High blood pressure now affects about 1 in 10 pregnancies, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gestational hypertension—high blood pressure that develops for the first time during pregnancy—also has been increasing for decades.

Kilpatrick told Scientific American several factors are driving the increase.

“We’ve known it’s been increasing partially because of better recognition and diagnosis,” she said, emphasizing the importance of awareness. “It should be something women know about.”

Beyond better recognition and diagnosis, Kilpatrick pointed to several demographic and health trends. Women are having their first pregnancies later in life, and more are having babies after age 40. Multiple births, such as twins and triplets, also have become more common, in part because of in vitro fertilization. Also, body mass index—an estimate of body fat—continues to climb. Each of these factors can raise the risk of high blood pressure, and the risk factors can overlap.

Gestational hypertension can progress to preeclampsia, a condition marked by high blood pressure and organ damage that can affect the liver and kidneys. Pregnancy-related blood pressure disorders are among the leading causes of illness and death among mothers in the U.S., and serious problems can develop suddenly.

Kilpatrick told Scientific American that preeclampsia results from a systemic response to the placenta. An abnormal increase in a protein called sFlt-1, which slows placental growth, appears to help trigger the condition.

In 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first blood test to help diagnose preeclampsia by measuring the ratio of sFlt-1 to another placental protein that remains stable. Kilpatrick co-authored research that led to the test’s approval.

“If we don’t diagnose it soon enough or women stay pregnant too long, they can get really sick and, in the extreme, of course, die,” she told Scientific American. “That’s the problem with the disease—it can be very insidious.”

Read the complete article from Scientific American.

Cedars-Sinai in the News

71-Year-Old Is Thankful for Cedars-Sinai HIV-Positive Organ Transplant Program | CBS Los Angeles
Irene Kim, MD

Misplaced Glasses, Forgotten Names. How To Know When To Worry, and How To Thrive | Los Angeles Times
Zaldy Tan, MD, MPH 

Smoke From Wildfires Is a Growing Health Threat to Both People and Birds | Audubon Magazine
Susan Cheng, MD, MPH

We Asked 3 Cardiologists What They Eat Every Day for Better Heart Health | Verywell Health
Eli Friedman, MD

Map of Brain ‘Microproteins’ Could Offer New Clues to Alzheimer’s Disease | Nature
Bahareh Ajami, PhD 

4 Endocrinologists Share the Fruits They Eat Regularly for Better Blood Sugar | Verywell Health
Ruchi Mathur, MD 

ASTRO Issues Its First Clinical Guideline on Radiation Therapy for Bladder Cancer | The ASCO Post
Leslie Ballas, MD 

Extensively Drug-Resistant Shigella Emerges in US, Mostly Among Men | Healio Infectious Disease News
Ali Rezaie, MD

We Asked a Doctor When You Should Get Your First Bone Density Scan | Verywell Health
Natasha Trentacosta, MD 

Plant-Based Diet Linked to Lower Risk of Prostate Cancer Progression on Active Surveillance | The ASCO Post
Adam Weiner, MD 

What Low Vaccination Rates Could Mean for Flu Season 2026 | The San Fernando Valley Sun
Michael Ben-Aderet, MD

Faculty Publications

Biomedical Sciences

Artificial Intelligence-Derived Splenic Response in Cardiac Positron Emission Tomography Is Associated With Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events: A Multi-Site Study. Ramirez, Giselle, Naga L. Dharmavaram, Aakash Shanbhag, Robert J. H. Miller, Paul B. Kavanagh, Jirong Yi, Mark Lemley, Valerie Builoff, Anna Marcinkiewicz, Damini Dey, Jon Hainer, Samuel Wopperer, Stacey Knight, Viet T. Le, Steve Mason, Erick Alexanderson, Isabel Carvajal-Juarez, René R. S. Packard, Thomas L. Rosamond, Mouaz H. Al-Mallah, Leandro Slipczuk, Mark I. Travin, Wanda Acampa, Andrew J. Einstein, Panithaya Chareonthaitawee, Daniel S. Berman, Marcelo F. Di Carli, and Piotr J. Slomka. Cardiovascular Research, September, cvag184.

Beyond the Field of View: Radiomics and Artificial Intelligence for Organ-Specific and Systemic Disease Prediction From Localized Medical Imaging. Wang, Lixia, Yu Shi, Zengtian Deng, Yufeng Wang, Dante Rigo De Righi, Sehrish Javed, Touseef Ahmad Qureshi, Ju Dong Yang, Yibin Xie, Stephen J. Pandol, and Debiao Li. Artificial Intelligence in Medicine 182 (September): 103535.

Cardiac Surgery

Combination of Genetic eNOS Deficiency and High-Fat Diet Induces Reproducible Cardiometabolic HFpEF. Elbatreek, Mahmoud H., Vinayak Khodade, Darshan Amin, Miguel Huerta, Timothy D. Allerton, David J. Polhemus, Sanjiv J. Shah, Thomas M. Vondriska, Traci T. Goodchild, and David J. Lefer. Redox Biology 97 (September): 104394.

Plasma Angiotensin Levels and Postoperative Hypotension in Patients With and Without Chronic Heart Failure Undergoing Cardiac Surgery. DiChiacchio, Laura, Rana Hamouche, Eleni Maneta, Forest Riekhof, Stavros G. Drakos, Craig H. Selzman, and Thomas C. Hanff. ASAIO Journal, September.

Towards Individual Risk Stratification in ECMO-Bridged Heart Transplantation. Nammalwar, Shruthi, Robert Schultz, and Laura DiChiacchio. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, September, S0003-4975(26)00930-6.

Cardiology

Author Response to ‘Persistent Proteomic Signatures in Takotsubo Syndrome: Methodological Considerations Regarding Reference Cohort Selection and Confounding.’ Marano, Paul, Jennifer E. Van Eyk, and C. Noel Bairey Merz. Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research 19 (1): 117.

Avoid It or Reach It? The Cardiac Conduction Axis as a Common yet Divergent Determinant of Patient Outcomes in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement and Conduction-System Pacing. Jilaihawi, Hasan, Kenneth A. Ellenbogen, Pugazhendhi Vijayaraman, and Raj R. Makkar. Heart Rhythm, September, S1547-5271(26)02774-8.

Deep Learning-Enabled Screening of Chronic Kidney Disease From Echocardiography. Yuan, Victoria, Hirotaka Ieki, Alexander Sandhu, Long H. Nguyen, Paul P. Cheng, Stephanie T. Chang, Andrew P. Ambrosy, Alan C. Kwan, Alan S. Go, Susan Cheng, and David Ouyang. Med, September, 101296.

Influence of Chronic Kidney Disease on Outcomes After Paclitaxel-Coated Balloon Angioplasty for Coronary In-Stent Restenosis. Tehrani, Behnam N., Ilan Vavilin, Richard Shlofmitz, Jeffrey Moses, William Bachinsky, Suhail Dohad, Steven Rudick, Robert Stoler, Brian K. Jefferson, William Nicholson, John Altman, Cinthia Bateman, Jennifer A. Tremmel, J. Dawn Abbott, Wayne Batchelor, Rafael Cavalcante, Robert W. Yeh, and Ajay J. Kirtane. Circulation. Cardiovascular Interventions, September, e016978.

Left Atrial Appendage Closure or Anticoagulation for Atrial Fibrillation. Reply. Doshi, Shephal K., and Saibal Kar. The New England Journal of Medicine 395 (11): 1140.

Lost in CLARIFY-Cation: The Sex Gap That Refuses to Close. Gulati, Martha, and C. Noel Bairey-Merz. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, September, zwag488.

Mitral Valve Lithotripsy With SmartCrack Balloon for Severe Calcified Mitral Stenosis: First-in-Human Experience. So, Kent Chak-Yu, Kevin Ka-Ho Kam, Ling Na Geri Wong, Wang Hei Anselm Hui, Ching-Wei Lee, Tawai Ngernsritrakul, Leo Kar Lok Lai, Simon Chow, Shing Fung Chui, Michael Lee, Albert K. M. Chan, Randolph Wong, Thomas Modine, Hasan Jilaihawi, Yat-Yin Lam, Dee Dee Wang, Bryan Yan, and Alex Pui-Wai Lee. Journal of the American Heart Association, September, e050755.

Prognostic Implications of Functional Significance, High-Risk Plaque and Vessel Characteristics in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus. Song, Jin-Eun, Seokhun Yang, Masahiro Hoshino, Taishi Yonetsu, Jinlong Zhang, Eun-Seok Shin, Joon-Hyung Doh, Chang-Wook Nam, Jianan Wang, Shaoliang Chen, Nobuhiro Tanaka, Hitoshi Matsuo, Takashi Kubo, Hyuk-Jae Chang, Tsunekazu Kakuta, and Bon-Kwon Koo. The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine 41 (5): 873–83.

Computational Biomedicine

A FAIR Gold-Standard Benchmark for Geographic Entity Recognition in Cancer Genomics Literature for Biomedical NLP. Kann, Maricel G., Karen O’Connor, Petra Tembei, Samuel Rosner, and Graciela Gonzalez Hernandez. Bioinformatics Advances 6 (1): vbag225.

Ambient Air Pollutant Mixtures in Relation to Sonographic Endometrial Receptivity Parameters During the Peri-Implantation Window: A Clinic-Based Observational Study. Xu, Heze, Zhijiao Wang, Huixin Zhan, Yijia Liu, Shanwei Xing, Zekai Bai, Jingshuang Zhou, Hang Zhen, Jiapo Li, and Chong Qiao. Environmental Research, September, 125682.

Type 1 Interferon Perturbates Clonal Competition by Reshaping Human Blood Development. Lama, Chhiring, Danielle Isakov, Shira Rosenberg, Miguel Quijada-Álamo, Mirca S. Saurty-Seerunghen, Sara Moein, Mathis Nozais, Tsega-Ab Abera, Olivia Sakaguchi, Mansi Totwani, Grace Freed, Leila Zaydon, Chi-Lam Poon, Neelang Parghi, Andrea Kubas-Meyer, Amy X. Xie, Mohamed Omar, Daniel Choi, Franco Castillo-Tokumori, Ghaith Abu-Zeinah, Alicia Dillard, Saravanan Ganesan, Nathaniel D. Omans, Neville Dusaj, Paulina Chamely, Eleni Mimitou, Peter Smibert, Heidi E. Kosiorek, Amylou C. Dueck, Rona Weinberg, Ronan Chaligne, Bridget Marcellino, Luigi Marchionni, Sanjay Patel, Paul Simonson, Dan A. Landau, Elvin Wagenblast, Ronald Hoffman, and Anna S. Nam. Nature Genetics, September.

Medicine

Balancing Lipid Synthesis and Oxidation Promotes B Cell Response to Vaccination During Immunosuppression. Thompson, Elizabeth A., Alexis Figueroa, Katerina Roznik, Nicole E. Skinner, Santosh Dhakal, Shuai Li, Luca Biavati, Laura A. Sena, Laila Stoddart, Karli Redinger, Samuel B. Warner, Sabra L. Klein, Nadine Rouphael, Joel N. Blankson, Yolanda Eby, Robert D. Leone, Peter S. Heeger, Mark A. Robien, Christian P. Larsen, Erika L. Pearce, Edward J. Pearce, Hongkai Ji, Andrew H. Karaba, Dorry L. Segev, Aaron Ar Tobian, William A. Werbel, Andrea L. Cox, and Justin R. Bailey. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, September, e205170.

Clinical Scenarios of Suboptimal Response to Rituximab in Relapsing ANCA-Associated Vasculitis. Prieto-González, Sergio, Ellen Romich, Peter A. Merkel, David R. W. Jayne, Rona M. Smith, RITAZAREM investigators, and RITAZAREM investigators. Frontiers in Medicine 13: 1874867.

Global Disparities in Access to Randomized Controlled Trials for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Khan, Dilawar, and Yuri Matusov. Respiratory Medicine, September, 109165.

Proportional Limb Strengths Signal an Adaptive Shift in Arboreality in Early Human Evolution. Carlson, Kristian J., Christopher B. Ruff, M. Loring Burgess, Adam D. Sylvester, Tea Jashashvili, Jason L. Heaton, Travis R. Pickering, Lauren Sarringhaus, Timothy M. Ryan, Amélie Beaudet, Robin H. Crompton, A. J. Heile, Dominic Stratford, Kathleen Kuman, David Lordkipanidze, and Ronald J. Clarke. Science Advances 12 (38): eaeh1752.

Specific Targeting of Cancer Cell Mitochondria With a Malaria Drug Improves Pancreatic Cancer Outcome. Ou, Yan, Adrian Lim, Ruoxiang Wang, Nora Mir, Vinicius F. Calsavara, Qiang Wang, Yi Zhang, Stephen J. Pandol, and Mouad Edderkaoui. Scientific Reports 16 (1): 28708.

Taking a Spiritual History in the Oral Oncology Setting. Santos-Silva, Alan Roger, Marco Magalhaes, Camila Barcellos Calderipe, Marcio Ajudarte Lopes, Eric V. Ávila-Pires, and Joel B. Epstein. Supportive Care in Cancer: Official Journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer 34 (10): 989.

Neurology

Kit-Based Remote Collection and Isolation of Human Reprogrammable Somatic Cells for Generation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and Cerebral Organoids. Cheng, Iris Q., Juan F. Ruiz, Evan K. Casalino, Ce Zhang, and Angeliki Louvi. Nature Protocols, September.

Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

Advancements in Managing Bone Defects With Limb Length Discrepancies With a Motorized Intramedullary Combined Transport and Lengthening Nail. Collins, Angela C., and Geoffrey S. Marecek. Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma 40 (10S): S7–12.

Clinical Outcomes and Complications of the Posterior Dynamic Distraction Device in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Lam, Chuck H., Alma Sato, Halil Ibrahim Bulut, Jonathan Gibson, Conor T. Boylan, Jwalant S. Mehta, and Morgan Jones. European Spine Journal: Official Publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, September.

History, Physical Examination, and Terminology of Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus: Proceedings of the International Congress on Cartilage Repair of the Ankle. Tham, Alexander, James J. Butler, Jared Rubin, Christiaan J. A. van Bergen, Onno L. Baur, Christopher D. Murawski, Pietro Spennacchio, Dominic Carreira, Stephen R. Kearns, Adam W. Mitchell, Helder Pereira, Christopher Pearce, Members of International Consensus Group on Cartilage Repair of the Ankle 2017*, et al. Foot & Ankle Specialist, September, 19386400261485355.

Scheuermann’s Kyphosis Carries Higher Perioperative Risk Than Idiopathic Scoliosis in Adolescent Patients Undergoing Posterior Spinal Fusion. Chan, Vivien, Justin L. Reyes, Monerah Annaim, Mehdi Elfilali, Michael G. Vitale, David L. Skaggs, and Zeeshan M. Sardar. Spine Deformity, September.

