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In a twist on the question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”, scientists have long faced a similar question about how human adenovirus replicates: “Which comes first, assembly of the viral particle, or packaging of the viral genome?” Now, in a new study published today in Nature, researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have answered that question, showing that viral proteins use a process called phase separation to coordinate production of viral progeny.

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In a significant step for the treatment of neuroblastoma, an international group of researchers led by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and the New Approaches to Neuroblastoma Therapy (NANT) Consortium has shown that the targeted therapy lorlatinib is safe and effective in treating high-risk neuroblastoma.

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Researchers have developed a prediction model that determines which newborn babies are likely to experience seizures in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). This model could be incorporated into routine care to help the clinical team decide which babies will need electroencephalograms (EEGs) and which babies can be safely managed in the Neonatal Care Unit without monitoring through EEGs. This would allow families and providers to care for babies without intrusive and unnecessary procedures.

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Researchers have found that adolescents who report strong relationships with their parents have better long-term health outcomes. Study findings suggest that investments in improving parent–adolescent relationships could help improve general health, mental health and sexual, health while also reducing substance use in young adulthood.

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Researchers found opioids were responsible for more than half of all fatal poisonings in children ages 5 and younger, more than double the proportion of fatal poisonings caused by opioids in 2005. Additionally, over-the-counter drugs still contribute to fatal poisonings in this age group despite increased regulation. The findings, published today in the journal Pediatrics, underscore the need for improved intervention to prevent further fatal poisonings.

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Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have identified variants of a chaperone molecule that optimizes the binding and presentation of foreign antigens across the human population, which could open the door to numerous applications where robust presentation to the immune system is important, including cell therapy and immunization. The findings were published today in Science Advances.

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Pediatric patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) may face additional challenges when they present to an emergency room. However, researchers found that a multidisciplinary approach helped implement the services of interpreters earlier and significantly improved the identification of these patients to help them receive the care they need.

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In a new study led by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Nemours Children’s Health, researchers have overcome the obstacle of scale by analyzing electronic health record data from PEDSnet, a national multicenter pediatric network, to identify a large cohort of children with CKD, evaluate CKD progression, and examine clinical risk factors for kidney function decline. The findings were published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

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Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have developed a custom-built application to automate determination of engraftment, a key outcome after hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). The application supersedes a tedious manual process and at the same time substantially improves accuracy of reported hematopoietic cell transplant engraftments.

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Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have developed a new computational tool that can more accurately discover and quantify RNA molecules from these error-prone long-read RNA sequencing data. The tool, called ESPRESSO (Error Statistics PRomoted Evaluator of Splice Site Options), was reported today in Science Advances.

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Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) developed new software that integrates a variety of information from a single cell, allowing researchers to see how one change in a cell can lead to several others and providing important clues for pinpointing the exact causes of genetic-based diseases.

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Researchers have identified several genetic variants associated with increased risk of cancer in children with non-chromosomal birth defects, such as congenital heart disease and defects of the central nervous system. While the risk of developing cancer is not as high as children with chromosomal birth defects, it is significantly higher than children with no birth defects at all, and the findings may provide a basis for early detection in these understudied patients.

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Researchers have discovered a specific genetic variant in SCN1A, the most common genetic epilepsy, that leads to an earlier onset of epilepsy, with clinical features distinct from other epilepsies. The researchers also identified a potentially effective treatment strategy.

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In a new study in Nature, researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have found that Enterococcus – an antibiotic-resistant, opportunistic pathogen – works together with C. difficile, reshaping and enhancing the metabolic environment in the gut so that C. difficile can thrive.

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Researchers found disparities in the completion of follow-up concussion care, particularly among pediatric patients who are publicly insured and identify as Black, suggesting barriers to care exist.

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Financial stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic took a distinct toll on adolescent mental health and contributed to depressive symptoms, according to a new study by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

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Pregnant people who received one of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines had 10-fold higher antibody concentrations than those who were naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2, a finding that was also observed in their babies, according to a new study by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania. The study, published today in JAMA Network Open, also found that vaccine timing played an important role in maximizing the transfer of antibodies, with antibodies detected as early as 15 days after the first vaccine dose and increasing for several weeks after.

