Jul 2, 2024 | Uncategorized
Quad Gods is a real-life story of how three New Yorkers with quadriplegia meet at the Abilities Research Center at The Mount Sinai Hospital and, together with David Putrino, PhD, the Center Director and Angela Riccobono, PhD, Director of the Rehabilitation Psychology/Neuropsychology program at the Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Center, create the world’s first fully quadriplegic e-sports team.
The HBO Original documentary debuts Wednesday, July 10, at 9 pm on HBO-Max and is available to stream on Max. The film is a story of perseverance and recovery as the three compete in the billion-dollar video gaming world while bringing awareness to the potential of the human mind and spirit.
Read the press release or watch the movie trailer.
You can read a detailed article about this initiative in the Rehabilitation and Human Performance Report.
Jun 13, 2024 | Uncategorized
Mount Sinai’s Heritage of Latinx Alliance (HOLA) employee resource group participated in the 67th Puerto Rican Day parade down Fifth Avenue in New York in a joyous display of dancing and interacting with the crowd. The event was held Sunday, June 9.
“Events like these hold great significance as they bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds, reflecting the strong foundation of diversity within the Mount Sinai Health System. Coming together for a shared purpose truly embodies our motto, We Find a Way,” said Shawn Lee, Director of Operations for the Central Billing Office and Co-Lead of the Heritage of Latinx Alliance. “During the parade, we found our way down Fifth Avenue, proudly representing Mount Sinai.”
“Marching in the parade demonstrates Mount Sinai’s diversity and inclusion efforts to our thousands of hard working employees, to the tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans in New York City, and to millions more New Yorkers,” said Frank Pabon, Director of Operations at the Central Billing Office and Co-Lead of Heritage of Latinx Alliance. “Our participation makes a statement to all who march in the parade and watch on television that Mount Sinai values the culture and history of Puerto Ricans.”
Participation in the parade was made possible by the Mount Sinai Health System Office for Diversity and Inclusion, Carlos A. Maceda, MBA, Chief Supply Officer, Sylvia Anavitate, Billing Coordinator, and the HOLA employee resource group.
“Thank you to everyone who joined us,” said Mr. Pabon. “We had an amazing time and look forward to having an even bigger presence at the parade next year.”
Mar 12, 2024 | Uncategorized
Have you ever noticed you might get more headaches when you change the clocks for daylight saving time? It’s not just a figment of your imagination. It’s real, according to the experts at Mount Sinai.
Fred Cohen, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a headache specialist at the David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Center for Headache Treatment and Translational Research, says there might be some science to why this is happening. And the key to avoiding headaches is making sure you get enough quality sleep, seven to eight hours, even if you change the clocks.
Fred Cohen, MD
It turns out sleep is one of the most important aspects of headache health.
Sleep allows our brain time to clean itself. There are chemical substances in the brain called neuropeptides and neurotransmitters that transmit messages in your brain that you use during the day. If you don’t sleep well, the brain can’t clean itself properly. The build-up of neuropeptides can cause inflammation, and inflammation leads to headaches.
“So that’s why it’s very important that we have good quality sleep, and that’s just not sleeping too little or sleeping too much,” Dr. Cohen says. Good quality sleep means you are not repeatedly waking up during the night or experiencing problems such as snoring, gasping for air, or going to the bathroom often.
“When daylight savings comes around, whether it’s spring forward or fall back, it’s very important to preserve seven to eight hours of sleep to prevent this from causing headache attacks,” Dr. Cohen says.
However, if you notice you are having frequent headaches, it may be worthwhile to contact a headache specialist.
Feb 1, 2024 | Uncategorized
Mount Sinai Morningside, under the leadership of Sean Pinney, MD, Chief of Cardiology and an expert in heart failure, is eliminating health disparities among the communities most affected by cardiovascular disease and heart failure.
One method is to give patients access to a wide range of clinical trials that employ innovative medications and devices to detect and treat congestive heart failure.
For example, patients can benefit from a groundbreaking device that uses voice recognition to identify congestion. Patients speak into a smartphone from their homes, and special software enables doctors in the hospital to analyze their speech patterns for signs of congestion. The medical team can then act on that data to prevent future heart failure hospitalization.
One area of focus is the treatment of cardiac amyloidosis, a condition in which the body overproduces a protein that causes the heart to stiffen and eventually fail. About six percent of Black people living in New York are carriers of the gene that cause amyloidosis. Sarcoidosis, which causes pulmonary disease, heart disease, and heart arrythmias, is another condition found disproportionately in the Black population. If detected, both these conditions can be treated.
The Mount Sinai Morningside team has made it a priority to identify patients with these conditions in Harlem and Morningside Heights, and all the communities the hospital serves. Clinical trials are underway to diagnose and treat patients with more effective medications.
“These clinical trials represent the next generation of treatment for heart failure and have demonstrated their effectiveness in enabling patients to live fuller and longer lives,” said Dr. Pinney. “The Mount Sinai Morningside team is working hard to build trust for these trials and to demonstrate the potential value to those who can benefit most.”
For hospitalized patients, Mount Sinai Morningside is the lead site for a trial of aquapheresis, a treatment to remove excess fluid from patients who are experiencing a condition called fluid overload because of worsening heart failure.
One example of an innovative device is the AccuCinch® by Ancora Heart, which can be placed inside the heart with a minimally invasive procedure to reduce stress on the walls of the heart, allowing it to beat more efficiently.
The cardiology team also employs a novel ablation procedure to quiet the nerves that prevent the body’s ability to store blood, thereby preventing congestion from developing inside the chest and the lungs.
Hospitalized patients also have access to emerging devices such as a micro axial flow pump that is surgically implanted in the heart, which is used to treat patients with worsening heart failure and resulting kidney failure.
