VA Lakeside’s Inpatient Unit to be ClosedThe Department of Veterans Affairs announced on February 8 that inpatient care at VA Chicago Health Care System—Lakeside Division would be phased out, pending congressional approval. Chicago-area veterans requiring inpatient care would go to VA Chicago’s West Side Division at 820 South Damen Avenue. The VA plans to find a private partner to lease the Lakeside facility and construct an outpatient facility there. Part of a national effort to consolidate VA facilities, the Lakeside decision came despite an offer of rent-free space in Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Prentice Pavilion. Says Dean Lewis Landsberg, MD, “The…
Author: medweb
February 8, 2002Gene-Based Cancer Test StudiedCHICAGO— Northwestern University Medical School is testing an investigational, noninvasive, gene-based screening method for colorectal cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Around 57,000 Americans die of colon cancer each year. The test, called the PreGen-Plus, uses a technique similar to that described in an article in the Jan. 31 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. The test analyzes the DNA in a stool sample and checks for changes that develop during the precancerous and cancerous stages of colorectal cancer. The stool test does not look for inherited conditions…
February 11, 2002Contact: Megan Fellman at (847) 491-3115 or atfellman@northwestern.eduScientists Develop Nanoarrays for Biological DetectionEVANSTON— Scientists at Northwestern University have developed a new detection technology on the nanometer scale that could lead to the next generation of proteomic arrays and new methods for diagnosing infectious diseases. Once optimized, the new nanotechnology holds promise for biological detectors that can yield more information more accurately in a shorter period of time. Such devices ultimately could be used in the doctor’s office to rapidly screen for a wide range of pathogenic diseases or in the field to detect biological weapons such as anthrax…
February 19, 2002Raloxifene After Tamoxifen Not BeneficialCHICAGO— Taking raloxifene after five years of tamoxifen therapy does not prevent the recurrence of breast cancer in postmenopausal women and may actually stimulate growth of endometrial tumors, according to a Northwestern University study.As described in an article in the Feb. 20 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers Ruth M. O’Regan, M.D.,V. Craig Jordan and colleagues at The Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern evaluated the effects on tumor growth of raloxifene after tamoxifen treatment in mouse models of breast and endometrial cancers. They found that, after exposing breast and…
February 26, 2002Silverstein Gift Funds Genetic ResearchCHICAGO— The Herman M. and Bea L. Silverstein Foundation has made a $1 million gift to the Center for Genetic Medicine at The Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. The gift will be used to support both education and research initiatives within the center as well as to disseminate advances in genetics research and technology within the field and to the medical profession and the public.”This Silverstein Foundation gift is unique in that it supports the Center’s efforts to improve the public’s understanding of genetics and how it will impact all of our…
Students Garner Fellowships for International Health StudiesThe medical school has awarded International Health Fellowships to four fourth-year medical students that will allow them to spend one to three months studying medicine and health care in other countries. Stacey L. Chamberlain of Crystal Lake, Illinois, will be traveling to Katete, Zambia, for an eight-week clinical clerkship at St. Francis Hospital, where she will become an integral part of the health care team. The 365-bed hospital serves a population of 163,000 and is a referral center for another 1.2 million, especially for surgery and more complex medical cases. Chamberlain was a Peace…
John Ansel to Lead Dermatology DepartmentOn February 1 the Medical School will welcome John C. Ansel, MD, as professor and chair of the Department of Dermatology. Dr. Ansel is professor of dermatology at Emory University and chief of dermatology at the VA Medical Center in Atlanta. In announcing Dr. Ansel’s appointment on October 16, Dean Lewis Landsberg, MD, said, “Dr. Ansel has an international reputation for research in skin inflammation and will add significant strength to the prominent epithelial biology program at Northwestern.” Dean Landsberg expressed appreciation to Brian Cook, MD, associate professor of dermatology, who has served with “notable…
December 3, 2001 Research Study Looks for Answers to Treating Teen-Age Depression CHICAGO— Teenagers are notorious for being moody or having “the blues.” Research has shown that half of all teenagers experience depression, and at least 5 percent suffer from major depression that interferes with home, school and social life and may lead to suicidal behaviors. Major depressive disorder, which costs over $40 billion annually to treat, includes as symptoms persistent sadness and hopelessness, low self-esteem, changes in eating and sleeping habits, withdrawal from friends and activities, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. Often, as in the treatment of adults with…
December 3, 2001 Broadcast Media: Tamara Kerrill Field at (847) 491-4888 or at tlk@northwestern.edu Smoking Increases Likelihood of Impotency CHICAGO— Men who smoke are more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction than nonsmokers, reports an international group of impotency experts in the November issue of the Journal of Urology. Erectile dysfunction is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection suitable for sexual intercourse. It is estimated that over 30 million American men have some form of erectile dysfunction. The research consortium, headed by Kevin T. McVary, associate professor of urology at Northwestern University Medical School, found strong parallels…