The A1C test measures a person’s average blood sugar over the past two to three months. For people with Type 2 diabetes, it is usually repeated every three to six months. Although testing typically requires a lab blood draw, home kits sold online and in pharmacies provide another option.

Mathur told Everyday Health speed makes home testing appealing.

“Some tests provide results right away,” she said, adding that other kits must be sent to a laboratory for processing, with results taking several days or even weeks.

Mathur told Everyday Health that another benefit of home testing is that it helps patients stay engaged in their own care.

“Having a recent A1C result can help patients and healthcare professionals decide whether diabetes treatment may need to be adjusted, including during video visits,” she said. She added that “seeing A1C results at home may help people better understand how medications, eating habits, physical activity and other choices affect their blood sugar over time.”

Still, Mathur cautioned, home tests have limitations.

“Home A1C tests may not be as accurate as a lab test for A1C measurements, and results can vary between products,” she said. Accuracy can be further reduced in people with conditions that affect hemoglobin or red blood cell turnover, such as certain forms of anemia and chronic kidney disease.

Because of those accuracy concerns, Mathur emphasized that diagnoses and medication decisions should not be based on home-test results alone.

“If a home result is unexpected or could lead to a major change in treatment, your healthcare professional may recommend confirming it with a laboratory A1C test,” she said.

Read the complete article from Everyday Health.

Screen use has sharply increased over the past two decades, a trend that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, but not all screen time carries the same level of risk, Tavyev Asher told podcast host Neha Pathak, MD.

For instance, she said, watching a family movie with a defined beginning and end is far less concerning than rapidly changing images, endless scrolling, or video games engineered to hold a child’s attention.

“The YouTube videos keep cycling through,” Tavyev Asher told Pathak. “There’s no end. They can take you endlessly through an algorithm in what you might be interested in. The same thing happens with scrolling on social media, for example.”

She explained that fast-paced content floods dopamine receptors, causing children to crave constant stimulation and struggle with quieter tasks like reading or schoolwork. She added that excessive early screen use can replace the hands-on play critical for building creativity and cognitive skills, and can alter brain development.

Rather than treating screen time as a disciplinary tool—a reward to be earned or withheld as punishment—Tavyev Asher said parents can reframe boundaries not as restrictions, but as a form of care. She recommended explaining to children why screen time can be harmful to their long-term focus and development.

Tavyev Asher offered reassurance to parents who worry they have made irreversible mistakes.

“Everything can change at any time that you decide to change things,” she said. She encouraged families to begin with one intentional change and replace screen time with a shared activity.

Listen to the complete segment from WebMD.

Supported by more than $5 million in new funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Heart Association (AHA), Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University investigators Sumeet Chugh, MD, and Kyndaron Reinier, PhD, MPH, are building on two decades of collaborative research to improve long-term risk prediction and spot warning signs shortly before sudden cardiac arrest strikes.

“We’re cautiously optimistic that incorporating AI tools and wearables data will improve prevention of cardiac arrest and outcomes for this lethal condition,” said Chugh, who directs the Center for Cardiac Arrest Prevention and the Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Research Center at Cedars-Sinai.

Out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest affects about 1,000 people in the U.S. each day. Unlike a heart attack—a circulation problem caused by a blocked artery—cardiac arrest is an electrical failure in which the heart suddenly develops a chaotic rhythm and stops pumping blood. Without immediate CPR and defibrillation, death follows within minutes.

“Because many cases occur without warning, and cardiac arrest is fatal in about 90% of cases, improving risk identification and prevention is critical,” said Reinier, associate director of Epidemiology in the Center for Cardiac Arrest Prevention.

To mark Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month in October, the Cedars-Sinai Newsroom spoke with Chugh and Reinier about the latest advances in cardiac arrest prediction and prevention.

Why is sudden cardiac arrest so difficult to predict?

Reinier: For up to half of patients, cardiac arrest is the first sign of underlying heart disease. Historically, clinicians relied on left ventricular ejection fraction, or LVEF—a measure of heart pumping function—to gauge risk. But LVEF has become less predictive as treatments for reduced heart function have improved. Also, many people who suffer cardiac arrest never had severely reduced LVEF. So, better risk predictors are essential.

Chugh: Implantable defibrillators—which act like personal paramedics, delivering a shock within seconds when they detect a dangerous heart rhythm—were once effective at protecting people with weak heart function. In the past, implanting 100 defibrillators based on LVEF saved 10 to 15 lives a year. Today, that number is closer to three to five. LVEF simply isn’t catching enough high-risk patients anymore.

What has earlier research revealed about prediction and prevention?

Chugh: Over two decades of community-based research in Oregon and California allowed us to study cardiac arrest in approximately 2 million people. With help from local paramedics, police, firefighters and the coroner, we identified nearly every cardiac arrest that occurred. We combined the data collected by paramedics with the individuals’ electronic health record to develop a unique learning health system. This resource helped Dr. Reinier and the Center for Cardiac Arrest Prevention team develop a ventricular fibrillation risk score, called VFRisk, that outperformed LVEF in identifying at-risk people in those populations.

Paramedics also collected blood samples, which revealed genetic and protein patterns unique to cardiac arrest patients.

Reinier: VFRisk uses 13 variables, including electrocardiogram [ECG] measures, heart structure imaging from echocardiograms, and clinical history, such as cardiovascular risk factors and other medical conditions. We also evaluated warning symptoms—like chest pain, shortness of breath and palpitations—alongside blood proteins. We’ve proved that combining dynamic risk (how a person’s heart health changes over time) and static risk (a single snapshot in time) can provide a clearer, earlier warning.

How does your new research build on these findings?

Chugh: The new grants allow us to test new tools in a real-world health system setting. For our NIH-funded study, we’re using de-identified electronic health records from the O.S.C.A.R. [Observational Study of Cardiac Arrest Risk] cohort—about 400,000 Los Angeles County residents treated at Cedars-Sinai—to evaluate how well VFRisk predicts events over time and determine whether adding dynamic risk markers improves risk prediction.

How can AI help?

Chugh: Conventional tools can analyze numbers and text well, but it is much more difficult to integrate digital ECG signals, moving echocardiogram images, biological samples and health records. AI can unify complex information from disparate sources and identify subtle patterns that would be difficult to detect by examining only a few individual markers. We will compare AI-based methods with conventional approaches to determine whether they improve prediction.

Where do wearable devices fit into the picture?

Reinier: The AHA-funded study uses wearables to track near-term risk. Over three years, we will monitor 600 high-risk O.S.C.A.R. patients identified by their VFRisk and provide them with a fitness tracker that logs heart rate, heart-rate variability, oxygen saturation and activity levels. By establishing personal baselines, we can analyze rolling 48-hour windows for subtle deviations before an event occurs. Paired with clinical history and AI analysis, wearable data could signal when an event is imminent.

What is the bottom line for the future of cardiac arrest prevention?

Reinier: By broadening risk markers, we hope to pinpoint high-risk individuals earlier while reassuring low-risk patients. Eventually, if wearable data and symptoms indicate rising short-term risk, we could provide clearer guidance on when to seek urgent care.

