Discoveries

Discoveries magazine focuses on research efforts currently underway at the Medical Center, and how they are shaping the patient care of tomorrow.

Summer 2010

 
Special Report  

Up Close and Personal
With advances in genetics, a new type of medicine has emerged: one that’s tailored just for you and your DNA.

Hitting the Target  
Dr. Mark Greene’s pioneering discovery 25 years ago laid the foundation for a revolutionary breast cancer therapy.

The KRAS Gene Put to the Test
Until recently, approximately 10,000 advanced colon cancer patients each year endured chemotherapy with certain targeted drugs.

The War on Warfarin  
When a Lifesaving Blood Thinner Turns Deadly, Genetics Is the Solution.

Treat Me, Treat My DNA  
If given a choice between receiving a treatment that is tailor-made for me based on my DNA or receiving a treatment based on my fitting into a group—a group that has been defined through large clinical trials that determine what has worked most of the time for most of the people—which should I choose?


The Cure for Gene Blues  
Women who harbor the BRCA gene mutations have renewed hope, thanks to a new drug now in clinical trials.

IBD R&D  
Inflammatory bowel disease is on the rise in children, but the research of a Cedars-Sinai physician is leading the way to a new future of personalized treatment.

A Roadmap for Healthy Heredity  
A genetic screening program piloted in L.A. could significantly reduce the prevalence of a debilitating disease.

The Gene Genie  
Genetic counseling is expected to play an important role in the effective delivery of personalized medicine.

 


  
 Other Features

Go Zebra Fish  
This is no fish story: the tiny striped zebrafish is taking the research world by storm.




Clearing the Air  
The lower incidence of allergic diseases in developing countries has had scientists speculate that better hygiene in the industrialized world leads to more asthma.

 

Summer 2009

Heart, Heal Thyself
A revolutionary therapy involving a patient's own stem cells could help heart tissue re-grow after an attack.

Super Staph
A compound originally designed to lower cholesterol levels in humans could be used to effectively fight the superbug MRSA.

Trying Her Luck
Eight years ago, faced with a bleak diagnosis of terminal cancer, Jan Lesser put all of her hopes into a clinical trial--and lived to talk about it.

Transplanting Hope
A breakthrough study is offering hope and the chance of a liver transplant to HIV patients.

Of Mice and Pac-Men
Immune cells take the bite out of Alzheimer's and open the door to a promising new approach to treating this devastating disease.

 

Summer 2008

Surgery and Transplantation

ORevolution: Surgery Goes High-Tech
From high-definition cameras to robotic technology, the surgery of the future is happening today.

Major Trauma, Minor Impact
Working at a Level I trauma center, Cedars-Sinai surgeons use the latest techniques and often invent new ones as they face a constant stream of life-and-death emergencies.

Breathing New Life Into Lung Surgery
Surgery is all about small incisions and a big screen for Dr. Robert McKenna.

A New Liver, A New Hope
Refinements in medical and surgical transplant techniques means better outcomes for patients.

The Long Journey
Photographer Rick Nahmias chronicles the months he spent "on call" with the Comprehensive Transplant Center.

Practice Makes Perfect
At Cedars-Sinai, surgeons practice their practice, thanks to innovations such as the laparoscopy simulator, and lifelike mannequins that can be intubated, ventilated, or injected.

The Cellular Plan
Pancreatic islet cell transplantation could soon free millions of people suffering from type 1 diabetes from insulin dependence.

The End of Dialysis?
Intravenous immunoglobulin is now the treatment of choice for kidney failure, and is giving home to thousands of patients on the national kidney transplant list.

 

Winter 2007

Neurosciences and the Brain

The Brain Twister: Solving the Brain Cancer Puzzle
Dr. Keith Black and his team at the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute work on lifesaving breakthroughs in brain cancer treatments.

Brain Disorders: A Case for Sweat, Genius, and Serendipity
By studying disorders of the nervous system in families, neuroscientists are developing potential new therapies Parkinsons's, ALS, and other degenerative diseases.

The Battle Against Alzheimer's Disease
Scientists search for early markers of the disease as they look for ways to delay its onset.

Restoring Balance: New Therapies for Depression and Addiction
Progress in molecular science and genetics is creating remarkably successful therapeutic strategies.

Silencing a Silent Killer: Reducing the Impact of Strokes
From award-winning patient care and education, to genetic research and clinical trials, Cedars-Sinai continues to refine their approach to fighting stroke.

Gene Therapy
A husband-and-wife team of scientists takes aim at the world's most deadly type of brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme.

 

Summer 2007

Women's and Maternal Health

A Different Approach to Cancer Research
The Women's Cancer Research Institute at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Center work to educate, understand and end the threat of gynecologic cancers.

Charting the New Frontiers of Fertility
Women who are trying to conceive get comprehensive care at the Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine.

Improving the Odds: Maternal-Fetal Medicine
By understanding the way babies are conceived, carried, and delivered, physicians help women tap the full potential of prenatal care.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrom (PCOS) Exposed
Cedars-Sinai researchers explore potential cures for this little-known yet significant hormonal disorder.

Unlocking the Mysteries of Women's Heart Disease
Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz is heading a landmark study in order to improve treatment for a disease that affects 3 million women in the US alone.

A Vitamin at the Core of Women's Health
Vitamin D and New World primates may hold the key to understanding some women's cancers and osteoporosis.

 

We welcome questions, comments, or letters to the editor. 

 
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