New funding for three large-scale research initiatives focus on heart and lung diseases in children. ... more

Just hours before her birth, little Macie Schnepper was suspected of having a severe heart condition. Macie’s family raced from central Illinois to St. Louis, where her mother gave birth. Macie received life-saving care at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, including an eventual heart transplant. Researchers funded by the Children’s Discovery Institute strive constantly to improve the care of children like Macie. ... more

An Investor Asks About Congenital Heart Defects ... more

Testing a Novel Therapy ....Patrick Jay, MD, PhD ... more

Most of us take for granted that our bowels work normally. But their function depends on the proper development of an estimated 500 million nerve cells in the bowel called the enteric nervous system. ... more

Kevin was born with a heart abnormality called Tetralogy of Fallot, which at one time would have been fatal in infancy. Thanks to several miraculous surgeries over several years, his heart was working well, and he celebrated his 17th birthday. His expectations, and those of his parents, were that he would live a long and healthy life, possibly even become a doctor to help kids in the same way he had been helped. He had even started to visit universities on weekends. While throwing a Frisbee with friends on a normal Thursday afternoon, Kevin’s heart began misfiring, a condition called arrhythmia. He suddenly collapsed and died before medical attention could arrive. ... more

The heart's regular rhythm depends on the electrical signals that cycle through it. ... more