In the immediate term, if you witness a cardiac arrest, fast action is essential: Call 911, start CPR and use an automated external defibrillator [AED] if available.

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.

Catarino told KTLA 5 anchors Jessica Holmes, Frank Buckley and Henry DiCarlo that without CPR, 32-year-old G’bari Gilliam “wouldn’t be sitting here with us today.”

Gilliam was unaware he had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart condition that causes the heart muscle to become abnormally thick and require more oxygen during exertion.

“What happened to G’bari was that he exerted himself too much, the heart didn’t have enough oxygen and he went into cardiac arrest,” Catarino told Holmes.

After Gilliam arrived at Cedars-Sinai, he went into cardiac arrest again and was placed on artificial heart-and-lung support called ECMO. Catarino explained that ECMO supported Gilliam’s organs while his care team determined whether his heart could recover. Because it could not, Gilliam eventually received a heart transplant.

Catarino encouraged everyone to learn CPR.

“It’s a short, practical skill that anybody can learn,” he told Buckley. “You're most likely to need it for one of your loved ones, because most cardiac arrests happen in the home, and you will double or triple the chances of survival.”

If someone collapses, appears unresponsive and is not breathing normally, Catarino said, call 911 and begin CPR immediately. Chest compressions should be performed at a rate of 100 to 120 beats per minute. If an automated external defibrillator (AED) is available, it can be used to restore a normal heart rhythm with a shock. 

Now six months into his recovery, Gilliam expressed gratitude “for the people that helped save my life in the moment, the dancers that were there, the bystanders that helped out, the people that were in the ambulance, and the team at Cedars-Sinai that literally saved my life.”

Watch the complete segment from KTLA 5.

Cedars-Sinai is the first hospital in the Los Angeles area to offer HIV-to-HIV organ transplants. Surgeons recently transplanted a donated liver into Billy Miller, 71, and kidneys into two other recipients living with HIV. All three organs came from deceased donors with HIV.

Kim told CBS 2 reporter Kara Finnstrom that giving Miller access to an HIV-positive donor pool significantly shortened the time he had to wait for a transplant.

“Because that pool of recipients for that type of organ is very, very small, what it allowed us to do was transplant Billy much faster,” she said.

Kim told Finnstrom the program is currently limited to recipients living with HIV.

“Right now, there is not a cure for HIV, so we wouldn’t want to transplant an HIV- positive donor organ into someone who is HIV negative,” she said.

However, Kim explained, research shows that it is “quite safe to do this matching profile,” transplanting an organ from an HIV-positive donor into an HIV-positive patient.

For years, federal law prohibited organs from donors with HIV from being transplanted at all. Clinical trials later allowed researchers to study HIV-to-HIV transplants, and after years of research supporting the safety and effectiveness of the approach, federal rules were changed in 2024.

Kim told Finnstrom the goal is to expand the donor pool wherever possible.

“We try to make, in short, every donor work that we possibly can because there is an organ shortage crisis in the United States,” she said.

Ten weeks after receiving his liver transplant, Miller said he feels dramatically better. Kim said the two kidney recipients also are doing well.

Watch the complete segment from CBS 2.

More than 7 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, which predicts that number will nearly double by 2050.

“I don’t know too many people whose lives have not been touched by memory loss or dementia in some way,” he told the Los Angeles Times.

As director of the Memory and Healthy Aging Program, Tan helps patients assess their risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia and develop strategies to lower that risk. In his new book, What to Remember When You Are Forgetting: How to Live and Thrive With Memory Loss, Alzheimer’s, and Other Dementias, Tan draws on decades of clinical practice and research to explain the many types of memory loss and how they can progress over time.

His goal in writing the book was to help readers understand when forgetfulness isn’t cause for worry, and when it is the right time to seek help.

For those who need help, Tan says an early evaluation is key—not only to guide treatment but also to identify reversible causes of memory problems, including depression, lack of sleep, an underactive thyroid and vitamin B12 deficiency.

Tan also recently wrote articles for Time and Oprah Daily about what comes after a diagnosis: living with dementia and planning for the future.

In the Time article, he noted that although shame often accompanies a dementia diagnosis, he encourages his patients to maintain social connections and relationships.

“I tell them that even with cognitive changes, there is still a lot of life left to be lived—new places to see, new people to meet, new experiences to enjoy,” he wrote.

In the Oprah Daily piece, Tan focused on the importance of communicating and documenting one’s wishes for future care, particularly during the early stages of memory loss.

He wrote that “by investing in some honest introspection, candid communication, and appropriate documentation of one’s wishes, the likelihood of one’s wishes being fulfilled increases, while the risk of future conflict between family members is significantly reduced.”

Read the complete articles from the Los Angeles Times, Time and Oprah Daily.

Smartwatches and other wearable trackers can be useful for monitoring heart rate, step count and workout patterns. However, their estimates of calories burned are less reliable.

A study recently published in PLOS One examined how accurately smartwatches from four major brands estimated calories burned. Investigators found that the devices deviated by an average of 15% to 25% from participants’ actual energy expenditure, with the error rate increasing as participants’ body fat percentage increased.

Velazquez, who was not involved in the study, told Prevention she is wary of fixating on calories burned or eaten.

“I caution patients about becoming too focused on calorie tracking and advise them to take a step back, and view nutrition more holistically and focus more so on nutrition quality,” she said.

Velazquez told Prevention she encourages patients to focus on sustainable nutrition habits, including following a balanced, diverse nutrition plan, eating at consistent times and staying adequately hydrated.

For people with an eating disorder, she said, calorie tracking can worsen “anxiety, restriction, and lead to undernourishment.”

Velazquez also discussed two oral GLP-1 medications used for weight management: the Wegovy pill and Foundayo. Both offer alternatives to injectable medications, but they differ in how they act in the body and how they must be taken.

“You can take Foundayo any time of day, with or without food or water,” she told Prevention, noting that people seeking greater overall weight loss to improve obesity-related health conditions may benefit more from oral Wegovy.

For patients considering their options, Velazquez recommended discussing cost, convenience and health goals with a healthcare provider.

She emphasized that GLP-1 medications are generally intended for long-term use and should be combined with lifestyle support and comprehensive care from dietitians, exercise professionals, social workers and psychologists.

Read the complete articles from Prevention here and here.

Banffy told CBS LA Mornings anchors Sheba Turk and Jamie Yuccas that many athletes now compete into their late 30s and 40s largely because they better understand what the body needs to stay healthy.

“We know how to take care of ourselves better,” he said. “We know the importance of recovery, of sleep, of rest.”

Athletes who compete at this stage of their careers, Banffy told Turk and Yuccas, are “the elite of the elite” and have “harnessed that ability to increase their capacity, their tolerance. They’ve adapted to the physical forces that they put themselves through to be able to continue their career.”

Mental preparation also plays an important role, he said. Older athletes must recognize that they may not perform exactly as they did earlier in their careers, while also considering the physical toll of competition and time away from their families.

