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Making Headlines |
Hints of Progress in Drugs Treating Brain Cancer
New York Times May 23, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/23/business/23brain.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin
Drugs often look good in early testing because doctors, either consciously or subconsciously, choose to try them on the patients with the best prospects. Mr. Mitchell might have survived anyway. “This is a very select population of patients,” said Dr. Jeffrey Raizer, director of the medical neuro-oncology program at NORTHWESTERN University. “There are two- to four-year survivors with these tumors who haven’t had the vaccine therapy.” But virtually all experts agree there has been a sharp increase in the number of compounds being tested against brain cancer, in response to new scientific understanding of cancer and the changing economics of the pharmaceutical business.
On Television
KTIV-TV (Sioux City, IA) May 22.
Anand Vora, MD, assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery, comments on surgery to improve neuropathy.
Doctors to Provide Online Consultations in War Areas
Chicago Tribune May 22, 2008
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-thu-notebook-health-care-icomay22,0,48670.story
A volunteer effort to link health professionals in war- torn areas of the world with specialized physicians who can provide consultations via the Internet will be unveiled Friday at a Chicago conference. “Our goal is to get medical knowledge where medicine is practiced,” said Dr. William Kennedy Smith, who specializes in rehabilitation medicine and is president of the Center for International Rehabilitation. “The Internet has just exploded in its penetration, and we are really taking advantage of that.” “We are looking forward to unveiling what we believe is a highly innovative approach to humanitarian relief that brings the best of care together with the latest technology,” said Smith, an adjunct instructor at NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and founder of Physicians Against Land Mines. He is also the son of former ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith and the nephew of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass).
On Television
“Chicago Tonight” (WTTW-TV) May 21.
Dr. Teresa Woodruff, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, discusses the Women’s Health Initiative.
Couples, Get Naked for Your Health
Los Angeles Times May 20, 2008
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2008/05/couples-get-nak.html
Remove your clothing, down to and including the unmentionables. Then lie on the bed, but don’t dim the lights. In fact, turn them up bright. Then sweetly coo to your significant other: “Honey, would you examine every part of me, especially the parts that I can’t see?” No, it’s not a seduction. It’s a potentially life-saving medical exam. Couples who can leap this self-conscious hurdle, despite drooping body parts, love handles and cellulite, increase their chances of finding a new melanoma, according to a study in this month’s Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Researchers at NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine recruited 130 survivors of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. All the participants were married or had a life partner, but for half the group, only the patient was trained in skin self-examination. Participants in the second group learned the examination techniques with their partners.
This story was also carried on the following news outlets:
Asian News International May 21, 2008
A loving partner can save you from skin cancer
http://www.thecheers.org/news/Health/news_24541_A-loving-partner-can-save-you-from-skin-cancer.html
Science Centric May 21, 2008
A loving partner can save your skin
http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=08052111
United Press International May 27, 2008
Getting past modesty may halt melanomas
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Health/2008/05/27/getting_past_modesty_may_halt_melanomas/6052/
KJRH-TV (Tulsa), WPSD-TV (Paducah), WWLP-TV (Springfield), KSBW-TV (Monterey), WJHG-TV (Panama City), KXAS-TV (Dallas), WDIV-TV (Detroit), WWBT-TV (Richmond), KVOA-TV (Tucson), WEEK-TV (Peoria), KSBW-TV WKTV-TV (Utica), WVTM-TV (Birmingham), WVIT-TV (Hartford) KPNX-TV (Phoenix), WFMJ-TV (Youngstown), WHYY-TV (Philadelphia), WVIR-TV (Charlottesville, VA), WDAM-TV (Hattiesburg, MS) May 21.
Reference to research by June Robinson, MD, professor of dermatology, on how couples who perform skin exams on each other can increase their chances of finding skin cancers.
Hospital Prepares for More Growth
Chicago Tribune May 21, 2008
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-wed-childrens-memorial-streemay21,0,2001020.story
Two weeks after construction began on the $1 billion replacement for Children’s Memorial Hospital in Lincoln Park, hospital executives have secured even more space for growth near its future home in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. Children’s Memorial on Tuesday said it paid $18 million to secure a 99-year lease of a six-story office building owned by the Archdiocese of Chicago at 155 E. Superior St. The office building is one block from the new facility, to be known as the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, at 225 E. Chicago Ave. Scheduled to open in 2012, the new Children’s is bounded by Chicago Avenue on the north and Superior Street on the south and will sit just west of NORTHWESTERN Memorial HealthCare’s new Prentice Women’s Hospital.
