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Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and UTHealth’s Medical School will collaborate on the largest clinical trial of hypothermia (brain cooling) for stroke to date. The ICTuS 2 study (Intravascular Cooling for Acute Stroke) will be led by overall principal investigator Patrick D. Lyden, M.D., former director of the UC San Diego Stroke Center and currently chairman of the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai.

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A Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute cardiologist co-authored the joint science advisory issued by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology that calls for close monitoring of patients taking certain blood sugar-lowering drugs.

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Jon Kobashigawa, M.D., director of Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute’s Heart Transplant Program and an internationally-recognized leader in the care of patients with advanced heart failure, has been named the inaugural holder of the DSL/Thomas D. Gordon Endowed Chair in Heart Transplantation Medicine.

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About 120 students from four area schools will begin to discover if they have what it takes to become brain surgeons or neuroscientists through hands-on experience at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Friday, Feb. 26, 2010. Excellent Photo Opportunities.

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Clive Svendsen, Ph.D., director of the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute, is receiving the American Academy of Neurology Sheila Essey Award for his research on ALS (amyothrophic lateral sclerosis).

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Fat tissue in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome produces an inadequate amount of the hormone that regulates how fats and glucose are processed, promoting increased insulin resistance and inflammation, glucose intolerance, and greater risk of diabetes and heart disease, according to a study conducted at the Center for Androgen-Related Research and Discovery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

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The California Heart Center, the cardiology group that developed the nation’s largest heart transplant program, has joined the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and Cedars-Sinai Medical Care Foundation.

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Worth magazine has selected Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute as one of the United States’ top 25 hospitals for cardiac bypass surgery.

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Using laboratory mice that had been bred to have brain changes similar to Alzheimer’s disease, scientists were able to reduce two characteristic features of the disease by modifying the mice’s immune systems with a special peptide (MOG45D) related to the myelin sheath that insulates nerve cells and nerve fibers. As a result, anti-inflammatory cells were recruited from the blood into the brain, dampening the local inflammatory response.

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The Cedars-Sinai Center for Weight Loss has received re-accreditation as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence from the American College of Surgeons. This is a nationally–recognized acknowledgement of the high quality of care provided at Cedars-Sinai to patients who have bariatric surgery - such as lap-band, gastric sleeve or gastric bypass.

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The Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute is to provide stem cells to a five-member National Institutes of Health consortium of researchers for development of potential therapies to treat Huntington’s disease.

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Thanks to Los Angeles County’s new Emergency Stroke System, individuals who experience a stroke may now be able to more quickly access some of the latest advances in stroke interventions. The Emergency Medical Services Agency announced that ambulances will transport suspected stroke patients directly to Approved Stroke Centers in Los Angeles County. These are facilities that are specially stroke-prepared – medically and surgically – and have the mechanisms in place to quickly provide the right treatment.

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Marla C. Dubinsky, M.D., director of the Cedars-Sinai Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center and one of the world’s leading researchers studying the disease, has been named the Abe and Claire Levine Chair in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

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Relief from decades of low back pain gives Carole Riggs even more to celebrate during the holidays – Riggs, a retired teacher and school principal, points to her work during one Christmas vacation – bending, twisting and sitting on the floor to create games and teaching aids – as the primary culprit behind many years of back pain.

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New findings from the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study show women don’t exhibit signs that would make them eligible for current treatments to prevent fatal cardiac arrest.

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William Ganz, M.D., an internationally-recognized leader and inventor in heart medicine, died Tuesday night of natural causes. He was 90.

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C. Noel Bairey Merz, M.D., an internationally recognized authority on women’s heart health, will receive the American Heart Association’s 2009 Women in Cardiology Mentoring Award at the organization’s Scientific Sessions 2009, to be held in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center Nov. 14-Nov. 18.

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A team from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center will be meeting with leaders in medicine and health insurance and as well as patients during a visit to Guam this week. The aim of the trip is to continue to strengthen relationships with healthcare leaders and patients.

