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.
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.
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.
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.
People over 80 years of age suffering from a certain type of heart failure do not appear to benefit from most commonly prescribed heart medications, according to a study conducted at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and published in the March 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.
Singer, actor, musician and philanthropist Pauletta Washington thought she had too many other responsibilities in 1998 to join a new group supporting brain tumor research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "The Brain Trust" was being formed to raise funds and awareness for the work of neurosurgeon Keith Black, M.D., but Washington, wife of actor Denzel Washington, passed up several opportunities to find out what the group and the research were all about.
Female cardiovascular patients who are depressed amass up to 53 percent higher costs in cardiovascular health care over five years, according to an article in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. C. Noel Bairey Merz, M.D., who led the study and is a nationally recognized expert in women's heart disease, is available to provide details on the relationship between depression and cardiovascular costs.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Stroke Program received the "Get With The Guidelines" Gold Performance Achievement Award from the American Stroke Association Feb. 19 at the International Stroke Conference.
In animal studies, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Yale University have identified molecular interactions that govern the immune system's ability to defend the brain against West Nile virus, offering the possibility that drug therapies could be developed to improve success in treating West Nile and other viral forms of encephalitis, a brain inflammation illness that strikes healthy adults and the elderly and immunocompromised.
Researchers conducting a large, ongoing study to improve detection and prevention of sudden cardiac death were surprised to discover that a specific heart rhythm abnormality "“ idiopathic QT interval prolongation "“ increased risk five-fold among patients with coronary artery disease.
An evaluation of 203 women as part of the multifaceted Los Angeles Atherosclerosis Study (LAAS) found that those who transitioned more quickly through menopause were at increased risk for a higher rate of progression of "preclinical atherosclerosis" "“ narrowing of arteries caused by the thickening of their walls.
Oral contraceptives have been used by about 80 percent of women in the United States at some point in their lives. For women without pre-existing risks for heart disease, the early formulations were generally safe, and the newer ones appear to be even safer, but all the risks and benefits are yet to be established, according to specialists in women's heart disease at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Scientists seeking to harness the power of the immune system to eradicate brain tumors face two major hurdles: recruiting key immune cells called dendritic cells into areas of the brain where they are not naturally found and helping them recognize tumor cells as targets for attack. Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, however, have identified a sequence of molecular events that accomplish both objectives. Their findings, based on laboratory and animal studies, appear in the Jan. 13 issue of PLoS Medicine.
C. Noel Bairey Merz, M.D., a nationally recognized authority on preventive cardiology and women's heart health, has taken the top honor in the first Dr. Carolyn McCue Woman Cardiologist of the Year Award program, presented by the Virginia Commonwealth University Pauley Heart Center. Bairey Merz is director of the Women's Heart Center as well as the Preventive and Rehabilitative Cardiac Center at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. In addition, she holds the Women's Guild Endowed Chair in Women's Health and is a professor of medicine at Cedars-Sinai.
1) A powerful group of 6 African American women who have so far raised nearly $11 million for brain tumor research led by Dr. Keith L. Black, Chairman of the Neurosurgery Department at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; 2) This past May, three young neuroscientists received the “Pauletta and Denzel Washington Family Gifted Scholars in Neurosciences Awards.” 3) Dr. Keith Black is among a small and elite group of neurosurgeons in the world who perform hundreds of brain tumor operations each year.
Cedars-Sinai's Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute has opened its newly expanded and remodeled 73,000-square-foot Outpatient Cancer Center, marking a new era of care and treatment for cancer patients and their families. The redesigned treatment and waiting areas "“ which include back-lit panels that subtly replicate the natural changes in daylight, 13 private infusion bays, and nature-inspired artwork "“ were designed to provide a sense of comfort and healing for the more than 9,000 patients who receive treatment at the Outpatient Cancer Center annually.
Many of the greatest medical discoveries are made in laboratories by scientists who never get the chance to meet the patients whose lives they are working to save. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is changing that dynamic with its first Ph.D. program "“ the Cedars-Sinai Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences and Translational Medicine.