Banffy also pointed to training load management: tracking how much stress an athlete’s body experiences and adjusting workouts accordingly. Improved techniques and technology allow teams to measure that strain and identify when an athlete needs to rest and recover.

“We don’t need to go into the gym seven days a week and work out for three hours a day,” he said. “All it’s going to do is lead to injury.”

Banffy told Turk and Yuccas the same principles apply to recreational athletes, who should avoid overtraining and prioritize recovery rather than chasing shortcuts.

“Peptides are all the rage,” he said. “That’s not the answer. The answer is nutrition and recovery.”

Watch the complete segment from CBS 2.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

DiChiacchio told CBS LA Mornings anchor Sheba Turk that the dancer, 32-year-old G’bari Gilliam, experienced cardiac arrest during a dance rehearsal, likely because of an undiagnosed genetic condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that causes the heart muscle to thicken and can impair the ability to pump blood.

“In his case, he went into this bad rhythm called ventricular tachycardia that we see with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and that’s what led to his cardiac arrest,” DiChiacchio said.

DiChiacchio told Turk that bystander CPR was the only thing keeping blood flowing to Gilliam’s brain and vital organs until an automated external defibrillator delivered a shock that restored a rhythm capable of circulating blood.

“The most important thing we want to highlight today is the absolute crucial nature of bystander CPR,” DiChiacchio said.

She told Turk that after Gilliam arrived at the Cedars-Sinai Emergency Department, he experienced a second cardiac arrest and was placed on a temporary form of life support known as ECMO. His heart could not safely be weaned off the device, and he needed a heart transplant.

She noted that about 1 in 500 people have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy without knowing it.

DiChiacchio encouraged everyone to get basic CPR training so they can respond confidently in an emergency.

“If the situation ever presents itself, they can deliver this lifesaving treatment,” she told Turk.

Gilliam, now four months into his recovery, is returning to an active life. He expressed deep gratitude to the dancers, the trained bystander and the Cedars-Sinai medical team who saved his life.

Watch the complete segment from CBS 2.

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.

Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, is a condition in which the heart’s upper chambers beat irregularly, often causing a rapid heartbeat. Some people with AFib also experience chest discomfort, shortness of breath or heart palpitations. Others may notice only mild fatigue during activity. And still others may feel no symptoms at all. AFib also increases the risk of stroke.

“That’s why it’s especially important to carefully manage AFib in the summer, when people may spend more time in the sun, lose fluids through sweating, and drink more alcohol on vacation, at barbecues and at other outdoor social gatherings,” said Archana Ramireddy, MD, a clinical electrophysiologist in the Smidt Heart Institute. “Older adults are especially affected by the heat, even if it may not seem obvious at first.”

In recognition of AFib Awareness Month in September—when Southern California often experiences some of its hottest weather—the Cedars-Sinai Newsroom spoke with Ramireddy about steps people with AFib can take to stay healthy.

What summer factors can trigger an AFib episode?

Hot weather can put added stress on the heart, but heat itself isn’t necessarily the primary concern. Dehydration is of special concern because people lose fluids through sweating. Older adults may be particularly susceptible to heat-related dehydration because the body’s ability to conserve fluids and regulate temperature can decline with age. Alcohol is another concern because it is a well-recognized trigger for AFib, and people tend to drink more during the summer while vacationing, spending time outdoors and attending social gatherings.

Should people with AFib drink plain water to stay hydrated, or do they need electrolytes?

Plain water is usually the best choice. Electrolyte drinks may be helpful in some circumstances, although individual needs vary based on heat exposure, activity level, how much a person has been sweating, and underlying health conditions.

What are the signs of dehydration?

Signs of dehydration can include dark urine, dizziness, dry mouth, fatigue, confusion and a rapid heartbeat. If symptoms are prolonged or severe, or if a person also is experiencing chest discomfort or shortness of breath, they should seek medical attention.

Is coffee off-limits for people with AFib?

One cup of coffee a day generally isn’t a concern. Even two cups may be acceptable, although for some patients I recommend switching extra servings to decaf or half-caf. It’s most important that people pay attention to their own bodies. If caffeine consistently triggers symptoms, cutting back is recommended. I’m far more concerned about the consumption of multiple energy drinks, because high doses of caffeine and other ingredients in these drinks can increase the risk of arrhythmias.

Is it safe for people with AFib to exercise in the summer?

I encourage regular exercise for my patients with AFib. If physical activity consistently triggers episodes, the underlying AFib should be evaluated and treated rather than simply avoiding exercise. That said, it’s best to avoid strenuous exercise during the hottest part of the day and to stay well-hydrated if outside in the heat. To combat overheating, seek air conditioning, drink plenty of water, take a cool shower or use cool towels.

What if a person thinks they may have AFib?

If a person has heart palpitations and isn’t sure what is causing them, capturing an episode can be key for diagnosis and treatment. This is where wearable devices, such as smartwatches, can play a role. If a device can record an ECG, or electrocardiogram, during an episode, a physician can review the tracing to determine whether it is consistent with AFib. Wearable devices have helped us identify more patients sooner, allowing us to begin treatment sooner. Preventing stroke is a major goal of AFib treatment. People who have been diagnosed with AFib should work with their healthcare team to determine whether further evaluation by a cardiac electrophysiologist is appropriate.

Read more from Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights: Atrial Fibrillation—Know the Warning Signs

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.

The multi-institutional study offers one of the clearest pictures of what happens during the earliest stages of disease. The findings could help researchers develop new ways to detect and prevent heart disease before plaque builds up inside arteries.

“We analyzed proteins and gene activity in coronary artery tissue from young adults who died of trauma and had no known coronary artery disease, and we found that more than half already had preclinical atherosclerosis,” said study first author Sarah Parker, PhD, an associate professor of Cardiology and Biomedical Sciences and co-director of the Proteomics and Metabolomics Core at Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University. “This suggests that changes in cellular metabolism and communication begin before the inflammation long considered a hallmark of the disease.”

Published in the European Heart Journal, the study findings point to previously unrecognized molecular pathways—and a potential “master regulator” called MLXIPL—that could become targets for therapies aimed at preventing plaque from developing.

The Cedars-Sinai Newsroom spoke with Parker about the findings and how proteomics—the study of proteins—is helping researchers rethink the earliest stages of heart disease.

Why are proteins so important in understanding heart disease?

Proteins are the molecules that make cells function. They tell us how the body’s cells are responding to risk factors like cholesterol, blood pressure or smoking. Two people can have identical cholesterol levels, yet only one develops plaque. Proteins may help explain why. They provide a much more direct picture of what's happening inside the artery wall and may reveal why some people are more vulnerable to heart disease than others.

What did this most recent study reveal about the earliest stages of atherosclerosis?