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Advancing Digital Health in Low-Middle-Income Countries: Experiences From Armenia’s Health System Digital Transformations. Sargsyan, Tsaghkanush, Anna Artsruni, Sergey Sargsyan, Ruzanna MoVsesyan, Arpine Muradyan, Avet Manukyan, and Karine Sargsyan. Frontiers in Public Health 14: 1827775.

Pediatrics

Circulating Tumor DNA Profiling Defines Risk Classification in Patients With Ewing Sarcoma: A Report From the Children’s Oncology Group and the LEOPARD Study. Shulman, David S., Kelly Klega, Nan Chen, Allen Buxton, Elliot Gohn, Sarah Sexton, Catherine Clinton, Mohammad Tanhaemami, Carrie Cibulskis, Edwin Choy, Thomas Cash, Kris Ann P. Schultz, Leo Mascarenhas, Rochelle Bagatell, Christopher Kuo, Brian K. Turpin, Bhuvana A. Setty, Bradley D. DeNardo, Douglas S. Hawkins, Michael W. Bishop, Avanthi Tayi Shah, Luke D. Maese, Julia L. Glade Bender, Damon Reed, Mark D. Krailo, Natalie DelRocco, Wendy B. London, Katherine A. Janeway, Steven G. DuBois, and Brian D. Crompton. Journal of Clinical Oncology: Official Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, September, JCO2600285.

Development of CRISPR_SCD001, an Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease After CRISPR-Cas9 Mediated Correction. DeWitt, Mark, Beatriz Campo-Fernandez, Sohini Roy, Alissa L. W. Kleinhenz, Alejandra Davila, Mallory Lennon, Jonnathan T. Vu, Netravathi Krishnappa, Suzanne Said, Chin-Hong Tseng, So Hyun Park, Gang Bao, Wendy Magis, David I. K. Martin, Dario Boffelli, Stacia K. Wyman, Donald B. Kohn, Mark C. Walters, and Zulema Romero. Molecular Therapy: The Journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy, September, S1525-0016(26)00790-2.

Diagnosis Through Whole Genome Sequencing and Care Utilization in Children With Severe Illness. Dias, Joao M. L., Ravi P. More, Duncan Butler, Julian Brown, Courtney E. French, Helen Dolling, F. Lucy Raymond, David H. Rowitch, and Catherine E. Aiken. JAMA Network Open 9 (9): e2634372.

Use of Purified Cannabidiol in Treatment-Resistant Pediatric Epilepsy: Beyond Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, Dravet Syndrome, and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex. Kahan, Madeline D., Tiffany Lin, Sucheta M. Joshi, Elizabeth Hagopian, My H. Vu, Michele Van Hirtum-Das, Latanya D. Agurs, and Deborah L. Holder. Pediatric Neurology 184 (August): 101–5.

Radiation Oncology

Radiation Therapy for Bladder Cancer: An ASTRO Clinical Practice Guideline. Ballas, Leslie K., Abhishek A. Solanki, Brian C. Baumann, Piet Dirix, Comron Hassanzadeh, Nicholas G. Zaorsky, Andrea B. Apolo, Ananya Choudhury, Peter W. Chung, Jeffrey M. Holzbeierlein, Monika Joshi, Michele M. Kim, Cheryl T. Lee, William Moroney, Chad R. Ritch, Hina Saeed, Rituraj Upadhyay, Antoine G. van der Heijden, Lisa Bradfield, Amanda R. Helms, and Jason A. Efstathiou. Practical Radiation Oncology, September, S1879-8500(26)00273-0.

Surgery

Acute Cholecystitis in High-Risk Patients: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Practice Management Guideline From the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST). Ratnasekera, Asanthi, Rishi Rattan, Bishwajit Bhattacharya, Zugui Zhang, Madison Harris, Sirivan S. Seng, Connor Magura, Christopher A. Butts, Judy Rabinowitz, Jordan Michael Kirsch, Ida Molavi, Haytham Kaafarani, Tejal S. Brahmbhatt, Michael W. Cripps, Nikolay Bugaev, and John J. Como. Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open 11 (3): e002191.

Beyond the First Cancer: Secondary Malignancies Associated With Soft Tissue Sarcomas. Nguyen-Thai, Allison, Farin Amersi, Alexandra Gangi, and Allan W. Silberman. The American Surgeon, September, 31348261472869.

Dual Acellular Subnormothermic Machine Perfusion for Enhanced Uterus Preservation in a Swine Model. Cabanel, Lucile, Haïzam Oubari, Bradley W. Ellis, Ludivine Dion, Vincent Lavoué, Carla Sousa, Loïc Van Dieren, Olivier Morel, Mark A. Randolph, Curtis L. Cetrulo, Korkut Uygun, Alexandre G. Lellouch, Yanis Berkane, and Basak E. Uygun. Acta Obstetricia Et Gynecologica Scandinavica, September.

Is There a Difference in the Outcomes of Long-Term Seton Placement for Complex Anal Fistula in Patients With and Without Crohn’s Disease? Aviran, Eyal, Dan Assaf, Karen Zaghiyan, and Phillip Fleshner. American Journal of Surgery 262 (September): 117248.

Long-Term Surveillance After EVAR and TEVAR: Are Patients Truly Lost to Follow-Up? Schwieger, Lara, Steven Scarlett, Mohyee Ayouty, Marvin Lu, Donna Bahroloomi, Cassra Arbabi, Navyash Gupta, Donald Baril, Ali Azizzadeh, and Elizabeth L. Chou. Annals of Vascular Surgery, September, S0890-5096(26)00654-0.

Resource Utilization and Outcomes of Inpatient Eyelid Reconstruction in Facial Palsy Patients: A 20-Year HCUP-NIS Study. Hoch, Cosima C., Tobias Niederegger, Emre Karakas, Douglas Henderson, Thomas Schaschinger, Dilan Gucuk, Christian Festbaum, Jakob Fenske, Alexandre G. Lellouch, Leonard Knoedler, and Andreas Kehrer. JPRAS Open 52 (November): 415–24.

Urology

ATP-Dependent Chromatin Remodelers in Prostate Cancer Progression and Therapeutic Resistance. Torres, Lillian M., Clayton Yates, Charlotte L. Bevan, Michael R. Freeman, and Moray J. Campbell. Endocrinology, September, bqag103.

Is Gleason Pattern 3 Cancer? Molecular Features Do Not Distinguish Pattern 3 From Benign Tissue. Leni, Riccardo, Scott E. Eggener, Matthew R. Cooperberg, Simpa S. Salami, Adam B. Weiner, Ming Zhou, Hasan Al-Sattar, Alastair D. Lamb, and Andrew J. Vickers. BJU International, September.

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University is advancing groundbreaking research and educating future leaders in medicine, biomedical sciences and allied health sciences. Learn more about the university.

Compounded medications are custom-made drugs prepared by specialized pharmacies for patients whose needs cannot be met by standard medicines. Patients who use compounding pharmacies include people who are allergic to a standard drug ingredient, have difficulty swallowing pills or need an alternative during a drug shortage. Although compounded medications have existed for decades, recent shortages of popular drugs have led to renewed interest.

Simons told AARP that because compounded medications are custom mixed for individual patients, they are not reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for safety and effectiveness in the same way as conventional drugs.

“It’s the Wild West,” he said. “It’s buyer beware. And you really need to do your homework” before buying a compounded drug.

Simons told AARP that customized drugs can meet important needs but also may carry risks. Added ingredients, such as vitamins, may not have been tested in large clinical trials and could increase the risk of allergies, side effects or drug interactions, especially for older adults who take multiple medications.

“Many of the additives, people don’t need in the first place,” he said, noting that people generally need vitamin B12 only if they have a deficiency.

To help ensure quality and safety, experts recommend asking a doctor or pharmacy for a referral to a compounding pharmacy and choosing one that follows U.S. Pharmacopeia standards.

Read the complete article from AARP.

Patients benefited if they began exercising any time during the first year after their diagnosis, the study found.

“Cancer-related fatigue is different from regular fatigue,” said Jane Figueiredo, PhD, program leader for the Cancer Prevention and Control Program and director of Community and Population Health Research at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, and corresponding author of the study. “These patients can’t sit at a desk to work, walk down the hall to the bathroom, or even dress themselves sometimes—and resting doesn’t help. Their fatigue affects their relationships with family and friends, and it can last for years after their treatment is over.”  

Cancer-related fatigue can be brought on by multiple factors, Figueiredo said, including disease-related breakdown of muscle tissue, side effects of treatment and the mental burden associated with having such a serious illness.  

Previous studies have found that structured, closely monitored exercise plans can reduce fatigue, improve physical function and even boost overall cancer survival. In this study, investigators wanted to look at physical activity in a real-world setting, and to determine the amount and intensity of exercise that would best help patients, Figueiredo said.

Investigators analyzed data from more than 1,700 patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer who participated in the ColoCare study, a large-scale study conducted at Cedars-Sinai and six other sites.

These patients reported how often they participated in physical activities—including walking, household chores and recreational sports such as swimming or yoga—for two years after their diagnosis. Patients also reported their level of fatigue, and measures of quality of life that included their emotional state, ability to focus and remember, and social engagement.

Most of the participants were cancer survivors who had completed their treatment. Patients who reported they regularly engaged in physical activity had significantly lower levels of fatigue and improved quality of life, with consistent walking showing the greatest positive impact. This was true even for patients who weren’t particularly active when they were diagnosed.

“I assumed that people engaging in more vigorous activities would have the best outcomes, but that wasn’t the case,” said Louisa Liu, MD, the study’s first author and a hematology-oncology fellow at Cedars-Sinai Cancer during the investigation. “We found that consistency, rather than the intensity of the exercise, was most beneficial. Walking can be self-paced and easily adapted to a patient’s energy level and physical ability, so patients who walked were better able to do it consistently.”

Figueiredo said that physical activity could address many factors causing cancer-related fatigue.

“Fatigue is a multidimensional issue, and physical activity can help improve everything from muscle mass and metabolism to mental wellbeing and functioning,” she said. “It’s encouraging to see such strong benefits from something so simple, accessible and low risk.”

Liu noted that the study’s findings need to be validated in more formal clinical trials, but that even now they can help patients and set the stage for future studies.  

“Cancer is a complex disease that affects people in many ways,” said Robert Figlin, MD, interim director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer. “Our physicians and scientists are investigating every aspect to find real-world solutions that improve patient outcomes and patients’ daily lives.”

Additional Cedars-Sinai authors include Elham Kazemian, PhD; Nicole C. Loroña, PhD; Celina Shirazipour, PhD; Jun Gong, MD; Nathalie Nguyen, MPH; and Howard Kaufman, MD.

Other authors include Sylvia L Crowder, PhD; Victoria Damerell, PhD; Kathi Mooney, PhD; Mary C Playdon, PhD; Cornelia M Ulrich, PhD; Christopher I Li, MD, PhD; David Shibata, MD; Adetunji T Toriola, MD, PhD; Jennifer Ose, PhD; Anita R Peoples, PhD; Sheetal Hardikar, PhD; Erin M Siegel, PhD; Julienne E Bower, PhD; Biljana Gigic, PhD; Aasha I Hoogland, PhD; Xiaoyin Li, PhD; Brent J Small, PhD; and Heather S L Jim, PhD.

Funding: This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research R01NR018762 (principal investigators: Drs. Jane C. Figueiredo and Heather S.L. Jim), and the ColoCare Study was supported by the National Institutes of Health U01 CA206110 (principal investigators: Drs. Cornelia M. Ulrich, Jane C. Figueiredo, Christopher Li, and Erin Siegel).

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University is advancing groundbreaking research and educating future leaders in medicine, biomedical sciences and allied health sciences. Learn more about the university.

The 2026 IBD & Women’s Health Conference is a one-day symposium designed specifically for women at every stage of life who are navigating Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

The morning portion of the conference is for healthcare professionals only and includes presentations about clinical research. The afternoon program is open to the public and will bring together patients, caregivers, healthcare providers and researchers to share the latest clinical insights and foster meaningful community dialogue. Attendees will learn how medical therapies combine with lifestyle strategies, nutrition, and mental well-being to support long-term health.

Women living with inflammatory bowel disease face unique clinical and biological challenges—including hormonal fluctuations and pregnancy—yet specialized resources tailored to their specific needs are rarely central to medical programming. This conference is designed to bridge that gap by delivering the latest on treatment advances and resources directly to the community.

WHEN

Sunday, Sept. 27

• 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (Morning Session): Presentations and clinical research discussions for healthcare professionals and scientists only.
• 1–5p.m. (Afternoon Session): Interactive sessions with healthcare experts open to patients and caregivers.
  

WHERE

Cedars-Sinai
South Tower, Harvey Morse Auditorium
8700 Gracie Allen Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90048

CONTACT

Members of the news media are welcome to cover the conference. Interviews with gastroenterology experts, researchers, and patient advocates can be arranged.

Please contact:
Laura Coverson
310-562-1112
Laura.Coverson@cshs.org

An estimated 100 million people in the U.S. have metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, according to the American Liver Foundation. About 20% to 25% will progress to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a more aggressive form of the disease in which excess fat buildup in the liver leads to inflammation, cell damage and scarring.

Treatments focus on lifestyle changes and protecting the liver from further damage. Medications are available, but effective options remain limited and there is no cure for MASH.

Previous research pointed to damaged mitochondria, which power cells, as a driver of MASH. In the new multicenter study, Cedars-Sinai investigators found that levels of the UBE2N enzyme in liver cells decrease as liver disease progresses.

“The UBE2N enzyme appears to protect the liver from the inflammation and damage associated with MASH by helping remove damaged mitochondria and supporting the breakdown of fat,” said Ekihiro Seki, MD, PhD, professor of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai and co-corresponding author of the study. “When levels of the enzyme fell, we saw more damaged cells and injury to the liver.”

When investigators restored the UBE2N enzyme to normal levels in the livers of laboratory mice, fat buildup, scarring and inflammation were reduced. The findings suggest that the enzyme could be a promising target for preventing MASLD from progressing to MASH.

“The identification of this enzyme’s role in regulating mitochondria in the liver is an important advance in understanding steatotic liver disease,” said Shelly Lu, MD, the Women’s Guild Chair in Gastroenterology and director of the Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Cedars-Sinai. “Future studies can test whether enhancing this protective pathway can complement existing treatments, identify patients most likely to benefit and lead to new therapeutic approaches for preventing advanced disease.”

Additional Cedars-Sinai authors include Michitaka Matsuda, So Yeon Kim, Takashi Tsuchiya and Yoon Seok Roh.

Additional authors include: Feng Wang, Jin Lee, Jeong-Su Park, Meizhou Huang, Hwan Ma, Guoyan Sui, Zixiong Zhou, Xufeng Wu, Haram Lee, Soohwan Oh, Hanseul Park, Key-Hwan Lim, Chun-Woong Park, Sang-Bae Han, Jin Tae Hong and Michael Karin.

