About All-Star Gala in Support of SickKids
All-Star Gala in Support of SickKids will be taking place on Friday, June 19, 2020 at the Toronto Event Centre. It is a semi-formal event bringing together an assortment of past and present athletes and personalities from hockey and other sports! The evening features live performances by well-known musicians and DJs, and is an open bar format.
For more information, please visit: www.sickkidsallstargala.com
All-Star Gala Supports The Labatt Family Heart Centre
All-Star Gala generously supports the Labatt Family Heart Centre and the incredible research of Dr. Mike Seed and his team, whose maternal oxygenation therapy could one day abolish the downstream neurological effects of congenital heart disease (CHD). Research by Dr. Seed’s team found that this damage starts in the womb, a discovery that put into motion the idea to study whether regular supplemental oxygen therapy for pregnant women improves brain development in fetuses diagnosed with congenital heart disease. In other words, will giving pregnant moms high doses of oxygen improve blood flow to their babies’ brains and improve neurodevelopment?
Dr. Seed and the team have completed the first observational/imaging phase of the study and have now begun the interventional phase—administering the oxygen treatment to 15 patients, and counting. Though it’s too early to know definitively whether the treatment works, initial neonatal brain scan results are promising. These early results were presented at the 8th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Collaborative meeting in Toronto this past October.
To help with patient recruitment, Dr. Seed and the team recently hired a research fellow, Dr. Mika Saito, a fetal imaging specialist who hails from Tokyo. Dr. Adrien Szabo, another fetal research fellow, is set to arrive next year to continue this work. On behalf of Dr. Seed and his team, thank you for your visionary support of this research, which holds so much promise to improve outcomes for babies with complex heart disease.
The Labatt Family Heart Centre Impact Report continues to support innovative clinical and research projects: a new, much-needed clinical program to help young heart patients transition to adult care, and a pioneering pilot program that aims to promote mental health among congenital heart disease patients and families. We introduce you to LFHC’s new Head of Cardiovascular Surgery, Dr. David Barron, by all accounts a brilliant clinician and extremely capable leader. Your contributions are helping cardiac patients not only live long but live well.
Thank you for your support!