Previous studies had shown that the earliest artery lesions can appear in the first decade of life. What we haven’t understood is what causes those early changes to progress into dangerous plaques that lead to heart attacks. In studying coronary artery tissue before people ever developed symptoms, we were able to capture some of the earliest molecular changes that appear to set the disease in motion. One of the biggest surprises was that we saw changes in cellular metabolism and communication before we saw the classic inflammatory signals traditionally associated with atherosclerosis.

To be clear, inflammation remains a defining feature of advanced atherosclerosis. What our study suggests is that important molecular changes begin much earlier. If we want to prevent plaque from forming, we need to understand those earliest changes—not just what happens after inflammation has already taken hold.

Explain MLXIPL, the potential ‘master regulator’ you identified.

We performed a master regulator analysis to identify the genes that may be coordinating these early events. Some of the regulators we found were exactly what we expected. But one stood out. MLXIPL is a transcription factor gene involved in cellular metabolism. Previous genetic studies have linked it to coronary artery disease through its role in the liver. Our findings suggest it may also play an important role directly within the artery wall. When we altered MLXIPL activity in lab-grown human artery tissue, we saw the protein changes we predicted. That makes it an exciting candidate for future therapies that interrupt disease before plaque develops.

How could these findings change atherosclerosis prevention?

Today, we estimate cardiovascular risk using factors such as high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, age and family history. By the time plaque is visible on imaging, disease often is well underway. We hope to identify protein biomarkers in the blood that reveal what’s happening inside the artery wall much earlier. One day, a simple blood test could identify people who would benefit from preventive treatment before symptoms develop.

That said, our findings do not change current prevention recommendations. Managing cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, exercise and diet remain essential.

This study relied on a decades-long collaboration. Why was that essential?

This is a collaboration more than 20 years in the making. The project was spearheaded by proteomics pioneer Jennifer Van Eyk. (Van Eyk, PhD, is director of the Advanced Clinical Biosystems Research Institute in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai and co-director of the Proteomics and Metabolomics Core.)

Our collaborators included investigators from many other institutions across the country. What began as a small group has grown into an ecosystem of investigators, trainees and collaborators. This kind of large-scale molecular study simply isn’t possible without that level of long-term partnership and shared expertise.

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.

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.

The designation recognizes emergency departments with specialized expertise, staffing and resources for patients 65 and older, who represent about one-third of all patients treated in Cedars-Sinai’s Emergency Department each year.

“This recognition reflects our commitment to delivering exceptional, patient-centered emergency care for the older adults of our community,” said Claude Stang, RN, executive director of the Cedars-Sinai Emergency Department. “As the No. 1 Medicare provider in California, we care for thousands of older adults every year, and we are dedicated to keeping them safe and healthy.”

Accreditation reviewers cited several programs and features that distinguish Cedars-Sinai’s approach to geriatric emergency care, including the Barry and Rena Plost Senior Emergency Center within the Emergency Department.

“We try to place patients who would benefit from a quieter environment in our senior care unit, where private rooms, dim lighting and reduced noise can help minimize delirium for patients who are susceptible,” Stang said. “Those seemingly small changes can make a meaningful difference for older adults in the Emergency Department.”

Other components highlighted by reviewers included:

• A specialized geriatric nurse assessment team, trained to identify delirium, dementia, fall risk and social determinants of health.
• Integrated physical therapy and pharmacy services, including prescription medication screening, review and reconciliation.
• Senior-friendly amenities, including reserved reclining chairs in the waiting area, improved signage and lighting, handrails, and accessible bathrooms.
• Tender Loving Care volunteers, who are specially trained to provide companionship and comfort for older adult patients.
• A physician who leads ongoing education on geriatric emergency care for physicians and physician assistants.

Level 1 accreditation builds on Cedars-Sinai’s broader commitment to age-friendly care. The health system also has been named an Age-Friendly Health System Committed to Care Excellence, a recognition from The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States.

“Older adults often have unique medical and social needs that require a different approach to emergency care, that centers around the 4M’s (What Matters Most, Mobility, Medications and Mentation) of age-friendly care,” said Sonja Rosen, MD, chief, Section of Geriatric Medicine at Cedars-Sinai. “As an Age-Friendly Health System, every member of our team plays an important role in ensuring patients receive compassionate, specialized attention from the moment they arrive through a seamless transition to the next stage of their recovery.”

The Emergency Department’s research team also has been active in advancing geriatrics research, publishing on sepsis, brain injury, cardiac biomarkers and observation care. The work helps to inform evidence-based practices that further strengthen care for older adults.

Emergency Department Expansion Underway

The accreditation comes as Cedars-Sinai continues a major expansion of its Emergency Department, an investment designed to increase capacity while supporting the specialized care needs of a growing patient population.

The project will add 16,550 square feet to the department and increase the number of care spaces from 60 to 100.

Sam Torbati, MD, chair and medical director of the Emergency Department, said the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2028.

“Smaller improvements, such as a new laboratory, are expected to open this fall,” Torbati said. “Patients will begin to see more significant changes next summer.”

The first major phase will add 15 acute care beds, eight behavioral health beds to treat patients with mental health needs, six critical care and trauma beds, and a dedicated room designed to care for critically ill children. The expansion also will include new waiting areas, an updated triage space and a redesigned patient entrance to improve capacity and the overall care experience.

“Demand for emergency care continues to grow, and we’re committed to finding new ways to improve the experience and quality of care for our patients,” Torbati said. “The expansion is a significant investment in meeting those needs.”

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.

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.

Cedars-Sinai Study Links Hypertension to Socioeconomic Level

People living in under-resourced neighborhoods are more likely to develop high blood pressure—also known as hypertension—than those in wealthier areas, according to new research from Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University. The study was published in the American Journal of Hypertension.

“The increased risk for people in the least healthy neighborhoods was similar to being a full decade older than their counterparts in the healthiest neighborhoods,” said Joseph Ebinger, MD, MS, associate professor of Cardiology and director of the Coronary Intensive Care Unit in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai and senior author of the study. “Although such disparities in hypertension prevalence are known to occur, our study is notable because it demonstrates the persistence of these differences over time.”

Investigators tracked the blood pressure of more than 94,000 Cedars-Sinai patients between 2018 and 2023. They found that, over time, patients in neighborhoods in the lowest 25% of rankings on a scale that assesses education, job opportunities and other social conditions were 7% more likely to develop high blood pressure than patients in the top 75% of neighborhoods.

“Many people do not know they have hypertension and are not being treated for it,” Ebinger said. "Our findings suggest clinicians may consider targeting interventions in the context of socioeconomic data to help prevent at-risk patients from developing the condition, which increases their risk for heart disease, kidney disease and stroke."

Additional Cedars-Sinai authors include Jonathan N. Le, MD; Tzu Yu Huang, MPH; Patrick G. Botting, MSHS; Ellie Albertson, MPH, PhD; Natalie A. Bello, MD, MPH; Christina Harris, MD; Alan Kwan, MD; and Susan Cheng, MD, MPH. 

Other authors include Brian Claggett, PhD.

Funding: This study was supported by grant funding from the NIH/NHLBI (K23HL 153888-03) and by the Smidt Discovery Fund of the Smidt Heart Institute.

