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Is the future of personalized medicine out of this world? Cedars-Sinai is trying to find out by launching special stem cells into space to see if they multiply better there. The Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute is partnering with Space Tango of Lexington, Kentucky, to send induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to the International Space Station. The first flight for the project, funded by a $1.5 million award from NASA, could occur as early as next year.

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In a small group of patients hospitalized with severe complications of COVID-19 and treated with the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir, clinical improvement was observed in 68% of patients treated, according to an analysis co-authored by Jonathan Grein, MD, director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai.

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Cancer patients and survivors had a lot to deal with before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Now, the stress of coping with a chronic condition and the threat of catching the infectious respiratory illness is creating additional anxiety for patients handling both. Psychiatrist Scott Irwin, MD, PhD, addresses the top mental health concerns of cancer patients and survivors and offers advice about how to handle them.

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Cedars-Sinai has joined an international effort to test an experimental antiviral drug as a potential treatment for COVID-19 (coronavirus). The institution expects to enroll its first clinical trial participant this week.

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With COVID-19 spreading across the Los Angeles region, Cedars-Sinai is contributing more than $2 million to programs that provide housing, food assistance and access to healthcare for those in need. The immediate funding infusion comes on top of the $15 million Cedars-Sinai committed last year to support safety-net organizations and the communities they serve.

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With global temperatures on the rise, medical investigators are taking a deeper look at the potential link between climate change and the rise of congenital heart disease-the most common birth defect, affecting some 40,000 children born every year in the U.S.

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By March 1, more than 9000 people in the U.S. may have already been infected by COVID-19 (coronavirus), far more than the number that had been publicly reported, according to a new Cedars-Sinai study.

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Leading up to Earth Day on April 22, Cedars-Sinai is posting a weekly story and video that investigates the various ways climate change is impacting our bodies. This week's topic: The Lungs and Climate Change.

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Changing global temperatures could mean lost productivity for workers around the globe, according to Nancy Sicotte, MD, chair of the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai.

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Physicians at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai are heading into the next frontier in heart medicine: Wearables. Also called digital therapeutics, wearable devices--like high tech watches and pendants--can track the heart beats and overall cardiac health of patients with conditions such as congestive heart failure.

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Seeking to improve patient's experiences in the hospital, Cedars-Sinai has introduced a new feedback tool that will allow patients to comment on their hospital stays in real time rather than waiting to complete surveys after going home. Under a program that began in January, patients can evaluate their experiences through a platform designed in conjunction with Feedtrail, a healthcare technology company.

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Five-year-old Aysha Al Saloom was sound asleep in her bed when a barrel bomb exploded outside her home in northern Syria. The blast left her severely burned and disfigured, turning her hands into stiff, painful balls of flesh. She couldn't even hold a crayon or feed herself. After 20 surgeries, her hands have been rebuilt and she's back to writing, drawing and dancing. Downloadable video available.

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has earned a five-star hospital rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the third year in a row -- the highest distinction offered by the federal agency.

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New research from the Center for Cardiac Arrest Prevention at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai shows that rates of sudden cardiac arrest are rising following decades of a downward trend. While this disturbing uptick was observed in both sexes, in women the increase was mostly among those whose sudden cardiac arrest was the first manifestation of heart disease. In men, the increase was mostly among those with known heart disease.

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Susan Nicholson is known simply as "the heart lady," and not just on Valentine's Day. Since 2013 she has been making and delivering about 50 hand-crocheted hearts each week to people who need a little "lift" -- especially heart transplant patients. Over the past 7 years, she has crocheted and gifted an estimated 18,000+ hearts.

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Patients with thyroid eye disease who used the minimally invasive insulin-like growth factor I blocking antibody, teprotumumab, experienced improvement in their symptoms, appearance and quality of life, according to a study recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

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A diagnosis of pancreatic or colon cancer often sparks dread about the disease's likely next destination: the liver. That's because liver metastasis is a leading cause of death in these patients. A Cedars-Sinai scientific team has been awarded a $9.1 million grant by the National Cancer Institute to study this often-fatal process, with the goal of understanding how cancer spreads to the liver and finding ways to block it.

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Two years ago, Dr. Paul Strauss began living a double life -- working both as a reserve police officer at LAPD's Southwest station and as an anesthesiologist at Cedars-Sinai. Recently, those two careers converged to save the life of a military veteran who was threatening to kill herself.