A World of Ways to Eat Right
U.S. News & World Report May 26, 2008
That [food] pyramid—like other dietary guides built on age-old culinary traditions—represents a way of looking at nutrition that’s gathering steam. Rather than reducing a diet to its essential foods and then foods to their essential nutrients—vitamins, minerals, and other compounds—and trying to isolate those that contribute to good health, researchers are increasingly stepping back and correlating health with broader eating patterns. “What we’re talking about is the background diet,” says Linda Van Horn, acting chair of preventive medicine at NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “It’s not the occasional hot fudge sundae or brownie; rather, it’s the day to day, meal to meal, bite to bite: What is it that appears in your mouth?”
On Television
WECT-TV (Wilmington) May 20.
Anand Vora, MD, assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery, comments on surgery to improve neuropathy.
Oxidative Stress Behind Lung Problems
Ivanhoe May 20, 2008
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=18829
(Ivanhoe Newswire)—New research suggests markers for oxidative stress in young people can predict the later onset of lung disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A study conducted at NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine looked at data from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults. They studied markers for oxidant stress including low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL).
Their main finding was that the highest levels of oxLDL were associated with the lowest measure of airflow obstruction—one of the defining features of COPD. The teams also found these levels were present in women to a significant extent but not in men. “Women develop COPD more often than men, but we do not have a sense as to why,” Ravi Kalhan, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine, was quoted as saying. “Exploring whether women have increased vulnerability to COPD or other lung disease because of more oxidant stress could open the door to new therapies to modify the risk of developing the disease.”
Until this study, it has not been shown that oxidant markers could predict future COPD development. “The association between their levels and lower lung function serve as a first step,” Dr. Kalhan said. “Because only the minority of smokers develop COPD, it would be a huge step forward if we could predict future development of CPD among individuals at risk.”
Study Examines Races of Amputees
Nurse.com May 19, 2008
http://include.nurse.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080519/OR02/305200021
Residents of predominantly black ZIP codes in the Chicago area are five times more likely than those in predominantly white areas to have a leg or foot amputated, according to a study published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery. For the study, Joseph Feinglass, a health policy researcher at the NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, and William Pearce, director of vascular surgery at the medical school, looked at hospital discharge data from the state health department, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Thousands of blacks in Chicago have had all or part of one limb amputated because of complications from diabetes or peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The study indicated the racial gap in amputations remained unchanged as the total number of amputations in northern Illinois dropped during the past 20 years.
This story was also carried on the following news outlets:
United Press International May 31, 2008
Racial disparity in Ill. amputation rate
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Health/2008/05/31/racial_disparity_in_ill_amputation_rate/7820/
Blood Markers May Foretell Heart Disease; Lifestyle Can Forestall It
U.S. News & World Report May 14, 2008
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/heart/2008/05/14/blood-markers-may-foretell-heart-disease-lifestyle-can-forestall-it.html
Who wouldn’t like to make a dent in the heart disease problem? Despite years of improving mortality rates, it’s still the leading cause of death for both sexes nationwide. Some fear that death rates may start rising again because of the increased prevalence of obesity. And so the hunt is on for tools to fight it. But while the traditional set of risk factors like blood pressure may tell only part of the story, your doctor can “do some thinking” and estimate whether you’re at higher risk even without the help of new biomarkers, says Donald Lloyd-Jones, a cardiologist in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine at NORTHWESTERN University in Chicago and coauthor of an editorial accompanying the NEJM study. “You can look for extra features, like a strong family history or a physical exam finding,” he says.
This story was also carried on the following news outlets:
Reuters May 14, 2008
Novel use of biomarkers improves risk stratification in CVD
New Help for Tinnitus Sufferers
Scripps Howard News Service May 14, 2008
http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=MEDICAL-05-14-08
…The condition is called tinnitus (it can be pronounced TIN-itus or tin-NIGHT-us) and while many people experience such noise now and then, the most profound sufferers—about 12 million Americans—hear it virtually around the clock. Ernest Moore, an audiologist and cell biologist at NORTHWESTERN University in Chicago, and a tinnitus sufferer himself, thinks he’s been able to induce the condition in the fish by exposing them to certain drugs. They demonstrate agitation from the ringing by erratic swimming. And Moore has analyzed cells in zebrafish ears and found signs of increased electric firing in the nerves. Then, Moore has attempted to slow this effect by giving the fish other drugs, which appear to slow down the firing in the hair-like cells of the ear. Moore is in discussions with several ear specialists about starting human trials of some of drugs shown most promising in the fish. “If these drugs are found to be safe—and some of them are already on the market for other uses—and they’re found to have efficacy in humans, then they might be able to help some people with this intractable problem,” Moore said. “If the hair cell is not totally damaged, and you administer these drugs, you might be able to prevent further damage and interfere with the cells’ ability to generate tinnitus,” he added.
