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Cedars-Sinai palliative care physician Erin Reeve, MD, will host a virtual "open mic night" for healthcare professionals who have been working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic so they can share their stories and feelings in creative ways. The Zoom open mic, taking place on Saturday, Aug. 1, invites any healthcare professional to share a piece of writing, poetry, music or art that reflects on their role during the pandemic.

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If you are noticing red, irritated skin or small pimples under your face mask, you are far from alone. Allison Truong, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with Cedars-Sinai Medical Group, says she is now seeing many patients complaining of what's commonly being called "maskne," or mask-acne.

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People age 80 and older account for 19% of patients at Cedars-Sinai, a figure that is expected to increase in the coming years as the general U.S. population ages. The proportion of these patients who are low-income also is growing. Nurse scientists from the Nursing Research Department at Cedars-Sinai are now studying how best to address preventive health services among older patients like these while reducing the potential strain on long-term care, hospitals and the healthcare system.

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Cedars-Sinai announced a $25 million gift from Martha L. Karsh and Bruce A. Karsh, and the Karsh Family Foundation, to support the treatment of digestive and liver diseases and the advancement of innovative research. The current division of Digestive and Liver Diseases will be renamed the Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

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When Maurice Turner, MD, was a young boy, his grandmother would tuck him and his two older brothers into bed. Then she'd whisper into their ears, "I want you to become a doctor." Turner fulfilled his grandmother's dream a month ago, receiving his medical degree. Today he is one of the 80 first-year residents at Cedars-Sinai and facing vastly greater challenges than previous classes of residents. Downloadable video is available.

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Most patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (coronavirus) pneumonia experienced improvement after receiving a Food and Drug Administration-approved drug normally given for rheumatoid arthritis, according to an observational study at Cedars-Sinai. Outcomes for patients who received the drug, tocilizumab, included reduced inflammation, oxygen requirements, blood pressure support and risk of death, compared with published reports of illness and death associated with severely ill COVID-19 patients.

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While many expecting and new mothers experience emotions of joy and happiness, others suffer from a range of mental health conditions like depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. But a new Cedars-Sinai program is dedicated to helping women fight the stigma often associated with maternal-related mental health disorders before, during and after pregnancy.

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A new study sheds light on proteins in particles called extracellular vesicles, which are released by tumor cells into the bloodstream and promote the spread of cancer. The findings suggest how a blood test involving these vesicles might be used to diagnose cancer in the future, avoiding the need for invasive surgical biopsies.

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Shortly after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, more than 450 older adults learned their weekly exercise classes offered through the Cedars-Sinai Geriatrics Program were on hold. But under the quick-thinking direction of geriatrician Allison Moser Mays, MD, the program pivoted, creating a way for seniors to access live classes over Zoom from the comfort of their homes. The online format has proved especially popular.

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How does a religious congregation, which by definition brings groups of people close together in prayer and communion, navigate this tricky pandemic? Cedars-Sinai chaplains have some of the answers. With expertise as healthcare insiders, they have used their knowledge and experience from their hospital roles to help guide faith communities during this uncharted and unpredictable time.

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A new study shows that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus), can infect heart cells in a lab dish, indicating it may be possible for heart cells in COVID-19 patients to be directly infected by the virus. The discovery, published today in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, was made using heart muscle cells that were produced by stem cell technology.

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For many patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19, surviving the virus is only half of the battle. Once deemed virus-free and ready to be sent home, the often-long road to recovery – including rebuilding lung capacity and overall respiratory health – begins. Two Cedars-Sinai respiratory therapists explain what roadblocks these hospital-admitted patients face when it comes to lung health and offer tips for non-patients looking to improve their overall respiratory health.

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Alzheimer's disease in its early stages affects the integrity of small blood vessels in the retinas of patients, according to a recent study led by Cedars-Sinai. This discovery holds promise for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's through the retina, a back-of-the-eye organ that is an extension of the brain and easily accessible for live, noninvasive imaging.

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Nationally recognized rheumatology expert Francesco Boin, MD, has been appointed director of the division of Rheumatology and director of the new Scleroderma Program at Cedars-Sinai. Boin is an accomplished and widely published investigator of autoimmune diseases, with a reputation for clinical excellence and a multidisciplinary approach to patient care.