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A new study in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology shows that a first-of-its-kind program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) can help children with food allergy-related anxiety reduce their fears and improve their quality of life. The Food Allergy Bravery (FAB) program at CHOP provides cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in five to eight sessions to children who have severe anxiety related to their food allergies.

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Researchers found that across nearly 50,000 visits, patients continued to use telemedicine effectively even with the reopening of outpatient clinics a year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, prominent barriers for socially vulnerable families and racial and ethnic minorities persist, suggesting more work is required to reach a wider population with telemedicine.

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Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) used advanced three-dimensional mapping techniques at a microscopic level to identify a multitude of genetic variants and corresponding target gene pairings in the pancreas that are implicated in type 2 diabetes. In addition to these discoveries, the resulting datasets will serve as a key resource for researchers all over the world to delve deeper into the genetic origins of type 2 diabetes and further explore the roles of different types of cells in the development of the disease.

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In an effort to improve the lives of children and adults with kidney disease, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Penn Medicine are jointly launching the Penn-CHOP Kidney Innovation Center. The first-of-its-kind center will advance research to transform patient care for those of all ages, focusing on the early detection, prevention, and treatment of kidney disease and its complications.

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Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has helped launch a new computational platform that will harmonize pediatric cancer data, allowing researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and advocacy groups to accelerate the pace of drug development for pediatric cancer. With funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) via a subcontract with Leidos Biomedical Research, current operator of the NCI’s Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, CHOP researchers have created the Molecular Targets Platform to facilitate pediatric research in response to the Research to Accelerate Cures and Equity (RACE) for Children Act, which requires companies to test cancer drugs in children that are used in adults when there is a shared molecular target.

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Attending daycare in the first three years of life is linked with an increase in lung complications in children who were born prematurely and diagnosed with a form of chronic lung disease, according to new research led by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

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Young adolescents who are targets of cyberbullying are more likely to report suicidal thoughts and attempts, an association that goes above and beyond the link between suicidality and traditional offline bullying.

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Researchers found that while many child neurology visits can be effectively conducted through telemedicine, younger children and those with neuromuscular disorders are more likely to require in-person evaluation.

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In an honor reserved for only the most significant achievements in advancing children’s health, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has awarded its Gold Medal to Katherine High, MD, a gene therapy pioneer and one of the lead developers of the first in vivo gene therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Bestowed only 12 times in CHOP’s 167-year history, the Gold Medal highlights Dr. High’s groundbreaking discoveries at CHOP, which led to a gene therapy treatment for a rare form of inherited blindness and advanced gene therapy for hemophilia to late-stage testing.

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Ten years ago, Tom and Kari Whitehead came to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) looking for a miracle. Their 6-year-old daughter, Emily, had relapsed in her battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), after many months of unsuccessful chemotherapy and a disease that had progressed so rapidly that she was ineligible for a bone marrow transplant to treat it. Her family came to CHOP in the hopes that Dr. Stephan Grupp, a pioneer in the field of cellular immunotherapy, could provide the miracle they were looking for.

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Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have developed a new tool to help researchers interpret the clinical significance of somatic mutations in cancer. The tool, known as CancerVar, incorporates machine learning frameworks to go beyond merely identifying somatic cancer mutations and interpret the potential significance of those mutations in terms of cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and targetability. A paper describing CancerVar was published today in Science Advances.

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Neighborhood characteristics, including poverty and crowding within homes, were associated with higher rates of SARS-CoV-2 in pregnancy during the prevaccination era of the pandemic, according to a new study led by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The findings, which were published today in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, may partially explain the high rates of COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, among Black and Hispanic patients.

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In a new study, researchers demonstrated that the benefits of endurance exercise can vary based on the type of mutation involved in mitochondrial disease, and while the benefits of exercise outweigh the risks, the mitochondrial genetic status of patients should be taken into consideration when recommending exercise as therapy.