Procedure Proves Effective in Treating Rare Swallowing Disorder
A procedure called POEM significantly improved treatment outcomes among patients with achalasia — a rare swallowing disorder — compared with a standard therapy, according to a clinical trial published in JAMA.
New Developments in Quest for Huntington’s Disease Treatments
A molecule drastically reduced toxic proteins in human neuron cells with Huntington’s disease, representing a potential therapy for the deadly degenerative disease, according to a new study.
New Data Analysis and Coordinating Center Announced
Feinberg has announced the launch of the new Northwestern University Data Analysis and Coordinating Center, with the goal of synergizing all components of the clinical research study life cycle.
Exhibit Honors Northwestern’s WWII Medical History
A new exhibit at Galter Health Sciences Library and Learning Center showcases the medical experiences of hundreds of Northwestern physicians, nurses, dentists and enlisted men in World War II.
Exploring the Molecular Mechanisms of Ion Channels and Kidney Disease
Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered the molecular mechanism by which voltage-dependent gates regulate the flow of ions in a unique sub-class of proteins called polycystic receptor potential channels.
Targeting a Weak Link in Pediatric Brain Cancer
A new study has found that a particularly deadly form of pediatric brain tumor may have a weakness that could inspire future treatments.
Media Coverage
These Engineers Have Found A Way To Use Sweat For Some Medical Tests
PALCA: The analysis is sent electronically to a recording device. The patch can measure the salts in sweat, but Baryia says it can also measure things like glucose, although it’s not clear whether sweat glucose is as informative as blood glucose. The Berkeley team is just one of several working on sweat patches. John Rogers is at Northwestern University.
JOHN ROGERS: We do things without electronics.
PALCA: Rogers says the patch he’s developing with the sports drink company Gatorade uses chemical sensors to measure the sweat.
Which hospital rating system is best?
“A hospital might rate best on one rating system and worst on another,” Dr. Karl Bilimoria, the study’s lead author and director of Northwestern Medicine’s Surgical Outcomes & Quality Improvement Center, said in a statement. “We wanted to provide information on how to interpret these contradictory ratings so people can better select the best hospital for their needs.” Bilimoria and his team assigned grades to four popular hospital rating systems based on factors like transparency and the potential for misclassifying hospital performance. U.S. News & World Report got a B, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Star Ratings got a C, Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade got a C-minus and Healthgrades got a D-plus.
Major surgeries linked to small decline in mental functioning in older age
The new report offers “good news and bad news,” said Sandra Weintraub, a professor and clinical core director at the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. The good news is that for most people the decline “wasn’t that great,” Weintraub said. “Having said that, it really puts patients between a rock and a hard place if they’re told they need surgery and worry about losing mental function,” Weintraub said.
The Impact of Racism on Children’s Health
Dr. Nia Heard-Garris, an attending physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, was the lead author of a 2017 review of research studies looking at the impact of racism on children’s health. Too often, she said, studies control for race without considering what experiences are structured into society by race.