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Myeloablative Busulfan, Fludarabine and Melphalan Conditioning for Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Childhood Myeloid Malignancy

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is a proven curative therapy for children with high-risk myeloid malignancies. Disease relapse, transplant-related mortality and graft versus host disease (GvHD) are the main causes of treatment failure and death post-transplant. The optimum pretransplant conditioning regimen is yet to be defined. There is limited data regarding the use of busulfan, fludarabine and melphalan as a myeloablative conditioning regimen in children receiving HSCT for myeloid malignancies.

Delayed diagnosis is associated with complications following invasive meningococcal disease in Australian adolescents and young adults

This study described the presenting features, initial assessment, hospital care, and complications at discharge among Australian adolescents and young adults with Invasive meningococcal disease.

Respiratory disease in cerebral palsy: the overlooked impact of neonatal lung disease

Respiratory disease is a leading cause of hospitalisations in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Over 40% of individuals with CP are born preterm; however, the relationship between prematurity, CP and respiratory disease is unknown.

Shame as a mediator of the association of childhood emotional abuse with aversive cognitive perseveration in adults

Childhood emotional abuse (CEA) has been linked to response-focused emotion regulation in adulthood. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unexplored. This pre-registered study examined whether shame mediates the association between CEA history and aversive cognitive perseveration (ACP), including brooding rumination, experiential avoidance and emotional non-acceptance, in adulthood. 

An infant nasal microbial gene atlas uncovers intervention-driven microbiome shifts and salt-resistant pathogen expansion

Functional studies of how early-life interventions shape the airway microbiome remain scarce. Here, we performed metagenomic sequencing of 704 longitudinal nasal swabs from infants with and without cystic fibrosis (CF) to construct and characterize a non-redundant gene atlas of the infant nasal microbiome. We aimed to determine how the nasal microbiome is perturbed by early therapies, as CF is commonly treated with inhaled hypertonic saline to improve mucociliary clearance.

Allergic diseases through precision medicine

Allergic diseases are rising worldwide, especially in childhood, and their clinical diversity increasingly exposes the limits of traditional phenotype-based classifications. Genetic susceptibility, environmental exposures, epithelial barrier biology, and immune pathways interact to shape highly variable disease trajectories and treatment responses. In this context, precision medicine is no longer only an aspirational concept, but a practical effort to define meaningful endotypes, identify clinically useful biomarkers, and connect biological insight to prevention and care.

Low-plastic diet and urinary levels of plastic-associated phthalates and bisphenols: the randomized controlled PERTH Trial

The everyday use of plastic products exposes us to plastic-associated chemicals (PACs), which have been associated with risks to human health. We present the results of the Plastic Exposure Reduction Transforms Health Trial, with an observational cohort of 211 Australian participants and a 7-day pilot randomized controlled trial in 60 participants. Intervention groups received combinations of plastic-free kitchenware, low-plastic personal-care products and food sourced from more than 100 producers that minimized all plastic touchpoints from paddock to plate, while the control group received no intervention.

CXCR3 is associated with T-cell-induced heart damage in acute rheumatic fever

The pathogenesis of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is poorly understood, limiting the development of immune-modulating therapies to treat disease and prevent progressive heart damage. Here, participants with definite ARF were compared to other severe acute paediatric conditions and matched healthy controls by profiling circulating immune molecules and cells to inform disease mechanisms and potential druggable pathways.

Co-designing a new clinical pathway to support families with children identified as having early-stage type 1 diabetes in Western Australia

Children with early-stage (pre-symptomatic) type 1 diabetes are currently identified primarily via research-based screening programmes in Australia. Once identified, families live with the knowledge that their child has an increased chance of developing symptomatic, lifelong, insulin-requiring type 1 diabetes but have no specific clinical pathway available to them in Western Australia for accessing tailored support or education. This project aimed to co-design a new clinical pathway to address this unmet need.

Nutrition in early life interacts with genetic risk to influence preadult behaviour in the Raine Study

Early life nutrition is associated with child behaviour; however, the interplay with genetic vulnerability is understudied. We hypothesised that psychiatric genetic risk interacted with early nutrition to predict behavioural problems in childhood and adolescence.