medicine Alumni Association. Vasudevan is a pediatric surgeon and researcher specializing in pediatric cancers such as neuroblastoma, liver cancer, renal tumors and sarcomas. More

January 12

Harpavat receives ASSLD award for study on newborn screening tool to detect biliary atresia earlier

Dr. Sanjiv Harpavat, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine, received the 2015 Jan Albrecht Clinical and Translational Research Award in Liver Diseases from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Foundation. His study titled, “Assessment of a Novel Newborn Screening Tool for Biliary Atresia,” explores a new strategy to detect infants with biliary atresia earlier. More

January 12

Pediatric Surgeon Dr. Sundeep Keswani awarded visiting professorship

Dr. Sundeep Keswani, pediatric surgeon, was chosen by the Association for Academic Surgery to receive the 2016 International Visiting Professorship Award to attend the Columbia Surgical Association Congress in Bogota, Colombia, in August 2016. Keswani is the principal investigator for the Texas Children’s Laboratory for Regenerative Tissue Repair. More

January 12

Family Fertility Center advances innovative research to improve IVF process

2116FFC300From exploring the metabolic factors impacting egg quality to the genetics of embryo implantation, Family Fertility Center researchers at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women are engaged in several fascinating studies to help infertile couples achieve successful pregnancy outcomes. Read about the various studies in progress. More

 

 

January 19

Three Texas Children’s Cancer Center researchers receive prestigious ASH awards

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) recognized three researchers from Texas Children’s Cancer Center and Baylor College of Medicine for their work in advancing our understanding of disease pathogenesis and exploring novel innovative approaches for the treatment of pediatric cancers. More

January 19

Texas Children’s uses advanced orthopedic imaging, less radiation exposure

2116EOS300Texas Children’s is the first pediatric hospital in the southwest to offer advanced orthopedic imaging that provides full body, 3-D views of a patient’s bone structure using less radiation. Because of the low radiation dose, EOS imaging is beneficial for orthopedic patients with scoliosis and other spinal deformities who require frequent imaging to monitor disease progression. More

 

January 26

Texas Children’s Hospital welcomes expert pediatric hand surgeon

Texas Children’s Hospital is excited to welcome Dr. William Pederson, a highly-regarded pediatric hand surgeon, to the Department of Surgery. Pederson, whose appointment was effective in January, also is a professor of surgery and pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. More

January 26

Texas Children’s Heart Center welcomes trio of cardiologists

Texas Children’s Heart Center has welcomed three new pediatric cardiologists to the team. Drs. Tobias Schlingmann, Betul Yilmaz and Justin Zachariah joined Texas Children’s in July. More

February 2, 2016

2316zikamosquito640In light of the multiple confirmed cases of recent travelers who returned to the Houston area after contracting Zika in Central America, Texas Children’s leaders encourage employees and staff to arm themselves with facts about Zika virus.

The virus, which has spread rapidly through Central and South America in the last year, is transmitted between humans primarily through mosquito bites. People may not realize they’ve been infected with Zika virus because the majority of people will develop an asymptomatic or mild flu-like infection.

The Zika virus has heightened concern among pregnant women since the virus may increase the risk of microcephaly, a rare neurological birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads.

While there is no vaccine to protect against Zika infection, Dr. Kristy Murray encourages employees, particularly pregnant women, to refrain from travelling to areas where the outbreak is growing. The only way to prevent infection is to avoid getting mosquito bites.

“The only risk factor right now is foreign travel to areas where the virus is epidemic,” said Murray, director of the Laboratory for Viral and Zoonotic Diseases at Texas Children’s. “Currently, we do not have mosquitos locally that can transmit the virus, though we are concerned that an infected traveler could expose our mosquitos, setting up an opportunity for local transmission to begin. For about a week, an infected person has enough virus circulating in his or her blood to infect mosquitos.”

Texas Children’s OB/GYN-in-Chief Dr. Michael Belfort recently convened a task force of physicians and researchers at Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine to develop management and research strategies based on important screening criteria outlined by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for pregnant women who may have been exposed to the Zika virus.

