Medical geneticist and scientist, Jerome I. Rotter, M.D., has received an $8.5 million grant to further his search for the genes that contribute to heart disease in Mexican-American, African American, and Chinese populations within the U.S.
Despite a healthy lifestyle and diet Bob Wohlers underwent a quintuple heart bypass at age 38. When the usual treatment options failed — exercise, diet, medication and even surgery — Wohlers began undergoing a relatively new procedure known as LDL Apheresis — a twice-monthly blood-filtering process that has lowered his LDL levels from more than 400 to about 40.
Several cell-level mechanisms appear to prevent the immune system from launching and sustaining an effective attack against gliomas, aggressive and deadly brain tumors that are now considered incurable.
This month's medical tipsheet from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center includes tips on: 1) LDL Peptide Vaccine for Atherosclerosis 2) New Center for Androgen-Related Disorders 3) Kids & Chemical Weapons 4) New Treatment Options for Endometriosis 5) Type 2 Diabetes in Children
Children are more vulnerable than adults in the event of a chemical spill or chemical weapons attack, says Lloyd Brown, M.D., Associate Director of the Pediatrics Residency Training Program at Cedars-Sinai, and Medical Director of the hospital's C.O.A.C.H. for Kids Program.
Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis. Measles, mumps, rubella. Atherosclerosis? Cedars-Sinai cardiologists and their colleagues in Sweden are leading a quest for a vaccine that one day could become part of routine childhood immunization programs.
In an ongoing effort to continuously improve outcomes for living donor liver transplants, physicians at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles have completed a two-year prospective analysis of this type of transplant and are recommending that all hospitals performing such procedures conduct pre-transplant biopsies of the donor to identify liver complications that cannot be detected otherwise. According to the analysis, these biopsies can identify ahead of time liver complications, thereby reducing risks to living donors as well as recipients.
Although commonly referred to as "male" hormones, androgens also circulate in the bloodstreams of women. If they rise or fall out of balance, bothersome symptoms and serious complications can occur. The first-of-its-kind Center for Androgen-Related Disorders, located at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, offers specialized testing and treatment for androgen excess and insufficiency, as well as their underlying disorders.
Because it is performed above the nerve endings or "pain fibers," an outpatient "stapling" procedure provides nearly immediate relief when hemorrhoids require surgical removal.
Summer is approaching fast, but for people with diabetes, this can be a particularly dangerous time of year for the feet. From playing sports on the beach and swimming, to walking in sandals or open toed shoes all put patients with diabetes at risk for foot injuries that could lead to more serious diabetic complications, even amputation.
Keith L. Black, M.D., neurosurgeon and brain cancer researcher, will speak at TEDMED3, a conference featuring innovators in several fields related to technology, information and medicine that will be held June 11 through 14 at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
According to two pediatricians at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, summer brings with it a special set of hazards — and increased injuries — to children. Injuries of all types — including drowning, sunburn, food poisoning, insect bites and stings, barbecue burns, skateboarding, bicycling, rollerblading and even fireworks injuries — all increase during the summertime. Following are tips for protecting kids this summer.
Since the incidence of foodborne illness is most prevalent between May and September, before you fire up the backyard barbecue, there are a few very important precautions you should take to prevent foodborne illness from ruining your outdoor eating activities. Marlene Clark, registered dietitian at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, offers 7 easy tips for preventing foodborne illness when cooking or eating outside this summer.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center report that a molecular test was used to identify a panel of genes that correlated with tumor response to gefitinib or Iressa™, a drug developed by AstraZeneca and recently approved by the FDA, that shrinks tumors in 10-12 percent of patients with advanced lung cancer.
An early clinical trial at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has shown that an experimental drug called 2C4 (trade name is Omnitarg) was effective to shrink tumors in patients with several different types of cancer.
A Henderson, NV, man who had a grapefruit-size pituitary tumor removed 10 years ago has a full life and a newly adopted baby boy. On June 7, he will attend a one-day conference for brain tumor patients, their families and caregivers ˆ a conference presented by Cedars-Sinai"šs Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and the neurosurgeon who removed the tumor.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Imaging Department is one of the first centers nationwide to begin using the world's fastest CT scanner. The imaging technology provides faster, clearer pictures of the heart and vascular system, enabling physicians to see and detect heart disease sooner - before it becomes fatal.
Results of a government-sponsored, long-term, 17-center study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of lung volume reduction surgery in the treatment of advanced emphysema have been published.
Roberta J. Zito will celebrate this Mother's Day watching her son, Barry Zito, pitch against the New York Yankees. Barry, 24, is a major league pitcher for the Oakland Athletics and winner of the 2002 American League Cy Young Award. But for him, the real story this Mother's Day isn't about baseball awards or even wins and losses. It's about his mom, whose attendance at the game is a miracle in itself.
More than five million girls and women in North America suffer every month with blinding, excruciating and debilitating pain that robs them of the joy of every day living. They are suffering with endometriosis.
The Food and Drug Administration announced approval today for Iressa, a new drug that shrinks tumors in about 10 percent of patients whose lung cancer has progressed despite two prior rounds of standard chemotherapy.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have found that improved survival among patients with hereditary BRCA-associated ovarian cancer may result from a greater sensitivity and response to treatment with chemotherapy.
With intensive and constant in-hospital fetal monitoring of monoamniotic twins, delivery can be delayed to beyond 34 weeks, and the live discharge rate can approach that of other twin pregnancies. This is significant because, historically, twins who shared a common amniotic sac had only about a 50 percent chance of both twins surviving.