Study Links Angina Severity to Composition of Heart Plaque 

About half of women who experience angina, chest pain presumed to be from obstructed blood flow to the heart, don’t have significant coronary artery blockage. And yet, these women have elevated risk for heart attacks and strokes. New research from Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University, published in Communications Medicine, helps explain why.

Investigators found that buildup in the coronary arteries of women with severe angina was more likely to consist of soft plaque. Soft plaque, also known as noncalcified plaque, is more prone to rupture and trigger dangerous blood clots than its more stable counterpart, known as calcified or hard plaque. 

The findings were based on artificial intelligence analysis of more than 100 CT coronary angiograms (noninvasive heart scans) performed on women with angina and coronary artery disease.

“Our findings expand our understanding of why angina occurs in women without significant artery blockages,” said Damini Dey, PhD, professor of Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai and corresponding author of the study. “The findings also suggest the need to consider treating these women with medications to prevent the buildup of plaques and reduce the risk of heart attacks and other cardiac events.”

Other Cedars-Sinai authors include Rafal Wolny, Guadalupe Flores Tomasino, Kajetan Grodecki, Joel Lenell, Caroline Park, Rebekah Park, Jacek Kwiecinski, Daniel S. Berman, Piotr J. Slomka, Janet Wei, Martha Gulati and C. Noel Bairey Merz.

Other authors include Osama Dasa, Vinicius Calsavara, Matthew J. Budoff, Eileen Handberg, Carl J. Pepine, Leslee J. Shaw and Balaji Tamarappoo.

Acknowledgements: This study was primarily supported by grants from the NHLBI R01HL151266 and 1R01HL148787. It was also supported by CDMRP-DoD W81XWH-17-2-0030 and McJunkin Family Foundation through funds distributed by the University of Florida, Department of Medicine, Clinical Research Consortium CDRN-1501-26692, the Edythe L. Broad and the Constance Austin Women’s Heart Research Fellowships, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, the Barbra Streisand Women’s Cardiovascular Research and Education Program, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, the Linda Joy Pollin Women’s Heart Health Program, the Erika Glazer Women’s Heart Health Project, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA; and the VA Women’s Health Practice-Based Research Network VA HSR&D SDR 10-012. R.W. is supported by a Polish National Science Centre (grant number 2021/43/D/NZ5/02434) and Medical Research Agency (grant number KPOD.07.07-IW.07-0150/24).

Competing interests: Drs. Berman, Slomka, and Dey have received software royalties from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and report equity in APQ Health.

How the Brain Influences Aging Throughout the Body

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University investigators are helping clarify the brain’s role in how the body ages. Their study, published in Nature Communications, identified a group of brain cells that become overactive with age and may impair the body’s ability to maintain consistent temperature, stay properly hydrated and efficiently convert food into energy. 

“These age-related problems make the body more vulnerable to illness and often rob people of their independence,” said Celine Riera, PhD, associate professor of Biomedical Sciences and Neurology, research scientist in the Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute at Cedars-Sinai, and senior author of the study. “We found that a group of brain cells that produce a hormone called vasopressin become overactive with age, contributing to these problems.”

These brain cells are in the hypothalamus, at the base of the brain. In healthy amounts, the vasopressin they produce helps blood vessels constrict. It also helps the kidneys control the amount of water and salt in the body, which helps control blood pressure and urine output. 

When investigators artificially activated these brain cells in young laboratory mice, the cells produced more vasopressin and the mice developed changes similar to those seen in aging mice. Conversely, when investigators reduced the activity of these brain cells in aging mice, the mice were better able to maintain body temperature, hydration and metabolism, Riera said.

The findings provide scientists with new context for understanding how the brain contributes to systemic aging. Future studies may explore whether therapies targeting these brain cells can reduce age-related health problems and improve quality of life in aging people, Riera said.

Additional Cedars-Sinai authors include Nancy Morones, Predrag Jovanovic, Anna Sanetra, Kaitlyn Jang, Nareg Keshishian, Zhihan Clay Cui, Edward Novinbakht, Joshua J. Breunig, Anders Berg, Tamar Pirtskhalava, Selim Chaib, S Ananth Karumanchi, Tamar Tchkonia, Katlin Silm, and James L. Kirkland.

Funding: This work was supported by the Larry L Hillblom Foundation startup grant (C.E.R.), the Cedars-Sinai Pilot Award from the Center on Aging and Diabetes (C.E.R.), the CIRM Scholar fund EDUC-12751 (N.M.), the National Institute of Aging grant RF1AG091203 (C.E.R.) and R37AG013925 (J.L.K., T.T.).

Possible Biomarker Linked to Aggressive Thyroid Cancer

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University investigators have found a possible way to identify which patients are at greatest risk of thyroid cancer recurrence and might benefit from more aggressive treatment. Their findings were published in Science Advances.

“The incidence of thyroid cancer has tripled over the past three decades and it is now the most common cancer in adolescents and young adults,” said Anthony T. Nguyen, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Radiation Oncology and Biomedical Sciences and first author of the study. “The biomarker we identified, if further validated, could help us identify patients likely to have more aggressive disease so that we can intensify their treatment.” 

In five patients with locally advanced thyroid cancer, investigators used single-cell RNA sequencing to analyze gene expression patterns in individual cells of the tumor microenvironment, comparing primary thyroid tumors and matched lymph nodes to which cancer had spread. Their findings were confirmed in a separate group of 21 patients with thyroid cancer.

Among multiple differences between primary tumor and lymph node, investigators found that an increase in IL7 receptor protein expression on the surface of immune cells in the lymph nodes was linked to improved patient outcomes.

“Our study is one of the first to use single-cell RNA sequencing to identify a lymph node-specific biomarker for aggressive thyroid cancer,” said Allen Ho, MD, professor of Surgery and co-corresponding author of the study. “Low levels of IL7 receptor in the lymph node can potentially be used to identify patients with more aggressive disease who are candidates for treatment intensification.”

The other corresponding author is Stephen Shiao, MD, PhD, professor of Radiation Oncology and Biomedical Sciences and co-leader of the Cancer Therapeutics Program.

“This study is an example of the promise of single-cell RNA sequencing to assess the status of tumors for more targeted treatment,” said Robert Figlin, MD, interim director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer. 

Additional Cedars-Sinai authors include Jolene Viramontes, Isaiah Vazquez, Catriona McWilliam, Vaishnavi Devarakonda, Regina Henson, Wendy L. Sacks, Jon Mallen-St Clair, Yufei Chen, Evan Walgama, Kevin S. Scher, Justin Moyers, Julie K. Jang, Zachary S. Zumsteg, and Wonwoo Shon.

Howard M. Sandler is also an author of the study.

Funding: This work was supported by: National Institutes of Health grant K08CA191139 (SLS), Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award (ATN), American Society for Radiation Oncology Junior Faculty Award (SLS), Cedars-Sinai Precision Health Grant (ASH).