Funding: This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (grant nos. RS-2025-02273102 and RS-2025-02603096), Regional Innovation System & Education (RISE) programme of Chungbuk (grant no. 2025-RISE-11-014-03), the Pinnacle Research Award of American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD, to J.L.), the San Diego Digestive Diseases Research Center (SDDRC) Pilot/Feasibility Grant (NIDDK P30 DK120515, to J.L.), the National Institutes of Health (grant nos. R01DK085252, R01DK138591 and R01CA301632) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 82404726).

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University is advancing groundbreaking research and educating future leaders in medicine, biomedical sciences and allied health sciences. Learn more about the university.

Weiner told HealthCentral that for most patients with this advanced disease, the main goals of treatment are to control the cancer, extend life and manage symptoms so they can feel well.

“Generally, mCRPC is not curable, so rather than aiming to eliminate the cancer we focus on slowing its growth, shrinking it where we can, relieving pain and other symptoms, and preventing complications like fractures,” he said, noting fractures can occur when the disease spreads to the bones.

Weiner told HealthCentral that although this kind of prostate cancer no longer responds fully to hormone treatment, therapy remains important. Prostate cancer is fueled by male hormones, especially testosterone, so treatment lowers testosterone or blocks it from reaching the cancer. Over time, however, this disease can find ways to grow despite very low testosterone levels.

“We usually keep patients on hormone treatment and add other treatments that block the androgen pathway more completely or ones that work through other actions,” he said.

Weiner outlined additional treatment options:

• Chemotherapy
• Immunotherapy (treatment that harnesses a patient’s immune system)
• Newer androgen-receptor pathway inhibitors (hormone-blocking therapy)
• Targeted PARP inhibitors (targeted therapy that prevents damaged cancer cells from mending)
• Radiopharmaceuticals (medicines that deliver radiation directly to cancer cells)

Weiner emphasized that genetic and genomic testing can help determine which targeted treatments are most likely to help. Patients with mutations in DNA-repair genes such as BRCA1 or BRCA2 may benefit from PARP inhibitors.

Weiner told HealthCentral that radiopharmaceuticals are “especially valuable in metastatic disease, where the cancer has spread to many sites and we can’t aim a radiation beam at one spot.”

He described the field as “an area of rapid progress.”

Read the complete article from HealthCentral.

“When I first got drafted, that was the biggest achievement in my entire life,” said Koloko, who stands at 6 feet, 11 inches. “Every kid’s dream is to hear their name called, so it was a big moment for me and my family.”

Koloko started his career in Toronto, but his excitement was short-lived.

“During my rookie season, I started experiencing some shortness of breath and I was getting tired much more quickly than usual,” Koloko said. “I went to see my doctors with the team because I just felt like something was wrong.”

Testing found a blood clot in Koloko’s lungs. With no indication of where the clot was coming from, Koloko was placed on blood thinners, which sidelined him for most of the following season because the medication could cause severe internal bleeding if he was injured on the court. His team released him from his contract, and he was placed on the NBA's fitness-to-play panel—meaning no team could sign him until he was medically cleared.

“I went to see so many different doctors, but the response was always the same,” Koloko said. “They couldn’t find the source of the clot, so I was just going to have to be on blood thinners the rest of my life and I wouldn’t be able to play basketball anymore. After just one season, I thought my career was over.”

But Koloko and his family pressed on for answers, turning to Cedars-Sinai for another opinion. That’s where he met Ali Azizzadeh, MD, director of the Division of Vascular Surgery at Cedars-Sinai and associate director of the Smidt Heart Institute.

“When we examined Christian, we found that his left arm was three centimeters bigger in diameter than his right, which suggested a narrowing of the vein,” Azizzadeh said. “We performed a venogram that revealed a major clot in the vein draining his left arm, allowing us to diagnose venous thoracic outlet syndrome.”

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a condition caused by pressure on blood vessels or nerves in the space known as the thoracic outlet between the neck and the shoulder. Koloko was experiencing a rarer type of TOS—known as venous TOS—in which the subclavian vein is pinched between the collarbone and first rib, causing damage and narrowing the vein.

“In Christian’s case, chronic overhead trauma likely led to scarring in the vein draining his arm. This scarring narrowed the vein and allowed clots to form,” Azizzadeh said. “We tend to see this in athletes—including basketball players, baseball players and swimmers—due to the repetitive overhead movements in their sports.”

To fix the issue, Azizzadeh and his team at Cedars-Sinai surgically removed Koloko’s first rib and some of the muscles that are connected to it to make more room for the vein. They also removed scar tissue from around the vein, placing a patch to make the vein bigger and allowing blood to flow freely. This meant Koloko could stop taking the blood thinners that were keeping him from the game—and job—he loved.

Just a few months after surgery and rehabilitation, Koloko was cleared to play by the NBA and back to his regular workouts on the court. He will kick off the 2026-27 NBA season this fall playing for the New Orleans Pelicans. With preseason just around the corner, Koloko is glad to have his health issues behind him.

“I’m just grateful for everything,” Koloko said. “Getting back to playing basketball, I’m grateful to Dr. Azizzadeh, my family and everyone who supported me during that process.”

When the season starts, Azizzadeh will be rooting for him.

“I’m glad to see Christian back on the court, and I’m looking forward to watching him play this season,” Azizzadeh said. “This is his second chance to be a true NBA star, and we’re delighted to have played a role in helping him get there.”

Read more from Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights: Understanding Vascular Malformations

“Our team will be presenting research and clinical trial results, moderating scientific discussions and presenting clinical insights,” said Katelyn Atkins, MD, PhD, interim chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer.

Atkins will present research on how the health of the thymus—a small gland in the chest that helps regulate the immune system—affects the risk of heart damage in patients receiving radiation therapy for lung cancer. She also is available to discuss a range of radiation oncology topics.

Additional Cedars-Sinai experts presenting at the conference are available to discuss news coming out of the meeting.

Cedars-Sinai Experts

Leslie Ballas, MD, professor of Radiation Oncology, will present findings from a Phase II multi-institutional study examining whether very low doses of radiation—adjusted based on how each patient responds—can treat bone metastases caused by multiple myeloma. She will also join a panel discussion of radiation therapy guidelines for bladder cancer and localized prostate cancer.

Nikhil Chakravarty, MPH, will discuss whether the timing of GLP-1 inhibitor treatment affects the risk of sudden and serious cardiovascular events, such as heart attack or stroke, in men receiving hormone therapy for prostate cancer.

Indrin Chetty, PhD, director of the Division of Medical Physics, will explain how using AI and other software can improve patient safety and outcomes. Chetty also will moderate a workshop on decision-making surrounding re-irradiation and present in a session on using algorithms and optimization to maximize radiation doses to tumors while sparing healthy tissue.

Tai Dou, PhD, assistant professor of Radiation Oncology, will moderate a discussion of AI-powered planning, delivery and analysis of radiotherapy treatments.

Mitchell Kamrava, MD, is a professor of Radiation Oncology and director of Brachytherapy, in which a radiation source is placed inside the body. He will discuss techniques and outcomes for microboosting—delivering a higher, targeted radiation dose to the most aggressive area of a tumor—in men with prostate cancer.

Anthony Nguyen, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Radiation Oncology and Biomedical Sciences, will moderate a discussion and present research about biomarkers in prostate radiotherapy. At the Radiation Research Society annual meeting the following week in Hawaii, he will present an invited lecture on how radiation modifies the immune system.

Stephen Shiao, MD, PhD, professor of Radiation Oncology and Biomedical Sciences and co-leader of the Cancer Therapeutics Program, will present on the microbiome’s regulation of tumor response to low-dose radiation.

Zachary Zumsteg, MD, associate professor of Radiation Oncology and Biomedical Sciences, will give an oral presentation reporting results from a Phase II prospective clinical trial investigating deintensified chemoradiotherapy following transoral robotic surgery in HPV-associated head and neck cancer.

Media Contact

To schedule an interview with a Cedars-Sinai expert, contact Christina Elston at christina.elston@cshs.org or 626-298-0702.

Mandelbaum was appointed interim chief medical officer earlier this year and served in the role during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He will continue to lead the federation’s medical strategy, oversee its network of physicians and guide efforts related to clinical care, athlete wellness, injury prevention and long-term performance.

Mandelbaum has worked with U.S. Soccer since 1989 and has supported the U.S. Men’s National Team at every FIFA World Cup since 1994. A veteran of nine FIFA World Cups and six Olympic and Paralympic Games, he has extensive experience caring for elite athletes on the world’s largest sporting stages.

Mandelbaum is vice chair of Network Development at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and serves as medical director of the Cedars-Sinai FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence, one of only three FIFA Medical Centres of Excellence in the United States.

“U.S. Soccer has been part of my life for more than three decades, so stepping into this role is both an honor and a responsibility,” Mandelbaum said. “This is an opportunity to help shape how medicine, health and performance are integrated across an entire national system. It’s about building systems that last and creating standards that improve care not only for elite athletes, but for people at every level of sport and throughout their lives.”

As chief medical officer, Mandelbaum will help establish and advance medical policies and standards across U.S. Soccer. His responsibilities will include supporting the health and performance of national team athletes, strengthening collaboration among medical professionals and developing strategies focused on injury prevention, recovery, resilience and longevity.

Mandelbaum’s approach to athlete care is grounded in what he calls “play span”—a philosophy focused on preserving performance and extending an individual’s ability to participate in the activities they value. The approach emphasizes building capacity and resilience, rather than simply treating injuries after they occur.

“It’s not only about whether someone can perform today,” Mandelbaum said. “Can we increase their capacity and resiliency? Can we prevent injury and help them maintain their performance over time? We look at how someone lives, eats, thinks, trains, recovers and performs.”

Through the Cedars-Sinai FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence, Mandelbaum and his colleagues collaborate with sports medicine leaders around the world to advance research, education and clinical care for athletes.

“Dr. Mandelbaum has been a trusted and invaluable partner to U.S. Soccer for more than 30 years, helping shape an environment where athlete health, safety and performance are always at the forefront,” said Oguchi Onyewu, U.S. Soccer assistant sporting director. “His expertise spans the highest levels of the sport, but what stands out most is his unwavering commitment to supporting athletes throughout every stage of their journey. His experience, innovation and vision for the future of sports medicine make him exceptionally qualified to lead our medical program.”

Mandelbaum hopes his work will contribute to lasting improvements in athlete care and create models that benefit broader communities.

“Ultimately, the impact will not be measured only in wins or championships,” he said. “It will be measured in healthier people, better care models and stronger communities.”

Read more from Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights: Preventing Injuries to Young Soccer Players

While some hearing loss is a natural part of aging, as delicate hair cells in the inner ear that detect sound gradually die, certain factors—including genetics—are outside a person’s control.

“If your mother or father, or aunts, or uncles, or grandparents had hearing loss, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if you had hearing loss, too,” Wong told Health.

Exposure to excessive noise is the main preventable risk factor for hearing loss. Loud environments and high-volume headphones can damage the inner ear cells responsible for hearing, especially when used above 60% volume for more than an hour, Wong told Health.

He added that over time, “the ear becomes more delicate, more fragile, and more susceptible to having some of those changes that maybe would not have happened as much if you did not have that exposure.”

Lifestyle habits matter, too. Wong told Health that hearing depends on healthy blood flow to the inner ear. Habits such as smoking or not exercising can increase the risk of high blood pressure, which can damage blood vessels.

“All the things that keep your heart healthy are the same things that would keep your ear healthy,” he said.

Wong told Health that adults should have a hearing test in early adulthood and repeat it periodically, with more frequent testing beginning in their 40s. He emphasized the importance of early intervention and hearing aids when recommended.

He said that while hearing aids do not reverse or slow damage to the inner ear, they can help protect and improve the brain’s ability to process sound.

Read the complete article from Health.

Cedars-Sinai in the News

How Food Poisoning Can Lead to Chronic IBS: Scientists Investigate the Link | National Geographic
Mark Pimentel, MD 

Dietary Supplement Glutamine Plus Standard Therapy Improved Outcomes in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Investigators Find | The Cancer Letter
Jun Gong, MD, Neil Bhowmick, PhD, and Robert Figlin, MD 

Foundayo vs. the Wegovy Pill: What Doctors Want You to Know | Prevention
Amanda Velazquez, MD 

Smartwatches Overestimate Calories Burned by Up to 25%, Study Suggests | Prevention
Amanda Velazquez, MD 

Cedars-Sinai Earns Top Emergency Accreditation | Beverly Press/Park Labrea News
Sam Torbati, MD 

Flu Season Could Be Tougher if Vaccination Rates Stay Low, Experts Say | ConsumerAffairs
Michael Ben-Aderet, MD

Advanced Dementia: A Guide to Care, Comfort and Hospice | Being Patient
Zaldy Tan, MD, MPH

FDA Approves Apitegromab for Spinal Muscular Atrophy | Neurology Live
Michelle Allen-Sharpley, MD, PhD

Hyaluronic Acid Could Cut Cancer Risk, if We Can Get Around to Its Cons | American Chemical Society
Ekihiro Seki, MD, PhD

Faculty Publications

Cardiac Surgery

Bundles for Decreasing Sternal Wound Infections: Science or Ritual? Cohen, Robbin G. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, September, S0003-4975(26)00917-3.

Five-Year Follow-Up of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement With Self-Expanding Intra-Annular Versus Commercially Available Valves. Makkar, Raj R., Wen Cheng, Ron Waksman, Tarun Chakravarty, Lowell F. Satler, Mark Groh, William Abernethy, Mark J. Russo, David Heimansohn, James Hermiller, Stephen Worthley, Bassem M. Chehab, Ray Matthews, Ravi K. Ramana, Gerald Yong, Chunguang Chen, Federico M. Asch, Mamoo Nakamura, Hasan Jilaihawi, Rahul Sharma, Dhairya Patel, Samir Kapadia, Michael J. Reardon, Deepak L. Bhatt, and Gregory P. Fontana. JACC. Cardiovascular Interventions, September, S1936-8798(26)01963-1.

Cardiology

Digital Health Use and Interest in Virtual Cardiac Rehabilitation Among Cardiac Inpatients: Cross-Sectional Study. Patel, Hamza G., Jie Ding, Xinyi Zhang, Abel Cherian, Pauline Hyunh, Apurva Sharma, Vennela Avula, Rongzi Shan, Katherine A. Ornstein, Shireen R. Khoury, Francoise A. Marvel, Lena M. Mathews, Seth S. Martin, and Erin M. Spaulding. JMIR Cardio 10 (September): e91767.

Fatty Acid and Oxylipin Metabolism Differentiate Isolated Postcapillary From Combined Pre- and Postcapillary Pulmonary Hypertension. Alotaibi, Mona, Amber Tang, Nancy Sun, Ian Gurholt, Emma Yuguchi, Kari Roberts, Ioana Preston, Rod Warburton, Jason X.-J. Yuan, Nick H. Kim, Stephen Y. Chan, Mohit Jain, Susan Cheng, and Nicholas S. Hill. Circulation. Heart Failure, September, e014073.

