With the return of summer and bike riding season, the Hard Head Patrol from Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is once again hitting the streets. Children’s Director of Trauma and Injury Barbara Gaines says about 70 employee volunteers will be on the streets watching for young bikers without helmets. If they find one the child will be given a coupon to attend one of ten free bike helmet fittings where experts give the juvenile a new helmet and teach them how to properly wear it.
Gaines says every year the emergency room staff admits 150 – 175 kids who suffer head injuries while riding their bikes. She says 85% of those injures could have been prevent if the child would have been wearing a helmet.
The volunteers also hand out rewards for kids wearing their helmets. This year it is a Giant Eagle cookie card. Gaines says it is important to also give an incentive to wear the protective gear.
Last year the hospital handed out 1,700 helmets during the Hard Head summer program and another 1,000 helmets through other efforts. Volunteers also handed out 2,500 reward cards.
Gaines says ay child who comes to a fitting event without a helmet will be given one. She says the coupons simply serve as a good reminder for the kids and their parents.
This summer’s first Hard Head helmet fitting event will be held at the Kohl’s Department store in Robinson from 11:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. A full list of fitting can be found online.
Showing posts with label Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Pirates Manager Comes with a Cause
When the Pittsburgh Pirates hired Clint Hurdle as their new manager not only were they getting a man with more than two decades experience in professional baseball they also picked up the national celebrity spokesperson for the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (PWSA). Prader-Willi Syndrome is a rare genetic defect that occurs in about one in every 15,000 births. The illness begins with a newborn typically having a low birth weight and hypotonia (weak muscles) that is so severe that the child cannot suck well enough to get nourishment. Most babies must be kept alive with a feeding tube. The syndrome then “flips” between the ages of two to five when the child never feels “full” leading, if unchecked, to morbid obesity. Other symptoms include short stature if not treated with growth hormones, incomplete sexual development and in some cases, behavior and developmental problems.
Hurdle’s 8-year-old daughter, Madison, was born with Prader-Willi Syndrome. He and his wife have been active with the PWSA for years and he says his daughter’s illness played a small roll in his decision to come to Pittsburgh. “I don’t think it is a coincidence that the only in-patient clinic [for PWS] in the world is in the Children’s Institute here in Pittsburgh,” says Hurdle. He says the Institute has a great support group, “we have reached out to many families throughout the years since the birth of Madison and we have been embraced by many families who have children older.” Hurdle and his family currently live in Denver where he used to coach and says Madison gets great care there but they will soon be looking for a new home in Pittsburgh. “You talk about an easy transition, I know a couple of doctors over there.”
Robert Nicholls is a professor and genetic researcher at the Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh. He has been studying PWS for nearly a quarter of a century. “Were making great strides in understanding the genetic basis, but its very complex. Prader-Willi Syndrome is not due to loss of function of a single gene, which many conditions like cystic fibrosis and others are, but there are new cellular models there are animal models,” says Nicholls. Nicholls says he works closely with many doctors and patients at both his hospital and at the Children’s Institute. He says it does not seem like the syndrome is increasing or decreasing, nor does it seem to discriminate between males and females or among races. He notes that most cases are in developed countries like the US, England and Germany but he notes that in most third-world and developing nations children with PWS never make it out of infancy. Those who make it out of infancy and are being treated can live into their 60’s and beyond. “When diagnosis was late, meaning by the 20’s or 30’s, and individuals had already become severely obese, then it is a life threatening condition,” says Nicholls.
Hurdle’s 8-year-old daughter, Madison, was born with Prader-Willi Syndrome. He and his wife have been active with the PWSA for years and he says his daughter’s illness played a small roll in his decision to come to Pittsburgh. “I don’t think it is a coincidence that the only in-patient clinic [for PWS] in the world is in the Children’s Institute here in Pittsburgh,” says Hurdle. He says the Institute has a great support group, “we have reached out to many families throughout the years since the birth of Madison and we have been embraced by many families who have children older.” Hurdle and his family currently live in Denver where he used to coach and says Madison gets great care there but they will soon be looking for a new home in Pittsburgh. “You talk about an easy transition, I know a couple of doctors over there.”
Robert Nicholls is a professor and genetic researcher at the Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh. He has been studying PWS for nearly a quarter of a century. “Were making great strides in understanding the genetic basis, but its very complex. Prader-Willi Syndrome is not due to loss of function of a single gene, which many conditions like cystic fibrosis and others are, but there are new cellular models there are animal models,” says Nicholls. Nicholls says he works closely with many doctors and patients at both his hospital and at the Children’s Institute. He says it does not seem like the syndrome is increasing or decreasing, nor does it seem to discriminate between males and females or among races. He notes that most cases are in developed countries like the US, England and Germany but he notes that in most third-world and developing nations children with PWS never make it out of infancy. Those who make it out of infancy and are being treated can live into their 60’s and beyond. “When diagnosis was late, meaning by the 20’s or 30’s, and individuals had already become severely obese, then it is a life threatening condition,” says Nicholls.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
New Children's Hospital Study
A new study published in the September issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation says Vitamin D might be used to treat and prevent severe allergic response to Aspergillus Fumigatus, a common airborne mold. While the mold does not cause serious symptoms in the majority of people who inhale it, for people with cystic fibrosis, it can cause a severe allergic response.
The research team was led by Dr. Jay Kolls, a lung disease researcher at Children's Hospital who works at Louisiana State University. They studied patients who had infections and had developed severe allergies and some who had not. Vitamin D helped those who had cystic fibrosis.
Kolls says this research might make treating the allergies a lot easier than with the strong medications commonly prescribed.
The researchers are now moving into clinical trials. This new research add to previous evidence that vitamin D may play a critical role on immune responses and allergic diseases.
The research team was led by Dr. Jay Kolls, a lung disease researcher at Children's Hospital who works at Louisiana State University. They studied patients who had infections and had developed severe allergies and some who had not. Vitamin D helped those who had cystic fibrosis.
Kolls says this research might make treating the allergies a lot easier than with the strong medications commonly prescribed.
The researchers are now moving into clinical trials. This new research add to previous evidence that vitamin D may play a critical role on immune responses and allergic diseases.
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