Focus: Hidden - LA Metro

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UCLA is making a 35-year commitment to reducing the impact of depression

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UCLA researchers have identified a molecule that, after a stroke, signals brain tissue to form new connections to compensate for the damage and initiate repairs to the brain.

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L.A's CicLAvia, one-day events in which neighborhood streets are closed to motor vehicles so that people can walk and cycle freely, significantly reduces air pollution along the route and even on other streets in the communities where the event is held. Events like this could benefit other cities.

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The results from a recent study showed that multitasking when using mobile devices creates stress and increases the potential for choosing unsafe apps.

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A few minutes of counseling in a primary care setting could help steer people away from risky drug use, and possibly full-fledged addiction. In a clinical trial called Project QUIT, researchers found that this sort of intervention helped patients reduce their risky drug use by one-third.

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A new study published in Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society used a human factors approach to identify PHRs’demands on users and evaluated the ability of adults of lower socioeconomic status and low health literacy to use a select sample of these systems to perform common health-management activities.

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Harry Winston, Inc., and the UCLA Children’s Discovery and Innovation Institute have named the new recipients of the 2015-2016 Harry Winston Fellowships.

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A team of UCLA scientists has found that brain areas linked to social behaviors are both underdeveloped and insufficiently networked in youths with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to study participants without ASD.

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A unique study at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles of newborns treated with hypothermia for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) – a condition that occurs when the brain is deprived of an adequate oxygen supply – confirms its neuroprotective effects on the brain.

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Heart valve replacements made from tissue (bioprosthetic valves) have long been thought to be spared the complication of blood clot formation. Researchers have now found that about 15 percent of all bioprosthetic aortic heart valve patients develop blood clots on the leaflets affecting valve opening, regardless of whether the patient received the new valve via open-heart surgery or a minimally-invasive catheter procedure, a new study from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute shows.

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The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society congratulates Thomas Franke, Nadine Rauh, Madlen Günther, Maria Trantow, and Josef F. Krems on receiving the 2015 Human Factors Prize for their article, “Which Factors Can Protect Against Range Stress in Everyday Usage of Battery Electric Vehicles? Toward Enhancing Sustainability of Electric Mobility Systems.”

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Nationally renowned breast cancer and ovarian cancer specialist Victoria L. Seewaldt, M.D., has joined City of Hope as the Ruth Ziegler Chair in Population Sciences. An expert in cancer prediction and prevention, Seewaldt will advance the institution’s efforts to ensure its research reflects and represents the diversity within City of Hope’s community.

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A diet high in processed fructose sabotages rat brains’ ability to heal after head trauma, UCLA neuroscientists report. Revealing a link between nutrition and brain health, the finding offers implications for the 5.3 million Americans living with a traumatic brain injury, or TBI.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the breakthrough drug Keytruda to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer, signaling a paradigm shift in the way the deadliest of all cancers is treated.

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LOS ANGELES (Oct. 1, 2015) – Investigators from Cedars-Sinai and the Durham Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center are teaming up to develop a better understanding of interstitial cystitis, a painful bladder disease that has few effective treatment options. A $3 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will support the research aimed at improving the diagnosis, treatment and management of the condition, particularly among veterans.

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A study by scientists at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has shown that tissue-engineered colon derived from human cells is able to develop the many specialized nerves required for function, mimicking the neuronal population found in native colon.

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In a study to be published on Oct.1 by the journal Pediatric Emergency Care, investigators at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles piloted a brief mental health screening tool to be used with patients accessing the emergency department for medical complaints who might be at risk for mental health problems.

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A new collaboration between UCLA and the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System will provide access to the latest therapeutic cancer clinical trials and state-of-the-art care for men and women who have served in the armed forces.

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A team of researchers from the Trauma Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles conclude that an admission hematocrit provides a reliable screening test for identifying pediatric patients who are at an increased risk of bleeding after injury.

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Investigators at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have found that a common therapeutic target for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may actually protect against intestinal inflammation by inhibiting pathogenic T-cells.

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The Margie and Robert E. Petersen Foundation has announced it will make a $2.5 million unrestricted gift to support The Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in its efforts to advance medical teaching techniques, increase infrastructure for groundbreaking research and use cutting-edge video technology to reach more patients in less time.

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The Judy and Bernard Briskin Family Foundation has announced a gift to launch the new Judy and Bernard Briskin Center for Multiple Myeloma Research at City of Hope, the third named center within City of Hope’s new Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute. The generous gift will enable the institution to further its already considerable accomplishments in the field of myeloma treatment and research.

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UCLA researchers have discovered a non-invasive method to measure vascular compliance, or how stiff an artery is, in the human brain, a finding that may have ramifications for preventing stroke and the early diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease.