Impact of Tricuspid Regurgitation on Outcomes After Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair for Primary Mitral Regurgitation: The PRIME-MR Registry. Scotti, Andrea, Sebastian Ludwig, Daniel Feldman, Benedikt Koell, Jessica Weimann, Philipp von Stein, Alejandro Araujo Adams, Adrian Heinze, Dhairya Patel, Lukas Stolz, Robin Le Ruz, Tetsu Tanaka, PRIME-MR Investigators, et al. Circulation. Cardiovascular Interventions, September, e016634.

Long-Term Outcomes of Contemporary Balloon-Expandable TAVR in Bicuspid Aortic Valve: A Propensity-Matched Comparison to Tricuspid. Suruga, Kazuki, Vivek Patel, Hidemasa Shitan, Guo Yuchao, Takashi Nagasaka, Daniel Ng, Jaideep Menda, Adishwar Singh, Ayush Goyal, Elijah Buss, Andjela Kremenovic, Emily Dermand, Harsh Jain, Dhairya Patel, Aakriti Gupta, Tarun Chakravarty, Wen Cheng, Yuito Okada, Hasan Jilaihawi, Mamoo Nakamura, and Raj R. Makkar. JACC. Cardiovascular Interventions 19 (17): 2383–96.

Prepregnancy Diet Quality Index and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes. Bharmal, Ummayhany, George Saade, Philip Greenland, Brenda J. Smith, Andrea C. Kozai, Stephanie A. Fisher, Lauren Theilen, William Grobman, C. Noel Bairey Merz, Uma Reddy, Tetsuya Kawakita, and null Ms. JAMA Network Open 9 (9): e2633245.

Quantitative Coronary Artery and Aortic Valve Calcification by Virtual Non-Contrast Images From Dual-Energy Delayed CT Scans in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis. Fujito, Hidesato, Kaveh Rezaei Bookani, Bashaer Gheyath, Sunam Lee, Sung Woo Cho, Balaji Tamarappoo, Alan C. Kwan, Raj Makkar, Damini Dey, Piotr Slomka, Daniel S. Berman, John Friedman, and Donghee Han. The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging, September.

Too Much, Too Soon? The Argument Against Initial Combination Therapy in Stage I Hypertension. McClintick, Daniel J., Hilary C. Bowman, and Joseph E. Ebinger. Journal of Human Hypertension, September.

Computational Biomedicine

Integrated Signatures Define Mutational Processes in Prostate Cancer. Gruber, Andreas J., André V. Olsen, Barbara Hernando, Kevin C. L. Cheng, Clarissa Gerhäuser, Marina Torres, Francesco Favero, Daria Kiriy, Ángel Fernández-Sanromán, Juan Maria Roldan-Romero, Lucy Barton, Diogo Pellegrina, Joachim Weischenfeldt, et al. Nature, September.

Recurrent Mechanisms of Biallelic Epigenetic Inactivation Reveal New Putative Tumour Suppressor Genes in Prostate Cancer. Kiriy, Daria, Francesco Favero, Clarissa Gerhäuser, Jessica Heilmann, Pavlo Lutsik, Francisco German Rodriguez Gonzalez, Alessio Locallo, Jakob Schmidt Jespersen, Andreas J. Gruber, Andre V. Olsen, Barbara Hernando, Kevin Cl Cheng, Joachim Weischenfeldt, et al. Nature Communications 17 (1): 9646.

Imaging

Radiology Preparedness for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games: Lessons From Previous Major Sporting Events. Lee, Jonathan, Eric D. Cyphers, Jihoon Lim, Harris Liou, and Ali Gholamrezanezhad. Journal of the American College of Radiology: JACR 23 (9): 1861–63.

Medicine

Blocking PD-L2 Prevents Senescent Cell Accumulation and Age-Related Dysfunction. Chaib, Selim, Larissa G. P. Langhi Prata, Masayoshi Suda, Andres Sola, Thomas J. Mitchell, Zacharias P. Anastasiadis, Hawley E. Kunz, Jia Nie, Stella G. Victorelli, Ricardo Lozano Flores, Moritz Weigl, Shimpei Kawamoto, Ken Uemura, Hyungsoo Kim, Binsheng Wang, Christina L. Inman, Tamar Pirtskhalava, Nino Giorgadze, Ailing Xue, Kurt O. Johnson, Jair M. Espindola-Netto, Sonja Suvakov, Jennet Hatamova, Erik S. Parker, Davyn Benitto Hartono, Vagisha Kulshreshtha, Jose Alberto Lopez-Dominguez, Aaron M. Deisinger, Allyson K. Palmer, Yi Zhu, Megan M. Weivoda, Anne Gingery, Robert Hromas, Vesna D. Garovic, João F. Passos, David B. Allison, Eiji Hara, Michael D. Jensen, Nicolas Musi, Stefan G. Tullius, Ze’ev A. Ronai, Manuel Serrano, Ming Xu, Ian R. Lanza, Yuji Ikeno, Tamara Tchkonia, and James L. Kirkland. Cell Metabolism, September, S1550-4131(26)00339-6.

Examining the Interchangeability of Two Different Patient-Reported Global Assessment Measures in an Observational Axial Spondyloarthritis Cohort. Vershel, Connor, Seokhun Kim, Lianne S. Gensler, Matthew A. Brown, Michael H. Weisman, Mariko L. Ishimori, Michael Ward, John D. Reveille, and Mark C. Hwang. Arthritis Care & Research, September.

Maternal and Fetal HLA Heterozygosity in Preeclampsia: Insights From a Large Multi-Ancestry Pregnancy Cohort. Cao, Chang, Matthew Maher, Jie Hu, Brendan J. Keating, Richard M. Burwick, S. Ananth Karumanchi, G. Larry Maxwell, Camille E. Powe, Thomas F. McElrath, David E. Cantonwine, Norma Serrano, Claudia Colmenares, Juan P. Casas, Richa Saxena, and Kathryn J. Gray. HLA 108 (3): e70970.

Performance of the iBox Prognostication System in African American Kidney Transplant Recipients. Truchot, Agathe, Yannis Lombardi, Marc Raynaud, Olivier Aubert, Gillian Divard, Thibaut Thalamas, Brad Astor, Didier Mandelbrot, Sandesh Parajuli, Kenneth A. Newell, Christian P. Larsen, Geeta Karadkhele, Babak Orandi, John J. Friedewald, Gaurav Gupta, Enver Akalin, Stanley C. Jordan, Arthur J. Matas, Miklos Z. Molnar, Junji Yamauchi, Katalin Fornadi, Andrew J. Bentall, Mark D. Stegall, Roslyn B. Mannon, Dorry L. Segev, Edmund Huang, William E. Fitzsimmons, and Alexandre Loupy. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology: JASN, September.

Prevalence of Fatty Liver and Diabetes Mellitus in Patients With Fatty Pancreas Disorder (FPD): A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review. Du, Yanhong, Xiaoyuan Wang, Xiaoyu Li, Qiaoling Liu, Yufei Xia, Jie Yang, Xijun Wang, Liang Qi, Stephen J. Pandol, and Ling Li. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, September, 113563.

Severe Pancolitis Presenting With Sacroiliitis: A Case Report Highlighting the Gut-Joint Axis in Ulcerative Colitis. Hajijama, Sameera, Abdullatif Sheikh Ibrahim, Hawa Ali Jama, Hamza Shikh, Nagoud Ali, Abdulrahman Rafat A Samman, Abdulahi M. Aden, Melmed Y. Gil, and Nezar Y. Albar. Case Reports in Gastroenterology 20 (1): 353–60.

Urinary Metabolomics May Improve Prediction of Overall Survival Beyond Tumor Stage in Colorectal Cancer: Results From the ColoCare Study. Lin, Tengda, Boyi Guo, Victoria M. Bandera, David B. Liesenfeld, Jincheng Shen, Benjamin Haaland, Paul A. Stewart, Kenneth M. Boucher, Patricia A. Erickson, Sheetal Hardikar, Victoria Damerell, Doratha A. Byrd, Jane C. Figueiredo, Adetunji T. Toriola, David Shibata, Erin M. Siegel, Christopher I. Li, Alexis B. Ulrich, Christoph Kahlert, Daniel O. Scharfstein, Biljana Gigic, Cornelia M. Ulrich, and Jennifer Ose. Metabolomics, 22 (5): 150.

Vorasidenib-Induced Acute Liver Injury. Lau, Emily A., David R. Braxton, Didier Autran, Fengming Chen, Aurelie M. Haffner, Jethro Hu, Katherine B. Peters, and Tse-Ling Fong. Digestive Diseases and Sciences, September.

Neurology

Characteristics of Patients With Bibrachial Amyotrophy Due to Spontaneous Spinal CSF Leaks. Schievink, Wouter I., Marcel Maya, Angelique Sao-Mai S. Tay, Rachelle B. Tache, Ray Chu, Franklin G. Moser, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Miriam A. Nuno, and Richard A. Lewis. Neurology 107 (7): e218492.

EXPRESS: Rapamycin Increases Cerebral Blood Flow and Modulates Metabolic, Inflammatory, and Microbiome Profiles in Healthy Middle-Aged APOE4 Carriers: A Pilot Single-Arm Trial. Aware, Chetan, Caitlin Maria Neher, Carter Woods, Oleksandr Khegai, Alok Kumar Dwivedi, Maalavika Govindarajan, Kira Ivanich, Mehmet Kurt, David Beversdorf, Jianlin Cheng, Nathan Bresette, Taixing Cui, Priti Balchandani, Mitzi M. Gonzales, Aaron C. Ericsson, Talissa Altes, and Ai-Ling Lin. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, September, 271678X261490342.

OBGYN

Effect of Intravenous Fluid Restriction on Nulliparous, Term, Singleton, Vertex Cesarean Delivery Rates. Tavakoli, Amin, Catriona Lewis, Naomi Greene, and Gabriela Dellapiana. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM, September, 102115.

Perinatal Outcomes in Individuals With Co-Occurring Anxiety and/or Depression and Substance Use in Pregnancy. Hayer, Sarena, Erin C. Nacev, Bharti Garg, Kelly M. Abshire, Aaron B. Caughey, and Jamie O. Lo. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM, September, 102116.

Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

Epidemiology, Mechanisms, and Treatments of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Beach Volleyball. Trikha, Rishi, Luis Ornelas, Christian L. Blough, Mia McCarthy, Orr Limpisvasti, and Michael B. Banffy. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine 14 (9): 23259671261479044.

Radiation Oncology

Core Competencies in Brachytherapy Training. Shah, Chirag, and Mitchell Kamrava. Brachytherapy, September, S1538-4721(26)00273-4.

Surgery

Actual Five-Year Survival After Neoadjuvant Therapy and Resection for Localized Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. De Stefano, Federico, Giulio Belfiori, Nathaniel F. Wu, Jill N. Allen, Laura Cerri Crn, Jeffrey W. Clark, Paolo Giorgio Arcidiacono, Cristina Ferrone, Theodore S. Hong, Domenico Tamburrino, Stefano Partelli, Motaz Qadan, Michele Reni, David P. Ryan, Marco Schiavo Lena, Gabriele Capurso, Colin D. Weekes, Jennifer Y. Wo, Keith D. Lillemoe, Stefano Crippa, Massimo Falconi, and Carlos Fernández-Del Castillo. Annals of Surgery, September.

Beating the Odds: Finding Fulfillment and Success as an International Medical Graduate in Cardiothoracic Surgery. Brownlee, Andrew R. Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports 4 (3): 1092.

Effects of End-Ischemic Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion on 1-y Graft Function in Kidney Transplantation: A Real-World, Single-Center Analysis From the United States. Steggerda, Justin A., Tiffany Lim, Irene K. Kim, Tsuyoshi Todo, Edmund Huang, Todd V. Brennan, Georgios Voidonikolas, Alice Peng, Reiad Najjar, Jun Shoji, Stanley Jordan, Sindhu Chandran, Emma Crichton, Benjamin Ferrel, Jose Reyes-Perez, Manaf Alsudaney, Peter S. Heeger, and Steven A. Wisel. Transplantation Direct 12 (10): e2005.

Molecular Pathways Linking the Gut Microbiome to Antitumor Immunity. Diaz-Olea, Ximena, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Jonathan E. Cohen, Andrei Osterman, and Zeev A. Ronai. Trends in Microbiology, September, S0966-842X(26)00245-3.

Predicting Recurrence in Stage IA Lung Adenocarcinoma Using Preoperative PET Scan. Moonsamy, Philicia. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, September, S0003-4975(26)00918-5.

Pregnancy Within the Surgical Work System: Persistent Demands With Limited Adaptation. Cohen, Tara N., Aleeque Marselian, Liam Brennan, Falisha F. Kanji, Joseph R. Keebler, Deborah DiazGranados, Shawn M. Doherty, Elizabeth H. Lazzara, and Monica Jain. American Journal of Surgery 262 (September): 117233.

Real-World Data on Aortic Endografts: Gore Together Aortic Registry Protocol. Yamanouchi, Dai, Manar Khashram, Dennis Gable, Ross Milner, Kak Khee Yeung, Timothy A. Resch, Dittmar Böckler, Chris Delaney, Ali Azizzadeh, Kazuo Shimamura, Raffi Qasabian, Sukgu Han, Yuri Feito, and Santi Trimarchi. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine 13: 1803528.

Technical Considerations for Robotic Pediatric Lobectomy. Krishna, Vikram, Claire Perez, Drew Bolster, Kellie Knabe, Raffaele Rocco, Philicia Moonsamy, Eugene S. Kim, Harmik J. Soukiasian, and Andrew R. Brownlee. Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports 4 (3): 938–41.

Thirty-Day Perioperative Safety Following Surgical Intervention for Unilateral and Bilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis: A Multicenter ACS-NSQIP Analysis. Schaschinger, Thomas, Cosima C. Hoch, Leonard Knoedler, Tobias Niederegger, William José Dyhr, Gabriel Hundeshagen, Alexandre G. Lellouch, Linda J. Voss, and Jan O. Voss. BMC Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 2 (1): 26.

Urology

Poverty-Modulated Tree Equity Shapes Health Burdens Across U.S. Cities. Lee, Min-Ki, Chang-Bae Lee, Sungyong You, Stephen J. Freedland, and Michael R. Freeman. Environmental Science and Ecotechnology 33 (September): 100758.

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University is advancing groundbreaking research and educating future leaders in medicine, biomedical sciences and allied health sciences. Learn more about the university.

Uquillas told CBS LA Mornings anchors Sheba Turk and Jamie Yuccas that young athletes often struggle to recognize the warning signs of heat illness, such as an elevated body temperature, headache, increased sweating, dizziness and nausea.

“Kids can regulate temperature fairly well when they’re healthy,” he said. “However, we get into trouble when you combine extreme heat, intense exercise, dehydration, and all the sports equipment that they have to wear.”

Uquillas told Turk and Yuccas that it can take children up to two weeks to acclimate to heat. In fact, many arrive at sports practice already dehydrated.

“Talking about hydration before you even kick off is really important,” he said, adding that educating parents and coaches about the signs of heat illness matters because “it’s really a medical emergency when it starts.”

