The study found that rates of STIs dropped by about two-thirds after the clinic began prescribing DoxyPEP, while testing frequency remained the same.

Foltz, who was not involved in the research, told Medscape the findings were notable because they included people who often struggle to access preventive care.

“The main takeaway is that this study really focused on higher-risk populations that traditionally would likely not have as easy access [to DoxyPEP] for numerous reasons,” Foltz said. “This has long been the challenge with any preventive measure: How do you get in to the people who need it the most?”

Foltz told Medscape that clinics should build clear protocols to make sure everyone at risk is offered DoxyPEP. He said protocols can help “remove any provider bias” and called “for continued efforts to educate high-risk populations.”

He noted that early concerns from the medical community about side effects and bacterial resistance have largely been addressed. The bigger obstacle, he said, is access.

“Unfortunately, high-risk populations typically live in areas with less access to general healthcare,” Foltz told Medscape. He pointed to mobile health clinics and telemedicine as creative ways to expand education and prevention.

The remaining challenge, he added, is determining how to “re-create this on a much larger scale so we can really get the word out about Doxy and make it available to all of those who need it.”

Clinicians recommend that a single dose of doxycycline, taken as DoxyPEP within 72 hours of unprotected sex, can help prevent certain bacterial STIs, but it should not replace condoms.

Read the complete article from Medscape.

Beta-blockers, used to treat high blood pressure and other heart conditions, mute the effects of adrenaline, slowing the heart rate and relaxing blood vessels. Prescribed off-label, they can ease some of the physical symptoms associated with short-term, situational anxiety, such as nervousness before a speech or presentation.

“For example, if you have tremors, if you have sweating, if you have palpitations, if you have increased heart rates, the beta-blockers essentially target that and dull that down,” Murphy told AARP.

She said beta-blockers provide an additional option for people who experience occasional anxiety, particularly those who cannot tolerate or are not good candidates for other anxiety medications.

“They’re kind of a different class of medications compared to other, more classical treatments we have for anxiety and depression,” she said. “They’re not SSRIs, they’re not antidepressants, they’re not benzodiazepines.”

However, Murphy noted that beta-blockers may not be suitable for everyone, including people with certain heart or circulation conditions. They also can worsen asthma and mask signs of low blood sugar.

She told AARP that people considering beta-blockers should consult their healthcare provider to help determine whether the medication is right for them or whether speaking with a mental health professional would be more appropriate.

Beta-blockers are not a treatment for chronic conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder.

Read the complete article from AARP.

Danovitch told CBS LA Mornings co-hosts Jamie Yuccas and Sheba Turk that eating disorders such as anorexia and binge eating are marked by inflexible patterns of eating, distress and, often, distortions in body image. Repeated exposure to cultural messages and images contributes to these conditions.

Eating disorders in men have long been underrecognized, he said, though men account for about a third of cases. Rates are now increasing more quickly among men than among women, which Danovitch attributed to cultural pressures around muscularity and appearance.

“We are in an environment where we’re constantly presented with images that are unrealistic of what’s attainable about one’s body,” he said. “We are constantly confronted with platforms, like social media, that cause us to appraise and assess our own appearance and compare it to unrealistic representations.”

Danovitch cautioned against making assumptions about someone’s health based on appearance. When asked how to address concerns about a loved one’s health, he encouraged a direct, caring approach.

“The best thing to do is to directly express your concern: ‘I’m worried about you. I’ve noticed there’s been a change in your behavior,’” he said. He recommended asking questions rather than making judgments because judgments can cause a person to become defensive.

Danovitch added that changing behavior is rarely immediate.

“It’s a marathon,” he told Yuccas and Turk, noting that the most effective approach is to express concern consistently over time and encourage a loved one to see a doctor.

Watch the complete segment from CBS 2.

Considered an immune-mediated disease, IBD is driven in part by an abnormal immune response that triggers chronic inflammation in the digestive tract.

Khanna told podcast host Amber Tresca that although IBD begins in the gastrointestinal tract, the disease often also shows up elsewhere. Classic health problems that can occur outside the intestines include achiness or stiffness in the joints, as well as eye disorders or inflammation of the eyes.

“Patients can have inflammation involving their liver,” Khanna said. “Women, especially, have skin issues and IBD.”

Khanna told Tresca that IBD can affect women differently than men, with disease patterns and activity sometimes changing around life stages such as puberty, pregnancy and menopause.

She noted that because IBD can involve more than “just one part of you,” Cedars-Sinai uses a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to IBD care.

For women, Khanna told Tresca, “we have involvement from OB-GYNs and dermatologists and rheumatologists” to help address the issues women with IBD often face. She added that patients also can see nutritionists, social workers and physical therapists.

Khanna said she emphasizes the importance of patients communicating openly with physicians about any concerns and speaking frankly about symptoms they aren’t sure are related to IBD.

“My biggest mantra is that information is power,” she told Tresca. “And you need to gather as much as you can to educate yourself.”

Above all, Khanna said, she encourages patients to trust their own experience.

“You know your body the best,” she said. “Your doctor can’t tell you what’s happening to you. You need to advocate for yourself.”

Listen to the complete segment from the About IBD podcast.

Spiegel told Forbes that understanding a patient’s health requires insight into daily life beyond the clinic.

“Patients spend 99.9% of their lives nowhere near the clinic,” he said. “If we’re truly going to understand health, we need a way to learn what happens between office visits, not just during them. That has always been the promise of remote patient monitoring.”

While wearable data has long been available, Spiegel told Forbes the challenge has been turning that information into meaningful clinical action. He said advances in AI, paired with HIPAA-compliant data sharing and patient consent, are helping make that possible.

“Rather than overwhelming clinicians with a constant stream of data, AI can help identify meaningful patterns and ‘hot spot’ patients who may need more timely attention,” he said. “The goal isn’t more data—it’s better, more proactive care.”

Spiegel told Forbes that Cedars-Sinai has spent more than a decade integrating wearable biosensor data into the electronic health record, though he emphasized that establishing that connection is only a first step.

“The larger challenge is developing clinical workflows that make these data genuinely useful without creating additional burden for clinicians,” he said.

Spiegel told Forbes his team is now focused on evidence-based care models that integrate wearable data into routine clinical practice while improving outcomes, enhancing efficiency and supporting clinicians.

Read the complete article from Forbes.

“The moment I saw the scan I was a little bit in disbelief,” he told PEOPLE.

The cyst had concealed Suze Lopez’s pregnancy and her condition posed significant risks. Ozimek explained that even taking every single precaution, “there’s always still a chance that nature takes its course and we cannot control the bleeding and there’s the potential that she doesn’t survive the case.”

Ozimek told PEOPLE a team of 30 experts performed the delivery and surgery.

“As soon as that mass was out of the way, there was this baby,” he said. “This 8-pound baby just laying in her abdomen, where it absolutely should not be, with an umbilical cord. And there was still an amniotic sac around this baby. It was just something that your brain can’t quite comprehend.”

Ozimek told PEOPLE Lopez began bleeding heavily during surgery, prompting doctors to perform a hysterectomy to control the bleeding.

“If this would’ve happened somewhere that doesn’t have these resources, there is no way that she would’ve survived, and very unlikely that the baby would’ve survived either,” he said.

Lopez survived and delivered a healthy baby boy. Today both mom and baby are thriving.

Ozimek described the case as “the most miraculous and wonderful outcome” of his years as a high-risk pregnancy specialist.

Read the complete article from PEOPLE.

Though the terms often are used interchangeably, Tan told Prevention that they aren’t the same thing. Dementia is a broad category, and Alzheimer's disease falls within it.

“Dementia is an umbrella term for a range of diseases that are characterized by cognitive decline, and then Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia under that umbrella,” he said.

Tan told Prevention that diagnosing dementia is complicated because there’s no simple test that pinpoints a specific type. He said that the presentations vary widely from person to person, “so if you have two different people and they both have Alzheimer’s disease, their presentation may be quite different.”

Experts encourage people who notice possible signs of dementia to see a doctor for an evaluation that includes a medical history, cognitive testing and a neurological exam.