It was bad enough when Shelley Fabares fell through the floor joists of her under-construction home back in 1994. In that fall, the actor, who is best-known for her starring role as Christine Armstrong in the sitcom, "Coach," broke all the ribs on the left side of her body, but she had no way of knowing that she was facing other, far more serious health issues. She needed a liver transplant.
A year after she was diagnosed with a very aggressive type of malignant brain tumor that had left her partially paralyzed and unable to walk, 39-year-old Ana Zelada, originally from San Salvador and now a resident of North Hollywood, feels great, is very active, and says she could even dance if she wanted to. Her tumor was removed in a five-hour procedure by a team of highly specialized neurosurgeons at the Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute in Los Angeles.
Last month, Vincent Rankin, then age 37, bought his casket and began planning his own funeral. The former television news assignment editor had virtually given up on receiving the heart transplant that would save his life.
A pediatric endocrinologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is available for interviews on this topic. "Childhood obesity is the primary cause of a dramatic increase in type 2 diabetes in America's kids today," says Dr. Geller.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have found that some strokes originating from blood clots due to abnormal heart rhythm occurred because patients were told to stop taking a common anti-clotting drug prior to undergoing an invasive surgical procedure.
Describing new technologies, new approaches to treatment, and new discoveries in the genesis and diagnosis of heart disease, researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center will make numerous presentations at the annual scientific session of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago, Mar. 30 to April 2.
As cases of Severe Acute Respiratory (SARS) continue to increase and Canada has reported its first cases of suspected SARS in children, questions swirl about how this disease is spread and how it affects its victims.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have conducted the first study to compare how well a non-invasive imaging procedure performed with a medication-induced stress test identified women and men at high risk of death from heart disease.
P.K. Shah, M.D., director of the division of cardiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, will receive two awards while he is in Chicago to attend the annual scientific session of the American College of Cardiology. In addition, H.J.C. Swan, M.D., chairman emeritus of cardiology at Cedars-Sinai, who steered the program in earlier years of growth and organization, will receive the ACC's "Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award."
Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz and Dr. Steven S. Khan are available to provide additional perspective on HRT and quality-of-life issues.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's cardiothoracic surgery department is one of 10 centers nationwide participating in a study of an experimental, implantable ventricular assist device that may provide improved mobility and quality of life for patients with heart failure whose hearts need temporary support.
The March medical tipsheet from Cedars-Sinai includes story ideas on HIPAA, radiation and immunotherapy in treating brain tumors, medical errors, and more.
Scientists in the newly formed Minimally Invasive Surgical Technology Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are working to develop a new generation of advanced surgical tools and procedures.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute are working to develop a non-surgical approach to brain cancer that combines radiation with the injection of specially cultured bone marrow cells into the tumor. The combination sets in motion a local and systemic immune response to kill surviving tumor cells.
A corrected copy of this story will be available in a few days.
1) A minimally invasive procedure to repair heart defects known as PFOs; 2) The artificial disc; 3) A study showing that low estrogen may be linked to increased risk of heart disease in young women; 4) Los Angele's only full-digitized integrated radiology center.
A new study has found that premenopausal women with low blood estrogen levels have a significantly greater prevalence of coronary artery disease.
When a previously healthy 29-year-old man came to Cedars-Sinai's emergency department in a state of mental confusion, physicians found a defect in his heart. The hole, called a patent foramen ovale, apparently allowed a blood clot to pass through to his brain, causing stroke-like symptoms.
Although spinal fusion offers relief from pain caused by damaged discs, it reduces movement and may lead to long-term problems in adjacent discs. An artificial disc that may be a viable alternative -- especially for younger, active patients -- is entering Phase II trials in the United States.
This month's medical tip sheet from Cedars-Sinai features research findings pertaining to neural stem cells that carry cancer-fighting protein to track and destroy brain tumors, a clinical trial to explore treatment to improve sexual desire, a mother's determination to find treatment for her son's brain tumor and more.
In an effort to address patient concerns regarding healthcare billing, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is one of a growing number of hospitals scrapping antiquated and confusing patient statements for a friendlier, patient-focused billing and collection process.
A new study suggests that neither the use of statins nor low blood cholesterol levels significantly affected reproductive hormone levels in pre-, peri, or postmenopausal women. Reproductive hormones are derivatives of cholesterol, which led researchers to wonder if statins, drugs that reduce blood cholesterol, might also decrease reproductive hormones. Fewer than 20 percent of clinical trial participants have been women, and previous studies did not include premenopausal women.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have generated for the first time neural progenitor cells from whole adult bone marrow.
Three weeks before his 7th birthday, Jonathan Duncan was diagnosed with a tumor in his brain. It was the size of a lemon. At that time his mother, Tosha Noriega, had no idea what her son's condition implied or how the ordeal would eventually lead her to help other Latinos with seriously ill children. . .
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute in Los Angeles have combined a special protein (TRAIL) that targets cancer cells with neural stem cells (NSC) to track and attack malignant brain tumor cells. With its tumor-tracking capabilities and natural cancer-killing properties, the experimental NSC-TRAIL combination may offer new hope for treating gliomas a particularly deadly type of brain tumor.
With the Holiday celebrations to attend and family gatherings to prepare for, the winter season can be a busy and joyful time of year. But for many, changes in light and temperature combined with the stresses of holiday events and heightened expectations can increase anxiety and cause depression.
For millions of women, a lack of sexual desire is often an unfortunate consequence of menopause, and can impact a woman's relationship with her partner. Now, new clinical trials at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center may provide hope for many women in the Los Angeles area.
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