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A new study from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai and other centers nationwide shows that patients who underwent a minimally invasive transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR), had similar key 5-year clinical outcomes of death and stroke as patients who had traditional open-heart surgery to replace the valve. The study appears on the New England Journal of Medicine site.

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People who develop Parkinson's disease before age 50 may have been born with disordered brain cells that went undetected for decades, according to EMBARGOED Cedars-Sinai research that will publish Jan. 27 in the journal Nature Medicine. The research points to a drug that potentially might help correct these disease processes.

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Has the newly revealed baseball cheating scandal – especially the signal-stealing scheme by the Houston Astros – got you down? Cedars-Sinai ethics and Jewish law experts agree that cheating in the national pastime can be jolting, and offer tips on keeping things in perspective while acknowledging that the revelations have been painful.

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Many medical experts have long believed that women simply 'catch up' to men in terms of their cardiovascular risk, but new research shows for the first time that women's blood vessels age at a faster rate than men's. The findings could help to explain why women tend to develop different types of cardiovascular disease and with different timing than men.

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Prominent lung cancer expert Karen L. Reckamp, MD, MS, has been selected to be director of the Division of Medical Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer. Reckamp also will serve as medical oncology director of the Women's Guild Lung Institute in Cedars-Sinai's Department of Medicine and associate director for Clinical Research at Cedars-Sinai Cancer.

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Christine Albert, MD, MPH, chair of the Department of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute, was recently named President-elect of the Heart Rhythm Society. She is just one of a slew of women cardiologists who are serving as current or incoming presidents of top heart organizations.

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A new study reveals how memory and abnormal brain activity are linked in patients with epilepsy who often report problems with memory. The data show that abnormal electrical pulses from specific brain cells in these patients are associated with a temporary kind of memory disruption called transient cognitive impairment.

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Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a digestive disorder that causes hearburn and other uncomfortable symptoms, may affect nearly a third of U.S. adults each week, and most of those who take certain popular medications for it still have symptoms, according to a new Cedars-Sinai study.

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Cedars-Sinai today announced a $20 million gift from Dr. and Mrs. Min H. Kao and the Kao Family Foundation to create the Kao Autoimmunity Institute to advance research and treatment of rheumatologic diseases. The gift also will establish the Scleroderma Program within the institute to provide interdisciplinary and integrated care for scleroderma patients and to support research, outreach, training and education to help those with the disease.

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A liver condition long associated with Type 2 diabetes might actually cause the disease, and testing for it could provide an early warning for at-risk individuals, according to a Cedars-Sinai study. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, a condition that affects more than 30 million Americans.

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Sitting down to a holiday season meal with friends and family can be fun, but it can also be a recipe for disaster if it serves up political opinions, invasive questions and family gossip. This time of year can be stressful, and the recent impeachment hearings and divisive political climate only add to the potential tension, say mental health professionals. Chaplains and mental health counselors at Cedars-Sinai offer tips on navigating holiday dinners and get-togethers.

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The Ray Charles Foundation has made an investment in the future, donatng $1 million to fund a new neurosurgery scholarship program at Cedars-Sinai. Under the direction of Dr. Keith Black, scholarship recipients will receive personalized, mentored research training from neurosciences faculty members while conducting their own research projects.

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While most of us are enjoying the traditional turkey and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day, employees at Cedars-Sinai will be hand-feeding stem cells their special daily formula, carefully monitoring the incubator temperatures and caring for the cells that may become part of important research that could one day lead to treatments for diseases that have plagued humans for years.

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As the American Cancer Society prepares to help smokers kick the habit during tomorrow's Great American Smokeout, Cedars-Sinai is offering tips for quitting smoking, whether you are hooked on tobacco or vaping.

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The holidays are supposed to be a time for celebration and togetherness, but they can be tough on older adults who run a high risk of being socially isolated. Social isolation can be easily overlooked as a health concern even though it can have the same negative impact on an older adult's health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Cedars-Sinai geriatricians Sonja Rosen, MD, and Allison Mays, MD, MAS, offer tips on combatting loneliness.

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Barbra Streisand has again teamed up with Noel Bairey Merz, MD -- this time for a JAMA Clinical Reviews podcast about women and heart disease.