Tan told Prevention that most medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration for dementia are indicated for Alzheimer’s disease because it is the most common and most extensively studied form of dementia. He said clinicians may prescribe Alzheimer’s medications off-label for patients with other dementia types, including Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia and Parkinson’s disease dementia.

“The reason is that Alzheimer’s can co-exist with other forms of dementia and treating it with these medications may help the overall memory or thinking of the person,” he said.

Alzheimer’s disease typically begins with memory loss and is characterized by abnormal protein buildup in the brain that progressively impairs thinking, behavior, speech and movement. Early neuropsychological testing soon after the earliest symptoms appear may help preserve memory and slow disease progression. Experts recommend speaking with a primary care physician to determine if an evaluation is needed.

Read the complete article from Prevention.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that lowering the threshold for blood pressure treatment could prevent more than 200,000 deaths over the next decade, including 160,000 cardiovascular deaths. Researchers based these estimates on updated guidelines published by the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology, which recommend treatment for eligible adults whose blood pressure is 130/80 mmHg or higher and who also have diabetes, chronic kidney disease or elevated cardiovascular risk.

Ebinger, who was not involved in the study, told Forbes that many providers still rely on the older 140/90 mmHg threshold, even though lowering it by 10 mmHg could substantially improve patients’ long-term health.

“We know that every millimeter of mercury [mmHg] could increase the risk for not just heart attacks or strokes or heart failure but kidney failure, dementia and a myriad of other health conditions,” said Ebinger, chair of the American College of Cardiology Hypertension Working Group.

Ebinger told Forbes that connecting people with treatment can “significantly reduce individuals’ cardiovascular risk across the lifespan,” but noted that many people remain unaware of their diagnosis or unable to access care.

To help identify and treat more people with high blood pressure, Ebinger encourages regular blood pressure checks at a doctor’s office, clinic, pharmacy or at home.

“I love it when people monitor their blood pressure at home,” he told Forbes. “The big thing I would recommend is making sure that they are getting a cuffed, validated device.”

People who monitor their blood pressure at home can check whether their device has been independently validated for accuracy using the Validate BP website.

Read the complete article from Forbes.

Gut health means more than the absence of disease; it reflects a functioning gastrointestinal tract that may help reduce future health risks. The hashtag #guttok has drawn billions of views on TikTok—and along with them, questionable claims, extreme fads and marketing gimmicks that make it hard to know what actually works.

Mathur, a professor of medicine and director of Clinical Research and Clinical Operations for the Medically Associated Science and Technology (MAST) Program at Cedars-Sinai, told Vox the gut microbiome is a partnership between people and the microbes living inside them.

“When we talk about the gut microbiome, we’re talking about archaea, fungi, bacteria that live within our gut,” she said. “They are synergistic with us. They help us survive as a species, as an individual. And if they’re happy, we’re happy.”

Devkota, director of the Human Microbiome Research Institute and an associate professor of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai, told Vox that gut microbes have evolved alongside humans, helping digest food, extract calories and maintain a healthy ecosystem. She emphasized that diversity, not a battle between “good” and “bad” bacteria, is what keeps the gut working properly.

“You need a lot of different kinds of bacteria in your gut,” Devkota said.

Both experts cautioned against trending “cleansing” practices.

“It actually will cause negative impacts on your gut microbiome,” Devkota said of colonics, a form of colon cleansing that can disrupt the microbiome. “This whole concept of cleansing and resetting, there’s no evidence. There’s no proof for it.”

Their advice was simple: Devkota called fiber the top priority, while both emphasized a varied diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Devkota also recommended fermented foods for those who can tolerate them and stressed the importance of water and reducing stress.

Mathur urged skepticism toward broad microbiome claims.

“Anybody who’s offering you one-size-fits-all for microbiome and microbiome therapies, just approach with caution,” she told Vox.

Watch the complete segment from Vox.

Vibration plates are exercise devices with a platform that vibrates while a person sits or stands on them. Trentacosta told USA Today that the rapid movement—typically 20 to 60 vibrations per second—creates an unstable surface requiring the body to adjust to maintain balance.

“This can add intensity to just standing at your desk or to a workout class,” she said.

Trentacosta told USA Today that using a vibration plate during exercises such as squats may increase muscle engagement.

“This can also help with balance and muscular control, something that becomes even more important as we age or are recovering from a significant injury and deconditioning,” she said.

However, Trentacosta cautioned that increased muscle activation does not necessarily translate to greater strength or power gains, and vibration plates should not replace traditional exercise.

“Vibration plates have never been shown to lead to significant weight loss, as they do not substitute for a healthy diet and proper exercise regimens which should include at the very least cardio, strength training and stretching,” she told USA Today.

She said that while vibration plates may benefit people with osteoporosis, they are not a standalone treatment. She finds them most helpful for older adults recovering from serious injuries.

Trentacosta told USA Today vibration plates may aid lymphatic drainage, but evidence is limited and they should not replace exercise or compression therapy.

For people interested in trying a vibration plate, Trentacosta recommended starting with one or two sessions per week of simple exercises, such as standing, squats or heel raises, with balance support nearby.

“If you understand the limitations to vibration plates, then you can appreciate how they may benefit your lifestyle as an adjunct to your training or rehabilitation program,” she said.

Read the complete article from USA Today.

Also known as adhesive capsulitis, frozen shoulder is surprisingly common, affecting up to 1 in 20 people during their lifetime. While the exact cause is not known, it most often affects women between 40 and 60—an age range that overlaps with menopause. Experts believe hormonal changes during menopause may play a role.

Trentacosta told Women’s Health that the condition causes the shoulder joint’s range of motion to become increasingly limited over time, and discomfort can be severe.

“Frozen shoulder can be one of the most painful shoulder conditions I see in the office,” she said.

Trentacosta told Women’s Health that inflammation of the capsule surrounding the shoulder joint causes tissue to thicken and tighten, leading to stiffness, pain and reduced mobility. She said that anyone experiencing symptoms should seek medical evaluation, ideally by a sports medicine physician or orthopedic surgeon.

“A plan of treatment can be developed that may include a combination of physical therapy, possible oral medication, and possible injections to the shoulder,” she said, adding that managing underlying health conditions such as diabetes or hypothyroidism—also thought to be linked to frozen shoulder—can help.

Above all, she emphasized that acting quickly makes a difference.

“Early intervention is important to decrease the length of course of the disease,” she said.

Frozen shoulder typically improves within 18 to 24 months, although some people experience lingering pain or stiffness for longer.

Read the complete article from Women’s Health.

Scientists found that each 10% increase in ultra-processed food intake—about the equivalent of eating a bag of chips daily—was linked to declines in brain function and higher dementia risk factors.

Tan, who was not involved in the study, told HuffPost the findings suggest that even following the MIND diet—which combines elements of the Mediterranean and DASH diets to support brain health—may not fully offset the effects of consuming large amounts of ultra-processed foods.

“Diets that are rich in antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats, like olive oil, can decrease inflammation and be protective of the brain,” he said. “But even for people who have decent MIND diet scores, when they had high intakes of ultra-processed food, it still affected their attention.”

Tan noted that the study’s emphasis on attention, rather than memory, is particularly meaningful.

“Attention varies more from a day-to-day standpoint than memory does,” he told HuffPost. “It can be affected acutely by, say, a rise in blood sugar. You get that sugar rush and then crash. Memory doesn't get affected as quickly.”

Tan offered practical advice for grocery shoppers looking to cut back on ultra-processed foods, including products such as packaged cookies, soft drinks and frozen meals.

“Stay on the outer aisles where it’s refrigerated because those are perishable items,” he told HuffPost. “The ones in the center typically have very long shelf lives because they're ultra-processed, with lots of preservatives, salt and sugar added. It’s important to tip the balance toward less processed foods rather than ultra-processed ones, and we’re all going to be better off in terms of our blood pressure, our sleep, our attention and long-term health.”

Read the complete article from HuffPost.

National guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, each week. At this intensity, the heart beats faster and breathing feels harder than usual, but a person should still be able to carry on a conversation, according to the American Heart Association.