The 2008 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Alumni of the Year are Howard N. Allen, M.D., and Yzhar Charuzi, M.D. The two noted cardiologists were highlighted earlier this month as the Cedars-Sinai Alumni Association celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Renowned radiation oncologist Howard Sandler, M.D., has been named chair of Radiation Oncology at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Terrence Town, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, has been named holder of the Ben Winters Endowed Chair in Regenerative Medicine.
The holiday season may bring visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads, but trouble can ensue when pies, cakes, cookies and other fatty holiday treats start dancing on our plates. With careful planning and smart choices, you can have your fill of holiday cheer without filling your plate with calorie-rich foods, said Netty Levine, RD, CDE, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
After two other transplant centers turned her down, Simi Valley resident Laurel C. Labash became the first patient to benefit from the new Heart Transplant Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The date was Dec. 22, 1988, and on Dec. 10, 2008 Labash, now 82, will be among a host of transplant recipients returning to Cedars-Sinai as the hospital celebrates the 20th anniversary of its Heart and Lung Transplant programs.
With so many families struggling with economic uncertainty this year, the seasonal blues can be threatening. Many have coped with the loss of a job or financial instability in the past year, and that monetary strain is bound to affect gift- buying, party-hosting and other holiday activities. Focusing on the meaning of the holidays can help ward off depression and anxiety brought on by the season's fiscal demands.
Researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are presenting recent findings during the 38th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Neuroscience 2008 is being held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., Nov. 15 through 19, and is expected to draw more than 30,000 attendees from around the world.
Sumeet S. Chugh, M.D., an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm abnormalities who is leading groundbreaking research on sudden cardiac arrest, has been named associate director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, where he will also serve as director of Clinical Electrophysiology.
Cedars-Sinai researchers will participate in 42 presentations at American Heart Association meetings on topics ranging from a mutant gene that protects against atherosclerosis to new cardiac stem cell research and findings related to menopause and heart disease in women.
An international study showed testosterone, when used with no other hormone therapy, is an effective treatment for low libido in postmenopausal women. More than 800 women from 65 centers in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Sweden participated in the study, the first to show that testosterone administered by a skin patch can boost sex drive in postmenopausal women.
Patients who cannot make it to the polls to vote in the historic presidential election Nov. 4 will have the polls brought to them, courtesy of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center volunteers . More than 25 volunteers will visit hundreds of patient care rooms to ensure any voter currently at Cedars-Sinai has an opportunity to cast a ballot.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute who first isolated cancer stem cells in adult brain tumors in 2004 have now identified a molecular mechanism that is involved in the development of these cells from which malignant brain tumors may originate. This could offer a target for scientists seeking treatments that would kill malignant brain tumors at their source and prevent them from recurring.
Six months ago, Alice County was dying from congestive heart failure. Her weak heart was barely pumping blood, she was listless, had no appetite and had dropped 50 pounds in less than a year, and was so short of breath that she slept sitting up. Doctors were afraid that she wouldn't live until a donor heart could be found, and even if she did, they feared she couldn't survive the arduous surgery. But thanks to a livesaving VAD and ultimately a heart transplant, this story has a happy ending.
Authors of an article in the Oct. 15 Journal of the American Medical Association are available to provide details on "evidence-based reimbursement" as a way to reduce health care costs without diminishing quality.
According to Michael J. Alexander, M.D., director of the Neurovascular Center and director of endovascular neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, for patients who have experienced a stroke, a good outcome depends on several factors, but nothing is more important than responding quickly and receiving care at a center that is equipped to offer the latest interventions. Thanks to clot-busting drugs, new devices and minimally invasive procedures, patients experiencing the onset of a stroke have improved chances of surviving with fewer "“ or even no "“ long-term disabilities.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Stroke Program has been certified as a Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission, the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. This distinction, awarded to centers that pass a rigorous on-site review and a thorough examination of program and patient-care data, recognizes a center's commitment to following national standards and guidelines that can significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has received its third consecutive Magnet designation for nursing excellence, marking it as the hospital with the longest-running Magnet designation in California.