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DISMISSED WOMEN: For eight months, Maria's doctors dismissed her pain, bloating, vomiting, hair loss and fatigue as the result of her "getting fatter," and told her she needed to lose weight. Eventually a primary care physician in her home town sent her to the Cedars-Sinai Emergency Department where diagnostic imaging revealed a 25-pound cancerous, ovarian tumor. Maria credits Cedars-Sinai staff with saving her life because "they listened to me."

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A new study from researchers at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai shows that electronic nicotine delivery systems, including devices such as e-cigarettes, may be just as harmful to the heart, if not more, than traditional cigarettes. Downloadable video is available.

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Tips for this month include: • More heart valve patients now are able to choose minimally invasive procedures instead of open heart surgery. • Our experts tell how to protect your lungs during wildfire season. • Cedars-Sinai scored a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign's Healthcare Equality Index. • 3D mammograms are becoming more popular and could save more lives. • Men's Health experts available to discuss "Movember" topics. • Flu experts also available

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Wildfires continue to burn throughout Southern California, forcing many people to evacuate their homes and workplaces. Even if you don't live in an evacuation zone, smoke from the fires can pose a serious health risk.

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Since August, when the FDA approved a minimally invasive heart valve procedure for an expanded group of patients with aortic stenosis, many more patients are opting for the procedure known as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). With this latest approval, the procedure can now be performed on a wide spectrum of patients, from patients too sick to undergo open-heart surgery to those who would be considered low risk for open-heart surgery.

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As 3D mammography, also called digital breast tomosynthesis, has become more available nationwide, a big question many women face is whether they should step up and get one. Are they safe, more effective and for every woman?

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A scientific team led by Cedars-Sinai has been awarded $10 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to investigate the risk factors and behaviors that contribute to pancreatic diseases and develop potential treatments and lifestyle recommendations to prevent them.

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With Breast Cancer Awareness Month coming up, this timely story highlights a treatment option that kills cancer cells by freezing them -- thereby allowing many early-stage, low-risk breast cancer patients to avoid surgery. Jeanne Anderson is one such patient.

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More than one-fourth of seniors in the U.S. fall each year, and many risk breaking a brittle bone, according to the National Council on Aging, which today is marking Falls Prevention Awareness Day. Nurse practitioner Kathleen Breda leads the Geriatric Fracture Program at Cedars-Sinai and offers seniors practical tips that can help prevent broken bones.

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When James Inman, 59, first experienced chest pain one night, he tried to brush it off and go back to sleep. But the pain became unbearable and Inman felt like something was wrong, so he called 911. That decision saved his life. He was airlifted to Cedars-Sinai where he was diagnosed with an aortic dissection -- a medical emergency requiring immediate surgical intervention.

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More women than ever are being encouraged to undergo screening for BRCA gene mutations, based on newly announced U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations. The task force recommends that:

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Joanna Chikwe, MD, FRCS has been named Chair of the newly established Department of Cardiac Surgery in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai. Chikwe comes to Cedars-Sinai from the Mount Sinai Health System in New York, where she was a professor in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, and where she served as the founding Chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Mount Sinai St. Luke's. At Cedars-Sinai, she will hold responsibility for leading the strategic direction of clinical, research and academic programs within the department and affiliate cardiac surgery programs, as well as expanding her clinical practice in advanced heart valve repair and minimally invasive cardiac surgery.

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Cedars-Sinai has been named the coordinating center for a multicenter stroke research program that will be the first of its kind in the U.S. Dubbed the Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network (SPAN), the NIH-funded program will assess the effectiveness of six potential therapies for stroke. The researchers also are charged with investigating whether applying higher standards of rigor to preclinical research could produce results that are more likely to succeed in human clinical trials.

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Following an extensive national search, physician-scientist Christine M. Albert, MD, MPH, has been named founding Chair of the newly established Department of Cardiology in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai. Albert joins Cedars-Sinai from Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital where she directs the Center for Arrhythmia Prevention and is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is best known for making major contributions to understanding how diet and lifestyle affect heart rhythm disorders, including atrial fibrillation and sudden cardiac death.

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A new study published this week gives insight into how cancer immunotherapies might one day be delivered directly to the brain in order to treat brain tumors.

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center once again has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best hospitals in the nation. The medical center ranked No. 8 nationally in the magazine's "Best Hospitals 2019-20" analysis, matching its rank from last year among a select group of 20 Honor Roll hospitals. Cedars-Sinai also ranked No. 2 in Southern California and No. 3 in the state.