BEVERLY HILLS COURIER | JANUARY 27, 2017 Page 12
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Dr. Ruth To Keynote Sexual Health Expo Dr. Ruth Westheimer, a well-known expert in the field of human sexuality, will deliver the keynote address, “Dr. Ruth On Sexual Literacy: The Knowledge Base You Need to Have Terrific and Safer Sex,” at 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb 4 at the Sexual Health Expo (SHE) at the California Market Center, downtown. Westheimer is a psychosexual therapist who pioneered speaking frankly about sexual matters on radio with her program, Sexually Speaking, which debuted in 1980 as a 15minute, taped show that aired on WYNY-FM (NBC) in New York. One year later, it became a live, one-hour show during which “Dr. Ruth,” as she became known, answered callin questions from listeners.
Soon it became part of a communications network that would distribute her expertise across media, Dr. Ruth including Westheimer television, books, newspapers, games, home video, computer software, and her website: www.drruth.com. The expo, Feb. 4-5 will feature workshops, 60 exhibitors, authors, educators and lecturers from around the world. For information, visit http://www.sexualhealthexpo.com.
IBD Support Foundation Sets ‘Evening Of Inspiration’ For Feb. 23 The IBD Support Foundation—which focuses on providing comprehensive, patientcentered psychosocial care and support and education to patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and their families—will hold its “Evening of Inspiration,” beginning at 6:30
p.m., Thursday, Feb. 23 at The Beverly Hilton. The evening will honor wife, mother, makeup artist and Crohn’s disease survivor, Michal Brunn, now a member of the IBDSF board of directors. For tickets and more information, visit www.ibdsf.org.
CHLA Researchers: Stuttering Linked To Reduced Blood Flow In Area Of Brain Associated With Language A study led by researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) demonstrates what lead investigator Bradley Peterson, MD, calls “a critical mass of evidence” of a common underlying lifelong vulnerability in both children and adults who stutter. They discovered that regional cerebral blood flow is reduced in the Broca’s area— the region in the frontal lobe of the brain linked to speech production—in persons who stutter. More severe stuttering is associated with even greater reductions in blood flow to this region. In addition, a greater abnormality of cerebral blood flow in the posterior language loop, associated with processing words that people hear, correlates with more severe stuttering. This finding suggests that a common pathophysiology throughout the neural “language” loop that connects the frontal and posterior temporal lobe likely contributes to stuttering severity. Peterson, director of the Institute for the Developing Mind at CHLA and a professor at USC’s Keck School of Medicine , says that such a study of resting blood flow, or perfusion, has never before been conducted in persons who stutter. His team also recently published a study using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to look at brain regions in both adults and children who stutter. Those findings demonstrated links between stuttering and changes in the brain circuits that control speech production, as well as those supporting attention and emotion. The present blood-flow study adds significantly to the findings from that previous study and furthermore suggests that disturbances in the speech processing areas of the brain are likely of central importance
Dr. Bradley Peterson
as a cause of stuttering. According to Peterson, the new study – published last month in the journal Human Brain Mapping—provides scientists with a completely different window into the brain. The researchers were able to zero in on the Broca’s area as well as related brain circuitry specifically linked to speech, using regional cerebral blood flow as a measure of brain activity, since blood flow is typically coupled with neural activity. “When other portions of the brain circuit related to speech were also affected according to our blood flow measurements, we saw more severe stuttering in both children and adults,” said first author Jay Desai, MD, a clinical neurologist at CHLA. “Blood flow was inversely correlated to the degree of stuttering—the more severe the stuttering, the less blood flow to this part of the brain,” said Desai, adding that the study results were “quite striking.”
Beit T’Shuvah Celebrates 30th Anniversary, Honors Founder Harriet Rossetto, Pioneering Board Members Warren Breslow, David Ruderman, Annette Shapiro
Above from left: Lise Applebaum, wife of Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Rob Applebaum, Beit T’Shuvah Senior Rabbi Mark Borovitz and BH residents and philanthropists Les and Lynn Bider: Below: emcee and longtime Beit T’Shuvah supporter Rabbi Ed Feinstein of Valley Beth Shalom brought the crowd of more than 900 to its feet recounting Beit T’Shuvah’s high success rate thanks to it’s highly individualized treatment program that has become a national model.
Top row from left: Gala co-chair and board member Meryl Kern, co-chair Lindsey Montoya, board chair Russell Kern, auction co-chairs Helene Eisenberg and Deborah Fried and gala co-chair Jen Morgen. Front row: Honorees David Ruderman. Annette Shapiro, Harriet Rossetto and Warren Breslow.
Resident Sam Delug with attorney and philanthropist Janice Kamenir Resnik. Photos by Curtis Dahl
On Sunday, nearly 1,000 people from the L.A. community and beyond gathered at The Beverly Hilton to celebrate the Beit T’Shuvah Gala. The annual event marked the 30th anniversary for the organization, honoring it’s founder, Harriet Rossetto, and founding board members Warren Breslow, David Ruderman and Annette Shapiro. In 1987, Rossetto, a social worker, set out to create a halfway house for Jewish men coming out of prison. At the time, it was eight gentlemen and one employee living in a small house on Lake Street. Today, Beit T’Shuvah is a nationally renowned, cutting-edge nonprofit addiction treatment center housing 135 beds, an outpatient center, a congregation and an educational Institute. Emceed by longtime friend and supporter Rabbi Ed Feinstein of Valley Beth Shalom, Beit T’Shuvah’s gala raised just short of $2 million for The Harriet Rossetto Scholarship Fund, which supports the mission: to provide life-saving treatment to individuals and families who cannot afford to pay. Beit T’Shuvah has been uniquely positioned at the apex of addressing addiction; boasting a high success rate thanks to it’s highly individualized treatment model integrating spirituality, psychotherapy, Jewish teachings, the 12-steps and creative arts.