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.

High sugar intake is also associated with increased triglyceride levels that often accompany reduced HDL-cholesterol (high-density lipoproteins, better known as the good cholesterol) levels, thereby contributing to metabolic syndrome, also a risk for developing cardiovascular disease, explained Linda Van Horn, chief of the nutrition division at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s department of preventive medicine.

“It may be a statistical blip, it may be because the treatment is getting better, or it may be because the patients have been getting younger,” said Dr. Sadiya Khan, an epidemiologist at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Most of the dead thus far have been the elderly and the infirm, but hundreds of new cases in recent weeks have been students who contracted the virus after returning to classes on college campuses.

The Northwestern study was developed by Borna Bonakdarpour, an assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Clara Takarabe, who has been a substitute violist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for more than 20 years. Dr. Bonakdarpour, a classically trained pianist, knew Ms. Takarabe from musical performances and collaborations.

Michael Ison, an infectious disease physician at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, echoes that sentiment. While it’s true that 50 out of 100 people who get the vaccine could still end up getting infected with the coronavirus, “hopefully, the majority will have milder disease,” Ison says. But he cautions there’s a lot to learn in that regard, given that the studies of COVID-19 vaccine candidates are still very much underway.

“The toughest thing about this virus seems to be that there’s quite a prolonged incubation period,” said Dr. Sadiya Sana Khan, an epidemiologist at Northwestern University Medical Center who specializes in cardiac care. “Typically, in influenza, you’ll have symptoms in a day or two. Here, the average end of the median time is five days. That’s a long time to be infected and potentially spreading without even knowing it. And on the longer end, (it can take) 14 days, and some have reported even longer than that.”

Asian Americans are not only struggling to find financial relief. Experts like Dr. Namratha Kandula, the co-director of Northwestern University’s Institute for Public Health and Medicine, said this community has been largely “ignored” in the public health response to COVID-19.

Find a mask that fits properly: An ill-fitting or poorly made face covering will increase the chances that exhaled air escapes from the top of the mask, says Surendra Basti, a professor of ophthalmology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

“Ideally, a mask should have a metal strip at the top incorporated in the mask, so that you can push it, and it takes the contour of your nose and cheekbones,” Basti says.

Despite that damage, study author Dr. Colin Franz said proning “is a lifesaving intervention, and we think it is saving lives during the COVID pandemic.” And although placing patients face down has been known to cause skin pressure injuries in non-COVID-19 patients, he said nerve compression injuries are typically uncommon with regular repositioning and careful padding. “So we were very surprised to find 12 out of 83 patients with nerve injuries,” said Franz, neurology director of the Regenerative Neurorehabilitation Laboratory at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago.

“Our study shows that if your kidney function starts declining as early as your 30s, you may perform like someone nine years older on certain cognitive tests 20 years later,” said study author Sanaz Sedaghat, from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Yet many people can have a decline in kidney function without being aware of it.”

“For our patients, we’ve made it pretty convenient and easy to get tested,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, chief medical officer at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital. We asked Kopin, Illinois Department of Public Health spokesperson Melaney Arnold and the Cook County Department of Public Health what you need to know to navigate the new testing landscape. Here are their answers, supplemented by information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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