Media Coverage
The work done by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine faculty members (and even some students) is regularly highlighted in newspapers, online media outlets and more. Below you’ll find links to articles and videos of Feinberg in the news.
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NBC News
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Night owls die young in a world scheduled for early birds
The researchers looked at surveys of more than 400,000 people taking part in a large British study of genes and health. As part of a detailed questionnaire, they were asked whether they tended to be night owls or morning larks. There wasn’t much difference among people who fell in the middle. But there was a notable difference between the two extremes, said Kristen Knutson, associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “We found that the night owls had a 10 percent increased risk of dying over about a six and a half year period. And that was even after we took into account things like existing health problems,” Knutson told NBC News.
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USA Today
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Are you a ‘night owl’? Regularly staying up late could be deadly, study finds
The research found “night owls” had a 10% greater risk of dying than morning people. The study also found evening types also had higher risks for conditions such as diabetes or psychological disorders. “Night owls trying to live in a morning lark world may have health consequences for their bodies,” said co-lead author Kristen Knutson, associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in a statement published Thursday.
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Crain’s Chicago Business
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A 5-part plan to reverse the opioid epidemic
The first task in addressing opioid abuse is treating overdose victims. First responders must be equipped with and trained in the use of naloxone. Once victims are stabilized, their treatment can begin. Much scientific evidence shows that opioid use disorder (a medical condition that in common parlance would be called opioid abuse or addiction) can be effectively treated, with recurrence rates no greater than those for other chronic illnesses such as diabetes, asthma and hypertension. The Food & Drug Administration has approved three medications for treatment—methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone—that block opioid cravings and effects. All three also significantly increase the likelihood that opioid users can recover to live healthy and sober lives.
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Chicago Tonight – WTTW
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Study: US clinicians project better health outcomes for white patients
“We need to continue to examine if medical providers have preferences for some groups over others, either implicit or explicit, and how that affects treatment, expectation for patient success, and interactions with patients,” said co-author Sylvia Perry, an assistant professor of psychology at Northwestern University who was Khosla’s undergraduate thesis advisor at Yale, in a statement. Medicine is portrayed as being fact-based, objective and free from racial bias and discrimination, Khosla said. But the study “emphasized how much bias works to control behaviors completely within our subconscious,” she said. “Science and medicine are not invulnerable to the effects of racism, because we are humans and are shaped by our environment.”
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Chicago Tribune
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3rd person dies after more than 100 sickened by synthetic pot in Illinois, officials say
In total, 107 people have been hospitalized, including the three people who have died, since March 7, according to state officials. Numerous people who reported being sick after using synthetic pot later tested positive for brodifacoum, a poison commonly used in rodent control. Those sickened have reported blood in the urine, severe bloody noses and bleeding gums. Exposure to brodifacoum causes the human body to block its natural use of vitamin K, which helps in the process of blood clotting, according to Dr. Patrick Lank, a medical toxicologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. A person exposed to brodifacoum would have to take high doses of vitamin K for weeks to months to manage their symptoms.
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Chicago Tribune
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Parents often struggle to talk about sex with LGBTQ teens: Northwestern study
Historically, there’s been very little academic study of how parenting can affect the sexual behavior of LGBTQ youths, said researcher Michael Newcomb, associate director for scientific development for the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “We know a lot about how parents can influence the heterosexual teen’s sexual health, but we know very little about how parents can affect the sexual health of LGBTQ teens,” he said. “And in some ways, the same parenting practices would be relevant to LGBTQ teens, like talking to your kids about sex, monitoring who they’re hanging out with, who they’re dating, all those types of things.”
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The Washington Post
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How romance can protect gay and lesbian youths from emotional distress
For gay or lesbian young people, however, being in a relationship can be a huge source of support. “The person they were dating was the first person they would go to when they had news to celebrate but also the first person they would go to commiserate or seek support if something awful happened,” says Brian Mustanski, one of the study’s authors. “They helped navigate issues with coming out or challenges they were having in the family about those relationships.” Mustanski said that although parents and friends can help sexual minorities feel better, that support doesn’t tend to offset the effects of bullying. “Here, if they were bullied and victimized and had relationships, that bullying had less of an effect on their mental health,” says Mustanski, who directs the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
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TODAY
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Food allergies in kids may be result of ‘perfect storm’ of factors
Researchers from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who were studying genetically vulnerable baby mice and the allergens that might trigger sensitivity, were surprised to find many of them did not develop food allergies even after their skin was exposed to peanuts. So the researchers started adding other possible exposures to the mix. They found mice with the genes for an eczema-like condition would only develop food allergies if they were also exposed to dust mites or mold, had skin contact with the problem foods and were cleaned with soap. “This is a recipe for developing food allergy,” said lead study author Joan Cook-Mills, a professor of allergy-immunology at Northwestern.
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The New York Times
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Tainted Synthetic Marijuana Has Been Sickening People Across the Midwest
But officials here said they still have unanswered, vexing questions: How much of the tainted drug is still circulating throughout the Midwest, and how many more people will be sickened? Where are the drugs coming from, and how far have they spread? How did a dangerous chemical like brodifacoum, which does not create a sensation of being high, end up in synthetic marijuana? “This is not something we have previously seen,” said Dr. Patrick Lank of Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “As someone who watches public health, I worry, why is this happening? How did a substance get into these drugs that absolutely has no high?”
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Chicago Tribune
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Before they transition, some transgender youth preserve fertility by banking sperm or eggs
Scientists at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine announced recently that they’d created 3-D printed bioprosthetic ovaries allowing mice to ovulate, give birth and nurse their young, said Teresa Woodruff, director of the Women’s Health Research Institute at Northwestern. The hope is to restore fertility and hormone production in cancer survivors, but transgender patients might also one day benefit. While these prospects are exciting, Chen said she tries to focus on technology that’s available today when helping youths make decisions, because she doesn’t want to give them false hope. Even though discussing fertility is important, Chen also explores different forms of parenthood with patients, including adoption and surrogacy.