New Expert Consensus Aims to Improve Diagnostics in Emergency Care

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University investigators convened a panel of medical experts to develop new definitions to improve diagnostic quality and safety in emergency departments. The definitions—diagnostic excellence and missed diagnostic opportunity—address a longstanding gap in the field, as they recognize the role uncertainty plays in emergency care. Their findings are published in Annals of Emergency Medicine. 

“Our new definitions can be used to guide investigations about the diagnostic process in emergency departments to identify opportunities for improvement,” said study first author Carl Berdahl, MD, MS, associate professor of Medicine and Emergency Medicine at Cedars-Sinai. “Future work should explore the integration of these definitions into diagnostic research and quality and safety programs, and evaluate the impact on patients’ health outcomes.”

A 2022 report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality suggested about 1 in 18 patients visiting emergency departments each year receive a misdiagnosis that causes preventable harm or worsens their outcome. This report sparked controversy about what the emergency department’s role should be in assigning diagnoses.

The panel of 10 experts from emergency medicine and related specialties reviewed scientific evidence to arrive at the new definitions. It defined “diagnostic excellence” as using evidence-based practices to arrive at an accurate and timely explanation of a patient’s condition based on the information available at the time; communicating that diagnosis to patients and families; and providing equitable, patient-centered care. It defined a “missed diagnostic opportunity” as a measurable departure from evidence-based practice that may contribute to a delayed or inaccurate diagnosis, or a failure in communicating diagnostic information to patients and families.

Additional Cedars-Sinai authors include Sam S. Torbati, MD; Maxim P. Ptacek, BS; Nabeel Qureshi, PhD; and Teryl K. Nuckols, MD, MSHS.

Additional authors include Gordon D. Schiff, MD; Arjun K. Venkatesh, MD, MBA; Edward G. Seferian, MD, MS; and Johan Carrascoza-Bolanos, BS.

Members of the Multidisciplinary ED Diagnostic Excellence Panel include Adebisi Alli, DO, MS; Marie L. Crandall, MD, MPH; Anuj K. Dalal, MD; Kelly T. Gleason, PhD, BSN; Sachin Gupta, PhD, MBA; Aaryn K. Hammond, MD; Victoria Nash, MS; Michelle D. Lall, MD, MHS, Robert Sherwin, MD; Scott D. Steenburg, MD, MS.

Funding: This work was supported by the Emergency Medicine Foundation’s Diagnostic Excellence in Emergency Medicine Grant. Dr. Berdahl was also supported by K08HS029534 and the National Academy of Medicine Scholars in Diagnostic Excellence Program.

Preclinical Study: Novel CAR T-Cell Therapy Controls Bladder Cancer

Investigators at Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University have discovered that delivering a specialized CAR T-cell therapy directly into the bladder could control bladder cancer and reduce the need for bladder-removal surgery. The preclinical study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, identifies a strategy that, after further testing in humans, could improve management of organ-confined tumors.

“Current bladder cancer therapies are limited by drug shortages, severe side effects and high recurrence rates, often forcing patients to undergo life-changing bladder-removal surgery,” said Parwiz Abrahimi, MD, PhD, urologic oncologist in the Department of Urology at Cedars-Sinai and first author of the study. “This new strategy has the potential to dramatically reduce the necessity for bladder removal, preserving the patient’s quality of life while maintaining control of their cancer.”

In laboratory mice, investigators found this localized approach safely confined the treatment to the bladder and prevented the engineered cells from escaping into the bloodstream. The findings support the practice of delivering cellular therapies directly via a catheter to treat organ-confined bladder cancers.

Additional authors include Jonathan F. Khan, Alyssa Duren-Lubanski, Winson Cai, Yacine Marouf, Nan Chen, Daniel Hirschhorn, Renata Mammone, Ileana C. Miranda, Jacob E. Tallman, Alejandra Vela-Moreno, Mohamad Hamieh, Bishoy M. Faltas, Thomas M. Carroll, Micaela L. Everitt, Hari K.K. Subramanian, Hikmat A. Al-Ahmadie, Olivier Elemento, Benjamin D. Hopkins, Douglas S. Scherr, Renier J. Brentjens, Jedd D. Wolchok and Taha Merghoub.

Cedars-Sinai Scientists Identify New Driver of Inflammation 

Investigators at Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University have identified a previously unrecognized driver of harmful inflammation. The findings, published in Nature Communications, center around TRIM21, a protein also linked to autoimmune disease.

“Our findings suggest TRIM21 may be one reason some autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases share similar features,” said Jessica Carriere, PhD, an assistant professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Cedars-Sinai and co-corresponding author of the study. “By targeting TRIM21, we may eventually be able to develop new treatments for a range of inflammatory diseases.”

Researchers discovered that TRIM21 helps build the inflammasome, an alarm-like structure inside immune cells that triggers inflammation. While this alarm helps protect the body from infection, it also can become overactive and trigger excessive inflammation that damages healthy tissue and contributes to disease. 

The study, which looked at laboratory mice and human patient samples, showed that TRIM21 not only helps activate this inflammatory response but also enables inflammatory signals to spread from dying immune cells to nearby cells, potentially creating a chain reaction that drives inflammation throughout the body.

Additional Cedars-Sinai authors include Sana Ismaeel, Elisabeth Jäger, Vinicius Dantas Martins, Kaiden A. Sims, Huyen Nguyen, Justin Ruiz, Hemisha Khatri, Savita Devi, Andrea Dorfleutner and Christian Stehlik. 

Additional authors include Chawon Yun, Sonal Khare, Lan H. Chu, Lucia de Almeida, Janset Onyuru, Jae Jin Chae, Daniel L. Kastner, Lori Broderick and Hal M. Hoffman.

Funding: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (AI099009 to C.S., AI134030, AI140702, DK143393, CA301129 and AI165797 to C.S. and A.D.), the American Heart Association (834502 and 26CDA1588880 to J.C., 25POST1374216 to S.I., 26POST1558214 to V.D.M., 15PRE25700116 to L.H.C. and 18CDA34110296 to L.d.A.), and the American Cancer Society (PF-23-1149877-01-IBCD to E.J.).

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.

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.

Estas son algunas de las preguntas más frecuentes que hacen los pacientes cuando consideran participar en un ensayo clínico en Cedars-Sinai, donde actualmente se llevan a cabo más de 700 estudios de este tipo.

Estos ensayos son fundamentales para impulsar los avances en la atención médica y ofrecen a los pacientes acceso a nuevas terapias prometedoras, al mismo tiempo que ayudan a los investigadores a comprender mejor las enfermedades y desarrollar tratamientos más eficaces para el futuro, explicó Michael Farkouh, MD, vicedecano de Investigación y Ensayos Clínicos de Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University.

“Un ensayo clínico es el paso final para llevar las innovaciones de la investigación a la práctica clínica; es el puente entre un descubrimiento científico y el paciente”, afirmó Farkouh. “Como centro médico académico, Cedars-Sinai ofrece atención clínica de excelencia junto con acceso a terapias innovadoras que pueden mejorar esa atención”.