Research suggests that spreading that exercise across four sessions may lower blood pressure more effectively than completing the same amount in two longer workouts. However, the priority is simply to get moving consistently, Ebinger told Health.

“Any walking is better than no walking,” he said.

Ebinger, associate professor of Cardiology, told Health the benefits of walking often can be seen within a few months.

“It typically takes about three months to see changes in your blood pressure related to starting a walking regimen,” he said. “Importantly, walking has effects beyond just lower blood pressure, such as weight loss, lower cholesterol and improved blood sugar control.”

Ebinger told Health a sustainable walking routine is key, and that 150 minutes per week should be a minimum target that can be built on for greater heart health benefits.

“That 150 minutes is a floor, not a ceiling, so don’t feel the need to stop just because you hit 150 minutes,” he said. “You can work your way into it, slowly increasing your walking over several weeks.”

Read the complete article from Health.

Kim, the study’s corresponding author, told CNN.com the research provides some of the strongest long-term evidence to date linking coffee consumption with better liver health. He also noted that the findings suggest caffeine is not responsible for the protective effect because similar benefits were seen among people who drank decaffeinated coffee.

“So it seems more related to the anti-oxidative effect of the coffee,” he said.

Researchers tracked more than 354,000 participants for more than a decade and found that higher coffee intake was associated with progressively lower risks of serious liver conditions. Compared with people who did not drink coffee, those who consumed five or more cups had a 32% lower risk of cirrhosis, a 47% lower risk of liver cancer, and a 42% lower risk of liver-related death.

Kim told CNN.com that participants who added sweeteners to their coffee continued to have a lower risk of liver disease and liver cancer. However, they had higher levels of a marker associated with liver inflammation, which may contribute to fatty liver disease.

Speaking with Everyday Health, Kim emphasized that coffee should be viewed as one part of an overall healthy lifestyle.

However, he cautioned that people who do not drink coffee should not start solely for potential liver health benefits.

For those who do drink coffee, he said, “Coffee should complement, not replace, the fundamentals—avoiding excessive alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, and managing diabetes, cholesterol, and blood pressure.”

Read the complete article from CNN.com. Read the complete article from Everyday Health.

Odeh told podcast host Laura Dyrda that the increasing healthcare needs of an aging population, a limited supply of doctors and nurses, and mounting financial pressures on health systems make meaningful AI deployment increasingly necessary.

“We have a real opportunity to think about how do we reengineer the way that we deliver care, and the services that we provide to be much more efficient so that we can really rise to the challenge of taking care of our communities at a time when they need us most,” he said.

Odeh told Dyrda the first wave of reengineering, already underway, uses AI to enhance workforce productivity. The second wave, he said, is “transforming workforces and workflow. It’s changing the way we work, and as a result, changing the jobs that we have.”

He noted that clinicians using ambient AI and other AI-powered documentation tools are “experiencing a better quality of interactions with our patients” and “less cognitive overload.”

Even as AI capabilities continue to expand, Cedars-Sinai is taking a measured and responsible approach, Odeh said, by keeping humans at the center of the work, using the technology primarily as a tool to support people rather than operate independently.

“What I’m most curious about is the relationship between people and technology and how that’s going to evolve,” he told Dyrda. “It feels like almost every week we get up and something new is out there. It’s changing how people experience technology.”

Listen to the complete segment from Becker's Healthcare Podcast.

Mandelbaum, medical director of the Cedars-Sinai FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence and interim chief medical officer of U.S. Soccer, told the Los Angeles Times he supports newly introduced mandatory cooling breaks for athletes, despite pushback from some fans.

“Difficult weather environments bring on dehydration and can create severe exhaustion, heat exhaustion, and those [conditions] have tremendous and dire consequences,” he said. “Not only is [the hydration break] a good thing, it’s a necessary thing.”

Mandelbaum, vice chair of Network Development at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, told the Los Angeles Times that while cooling breaks may not be medically necessary for World Cup athletes playing in a climate-controlled indoor stadium like SoFi in Los Angeles, they set an important precedent for athlete safety in extreme heat.

“This is the world’s game … we have to figure out how to help players at all levels and ages to have the ability to thermoregulate, hydrate, how to do it well,” he said.

Scott, an orthopedic specialist and venue medical officer for World Cup 2026 in Los Angeles, told AuntMinnie podcast host Will Morton that delivering imaging services for international soccer teams at a major global tournament means being prepared for nearly any request, from MRIs and ultrasounds to X-rays.

“We offer a full service of everything while they’re here in town,” Scott said. “And then obviously there is a huge need to get that done as quickly as possible and to provide the team doctors not only with a report, but for them to be able to see the images in a very timely manner.”

He told Morton that while the scale of the World Cup is daunting, with multiple teams traveling across many locations and operating under different protocols, his work has “been a very positive experience so far. 

Read the complete article from the Los Angeles Times. Listen to the complete episode from AuntMinnie.

The Neuro NICU brings together pediatric specialists across multiple disciplines to provide coordinated care for newborns with complex neurological conditions, including congenital brain malformations, stroke, and diminished oxygen or blood flow to the brain. These conditions require rapid diagnosis and treatment to help improve outcomes.

Ramanathan described one of these conditions, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, which is caused by a lack of oxygen or blood flow to the brain around the time of birth. Babies diagnosed with the condition should begin cooling therapy within six hours of birth to achieve the greatest benefit.

“Time is very crucial for intervention,” he told CBS LA Mornings co-host Sheba Turk.

Ramanathan explained the Neuro NICU team of specialists includes neonatologists, neurologists and neuroradiologists. Geneticists also play an important role in the Neuro NICU because roughly 40% of babies with neurological problems have an underlying genetic cause, and Guerin Children’s is “one of the few centers in L.A. that offers genetic testing of the baby, mom and the dad.” 

Identifying an underlying genetic mutation can help physicians personalize treatment, Ramanathan said. 

“Once we know what the genetic makeup of the mutation is, we can target the therapy,” he told Turk.

Ramanathan said every baby born at Cedars-Sinai or transferred to the Neuro NICU from a hospital in the region receives the same level of care. When needed, follow-up care with Cedars-Sinai specialists can continue for life, particularly for patients with additional conditions, such as congenital heart disease.

“A baby comes there, they don’t have to go anywhere else,” Ramanathan told Turk. “They can come to all the specialists that they need to see.”

Watch the complete segment from CBS 2.

This genetic condition can be difficult to identify because its early symptoms are common signs of many other conditions: shortness of breath, fatigue, lightheadedness, irregular or rapid heartbeat, carpal tunnel syndrome, and neuropathy—numbness or tingling in the hands and feet.

Beyond the overlap, Stern told WebMD another challenge is that symptoms can appear to be unrelated and surface long before heart problems develop.

“Some of these non-cardiac [non-heart related] symptoms can present up to 10 years before they present with any heart issues,” she said.

Stern noted that patients also may see a range of specialists for these seemingly disconnected symptoms. She compared the situation to a well-known parable.

“Each person is touching a different part of the elephant with a blindfold on, so one may think the elephant is a wall and another may think it is a spear,” she told WebMD. “But they can’t take off their blindfold to step back and see that they are all touching an elephant. This is exactly like hATTR-CM.”

Stern encouraged people experiencing a combination of symptoms to speak with their healthcare provider, especially if they “have a family history of unexplained heart disease or neuropathy.”

She emphasized the importance of self-advocacy, including being direct with doctors, sharing a detailed family history, and getting a second medical opinion if needed, to help achieve an earlier diagnosis.

“When we catch hATTR-CM before there is significant cardiac damage, we have the best opportunity to preserve heart function and quality of life,” she said. “Don’t dismiss symptoms without thoroughly considering this diagnosis.”

Read the complete article from WebMD.

Pfeffer told Everyday Health the three biggest footwear concerns for people with MS are sensory issues, balance issues and motor weakness. The right selection depends on how the disease affects an individual.

“There are as many different shoes for people with MS as there are variations of MS,” Pfeffer said, adding that comfort and fit, not fashion trends, should be the priority when purchasing shoes.