Uquillas told Turk and Yuccas that heat with humidity is more dangerous than dry heat because high humidity prevents sweat from evaporating effectively.

“Sweating cools our body by evaporating, and if it doesn’t evaporate, it doesn’t dissipate the heat appropriately,” he said.

For athletes wearing heavy football gear, Uquillas recommended frequent breaks for cooling and hydration, as well as removing helmets and wearing less equipment when possible. He also said reducing direct sun exposure can help reduce the risk of dehydration.

Watch the complete segment from CBS 2.

Sharma told Science he has spent a decade studying whether microgravity can help stem cells form organoids—tiny, lab-grown models used to test drugs and other therapies. On Earth, machines circulate liquid to keep cells suspended, sometimes damaging or joining the delicate structures. In microgravity, the organoids remain suspended on their own. Early comparisons suggest space-grown organoids are cleaner and more plentiful.

“It just kind of makes sense, right?” Sharma told Science. “They’re supposed to float.”

Preliminary results from Sharma’s work prompted NASA to provide $1.5 million to repeat the experiments. If that research yields sustained results, biomanufacturing devices orbiting earth could one day produce high-quality organoids in much greater quantities to support new research and, eventually, create tissue grown from a patient’s own cells.

Sharma told Science he is looking ahead to what comes after the International Space Station retires in the not-so-distant future. Cedars-Sinai plans to use Haven-1, a commercial station under construction, for biomedical experiments as early as next year. He remains optimistic about the future of research in low-Earth orbit.

“So many people are trying to get into the game now,” he said.

Sharma told Science he also would welcome the chance to run his own experiments in space, lending his biomedical expertise to a mission. Given the opportunity, “Selfishly, yes—I would love to,” he said.

Read the complete article from Science.

When a knee injury threatened that dream earlier this year, the high jumper turned to Cedars-Sinai, where sports medicine specialists repaired damaged cartilage and helped put him back on the path toward competition.

Now the two-time Paralympic medalist is rebuilding, one workout at a time.

Diagnosed at age 2 with juvenile retinal macular degeneration, Jean-Paul has only about 20% of his eyesight. Yet he has spent a lifetime proving that limited eyesight doesn’t have to limit ambition.

“I want to show the world that it’s possible,” Jean-Paul said. “No matter what your circumstances are.”

For Jean-Paul—better known as IJP to his fans—that belief has carried him from competing alongside athletes without disabilities as a child to becoming a two-time Paralympic medalist and world record holder. Now, he hopes to compete in both the Olympics and Paralympics during the LA28 Games

“Vision involves your belief. Vision involves your faith, your discernment, your imagination,” he said. “I can't see the world the same way, so I have to imagine what I'm seeing. I have to feel what I'm seeing.”

Today, the Team USA track and field athlete is a two-time Paralympic medalist, world record holder and one of adaptive sports’ most recognizable advocates.

A Different Path

Unlike many Paralympians, Jean-Paul didn’t learn about the Paralympic Games until he was in college.

He spent his childhood competing alongside athletes without disabilities. Basketball was his first love, and it wasn’t until his senior year of high school that he discovered track and field.

Within three meets, he had broken his school’s high jump record.

A scholarship to Lewis University followed, where he became a five-time NCAA Division II All-American and national champion.

“I competed against nondisabled athletes my entire life,” he said. “My coaches didn't lean toward my disability as a crutch. They just saw my potential. They knew I was an athlete, and they trained me as such.”

Since then, his career has included world championships, world records and two Paralympic medals in long jump. But as the LA28 Games draws closer, his goal to qualify for both Games inspires him at every workout.

“It’s a big opportunity—not just for me, but for everyone to experience people with disabilities, not just athletes,” he said. “My goal is to show the world that it’s possible.”

An Unexpected Detour

Earlier this year, Jean-Paul had to put his vision on hold.

What initially felt like a typical overuse injury common among jumpers gradually worsened.

“I thought it was jumper’s knee,” Jean-Paul recalled. “But after a track meet in February, it was hard for me to walk upstairs. I couldn’t really bend my knee. I said, ‘Something is going on.’”

Imaging revealed torn cartilage in his knee.

Seeking answers, Jean-Paul met with Casey Batten, MD, co-director of Nonoperative Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine at Cedars-Sinai, who reviewed the imaging, explained his treatment options and helped him understand what each option could mean for his long-term goals.

Batten also serves as chief medical officer for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Cedars-Sinai is the Official Medical Provider for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

After discussing rehabilitation and surgical options, Batten referred Jean-Paul to orthopedic surgeon Michael Banffy, MD, chief of Sports Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.

For the first time in his life, Jean-Paul faced a decision he’d never imagined making.

He could continue managing the pain—or undergo the first surgery of his athletic career.

Because 2026 is a non-championship year, he viewed it as an opportunity to invest in the years ahead.

“I've been on since 2017,” he said. “I haven’t had a break in track and field. I looked at this as an opportunity to get my mind right, rejuvenate myself and get a new step on life.”

Back on Track

Banffy repaired the damaged cartilage arthroscopically, allowing Jean-Paul to begin rehabilitation soon after surgery.

“By treating it now, we’re allowing him to continue training, build strength and ultimately work toward qualifying for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Banffy said. “If he had ignored it, it likely would have become a recurring problem.”

For Jean-Paul, the medical expertise was matched by the trust he developed with his care team.

“I had never had surgery before,” he said. “Trust between surgeon and patient is very important. They built that trust with me, and that gave me confidence.”

Today, recovery has become part of training.

Most mornings begin before sunrise with cycling, weight training, pool workouts and physical therapy. Progress comes one day at a time.

“I keep telling myself one day at a time,” he said. “If I move too soon, it’s going to be a regression.”

Banffy remains optimistic.

“I’m extremely confident that IJP will make a full recovery,” he said. “He’ll be able to train, and I’ll be rooting for him as he works toward these LA28 Games.”

More Than Medals

For Jean-Paul, the LA28 Games represents something more than another competition.

Throughout the year, Jean-Paul visits schools, speaks with students and encourages young people—especially those with disabilities—to dream bigger than others expect them to.

He has written children’s books promoting inclusion and empowerment, and hopes his own journey reminds others that success looks different for everyone.

“Gold doesn’t necessarily mean standing on top of the podium,” he said. “I’m out here chasing my dream, and you can do the same thing.”

When he imagines the LA28 Games, he doesn’t picture the medal ceremony first.

He pictures his daughter.

“I visualize holding my daughter with the American flag wrapped around us,” he said. “Showing her, ‘This is what dreams are made of.’”

For now, that vision begins with one workout, one therapy session and one day at a time.

Read more from Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights: The ABCs of Knee Ligament Injuries

The HIV-positive patient who received Cedars-Sinai’s first HIV-positive donor kidney had previously been listed on the waitlist for more than two years and was not expected to receive an organ offer in the near future. Once listed on the HIV-positive organ list, the patient received an organ offer in less than a week.

This patient and the first HIV-positive liver recipient are doing well following their transplants, which were made possible by the Comprehensive Transplant Center’s new HIV-to-HIV transplant program, currently the only-of-its-kind in the Los Angeles area.

“We brought together a team of liver and kidney transplant surgeons, nephrologists, hepatologists, transplant pharmacists, infectious disease experts, transplant coordinators and more to launch this program,” said transplant surgeon Tsuyoshi Todo, MD, who served as the lead surgeon on both the first HIV-to-HIV-positive kidney and HIV-to-HIV-positive liver transplant at Cedars-Sinai.

New HOPE for Transplant Recipients

Cedars-Sinai’s HIV-to-HIV transplant program represents a dramatic shift from just over a decade ago, when federal law prohibited organs from donors with HIV from being transplanted into any patient, including those where were also HIV-positive.

That changed in 2013 with the passage of the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act, which allowed clinical researchers to study HIV-to-HIV transplants. After years of research documented the safety and effectiveness of HIV-to-HIV transplants, the rule was amended in 2024, removing the strict research requirements, and Cedars-Sinai quickly formed a multidisciplinary committee of experts to bring the institution’s HIV-to-HIV program to life.

“Everyone has an important role to play to help patients through this process,” Todo said.

Support for HIV-Positive Patients

Thanks to advances in antiretroviral therapy, people with HIV are living significantly longer and healthier lives, which opens the chance they experience end organ failure due to other comorbidities.

“The vast majority of patients we see living with HIV have their disease well controlled, often with only one pill a day and minimal side effects,” said Christopher Foltz, MD, lead infectious disease specialist for the HIV-to-HIV transplant program at Cedars-Sinai. “In a sense, it’s almost become easier to manage HIV than it is other chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes.”

Foltz connects with every potential HIV-positive organ recipient as a pre-evaluation to ensure their HIV is managed and, working with Cedars-Sinai pharmacists, determines whether there are any changes that will need to be made to their HIV medication regimen once they are also taking post-transplant immunosuppressant drugs. He also closely follows each patient after their transplant to monitor their HIV viral load and ensure it remains undetectable.

“The first six months post-transplant is when the immune system is being hit the hardest,” Foltz said. “We will monitor the patient’s HIV closely during this time, but eventually, they’ll be able to get back to monitoring once or twice a year, like they would have been doing before.”

Foltz hopes this program encourages more people to register as organ donors as well.

“If you were to ask most people living with HIV, they probably would assume they’re not eligible to be an organ donor, but that is no longer the case,” Foltz said. “Organ donations are lifesaving, and I think it can be really uplifting to them to know they can support others in their community in this way.”

Reduced Wait Times

More than 95,000 patients are on the kidney transplant waitlist, according to data from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA). Most people will wait three to five years for a deceased donor kidney, but that time frame can significantly increase in densely populated areas with a higher demand.

“In Southern California, many patients are actually looking at eight to 10 years on the transplant waitlist, but for HIV-positive patients, being listed on a separate list for HIV-positive donor organs can drastically reduce their wait,” Todo said. “This translates to several years that these patients will not have to be on dialysis, not only getting them back to their normal life more quickly, but also saving hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.”

While patients with kidney failure can live many years on dialysis, there is no similar treatment for patients with liver failure. These patients are listed on the transplant waitlist based on their Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, a number from six to 40 that predicts a patient’s risk of death from liver failure in three months.

“Patients in the Los Angeles area will typically need to have a MELD score in the low 30s in order to receive a transplant, but by accepting an HIV-positive organ that would have otherwise gone to waste, our HIV-positive patient was able to be transplanted with a much lower score,” Todo said. “In the standard circumstance, they would have had to wait significantly longer and get much sicker before receiving an organ.”

Looking Toward the Future

With the first few HIV-to-HIV transplants successfully completed, the team looks forward to making this option available to more HIV-positive patients moving forward.

“At Cedars-Sinai, we strive to be on the leading edge of medical innovation to provide outstanding patient care and support to as many patients as possible, and our HIV-to-HIV transplant program is an example of that effort,” said Irene Kim, MD, director of the Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center. “To be able to transplant more individuals and help them live longer, healthier lives is an honor.”

Read more from Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights—Being Patient: The Delicate Timing of Organ Transplantation

La fibrilación auricular, también conocida como AFib, es un tipo de arritmia. Ocurre cuando las cavidades superiores del corazón laten de manera irregular y no están bien coordinadas con las cavidades inferiores. Como resultado, el corazón puede latir de forma irregular y, con frecuencia, más rápido de lo normal. Puedes sentir palpitaciones —como si el corazón latiera muy rápido, aleteara o se saltara un latido—, molestias en el pecho, falta de aire o cansancio al realizar alguna actividad. Sin embargo, algunas personas tienen síntomas muy leves o incluso no presentan ninguno. Es importante diagnosticarla y tratarla porque la fibrilación auricular también puede aumentar el riesgo de sufrir un accidente cerebrovascular.

“Por eso es especialmente importante controlar cuidadosamente la AFib durante el verano, cuando puedes pasar más tiempo bajo el sol, perder líquidos a través del sudor y consumir más alcohol durante las vacaciones, en parrilladas o en otras reuniones al aire libre”, explicó Archana Ramireddy, MD, electrofisióloga clínica del Smidt Heart Institute. “Los adultos mayores son particularmente sensibles al calor, aunque sus efectos no siempre sean evidentes al principio”.

Con motivo del Mes de Concientización sobre la Fibrilación Auricular, que se conmemora en septiembre —una época en la que el sur de California suele registrar algunas de sus temperaturas más altas—, el Newsroom de Cedars-Sinai conversó con Ramireddy sobre lo que puedes hacer para mantenerte saludable si tienes fibrilación auricular.

¿Qué factores del verano pueden desencadenar un episodio de fibrilación auricular?

El clima caluroso puede generar un estrés adicional para el corazón, aunque el calor por sí mismo no necesariamente es la principal preocupación. Uno de los factores más importantes es la deshidratación, porque al sudar pierdes líquidos.

Los adultos mayores pueden ser especialmente susceptibles a la deshidratación relacionada con el calor, ya que con la edad puede disminuir la capacidad del organismo para conservar líquidos y regular la temperatura.

El alcohol es otro factor que debes tener en cuenta. Es un desencadenante reconocido de la fibrilación auricular y durante el verano su consumo puede aumentar por las vacaciones, las actividades al aire libre y las reuniones sociales.

Si tienes fibrilación auricular, ¿es suficiente tomar agua o necesitas electrolitos?

Por lo general, el agua es la mejor opción para mantenerte hidratado. Las bebidas con electrolitos pueden ser útiles en determinadas circunstancias, aunque tus necesidades dependerán de cuánto tiempo estés expuesto al calor, tu nivel de actividad física, cuánto hayas sudado y otras condiciones de salud que puedas tener.

¿Cómo puedes saber si estás deshidratado?

Algunas señales de deshidratación son orina oscura, mareos, sequedad de boca, cansancio, confusión y un ritmo cardiaco acelerado.

Si estos síntomas son intensos o duran mucho tiempo, o si además tienes molestias en el pecho o falta de aire, debes buscar atención médica.

Si tienes fibrilación auricular, ¿puedes tomar café?

En general, una taza de café al día no suele representar un problema. Incluso dos tazas pueden ser aceptables, aunque a algunos pacientes les recomiendo sustituir las tazas adicionales por café descafeinado o con la mitad de cafeína.

Lo más importante es prestar atención a cómo responde tu cuerpo. Si notas que la cafeína desencadena síntomas de manera constante, es recomendable reducir su consumo.

Me preocupa mucho más el consumo de varias bebidas energéticas, ya que las altas dosis de cafeína y otros ingredientes que contienen pueden aumentar el riesgo de arritmias.

¿Puedes hacer ejercicio en verano si tienes fibrilación auricular?

Recomiendo a mis pacientes con fibrilación auricular hacer ejercicio regularmente. Si la actividad física desencadena episodios de manera constante, es importante evaluar y tratar la fibrilación auricular en lugar de simplemente dejar de hacer ejercicio.

Durante el verano, evita el ejercicio intenso en las horas más calurosas del día y asegúrate de mantenerte bien hidratado cuando hagas actividades al aire libre.