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Researchers led by Bradley S. Peterson, MD, director of the Institute for the Developing Mind at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, have shown that lower levels of conflict-related brain activity are associated with a higher risk for later psychosis. The study, in conjunction with colleagues at Columbia University, is available via PubMed in advance of publication by the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

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New research to be presented at the HFES 2015 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles in October examines the importance of social cues when evaluating the role of trust in human-robot interaction.

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Dr. Gary Mathern, whose expertise in complicated seizure disorders is sought after by peers and families around the globe, has been named by UCLA as the inaugural holder of the Dr. Alfonsina Q. Davies Endowed Chair in Honor of Paul Crandall, M.D., for Epilepsy Research.

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Renowned research scientist Debbie C. Thurmond, Ph.D., has joined City of Hope as professor and founding chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology within the institution’s new Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute. Thurmond will lead City of Hope’s efforts to develop new diabetes treatments, focusing on potential therapies that can reverse or prevent the onset of the disease.

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Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has added four Xenex Germ-Zapping Robots to its team. Each uses UV-C light to disinfect rooms and destroy pathogens, including Clostridium difficile, norovirus and MRSA.

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Researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have received an $8.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct research to improve HIV care and prevention in a study focusing on Black, Latino and multiracial gay and bisexual young men – a group at the highest risk for contracting HIV.

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Alzheimer’s disease, long thought to be a single disease, really consists of three distinct subtypes, according to a UCLA study.

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Effort targets children of color, who tend to get diagnosed with autism -- and receive interventions -- later than white children.

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Women who are carriers of mutated BRCA genes are known to have a significantly higher risk for developing breast and ovarian cancers than those who don’t have the mutations. But a new study by UCLA faculty questions the value of screening for the genetic mutations in the general population—including those who do not have cancer or have no family history of the disease— because of the high cost.

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A multinational team of physicians and scientists from City of Hope, the San Francisco Bay area and Europe recently reported success of a phase II clinical trial of a novel drug against essential thrombocythemia (ET), one of three myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).

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A life-changing event for a Los Angeles family has resulted in their funding an endowment to support The Kort Family Foundation Brain and Spinal Cord Tumor Research Program in the Division of Neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

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UCLA scientists have developed a potentially promising new combination therapy for glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer.

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The UCLA Center for Prehospital Care and collaborators from the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agency and the Glendale and Santa Monica fire departments are launching two pilot programs designed to reduce hospital readmissions, address overcrowding in emergency rooms, lower healthcare costs and boost patient satisfaction and quality of life.

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The Sept. tip sheet from Cedars-Sinai includes story ideas about a horsewoman with young onset Parkinson's disease who is back in the saddle thanks to deep brain stimulation surgery, the potential of technology to improve patient care, a "wristwatch-type" device that helps doctors monitor Parkinson's disease patients, and more. To pursue any of these story ideas, please contact the individual listed for each.

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Cardiologists from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles successfully implanted a Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve in child actor Max Page, the boy who made headlines playing mini Darth Vader in a 2011 Super Bowl ad for Volkswagen. On Tuesday, Sept. 1, Max will have a procedure at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to replace his pacemaker pulse generator. It will be his second operation in 34 days.

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In 2006 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that most doctors should automatically screen all their patients, including older adults, for HIV even if they don't exhibit any symptoms. New research finds that despite this recommendation, testing among older adults has largely fallen over time.

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Sports medicine specialists from the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Children’s Orthopaedic Center administered baseline concussion tests to 98 athletes from the Los Angeles Kings High School Hockey League on Saturday, August 22 at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Valencia Outpatient Center.

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Specialists at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles compiled a list of rules to remember on how to keep children safe and healthy as they return to school.

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The NIH has awarded $5.7M for a multicenter study to evaluate the long-term outcomes of medical treatment for transgender youth. This study will provide evidence-based information on the impact, as well as safety, of hormone blockers and cross-sex hormone use in this population.

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Dr. Marcy’s focus is on the emotional aspects of the new school year — the stress it causes for kids and parents. She has a model called The Six Rs of Returning to School: Rest, Routine, Responsibility, Reassure, Resist and Role Modeling. She talks about how to help children with the sudden overwhelm of transitioning from summer fun and later nights to resuming long days in the classroom and doing nightly homework. She is also an expert on kids’ socialization issues, like bullying (how parents should manage if their kid is the victim or if their kid is the bully), dealing with new teachers, adjusting to a new school.

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The UCLA division of geriatrics has received a three-year, $2.5 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to enhance geriatric education, training and workforce development in Riverside County. The grant will fund a new partnership between UCLA, UC Riverside School of Medicine, Riverside County Regional Medical Center and the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services.

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The August tip sheet includes story ideas related to prostate and breast cancer research, an enhanced Cedars-Sinai footprint, and the establishment of the Dr. Jerry H. Buss Surgical Oncology Fellowship.

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Children and adolescents who receive integrated mental health and medical treatment are 66 percent more likely to have a good outcome than those who receive more traditional primary care.