“If someone is not comfortable in their shoes,” he said, “they’re going to be miserable.”

Pfeffer also emphasized the importance of proper traction, explaining that the tread on the bottom of the shoe should resemble a tire, with cushioning and corrugation to help prevent slipping.

The ideal sole thickness, he told Everyday Health, depends on the person.

“If someone is having sensory loss, they often complain of not being able to feel the ground well,” he said. “They may want to have a thinner-soled shoe so they can have a better sense of feedback.”

Pfeffer cautioned against heels taller than two inches, as well as backless shoes, such as mules, slip-ons or flip-flops, which can be dangerous “because they can just fly off, and they add very little support.”

He also recommended shopping for shoes at the end of the day, when feet tend to swell, and choosing a shoe that is about half an inch longer than the longest toe when standing.

Read the complete article from Everyday Health.

The study found that low-intensity, everyday activities—such as climbing stairs, doing household chores or taking a brief walk—can have meaningful effects on emotional health.

Mandelbaum, who was not involved in the study, told Healthline that he regularly observes the relationship between mental wellness and physical health in his clinical practice.

“Mental well-being isn’t just the absence of illness—it’s a state of emotional, psychological and social balance that helps us manage stress, stay resilient and engage meaningfully with the world around us,” he said.

Mandelbaum also highlighted the benefits of exercising outdoors, noting that research has shown it can lead to measurable improvements in mental health.

“Time spent in green spaces, whether it’s a park, trail or even a neighborhood garden, has been linked to lower cortisol, reduced blood pressure and improved mood,” he told Healthline.

For people looking to add more activity to their routine, Mandelbaum suggested introducing an element of adventure, explaining that “it can be as simple as trying a new hiking trail, taking a beginner fitness class, kayaking or exploring a new neighborhood.”

He told Healthline that these experiences help people stay present while building confidence and resilience through small challenges.

“Accomplishing something new—even something modest—can create a sense of achievement that supports mental well-being over time,” Mandelbaum said.

Read the complete article from Healthline.

Van Eyk, director of Basic Science Research in the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center, told The Analytical Scientist that her lab focuses on women’s heart disease, which can differ from heart disease in men—differences that have not always received adequate research or attention.

More broadly, Van Eyk and her team are working to individualize healthcare by building reliable pipelines that run from discovery to patient diagnostics and treatments. She offered one example: an automated workflow that takes her team from the discovery phase—identifying candidate biomarkers, the measurable indicators of a biological state or disease—to targeted lab tests that can be used with large populations.

A similar approach supports cell-based drug trials and single-cell studies, where thousands of cells are analyzed individually.

“Only in the last few years has it been feasible to take the smallest of samples (a single cell) and obtain quantitative proteomic data,” Van Eyk said. “It is a truly remarkable technical feat.”

For proteomics to broadly advance precision medicine, methods must become easier to use while remaining reliable, Van Eyk said.

“This democratization of proteomics will both expand its use, but, importantly, it will also help ensure that data obtained around the world can be harmonized,” she said. “This is essential.”

Read the complete article from The Analytical Scientist.

Amersi, who was not involved with the study, told CBS LA Mornings co-hosts Jamie Yuccas and Sheba Turk that researchers used a test that analyzes gene expression to estimate the likelihood of cancer recurrence and chemotherapy benefit in more than 4,400 high-risk breast cancer patients, including those with large tumors or lymph node involvement.

Based on the results, women deemed unlikely to benefit from chemotherapy instead received hormone therapy, and their outcomes were comparable with those who underwent chemotherapy.

Amersi said some women could safely avoid chemotherapy now, thanks to tests like these, adding that a similar test used in the U.S. analyzes gene expression in breast tumors and can “help predict more from a personalized standpoint whether chemotherapy is truly beneficial to these patients or not.”

Amersi told Yuccas and Turk the study focused on estrogen-positive breast cancers—meaning the cancer thrives on estrogen—for which hormone-blocking therapy already is an alternative to chemotherapy.

“It’s not that they wouldn’t get any treatment,” she said. “Instead, they would be taking an antiestrogen pill for five years to prevent the cancer from coming back.”

Amersi added that chemotherapy remains necessary for patients with estrogen-negative breast cancer.

She also discussed screening guidelines, telling Yuccas and Turk that women at average risk should “be getting a screening mammogram every year starting at 40. That’s standard of care.”

Women with dense breasts also can receive screening ultrasounds. Those at high risk, such as women who test positive for BRCA gene mutations, should receive MRIs in addition to mammograms, Amersi said.

Watch the complete segment from CBS 2.

While exercise generally benefits physical and mental health, certain movements can strain the spine—particularly in people with a history of back problems or lumbar disc degeneration.

Bach told HuffPost that deadlifts can become problematic when performed incorrectly, particularly when a neutral spine is not maintained, which can place stress on the lower back.

“The risk increases significantly when the lumbar spine becomes the ‘hinge’ of the movement rather than the hips,” Bach said. He also noted that fatigue, poor hip mobility and excessive load can increase risk.

Bach told HuffPost that barbell back squats can pose a risk when performed incorrectly, due to excessive compressive force on the spine. This can occur “when the squat depth is too low, there is excessive forward trunk lean or when the spine is unable to [be] maintained in a neutral position,” he said.

Bach noted that a goblet squat—performed by holding a dumbbell or kettlebell close to the chest while squatting—is a safer alternative because it “tends to promote a more upright posture.”

He also highlighted that the seated toe-touch hamstring stretch carries a “very common but often overlooked” risk.

“While widely taught, this stretch frequently results in lumbar flexion rather than true hamstring elongation,” Bach told HuffPost. “Individuals tend to round through the low back, which increases anterior disc compression and posterior disc pressure.”

The safer alternative, he said, is a supine hamstring stretch performed while lying on the back using a strap or band, which allows hamstring lengthening while maintaining a neutral spine.

“The goal is to isolate hip flexion without forcing the lumbar spine into flexion,” Bach told HuffPost.

Read the complete article from HuffPost.

Mandelbaum, medical director of the Cedars-Sinai FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence, told podcast host Bruce Reider, MD, that he became fascinated with exercise physiology research early in his career as a surgeon.

He later became known as a “soccer doctor” in Southern California, where he focused on ACL injury prevention as more female patients were coming to him for surgery. This led Mandelbaum to collaborate with colleagues on a neuromuscular training program that reduced ACL injuries in athletes by more than 70%.

“Through systematic reviews and meta-analyses, people now conclude that a majority of ACLs should and can be prevented,” Mandelbaum said.

Having served as a medical officer for nine FIFA World Cups and six Olympic Games, Mandelbaum said he has seen how sport can bring people together because “the sport of life and the life of sport is where humanity sits."

Looking ahead to the LA28 Games, Mandelbaum told Reider a key challenge will be scaling medical coverage across multiple venues and disciplines. However, he is confident in the thousands of healthcare professionals who will support the event, citing their “amazing capability of coming together, harmonizing and creating this convergence and unification.

“And the Games will be an amazing success.”

Listen to the complete episode from the Easy Reider. 

Physician burnout is common and contributes to early career exits, reduced productivity, medical errors and lower patient satisfaction.

While the authors note that AI may reduce burnout by saving time and easing cognitive demands—automating documentation, streamlining administrative tasks, and helping emergency departments detect and prioritize urgent cases—they warn that the same tools also could introduce new and unexpected sources of strain.

“If AI tools are poorly designed, not seamlessly integrated into existing workflows and electronic health records, or have usability issues, they could introduce new inefficiencies, disrupt established routines, diminish physicians’ control over their day, and increase time demands,” Aboujaoude and Bouguettaya wrote.

For example, they noted that while AI may lower mental effort by helping doctors process information and make diagnoses, it also could increase stress through too many alerts and the need to constantly double-check results.

“It is entirely possible that physicians may increasingly face an overwhelming volume of AI-generated data that requires extensive cognitive processing to assess for relevance and accuracy,” they wrote.

