All CHLA Blog Posts
Published on November 1, 2015
November is Transgender Awareness Month and there is so much to honor and celebrate about the transgender community. Recently, trans issues and trans figures have been the center of many mainstream conversations, as well as many trans activists, have offered a level of awareness... Read More
Published on October 30, 2015
Decreased lung development often occurs in babies born prematurely.
Known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia, the condition is linked to decreased
numbers of specialized lung cells known as lipofibroblasts (LIF). Here,
researchers at Children’s
Hospital Los Angeles demonstrate how... Read More
Published on October 30, 2015
When Vivian Bui was 10 years old, she began to get tired a lot. She also started to lose weight and needed to use the restroom constantly. To get some answers, she went to a place she was familiar with as a native of Los Angeles: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
There she was... Read More
Published on October 29, 2015
On Oct. 9, just before the start of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ first playoff game against the New York Mets, a pint-sized figure in a Dodger jersey and cap—and a frilly, powder-blue tutu—strolled onto the field at Dodger Stadium in front of 52,000 cheering fans.
The tutu-... Read More
Published on October 28, 2015
Left: Untreated cancer
cells. Right: Cells treated with the nanoparticle complex HerMn, which is
cytotoxic to tumor cells (disrupting the cytoskeleton and structure of these
cells as shown above) while simultaneously enhancing MRI contrast. Image
courtesy of Karn Sorasaenee, PhD... Read More
Published on October 28, 2015
Coleman Giles looks and acts like an average 12-year-old kid.
“I like to ride my bike, hang out with my friends, ride my trick scooter, play soccer, boxing,” he says.
You can’t tell by looking at him that the heart that beats in his chest is not the one he was born with. Of... Read More
Published on October 23, 2015
Vania Dzib Delgado had just celebrated her 10th birthday when she noticed something wasn’t quite right. Underweight and growing increasingly exhausted, she was taken to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where doctors diagnosed her with systemic lupus—an autoimmune disease in... Read More
Published on October 22, 2015
The Internet's 'Pizza Girl' bites back at cancer
Hazel Hammersley, a usually bubbly toddler, was clearly in pain. She also had a fever, had stopped eating and was very lethargic. Lauren Hammersley’s motherly instincts told her that something just wasn’t right.
“I took her to... Read More
Published on October 22, 2015
Helping to Protect Your Child From Strangers
The world can be a very scary place for a child. Children need to be made aware of what actions are unacceptable from others, and what to do if these situations arise. This is best communicated during a straightforward discussion... Read More
Published on October 15, 2015
Most babies are leaving their
mark on mothers, detectable even after birth, in the form of fetal cells left
behind after pregnancy. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.A recent
study published in Molecular Human Reproduction reports evidence of fetal cells escaping
the womb and... Read More
Published on October 14, 2015
Researchers use MRS imaging to
study effects of hypothermia for infants with decreased oxygen to the brainCHLA’s team of nurses
and medical professionals administer hypothermia treatments to newborns to
prevent brain damage caused by an inhibited oxygen supply to the brain.... Read More
Published on October 10, 2015
How natural killer immune cells can fight cancerNatural killer (NK) immune
cells can identify infected or potentially cancerous cells in the body and
induce cell death. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.Cancer cells present a unique challenge to the immune system
in that they are... Read More
Published on October 9, 2015
A blood clot is when blood changes from a liquid to a solid. Blood clots are good because they help your body stop bleeding. But they can form when you don’t need them in veins or arteries. You can have a blood clot in your arteries or veins in places like your arms, legs, eyes... Read More
Published on October 9, 2015
We all know that we should be prepared in the event of a disaster, but are we really? Most of us in Southern California keep extra bottles of water in our homes, a collection of dusty canned food (hopefully with a manual can opener), flashlights, a radio, and a first aid kid... Read More
Published on October 9, 2015
Two-year-old Gabriel Lopez had been hospitalized for more than a year, hooked up to a 200-pound machine. Then, on Christmas Eve, he got the gift of a lifetime.
Monica Horn, RN, CCRN, CCTC, was tired.
That wasn’t surprising, considering it was the middle of the night, and Horn... Read More
Published on October 8, 2015
At 5 years old, Grace Bumstead already knows how to command a room; she’s spunky, fun and ambitious. So much so that people who meet her now might never guess that she is currently fighting a scary thing called cancer, and has already gone through months of intense treatment.... Read More
Published on October 7, 2015
Tissue-engineered colon generated from cells from a patient with Hirschsprung’s disease. Nerve cells shown in green. Image courtesy of Grikscheit Laboratory, The Saban Research Institute, CHLA.A study by scientists at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has shown that tissue-... Read More
Published on October 7, 2015
This blog post is the second of a two-part series meant to provide basic education and resources regarding blenderized tube feeding (BTF). In the first part, we discussed the general concept and considerations of BTF. In this second part we will present food safety,... Read More
Published on October 5, 2015
Neural
dysfunction in cognitive control circuits during adolescence could be predictor
of psychotic disordersThose at clinically high risk (CHR) for psychotic disorders on average
had lower levels of conflict-related brain activity compared to healthy
controls (HC). VS = ventral... Read More
Published on October 5, 2015
We’ve all had dreams of what we wanted to be when we grow up. Those dreams often change; One day, it’s an astronaut, the next a veterinarian. These choices vary because the future seems so distant and the possibilities are endless. But what if your choice changed based on a... Read More