Belfort stresses that “women who have traveled to an affected area just before or during their pregnancy should contact their OB-GYN.” As stated in the developed task force guidelines, if pregnant women return from an endemic area and within two weeks develop symptoms, they will be referred to a knowledgeable provider or maternal fetal medicine specialist to test for evidence of Zika virus exposure. Additionally, pregnant women who return from an endemic area, regardless of symptoms, will be referred for ultrasound screening for fetal microcephaly. If fetal microcephaly is detected, an amniocentesis for Zika virus exposure will be offered.

“Our expert group also has recommended testing for chromosomal disorders at the time of amniocentesis for fetal microcephaly,” said Dr. Kjersti Aagaard, vice chair for Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Texas Children’s and Baylor, and a member of the task force. “Since the same mosquito carries Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika, we are advocating for testing of all three viruses once laboratory options become available.”

Below are FAQs about the Zika virus from the CDC and the developed guidelines:

What are the symptoms of Zika?
The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Symptoms typically begin two to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.

How is Zika transmitted?
Zika is primarily transmitted through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitos. It can also be transmitted from a pregnant mother to her baby during pregnancy or around the time of birth. We do not know how often Zika is transmitted from mother to baby during pregnancy or around the time of birth, when women are at highest risk, or how the transmission occurs.

Who is at risk of being infected?
Anyone who is living in or traveling to an area where Zika virus is found is at risk for infection, including pregnant women.

What countries have Zika?
Specific areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing are often difficult to determine and are likely to change over time. Click here for the most updated information.

For more information about the Zika virus and ways you can protect yourself, click here.

When Texas Children’s Hospital opened in 1954, we had 128 employees, 106 beds in a three-story building, and we saw 2,300 patients our first year. See how far we’ve come in just 62 years!

 

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2316klineopedinside175The end of this month marks the deadline to sign up for a Marketplace health insurance plan. Unfortunately, for many families, simply having health insurance coverage doesn’t guarantee access to the best possible health care.

The sad truth is that there are many patients who were left scrambling to find a new medical home when a number of insurance companies decided not to provide in-network coverage for many hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, including Texas Children’s Hospital. Children and families, many suffering from serious or complex medical conditions, are being denied access to the largest, and one of the best, pediatric hospitals in the entire nation. Distraught mothers and fathers have called the hospital with emotional pleas for help, concerned that their children can no longer receive care from the doctors and nurses they have known for years or even their entire lives.

The reality is that not all hospitals are created equal. At Texas Children’s, we build facilities and recruit world-renowned pediatric subspecialists to deliver world-class health care and treatment to the children and families who need us most. As the saying goes, “it’s what we do.” We advance pediatric research and drive innovation in pediatric health care, all in hopes of discovering new therapies and cures for children with serious or life-threatening medical problems, and we scrupulously monitor and report the outcomes of the care and treatment we deliver. In conjunction with our partner, Baylor College of Medicine, we invest in the future health of the children of Houston, Texas and the nation by training more of the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists than anyone else nationally. Finally, we do all of this in a family-centered and child-friendly way, improving not only the health of the child, but also the well-being of families across our community.

These are significant investments, but we are the hospital of last resort for many children. We turn no family away and take care of the most critically ill patients and treat more complex cases than any other hospital in the state, many times absorbing the cost so every family who needs that higher level of care receives it.

We see the unfortunate results when children don’t have access to the best facilities and health professionals. Getting the right care at the right place and in a timely fashion can save insurance companies millions of dollars in the end. In other words, ensuring access to the best facilities and health professionals, like those at Texas Children’s, not only is the right thing to do, but also makes good business sense. Denying even one child access to potentially life-saving care is one too many.

Good health demands that every child should receive care regularly from a pediatrician or family physician. The many children across our community suffering from serious or complex medical conditions require more. Recent decisions by several health insurance companies make clear that while they might agree in principle with these statements, they are blind to the ramifications of their decisions for many of our community’s most vulnerable children and families. Our children need and deserve access to state-of-the-art facilities and medical equipment designed specifically for children. They need and deserve access to pediatric specialists who are among the best in the world. Little lives depend on it.

Dr. Mark W. Kline serves as physician-in-chief of Texas Children’s Hospital and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.

8515Drzoghbi175Dr. Huda Zoghbi, director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s, will receive this year’s prestigious Jessie Stevenson Kovalenko Medal for her pioneering advancements in neuroscience research.

