Media Coverage

Patients With Severe Obesity Face Medical Discrimination, Study Says

People with severe obesity are likely to face discrimination when seeking health care, with many clinics outright refusing to see them, a new study says.

About 2 in 5 (41%) of clinics refused to schedule an appointment for a hypothetical patient weighing 465 pounds, according to findings published Sept. 29 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

“Patients living with severe obesity are likely already struggling with shame and difficulty navigating the world,” said senior author Dr. Tara Lagu, an adjunct lecturer of medicine and medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Risk of long COVID in children doubles after second COVID-19 infection, according to study by Lurie doctor

Children are twice as likely to develop long COVID after two COVID-19 infections, compared with children who’ve only had COVID-19 once, according to a new study co-authored by a doctor at Lurie Children’s Hospital.

The results of the study come amid controversy over COVID-19 vaccines, especially for children, with the state and federal governments issuing differing recommendations about who should get the shots.

The study offers one more reason why parents might want to get their kids vaccinated against COVID-19, said Dr. Ravi Jhaveri, head of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Lurie Children’s Hospital and a co-author of the study, which was published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.

More than 99% of heart disease cases have a risk factor you can address before you get sick, study shows

Before a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular disease hit, there are almost always warning signs, according to a new study.

Those warning signs are well-known cardiovascular disease risk factors, but more can still be done to reduce cases of heart disease, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

“Even ‘mild’ elevations of these 4 factors should be addressed with lifestyle treatments or medications,” said Dr. Philip Greenland, one of the study’s lead authors, in an email. He is also a professor of preventive medicine and the Harry W. Dingman Professor of Cardiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Exposure to bright light can help fend off winter blues. The time to start is now

As daylight diminishes, you may find your mood dimming, too. About 1 in 20 adults have seasonal affective disorder, which is seasonal depression. And millions more experience a milder form of “winter blues.”
One way to fend it off is by using a light box, beginning in the fall.

“A lot of research has shown that using bright light therapy in the morning can be extremely helpful to reverse some of the symptoms of seasonal depression,” says Dr. Dorothy Sit, a psychiatrist and associate professor at Northwestern University, who has studied bright light therapy.

FDA Approves Opzelura for Atopic Dermatitis in Children

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Opzelura cream 1.5 percent (ruxolitinib) for children ages 2 to 11 years with atopic dermatitis (AD).

“Navigating a complex condition like atopic dermatitis can be very challenging for children,” Peter Lio, MD, from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said in a statement. “With this approval, we now have a new, nonsteroidal topical option that expands how we care for kids with this chronic disease.”

Most child firearm suicides in US are done with parents’ guns, research finds

“Research on firearms and the association with youth injury and death is critically important, and in prior years (it) has been hard to advance the science due to funding barriers,” said Dr. Nia Heard-Garris, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Illinois, via email. She wasn’t involved in the research. “If parents are gun owners, they need to be aware of this data and store their gun appropriately.”

Want to Live Longer? First Find Out How Old You Really Are

Understanding that could help us live longer, healthier lives, many longevity experts believe. Dr. Douglas Vaughan is among them. He is the director of Northwestern University’s Potocsnak Longevity Institute and its Human Longevity Laboratory, where people can go to get their so-called biological age calculated.

Trump’s touting of an unproven autism drug surprised many, including the doctor who proposed it

Many researchers agree the drug warrants additional study, particularly for patients with a deficiency of folate, or vitamin B9, in the brain that may play a role in autism. But for now, they say, it should only be taken in carefully controlled clinical trials.

“We often say our job is to stay between the yellow lines,” said Dr. Lawrence Gray, a pediatric developmental specialist at Northwestern University. “When people just decide to go outside of current guidelines, then they’re outside of that. And nobody knows what’s going to happen out there.”

Is leucovorin an effective treatment for autism? Here’s what research shows

Leucovorin can help folate reach the brain, which in theory might improve verbal communication or reduce autism symptoms like irritability or repetitive behaviors. But there’s no evidence that it eliminates symptoms altogether.

“I still remain hopeful that leucovorin may be a tool in our toolbox that can help a group of patients,” said Dr. Rachel Follmer, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “But I don’t know if we’re at the point yet where we can say that this is definitely going to help all individuals with autism.”