Para evitar el sobrecalentamiento, busca un lugar con aire acondicionado, toma suficiente agua, date una ducha fresca o utiliza toallas húmedas y frescas.

¿Qué debes hacer si crees que podrías tener fibrilación auricular?

Si tienes palpitaciones y no sabes qué las está causando, poder registrar uno de esos episodios puede ser muy útil para llegar a un diagnóstico.

Los dispositivos portátiles, como algunos relojes inteligentes, pueden ayudar. Si tu dispositivo puede registrar un ECG o electrocardiograma durante el episodio, un médico puede revisar el registro y determinar si es compatible con fibrilación auricular.

Los dispositivos portátiles nos han ayudado a identificar antes a un mayor número de pacientes, lo que permite iniciar el tratamiento de manera más oportuna.

Uno de los principales objetivos del tratamiento de la fibrilación auricular es prevenir un accidente cerebrovascular. Si ya tienes un diagnóstico de AFib, habla con tu médico para determinar si necesitas una evaluación adicional con un electrofisiólogo cardiaco.

Lea más en Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights: Conozca las Señales de Advertencia de la Fibrilación Auricular

Cedars-Sinai in the News

‘The Pitt’ To Be Honored by Cedars-Sinai | Variety
Peter L. Slavin, MD 

Probing the Proteome at Cellular Scale | Nature
Jennifer Van Eyk, PhD

8 Weird Signs You’re Having a Stroke | Everyday Health
Alexis Simpkins, MD, PhD

Female Cardiologists Swear by These Easy Heart Health Habits | MSN.com
C. Noel Bairey Merz, MD

Long-Term Trial Supports Selective Use of Extended Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection in High-Grade Prostate Cancer | The ASCO Post
Adam B. Weiner, MD

Declining Flu Vaccination Rates Could Increase Severity of 2026 Influenza Season | Respiratory Therapy
Michael Ben-Aderet, MD

Faculty Publications

Biomedical Sciences

Epicardial Adipose Tissue Attenuation and Persistent Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction (RECOVER-EAT). Khanna, Shaun, Nicholas McLellan, Sheran Vasanthakumar, Cheng Hwee Soh, Aditya Bhat, Andrew Lin, Damini Dey, Sriram Rao, Stephen J. Nicholls, Clare Arnott, and Nitesh Nerlekar. Journal of Cardiac Failure, September, S1071-9164(26)00515-4.

Cardiology

Emerging Longer-Term Evidence on Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation for Severe Aortic Stenosis in Low-Risk Patients: A Call for Caution. Sousa Uva, Miguel, Milan Milojevic, Mateo Marin-Cuartas, Sanjay Kaul, Raffaele De Caterina, Rita Redberg, Samuel Heuts, Torsten Doenst, Victor Dayan, Matthias Siepe, Vinay Badhwar, Volkmar Falk, Michael A. Borger, Patrick O. Myers, and Rafael Sadaba. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, September, S0003-4975(26)00894-5.

Heart Transplantation in 2076: Precision, Prevention, and Regeneration. Stern, Lily K., Kelly Perkins, and Jon A. Kobashigawa. Journal of Cardiac Failure 32 (9): 1652–55.

Maternal Hyperoxygenation for Prenatal Risk Stratification of Pulmonary Venous Obstruction in Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return. Mathevosian, Michelle, Shuo Wang, Arpine Davtyan, Jon Detterich, Jodie Votava-Smith, and Jay Pruetz. Pediatric Cardiology, September.

Noncoding RNA TY1 Reverses Fibrosis in Systemic Sclerosis by Attenuating the cGAS/STING Pathway. Jones, Xaviar M., Salwa Soussi, Alessandra Ciullo, Kara Tsi, Weixin Liu, Liang Li, Mario Fournier, Thassio Mesquita, Alberto M. Marchevsky, Nunzio Bottini, Francesco Boin, Ahmed Ge Ibrahim, and Eduardo Marbán. JCI Insight 11 (17): e197716.

Transcatheter vs Surgical Replacement of Degenerated Bioprosthetic Aortic Valve: A Meta-Analysis of Propensity-Score-Matched Studies. Ebrahimi, Pouya, Maryam Taheri, Mehrdad Mahalleh, Hamidreza Soleimani, Homa Taheri, Ali Moradi, Babak Sattartabar, Morvarid Taebi, Iman Bhia, Reza Pirdehghan, Mohsen Anafje, Mohamad Alkhouli, Masih Tajdini, Amr Mohsen, Islam Elgendy, Robert J. Siegel, Mohammad Hossein Mandegar, and Kaveh Hosseini. Heart, Lung & Circulation, September, S1443-9506(26)00192-7.

Computational Biomedicine

A Framework for Cognitive Personality Priors in Agentic AI: The Role of Personas in Autonomous Team Science. Nawaz, Asma J., Jake R. Patock, Itzel Valencia, Binglan Li, Jacob S. Berkowitz, Stefany Coxe, Itai Danovitch, Nicholas P. Tatonetti, and Jason H. Moore. BioData Mining 19 (1): 75.

Discovering Repurposable Drugs for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: Target Trial Emulation Using Decentralised Real-World Data. Wu, Qiong, Lu Li, Yuqing Lei, Ting Zhou, Huilin Tang, Bingyu Zhang, Yiwen Lu, Maxwell Salvatore, Dazheng Zhang, Jiayi Tong, Tingyin Wang, Siqi Chen, Haoyang Li, Zhenxing Xu, Yu Huang, Yu Hu, Na Hong, Yujia Zhou, Fongci Lin, Kyra S. O’Brien, Yong Chen, Ruowang Li, Hua Xu, Fei Wang, Jiang Bian, David A. Wolk, and Yong Chen. EBioMedicine 132 (September): 106466.

Secondary Pharmacology Targets for Pediatric Developmental Safety Assessment of New Drugs: Clinical Pharmacology Considerations. Burckart, Gilbert J., Sherbet Samuels, Susan M. Abdel-Rahman, Gelareh Abulwerdi, Elimika Fletcher, Mohamed A. Mohamoud, Apoorva Srinivasan, Nicholas Tatonetti, and Rebecca Racz. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, September.

Nonparametric D-Test for Homogeneity With Flexible Null and Alternative Hypotheses. Kabir, Shaowli, Derek S. Young, Javier A. Neyra, and Richard J. Charnigo. Statistical Methods & Applications, August.

Privacy-Preserving Multi-Agent Systems for Human-Centred Inclusive Healthcare AI. Mahmud, Mufti, Noushath Shaffi, M Shamim Kaiser, M Arifur Rahman, M Mostafizur Rahman, Vimbi Viswan, Tamanna Sharmeen, Sweta Bhattacharya, Neelu Jyoti Ahuja, Ayse Ulgen, Imran Khan Niazi, Kanad Ray, Amir Hussain, David J Brown, and Jason H. Moore. AI Magazine 47 (3): e70087.

Imaging

Imaging Intraosseous Hemangiomas: Typical and Atypical Features Across Modalities. Bonzell, Casey, Jonathan Lee, Michelle R. Santoso, Michelle Chen, Adam Miller, and Ali Gholamrezanezhad. Seminars in Nuclear Medicine, September, S0001-2998(26)00163-7.

Medicine

Advances and Challenges to Colonoscopy Quality. Khan, Haidar, Ramya Vasireddy, Mahnoor Khan, and Rashmi Advani. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Clinics of North America 36 (4): 703–18.

Discontinuation of Statins by Patient and Physician Sex: An Observational Study. Watanabe, Atsuyuki, Yoshihisa Miyamoto, Hiroki A. Ueyama, Hiroshi Gotanda, Leandro Slipczuk, Kosuke Inoue, Eric Secemsky, Roger Laham, Deepak L. Bhatt, Yusuke Tsugawa, and Toshiki Kuno. Journal of Cardiology 88 (2): 116–22.

Do Multi-Omics Approaches Improve the Diagnosis of Microbial Overgrowth Syndromes? Freitas Germano, Juliana de, Gabriela Leite, and Mark Pimentel. Current Gastroenterology Reports 28 (1): 29.

Esophageal Epidermoid Metaplasia in a Patient With Dysphagia and Severe Esophageal Stenosis. Gornick, Dana J., Michael Kozak, and Amrit K. Kamboj. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, September, S0016-5107(26)07023-9.

Fludarabine and Total Body Irradiation 800 cGy or 1125 cGy for Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant Using Graft Versus Host Disease Prophylaxis With Post-Transplant Cyclophosphamide and Tacrolimus, Without Mycophenolate Mofetil (OmitMMF Trial). Paquette, Ronald, Haein Kim, Vinicius F. Calsavara, Noah Merin, John Chute, Justin Darrah, Hannah Lee, David Oveisi, Josh Sasine, Robert Vescio, Vanshika Chauhan, Joseph Lownik, and Akil Merchant. Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, September, S2666-6367(26)00715-3.

Longitudinal Repeated Protein Measurements in a Multiethnic Cohort Identify Novel Diabetes Biomarkers That Reveal Unique Disease Pathways. Chen, Zsu-Zsu, Michael Y. Mi, Jacob Barber, Gaurav Tiwari, Charleen D. Adams, Shuliang Deng, Christopher Y. Shin, Laurie Farrell, Prashant Rao, Daniel E. Cruz, James G. Wilson, Magdalena Sevilla-Gonzalez, Yii-Der Ida Chen, Xiuqing Guo, Mark O. Goodarzi, Kent D. Taylor, Usman A. Tahir, Stephen S. Rich, Alexis C. Wood, Robert E. Gerszten, and Jerome I. Rotter. Diabetes, September, db260148.

New Developments in the Treatment of Hepatitis B Virus Infection. Sandhu, Sunny, Paul Martin, and Ira M. Jacobson. Gastroenterology & Hepatology 22 (7): 350–61.

Operationalizing Patient Flow in High-Complexity Service Lines: A Health System Perspective Using Oncology Care. Figlin, Robert, Kate O’Shaughnessy, Setu Shah, Chad Giese, Jamie Bachman, Matthew Bednar, Jennifer Scalise, and Aleksandar Zafirovski. Frontiers in Health Services 6: 1859412.

Outcomes of Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement With Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Versus Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement With Percutaneous Coronary Intervention. Dulal, Dharmindra, Ahmed Maraey, Vahid Yazdi, Juan Carlo Avalon, Cezar Iliescu, Mehmet Cilingiroglu, Konstantinos Marmagkiolis, and Konstantinos Dean Boudoulas. Cardiovascular Revascularization Medicine: Including Molecular Interventions, September, S1553-8389(26)00378-7.

Patients’ Real-World Experiences With Pharmacologic Therapies for Irritable Bowel Syndrome With Constipation: A Mixed-Methods Analysis and Classification of Social Media and E-Forum Posts. Khalil, Carine, Karisma K. Suchak, Ivan Flores Amaro, Zoe Krut, Jordy O’Campo, Karen O’Connor, Allistair Clark, David P. Rosenbaum, Sharon Funk, Graciela Gonzalez-Hernandez, Brennan M. R. Spiegel, and Christopher V. Almario. Neurogastroenterology and Motility 38 (9): e70432.

PET, Proteomics, and Immunophenotyping of Arterial Inflammation and Checkpoint Inhibition. Rankin, Stephen, Neil MacRitchie, Moustafa I. Morsy, Alastair J. Gemmell, Alasdair Henderson, Claire Glen, Katriona Brooksbank, Piotr Slomka, Kieran F. Docherty, Marc R. Dweck, John McClure, Elaine Butler, Paul Welsh, Sarah Slater, Manreet Randhawa, Ashita Waterston, Kun Yang, Ahmad Alsaeed, Pavlina Spiliopoulou, Robert Jones, Greg Naylor, Thomas R. Jeffry Evans, Balaji Venugopal, Alexander Small, Dave Colville, Mark C. Petrie, Pasquale Maffia, and Ninian N. Lang. JAMA Cardiology, September.

Pre-Treatment T Cell Features and Immune-Milieu Characteristics Shape Treatment-Induced Exhaustion and Resistance to Blinatumomab in B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Corrado, Francesco, Viktoria Blumenberg, Maryam Kazerani, Jan Wulf, Tobias Straub, Nora Philipp, Daniel Nixdorf, Amelie Muth, Giulia Rappa, Agnese Petrera, Michaela Scheurer, Chang-Feng Chu, Giulia Magno, Christina E. Zielinski, Michael von Bergwelt-Baildon, Marion Subklewe, and Veit Bücklein. Frontiers in Immunology 17: 1895742.

Reddit for Redness: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the r/Rosacea Forum. Kotlyar, Joshua, Robert Adler, Ugwumsinachi Nwaubani, William Mark Richardson, and Justin W. Marson. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology: JDD 25 (8): e71–72.

The Evolution of Immunotherapy Revolution in Lung Cancer: A 20-Year Perspective. Waissengrin, Barliz, Marco Tagliamento, Kamya Sankar, and Karen L. Reckamp. Journal of Thoracic Oncology, 21 (9): 103957.

UBE2N Deficiency Contributes to MASH Development via P62-Regulated Mitophagy and PANoptosis. Wang, Feng, Jin Lee, Jeong-Su Park, Meizhou Huang, Hwan Ma, Guoyan Sui, Zixiong Zhou, Michitaka Matsuda, So Yeon Kim, Takashi Tsuchiya, Xuefeng Wu, Haram Lee, Soohwan Oh, Hanseul Park, Key-Hwan Lim, Chun-Woong Park, Sang-Bae Han, Jin Tae Hong, Michael Karin, Yoon Seok Roh, and Ekihiro Seki. Nature Metabolism, September.

Young Women With Pancreatic Cancer: A High-Risk Group for Demoralization. Levi, Abrahm, Aryan Nasr, Yujie Cui, Anser A. Abbas, Tara T. Arouchian, Andrew L. Coveler, Tracey L. Pierce, Brian T. Anderson, Eric Collisson, John Davelaar, Simon K. Lo, Srinivas Gaddam, Jun Gong, Arsen Osipov, and Andrew E. Hendifar. Psycho-Oncology 35 (9): e70601.

Neurology

Imaging Characterization and Vascular Topography of Vertebral Body Infarctions in Spinal Cord Stroke. Barreras, Paula, David Acero-Garces, Lydia Gregg, Hao Wen Chen, Karissa Arthur, Philippe Gailloud, Doris D. M. Lin, and Carlos A. Pardo. European Journal of Radiology 205 (August): 113182.

Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

Clinical Work-up, Diagnostic Imaging, and Radiographic Classification Systems for Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus: Proceedings of the International Consensus Meetings on Cartilage Repair of the Ankle. Tham, Alexander, Jared Rubin, James J. Butler, Paloma Gauthier, John G. Kennedy, Samuel B. Adams, Carol L. Andrews, Chayanin Angthong, Jorge P. Batista, Onno L. Baur, Steven Bayer, Christoph Becher, Zijun Zhang, et al. Foot & Ankle Specialist, September, 19386400261478702.

Overcoming Space and System Limitations: A Novel Lamina Spreader Technique for Optimal Reduction via External Fixation. Meltzer, Jourdan H., and Carol Lin. Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics 11 (3): 24730114261481810.

