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2002:
The year in review
The year in review | The year in
research | The year in advocacy
 he
most obvious progress for Children's research enterprise in 2002
was the construction of the hospital's new, 12-story research tower.
A year ago the project was little more than a gaping crater in the
frozen ground. Today it reaches toward the sky, and crews are now
fitting exterior panels into place. The new building may be the
most visible, but there were plenty of other dramatic research successes
in 2002, as well.
April was a busy month for Children's researchers. Mark
Pereira, PhD, showed that overweight
people who regularly consume milk, cheese, yogurt, or other dairy
products are less likely to develop insulin resistance syndrome,
the major risk factor for type-2 diabetes and heart disease.
The same month, Anthony Atala,
MD, created functioning tissues - including miniature kidneys
and heart muscle tissues - from a cow's cloned stem cells and introduced
the tissues back into the donor animal. The tissues
functioned normally and caused no signs of rejection, suggesting
that someday scientists may be able to engineer new tissues and
organs from human patients' own DNA.
On the day of the 2002 Boston Marathon, more than 40
Children's medical residents collaborated in a study to gain a new
understanding of physical changes caused by endurance training and
competition, gathering blood samples from over 500 marathon runners.
The residents focused on three
specific areas: heart-related problems, electrolyte levels and
hydration, and women's health issues.
In June, John Knight, MD,
director of the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research,
attracted much attention with his findings that a high proportion
of 14- to 18-year-olds have diagnosable alcohol and drug-related
disorders. The study
also demonstrated the effectiveness of a screening test developed
by Knight and his colleagues to help physicians identify at-risk
teens. This tool is expected to greatly increase the number of physicians
who screen for substance abuse.
Larry Benowitz, MD, director
of the Laboratories for Neuroscience, announced in July that a naturally
occurring brain chemical called inosine
dramatically improved stroke recovery in rats. When introduced into
the rats' brains after a stroke, inosine promoted undamaged cells
to "rewire" themselves, creating pathways around brain
cells that had died. Investigators are hopeful that inosine may
prove to promote similar rewiring in human clinical trials.
In August, researchers led by Maria
Rupnick, MD, PhD, research associate in the Surgical Research
Laboratories, showed that the growth of fat tissue can be prevented
by controlling the blood vessels that feed it. Significantly, the
work shows that the principles of angiogenesis-dependent tumor growth
can be extended to non-tumor tissues, as well.
In September, geneticist Emanuela
Gussoni, PhD, and Louis Kunkel, PhD,
chief of the Division of Genetics, found that cells from a bone
marrow transplant given to a 1-year-old boy had remained in the
his muscle tissue 13 years later. The findings suggested
that human bone marrow cells can become part of diseased muscle
fibers, and raised hopes for a future muscular dystrophy treatment.
Recently, Children's made big news with two separate
discoveries in cardiac health: Douglas Cowan,
PhD, created tissue-engineered cells that may one day lead
to a natural
pacemaker, and Mark Keating, MD,
found a genetic clue in zebrafish that may one day lead to a way
to regenerate
heart tissue for humans.
New discoveries come out of Children's labs every day.
The medical advances of the future are a mystery, but one thing
is certain. In 2003, Children's researchers will continue to seek
new, innovative approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment
of childhood diseases.
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