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In the News

The Department of Neurosurgery keeps the public informed of developments via our e-newsletter Neurosciences Report, our latest news releases and our published academic articles. Our physicians have been featured often in local and national media outlets, including the prestigious PBS program The New Explorers.

News Releases*

2009

• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis May Involve a Form of Sudden, Rapid Aging of the Immune System (October 8, 2009)

• Neurosurgeon Keith Black, MD, to Receive Research Award at Brain-Mapping Congress (August 28, 2009)

• Stroke Tipsheet - Technology Can Reverse the Effects of Some Strokes, But Stroke Onset Needs to be Treated Like the Emergency Situation It Is (August 17, 2009)

• Stroke Survivor Talks Prevention to African-American Community and Anybody Who Will Listen (Greg Taylor hopes his eight-year struggle will provide motivation for others) (August 12, 2009)

• "Outsmarting Brain Tumors": Cedars-Sinai Researchers, Neurosurgeons and Other Experts Present Free Conference for Adult Brain Tumor Patients and Caregivers (June 1, 2009)

• "Loose Chains" Drummer Eddie Cleland Resumes Life After Brain Surgery (June 1, 2009)

• Pauletta and Denzel Washington Scholarships Awarded May 20 to Three Young Neuroscientsts; Sixth annual presentation takes place at the Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Middle School in Los Angeles (May 18, 2009)

• With Endoscopic Surgery, Patient Has Large Pituitary Tumor Removed and Goes Home Two Days Later (April 21, 2009)

• Michael Alexander, MD, Director of the Cedars-Sinai Neurovascular Center featured in The Saturday Eventing Post for his work with the National Institutes of Health-funded SAMMPRIS stent that helps prevent recurrent stroke (March 2009)

• Energetic and Influential Members of "The Brain Trust" Draw Attention and Funds to Brain Disease Research (March 10, 2009)

• Study in Mice Identifies Molecular Target for Treatment of West Nile Encephalitis (February 5, 2009)

2008

Battling a Deadly Foe: Researchers at Cedars-Sinai are racing to develop experimental treatments, and even vaccines, for fast-growing malignant brain tumors like the one Senator Edward Kennedy has been diagnosed with (May 20, 2008). To read the complete article, please click here.

Black Enterprise Magazine: The May 2008 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine features their list of America's leading doctors including Cedars-Sinai's Dr. Keith Black, Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery; Director, Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute. To read the complete article, please click here.

• Scientist Targeting Mechanisms and Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders Receives Endowed Chair at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (December 22, 2008)

• Cedars-Sinai Researchers Present New Findings at Neuroscience Meetings (November 19, 2008)

• Trilogy Image-Guided Radiosurgery System Precisely Targets Tumors and Lesions Near The Spinal Cord and Other Critical Structures (October 1, 2008)

• New Methods Identify and Manipulate "Newborn" Cells in Animal Model of Parkinson's Disease (September 2, 2008)

• Drugs Commonly Used for Erectile Dysfunction Allowed More Chemotherapy to Reach Brain Tumors in Laboratory Animal Study (July 28, 2008)

• Brain Cancer Study: Magnitude of Post-Vaccine Immune Response Linked to Clinical Outcomes; Stronger Immune Response Correlates With Longer Survival, Giving Researchers a New Tool for Evaluating Effectiveness of Experimental Therapies (July 15, 2008)

• Unexpected Results From Study in Mice May Open New Strategy Against Alzheimer's Disease (May 30, 2008)

• Study in Mice Suggests Molecules in Plants Have Beneficial Effect on Alzheimer's Disease (May 6, 2008)

• Denzel Washington's Hometown Hosts Awarding of Scholarships Bearing Washington Family Name (April 29, 2008)

• UCLA Medical School Student and UCD Student to Receive Pauletta and Denzel Washington Family Scholars Awards (May 2, 2008)

• Scientists Seek to Defeat Brain Cancer by Chipping Away at Its Foundation From Various Angles (April 21, 2008)

• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Opens Patient Trial of Virus That Attacks Brain Cancer Cells (April 14, 2008)

• Organization of Prominent Black Women Supports Medical History in the Making (February 12, 2008)

2007

In early May, Keith L. Black, MD, Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery and Director, Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, presided over the dedication of the Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Brain Tumor Center.

Dr. Black, Director of the Center, says "New discoveries and potential therapies will undergo the same extensive scrutiny as before, but the center and its dedicated personnel will allow us to streamline the process, efficiently advancing basic research findings into early human studies." To read about the Center and the event, click here.