Survival Prognostication in Spinal Metastasis: From Clinical Intuition to Data-Driven Decision Making. Striano, Brendan M., Matthew T. Kim, Joseph H. Schwab, Andrew J. Schoenfeld, and Daniel G. Tobert. Spine, September.

Transverse Tibial Transport for Limb Salvage in Ischemic Lower Extremity Disease: Technique, Mechanisms, and Clinical Outcomes-A Systematic Review. Raszka, Samuel, Max Michalski, and Charles Moon. The Orthopedic Clinics of North America 57 (4): 339–48.

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Comparative Efficacy of Oral Antibiotics against Intracellular Populations of Uropathogenic Escherichia Coli and Bladder Cell Inflammatory Response. Kalu, Michelle, Peter Jorth, and Annie Wong-Beringer. European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, September.

Digitalization of Medical and Healthcare Education in a Low- and Middle-Income Country: A Mixed-Method Case Study of Institutional Transformation at Yerevan State Medical University. Sargsyan, Karine, Tamara Sarkisian, Hasmik Tumanyan, Sergey Sargsyan, Khachatur Margaryan, Konstantin Yenkoyan, Larisa Avetisyan, Garnik Avetisyan, and Armen Muradyan. Frontiers in Digital Health 8: 1901577.

Human Y Chromosome Pan-Organ Mapping Reveals Progressive Mosaic Loss From Normal to Cancer. Gertych, Arkadiusz, Huihui Ye, Xingyu Chen, Eric Vail, V. Krishnan Ramanujan, Lauren Brady, Lawrence D. True, Peter S. Nelson, Peter R. Carroll, and Dan Theodorescu. JCI Insight 11 (17): e201996.

Pediatrics

Accelerated Desensitization Enables HLA-Incompatible Deceased Donor Kidney Transplant in a Highly Sensitized Pediatric Recipient. Pande, Nivedita, Muneera Alabdulqader, Marie-Michèle Gaudreault-Tremblay, Myriam Carlos, Bethany J. Foster, Jean Tchervenkov, Claude Daniel, Dechu Puliyanda, Indra R. Gupta, and Mallory L. Downie. Human Immunology 87 (11): 112065.

Building and Regenerating Intestines by Manipulating Intestinal Stem Cells. Kuo, Calvin J., Sarah Blutt, Mark Donowitz, Mary K. Estes, Chandan Guha, Ophir D. Klein, Linheng Li, Joyce C. Niland, António J. M. Santos, Ramesh A. Shivdasani, Jason R. Spence, Carol J. Swanson, Timothy C. Wang, Kelley S. Yan, Nicholas C. Zachos, and Michael A. Helmrath. Nature Reviews. Gastroenterology & Hepatology, September.

Hospitalization Costs of Kidney Transplantation Associated With Induction Therapy Among Pediatric Kidney Transplant Recipients: A North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies and Pediatric Health Information System Collaborative Study. Rodig, Nancy M., Daniella Levy Erez, Helen P. Pizzo, Troy Richardson, and Michael J. Somers. Pediatric Transplantation 30 (9): e70441.

Radiation Oncology

Making Scents Out of the Best ‘Smell’ Tests in the Age of Clinical Artificial Intelligence. Chetty, Indrin J., and Sue S. Yom. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics 126 (2): 289.

Surgery

Aberrant Left Vertebral and Aberrant Right Subclavian Arteries in Blunt Thoracic Aortic Injury Patients: A Multicenter Registry Study. Rodriguez, Sean, Chase Caswell, Benjamin W. Starnes, Elina Quiroga, Joseph DuBose, Charles C. Miller, David McGreevy, Ali Azizzadeh, Peter J. Rossi, and Aortic Trauma Foundation Collaborators. Annals of Vascular Surgery, September, S0890-5096(26)00641-2.

Actual Five-Year Survival After Neoadjuvant Therapy and Resection for Localized Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. De Stefano, Federico, Giulio Belfiori, Nathaniel F. Wu, Jill N. Allen, Laura Cerri Crn, Jeffrey W. Clark, Paolo Giorgio Arcidiacono, Cristina Ferrone, Theodore S. Hong, Domenico Tamburrino, Stefano Partelli, Motaz Qadan, Michele Reni, David P. Ryan, Marco Schiavo Lena, Gabriele Capurso, Colin D. Weekes, Jennifer Y. Wo, Keith D. Lillemoe, Stefano Crippa, Massimo Falconi, and Carlos Fernández-Del Castillo. Annals of Surgery, September.

Complete Disruption of gD Binding to HVEM Alters Virus Replication and Host Receptor Homeostasis. Arya, Deepak, Kati Tormanen, Jay J. Oh, Shaohui Wang, and Homayon Ghiasi. PLoS Pathogens 22 (9): e1014566.

Efficacy and Safety of Local Tranexamic Acid in Rhytidectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Mokhtar, Jonathan, Marwa Hadi, Lucas Kreutz-Rodrigues, Kevin Sadati, Krishna S. Vyas, Curtis L. Cetrulo, and Alexandre G. Lellouch. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Global Open 14 (9): e8083.

Epigenetic Profiling Reveals M1 Macrophages as the Primary Drivers of Trained Immunity in HSV-1 Latently Infected Mice. Jaggi, Ujjaldeep, Shaohui Wang, and Homayon Ghiasi. PLoS Pathogens 22 (9): e1014598.

High-Frequency High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HF-HIFU) for Ablation of Benign, Premalignant, and Malignant Cutaneous Lesions: A Systematic Review. Aguglia, Raffaele, Tobias Niederegger, Murtaja Satea, Leonard Knoedler, Moshé Assouline, Curtis L. Cetrulo, Michael Atlan, and Alexandre G. Lellouch. European Journal of Dermatology: EJD 36 (4): 312–23.

Hospital-Level Determinants of Mortality After Pancreas Surgery: A Global Infrastructure Analysis. Hidalgo Salinas, Camila, Pascale Tinguely, Dimitri A. Raptis, Sterre van Herwijnen, Ammar A. Javed, Rafael Perera, Cristina R. Ferrone, Christopher L. Wolfgang, Giuseppe K. Fusai, and PancreasGroup.org Collaborative. Annals of Surgery, September.

Hybrid Robotic TransVersus Abdominis Release (hrTAR) for Complex Ventral Hernias: A Systematic Review and Preliminary Synthesis. Satea, Murtaja, Luis Osvaldo Suárez Carreón, José Maria Zepeda Torres, Mor Rittblat, Morgan L. Hennessy, Haïzam Oubari, Alexandre G. Lellouch, and Rodolfo J. Oviedo. Journal of Robotic Surgery 20 (1): 957.

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University is advancing groundbreaking research and educating future leaders in medicine, biomedical sciences and allied health sciences. Learn more about the university.

“A medida que nos alejamos de la pandemia de COVID-19, hemos observado un aumento en la indecisión ante las vacunas, y esta temporada de influenza podría ser mucho peor si muy pocas personas se vacunan”, afirmó Michael Ben-Aderet, MD, director médico de Epidemiología Hospitalaria de Huntington Health, una filial de Cedars-Sinai, y director asociado de Epidemiología Hospitalaria del Centro Médico Cedars-Sinai.

A partir de hoy, los médicos de atención primaria y los pediatras de Cedars-Sinai ofrecen vacunas contra la influenza a los pacientes durante sus consultas programadas. Los pacientes que hayan recibido atención de un proveedor de atención primaria de Cedars-Sinai en los últimos 18 meses pueden programar una cita de vacunación a través de My CS-Link en las ubicaciones de Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Culver City, Marina del Rey, Playa Vista, Santa Monica y Tarzana.

Las tasas de vacunación han disminuido desde el punto máximo de la pandemia. Se estima que el 52% de las personas en Estados Unidos recibió la vacuna contra la influenza en 2021, en comparación con menos del 44% durante la temporada de influenza 2025-2026, según los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades. Mientras tanto, la influenza continúa teniendo graves consecuencias: causó la muerte de aproximadamente 45,000 personas en Estados Unidos durante la temporada de influenza 2024-2025 y provocó 710,000 hospitalizaciones.

“La vacuna contra la influenza sigue siendo la herramienta más eficaz disponible para ayudar a prevenir las enfermedades graves causadas por el virus de la influenza”, afirmó Ben-Aderet. “Insto a todas las personas elegibles a recibir la vacuna”.

El equipo de Cedars-Sinai Newsroom conversó con Ben-Aderet sobre qué esperar durante esta temporada de influenza, cuándo vacunarse, cómo reconocer los síntomas de la influenza, cómo tratarla y qué significa para el público la nueva vacuna contra la influenza basada en ARN mensajero (ARNm), recientemente aprobada.

¿Cuándo es el Mejor Momento para Vacunarse Contra la Influenza?

Septiembre y octubre son buenos meses para vacunarse, antes de que la actividad de la influenza normalmente aumente en noviembre o diciembre. El organismo tarda aproximadamente dos semanas en desarrollar una respuesta inmunitaria a la vacuna.

La vacuna se recomienda para adultos y niños elegibles mayores de 6 meses, según organizaciones médicas como la Asociación Médica Estadounidense. Cuando está disponible, la vacuna contra la influenza en dosis alta es la mejor opción para las personas de 65 años o más, ya que la respuesta inmunitaria a las vacunas puede disminuir con la edad.

¿Estará Disponible Este Año la Nueva Vacuna Contra la Influenza Basada en ARNm?

La Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos de Estados Unidos (FDA) aprobó la primera vacuna contra la influenza basada en ARNm a principios de agosto. Las vacunas elaboradas con esta tecnología pueden desarrollarse con mayor rapidez, lo que podría permitir una mejor correspondencia con las cepas del virus que circulan si estas cambian durante la temporada. Sin embargo, aún no está claro cuándo estará disponible la vacuna ni qué pacientes serán elegibles. En cualquier caso, es excelente contar con otra herramienta para combatir la influenza.

¿Cuáles Son los Síntomas de la Influenza?

Los síntomas de la influenza pueden incluir congestión nasal, fiebre, dolores corporales, tos, dolor de garganta, fatiga y dolores de cabeza. Los vómitos y la diarrea tienden a ser más comunes en los niños. Las personas con influenza pueden contagiar el virus desde un día antes de que comiencen los síntomas y durante cinco a siete días después de enfermarse. Durante ese tiempo, y hasta que la fiebre haya desaparecido, lo mejor es quedarse en casa y evitar propagar el virus.

¿Qué Opciones de Tratamiento Hay para la Influenza?

Una enfermedad leve puede tratarse en casa con líquidos, descanso y Tylenol. Las personas que están muy enfermas o tienen un mayor riesgo de desarrollar una enfermedad grave —incluidos los adultos mayores, las personas con sistemas inmunitarios debilitados y quienes padecen enfermedades crónicas— deben hablar con su médico ante la primera señal de enfermedad para determinar si un medicamento antiviral como Tamiflu sería adecuado. Para que sean más eficaces, los antivirales deben comenzar a tomarse dentro de los dos días posteriores al inicio de los síntomas.

Los niños con una enfermedad leve también mejorarán en casa con cuidados de apoyo. Los padres deben estar atentos a cualquier empeoramiento de los síntomas y vigilar a los niños de 2 años o menos para asegurarse de que coman y beban lo suficiente. Evite administrar aspirina para tratar una enfermedad viral como la influenza en los niños. La aspirina se ha relacionado con el síndrome de Reye, una afección poco frecuente pero peligrosa que causa inflamación cerebral y daño hepático, y que aparece con mayor frecuencia en los niños. Al igual que los adultos, los niños con mayor riesgo podrían necesitar un tratamiento antiviral recetado por un médico poco después de que aparezcan los síntomas.

¿Cuándo Es Momento de Consultar a un Médico en Persona o Mediante una Cita Virtual?

Para quienes tienen una enfermedad leve, una consulta virtual a través de una aplicación móvil como Cedars-Sinai Connect es una manera conveniente de recibir orientación sobre las opciones de tratamiento. Los proveedores de Cedars-Sinai Connect pueden solicitar una prueba de influenza para descartar otras enfermedades, como el COVID-19, o recetar Tamiflu. Las pruebas de influenza de venta libre también están disponibles en la mayoría de las farmacias.

Las personas con síntomas más graves deben consultar a su médico en persona o acudir a un centro de atención de urgencias. Estos síntomas incluyen fiebre muy alta, pérdida del apetito, dificultad para respirar o incapacidad para retener líquidos, así como síntomas que no mejoran. Lo mismo se aplica a las personas con problemas de salud subyacentes.

Lea más en Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights: Cuándo Acudir a la Sala de Emergencias por Influenza

GLP-1 medications mimic a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 that the small intestine produces after a meal. The drugs regulate blood sugar in people with Type 2 diabetes and improve metabolic health in patients who are overweight or obese, often leading to substantial weight loss.

Scientists have discovered that GLP-1 drugs also improve other downstream health issues related to obesity, such as fatty liver disease, sleep apnea, arthritis and inflammation.

Musi, vice chair of Translational Research in the Department of Medicine, told TODAY.com his team is studying whether GLP-1 drugs can also slow biological aging.

“I think there’s good potential because overweight and obesity are linked with aging, meaning it can reduce lifespan and health span, which is the time in which we’re healthy,” he said.

Despite excitement surrounding the drugs’ potentially profound benefits, Musi cautioned against healthy people using them.

“The real question is: In healthy people who don’t have any of these diseases, will it be helpful to them?” he told Today.com. “And that we don’t know. It’s very premature.”

Musi pointed to low-dose aspirin, which once was routinely recommended to help prevent a first heart attack or stroke before guidance changed based on updated research that found it did not benefit most healthy adults.

“We learned the hard way that we need evidence and not just assume things,” he told TODAY.com.

Read the complete article from TODAY.com.

The findings, published in Cell Metabolism, suggest that the protein, called PD-L2, could serve as a target for treatments designed to remove harmful aging cells or as a blood marker that helps researchers track them.

“Our findings suggest that PD-L2 may help aging cells stay in the body when they would normally be removed by the immune system,” said Selim Chaib, PhD, research assistant professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai and first and co-corresponding author of the study.

These harmful aging cells, called senescent cells, become damaged and stop dividing but do not die. The cells remain in tissues and release substances that promote inflammation and interfere with the function of nearby cells. Their buildup has been linked to age-related health problems.

Investigators found that in laboratory mice, removing or blocking PD-L2 reduced the number of aging cells and levels of the inflammatory substances they produce. The mice were better able to process sugar and could grip objects with greater strength.

Investigators also found that human aging cells produced more PD-L2 than younger cells, and levels of the protein increased in some human tissues with age.

“If we can find a way to block this protein, we may be able to help the immune system get rid of these cells and potentially improve health problems linked with aging,” said James Kirkland, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Advanced Gerotherapeutics and senior author of the study.

Future research will explore whether blocking PD-L2 can safely produce health benefits in human patients and help researchers better understand its role in age-related diseases.

