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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Chicago Tribune
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‘Binge drinking has become completely normalized’: Has boozy mom culture gone too far?
“Mommy’s wine has become a pop culture trend, a marketer’s dream and a hashtag,” said Dr. Crystal Tennille Clark, a psychiatrist and assistant professor at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine who specializes in women’s health. “I do think we’re losing sight of what a problem (drinking) could be. Many people, whether they’re men or women, don’t appreciate the risks of drinking.” Hollywood perpetuates the storyline, and celebrities embrace it. Trips to the movie theater to see “Bad Moms” and its sequel, which celebrated boozy mom culture, were common “moms night out” gatherings.
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Chicago Tribune
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Night owls might face more health issues and early death compared with early risers
“This is the first study, to our knowledge, that was able to look at mortality risk,” said Kristen Knutson, an associate professor of neurology and sleep researcher at Northwestern. Night owls have a harder time switching to daylight saving time and are more likely to suffer from diabetes and psychological and neurological disorders, she said. Researchers surveyed 433,268 participants, ages 38 to 73, in the U.K., asking whether they considered themselves a “definite morning type,” “moderate morning type,” “moderate evening type” or “definite evening type.” Then researchers tracked deaths within the sample.
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Chicago Tribune
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Lake Forest Hospital gets grant for 3D animation iPad program
“After seeing the amazing technology behind modern movies and the video games I play with my kids, I started wondering how we could apply some of that same technology to patient care,” wrote Dr. Michael Walsh, a Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital neurological surgeon, via email. According to the hospital statement, a panel of judges, mostly affiliated with Northwestern Medicine, selected the Lake Forest initiative on March 21 with the funds provided by a local ambulance company. “We plan to have enough devices such as iPads in our office so that all of our neurosurgery patients can begin learning about our team as well as basic neurosurgical concepts while they are in the waiting room, with more advanced platforms such as interactive wall boards and virtual reality, which will be used during their time with the care providers,” Walsh said.
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The Washington Post
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Can postpartum depression affect dads too? Recent research says it might.
Although studies show that untreated maternal depression can affect mother-and-baby bonding, paternal depression can also influence a child’s development. “We know depression can impact the father-child relationship, as well as children’s future behavior,” said Sheehan Fisher, a clinical psychologist and researcher at Northwestern University. According to Fisher, kids who grow up with depressed dads may have a harder time coping with negative emotions such as anger, anxiety and sadness. He said these children may be more likely to “act out” their feelings by misbehaving and becoming aggressive.
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The Washington Post
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Scientists study brains of people whose memory stays strong into old age
It’s pretty extraordinary for people in their 80s and 90s to keep the same sharp memory as someone several decades younger, so scientists are peeking into the brains of“superagers” who do to uncover their secret. The work is the flip side of the disappointing hunt for new drugs to fight or prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Instead of tackling that problem, “why don’t we figure out what it is we might need to do to maximize our memory?” said neuroscientist Emily Rogalski, who leads the SuperAging study at Northwestern University in Chicago.
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The New York Times
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Weighing the Pros and Cons of Statins
You can determine your own risk using the calculator developed by the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association at cvriskcalculator.com. If your calculated risk is 7.5 percent or higher, your doctor is likely to suggest you consider taking a statin, although a relatively high cholesterol level may not result in such a recommendation if you have no other heart risk factors. The risk score is meant “to start a conversation, not to write a prescription,” according to Dr. Don Lloyd-Jones, professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a spokesman for the heart association.
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TODAY
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Fewer women than men receive recommended drugs after heart attack, study finds
Watson and others suspect part of the problem is that the public still doesn’t seem to appreciate the danger women face from heart disease. “The whole idea of cardiovascular disease being a fluke in women is a gender bias,” said Dr. Marla Mendelson, medical director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
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Chicago Tribune
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Can postpartum depression affect dads, too? Recent research says it might.
Although studies show that untreated maternal depression can affect mother-and-baby bonding, paternal depression can also influence a child’s development. “We know depression can impact the father-child relationship, as well as children’s future behavior,” said Sheehan Fisher, a clinical psychologist and researcher at Northwestern University. According to Fisher, kids who grow up with depressed dads may have a harder time coping with negative emotions such as anger, anxiety and sadness. He said these children may be more likely to “act out” their feelings by misbehaving and becoming aggressive.
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The New York Times
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Morning People May Live Longer Than Night Owls
Each increase from “morningness” to “eveningness” was associated with an increased risk for disease. Night owls were nearly twice as likely as early risers to have a psychological disorder and 30 percent more likely to have diabetes. Their risk for respiratory disease was 23 percent higher and for gastrointestinal disease 22 percent higher. The lead author, Kristen L. Knutson, an associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University, said that while being a night owl is partly genetic, people can make adjustments — gradually making bedtime earlier, avoiding using smartphones before bed, and eventually moving themselves out of the “night owl zone.”
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TIME
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How Being a Night Owl Endangers Your Health
The study only shows an association between identifying as a night person and dying earlier, so the findings are not definite. It’s also impossible to say whether the people in the study really do always stay up late or always wake up early. But if a person’s late-night activities are putting them at a higher risk for earlier death, there are still potential ways to intervene. Though the researchers say that genetics may be involved in whether a person is a night or morning person, people have some control. In a statement about the study, lead study author Kristen Knutson, an associate professor of neurology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, says that if people want to act more like morning larks instead of night owls, they should try to keep a regular bedtime, get exposure to natural light in the morning and try to get things done earlier in the evening in order to get a good night’s rest.