The authors point to electronic health records as a cautionary example of a technology that, while designed to improve efficiency, has often increased administrative work and contributed to burnout.

They conclude that while AI holds promise for reducing contributors to burnout, its benefits are not guaranteed.

“For medical AI tools to be a genuine solution rather than another source of physician burnout—or even a trigger for a mental health crisis—the development and deployment of these systems must be physician-centered and informed by high-quality research,” they wrote.

Read the complete letter from World Psychiatry.

Results from the Phase III study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, could expand treatment options for one of the deadliest and most difficult-to-treat cancers. Pancreatic cancer is rarely caught early—symptoms go unnoticed until the disease is advanced—giving it a five-year relative survival rate of just 13%.

“There is new hope for pancreatic cancer,” said Hendifar, a principal investigator on the trial and co-author of the study. “With additional research and progress, the future is brighter.”

In the trial, patients who received the experimental drug, daraxonrasib, had a median overall survival of 13.2 months, compared with 6.6 months for those treated with standard chemotherapy. Participants had metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common form of pancreatic cancer, that had not yet been treated.

“The medicine is highly effective and it’s a pill—the first oral medication for pancreatic cancers generally,” Hendifar told Everyday Health.

Daraxonrasib targets KRAS, a gene mutation found in most pancreatic cancers that drives tumor growth.

“Until now, it has been undruggable,” Hendifar said of KRAS.

Although scientists have long recognized KRAS as a key driver of cancer, developing therapies that effectively target the mutation has proved challenging. The success of daraxonrasib could pave the way for new treatments for pancreatic and other KRAS-driven cancers.

Hendifar told Everyday Health the drug could receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration within months after an application is submitted. In the meantime, some eligible patients could be able to access the experimental treatment through compassionate-use or expanded-access programs.

Read the complete article from Everyday Health.

Continuing a longstanding community outreach effort, the professional football players shared gifts and words of encouragement with pediatric patients at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s, families in its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and patients receiving care at Cedars-Sinai Cancer.

Jill Martin, executive vice president of Cedars-Sinai Medical Network, told the Los Angeles Sentinel the visit exemplified the meaningful partnership between the Rams and Cedars-Sinai.

“We really value our sponsorship with the Rams and appreciate the fact that they want to be out there serving the community,” Martin said. “That’s the great part about the sponsorship, that it’s all about what are the things we can do together to be able to help care [for] and support the community of Los Angeles.”

Jalen Logan-Redding, a Rams defensive lineman, told the Los Angeles Sentinel the visit inspired him.

“Being able to get in touch with Los Angeles in that way, it’s really huge for me,” he said.

Rams’ cornerback Al’zillion Hamilton told CBS 2 that visiting newborns in the NICU “gave me the jitters” and that he enjoyed talking to new parents and witnessing their experience.

Another group of Rams rookies visited Cedars-Sinai Marina Hospital, signing autographs, posing for photos and sharing support with patients, families and staff.

Read the complete article from the Los Angeles Sentinel and watch the complete segment from CBS 2.

Sicotte told host Jon Strum that advances in diagnostic guidelines, technology and treatment are enabling clinicians to diagnose MS earlier and offer patients greater reassurance and optimism.

Early diagnosis can help “stop MS in its tracks really before it even gets started,” she said.

Sicotte emphasized that exercise, restorative sleep, a healthy diet, social connection and stress management play an important role alongside medication in managing MS.

“This kind of lifestyle change can really give patients something that they can anchor on, and something they can do, so not feeling powerless,” she told Strum. “And it’s really important because it does make a difference in the long term.”

She said she encourages patients to prioritize self-compassion and patience rather than focusing on specific milestones in the months immediately following diagnosis.

“I always tell patients, first and foremost, just take a deep breath and let yourself have time to come to grips with the diagnosis,” Sicotte told Strum. “And I always have found, a year later, it’s much, much better. People feel totally different than they did.”

Sicotte also addressed common misconceptions about MS, including assumptions that the disease inevitably leads to wheelchair use or prevents women from starting families.

Many people diagnosed with MS can look forward to living “a full, rich life and do all the things that they want to do, that they dreamt of doing before they had the diagnosis,” she said.

Listen to the complete episode from Real Talk MS.

Barmparas treats some of the most seriously injured patients who arrive at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center—a Level I trauma center prepared to treat highly complex cases.

He told CBS 2 reporter Brittney Ermon that the hospital’s trauma team is seeing injuries to “the head, the brain, and a lot of fractures in the face, the arms, massive road rashes.”

He said a single mistake can have devastating, lifelong consequences.

“Saving their life the first day is just the beginning,” Barmparas told Ermon. “And then it’s the story of how you recover from those massive injuries.”

He said many of the injured patients are teenagers, noting that high speeds and risky behavior can quickly lead to serious crashes.

“It’s heartbreaking to see that the kid was just trying to have some fun and they come in with devastating injuries that change their life forever,” he told Ermon.

Barmparas urged e-bike riders to slow down, ride safely and wear a helmet designed and rated for e-bike use.

“We do our best to save the patient, but the best trauma story is a story that never happens,” he said.

Experts also urge drivers and pedestrians to stay alert around e-bikes, and they warn against carrying passengers on bikes not designed for multiple riders.

Read the complete article and watch the segment from CBS 2.

Minissian, the Simms/Mann Family Foundation Endowed Chair of Nurse Education, Innovation and Research, told podcast host Jelena Spyropoulos that female mentors played a defining role in her career by encouraging her to pursue opportunities she had not initially imagined for herself.

“Every aspect of my development has been influenced by females in healthcare,” she said. “And I would not be where I am today without several of them.”

Among those mentors was C. Noel Bairey Merz, MD, director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, who encouraged Minissian to explore research and expand her professional ambitions.

Minissian, who oversees mentorship efforts for thousands of nurses at Cedars-Sinai, told Spyropoulos that cultivating a network of three or four mentors who can offer professional, strategic and personal guidance is critical for career growth—particularly for women, who are often more likely than men to hesitate before pursuing new opportunities.

“Every time you get a mentor, and then they’re talking with someone, and your name comes up and something good is said about you,” she said, “you’re actually working on your professionalism. They’re advocating for you and you’re not even there.”

For young women beginning their careers, Minissian emphasized the importance of self-advocacy, saying: “You’re going to hear ‘no’ a lot, and ignore it. Keep pressing forward, especially if you can feel the fire in your belly.”

Listen to the complete episode from Hear From Her | The Women in Healthcare Leadership Podcast Series.

A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked or interrupted, preventing brain cells from getting oxygen and causing them to become damaged or die. Symptoms can include sudden weakness or heaviness in one arm, typically on the side opposite the affected area of the brain.

While arm weakness may accompany other symptoms like facial drooping, speech difficulties or vision changes, Pereira told HealthCentral that sometimes “arm weakness can be the only sign of stroke.”

He said the key difference between stroke-related arm weakness and other causes is speed.

“What makes a case more likely to be a stroke, as opposed to other causes, is its sudden onset,” Pereira told HealthCentral. “A stroke doesn’t gradually start happening—it happens instantly.”

Other conditions can cause arm weakness that develops over time. These include pinched nerves, peripheral neuropathy and brachial plexus injury—damage to the nerves running from the spine into the arms. Additional causes include autoimmune diseases, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the peripheral nerves outside the brain and spinal cord.

Pereira told HealthCentral that Guillain-Barré syndrome typically causes weakness on both sides of the body, starting in the feet and arms.

“Chances are you would know you have it before it reached your arms,” he said.

Pereira emphasized that time is critical during a stroke, because the most effective treatment for reducing brain damage must be administered within four and a half hours of symptom onset.

Experts encourage the use of the F.A.S.T. acronym to remember the warning signs of a stroke: facial drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulties, and time to call 911.

Read the complete article from HealthCentral.

Preeclampsia affects up to 8% of women who give birth worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. In severe cases, physicians must deliver babies prematurely to protect the mother, which increases infants’ risk of breathing problems, infections and developmental delays.