Additional Cedars-Sinai authors include Larissa Langhi Prata, Masayoshi Suda, Andres Sola, Jia Nie, Hyungsoo Kim, Tamar Pirtskhalava, Nino Giorgadze, Nicolas Musi, Ze’ev Ronai, and Tamara Tchkonia.

Other authors include Thomas Mitchell, Zacharias Anastasiadis, Hawley Kunz, Stella Victorelli, Ricardo Lozano Flores, Moritz Weigl, Shimpei Kawamoto, Ken Uemura, Binsheng Wang, Christina Inman, Ailing Xue, Kurt Johnson, Jair Espindola-Netto, Sonja Suvakov, Jennet Hatamova, Erik Parker, Davyn Benitto Hartono, Vagisha Kulshreshtha, Jose Alberto Lopez-Dominguez, Aaron Deisinger, Allyson Palmer, Yi Zhu, Megan Weivoda, Anne Gingery, Robert Hromas, Vesna Garovic, João Passos, David Allison, Eiji Hara, Michael Jensen, Stefan Tullius, Manuel Serrano, Ming Xu, Ian Lanza, and Yuji Ikeno.

Funding: Work in the J.L.K. laboratory was supported by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH; grants R37AG013925, R33AG061456, and P01AG062413), the Connor Fund, Robert J. and Theresa W. Ryan, the Hevolution Foundation, and the Noaber Foundation. Y.I. was supported by the San Antonio Nathan Shock Center Pathology Core (NIH Grant P30AG13319), San Antonio Claude D. 445 Pepper Center (NIH P30 AG044271), and NIH grants R01AG070034 and R56AG057785. M.D.J.’s studies were supported by NIH grants DK-45343 and DK-40484. H.E.K. was supported by an NIH musculoskeletal research training grant (T32AR56950) and NIH grant K01DK134765. S.K. was supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) JPMJFR2308 and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) JP23K06481. L.G.P.L.P was supported by NIH grant 1K01AG090692. The clinical trial (NCT03350906) was supported by grants UL1TR002377 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and NIH R01AG054454. Y.Z. was supported by the Hevolution Foundation. J.F.P. was supported by NIH grants R01AG068048, R01AG82708, and UG3CA268103 and the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research. S.V.G. is supported by a Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging Career Development Award and a c-SiG Pilot and Feasibility Award. A.G. was supported by NIH grant R01AR076347. M.X. is supported by a Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Award in Biology and Geroscience Research. This work was supported in part by NIH P30AG050886.

Disclosures: S.C. holds patents or pending patents on PD-L2 at Mayo Clinic and Spanish National Cancer Research Center, some of which had been licensed to Rejuveron Senescence Therapeutics. M.S. is a shareholder of Senolytic Therapeutics, Life Biosciences, Rejuveron Senescence Therapeutics, and Altos Labs. T.T., Y.Z., A.K.P., T.P., N.G., and J.L.K. have a financial interest related to this research, including patents and pending patents covering senolytic drugs and their uses that are held by Mayo Clinic.

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University is advancing groundbreaking research and educating future leaders in medicine, biomedical sciences and allied health sciences. Learn more about the university.

“She would spill her milk at dinner and we’d think, ‘oh, you’re so clumsy,’” said Mollie.

Months later, when the episodes became more frequent and severe, the Southern California family would learn Emilie, now 19, was experiencing myoclonic seizures, an initial symptom of spinal muscular atrophy with progressive myoclonic epilepsy (SMA-PME), an extremely rare, life-threatening pediatric disease. Soon afterward, cheek swab testing revealed that two of Emilie’s siblings, Brodie, 18, and Maggie Mae, 16, also had the genetic disease.

“There have been some very low times,” said Brodie. “This disease has hit me really deep, but I know that the doctors are doing their best to help us.”

There are only 31 diagnosed cases of SMA-PME worldwide. Three of the five known U.S. cases are in the Vehling household. The disease is caused by a mutation in the ASAH1 gene, which leads to an enzyme deficiency that stunts the critical breaking down of fats that control cell growth and survival, as well as prevents the recycling of vital cellular building blocks.

A research team led by Michelle Allen-Sharpley, MD, PhD, is in the early stages of working on a potential stem cell treatment to replace the missing enzyme using the patient’s own cells. Allen-Sharpley, director of the Pediatric Neuromuscular Program at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s and principal investigator at the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, said she’d never encountered a family like the Vehlings.

Because Mollie and Derek unknowingly carried a rare recessive gene mutation associated with the disease, none of the family knew the children were at risk. The diagnoses came only after symptoms appeared during adolescence.

SMA-PME causes progressive neurological and muscular decline. Symptoms can include muscle weakness, mobility challenges, cognitive decline, speech impairment, hearing loss and seizures. To help control their recurring seizures, Emilie and Brodie have undergone placement of vagus nerve stimulation devices.

Maggie Mae’s seizures are often triggered by sounds. “I have to wear earplugs because noises or voice levels can cause my seizures,” said Maggie Mae. “I drop things or fall when I’m walking and my whole body just jerks.”

At 21, Lillie is the eldest child and the only sibling not diagnosed with the disease. She hopes to be a source of comfort and security for her siblings.

“I’ve had to learn a different way of showing up,” Lillie said. “Things most people treat as background noise—a flight of stairs, a morning workout, the simple act of walking outside, carry a weight for me now and witnessing what my siblings have to endure has made the ordinary feel precious in a way that is hard to articulate.”

“I feel like this is my calling,” Allen-Sharpley said. “The Vehlings came to me looking for hope, in a situation where no specific treatment exists. I want to help them, and every child and family facing this devastating disease.”

The Vehlings said they rely on God, the specialists at Cedars-Sinai, and family movie nights as they cling to optimism that medical advancements will one day restore their children’s health.

“Our faith, our family are just so incredibly strong,” said Mollie. “Derek and I are inspired by our children’s resilience.”

Derek added, “We need the best doctors in the world and Cedars-Sinai is the best. We believe this is where the research and cure are coming for the whole world.”

Cedars-Sinai is one of 46 institutions in the U.S. designated a Rare Disease Center of Excellence by the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

“Although each rare disease affects a relatively small number of individuals, collectively, rare diseases impact millions of people worldwide,” said Joyce So, MD, PhD, chief genomics officer at Cedars-Sinai. “Advances made in rare disease research at Cedars-Sinai can generate broader scientific insights that will inform our understanding of more common conditions, which in turn accelerates innovation across medicine.”

The Vehlings are turning their personal journey into action by advocating SMA-PME research at Cedars-Sinai. They’ve launched a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign in hopes of raising $6 million for Allen-Sharpley’s research. They’re close to the $2 million mark, largely through donations from family, friends and others inspired by their story.

Supporting the cause has become a mission for many in the Los Angeles firefighter community. Derek, a retired L.A. firefighter, has seen former colleagues rally around the family.

The Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firefighter’s Fund of the Los Angeles Firemen’s Relief Association donated $750,000 to support SMA-PME research at Cedars-Sinai. The Los Angeles Retired Fire & Police Association also generously donated.

“Our firefighting community takes care of its own,” said Christopher Stine, president of the Los Angeles Firemen’s Relief Association Board of Trustees. “By supporting Dr. Allen-Sharpley's research, we hope to make a difference for Emilie, Brodie and Maggie Mae, and other families faced with this devastating disease.”

To support SMA-PME research at Cedars-Sinai, visit https://support.cedars-sinai.edu/TeamVehling.

Read more from the Cedars-Sinai Newsroom: Cedars-Sinai Named Rare Disease Center of Excellence

The evening will also honor philanthropists and community leaders Jaime and Andrew Schwartzberg with the Philanthropic Leadership Award, commemorating their decades of meaningful service, mentorship and transformative support of Cedars-Sinai's mission.

The gala will bring together more than 750 guests, including prominent leaders across business, entertainment, finance, law and philanthropy to raise funds for  Cedars-Sinai’s Innovation to Impact campaign. The campaign, a $60 million initiative launched by the Board of Governors, is focused on accelerating early-stage research across five critical areas: children's health, cancer, neurosciences, autoimmune diseases, and metabolic diseases and aging. Central to this effort is the advancement of single-cell technology, empowering investigators to study diseased cells at the individual level and uncover the root causes of complex human conditions. The event’s fundraising toward the campaign will advance groundbreaking research and improve patient care for generations to come.

Set against the transformed backdrop of the historic Warner Bros. soundstages, the Sunset Soirée’s program will unfold as an unforgettable evening built around purpose, featuring special presentations, an exciting live auction and a closing performance by award-winning musician Andy Grammer. Rounding out the night's festivities, event sponsor and acclaimed Beverly Hills steakhouse Steak 48 will host a signature pop-up experience, giving guests a taste of one of Los Angeles’ most celebrated dining destinations.

“We’re excited to honor the incredible team behind ‘The Pitt,’ celebrating the power of storytelling and philanthropy to inspire meaningful change,” said Peter L. Slavin, MD, President and CEO of Cedars-Sinai. “Through their commitment to raising awareness about healthcare and emergency medicine both on and off screen, the team behind ‘The Pitt’ is helping shine a light on the importance of lifesaving care and the breakthroughs that make it possible. We’re also deeply grateful to Jaime and Andrew Schwartzberg for their generosity and longstanding commitment to Cedars-Sinai, alongside their extraordinary leadership and wide-reaching impact across the Los Angeles community beyond our hospital walls. Their dedication to our mission helps advance groundbreaking research and brings new possibilities in healthcare within reach.”

The Emmy®-winning Max Original drama series THE PITT, from John Wells Productions (JWP) and Warner Bros. Television, is a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today’s America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh. The critically acclaimed series, which earned 26 Emmy® Award nominations for season 2, will return for its third season on HBO Max in January 2027.

To purchase individual tickets and sponsorship packages for the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Gala, please visit: https://support.cedars-sinai.edu/event/board-of-governors-sunset-soiree/e752120.

Read more from Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights: From Innovation to Impact

The study found that at least 25% of NFL players who died over a six-year period had evidence of CTE.

Minazad, who was not involved in the study, told AirTalk host Larry Mantle that CTE develops when the brain receives repetitive impacts without time to recover, allowing damage to accumulate. To help her patients better understand what happens in this situation, she compares the brain to copper wires.

“The brain is made of 86 billion of very, very, very tiny wires,” she said. “And if you keep taking them, and you bang on them over time, you cause these microscopic damages in these wires, and they will not be able to function.”

Because all brain activity depends on electrical signals between neurons, microscopic damage can disrupt thinking, memory, speech and personality. Minazad told Mantle that symptoms can range from memory problems, cognitive issues and fogginess to severe mood disorders.

She said that prevention, early recognition and better diagnostic tools are essential. She also urged coaches and players to recognize symptoms quickly and give athletes time to heal.

Asked why some people develop symptoms of CTE early while others do not, Minazad told Mantle that the brain is like real estate.

“It’s location, location, location,” she said, explaining that the site, severity and number of impacts all shape which symptoms emerge.

Minazad encouraged anyone with a history of head injury to be evaluated by a physician. She noted that while CTE cannot currently be diagnosed in a living patient, tools such as neuropsychometric testing, MRI and electroencephalograms can establish a baseline and help guide rehabilitation.

“I don’t want this to come across as, we do not have any tools to manage or treat these patients,” she said. “They should get tested.”

Listen to the complete segment from LAist.

“As we get further away from the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen an increase in vaccine hesitancy, and this flu season could be much worse if too few people get vaccinated,” said Michael Ben-Aderet, MD, medical director of Hospital Epidemiology at Huntington Health, a Cedars-Sinai affiliate, and associate director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Starting today, Cedars-Sinai primary care physicians and pediatricians are offering flu shots to patients during scheduled visits. Patients who have been treated by a Cedars-Sinai primary care provider in the past 18 months can schedule a vaccination appointment through My CS-Link at locations in Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Culver City, Marina del Rey, Playa Vista, Santa Monica and Tarzana.

Vaccination rates have fallen since the height of the pandemic. An estimated 52% of people in the U.S. received a flu shot in 2021, compared with less than 44% during the 2025-2026 flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, the flu continues to take a serious toll, killing about 45,000 people in the U.S. during the 2024-2025 flu season and sending 710,000 people to the hospital.

“The flu shot remains the most powerful tool available to help prevent serious illness caused by the influenza virus,” Ben-Aderet said. “I urge everyone eligible to receive the vaccine to get it.”

The Cedars-Sinai Newsroom spoke with Ben-Aderet about what to expect this flu season, when to get the flu shot, how to recognize flu symptoms, how to treat it, and what the newly approved mRNA flu vaccine means for the public.

When is the best time to get the flu shot?

September and October are a good time to get vaccinated, before flu activity typically picks up in November or December. It takes about two weeks for the body to develop an immune response to the vaccine.

The vaccine is recommended for eligible adults and children older than 6 months, according to physician organizations like the American Medical Association. When available, a high-dose flu vaccine is best for those 65 and older because immune response to vaccines can decline with age.

Will the new mRNA flu vaccine be available this year?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first mRNA flu shot in early August. Vaccines made with this technology can be developed more quickly, which could allow for a better match to circulating strains of the virus if they change during a season. However, it is not yet clear when the vaccine will be available or which patients will be eligible. Regardless, it’s great to have another tool to fight the flu.

What are symptoms of the flu?

Flu symptoms can include nasal congestion, fever, body aches, cough, sore throat, fatigue, headaches. Vomiting and diarrhea tend to be more common in children. People with the flu can be contagious a day before symptoms start and as long as five to seven days after becoming ill. It’s best to stay home and avoid spreading the virus during that time, and until any fever has resolved.

What flu treatment options are available?

A mild illness can be treated at home with fluids, rest and Tylenol. Those who are very sick or at higher risk for a serious illness—including older adults, people with weakened immune systems and those with chronic health conditions—should speak with their physician at the first sign of illness to determine whether an antiviral medication like Tamiflu would be right for them. Antivirals should be started within two days after symptom onset to be most effective.

Children with mild illness also will improve at home with supportive care. Parents should watch for worsening symptoms and monitor children 2 and younger to make sure they eat and drink enough. Avoid aspirin when treating a viral illness like the flu in children. Aspirin has been linked to Reye’s syndrome, a rare but dangerous condition that causes brain swelling and liver damage and most often appears in children. As with adults, higher-risk children might need an antiviral treatment prescribed by a physician soon after symptoms develop.

When is it time to see a doctor in person or through a virtual appointment?

For those with a mild illness, a virtual visit through a mobile app like Cedars-Sinai Connect is a convenient way to get guidance on the treatment options. Cedars-Sinai Connect providers can order a flu test to rule out other illnesses, like COVID-19, or to prescribe Tamiflu. Over-the-counter flu tests also are available at most pharmacies.

People with more severe symptoms should see their physician in person or visit urgent care. Those symptoms include a very high fever, loss of appetite, trouble breathing or an inability to keep fluids down, as well as symptoms that are not improving. The same applies to people with underlying health conditions.

Read more from Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights: When to Go to the ER for the Flu