Con motivo del Mes de Concientización sobre los Ensayos Clínicos, la Redacción de Noticias de Cedars-Sinai conversó con Farkouh sobre cómo los pacientes pueden decidir si un ensayo clínico es adecuado para ellos.

¿Qué es un ensayo clínico?

Un ensayo clínico es un estudio cuidadosamente diseñado para evaluar nuevos medicamentos, dispositivos médicos o estrategias de atención en pacientes que cumplen con los criterios de participación y deciden inscribirse de manera voluntaria. Por lo general, un ensayo clínico compara un nuevo enfoque con el tratamiento estándar para determinar si ofrece mejores resultados. Si demuestra ser más eficaz, puede incorporarse a la práctica médica habitual.

¿Cuáles son las fases de los ensayos clínicos?

Cada fase tiene un propósito específico.

• Fase I: Se centra en la seguridad y permite determinar si un nuevo tratamiento puede administrarse de forma segura en personas.
• Fase II: Evalúa si el tratamiento muestra indicios de eficacia, con frecuencia mediante la comparación de estudios por imágenes o resultados de análisis de sangre antes y después del tratamiento.
• Fase III: Determina si el tratamiento mejora los resultados clínicos, como reducir los ataques cardíacos, disminuir la mortalidad o mejorar la calidad de vida. Esta fase es necesaria para obtener la aprobación de la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos de Estados Unidos (FDA, por sus siglas en inglés).
• Fase IV: Se realiza después de la aprobación de la FDA e incluye poblaciones más amplias para evaluar la seguridad y eficacia a largo plazo, así como identificar posibles efectos secundarios.

¿Son seguros los ensayos clínicos?

La seguridad de los pacientes es la máxima prioridad. Antes de participar, los pacientes deben otorgar su consentimiento informado, lo que significa que reciben toda la información sobre el estudio y aceptan participar de manera voluntaria.

Los estudios siguen estrictos estándares éticos y son supervisados de cerca por nuestra Junta de Revisión Institucional (Institutional Review Board) para proteger el bienestar de los participantes. Además, quienes participan en ensayos clínicos suelen beneficiarse de un seguimiento más estrecho, con consultas, pruebas y evaluaciones continuas.

¿Quién puede participar en un ensayo clínico?

Cada estudio tiene criterios específicos de elegibilidad para garantizar que el tratamiento sea apropiado y seguro para los participantes. Por ejemplo, algunos ensayos pueden excluir a pacientes con determinadas enfermedades preexistentes si presentan un mayor riesgo o tienen pocas probabilidades de beneficiarse del tratamiento.

Debido a estos criterios, los resultados del ensayo se aplican principalmente al grupo de pacientes que participó en el estudio. Posteriormente, los médicos utilizan su criterio clínico para determinar cómo pueden aplicarse esos hallazgos a otros pacientes en la práctica diaria.

¿Qué es un placebo y los ensayos clínicos siempre incluyen uno?

Algunos ensayos utilizan un placebo, es decir, un tratamiento inactivo diseñado para parecerse al tratamiento real. En estos estudios, tanto el paciente como el médico suelen desconocer quién recibe el tratamiento activo, un proceso conocido como "enmascaramiento" o blinding.

Los ensayos controlados con placebo se consideran la forma más confiable de determinar si un tratamiento realmente funciona, ya que ayudan a reducir los sesgos y evitan que las expectativas influyan en los resultados.

Sin embargo, el uso de un placebo no es posible en todos los ensayos clínicos. Por ejemplo, cuando se comparan procedimientos quirúrgicos, los investigadores recurren a otros métodos para evaluar los resultados.

¿Los ensayos clínicos son gratuitos?

Sí. En la mayoría de los casos, las pruebas, tratamientos o procedimientos que forman parte del estudio se ofrecen sin costo adicional para los participantes.

¿Cómo se benefician los pacientes de los ensayos clínicos en Cedars-Sinai?

Hasta la mitad de los ensayos clínicos que se realizan en Cedars-Sinai están enfocados en el cáncer; el resto estudia otras enfermedades y afecciones. La participación suele ser mayor en los estudios sobre enfermedades graves o potencialmente mortales, ya que los pacientes buscan acceder a terapias innovadoras que podrían mejorar o prolongar sus vidas.

Además del posible beneficio individual, los participantes desempeñan un papel fundamental en el avance del conocimiento médico. Muchos de los tratamientos que hoy forman parte de la atención estándar existen gracias a personas que decidieron participar en ensayos clínicos. Ellos son los verdaderos héroes.

¿Cómo pueden los pacientes encontrar un ensayo clínico?

Cedars-Sinai cuenta con un registro en línea donde los pacientes pueden buscar estudios según su enfermedad o condición médica. Los médicos también conocen los estudios disponibles y pueden ayudar a determinar si un ensayo clínico es una buena opción para cada paciente.

Para la mayoría de las personas, el primer paso es conversar con su profesional de la salud para evaluar si participar en un ensayo clínico es una alternativa adecuada.

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University impulsa investigaciones innovadoras y forma a los futuros líderes en medicina, ciencias biomédicas y ciencias de la salud afines. Obtenga más información sobre la universidad.

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.

Los hallazgos, publicados en la revista Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, también aportan nueva evidencia biológica que podría ayudar a explicar estas asociaciones.

"Estudios previos sugerían que el café podría beneficiar al hígado, pero la mayoría eran más pequeños o analizaban solo una parte del panorama", dijo el hepatólogo Hyunseok Kim, MD, MPH, PhD, profesor asistente de Medicina en Cedars-Sinai y autor correspondiente del estudio. "Seguimos a cientos de miles de personas durante más de una década y evaluamos sus resultados de salud junto con resonancias magnéticas del hígado y análisis de proteínas en sangre. En conjunto, estos hallazgos ayudan a explicar los mecanismos biológicos detrás de la asociación entre el consumo de café y una mejor salud hepática".

El estudio de Cedars-Sinai incluyó a más de 355,000 adultos y encontró que beber café se asoció con menores riesgos de cirrosis, cáncer de hígado y muerte relacionada con enfermedades hepáticas. Los investigadores analizaron datos de 354,957 participantes del UK Biobank que no presentaban cirrosis ni cáncer de hígado al inicio del estudio. Durante un seguimiento mediano de 13 años, los investigadores registraron nuevos diagnósticos de cirrosis, cáncer de hígado y fallecimientos relacionados con enfermedades hepáticas mediante registros médicos vinculados.

En comparación con las personas que no consumían café, quienes bebían cinco o más tazas al día presentaron un 32% menos riesgo de cirrosis, un 47% menos riesgo de cáncer de hígado y un 42% menos riesgo de muerte relacionada con enfermedades hepáticas.

Los participantes que consumían más café también mostraron menores niveles de grasa hepática, hierro hepático, fibrosis e inflamación del hígado en las resonancias magnéticas. Además, los análisis de sangre de los consumidores de café revelaron niveles más altos de proteínas asociadas con una función hepática saludable y niveles más bajos de proteínas relacionadas con la cicatrización y la inflamación.