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A Cure Would Be Music to My Ears
Regina Leader-Post (Canada) May 28, 2008
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/arts_life/story.html?id=23b04158-b7c7-4762-a3d4-c1edbda4414d
Hospitals Agree to Purchase
Chicago Tribune May 15, 2008
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-thu-rush-northwestern-hospitmay15,0,2255191.story
Evanston NORTHWESTERN Healthcare will acquire Rush North Shore Medical Center in Skokie for $95 million in a much-anticipated merger that will expand the hospital operator’s brand to a fourth facility in Chicago’s north suburbs, the hospitals confirmed Wednesday. The deal, which still faces federal and state regulatory approvals, calls for Evanston NORTHWESTERN to buy the hospital and related assets for $85 million and allocate an additional $10 million to set up a community foundation that serves various health needs in Skokie and surrounding communities. Evanston NORTHWESTERN operates hospitals in Evanston, Glenview, and Highland Park. Eventually, the name of the hospital in Skokie will change to reflect the Evanston NORTHWESTERN brand, executives said.
On Television
WVVA-TV (Bluefield) May 14.
Reference to research by Boyd Metzger, MD, professor of medicine, on the risks of pregnancy and high blood pressure.
Without TV Ads, Restless Legs May Take a Hike
MSNBC May 14, 2008
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24603237/
After a speedy rise as one of the nation’s oddest-sounding designer disorders, restless legs syndrome may have run its course. In 2005, the federal Food and Drug Administration approved the first medication targeting the twitching condition, propelling the problem to household-name status and launching a multiâmillion dollar consumer advertising campaign by manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline. Best evidence suggests that about 5 percent of the population may have the condition, with about 2 percent to 3 percent of cases being moderate to severe, estimated Earley and Dr. Phyllis Zee, a professor and sleep expert at NORTHWESTERN University Medical School in Chicago. Woloshin said validated studies put the prevalence at about 3 percent. Earley and Zee reject the suggestion that restless legs syndrome is an imaginary condition. Zee noted that researchers in Germany and Iceland recently detected a genetic link to the problem, though she acknowledged that it’s not clear what the link might mean. No one really knows what causes restless legs syndrome, only that it exists, the scientists said.
Association Tightens Identity Verification for Medical-School Entrance Exam
Chronicle of Higher Education May 14, 2008
http://chronicle.com/free/2008/05/2830n.htm
Starting next month, medical school applicants will have a new anatomy issue to worry about: their index fingers. The Association of American Medical Colleges began upgrading its identity-verification procedures last year to start requiring electronic fingerprinting of all students who take the Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT. Test takers’ digital fingerprints, recorded by a sensor before the examination, are kept in an electronic database. In June, 10 medical schools will begin using this database to automatically verify that the applicants they are interviewing and enrolling are the same people who took the admission test. “In a world where identity theft is becoming more and more common, and a bigger and bigger issue, I think we may be seeing more fraudulent use of identity in admissions,” said Warren H. Wallace, associate dean for admissions at NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, which is one of the schools testing the program. Dr. Wallace said the school had seen isolated incidents of fraud in the interviewing process.
New Finding May Explain Some Hearing Loss
United Press International May 12, 2008
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2008/05/12/upi_newstrack_health_and_science_news/6310/
MEMPHIS, May 12 (UPI)—U.S. scientists said their findings about how sounds are amplified in the inner ear might explain how genetic mutation or drug-overdose hearing loss occurs. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital investigators found an electrically powered amplification mechanism in the cochlea of the ear is critical to the acute hearing of humans and other mammals. Sound entering the cochlea is detected by the vibration of tiny, hair-like cilia that extend from cochlear hair cells, the scientists said. While the cochlea’s “inner hair cells” are only passive detectors, the so-called outer hair cells amplify the sound signal as it transforms into an electrical signal that travels to the brain’s auditory center, they said. Without such amplification, hearing would be far less sensitive since sound waves entering the cochlea are severely diminished as they pass through the inner ear fluid. The research, which included Jian Zuo, Xudong Wu, Jiangang Gao and Wendy Cheng at St. Jude; Peter Dallos, Mary Ann Cheatham, Jing Zheng, Charles Anderson and Soma Sengupta at NORTHWESTERN University; and Shuping Jia, Xiang Wang and David He at Creighton University, appears in the May 8 issue of the journal Neuron.