• Two USC Students to Receive Pauletta and Denzel Washington Family Scholars Awards June 24 (June 18, 2007)

• Cedars-Sinai Stroke Team Earns Performance Award From American Heart Association (June 7, 2007)

• Comatose Patient Regains Consciousness After Biosynthetic "Glue" Seals Spinal Fluid Leak (May 25, 2007)

• Radiosurgery Allows Doug Fieger of The Knack to Perform While Battling Brain Tumors (May 11, 2007)

• On the Trail of a Killer for a Decade, and Closing In: July 1, 2007 Marks the 10th Anniversary of Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute (April 12, 2007)

• Fact Sheet and Research Timeline: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Department of Neurosurgery; The Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute; The Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Brain Tumor Center (April 11, 2007)

• In Memory of Famed Attorney Johnnie L. Cochran, Center Will Streamline Brain Tumor Studies (April 23, 2007)

• Stem Cells Cultured From Human Bone Marrow Behave Like Those Derived From Brain Tissue (January 25, 2007)

2006

The May 2006 issue of Los Angeles Magazine featured
an article on Keith L. Black, MD, Director of the Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

The four-page article is entitled, "Brain Power: for desperate
tumor patients, Cedars-Sinai surgeon Keith Black may be the
last, best hope."

To read the article, please click on the magazine cover to the
left.

• Gamma Knife Technology Now Available at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, New Center Adds to Comprehensive Cancer Treatment Options (November 28, 2006)

• Synthetic Version of Scorpion Venom Delivers Radioactive Iodine to Malignant Brain Tumors (July 28, 2006)

• Parents and Brother Rally to "Bring Back" 20-Year-Old Suffering Brain Injury in Car Crash (April 18, 2006)

• Neurosurgeon Adam Mamelak Brings Expertise in Pituitary Surgery, Epilepsy, Tumor Research (January 7, 2006)

2005

• New Residency Training Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to Train a Different Breed of Neurosurgeon (September 21, 2005)

• Chemotherapy for Brain Tumors Is Boosted after Vaccine Targets Resistance-Related Antigen (June 13, 2005)

• Star Jones Reynolds to Host Presentation of Pauletta and Denzel Washington Family Scholarships (May 4, 2005)

• Molecular Change Occurring during Brain Tumor Progression Also Evident in Breast Cancer (May 2, 2005)

• Specialists from Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute Offer Free Conference in Las Vegas (February 16, 2005)

• Skateboarding Safety Is the Best Defense against Serious Injury (January 5, 2005)

• Students at Brainworks to Hear Young Neurosurgeon Role Model and See Brain Injury Booth (January 13, 2005)

2004

Dr. Keith Black, Director of the Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai, and Dr. John Yu, Co-Director of the Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program at the Department of Neurosurgery, are featured with the entire Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute (MDNSI) research team in the April issue of Discover magazine.

The eight-page article (which begins on page 66 of the magazine) includes several full-color photos and highlights the MDNSI's multi-faceted brain tumor research.

• Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Find That a Small Protein Delivered Via a Genetically Engineered Virus Increased Immune Cells and Slowed the Growth of the Deadly Brain Cancer Glioblastoma Multiforme in Laboratory Rats (December 6, 2004)

• Wife and Mom Celebrates Family and Fifth Christmas Free of Large Tumor Crowding Her Brain (December 1, 2004)

• Lab Study Defines and Blocks Mechanism That Lets Brain Tumors Sidetrack Immune Response (October 22, 2004)

• Beating the Odds, Patient Can Hear after Large Benign Tumor Is Removed from Inner Ear (September 9, 2004)

• Immune Vaccine Followed by Chemotherapy Slows Incurable Brain Tumors, Lengthens Survival (August 15, 2004)

• Study Shows That Fluorescence Spectroscopy Can Distinguish Brain Tumor from Normal Tissue (August 1, 2004)

• Washington Family Scholars Arrive with Impressive Credentials and Eyes to the Future (July 19, 2004)

• Vaccine Targeting Cancer-Related Antigens in Brain Tumors Appears to Prolong Survival (July 15, 2004)

• Journal Cancer: Protein Shift Predicts Brain Cancer Grade, Recurrence and Patient Survival (June 18, 2004)

• New Intraoperative MRI Lets Neurosurgeons Minimize Risk While Maximizing Tumor Removal (May 27, 2004)

• New Technology Blocks Gene to Increase Immune Response against Deadly Brain Tumor Cells (May 24, 2004)

• Researchers Define Mechanism That Enables Stem Cells to Track Migrating Brain Tumor Cells (May 4, 2004)

• Pauletta and Denzel Washington to Award Neuroscience Scholarships Named in Their Honor (April 6, 2004)

• Scientists Identify Cell Defects That Limit Immune System's Impact on Late-Stage Tumors (January 21, 2004)

Academic Articles*

• Academic Articles

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