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A team of Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute stem cell researchers led by Eduardo Marbán, M.D., Ph.D. has been awarded a four-year, $5.5 million grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to fund research leading to clinical trials of new treatments for heart attack patients.

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The results from a current study, published in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, suggest that premature aging of the immune system appears to play a role in the development of ALS. The researchers found that thymic malfunction occurs simultaneously with motor neuron dysfunction, both in laboratory mice bred to mimic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and in humans suffering from the disease.

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A simple, non-invasive test appears to be an effective screening tool for identifying patients with silent heart disease who are at risk for a heart attack or sudden death. Coronary artery calcium scans can be done without triggering excessive additional testing and costs, according to the multi-center EISNER study, led by investigators at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.

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Panel to discuss how healthcare reform could affect cardiovascular medical advances; conference will also feature seminars on breakthrough non-surgical techniques for valve repair and replacements as well as stem cell and gene therapies and presentations from British and American doctors highlighting how their country’s medical insurance system affects patient treatment.

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Wildfires present special health hazards to humans and pets – especially children, the elderly, and those with chronic respiratory problems such as emphysema, asthma, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and others. Tipsheet available from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

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Neurosurgeon Keith L. Black, M.D., will receive a Pioneer in Medicine Award at the World Congress of the International Brain Mapping & Intraoperative Surgical Planning Society (IBMISPS).

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Dorys Balboa spent 11 years in pain after injuring her low back. Finally, decompression surgery performed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center last year brought immediate, complete relief.

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The Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Medical Genetics Institute and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine will be the first to offer genetic screenings for four common inherited disorders within the Persian Jewish population.

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Greg Traylor was just 46 years old when he suffered a debilitating stroke. Today, he's on a mission to raise stroke prevention awareness in the African-American community. According to the National Stroke Association, African-Americans are affected by stroke more often than any other group. They are twice as likely as Caucasians to die from stroke, and one half of all African-American women will die from stroke or heart disease.

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Symptomatic uterine fibroids can have a significant effect on a patient's quality of life. A non-surgical procedure known as uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) is becoming increasingly popular as more women are learning about it.

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Cancer stem-like cells have been implicated in the genesis of a variety of malignant cancers. Research scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have isolated stem-like cells in benign (pituitary) tumors and used these "mother" cells to generate new tumors in laboratory mice. Targeting the cells of origin is seen as a possible strategy in the fight against malignant and benign tumors.

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Patrick D. Lyden, M.D., a highly respected neurologist who has conducted extensive research into cerebrovascular disease and potential treatments for stroke, has been named chairman of the newly designated Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Prior to his appointment, Lyden served the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego as professor and vice chairman for Clinical Neurology, and served the UCSD Medical Center as clinical chief of Neurology and director of the Stroke Center.

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Group has once again been awarded Elite status, the highest possible designation for quality care recognized by the California Association of Physician Groups , a professional organization comprised of 150 of the state's leading managed care groups. This is the third consecutive year Cedars-Sinai Medical Group has achieved this status, ranking it among the top 20 physician organizations in the state in 2009. The group is also one of only three in the Los Angeles area to receive this designation, which reflects a score of all four stars in the survey.

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A specific biomarker, a protein released by dying tumor cells, has been identified as an effective tool in an animal model to gauge the response to a novel gene therapy treatment for glioblastoma multiforme. The finding, reported in the July 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, paves the way for a Phase 1 clinical trial expected to begin in late 2009.

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Doctors at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute announced today the completion of the first procedure in which a patient's own heart tissue was used to grow specialized heart stem cells that were then injected back into the patient's heart in an effort to repair and re-grow healthy muscle in a heart that had been injured by a heart attack.

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About one-third of first-degree relatives of patients with Bicuspid Aortic Valve, the most common congenital heart defect, have larger-than-normal aortas and should get a screening echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) to identify and prevent aortic ruptures, according to an article in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Kirsten Tolstrup, MD, the study's author, is available to provide details and explain the findings.

