Nationwide Children's Research News

Mar 23, 2022

Nationwide Children’s Hospital Selected as Clinical Coordinating Center in Large National Clinical Trial Sponsored by National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that Nationwide Children’s Hospital has been selected for funding as the Clinical Coordinating Center for the multicenter randomized trial: “Percutaneous intervention versus observational trial of arterial ductus in lower gestational age infants (PIVOTAL)”.

Mar 09, 2022

Early Phase Gene Therapy Study for SMARD1/CMT2S Disease Now Enrolling

Nationwide Children's Hospital has launched a new Phase I/IIa gene replacement clinical study to evaluate the safety of a gene therapy for IGHMBP2-related diseases, specifically spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type 1 (SMARD1) and Charcot Marie Tooth disease type 2S (CMT2S). SMARD1 and CMT2S are rare inherited conditions that are both caused by mutations in the IGHMBP2 gene, of which more than 60 have been found to date. SMARD1 is the most severe form of these diseases and causes muscle weakness and respiratory failure in infancy.

Dennis Durbin, MD, MSCE, Named President of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Feb 25, 2022

Dennis Durbin, MD, MSCE, Named President of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Beginning March 1, 2022, Dennis Durbin, MD, MSCE, will become the third president of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Dr. Durbin joined Nationwide Children's in 2018 as its first chief scientific officer.

Feb 10, 2022

Epilepsy Centers in United States Expand in Size and Specialized Testing Services with Accreditation

New research from the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital has found that as a result of the increased number of accredited epilepsy centers in the United States, drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) patients have easier access to specialized testing and services. The report, which describes level 3 and level 4 epilepsy centers that were accredited by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) from 2012 to 2019, published this week in Neurology.

New Study Finds High-Powered Magnets Lead to Hospitalizations and Life-Threatening Injuries in Children
Feb 03, 2022

New Study Finds High-Powered Magnets Lead to Hospitalizations and Life-Threatening Injuries in Children

A recent study led by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy and Emergency Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital along with 24 other children’s hospitals across the country looked at nearly 600 cases of high-powered magnet-related injuries in the three years after high-powered magnets re-entered the US market (2017 to 2019).

Feb 01, 2022

Study supports virotherapy as a potential treatment for brain tumors

A new study provides additional evidence of the efficacy of virotherapy for glioblastoma, the most deadly type of brain tumor. The research findings, published Feb. 1, 2022, in Clinical Cancer Research, indicate that an oncolytic herpes simplex virus, G207, appears to boost immune response and that this is associated with better overall survival for patients with glioblastoma.

Right Care, Right Place, Right Time? Frequency and Duration of Boarding for Pediatric Mental Health Conditions at Acute Care Hospitals
Dec 28, 2021

Right Care, Right Place, Right Time? Frequency and Duration of Boarding for Pediatric Mental Health Conditions at Acute Care Hospitals

According to the results of a national survey conducted, in part by a researcher at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, mental health boarding in emergency departments (ED) and/or hospital inpatient settings is common with a median of 4 patients daily and associated with median durations of 48 hours – 10 times longer than standards established by the Joint Commission. In addition, in these acute care settings, youths received minimal mental health services during their lengthy boarding. Unfortunately, these patients are getting the wrong care, in the wrong place and at the wrong time. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

 

Dec 23, 2021

Study Finds High Mortality Rates of Youths Previously Incarcerated in the Juvenile Legal System

New research from the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital finds that youth aged 11 to 21 years, who have been previously incarcerated in the juvenile legal system, are 5.9 times more likely than the general population to experience early mortality. The report, which describes a cohort study of 3645 previously incarcerated youths in Ohio’s juvenile legal system, appears this week in JAMA Network Open.

Creating a Physician Workforce that Reflects the Patients and Families We Serve
Dec 14, 2021

Creating a Physician Workforce that Reflects the Patients and Families We Serve

Workforce disparities persist within health care institutions and medical training. While individuals who identify as Black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic, Native American, and Pacific Islander comprise roughly 30% of the U.S. population, they are less than 15% of physicians, making them underrepresented in medicine – or URM. In fact, as the U.S. population grows more diverse, the racial and ethnic demographic gap between patients and physicians, including pediatricians, is worsening. In a bold effort to bridge that gap, a team of physicians (medical educators, advocates, and researchers) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital developed a plan. The plan and its results are now published in Pediatrics.

Dec 13, 2021

Human MicroRNA Inhibits Expression of Pathogenic Gene Underlying Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is caused by aberrant expression of the DUX4 gene in skeletal muscles. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have recently demonstrated that an endogenous human microRNA, miR-675, inhibits DUX4 expression and protects muscles from DUX4-mediated cell death in a mouse model when administered via gene therapy. They also showed that the small molecule-based treatments that upregulate miR-675 inhibited DUX4 mRNA and DUX4-associated biomarkers in myotubes derived from patients with FSHD.