For Men, Relief in Sight
New York Times May 13, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/health/13prostate.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=prostatic&st=cse&oref=slogin
Men, the joke goes, spend the first half of their lives making money and the second making water. That is because after age 50 many men face an embarrassing problem called B.P.H., for benign prostatic hyperplasia. This slowly progressive enlargement of the prostate can make urination difficult or painful and send men trudging to the bathroom many times during the day and night. Though bothersome, B.P.H. is not life threatening. Nor does it lead to cancer. When left untreated, however, B.P.H. can lead to serious health problems for some. “There is a big difference between having the symptoms and being bothered by the symptoms,” said Dr. Kevin T. McVary, professor of urology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at NORTHWESTERN University. “Some men go to the bathroom several times a night, get right back to sleep and are not bothered,” he said. Watchful waiting, or monitoring symptoms while holding off on medical or surgical treatments, is a reasonable plan for these men, he added. But for patients who have trouble getting back to sleep, “there are many effective options, and patients almost always end up with less bothersome symptoms once they choose to do something,” he said.
Mom’s High Normal Blood Sugar Risky: Study
Reuters May 8, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL84645620080508
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Pregnant women who have blood sugar levels above normal but below those signaling full-blown diabetes are more likely than women with lower blood sugar levels to experience several adverse pregnancy outcomes, new research indicates. It is well known that high blood sugar levels indicative of the diabetes that occurs during pregnancy present risks for expectant mothers and their infants. The current study is believed to be the first to show that higher blood sugar levels—not high enough to be considered diabetes—also convey these increased risks.
Dr. Boyd E. Metzger from NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and colleagues also found that the higher the mother’s blood sugar levels, the more likely the women were to develop a potentially serious condition called preeclampsia marked by a spike in blood pressure and the more likely their infants were to be born prematurely and to experience shoulder dystocia—a condition in which an infant’s shoulder becomes lodged inside the mother’s body, effectively halting the birth process. “These relationships are continuous and generally increase incrementally over the range of blood (sugar) levels we saw in the study,” Metzger noted in a statement. The question remains, Metzger told Reuters Health, “at what level of risk should we intervene? That is a big question that can’t be addressed by this research.” He noted that a meeting to discuss these issues is scheduled next month immediately following the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association.
This story was also carried on the following news outlets:
HealthDay News May 7, 2008
High Blood Sugar Tied to Pregnancy Complications
http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/healthday/080507/high-blood-sugar-tied-to-pregnancy-complications.htm
WFLD-TV May 8.
Reference to research by Boyd Metzger, MD, professor of medicine, on health risks to babies born to women with high blood sugar levels.
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Reference to research by Boyd Metzger, MD, professor of medicine, on health risks to babies born to women with high blood sugar levels.
Science News May 7, 2008
Elevated blood sugar in pregnancy might adversely affect fetus
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/31840/title/Glucose_Galore
Pill Effective Against Pregnancy-Related Diabetes
Reuters May 7, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN07387050
The diabetes pill metformin is just as effective as insulin injections in treating women who develop diabetes during pregnancy, researchers in New Zealand and Australia reported on Wednesday. So-called gestational diabetes surfaces in one out of every 20 pregnant women, and there has been concern that metformin might affect a fetus because the drug can cross the placenta. The team, led by Dr. Boyd Metzger of NORTHWESTERN University in Chicago, also found a link between blood sugar levels and problems such as premature delivery and birth injury, along with an increased likelihood that a newborn would end up in intensive care. “These are well-recognized complications of pregnancies in mothers with preexisting or gestational diabetes, as currently defined,” the researchers wrote.
Deficiency in Disguise—Low Testosterone Often Masquerades as Depression
Chicago Tribune May 4, 2008
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0504_health1_r_d_n_kqsmay04,0,4606288.story
The typical results of treatment are an increase in energy, decreased body fat, increased libido, and an improvement in mood. And earlier this year, Harvard Men’s Health Watch reported that testosterone replacement may be related to improved mental acuity. But Kevin McVary, professor of urology at NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, cautioned that testosterone-replacement therapy remains controversial. “Potential risks include enlargement of the prostate, problems voiding, acne, and hot flashes,” McVary explained. “Uncommon but dangerous side effects may include stroke or prostate cancer. Also those who suffer from congestive heart failure may notice a worsening of their symptoms.” And recent studies have shown testosterone replacement therapy is not as effective in men over 70. McVary also noted, however, that no evidence exists to suggest that testosterone-replacement therapy will be wrought with the backlash of cancer and heart disease associated with the federal Women’s Health Initiative, which halted a hormone-replacement therapy study involving women in 2005.