In a study co-authored by Thadhani and Ananth Karumanchi, MD, director of the Renovascular Research Center at Cedars-Sinai, investigators focused on removing a harmful protein from the mother’s blood, which proved effective in safely extending pregnancy. Results from the small, pilot study were published in the journal Nature Medicine.

“We’re excited about this,” Thadhani told Scientific American. “It’s the first time anyone has developed a targeted treatment for this condition.”

Thadhani, executive vice president of Clinical Affairs, said investigators avoided potential fetal risk by removing the preeclampsia-linked protein sFlt-1 from the blood of 16 women through filtering, rather than targeting it with antibodies inside the body.

“This way, we [didn’t] have to worry about anything crossing the placenta, and we could turn off the machine if a woman had a complication,” he told Scientific American.

Thadhani said the method stabilized high blood pressure and extended pregnancies to roughly twice as long as expected.

“Extension is a key component, because if a woman is at 29 weeks or 32 weeks, the goal is to get her to 34 weeks, 36 weeks and let the baby grow,” he said.

Thadhani told Scientific American that while the findings need confirmation in larger clinical trials, “this is the end of the beginning” in “finally developing a strategy to target this condition for which we’ve never had a treatment.”

Read the complete article from Scientific American.

IBS affects about 10% of U.S. adults and, while incurable, can be managed through diet, behavioral therapy and medication.

Rezaie, director of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology at the Medically Associated Science and Technology (MAST) Program at Cedars-Sinai, told HCPLive the field is shifting away from a one-size-fits-all approach to symptom treatment and toward therapies tailored to the biological drivers of each patient’s disease.

“Twenty or 30 years ago, we would empirically treat patients, mostly just targeting symptoms,” Rezaie told HCPLive. “Now, we recognize that IBS has multiple underlying pathophysiologies, and depending on the patient, we can tailor therapy more precisely.”

Rezaie told HCPLive research increasingly suggests “a subgroup of IBS patients has disease driven by the gut microbiome,” fueling interest in microbiome-targeted therapies.

Rezaie said that because IBS is a chronic condition often diagnosed when patients are in their 20s, 30s and 40s, it typically requires long-term management of fluctuating symptoms.

“If you start them on a medication,” he told HCPLive, “this is not necessarily a curable disease, so they might be on that medication for years or decades.”

A large real-world study led by Rezaie found that some commonly prescribed IBS medications, particularly antidepressants and certain antidiarrheals, may be associated with an increased long-term mortality risk, underscoring the importance of evaluating safety in a condition often treated for decades.

In a related interview with HCPLive, Rezaie noted that these research findings highlight the need for more informed patient discussions and for future IBS guidelines to better incorporate long-term safety data alongside symptom management.

Read the complete article from HCPLive.

Nodiff-Netanel told NBC 4 reporter Lynette Romero during a “Bright Spot” segment on “Today in LA” that the mini horses have visited hospitals, veteran centers and police stations nearly every day for 18 years.

The horses are part of an equine-assisted therapy program led by Nodiff-Netanel. This type of therapy is shown to provide various health benefits, including helping reduce anxiety.

“It’s just magical what happens when a little horse nuzzles your face,” Nodiff-Netanel said as a blue-eyed, white horse named Blue Moon stood by her side. “It’s what happens everywhere we go.”

Nodiff-Netanel told Romero the horses are trained to perform tricks that help entertain patients and lift their spirits. NBC 4 showed footage of Blue Moon playing a keyboard for a young patient at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s.

The horses have a special wardrobe for their visits—a Cedars-Sinai Volunteer Services vest and badge, complete with their name and photo.

“As soon as they get their vests on and their little fancy halters, they know that they’re going to be working,” Nodiff-Netanel told Romero, adding that the horses also wear special nonslip shoes that protect their feet and keep them safe during visits.

“She doesn’t make noise,” she said. “She doesn’t slip when she does her tricks.”

Romero noted that most people have never seen a mini horse in person, making these visits especially memorable for patients and staff.

Watch the complete segment from NBC 4.

Barmparas told L.A. Parent that as electric bikes, or e-bikes, have surged in popularity, he is seeing a sharp increase in severe injuries from accidents, including bone fractures and brain and facial injuries.

“These are not simple bicycle falls,” he said. “E-bikes can reach speeds of almost 30 mph, and many young riders are not prepared for how quickly they accelerate or how differently they handle at those speeds, especially when braking or turning.”

Barmparas told L.A. Parent that while he understands the appeal of e-bikes among tweens and teens because they offer mobility, independence and freedom, he recommends them only for mature older teens who practice good judgment and know and follow the rules of the road.

“Parents should ask whether their child can reliably handle speed, traffic, distraction and split-second decision-making,” Barmparas said, and they should “feel comfortable saying no if they are not confident their child is ready.”

Barmparas told KTLA 5 anchors Eric Spillman and Jessica Holmes e-bike riders should not wear earbuds or use a phone, and that they “always, always, always have to have the right helmet on,” such as a multisport or motorcycle-certified helmet. A bicycle helmet does not provide adequate protection.

Barmparas treated Albert Miranda, 17, when he was transferred to Cedars-Sinai, a Level 1 trauma center, after a catastrophic crash on his motorized minibike. Miranda was in the hospital for five months and required more than 20 surgeries, including a leg amputation.

Miranda told Spillman and Holmes that e-bikes are fun but also very dangerous.

He encouraged parents of teens with e-bikes to “have them wear protection, like a helmet, maybe some gloves,” so that if they fall, they’re equipped with “anything that will help them.”

Read the complete article from L.A. Parent. Watch the complete segment from KTLA 5.

Feinberg told podcast host Laura Dyrda, vice president and editor-in-chief at Becker’s Healthcare, that AI is helping employees feel more productive, less stressed and better able to manage increasing demands in a more flexible and meaningful way that “really helps them feel that they’re adding value.”

One example, he said, is the development of an AI tool for the health system that can quickly answer nurses’ questions about product locations, availability and substitutes, “which really streamlines all those communications tremendously.”

Feinberg told Dyrda the health system also is using AI for basic supply chain functions that can be tedious and time-consuming, such as reading contracts and extracting payment terms.

He said he himself often uses AI. He finds that becoming acquainted with the technology “helps people at least get over the barrier of, ‘Hey, this is something that is a threat to me,’ versus, ‘This is something that can help me grow.’”

Feinberg told Dyrda a supply chain challenge moving forward is seamlessly balancing multiple demands across the health system. He compared supply chain to blood in the body, noting that both are ubiquitous, ensuring that every part of an organization—or body—gets what it needs.

“Generally, people don’t think a lot about supply chain until there’s a problem,” Feinberg told Dyrda.

Listen to the complete segment from Becker’s Healthcare Podcast.

Rutishauser and Wadia led a research team that found imagining and viewing images activate many of the same brain neurons, pointing to a shared neural mechanism. Their work was published in the journal Science.

“I can look at an object in the world around me, but I can also close my eyes and imagine the object,” Wadia told NPR correspondent Jon Hamilton.

The researchers studied patients with epilepsy who already had electrodes implanted in their brain to locate seizure activity, which allowed the team to track individual brain cells as participants viewed images and later imagined them. Many of the same neurons were active in both cases, suggesting the brain uses similar mechanisms for perception and imagination.

“About 40% of those neurons reactivated when you were imagining the object,” Wadia told Hamilton. “And they reactivated with roughly equal strength, which is also very surprising.”

Rutishauser, a professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology and Biomedical Sciences, told Hamilton the overlap was so strong that researchers could identify when a patient was imagining a specific object—along with details such as size, angle and setting.

He noted that not everyone experiences mental imagery. Some people rely on words or concepts instead.

Rutishauser told Hamilton that after a recent talk, a scientist said to him, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t see anything when I close my eyes.”

Listen to the complete segment from NPR.

Wei, the Erika J. Glazer Chair in Women's Cardiovascular Research, Education and Innovation, told Everyday Health that proactive conversations with a physician are critical.

“If a first-degree relative like a parent or sibling had a sudden cardiac arrest before age 50, it doubles your risk of having an event yourself,” said Wei, an associate professor of Cardiology and Biomedical Sciences.

