Summer 2021 saw the Congenital Hyperinsulinism Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia care for two newborn girls who had the focal form of hyperinsulinism (HI).

Diva De León-Crutchlow, MD, MSCE, assumed the role of Director of the Congenital Hyperinsulinism Center in 2013 and was named Chief of the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes in 2018.

Parents are usually blindsided when they find out that their child has congenital hyperinsulinism (HI), a rare genetic disorder that depresses blood sugar to dangerously low levels.

Low blood sugar is one of the symptoms of Kabuki syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects multiple systems in the body but can be tricky to diagnose.

A pilot study at CHOP is the first to demonstrate the effectiveness of the bihormonal bionic pancreas in hyperinsulinism patients.

Last fall, Leela Morrow, PsyD, joined the Adrenal and Puberty Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, adding another service to the comprehensive program.

Sometimes rare and super rare genetic conditions occur within the same child. That’s the case for Turner syndrome, which has an incidence rate of about 1 in 2,500 female births, and congenital hyperinsulinism, which happens about once in 50,000 births.

Last fall, Leela Morrow, PsyD, joined the team at the Congenital Hyperinsulinism Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, adding another service to the comprehensive program.

When a family has a child with congenital hyperinsulinism, a question often arises: Will any future child also have HI?

In a special segment broadcast in Panama in September, Diva D. De León-Crutchlow, MD, MSCE, recalled her path from her home county to her role as Chief of the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes and Director of the Congenital Hyperinsulinism Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).