Science Snapshots
More Accurate Hearing Tests
Every year, thousands of parents receive unwelcome news from routine newborn screening tests – results indicating that their children are not hearing as well as they should. About 90 percent of these unnerving initial results turn out to be “false positives” that unnecessarily alarm families and drive up health costs. Lisa Hunter, PhD, director of the Division of Audiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, will use a $1.3 million grant to test an ear probe that can double-check a newborn’s initial hearing test. “If we can find out which babies have a middle-ear problem versus a permanent hearing loss, we can reduce the number of infants receiving unnecessary diagnostic testing,” she says.
Gene Region Linked To Severe Food Allergy
Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center have identified an area of the human genome believed to contain a gene responsible for a severe, often painful type of food allergy that leaves its victims unable to eat a wide variety of foods. Eosinophilic esophagitis also may cause weight loss, vomiting, heartburn and swallowing difficulties. The study team, led by Marc Rothenberg, MD, PhD, found that the allergic condition was linked to a specific chromosome that contains a gene associated with other allergic inflammatory diseases. Scientists hope the finding leads to better treatment for kids with severe allergies.
New Center to Focus on Communication Disorders
Our ability to communicate through spoken language requires the proper function of a wide range of capabilities – hearing, speech and the brain’s capability to convert sounds into words with meaning. Likewise, understanding what happens when language and communication skills don’t develop properly requires a broad spectrum of expertise. The newly formed Communication Sciences Research Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center was founded to bring together exactly that kind of expertise. More than 20 researchers affiliated with the center will focus on translating basic research into more effective treatments for communication disorders.
