ALS Therapy Should Target Brain, Not Just Spine
A new study has shown that the degeneration of brain motor neurons in ALS is not merely a byproduct of the spinal motor neuron degeneration, and is a target for future treatments for the disease.
Statins Cost-Effective in Young Adults
Statin therapy has been shown cost-effective for lowering cholesterol in young adults, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Mistreatment is Common Among LGBTQ Surgery Residents
U.S. surgical residents who identify as LGBTQ+ reported higher rates of mistreatment in their training programs than their non-LGBTQ+ peers, according to a Northwestern Medicine study.
Cella to Step Down as Chair of Medical Social Sciences
David Cella, PhD, the Ralph Seal Paffenbarger Professor, has announced that he will be stepping down as chair of the Department of Medical Social Sciences, the department he helped establish in 2009.
Predicting Which Glioblastoma Patients Will Respond to Immunotherapy
Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a new biomarker to identify which patients with brain tumors called glioblastomas — the most common and malignant of primary brain tumors — might benefit from immunotherapy.
$12.5 Million to Fund ALS Research at Northwestern
Neurodegenerative Disease Research Inc. has made a five-year, $12.5 million philanthropic commitment to Northwestern to support research in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) led by Teepu Siddique, MD.
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Airlines were beginning to recover from the pandemic, then Omicron showed up
Dr. Robert Murphy, professor of infectious diseases at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine says, while the omicron variant is concerning, there’s not a lot known about it yet.
Pregnancy risks increase with age but there’s no reason to believe risks ‘jump’ after turning 35, study suggests
Prenatal services may partially affect stillbirth and infant mortality rates after birth, but the study left out key information that impacts pregnancy outcome, said Dr. Priya Rajan, associate professor of maternal fetal medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and chief of diagnostic ultrasound at Northwestern Medicine.
Glioblastomas, the aggressive brain tumors, might benefit from immunotherapy in some patients, Northwestern research suggests
As a neurosurgeon regularly treating glioblastomas, Dr. Adam Sonabend followed with interest the rise of immunotherapy, a new way to help cancer patients utilize the power of their own immune systems.
But until now, not much promise has been shown for patients with glioblastomas, an aggressive type of brain tumor that has no cure.
Omicron may cause milder symptoms. But experts aren’t breathing easy yet.
Whether the variant will spread as quickly in countries with higher vaccination rates is still to be determined, said Ramon Lorenzo-Redondo, the bioinformatics director of the Center for Pathogen Genomics and Microbial Evolution at the Harvey Institute for Global Health and a research assistant professor of medicine in infectious diseases at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
“It might not even establish in other countries,” Lorenzo-Redondo said. “It’s still too early to know if this variant is going to spread. Maybe other factors, like higher vaccination, will stop this.”