Aunque el riesgo de enfermedad hepática disminuyó a medida que aumentaba el consumo de café, los investigadores señalaron que los beneficios también se observaron en personas que bebían una o dos tazas al día, y parecían ser mayores alrededor de tres a cuatro tazas diarias. Asimismo, enfatizaron que, aunque el grupo con el mayor consumo (cinco o más tazas al día) mostró beneficios, no recomiendan aumentar el consumo hasta ese nivel específicamente.

Se observaron asociaciones protectoras similares tanto con el café con cafeína como con el descafeinado, lo que sugiere que la cafeína por sí sola probablemente no sea el único componente activo y que otros compuestos naturales presentes en el café también podrían contribuir a estos beneficios.

Debido a que se trata de un estudio observacional, los investigadores señalaron que los resultados no demuestran que el café prevenga directamente las enfermedades hepáticas. También enfatizaron que el consumo de café debe complementar, y no sustituir, las estrategias comprobadas para prevenir las enfermedades del hígado.

"Nuestros hallazgos respaldan un consumo moderado de café para las personas que ya disfrutan de esta bebida y la toleran bien", afirmó el autor principal del estudio, Ju Dong Yang, MD, director médico del Programa de Cáncer de Hígado en Cedars-Sinai.

"Sin embargo, no recomendaríamos que alguien empiece a beber café únicamente para proteger el hígado con base en este estudio. La prevención debe seguir enfocándose en mantener un peso saludable, limitar el consumo de alcohol, hacer ejercicio de forma regular y controlar los niveles de glucosa, la presión arterial y el colesterol".

Debido a que la cafeína no es adecuada para todas las personas, quienes tienen hipertensión arterial no controlada, ciertos trastornos del ritmo cardíaco, ansiedad grave, insomnio u otras afecciones que requieren limitar el consumo de cafeína deben consultar con su profesional de la salud antes de aumentar la cantidad de café que consumen.

"El siguiente paso de nuestra investigación es identificar los compuestos específicos del café responsables de estas asociaciones protectoras para el hígado", dijo la autora del estudio Shelly Lu, MD, titular de la cátedra Women's Guild en Gastroenterología y directora de la División Karsh de Gastroenterología y Hepatología de Cedars-Sinai. "Nuestros hallazgos apuntan a vías biológicas relacionadas con la inflamación y la cicatrización, y destacan posibles objetivos moleculares que futuras investigaciones podrán explorar para comprender mejor cómo el café podría influir en la salud hepática y quiénes podrían beneficiarse más".

Entre los autores adicionales de Cedars-Sinai se encuentran Yufeng Wang, Abdelrahman M. Attia, Minsun Kwak, Seungwon Burm, Derin Celtik, Daniel Legaspi, Osama Khattab, Naomy Kim, Beza M. Mengistu, Kelsey N. Larios, Walid Ayoub, Alexandar Kuo, Paul Martin, Aarshi Vipani, Yun Wang, Debiao Li y Stephen Pandol.

Otros autores incluyen Mohammad Saeid Rezaee-Zavareh, David Sooik Kim y Suthat Liangpunsakul.

Conflictos de interés: Ju Dong Yang informa los siguientes conflictos de interés: servicios de consultoría para AstraZeneca, Eisai, Exact Sciences y Fujifilm Medical Sciences.

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University impulsa investigaciones innovadoras y forma a las futuras generaciones de líderes en medicina, ciencias biomédicas y ciencias de la salud afines. Obtenga más información sobre la universidad.

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.

investigators linked higher coffee consumption with lower risk of cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver-related death.

“Previous studies suggested that coffee might benefit the liver, but most were smaller or looked at only one piece of the puzzle,” said hepatologist Hyunseok Kim, MD, MPH, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai and corresponding author of the study. “We followed hundreds of thousands of people for more than a decade and looked at their health outcomes along with liver MRI scans and blood protein analyses. Together, those findings help explain the biological mechanisms behind coffee’s association with better liver health.”

A Cedars-Sinai study of more than 355,000 adults found that drinking coffee was associated with lower risks of cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver-related death. The investigators analyzed data from 354,957 UK Biobank participants who did not have cirrhosis or liver cancer at the start of the study. Over a median follow-up of 13 years, researchers tracked new diagnoses of cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver-related death through linked health records.

Compared with people who did not drink coffee, those who drank five or more cups of coffee a day had a 32% lower risk of cirrhosis, a 47% lower risk of liver cancer and a 42% lower risk of liver-related death. Participants who drank more coffee also had lower levels of liver fat, liver iron, fibrosis and liver inflammation in MRI scans. And coffee drinkers’ blood tests showed higher levels of proteins tied to healthy liver function and lower levels of proteins linked to scarring and inflammation.

While liver health risk decreased as coffee consumption increased, researchers noted that benefits were seen even at one to two cups per day and appeared strongest around three to four cups per day. They emphasized that while the highest intake group (five or more cups daily) showed benefit, they would not recommend increasing consumption to that level specifically.

Similar protective associations were observed for caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, suggesting that caffeine itself is unlikely to be the only active component, and that other naturally occurring compounds in coffee may contribute to the benefits. Because the study was observational, investigators noted it does not prove that coffee itself prevents liver disease. And they emphasized that coffee should complement—not replace—established strategies for preventing liver disease.

“Our findings support moderate coffee consumption for people who already enjoy and tolerate it well,” said study senior author Ju Dong Yang, MD, medical director of the Liver Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai. “However, we would not recommend that someone begin drinking coffee solely for liver protection based on this study alone. Prevention should continue to focus on maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol, exercising regularly, and managing blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol.”

Because caffeine isn’t appropriate for everyone, people with uncontrolled high blood pressure, certain heart rhythm disorders, severe anxiety, insomnia or other conditions that require limiting caffeine should consult their healthcare provider before increasing their coffee consumption.

“The next step in our research is to identify the specific compounds in coffee that are responsible for these liver-protective associations,” said study author Shelly Lu, MD, the Women’s Guild Chair in Gastroenterology and director of the Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Cedars-Sinai. “Our findings point to biological pathways involving inflammation and scarring and highlight molecular targets that future research can explore to better understand how coffee may influence liver health and who stands to benefit the most.”

Additional Cedars-Sinai authors include Yufeng Wang, Abdelrahman M. Attia, Minsun Kwak, Seungwon Burm, Derin Celtik, Daniel Legaspi, Osama Khattab, Naomy Kim, Beza M. Mengistu, Kelsey N. Larios, Walid Ayoub, Alexandar Kuo, Paul Martin, Aarshi Vipani, Yun Wang, Debiao Li and Stephen Pandol.

Other authors include Mohammad Saeid Rezaee-Zavareh, David Sooik Kim and Suthat Liangpunsakul.

Conflicts of Interest: Ju Dong Yang reports the following conflicts of interest: consulting service for AstraZeneca, Eisai, Exact Sciences, and Fujifilm Medical Sciences.

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.

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.