Second Episode of Mount Sinai Future You

Jun 5, 2018 | Featured, Future You, Research


The second episode of Mount Sinai Future You features a patient who suffered an intracerebral hemorrhage, one of the most devastating forms of stroke, and who shares his miraculous recovery after neurosurgeons saved his life using a new surgical technique called “SCUBA.” J Mocco, MD, MS, Director of the Cerebrovascular Center, and Christopher Kellner, MD, Director of the Intracerebral Hemorrhage Program, discuss the procedure.

Mount Sinai Future You, which highlights innovation at Mount Sinai, is being broadcast on CUNY TV, the non-commercial educational-access cable channel run by The City University of New York.

Mount Sinai Future You takes viewers behind the scenes as doctors at Mount Sinai Health System leverage innovative science to change patients’ lives every day. The series  highlights preventative care and treatment models that will lead to better health and longer lives.

Mount Sinai Future You, Episode II, also features:

  • An interview with Roger Hajjar, MD, Arthur and Janet C. Ross Professor of Medicine, and Director of the Cardiovascular Research Center, about how gene therapy could one day treat heart disease.
  • Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart, and Samin Sharma, MD, Director of Clinical and Interventional Cardiology, give an elderly patient a second chance at life with a minimally invasive heart procedure.
  • Researchers from the Departments of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Medicine discuss the most updated science and the importance of raising awareness of and knowledge about traumatic brain injuries and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in women.
  • Rachel Yehuda, PhD, Director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division, shares the latest research and clinical trials to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Janine Flory, PhD, Director of the PTSD Clinic at the Bronx VA Medical Center, provides insight on the link between traumatic brain injury and PTSD.
  • Hyunsuk Suh, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, is offering patients a scarless robotic surgery for thyroidectomies.
  • The parents of a toddler share their emotional journey after their son’s challenging start in life due to a heart defect.

New episodes of Mount Sinai Future You will run monthly, in the first week of each month, on Wednesdays at 9:30 pm, Thursdays at 6:30 am and 5 pm, and Saturdays at 11 am. They will cover newsworthy topics in medicine, as well as highlight new treatments, innovations, and preventive care for patients. The series is produced by Mount Sinai.

Here is where you can find this series:

Cable System CUNY TV Channel
Spectrum 75
Cablevision 75
Optimum Brooklyn 75
RCN Cable 77
Verizon FiOS 30

 *Some RCN digital cable and MMDS systems carry CUNY TV and/or NYC TV on different channel numbers. For example, some RCN systems in Manhattan and Queens carry CUNY TV on channel 24, 106 or 108. Please consult your cable provider directly to be sure.

Watch Episode 1 of Mount Sinai Future You

Cardiac Surgeon-in-Chief at Mount Sinai to Lead the American Association for Thoracic Surgery

May 22, 2018 | Featured, Research

David H. Adams, MD, after being named AATS President and receiving the Association’s Presidential chain.

David H. Adams, MD, the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Professor and Chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Cardiac Surgeon-in-Chief of the Mount Sinai Health System, was named President of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) at its 98th annual meeting on Monday, April 30, in San Diego.

The AATS is an international organization of more than 1,300 of the world’s foremost cardiothoracic surgeons representing 41 countries, and publishes four official journals that advance its commitment to science, education, and research.

“Dr. Adams is an internationally recognized leader in the field of heart valve surgery and mitral valve reconstruction,” says Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. “That his achievements have been acknowledged by the most prominent organization in the field is a reflection on Dr. Adams and Mount Sinai’s commitment to advancing the treatment and study of heart disease.”

Additionally, Dr. Adams is President of the Mitral Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that promotes best practice standards in mitral valve disease, has co-authored the internationally acclaimed valve textbook, Carpentier’s Reconstructive Valve Surgery, and co-invented or invented several repair rings for mitral and tricuspid valve reconstruction that are used throughout the world. As the Program Director of The Mount Sinai Hospital’s Mitral Valve Repair Center—now one of the largest programs in the world caring for patients with mitral valve disease—Dr. Adams leads a team that has established national benchmarks for repair rates and excellent clinical outcomes.

The mitral valve controls blood flow between the collection chamber from the lungs (left atrium) and the pumping chamber (left ventricle), which is responsible for delivering the now-oxygenated blood to the body. Diseased mitral valve leaflets lead to either regurgitation or stenosis, altering normal blood flow patterns, and requiring repair or replacement. Dr. Adams and his team have pioneered reconstructive techniques that allow patients to keep their own living valve rather than undergo a valve replacement with a mechanical or animal valve.