Surgeons at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Institute for Spinal Disorders have combined three innovative minimally invasive spine surgery procedures to treat spinal curvature in adults, a common consequence of aging. An article in the October issue of the Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques is believed to be the first to document the use of these procedures in combination to correct this condition, known as adult lumbar degenerative scoliosis.
New technology installed this summer at Cedars-Sinai's Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute allows physicians to treat (without surgery) arteriovenous malformations, tumors, other lesions that are close to the spinal cord. The Trilogyâ„¢ System provides highly focused, image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery, which is ideal for treating malformations, tumors and other lesions that are in close proximity to the spinal cord or other critical structures.
Kidney transplant specialists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have developed innovative laboratory techniques to improve opportunities and success rates for kidney transplant candidates who are at high risk of organ rejection because of previous exposure to donor antigens, according to an article in the Sept. 27 issue of the journal Transplantation.
Research scientist Dwain Morris-Irvin, Ph.D., is available to explain how a protein that glows green is helping researchers in their quest to create new brain cells to replace those lost to Parkinson's disease.
Doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles have performed the first two non-surgical procedures in the Western United States that restrict the size of the stomach to treat obesity. The experimental procedures were part of the TOGA Pivotal Trial, a Phase III, multi-center study evaluating an incision-free procedure using the TOGA System (transoral gastroplasty).
When virally infected cells in the brain called astrocytes come in contact with anti-viral T cells of the immune system, they undergo a unique series of changes that dramatically reorganize their shape and function, according to researchers at the Board of Governors Gene Therapeutics Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Intriguingly, the new data indicate that astrocytes may defend themselves from attacking T cells by engulfing (gobbling up) the aggressors.
No one expects to experience a stroke at 26 years of age, and when it happened to David Bellamy (Brentwood, CA), he had no idea where to turn to get his life back on track. But instead of giving up in frustration, he has been instrumental in organizing a support group at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center that specifically addresses the special needs of people who experience a stroke in the prime of their lives.
One year to the day after Charlie Lustman learned he had cancer, he turned to the medicine he knew best: music. The result was a dozen songs on an album called "Made Me Nuclear," which traces the tale of his personal battle with cancer, from the phone call giving him the news of his diagnosis to his heartfelt thanks to all who supported him through his journey to recovery.
After seven years, Ryan Woodward, 16, is getting a new pair of shoes. Not even a new car could elicit the excitement the Canadian teenager feels about this seemingly ordinary purchase, made possible after painstakingly complex surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Charcot-Marie-Tooth/Hereditary Neuropathy Center.
Seven years after Joaquin Lucio's kidneys shut down, he had a heart attack and was taken to a Los Angeles area hospital where doctors performed an angioplasty to clear his coronary arteries. He also was suffering from idiopathic congestive heart failure "“ a condition in which the heart becomes weak and enlarged "“ and a special pacemaker was implanted to provide support.
In a study using laboratory animals, researchers found that medications commonly prescribed for erectile dysfunction opened a mechanism called the blood-brain tumor barrier and increased delivery of cancer-fighting drugs to malignant brain tumors. The experiments were conducted at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and published in Brain Research.
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded a planning grant to the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute to support its researchers in their study of regenerative stem cell-based approaches to heart attacks, congestive heart failure and pacing abnormalities.
A new therapy developed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center improves transplant rates and outcomes for patients awaiting living- and deceased-donor kidney transplantation. The therapy may provide an option for many patients "sensitized" to transplant antigens (human leukocyte antigens, or HLA) who previously would not have been candidates for transplantation because of their intense immune response to these HLA targets.
Researchers conducting a clinical trial of a dendritic cell vaccine designed to fight malignant brain tumors called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) have found a correlation between the "intensity" of a patient's immune response and clinical outcome, according to an article in the July 15 issue of the journal Cancer Research.
In the battle against childhood obesity, the best way to defend your children against the fat-filled foods and sugary sweets lurking at school is to arm them with a healthy lunch made at home. A Cedars-Sinai Medical Center expert serves up the skinny on healthy and fun school lunches.
Senior author of an article in Nature Genetics is available to provide details on the discovery of a gene and molecular mechanism leading to an inherited form of scoliosis.
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