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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The Washington Post
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There’s No Such Thing as Generic Ozempic or Wegovy
The FDA is warning consumers to steer clear of weight loss drugs sold through compounding pharmacies, some of which are brazenly being marketed as “generic” Ozempic and Wegovy. As the FDA noted in its warning, there are no generic versions of these drugs. The products being offered by some pharmacies and weight loss clinics might not work – and could even be dangerous. That’s a message consumers really need to hear. There’s no easy solution. The dysfunction in the market that’s driving consumers to buy compounded semaglutide has spun so far out of control that it will be hard to rein in. One necessary step is to work faster to ensure a steady supply of this class of drugs. To keep the weight off, Wegovy and products like it need to be taken continuously. When shortages make it hard for people to find their next month’s supply, they start “feeling desperate, and when they feel desperate, they start doing things they wouldn’t normally do,” says Robert Kushner, MD, who specializes in obesity medicine at Northwestern Medicine. That could mean driving 75 miles to the one pharmacy that has the drug in stock, as one of Kushner’s patients was forced to do, or it might mean turning to a compounding pharmacy.
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New York Times
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The Truth About ‘Nature’s Ozempic’
As the demand for Ozempic – the injectable diabetes medication that has become coveted for inducing weight loss – continues to intensify, people across TikTok are posting about alternatives. Some gush about other diabetes drugs, like Mounjaro; some tout so-called “generic” Ozempic from compounding pharmacies. And some are trumpeting what they claim is a cheaper option, readily available in pharmacies and online: “nature’s Ozempic,” better known as berberine. Berberine is a chemical compound extracted from plants like goldenseal and barberry and often sold as a supplement, typically in capsules filled with yellow-tinged powder. The compound has been used in Asia for at least 2000 years, and physicians have long employed it to treat diarrhea and other gastrointestinal complaints. More recently, researchers have looked to berberine as a potential aid in treating conditions like hypertension and insulin resistance. “Generally, it’s a really good compound that has some good evidence behind it,” said Dr. Melinda Ring, an integrative medicine specialist at Northwestern Medicine. But, she said, the online hype around berberine’s weight loss effects is grossly overstated. “Don’t think that you’re going to take this and the pounds are just going to drop off,” she said.
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CBS News Chicago
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Poor air quality affects northwest Indiana, Chicago flights, White Sox game
The dangerous air alert for much of the northeast and even parts of the Chicago area caused the closure of schools, the grounding of planes, and the postponement of a White Sox game in New York. There has been a haze overhead in Chicago and other parts of the region the past couple of days, but nothing like what New York is experiencing. The wildfire smoke has delayed and even canceled some flights at both of Chicago’s airports. “I think the greatest risk is going to be to those people are pre-existing lung disease,” said Northwestern Medicine pulmonologist Dr. Benjamin Seides. “So people with asthma, emphysema, COPD.”
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WTTW
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The Brain Revolution
Alzheimer’s is one type of dementia, but there are different types of dementia that target what we call different areas of cognition. Primary progressive aphasia is another dementia syndrom, where instead of memory being affected there’s change in language. So, you can imagine this as the tip of the tongue phenomenon we all feel when we can’t remember someone’s name, or we can’t remember a word we’re trying to think of,” said Emily Rogalski, PhD, the Ann Adelmann Perkins and John S. Perkins professor of Alzheimer’s disease prevention at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She describes this disease as frustrating imagining if this happened to you every day, in every conversation you had. However, cognitive training is help to improve quality of life for those with Alzheimer’s disease. Northwestern University researchers including Rogalski have discovered that one strategy of brain training helps address a specific type of dementia called primary progressive aphasia. They produced significant improvements in quality of life with their patients when they used a training program called Communication Bridge.
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New York Times
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Is It Bad to Wash Your Hair Every Day?
Whether you should lather up daily depends on a number of factors, said Dr. Murad Alam, vice chair of the department of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Among them, he said, are your hair’s texture, how oily it gets, how processed it is, your lifestyle habits and your age. Shampoo cleanses your scalp and hair by removing environmental contaminants like dirt and pollen, as well as dandruff, sweat and hair-care products. Using shampoo every day, Dr. Alam said, can be the right choice for people with oilier scalps where sebum can accumulate, making the hair limp, greasy and possibly smelly. “While it may seem that getting the scalp squeaky clean and without any oils is optimal, keep in mind that the scalp is a living part of your body, and not a dinner plate in your dishwasher,” Dr. Alam said.