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Neurosurgeons, brain tumor researchers and other professionals affiliated with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Department of Neurosurgery will present a one-day conference, "Outsmarting Brain Tumors," on Saturday, June 13. Conference highlights include inspiring presentations by two brain tumor patients who will share personal perspectives on patient survival and resuming life after a brain tumor. In addition, the former Miss Black America of Los Angeles, Lydia Mouton, will open the conference by performing two musical numbers with her son, Jonathan Mouton. Ms. Mouton is also a brain tumor patient.

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Eddie Cleland, drummer for "Loose Chains," will join researchers, physicians, neurosurgeons and other brain tumor survivors June 13 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Cleland will be one of the featured speakers at a brain tumor conference on Saturday, June 13, at Cedars-Sinai's Harvey Morse Auditorium. He will speak on resuming life after a brain tumor.

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Laila Ali, Ryan Sheckler, and Dwayne Wade will be honored at the 24th annual Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Sports Spectacular on Sunday, June 7, 2009. The event brings together the greatest names in sports and entertainment to join their peers in helping children suffering from genetic birth defects.

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Clive N. Svendsen, joint leader of the widely-respected Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center at the University of Wisconsin, has been named director of the new Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute, effective Dec. 1, 2009.

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Gynecologic Oncology Division was named among the nation's top 10 programs by Contemporary OB/GYN, a leading publication read by the nation's obstetricians and gynecologists.

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Women who are at risk for heart disease and who are also experiencing menopause symptoms now have an added resource "“ a highly specialized clinic in the Division of Cardiology at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. The Advanced Preventive Women's Clinic at the Women's Heart Center recently opened and is offering comprehensive cardiac risk assessments designed specifically for women who are in menopause.

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Reflecting a growing national interest in the Pauletta and Denzel Washington Family Gifted Scholars in Neuroscience Awards program, and the high quality of applicants, three young neuroscientists will receive scholarships this year. The awards are given by the Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the recipients work during the summer months with world-renowned physicians, neurosurgeons and scientists.

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A new study, published in the May 11 Archives of Internal Medicine, shows that women with chest pain but without coronary artery disease are at an elevated risk for cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke.

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Howard M. Sandler, M.D., chair of radiation oncology at Cedars-Sinai's Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute (SOCCI), has been named the inaugural Ronald H. Bloom Family Chair Holder in Cancer Therapeutics.

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Ten years ago, neurosurgeons removing pituitary tumors typically used a large, bulky surgical microscope and entered through an incision under the lip, causing significant damage to nasal structures. In the accompanying news release, however, we highlight a patient from Riverside, CA, whose tumor was removed endoscopically.

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Healthcare Reform should start with "evidence-based reimbursement", structuring physician payment incentives around existing empirical evidence of clinical benefit, which would improve quality and reduce the cost of healthcare, says a commentary written by two cardiologists and published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

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Eduardo Marbán, M.D., Ph.D., the Director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, received today, April 20, 2009, the American Heart Association's Award of Meritorious Achievement at the AHA's annual Awards Luncheon in Washington, D.C.

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Ronald G. Victor, M.D., a cardiologist renowned for his expertise in hypertensive mechanisms, the contributing factors that lead to high blood pressure, has been named associate director for Clinical Research in the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, where he will also serve as director of the Cedars-Sinai Hypertension Center.

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center earned a spot on Nursing Professionals magazine's "Top 100 Hospitals to Work For 2009." The Nursing Professionals honor resulted from a survey sent to 25,000 randomly selected hospital nurses throughout the country measuring their job satisfaction.

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James S. Forrester, M.D., former chief of the Division of Cardiology at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, received the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Cardiology at the Annual Scientific Session in Orlando March 29.

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Contrary to conventional thinking, it's not just senior citizens who suffer strokes. One-third of the estimated 780,000 Americans who have strokes each year are under age 65. Even teens, children and infants can be susceptible. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center may be one of the few centers in the nation offering a special support group for younger survivors of strokes "“ the "brain attacks" that occur when an area of the brain is deprived of oxygen after an artery becomes blocked or ruptured.