According to the most recent New York State Department of Health Adult Cardiac Surgery 2013 – 2015 report, Dr. Adams is one of only four surgeons out of more than 230 to be recognized with a two-star safety rating, indicating superior clinical results in all index open heart cases. During this three-year period, Dr. Adams achieved a significantly higher safety level (0.52 percent) than the statewide average (2.25 percent).

“Becoming President of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and receiving a two-star rating from New York State are really not my individual honors, but rather recognition of the extraordinary team of dedicated health care professionals whom I have the honor of working with every day in taking care of cardiovascular surgical patients at Mount Sinai,” says Dr. Adams.

The Department of Cardiovascular Surgery is currently participating in more than 20 clinical trials, several with a focus on exploring novel strategies that can treat mitral valve disease without opening the chest and placing the patient on a heart-lung machine. Dr. Adams was appointed the national co-Principal Investigator of the Medtronic Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pivotal APOLLO Trial, the first study in the United States to explore closed-chest, beating heart mitral valve replacement in patients who are at increased risk for conventional biological valve replacement.

The trial began in 2017 and will involve more than 40 clinical sites, including The Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Adams is also the co-Principal Investigator of the FDA Pivotal ReChord Trial that is exploring beating heart echo-guided valve repair for patients with mitral valve prolapse.

“This is the beginning of an important journey to establish truly less invasive approaches to treat patients with various types of mitral valve disease,” says Dr. Adams. “Investigators at The Mount Sinai Hospital are at the forefront of this research that we believe will revolutionize the treatment of patients in years to come.”

Dr. Adams is the co-inventor of the Edwards Lifesciences’ Carpentier-McCarthy-Adams IMR ETlogix Annuloplasty Ring, the Carpentier-Edwards Physio II ring, and the Medtronic Tri-Ad Adams Tricuspid Annuloplasty Ring. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai receives royalties from Edwards Lifesciences and Medtronic in connection with the sale of these products. Dr. Adams and Mount Sinai do not receive any royalties when the devices are implanted in patients at Mount Sinai.

 

 

Mount Sinai Researchers Present New Data at Cardiothoracic Association Meeting

May 21, 2018 | Featured, Research

Joanna Chikwe, MD

At the first plenary session of the 98th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery in San Diego, Mount Sinai’s Joanna Chikwe, MD, Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and David H. Adams, MD, presented a research study examining outcomes of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery in the state of New Jersey, comparing results in patients treated on an arrested heart while on a heart-lung machine (on-pump) versus those approached on the beating heart (off-pump).

Dr. Chikwe, who is also the Cheng Endowed Professor and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Director of the Cardiovascular Institute at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, provided data aimed at resolving a four-decade-old debate regarding the optimal approach to perform CABG surgery.

The researchers compared outcomes 10 years after on-pump and off-pump surgery performed by high-volume surgeons in more than 20,000 patients.

“Our preliminary results found that outcomes with on-pump surgery were superior, with lower mortality, lower under-revascularization, and lower need for repeat revascularization after on-pump bypass surgery,” says Dr. Chikwe. Their paper has been provisionally accepted for publication in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

In March, Dr. Adams and Dr. Chikwe wrote an editorial in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology about the same topic, saying, “It is time for the debate to move on.”

Palliative Care Cuts Hospital Costs, Large Study Finds

May 8, 2018 | Featured, Research

R. Sean Morrison, MD

Palliative care, which focuses on improving quality of life and reducing suffering for people with serious illness and their families, is associated with shorter hospital stays and lower costs, according to a study published in April 2018 in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine. The study—the largest of its kind—was conducted by the National Palliative Care Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Trinity College Dublin.

The investigation pooled data from six prior studies involving more than 130,000 adults admitted to hospitals in the United States between 2001 and 2015; of these patients, 3.6 percent received a palliative care consultation in addition to their other hospital care. It found that when palliative care was added to patients’ routine care, hospitals saved an average of $4,251 per stay for cancer patients and $2,105 for those with non-cancer diagnoses. The savings were greatest for patients with the highest number of co-existing illnesses.

Unlike hospice care, palliative care can be provided early in the course of illness, along with life-prolonging therapies. Palliative care has seen a steady rise during the past 30 years, but research suggests that there is much room for growth, says study coauthor R. Sean Morrison, MD, the Ellen and Howard C. Katz Chair of the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine.

“The potential to reduce the suffering of millions of Americans is enormous,” Dr. Morrison says. “This study proves that better care can go hand in hand with a better bottom line.”