Ceremony Lets Chicago Anatomy Students Say Thanks to Their Cadavers
Chicago Tribune May 4, 2008
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0504_anatomy_nqmay04,0,1404257.story
For six months, many of them remained nameless and that seemed only right. It would be disrespectful to completely wipe away who they were when they were alive. To pick some silly name would be degrading, the faculty implored them. Medical student Emily Zander was always mindful to say “she” instead of “it.” But there was another reason that many of the 175 students in NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine’s anatomy lab didn’t want to name their cadavers. It was too personal. They knew only the age and cause of death, and there needed to be some distance when, for example, removing the ribs to look at the heart and lungs.
Zebrafish May Help Solve Ringing in Ears
United Press International May 1, 2008
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Health/2008/05/01/zebrafish_may_help_solve_ringing_in_ears/8994/
CHICAGO, May 1 (UPI)—A U.S. researcher is using zebrafish to test drugs that may help people with tinnitus regain normal hearing. Ernest Moore, an audiologist and cell biologist at NORTHWESTERN University, says zebrafish have ears, which are remarkably similar to humans’ ears. Moore has been able to cause ringing in the ears of zebrafish by exposing them to certain drugs and tracking their erratic swimming on video. Moore then looks at the cells in their ears to see if the electrical firing has increased, an early sign of damage and tinnitus.
Moore’s early findings show an increased firing. Moore is discussing a clinical trial to test these drugs for patients with tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. “If these drugs are found to be safe—and some are already on the market for other uses—and if they are found to have efficacy in humans, then they might be used to treat an individual’s tinnitus,” Moore said in a statement. “If the hair cell—sensory receptors in the ear that vibrate to amplify sound—is not totally damaged—just beginning to break down, and you administer these drugs, you might be able to prevent it from further damage and interfere with the cells’ ability to generate tinnitus.”
S.D. Scientists Analyze Insulin’s Effects on Brains
San Diego Union-Tribune May 1, 2008
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/health/20080501-9999-1n1diab.html
Researchers at the Salk Institute and UCSD said they have uncovered one reason why diabetics are up to 65 percent more likely to develop Alzheimer’s, the degenerative disease mainly associated with memory loss in old age. In October, for example, researchers at NORTHWESTERN University said they had found cells in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients that were resistant to insulin.
Pfizer Cuts Research, Looking for Partners
Daily Oklahoman April 30, 2008
http://newsok.com/article/keyword/3236755/
Pfizer has reduced its R&D from 15,000 people worldwide to about 12,000 in the last year and a half. So, that means the company is leaning on research partners because of pressure to reduce development costs and lower prices. For instance, a new Pfizer drug for treating fibromyalgia, was licensed out of NORTHWESTERN University, Rosen said.
Dementia Doesn’t Always Signal Alzheimer’s
American Medical News April 21, 2008
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/04/21/hlsc0421.htm
Dementia in people younger than 65 isn’t always the result of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration, or FTLD, an umbrella term that covers several brain disorders, is another cause of early dementia, although one that is not widely recognized. Both Alzheimer’s disease and FTLD cause brain cells to die. However, because they affect different regions of the brain, each triggers distinct abnormalities, said Sandra Weintraub, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and neurology at NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
Both early-onset Alzheimer’s and FTLD cause additional family turmoil when it comes to finding long-term care because these patients are so much younger than the average nursing home patient, said Darby Morhardt, a research associate professor at NORTHWESTERN’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Nursing homes sometimes don’t accept patients younger than 65, Morhardt said. Plus the odd behavior of some FTLD patients may make it difficult for staff to control them. Even when services are available, they may not be appropriate. “The evidence suggests that younger people have different needs,” she said. People in their 40s and 50s are active, and frequently no programs exist for them, even in adult day-care facilities, said Morhardt.
The lack of public awareness of FTLD also can trigger unhelpful responses, she added. The patient may be arrested after an angry outburst or disability benefits may be denied because the disease has been misdiagnosed. Families also cite problems negotiating the health care system. “The medical community isn’t there for them,” said Morhardt, who has conducted a survey of caregivers.
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