NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, and Hallym University Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea, have entered into an affiliation agreement to begin a unique international collaboration to enhance patient care, clinical and biomedical research, medical education, and training. The international four-way affiliation grows out of an existing clinical and research relationship between Hallym and Columbia University.

The NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and White Plains Hospital Center announced today participation in a national public education initiative to attack the problem of underage consumption of alcohol beverages through parent-child communications. The program is funded by a three-year, $600,000 grant from Heineken USA and marks the first time a major medical institution has joined with an alcohol beverage company on a program to reduce underage drinking.

Varicoceles, an enlargement of the veins of the spermatic cord, are the most common cause of male infertility. A new study by physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center finds that fathers, sons, and especially brothers of men with varicoceles are at greater risk for varicoceles themselves. Published recently in the journal Urology, the study is the first ever to shed light on the inheritance patterns of this condition.

Data from a Phase II study of eltrombopag, an oral investigational drug that increases the production of platelets, demonstrate that the compound was effective in increasing platelet counts in patients with chronic Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a disorder characterized by episodes of frequent spontaneous bruising, mucosal bleeding, and in severe cases intracranial hemorrhage, and acute episodes of severe bleeding.

J. Emilio Carrillo, MD, MPH, a leading healthcare administrator and expert in community health, has been named Vice President of Community Health Development at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. He is also an associate professor of clinical public health and medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

Cooling the brains of babies deprived of oxygen at birth may reduce the risk of brain damage, according to an international study published today in The Lancet in which the babies' body temperature was lowered by 3-4 degrees for 72 hours after birth using a water-filled cap.

New research from Columbia University Medical Center is challenging the traditional explanation for the causes of the most common type of heart failure, traditionally called diastolic heart failure. The study of 145 patients at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Pavilion suggests that the most common type of heart failure is caused by health problems outside the heart.

Each year, thousands of children from orphanages abroad are adopted by families in the United States. Yet the long-term impact of the early experiences of these children is unknown. Researchers at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center are currently conducting a study that employs tools -- including computer games used in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans -- to better understand the cognitive and emotional development of these children, as well as their unique experiences.