Wei told Everyday Health that people with high cholesterol may want to ask their doctor whether their children should be screened.

“We really should be screening children as young as 2 if a parent has high cholesterol,” she said. “There’s a condition called familial hypercholesterolemia in which bad cholesterol can be extremely high, and those people have higher risks for heart attack and stroke.”

Wei told Everyday Health that additional tests, such as coronary artery calcium scoring and lipoprotein-A screening, can help identify cardiovascular risk in people with a family history of heart attack or high cholesterol.

She noted that people who maintain a healthy lifestyle should still ask their physician about appropriate screenings and understand their key health markers, including blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

“You can have a normal body mass index and normal blood pressure, and appear asymptomatic,” she said, “but if your cholesterol is elevated, then we should consider medications for it, especially in light of any family cardiac history.

“If there’s a genetic cause for something like high cholesterol, only medication can bring it down.”

Read the complete article from Everyday Health.

Spiegel, who directs the Center for Virtual Medicine and Health System Transformation at Cedars-Sinai, was the keynote speaker at the medical center’s recent Virtual Medical Conference.

Spiegel told Healio he introduced the term “blended intelligence” to describe clinicians’ use of AI as a supportive tool while maintaining their own central, human role in patient care.

“Neither tries to be the other,” he said. “They augment each other.”

Spiegel told Healio that while computers excel at processing data, information and knowledge, “Wisdom is what distinguishes not just doctors but humans in general from computer systems.”

He cited an example from Cedars-Sinai, in which clinicians use smart glasses with AI-linked access to health records, allowing them to maintain eye contact with patients while seamlessly retrieving needed information.

“The computer is looking for patterns in the chart that humans might miss, while the human is engaging with the patient, making eye contact, communicating and being part of shared decision-making,” he said.

Spiegel also shared how Cedars-Sinai researchers are using an AI-enabled virtual reality system that simulates symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome—such as discomfort and bloating—so doctors can physically experience what patients feel.

"This is an example of where we can use technologies to enhance understanding of the human biopsychosocial experience of having an illness," he told Healio.

Spiegel said AI frees clinicians to focus on core patient care—exams, communication and decision-making—while handling administrative tasks.

“AI is not going to replace doctors, but doctors who use AI will replace doctors who don’t,” he said.

Read the complete article from Healio.

Tan told Good Housekeeping that memory is a combination of different cognitive abilities—each requiring specific types of training—and, while many activities support brain health, there is no conclusive evidence they directly improve memory.

“For example,” he said, “reading a book, attending classes at a junior college because we're interested, listening to NPR or something else that will expand your view of the world or watching documentaries—those are all great, but they haven’t been studied for us to conclusively say that if you do all of these things, you’re less likely to develop memory problems.”

Tan told Good Housekeeping that brain exercises involving active participation—such as physical exercise, playing sports, in-person socializing, learning a new language, completing puzzles and playing an instrument—may support cognitive function.

Still, he emphasized that these exercises cannot completely prevent dementia because “there is a pathologic mechanism to it, meaning for Alzheimer’s, for example, you develop amyloid plaques and tangles. Just doing cognitive training isn’t going to prevent you from having those things, but it might help you reduce the risk of developing symptoms.”

Tan told Good Housekeeping the brain also relies on other organ systems to function properly.

“If your heart is unhealthy, that can affect the brain because the brain is the organ that needs the most oxygen in your system,” he said. “If your kidneys are not functioning well, then you accumulate more toxins that the kidneys filter from the blood. If your gastrointestinal tract is not healthy, then you won't absorb the micronutrients that the brain needs to stay healthy.”

Read the complete article from Good Housekeeping.

The experimental approach, described in a study published in Science Translational Medicine, could enable earlier and safer detection and monitoring of heart failure—a condition that affects 1 in 4 people in the U.S.

Yang, co-author of the study, told STAT the technique offers a quicker, less invasive way to assess cardiac oxygen consumption compared with current methods that require inserting catheters or radioactive tracers used in PET scans into patients.

He emphasized that measuring the heart’s ability to use oxygen efficiently reveals a key dimension of heart health—not only in heart failure, but in diabetes and hypertension as well.

“Those patients are more subject to cardiometabolic illness when the heart doesn’t function well and cannot pump as much blood as you need into your whole body,” Yang told STAT.

Yang and his team adapted a neuroimaging method that detects blood oxygen level-dependent signals in the brain and applied it to the heart.

The technique adds just three minutes to a standard cardiac MRI scan and does not require contrast agents, breath-holding or radiation exposure.

Because MRI is widely available in hospitals, Yang told STAT, the method could be used more broadly in lower-risk populations and repeated over time to monitor treatment response.

“People with obesity, diabetes, hypertension—those are key populations that we have the chance of doing earlier identification,” he said. “I think that is where the impact can translate the most.”

Read the complete article from STAT.

Meyer told The Analytical Scientist he built the application in minutes using AI, highlighting how significantly the barriers to creating scientific software have been reduced.

Meyer subsequently published a paper documenting how vibe coding could potentially transform analytical software development in research settings. However, he told The Analytical Scientist that there are risks involved with vibe-coded analysis tools, such as “using them without adequate validation.”

He added, “Because these systems can generate working software very quickly, there is a strong temptation to trust outputs simply because the interface appears functional. Without explicit verification, subtle errors can go unnoticed and propagate into downstream analyses.”

Meyer told The Analytical Scientist he advises researchers interested in trying vibe coding to start with small, well-defined tasks where success can be easily verified. He emphasized the importance of providing detailed context to AI systems, including data formats, documentation and concrete test cases.

“If something is not specified, the model will guess or do nothing, and this is where most problems arise,” he said.

Meyer’s research group is shifting focus from writing and maintaining complicated computer code to writing clear, detailed instructions that describe their methods for creating software and code. The goal is to communicate their process clearly enough that anyone could re-create it on their own.

“That approach aligns well with how science is supposed to work, and it allows ideas to be shared, adapted and reimplemented much more flexibly as tools continue to evolve,” he said.

Read the complete article from The Analytical Scientist.

Cellini told ABC 7 correspondent Denise Dador that her work in the medical center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which includes humming, singing and strumming the guitar, is a methodical process that blends music with careful medical observation.

“It’s not just me going and playing the guitar,” Cellini said. “It’s a lot more of me looking at the monitors. Making sure they’re stabilized.”

Ordono told Dador the benefits of music therapy extend beyond a newborn’s vital signs, helping with their overall development—especially the brain—and improving feeding.

“The other thing that we want to support is the whole family,” Ordono said. “This gives them the opportunity to create those meaningful moments to strengthen their bonds in a special way.”

Despite emerging research suggesting music therapy can help stabilize vital signs in premature infants, it is not a standard offering in many U.S. NICUs and often relies on philanthropic financial support.

Joey and Ryder Corleto, twins who were born prematurely at Cedars-Sinai 14 years ago, recently donated $20,000 from their bar and bat mitzvah gifts, along with personal fundraising, to support music therapy where they once received care.

“We decided that we wanted to do this for our good deed together to donate to the NICU,” Joey Corleto told Dador.

Watch the complete segment from ABC 7.

The AI model, called EchoPrime, was developed by Cedars-Sinai researchers in collaboration with other institutions. It quickly and efficiently analyzes images and video from an echocardiogram test, which uses ultrasound to assess the heart’s structure, size and function.

Ouyang said the model was trained on 12 million different videos from Cedars-Sinai and “is mapping what the different videos and images look like and what a clinician would say about the videos and images.”

He told Spectrum News 1 the technology offers significant time savings for healthcare providers: A typical echocardiogram study takes about one hour, while EchoPrime “can save 20 to 30 minutes out of that process.”

Ouyang said the model could also improve diagnostic accuracy and consistency.

“It’s very common that a patient can see two different doctors and come up with two different diagnoses,” he told Spectrum News 1. “By having AI assist with the preliminary assessment, this allows for more reliable and consistent diagnoses.”

Ouyang said this technology represents a significant advancement in cardiac imaging technology.

