Blood Test Predicts Response to Immunotherapy
A blood-based tumor biomarker can predict the benefit of immunotherapy to patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
Study Identifies New Therapeutic Target for Most Common Type of Pancreatic Cancer
Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered a potential therapeutic target for the most common type of pancreatic cancer, according to a study published in Developmental Cell.
Morhardt Appointed to Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Elder Law
Darby Morhardt, PhD, LCSW, research professor in the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease and of Preventive Medicine in the Division of Public Health Practice, was recently appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Elder Law.
Student Investigates Private Equity in Dermatology
Rohail Memon, a second-year medical student, used his finance background to investigate the rise of private equity ownership in dermatology practice.
Recurring Brain Tumor Growth is Halted with New Drug
A new study has identified a drug that inhibits growth of aggressive meningiomas and how to most accurately identify which tumors will respond to the drug.
New Regulator of Therapy Resistance in Prostate Cancer
Northwestern Medicine investigators have identified a gene that confers resistance to a common prostate cancer treatment, according to a study published in Cancer Research.
Media Coverage
U.S. Cases of Acute Hepatitis in Kids Keep Rising: CDC
The number of American children affected by acute hepatitis of unknown cause continues to grow, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. So far the agency’s investigation has spotted 180 pediatric cases in 36 states and territories over the past seven months. “It’s unusual because this is occurring in normal, healthy kids who don’t have an underlying condition,” said Dr. Tina Tan, professor of pediatrics in infectious disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Nobody knows the true cause, and what makes it more scary is that these kids develop very severe hepatitis.”
Pfizer booster OK’d for kids 5-11
Pfizer and BioNTech SE gained U.S. emergency-use authorization for their COVID vaccine booster shot for kids age 5 to 11, a move to bolster protection in school-aged kids as contagious omicron subvariants spread across the country. Two doses of vaccine, plus a booster later is the direction the COVID-19 vaccines are going, said Dr. Bill Muller of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Kids respond really well to vaccines, so the question we all had is whether two doses is enough protection. It looks like the FDA saw saw that some of the omicron variant was infecting children after two doses. The main thing they looked at though was safety.”
Can a Night Owl Become an Early Bird?
If your night owl tendencies are ruining your sleep, there are steps you can take to become more of a morning person. Something that can help is taking a very low dose of melatonin, said Dr. Sabra Abbott, assistant professor of neurology in sleep medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. It’s important to keep the dose low so it clears your system quickly. According to Abbott, “We want it out of your system by the end of the night because melatonin at the end of the night can push your clock later and will make the problem worse.”
Is it COVID or something else? Parents of young kids navigate an unusually long flu season
The viruses that typically circulate in the winter months had been kept at bay as people were wearing their masks and keeping their distance as part of attempts to stave off the spread of COVID-19, Dr. Michael Bauer of Northwestern Medicine said. With masks coming off, the flu, respiratory viruses and common cold are all spreading. Bauer said his advice to parents is to “control what you can control.” That means good hand washing and avoiding “crowded, indoor, poorly ventilated areas, while these things are circulating.”