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Researchers from the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital has developed a new testing protocol to screen infants, toddlers and young children for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using eye tracking software. The tool could increase early detection rates and reduce the time and cost of current screening techniques.

A recent study by investigators from Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital found that children with August birthdays in school systems that have a September 1st grade cutoff are up to 30% more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD.

Many people have heard about secondhand smoke or have experienced it being near a smoking bystander. But what about thirdhand smoke? Thirdhand smoke is the tobacco smoke residue remaining after a cigarette has been smoked. It can be residual smoke left in the air, but can also accumulate on surfaces, furniture, clothing and in dust.Read more

For parents worried about the health impacts of e-cigarettes, it’s important to know the difference between systems.

Folate levels have, once again, become an area of interest for a Massachusetts General Hospital -based research team after finding that increased in utero folic acid exposure is associated with changes in brain development later in life that could reduce the risk of psychosis and schizophrenia.

Harald Jueppner, MD Advances in medical care often take a long and winding path from a new laboratory discovery to the patient bedside. So it is particularly gratifying as a physician-scientist when you have the opportunity to offer your patients a new treatment that came about in part from research in your own laboratory. ForRead more

Up until recently, deciding when a baby was ready to transition from tube feedings to bottle feedings posed a challenge for nurses and physicians at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Mass General Hospital for Children (MGHfC). Thanks to recent research, the team now has a streamlined and objective process that improves care for babies born prematurely.

This year, MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) celebrated its 10th annual Research Day, an event that recognizes the pioneering research of investigators throughout the hospital whose discoveries help to better understand childhood health and disease. Diana Bianchi, MD, director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and keynote speakerRead more

Kirstin Birtwell, PhD, is studying the use of technology in children with autism at the Lurie Center Researchers at the Lurie Center for Autism at Massachusetts General Hospital are exploring how commercial technologies might help children with autism communicate. The project is being supported by Game On For Autism Research (GoFAR, www.GoFarFoundation.org ), a non-profit founded by impassionedRead more

Imagine you are a pediatric clinician in an urban community health center. You notice that the majority of your patients have the same triad of conditions – obesity, asthma and behavioral health problems.