Read more about Research at Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center Hosts Conference on Violence Against Children

May 8, 2018 | Featured, Patient Stories, Research

“When a young person is traumatized, it sets the stage for a life that is more difficult.” Dennis S. Charney, MD

“Is anything more important than ending violence against children and adolescents?”

That rhetorical question was posed by Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System, in his opening remarks at a recent conference sponsored by the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center and the World Childhood Foundation USA. “When a young person is traumatized,” said Dr. Charney, a renowned expert in the neurobiology and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders, “it sets the stage for a life that is more difficult.”

The conference, “Ending Violence Against Children: Developing a Roadmap to a Healthy Childhood and Adolescence,” was held Thursday, March 22, and Friday, March 23, in Stern Auditorium, and kicked off the 50th anniversary of the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, a unique New York City-based program that delivers comprehensive medical and mental health services and prevention education to people ages 10 to 22.

More than 70 percent of the young people who come to the Adolescent Health Center have a history of trauma, according to conference co-director Angela Diaz, MD, PhD, MPH, Director of the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center and the Jean C. and James W. Crystal Professor of Pediatrics, and Professor of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

“Young people are our present and our future,” said Dr. Diaz. “Together, we can create a model for ending violence against children.”

Sixty experts served on panel discussions that included research into the long-term consequences of early childhood abuse and neglect, the economic impact of violence in childhood, and ways to safeguard the mental health of children and adolescents. Panel participants covered topics such as abuse prevention, support for survivors, the role of the justice system, and ways to find innovative solutions.

David Finkelhor, PhD

Rachel Lloyd, Founder and President of Girls Educational and Mentoring Service (GEMS), participated in a panel discussion on helping victims of sexual trafficking. “Poverty is the baseline for almost every child who ends up being sexually trafficked,” she said. “Sexual trafficking is a matter of demand and supply, but it’s driven by sexual abuse at home, poverty, domestic violence, and running away from Child Protective Services.”

The audience was comprised of hundreds of clinicians, researchers, policymakers, philanthropists, and youth advocates, who came together to identify solutions to defend children’s rights and promote better living conditions for children. Joanna Rubinstein, DDS, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Childhood Foundation USA, also served as co-director of the conference.

David Finkelhor, PhD, Director, Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, delivered the conference’s keynote address, and proposed the creation of a common field of study to examine the full scope of violence against children, including bullying and peer victimization, as well as abuse by adults and how the risk of violence changes over the course of development.

“Children suffer five times more violence than adults,” he said. “Why are they so vulnerable? They are small, dependent, inexperienced. Kids don’t choose their families, schools, or neighborhoods.”

Dr. Diaz and Dr. Rubinstein concluded the conference with a call to action that would include addressing barriers to identifying victims and integrating a “trauma-informed” approach into programs that interact with children and youth. “This is the beginning of a movement,” Dr. Diaz said.

Angela Diaz, MD, PhD, MPH

 

Read more about Research at Mount Sinai

Introducing Mount Sinai Future You, a New Television Series

May 2, 2018 | Featured, Future You, Patient Stories, Research


A new television series called Mount Sinai Future You, which highlights innovation at Mount Sinai, is being broadcast on CUNY TV, the non-commercial educational-access cable channel run by The City University of New York.

Mount Sinai Future You takes viewers behind the scenes as doctors at Mount Sinai Health System leverage innovative science to change patients’ lives every day. The series  highlights preventative care and treatment models that will lead to better health and longer lives.

New episodes of Mount Sinai Future You will run monthly, in the first week of each month, on Wednesdays at 9:30 pm, Thursdays at 6:30 am and 5 pm, and Saturdays at 11 am. They will cover newsworthy topics in medicine, as well as highlight new treatments, innovations, and preventive care for patients. The series is produced by Mount Sinai.

In its first 30-minute episode, Mount Sinai Future You highlights:

  • Dennis Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who discusses the anniversary of the Icahn School of Medicine, a leader in medical breakthroughs since 1968, and shares his own story of resilience after recovering from a traumatic event.
  • Breakthroughs in operating room technologies, such as augmented reality, simulation, and 3D printing, by surgeons and researchers in the Department of Neurosurgery.
  • The science of addiction, with Eric Nestler, MD, PhD, Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs and Director of The Friedman Brain Institute, who is researching addiction and depression, and Yasmin Hurd, PhD, Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and Director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai, who is investigating how a component of the marijuana plant may aid in treatment of opioid addiction.
  • How vaccines developed in the lab of Joshua Brody, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology), are targeting cancer cells.
  • Douglas Dieterich, MD, Professor of Medicine (Liver Diseases), and a patient of his, who relate their shared journey with hepatitis C.