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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USA Today
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SIDS cause remains a mystery. Scientists think they may have found a promising new clue.
Researchers are one step closer to understanding why some babies are at greater risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS – the leading cause of death for infants one month to one year old. Most of the time, SIDS, sometimes called crib death, happens during sleep. One theory for SIDS is a disruption of a baby’s ability to breathe. A new study published in the Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology finds an abnormality in a brain receptor involved in the body’s protective response to gasp for air may play a role. In the 1990s, public health officials began promoting the “Back to Sleep” (now called “Safe to Sleep”) initiative to teach parents how to reduce SIDS risk by making sure babies sleep on their backs. Still, SIDS rates have “plateaued,” said Debra Weese-Mayer, Northwestern University professor of pediatric autonomic medicine, highlighting the importance of continued research, education and outreach.
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Chicago Tribune
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New test strip detects opioids laced with veterinary sedative xylazine: ‘They give us the ability to curb that exposure’
Xylazine isn’t an opioid, it’s a sedative, said Lindsay Allen, professor of emergency medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. It is part of a class of adulterants, or cutting agents, but it looks and feels like an opioid when you’re taking it. “That’s what drug creators are counting on, because it’s a lot less expensive for them to add xylazine, or to cut their drugs with xylazine,” Allen said.
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National Public Radio – Morning Edition
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Can multivitamins improve memory? A new study shows ‘intriguing’ results
“This is intriguing,” says Dr. Jeffrey Linder, chief of general internal medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. But he says the overall effect found in the study was quite small. “It seems like a pretty modest difference,” Linder says. And he points out that the multivitamins had no effect on other areas of cognition evaluated in the study, such as executive function, which may be more important measures.
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National Public Radio
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How a little more silence in children’s lives helps them grow
“[Young children’s] brains are craving sound-to-meaning connections, so it’s very important that the sounds around them be nourishing and meaningful,” says Nina Kraus, a neurobiologist at Northwestern University.
She believes turning down the noise in our lives starts with embracing — even enjoying — silence.
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NBC 5 Chicago
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Suburban Mom With ALS Aims to Raise Awareness For Other Younger Patients
After two months of tests, a mom of three was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS impacts the nerves that control our muscles, causing them to weaken and atrophy. There’s no cure. “It was devastating to realize that our plans for our young family were completely upended by my diagnosis,” Rankin said. Dr. John Coleman, a critical care pulmonologist at Northwestern Medicine and a member of Rankin’s extensive care team, says Rankin is not alone. “I think she is a testament of the younger generation of people who have ALS. ALS has always been kind of thought about as a disease that has affected older people, maybe in their 60s or 70s, but we’re seeing more and more young people being diagnosed with ALS,” Coleman said.
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The Washington Post
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How to control your cholesterol and when to consider taking statins
Sometimes it may seem as if half the population of the United States takes medication for high cholesterol levels. About 40 million Americans are taking statins such as atorvastatin (Lipitor and generic), lovastatin (Altoprev) and simvastatin (Zocor), which are by far the most commonly prescribed of all types of cholesterol drugs. Statins can be quite effective. Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, shares advice on how to lower cholesterol. Regular consumption of unsaturated fats (olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds) and soluble fiber (oats, barley, psyllium) may lower LDL cholesterol by about 7 to 15 mg/dL. Limit full-fat dairy, red meat and fried food because their saturated fat can raise LDL, says Donald Lloyd-Jones, chair of preventive medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
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The Wall Street Journal
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Ozempic: How the Diabetes Drug Works and Why It’s Such a Big Deal for Weight Loss
A drug approved by the FDA to treat people with Type 2 diabetes has ignited a craze among social-media influencers, the rich and famous and everyday people alike. Ozempic, made by Novo Nordisk A/S, has gained popularity for its off-label use, helping users drop excess pounds within a matter of months. “It’s very important that diet counseling be given along with the medication,” said Robert Kushner, MD, professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and medical director of Northwestern’s lifestyle medicine center. Many people have regained substantial weight after they stopped using semaglutide or tirzepatide. Researchers are monitoring whether the drugs need to be taken indefinitely to keep weight off, and if that is safe.
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The Washington Post
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Cardiovascular disease is poised to kill more older people
Cardiovascular disease — the No. 1 cause of death among people 65 and older — is poised to become even more common in the years ahead, disproportionately affecting Black and Hispanic communities and exacting an enormous toll on the health and quality of life of older Americans. “Whatever focus we’ve had before on managing [cardiovascular] disease risk in Black and Hispanic Americans, we need to redouble our efforts,” said Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology and vice dean for diversity and inclusion at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. He was not involved with the research.
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CBS News
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FDA advisers vote in support of RSV vaccine to protect newborns
The US Food and Drug Administration’s independent vaccine advisers voted Thursday in favor of recommending approval of a new vaccine to prevent infants from respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV. RSV is the No. 1 reason for child hospitalizations in the US. In a single year, there are about 34 million episodes of RSV-associated lower respiratory tract infections in children under the age of 5, and about 10% need to go to the hospital for treatment, studies show. Nearly 80% of children hospitalized with RSV before age 2 had no underlying medical conditions, the FDA said in its presentation to the committee Thursday. Once at the hospital, most kids improve with supportive care, but there is no specific drug to treat RSV. In some cases, the infection can turn into pneumonia and become deadly. Dr. Bill Muller, an infectious disease physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, said anything that would decrease RSV infections would be a “welcome intervention.” Additionally, “Just decreasing the amount of disease that we see would really be an important advance in pediatric medicine,” said Muller, who is also a professor of pediatrics at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
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NBC News
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Study reveals staggering toll of being Black in America: 1.6 million excess deaths over 22 years
High mortality rates among Black people have less to do with genetics than with the country’s long history of discrimination, which has undermined educational, housing, and job opportunities for generations of Black people, said Clyde Yancy, an author of the study and chief of cardiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
