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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New York Times
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Despite Setback, Neuralink’s First Brain-Implant Patient Stays Upbeat
Just four months ago, Noland Arbaugh had a circle of bone removed from his skull and hair-thin sensor tentacles slipped into his brain. A computer about the size of a small stack of quarters was placed on top and the hole was sealed. Paralyzed below the neck, Mr. Arbaugh is the first patient to take part in the clinical trial of humans testing Elon Musk’s Neuralink device, and his early progress was greeted with excitement. This first Neuralink experiment also highlights how complicated the mechanics of the connection between the brain and a device are. Lee Miller, PhD, a professor of neuroscience and rehabilitative medicine at Northwestern University, described the difficulties of working with the brain. It is bathed in salt water, moves around as the head swivels and bobs, and it is equipped with immune defenses meant to wall off invaders. Researchers have observed the brain forming scar tissue around sensors and even rejecting an entire sensing unit that used a grid of tiny needles.
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Chicago Tribune
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Cicada anxiety can be managed says children book author
As people across Illinois prepare for a once-in-a-lifetime cicada dual emergence, fear of the weird-looking flying bugs with big red eyes is on the rise, experts say. But they also say that fear is understandable and there are ways to get past it including standing in an area filled with cicadas, a practice psychologists call exposure therapy. “Exposure therapy is very simple conceptually and very hard to do,” said Rick Zinbarg, PhD, Professor and Director of Clinical Science Training in the Psychology Department on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University. He said exposure therapy works two ways. In the case of a fear or phobia of cicadas flooding involves summoning up the courage to literally go to an area where there are lots of the bugs and to stand there for as long as possible. Gradual exposure is much less confrontational and could include looking at photos or videos of the bugs online or in a book. Zinbarg said with both techniques there’s a very good chance the fear of cicadas is going to subside. “I encourage people to start where they’re ready and push it out when they’re ready,” he said.
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CNN
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Horrific nightmares may signal initial onset of these chronic diseases, study says
Such unusual symptoms [intense nightmares] may also be a signal that an established disease may be about to intensely worsen or “flare” and require medical treatment, said lead study author Melanie Sloan, a researcher in the department of public health and primary care at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Jennifer Mundt, PhD, an assistant professor of sleep medicine, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago who was not involved in the study, said in an email she was pleased the study focused on nightmares. “Although nightmares are a very distressing problem in many medical and psychiatric conditions, they rarely get focused on except in the context of PTSD (post-traumatic stress syndrome),” Mundt said. “A recent study showed that 18% of people with long-COVID have (frequent) nightmares, and this compares to a general population prevalence of about 5%,” she said. “Hearing the patient perspective is critical so that research and clinical care can be guided by what is most important to patients themselves.”
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AP News
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Have you tried pink noise for sleep? Here’s what to know
You may have heard of white noise used to mask background sounds. Now, it has colorful competition. There’s a growing buzz around pink noise, brown noise, green noise — a rainbow of soothing sounds — and their theoretical effects on sleep, concentration and the relaxation response. Scientists at Northwestern University are studying how short pulses of pink noise can enhance the slow brain waves of deep sleep. In small studies, these pink-noise pulses have shown promise in improving memory and the relaxation response. Pink noise has a frequency profile “very similar to the distribution of brain wave frequencies we see in slow-wave sleep because these are large, slow waves,” said Roneil Malkani, MD, associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. If Northwestern’s research pans out, it could lead to a medical device to improve sleep or memory through personalized pulses of pink noise. But many scientific questions remain unanswered, Malkani said. “There’s still a lot of work we have to do.”
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AP News
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US pediatricians group reverses decades-old ban on breastfeeding for those with HIV
People with HIV can breastfeed their babies, as long as they are taking medications that effectively suppress the virus that causes AIDS, a top U.S. pediatricians’ group said Monday in a sharp policy change. The AAP policy comes more than a year after the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed longstanding recommendations against breastfeeding by people with HIV. That guidance said people who have consistent viral suppression should be counseled on their options. It also emphasizes that health care providers shouldn’t alert child protective services agencies if a parent with HIV seeks to breastfeed. The goal is listening to patients “and not blaming or shaming them,” said Lynn Yee, MD, MPH, a Northwestern University professor of obstetrics and gynecology who helped draft the NIH guidance. Breastfeeding provides ideal nutrition for babies and protects them against illnesses and conditions such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes, research shows. Nursing also reduces the mother’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. In developed nations, however, experts had recommended against breastfeeding because the wide availability of safe water, formula and human donor milk could eliminate the risk of HIV transmission, Yee said.
