Scientists Discover Gene Plays Critical Role in Development
A new study led by Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, executive director of Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children's, identified a gene that plays an important role in a biological pathway involved in embryo development. The findings could explain why some babies are born with physical abnormalities and why some adults develop diseases such as cancer. The study is published in Nature Communications. Read more>
Medicine for Inflammatory Bowel Disease May Protect Against Severe COVID-19
Getting the Covid-19 vaccination strengthened one type of immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in inflammatory bowel disease patients even though they were taking immunosuppressant medication, according two different studies led by Gil Melmed, MD, and Jonathan Braun, MD, PhD. The findings were published in journals IBD and Frontiers in Immunology. Read more>
Scientists Gain Ground on Rare Congenital Neurological Disorder
Two recent discoveries led by Clive Svendsen, PhD, executive director of the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, may help lead to new ways to treat patients with Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome, a brain development disorder that causes severe intellectual disability and problems with movement. The studies were published in Thyroid. Read more>
App More Accurate Than Patient Evaluation of Stool Samples
An innovative mobile phone application was found to be as good as expert gastroenterologists at characterizing stool specimens, according to a study led by Mark Pimentel, MD, executive director of the Medically Associated Science and Technology Program, and Ali Rezaie, MD, medical director of GI Motility at Cedars-Sinai. The artificial intelligence used in the app also outperformed reports by patients describing their stool specimens. Read more>
Cardio-Obstetrics Survey Gives Birth to New Training Needs
Cardiovascular disease is the primary cause of pregnancy‐related death, yet a new national survey led by Natalie Bello, MD, MPH, director of Hypertension Research in the Smidt Heart Institute, suggests that few cardiologists, trainees or care team members are trained in cardio-obstetrics, a specialty that brings together experts from cardiology, obstetrics and primary care. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Read more>
Deaths from Alcohol Use Disorder Surged During Pandemic
Deaths involving alcohol use disorder increased dramatically during the pandemic, according to a new study by Cedars-Sinai investigators. The study, led by Yee Hui Yeo, MD, MSc, also found that young adults 25 to 44 years old experienced the steepest upward trend in alcohol use disorder mortality. The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Network Open. Read more>
Women, Vibrators and Pelvic Health
Cedars-Sinai investigator Alexandra Dubinskaya, MD, female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery specialist, presented new data on the use of vibrators to address a range of female pelvic health conditions during the 117th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association in New Orleans. The presentation was identified as one of the leading research studies in the field. Read more>
Treatment Minimizes Infants’ Opioid-Related Brain Abnormalities
A new study led by Wei Gao, PhD, director of Neuroimaging Research at the Biomedical Imaging Research Institute and professor of Biomedical Sciences, is the first to provide evidence that treating pregnant women who have opioid use disorder can help minimize opioid-related brain abnormalities in their newborns. The findings were published in JNeurosci. Read more>
Understanding Autoimmune Lung Involvement
Investigators have uncovered important insights into the pathophysiology of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage, a rare but dangerous complication that can occur in people with autoimmune diseases. A new study led by Caroline Jefferies, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Rheumatology, and published in Frontiers in Immunology, offers some new clues into the biologic mechanisms that drive bleeding in diffuse alveolar hemorrhage. Read more>
Nurse-Led Study Leads to Creating ‘Serenity Lounges’
A team of nurses found that break rooms equipped with massage chairs and other relaxation tools reduced feelings of stress, anxiety and burnout among nurses. The research, led by Linda Kim, PhD, MSN, RN, PHN, found that use of a massage chair in a quiet room for as little as 10 minutes provided nurses mental and emotional relief. The findings were published in the American Journal of Nursing. Read more>
New Study Reveals How the Brain Says 'Oops!'
Investigators from Cedars-Sinai's Center for Neural Science and Medicine and Department of Neurosurgery have uncovered how signals from a group of neurons in the brain's frontal lobe simultaneously give humans the flexibility to learn new tasks—and the focus to develop highly specific skills. The research, led by Ueli Rutishauser, PhD, professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Biomedical Sciences, was published in Science. Read more>
Moms With Postpartum Depression Benefit From Improved Screening
Nurse education is the key to successfully screening women for postpartum depression, which affects some 15% of mothers, according to a new quality improvement study led by Eynav Accortt, PhD, director of the Reproductive Psychology Program at Cedars-Sinai. The study was published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology–Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Read more>
Protecting Neurons in Parkinson's Disease
Researchers demonstrated that increasing the production of a neurotransmitter called norepinephrine in the brain could potentially help prevent motor dysfunction in people with Parkinson's disease. Their study, conducted in mice and led by Celine Riera, PhD, a research scientist in the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute and senior author of the study, was published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One. Read more>
Improving Preterm Babies’ Nutrition in the NICU
With the goal of bettering nutrition for the smallest babies, Cedars-Sinai neonatologists helped lead a collaborative quality improvement project of 22 California Neonatal Intensive Care Units to help reduce malnutrition in preterm babies. Findings from the 18-month study, led by Kurlen Payton, MD, interim director of the Cedars-Sinai Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, were presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Denver. Read more>
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Journal
Nature Communications