The National Academy of Science (NAS) presents this award every two years for outstanding research in the medical sciences. The Kovalenko Fund was gifted by Michael S. Kovalenko in 1949 in memory of his wife, Jessie Stevenson Kovalenko. For the last 63 years, the NAS has chosen distinguished scientists who have made landmark discoveries in medical research to receive this medal.

“Zoghbi unraveled the molecular basis of Spinocerebellar ataxia and Rett syndrome, providing novel insight into the pathogenesis of a broad range of neurologic disorders,” NAS Home Secretary Susan R. Wessler said. “Over the years, she has received numerous awards and prizes that honor her leadership in neuroscience research and exemplary mentorship to young neuroscientists. We couldn’t be more excited about this latest award. Her research initiatives have provided much needed rays of hope for many patients and their families.”

Zoghbi, who is a professor of molecular and human genetics, pediatrics, neurology and neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine, has made several seminal discoveries in diverse areas of neuroscience. Her work has significantly furthered our understanding of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders and revealed novel strategies to reverse these conditions. In addition, her forays in basic developmental neurobiology have led to important insights in a broad range of conditions from hearing loss to colon cancer.

Among her many scientific accomplishments, Zoghbi is widely recognized for her pioneering work on Rett syndrome, a form of autism common among girls. In 1999, she and her colleagues discovered that Rett syndrome is caused by loss-of-function mutations in the X-linked gene MeCP2 (methyl-CpG-binding protein 2) which established it as the first autism spectrum disorder that is largely caused by sporadic gene mutations. She would go on to demonstrate that the brain is exquisitely sensitive to levels of what she terms the “goldilocks” protein, MeCP2, and that doubling MeCP2 levels causes another devastating neurological syndrome among boys.

Recently, her lab showed that using small antisense oligonucleotides to normalize MeCP2 levels in the brain reversed the debilitating symptoms of MeCP2 duplication syndrome in a mouse models of that disease.

Zoghbi will receive the Jessie Stevenson Kovalenko Medal on Sunday, May 1, at the National Academy of Science’s 153rd Annual Meeting.

2316DrJacotinside175Bioengineers at Texas Children’s Hospital and Rice University have won a National Institutes of Health grant to develop a new generation of patches to repair the damaged hearts of infants.

The $1.9 million, 5-year grant will allow Jeffrey Jacot and his team to take the next steps in a long-running drive to improve the survival rates of such infants, many of whom are diagnosed in utero and require surgery soon after birth.

Jacot, who has appointments at Rice and Texas Children’s, and his colleagues will test patches that encourage a child’s own heart cells to invade and, over time, regenerate tissue to repair birth defects.

The multilayer patches include a rudimentary preformed vasculature – a blood-vessel system – that encourages cells to migrate. Over time, as the cells form organ tissue, the patches degrade and leave the body. The new tissue will ideally grow with the heart and have no fibrous scar that could interfere with its normal operation.

“Our goal is to have something that blends in with the tissue, so you can’t tell it’s a patch,” Jacot said. “It grows with the rest of the heart, and you don’t have these issues that you have with a piece of plastic.”

Jacot said cell survival in forming tissue has limited the effectiveness of such scaffolds until now. “We think if it has a good vasculature, it can recruit the cells that it needs,” he said. Preliminary studies show the immature vasculature hooks into the heart’s existing system “fairly quickly without needing to be surgically attached,” he said.

The study initially will be geared toward infants who suffer from Tetralogy of Fallot, a birth defect in which blood bypasses the lungs. The problem occurs in 4.7 of every 10,000 infants born in the United States. Cell-free patches are currently used to repair the damage, but they neither degrade nor grow with the infant and often need to be replaced, Jacot said.

“The surgeons we work with feel like there needs to be something better,” Jacot said. “What they see is that 10 to 20 percent of patches need to be replaced over time for various reasons, like if it has a severe strain or calcifies.”

The proposed new patches consist of a polyurethane core strong enough to handle sutures and the constant stress provided by a beating heart, surrounded by a porous gel that will welcome cells from neighboring heart tissue.

The lab had already derived endothelial cells and mesenchymal stem cells from amniotic fluid stem cells and determined that combining them in a hydrogel scaffold induces the formation of a rudimentary vascular structure. The use of readily available amniotic stem cells from a newborn’s own mother cuts the risk of tissue rejection, Jacot said.