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Crain’s Chicago Business
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Zuckerberg cash is helping to propel Chicago’s biotech ambitions
For about a year, Northwestern University professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics Shana Kelley and a group of more than 20 scientists met every Saturday morning to solve a complex challenge: how to win over Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan. The $250 million prize, which Kelley’s team ultimately won, could propel the city’s ambitions to follow in the footsteps of Boston to become a biotech leader. “We competed and won, and I think that really speaks volumes about the strengths of bioengineering and life sciences in Chicago,” said Kelley, who was named president of the Chicago biohub. “Life sciences can really drive economic development, and the more jobs we can create in Chicago, the more we’re going to serve our community.”
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USA Today
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DNA sequencing can lead to longer, better lives for cancer patients. But why do so few get it?
Genetic knowledge is particularly important for people with advanced cancers. Sequencing a person can be particularly challenging because it has implications for others. If a patient has a BRCA1 mutation, for instance, at least one of their parents likely carries it, and any children, aunts, uncles and cousins are at risk, too. As the science continues to improve, patients will have more opportunities to be matched with safe and effective treatments. Eventually, it will make sense to genetically sequence every cancer patient as well as their tumor, said Dr. William Catalona, professor of urology at expert in the genetics of prostate cancer at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
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WGN Chicago
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For cancer patients, drug shortage is a matter of life and death
There is a troubling trend of drug shortages potentially shortening the lives of patients. A cancer diagnosis is difficult enough, then add to it the news the drug that was effective against your cancer is now not available. A Chicago woman, was receiving treatment and her drug became low in supply. But her Stage 4 cancer cancels her access. Since the drug will not provide a cure, others who have a better chance are given the drugs. Northwestern Medicine thoracic oncologist Dr. Jyoti Patel is not Spratt’s doctor, but she knows the struggle. “It’s very difficult to prioritize a particular patient or situation,” she said. We try to use lowest dose we can. We try to use evidence to guide us for reasonable alternatives, but often there aren’t any and we are in a tough situation. … These drug shortages although hitting the news in the past year have been threatened in the cancer community for over a decade. We’ve been working hard to make sure we have a supply.”
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Yahoo! News
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Is Covid ticking up? Viruses and other bugs could make a summer comeback, doctors say
Covid threw the infectious diseases playbook out the window this past winter. Instead of the typical flu season, the U.S. endured a record mix of invasive strep infections, flu, RSV, enteroviruses and other respiratory illnesses that competed with Covid to make most Americans sick at some point. Bugs in different areas of the world can harbor a variety of illnesses. Many of these illnesses spread similarly, by coming into contact with infectious droplets. The old advice remains: wash hands consistently. If you feel sick, minimize time spent with others to protect them. But not all summer diseases are spread person to person. “From spring until late summer and early fall, the infections we worry about are often related to exposure to different insects,” said Dr. Michael Angarone, an infectious disease specialist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. Mosquitoes in tropical climates can transmit diseases such as West Nile, dengue and malaria. On May 30, Florida health officials in Sarasota County and Manatee County reported a rare case of malaria in a person who was bitten by an Anopheles mosquito. If you’re planning to be out in nature, Angarone said, “make sure that you’re protecting yourself from ticks and mosquitoes by using repellents, long pants and long sleeve shirts.” Further, he shared “The quicker you find the tick and get it off, the less likely you are to get an infection.”
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CBS News
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As patients with disabilities face discrimination doctors discuss what needs to change
CBS dug into the challenges people with disabilities face when they try to see their doctors, and why doctors say its a challenge for them too. “People with disabilities are facing discrimination when they’re trying to make appointments with doctors,” said Dr. Tara Lagu, of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. For more than 10 years, Lagu has been advocating for patients with disabilities, especially those who use wheelchairs. She found in her research that 20% of the doctors surveyed refused to treat those patients. Further studies revealed some of the reasons: It’s more difficult and time-consuming. Plus, they don’t have the facilities to accommodate them. It’s not only a lack of space, but a lack of proper equipment and staff. “If you going to transfer a patient who uses a wheelchair, you need additional staff,” Lagu said. “You need the right room. You need a height-adjustable table. You need additional training.” Dr. Allison Kessler, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, said making even some of the accommodations they use at Shirely Ryan AbilityLab can make a big difference. There are larger exam rooms. “There is a wide enough turning area so that an individual who’s either using a mobility device such as a walker or a wheelchair can come into the room, fully turn around and be able to face the physician,” Kessler said. “The room is big enough also to allow for the physician to also be a wheelchair user.”
