Author: medweb

Medication May Improve Parkinson’s Drug Effects CHICAGO—Physicians at the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center at Northwestern University are conducting a research study to evaluate an experimental treatment intended to improve motor fluctuations associated with the “wearing-off” effects of medications to treat Parkinson’s disease. Individuals with advancing Parkinson’s disease develop inconsistent responses to medications, known[…]

‘Signal’ Enables Parasite to Target Blood Cells CHICAGO—Northwestern University researchers have identified a key molecular “signal” that allows malarial parasites to release virulence proteins inside human red blood cells. The investigators, led by Kasturi Haldar, PhD, and N. Luisa Hiller, also found that the process by which the malarial parasite remodels red blood cells is[…]

Sleeping Less May Be Related to Weight GainLack of sleep could make you fat. In an editorial published in the January 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, two Northwestern University researchers stress the need to better understand the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States by studying how loss of sleep alters[…]

Medical Students Spearhead Disaster Fund DriveFourteen Northwestern medical student groups have joined forces to raise funds to aid survivors of the recent earthquake and tsunami in South Asia. Led by the Feinberg School of Medicine chapter of GlobeMed, students are collecting monetary donations during the lunch hour in the Method Atrium, 310 East Superior Street,[…]

NMH, RIC to Lease VA Land Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) are one step closer to leasing the land occupied by the former VA Lakeside Medical Center (VALMC). During a formal ceremony on January 18 in Washington, NMH and RIC officials met with Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J.[…]

Superior Street Water Main Project StartsWhen the City of Chicago first installed the water main pipe that currently runs below Superior Street—between Lake Shore Drive and Fairbanks Court—traffic jams may have involved as many horses and carriages as cars. In place since 1911, the existing 8-inch pipe will soon be replaced with a larger, 12-inch[…]

December 21, 2004 Immigrants Just as Obese as U.S. Adults CHICAGO—Immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least 15 years are nearly as obese as U.S.-born adults, according to an article in the December 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Immigrants generally originate from countries where the prevalence[…]

Middle-Age Obesity May Raise Medicare Costs Overweight and obesity in young adulthood and middle age may have devastating effects on future Medicare expenditures, particularly given the continued and alarming increase in prevalence of obesity in the United States during recent decades, according to a study published in the December 8 issue of the Journal of[…]

December 8, 2004 Strength Training May Improve Leg Functioning CHICAGO—A Northwestern University researcher is conducting a clinical study to determine whether regular exercise can improve leg and ankle functioning in participants with peripheral artery disease (PAD), a condition similar to coronary artery disease, where fatty deposits on the walls of arteries block blood flow to[…]

December 21, 2004 Study Shows Toxic Proteins Affect Memory EVANSTON, Ill.—Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered a molecular mechanism—a tiny protein attacking nerve cells—that could explain why the brain damage in early Alzheimer’s disease results in memory loss and not other symptoms such as loss of balance or tremors. The research team, led by William[…]