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.

Mrs. Roberts’ son, Mr. Williams, was devastated and terrified. He told her he had suffered too much, and his big sister’s death brought home to him the fact that his life, too, could end at any moment. He wanted to stop the monthly blood transfusions that were easing his symptoms. He wanted to go ahead and die. Then Dr. Alexis Thompson, a sickle-cell specialist at Northwestern University, told Mr. Williams that he could join a new study of gene therapy that might help. There were no guarantees, and there was a chance Mr. Williams could die from the treatment. Mr. Williams was enthusiastic, but his mother was filled with trepidation. In the end, she decided “we’ve got to try something,” she recalled.

We’re primed to binge. “We’re pleasure seekers. We’re wired to seek pleasure,” Allison Johnsen, a clinical professional counselor at Northwestern Medicine, said in an interview. Pleasure-seeking behavior — like indulging suspenseful works of fiction — can be an advantageous adaptation, so long as it’s not regularly abused (One 2017 study found it could lead to sleep-deprivation). It can help maintain emotional health, even if that means hours of binge-watching.

A new Northwestern Medicine study was able to successfully predict whether women would experience worsening depressive symptoms within the first year of childbirth by identifying four maternal characteristics that put them at risk. Among them: the number of children the woman has; her ability to function in general life, at work and in relationships; her education level; and her depression severity at four to eight weeks postpartum. “By the time a mother comes in for her six-week postpartum visit, we have the potential to predict the severity of her depression over the next 12 months,” said first author Sheehan Fisher, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in a statement.[…]Northwestern co-authors included Dorothy Sit, Amy Yang, Jody Ciolino and Jacki Gollan. Katherine Wisner was the senior author.

NEW HEART FAILURE CENTER: The new Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute Advanced Heart Failure Center at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital is treating patients with advanced heart failure, the Daily Herald reported. Northwestern Memorial will continue handling heart transplant and mechanical support device surgery.[…]DIAGNOSING DISEASE WITH 3-D TECH: Northwestern University researchers have developed a new tool that could help diagnose diseases earlier by detecting subtle changes in capillary organization, the university announced. The 3-D imaging technique is called spectral contrast optical coherence tomography angiography.

As Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital further integrates into the large hospital system, Chief of Medical Staff Dr. Jill Holden is looking to strengthen the hospital’s sense of community. Situated on 160-acres, the $399 million hospital opened in March. Holden, 56, who became the first woman to serve as chief of medical staff at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital last fall, said she doesn’t want the facility’s growth to prevent doctors from taking a neighborly approach to health care.

“Composed mainly of plain petrolatum, this product moisturizes and prevents chapped lips. It also serves as a good barrier between the lips and the elements. It is great for regular and frequent use and most people will not react to the ingredients,” said Dr. Edidiong Kaminska, a board-certified dermatologist at Northwestern Medical Group and a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Colds are the worst, in part because they’re just so ridiculously contagious. “The ‘common cold’ is caused by a variety of respiratory viruses, the most common of which is the rhinovirus,” John E. Anderson, DO, an internal medicine physician at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital, told POPSUGAR. Adults average at least two colds each year, because germs are coughed or sneezed into the air, eventually making their way into our systems. “The best way to avoid catching a cold is to avoid aerosol exposure,” Dr. Anderson said. “Wash your hands and keep them away from mucous membranes such as your eyes, nose, and mouth.”

Far more people need kidneys than need any other organ — there are about 19,500 kidney transplants a year, compared with 8,000 transplanted livers. And those transplanted kidneys rarely last a lifetime of battering with immunosuppressive drugs. “If you are 30 or 40 and get a kidney transplant, that is not the only kidney you will need,” said Dr. Joseph R. Leventhal, who directs the kidney and pancreas transplant programs at Northwestern University.

Northwestern University researchers found that it’s not only doable, but also more effective, to change unhealthy behaviors simultaneously. Different groups of study participants were given a pair of changes to make. One involved diet — either lowering saturated fat or increasing fruit and vegetables. The other involved activity — either increasing exercise or reducing screen time. All participants received remote coaching to help them with motivation, but those assigned to eat more produce and spend less time with their gadgets were most successful at making healthy changes stick.

If you’ve had DVT before, your risk of having another blood clot typically depends on what caused it the first time and your current risk factors, Ashley Vavra, M.D., an assistant professor of vascular surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, tells SELF. The extent of the clot at the initial diagnosis and how much scar tissue it leaves behind also contribute to whether you’ll develop DVT again, study coauthor Mounir Haurani, M.D., a vascular surgeon at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells SELF.

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