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HealthDay
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Brain’s ‘Food Smell’ Circuitry Might Drive Overeating
The smell of food is appetizing when you’re hungry. At the same time, it can be a turnoff if you’re full. That’s due to the interaction between two different parts of the brain involving sense of smell and behavior motivation, a new study finds. And it could be why some people can’t easily stop eating when they’re full, which contributes to obesity, researchers say. The weaker the connection between those two brain regions, the heavier people tend to become, results show. “The desire to eat is related to how appealing the smell of food is — food smells better when you are hungry than when you are full,” said study co-author Guangyu Zhou, a research assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “But if the brain circuits that help guide this behavior are disrupted, these signals may get confused, leading to food being rewarding even when you are full.” Further, “If this happens, a person’s BMI could increase. And that is what we found,” Zhou added in a Northwestern news release. “When the structural connection between these two brain regions is weaker, a person’s BMI is higher, on average.”
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Fox 32 Chicago
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Lurie Children’s Hospital tackles teen substance abuse with treatment, prevention programs
Through treatment and prevention, Lurie Children’s Hospital is working to combat substance abuse in teens. Data from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago shows 90 percent of people with addiction began using substances in their teen years. Plus, one in seven high school students use opioids without a doctor’s prescription, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “It might be a time where they try new things, it might be a time without the structure – where their mental health might get worse,” said Maria Rahmandar, MD, medical director, Substance Use & Prevention Program (SUPP) at Lurie Children’s Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “We also see that around festival time, Lolla, youth are trying substances and might end up in the ER.” Rahmandar said those substances include opioids and other pills or powders. She added that the danger of illegal drugs being laced with fentanyl is still a top concern. “Really mixing any substances can increase your risks of an overdose,” said Rahmandar. “Fentanyl is certainly the most deadly thing that we’re seeing now, but any combination can be deadly.”
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Fox 32 Chicago
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Chicago hospital marks major organ transplant milestone
Northwestern Medicine is celebrating a major milestone for its surgical program. The hospital recently completed their 10,000th abdominal organ transplant procedure. What it means for the hospital is that Northwestern has become the first health system in Illinois to achieve that milestone. Northwestern’s organ transplant program dates all the way back to 1964. Since then, they’ve done more than 6,500 kidney transplants, more than 2,600 liver transplants and more than 850 pancreas transplants. Northwestern said going forward, it’s focused on clinical trials and research to continue supporting as many patients as possible.
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TIME
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Is ‘Mommy Brain’ Real? What Happens to Your Mind and Body When You Become a Mom
Most people are familiar with the term “mommy brain,” a phrase that describes the brain fog and forgetfulness that many pregnant women and new moms experience. But it turns out there’s way more going on than just forgetting the name of your college professor, and it’s something called matrescence. Coined by medical anthropologist Dana Raphael in 1973, matrescence is, quite simply, the process of becoming a mother. It’s an immense physical, psychological, emotional, and social shift—and one that’s far more intense than most people realize. More research on matrescence is being done each year. Historically, perinatal mental-health researchers thought it was important to study moms for the sake of their babies, says Sheehan Fisher, PhD, a perinatal clinical psychologist at Northwestern Medicine. “Now, we’ve shifted so that moms’ mental health matters in and of itself.” More awareness about the changes women go through during this time can be beneficial on both an individual and societal level. Perinatal mental health conditions are common—one in five women experience one during this vulnerable time—plus the majority of new moms in the U.S. still don’t have access to paid maternity leave.
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HealthDay
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Cancer & COVID Drove Him to Double-Lung Transplant
Chicago resident Arthur “Art” Gillespie fell ill in early March 2020 with COVID, after he and his father went to visit an uncle in a nursing facility. “I was hospitalized for 12 days with a high fever and cough, and during that time, they were taking scans of my lungs, which showed stage 1 lung cancer on my right lung,” Gillespie, 56, recalled in a news release. “I had no symptoms of lung cancer, so in a way – because of COVID – we were able to catch the cancer early.” Gillespie had one lung damaged by cancer and the other damaged by COVID, ultimately leaving him with just one last chance for survival. Doctors at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago saved his life through a double-lung transplant that took place in January – the first such procedure involving two lungs damaged by two different ailments, they said. “When Arthur first came to see us in September 2023, even though he looked physically strong, he could barely speak a single sentence without getting short of breath or take a few steps before having to sit down,” Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of thoracic surgery at Northwestern Medicine, said in a news release. “The pressure inside the lungs had also increased to a point that it was causing heart failure, and his only option for survival was a double-lung transplant,” added Bharat, who performed Gillespie’s surgery. “Despite being told ‘no’ by other doctors, Arthur had the courage and determination to keep searching for answers,” Bharat said. “I feel honored that we were able to help him since he spent so many years helping the community as a police captain.”