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As Cedars-Sinai expands telehealth and video visits and resumes surgeries, Joanna Chikwe, MD, chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at the Smidt Heart Institute, has her focus on one thing: ensuring that patients with heart disease understand it is safe to be seen, and treated, by Cedars-Sinai healthcare teams.

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Gender dysphoria manifests early in childhood and can persist for years before patients undergo counseling and treatment, a Cedars-Sinai study has found. The findings also reveal that untreated gender dysphoria can result in poor quality of life for transgender people, beginning in childhood and lasting throughout adolescence and adulthood.

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How can epidemics spread so quickly among entire populations? The Newsroom asked an expert, Cedars-Sinai research scientist Dalin Li, PhD, to explain the math behind the spread of COVID-19. Li was the first author of a recent study that showed how just a few infected individuals who came to the U.S could have generated more than 9,000 COVID-19 (coronavirus) cases.

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A study conducted by investigators at Cedars-Sinai suggests that universal testing of asymptomatic pregnant women in labor may not be necessary at every hospital. The investigation was prompted by reports from several large hospitals in New York City that nearly 14% of asymptomatic women admitted for childbirth had tested positive for COVID-19 during the early weeks of the pandemic. The women did not know they were infected.

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As COVID-19 causes staggering unemployment across the Los Angeles region, St. John's Well Child & Family Center is getting a vital reprieve. The South Los Angeles nonprofit will receive a $150,000 grant from Cedars-Sinai to retrain members of its staff who would have been furloughed - and to enlist them in the campaign against the novel coronavirus.

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An international expert on pediatric infectious diseases, is concerned that people will attribute to Kawasaki disease the mysterious syndrome that was first reported in Europe and seen most recently in New York City children with COVID-19. However, the more likely explanation of this new entity is toxic shock syndrome, says Moshe Arditi, MD.

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With the pandemic disrupting our everyday lives, routine errands have become challenging for seniors and others who run a high-risk of developing a serious COVID-19 infection. But there's one routine they should not let lapse: refilling medications.

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Four of six critically ill COVID-19 (coronavirus) patients significantly improved after receiving an experimental therapeutic designed to reduce inflammation, a major cause of death from this disease, according to a case series published by Cedars-Sinai and Capricor Therapeutics. The four patients got well enough to be discharged from the hospital.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, most people aren't hesitating to call their physicians when they experience coronavirus symptoms, but cancer symptoms are not creating the same sense of urgency for medical help. Cedars-Sinai experts encourage anyone who suspects they might have cancer to get in touch with their physician, as the use of telemedicine or other physical-distancing tools will allow them to get medical help immediately.

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When Marlon Bustamante, RN, meets a COVID-19 patient in Cedars-Sinai's Emergency Department, he doesn't know how long their illness will last or what path it may take. In this downloadable video diary, he and ICU Nurse, Melissa Rue, RN, share their perspectives on what it's like being on the front lines and powering through the COVID-19 pandemic.

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As some governors are moving to ease COVID-19 restrictions, the virus is causing patients, medical professionals and community members to face unprecedented ethical dilemmas in their day-to-day lives and careers. "As social animals who live in community, this pandemic has made us unable to ignore the issue, and significance of, social obligation," says Stuart Finder, PhD, MA, director of the Center for Healthcare Ethics at Cedars-Sinai.

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Doctors who treat stroke and heart attack patients are trying to find out why they have been seeing fewer patients with these life-threatening emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Is COVID-19 somehow preventing emergencies from happening? Or, are people ignoring symptoms and staying home instead of seeking the medical care they need?

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As the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. surpasses 800,000, many Americans want to know if recovered patients have immunity to the novel coronavirus. The answer could come from an antibody test. While these tests are commonly used to tell if someone is immune to diseases such as measles or chickenpox, they're not yet widely available for COVID-19. But it's not clear what the results would mean.

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Sam Torbati, MD, has a message for anyone experiencing symptoms of heart disease in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic:"Either call your doctor or come to the Emergency Department. Don't take chances with heart disease." Torbati is worried that patients might fear getting medical treatment would expose them to COVID-19.

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Why isn't COVID-19 as hard on children as it is on adults? In sharp contrast to most other viruses, the novel coronavirus doesn't seem to have the same devastating effect on children that it does on adults. In fact, just the opposite is true, says Pediatric Infectious Disease specialist, Priya Soni, MD. "There is no other respiratory virus that we know, that affects adults so much more severely than infants."

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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.