“It’s really at the intersection, both in cardiology and in AI and in computer vision, that can bring together a lot of tremendous improvements in the field,” he said.

Watch the complete segment from Spectrum News 1.

Reed told HuffPost that low-level stress often goes unnoticed because it feels more like constant stimulation rather than short bursts of stress. He said it’s an issue that is becoming more apparent, especially because everyone is so connected now, thanks to smartphones and constant notifications.

“When stress is persistent and we’re not getting the breaks that we need,” he said, “we’re having increased firing of our sympathetic nerves and changes in our stress hormones, which can lead to changes in our cardiovascular health, which includes increased blood pressure, increased heart rate.”

Chronic stress also can cause appetite changes, sleep disruptions, headaches, body aches and gastrointestinal issues, such as stomach pain, diarrhea and worsened irritable bowel syndrome.

“When all of these things are chronic in nature, they increase our risk for other disease processes as well—and, overall, it impedes our ability to get better after we’re sick,” Reed told HuffPost.

Taking five minutes each day to practice mindfulness—through deep breathing, meditation or a short walk—can help manage low-level stress, Reed said, adding that “it’s actually better for our productivity to take a little bit of a pause between different tasks.”

Eliminating stress altogether is impossible, Reed told HuffPost, noting that it actually serves a purpose.

“Inherently, stress is good for us,” Reed told HuffPost. “It helps us be productive. If we weren’t stressed, we wouldn’t do our work, we wouldn’t take a test, we would just sit there and do nothing.”

Read the complete article from HuffPost.

Figlin told podcast host Elizabeth Gregerson that access is the cornerstone of effective cancer care, especially in a geographically dispersed city like Los Angeles.

“If you are a cancer patient and you want access to our health system or any health system across the country, you want to know that when you are at risk for that diagnosis, you are going to be able to access experts—people capable of delivering care in an expedited fashion,” Figlin said.

He told Gregerson that because Cedars-Sinai serves approximately 12.5 million people across a sprawling area, the health system has adopted a model that brings expertise to patients in their communities while reserving the medical center for specialized care that cannot be delivered locally.

“Patients would like to receive their care close to home, if at all possible,” Figlin said. “That is why we believe that health systems should consider bringing their expertise to their communities so that they can deliver care locally.”

He told Gregerson clinical research is inseparable from patient care at Cedars-Sinai, where investigators embed clinical trials throughout the health system and align research priorities with the needs of the diverse communities they serve.

“There is no line, in my view, between clinical care and research,” Figlin said. “When cancer patients want to receive their care, they want to know not only what is best available for them today, but what might be available to them for a possible treatment in the future.”

Figlin emphasized Cedars-Sinai’s patient-centric approach that guides every decision.

“We view everything that we do through the eyes of the patient,” he told Gregerson. “As long as we keep our eye on the ball, we will succeed because the patients want to see that they are part of a larger organizational structure so that if and when they need us, we will be there for them.”

Listen to the complete segment from Becker's Healthcare Podcast.

Cedars-Sinai began using Moxi several years ago to assist with logistical work, such as moving linens, retrieving lab samples and medication, and transporting patient belongings.

Today, Cedars-Sinai uses three of the robots. Marshall told CBSNews.com the robots help nursing staff avoid time-consuming trips throughout the hospital to gather supplies and materials. He said the Moxi helpers have elicited “positive, emotional” responses from patients, staff, visitors and children.

“We had one patient that asked if Moxi could come back and tell her hello after her surgery,” Marshall said.

Barone told CBSNews.com the robots save valuable time.

“I don't have to go take my 10,000 steps down into the belly of the hospital to go find things and get it for my patient,” Barone said.

While robots can handle basic tasks, Marshall emphasized they have clear limitations and cannot replace the human touch essential to quality patient care.

“Robots touch things and people touch people,” he told CBSNews.com. “They could never hold a patient’s hand or wipe their brow or help them brush their teeth.”

Moxi robots are being used in more than two dozen hospitals across the U.S. Experts project that number will grow over the next 10 years, as the machines help fill workforce gaps in healthcare as well as agriculture, manufacturing and other industries.

Read the complete article from CBSNews.com.

Corman, who became president of the organization in January 2026, told Outlook Pasadena his clinical background as a board-certified urologist and surgeon shapes his leadership philosophy.

“As a surgeon, patients trust you to make an incision, to repair, and to cure,” he said. “In leadership, clinicians, staff, and the community place that same trust in you—to make changes, sometimes subtle, sometimes significant, that strengthen the institution.”

He told Outlook Pasadena strong community connections were what drew him to Huntington Health.

“Everyone has a Huntington story—children born here, loved ones healed here,” Corman said. “That shared history is a sacred trust.”

Corman told HealthLeaders that Huntington Health has developed a “DNA” of crisis response that now feels embedded in its culture—a capacity that was tested during the Eaton Fire, which burned mere miles from the hospital in January 2025.

“We have this new DNA of ability to respond to crisis that feels almost natural and normal now, which is a fairly unusual thing,” he said, adding that this foundation has allowed leadership to focus more on workforce development and retention.

“As opposed to most of the rest of the country that is declining in physician engagement, we’re actually going the opposite direction,” Corman told HealthLeaders.

Looking ahead, Corman told Outlook Pasadena he envisions Huntington Health playing an expanded role in community health through prevention, behavioral health and innovative care models.

“Won’t it be remarkable when the community becomes so healthy that we reduce the need for hospital inpatient care?” he said, adding that “our real future is in helping people stay well.”

Read the complete articles from HealthLeaders and Outlook Pasadena.

The forecast, published in the AHA journal Circulation, estimates that by 2050, 6 in 10 women will develop cardiovascular disease, with high blood pressure—the leading risk factor—affecting nearly as many females.

Bairey Merz, who was not involved in the paper, told STAT the outlook is especially concerning because other major drivers of heart disease—diabetes and obesity—are projected to increase. Nearly one-third of girls 2 to 19 are expected to face obesity by 2050. High blood pressure, obesity and diabetes also are stroke risk factors.

“That should be a wake-up call for us,” Bairey Merz said. “It’s alarming and it’s all preventable. That’s the sad reality.”

The projections estimate that by 2050, one-third of women between 22 and 44 will have a form of cardiovascular disease other than high blood pressure, compared with less than one-quarter currently. In that age group, diabetes prevalence is projected to rise from 6% to nearly 16%, and obesity is expected to increase by 18%, affecting 1 in 6 women.

Bairey Merz, a pioneer in women’s heart health research, told STAT gaps in sex-specific research have contributed to poorer outcomes for women with heart disease compared with men.

“I used to say we’re about 50 years behind the knowledge that we have in men about bypass surgery, about stents, about heart failure medications, about different kinds of procedures,” she said. “We’ve studied it now 25-plus years, so we have another 25 years to go.”

Read the complete article from STAT.

Hassoun told Becker’s Healthcare Podcast host Scott Becker that while the international program initially focused on medical travel—bringing international patients to Los Angeles for care—the program has transformed into a comprehensive global healthcare model.

“To be a top program today, you need to do far more than that,” Hassoun told Becker. “You need to bring not only direct care closer to patients where they are but also improve the continuity of care and the care delivery in those communities.”

One major initiative is the launch of wholly owned concierge clinics in strategic international cities, beginning with London. Additional clinics are planned for Singapore, Dubai and Mexico City—locations Hassoun described to Becker as “international cities with crossroads” that serve globally traveling patients who want to access Cedars-Sinai care.

“I feel like we’re building the modern railroad for healthcare,” Hassoun told Becker, describing the infrastructure needed to maintain continuity of care across borders.

Hassoun told Becker successful international expansion requires deep understanding of local markets, cultures and healthcare dynamics.

“Culture, as we always talk, eats strategy for lunch every day of the week,” he said. “You just have to take the time and really understand what’s happening, the dynamics, the physician practices.”

Hassoun told Becker healthcare delivery and medical science are increasingly interconnected across borders.

“We are living in a world that truly is more integrated than not,” he said.

Listen to the complete segment from Becker's Healthcare Podcast.