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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But user beware: Cannabinoid receptors are so widely distributed throughout the body that activating one for a certain purpose, say to treat arthritis pain, may activate others and cause unwanted effects. That has caused challenges for pharmaceutical development, according to the research. More valid scientific experiments must be conducted to determine whether and how CBD — and marijuana, for that matter — is effective, said Dr. Stephen Hanauer, medical director of the Digestive Health Center at Northwestern Medicine. “Aspirin can be very helpful for a headache or a joint ache, but if you’ve got a bleeding ulcer, it’s got harmful effects,” Hanauer said. “We need to know both the good and the bad.”
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At Prentice, some women have asked if the gas is available, said Dr. Nicole Higgins, section chief and medical director of obstetric anesthesiology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Until now, she’s had to say no, though she hopes it will be approved for use within the next six months. Word of the gas has spread quickly in recent years as moms and moms-to-be swap information in mom groups on social media, she said. Her own mother used nitrous oxide to deliver her in the early 1970s.
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Part of the reason it’s so hard is because often patients’ hearts have stopped and “you really can’t get consent ahead of time,” says William O’Neill, a cardiologist and Abiomed consultant at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit who was an early adopter of Impella. His study of 104 patients treated with the Impella shows 77% survived to leave the hospital, versus a 50% historical survival rate. Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, says it’s all about selecting the patients who have the best chance of being helped. “The Impella is definitely a step forward. It’s less than a perfect device, but better than what we have had before.”
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This advanced stage of black lung leaves lungs crusty and useless, says Dr. Robert Cohen, a pulmonologist at the University of Illinois, Chicago who has spent decades studying black lung and PMF disease. “You have a much harder time breathing so that you can’t exercise,” Cohen noted. “Then you can’t do some simple activities. Then you can barely breathe just sitting still. And then you require oxygen. And then even the oxygen isn’t enough. And so … they’re essentially suffocating while alive.”
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Still, the results highlight the importance of parents having frequent, ongoing, open communication with teens about sex, said Dr. Kate Lucey of Northwestern University and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “Sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis are all on the rise among adolescents, and condom use is one of the best ways to prevent STDs,” Lucey, the author of an accompanying editorial, said by email. “Having one-on-one, honest conversations with your teen about why condom use is important and the specifics of how to use a condom is critical.”
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Blyler said having highly paid pharmacists spending hours driving to barbershops could ultimately be too expensive. She’s now conducting a study in which pharmacists conduct follow-ups remotely, via video conferencing. She said she’d like to see future studies targeting African-American women in beauty shops. But the study’s promise far outweighs its logistical roadblocks, said Dr. Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “It’s an ingenious and potentially disruptive study that makes a very strong case that going into the community works,” said Yancy, who was not involved in the study.
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He was sitting alongside others who had also undergone heart transplants at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. They gathered as Northwestern doctors announced that this year they’ve broken the record for performing the most heart transplants ever at an Illinois hospital in one year. With less than two weeks left in 2018, doctors have transplanted 54 hearts this year, besting the previous record of 45 heart transplants set by Rush University Medical Center in 1995, according to Northwestern. “The accomplishment is a reflection (that) there’s more patients in Chicago that are receiving the type of care that they ought to be receiving,” said Dr. Allen Anderson, medical director of the Center for Heart Failure at Northwestern’s Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.
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This is a minuscule amount of data on which to base strong recommendations. An accompanying editorial written by Clyde Yancy, a professor of cardiology at Northwestern School of Medicine, noted that only 0.3 percent of the studies that looked at sodium restriction and heart failure were of sufficient quality to be included in this systematic review. We need better research. Some of that may be on the way. The Geriatric Out of Hospital Randomized Meal Trial in Heart Failure randomly assigned 66 patients to home-delivered low-salt meals after hospital discharge to study how well they work. Its findings are pending.
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At an event today, the hospital said that it has performed 54 heart transplants in 2018. The state’s previous record was set by Rush University Medical Center, with 45 in 1995. The event was a celebration of both the hospital’s success and patients’ survival, as those who have received heart transplants and their families hugged the Northwestern doctors and staff who helped save their lives. It also paid homage to the people who have donated their organs. “Today, we recognize first the incredible generosity that arises from tragedy and acknowledge organ donors and their families who make the gift of life through transplantation possible,” said Dr. Allen Anderson, medical director of the Center for Heart Failure at Northwestern’s Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.
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About 1 million men in the United States have inflammatory bowel disease, which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. “These patients may need to be screened more carefully than a man without inflammatory bowel disease,” said study lead author Dr. Shilajit Kundu. Screening for prostate cancer begins with a blood test called a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. PSA is a substance made by the prostate gland. “If a man with inflammatory bowel disease has an elevated PSA, it may be an indicator of prostate cancer,” said Kundu, an associate professor of urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.