Blood Test Could Catch Liver Cancer Early
A new blood test can identify early-stage liver cancer, allowing clinicians to start treatment early, according to a new study.
Newly Discovered Mechanism May Control Inflammation
A new study has discovered previously unknown details about a mechanism that lets white blood cells travel from blood vessels into tissue, a process key to inflammation.
New Approach Shows Promise in Treating Parkinson’s Symptoms
Northwestern Medicine scientists have rescued movement in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease by restoring the intrinsic discharge of nerve cells within the subthalamic nucleus.
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.
Media Coverage
Many dermatologists need more training on African American skin and hair
Each of the focus groups, which were held at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, consisted of four to 12 people who came from similar backgrounds. Because most of the participants, 74%, had received care at other clinics in the past, the researchers were able to compare patient experiences at a clinic with black dermatologists to clinics where they were seen by doctors of other races. Some patients had experienced clinic visits in which the doctor seemed uncomfortable touching their skin. In fact, some had the experience of doctors avoiding skin contact altogether, examining hair with the end of a pencil or not at all, for example.
These Northwestern doctors saw 30,000 patients during WWII, sometimes performing 100 surgeries a day. Here’s their story.
The doorway was too narrow for the patient on the stretcher. So the high-powered Northwestern neurosurgeon did the next best thing. He knelt on the ground and tried to pull the patient through the window of the shuttered Algerian resort, which served as a makeshift hospital staffed by Northwestern medical school-affiliated doctors during World War II. During the war, more than 50 Northwestern doctors and dentists, and more than 100 nurses from hospitals across Chicago, formed the 12th General Hospital unit, which set up hospitals and cared for servicemen in Algeria and Italy.
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.