Media Coverage

Women with uterine fibroids are often told hysterectomy is the best treatment, even though less invasive options are available, a new study finds. More than half (53%) of women with uterine fibroids — non-cancerous growths along the wall of the uterus — were presented hysterectomy as the preferred treatment, according to a Harris Poll survey performed on behalf of the Society of Interventional Radiology. More than half (53%) of women with uterine fibroids — non-cancerous growths along the wall of the uterus — were presented hysterectomy as the preferred treatment, according to a Harris Poll survey performed on behalf of the Society of Interventional Radiology. “The survey noted deep disparities in awareness and access regarding fibroids and fibroid treatments among Black and Hispanic women, who have a higher risk factor for developing uterine fibroids,” Robert Lewandowski, MD, president of the Society of Interventional Radiology and professor at Northwestern Medicine Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a news release. “The data serve as a guiding light for improving physician and patient educational efforts on various treatments to ensure all women, regardless of background, are informed about their risks and the full range of treatment options available,” Lewandowski added.

Scientists may have pinpointed a primary cause of lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease. Investigators from Northwestern Medicine in Chicago and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston claim they have found a “molecular defect” that leads to systemic lupus erythematosus (known as lupus). The study findings were published in the journal Nature on Wednesday. In the course of the research, the scientists tested the blood of 19 lupus patients and compared it to a control group of healthy individuals. The people with lupus shared certain molecular changes that caused a “dramatic imbalance” in the types of T-cells they generate. This imbalance resulted in too many “harmful” T-cells — which cause cellular damage — and too few of the “helpful” type that are necessary for cell repair. The researchers also identified a protein called interferon that promotes the excess accumulation of T cells.

Investigators at Northwestern Medicine and Brigham & Women’s Hospital have discovered a molecular defect related to the cause of lupus that could potentially hold the key to reversing the mysterious autoimmune disease. The discovery, published in the journal Nature, describes a new pathway that drives disease in lupus. Before this study, Northwestern Medicine said in a press release, the causes of the disease that affects more than 1.5 million Americans were unclear. “Up until this point, all therapy for lupus is a blunt instrument. It’s broad immunosuppression,” co-corresponding author Dr. Jaehyuk Choi, associate professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine dermatologist, said in the release. “By identifying a cause for this disease, we have found a potential cure that will not have the side effects of current therapies.” What scientists found is a a molecular defect involved in a fundamental imbalance in the immune responses in systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly known as lupus, the release said.

The physical orientation of your digestive system when you’re lying down may affect things like acid reflux, gas, and possibly even symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease. If you don’t commonly experience heartburn or have a digestive condition, it may not matter much what position you sleep in. But if you do struggle with GERD or have IBD, it’s worth giving side sleeping—particularly on the left side—a try to see if it helps with symptoms.

John Nicholas’ go-to karaoke song is “When You Were Young” by The Killers. He remembers hearing it come on as his surgery began, and singing along to it while on the operating table. That’s because Nicholas, 28, was awake during his kidney transplant at Northwestern Medicine, a first for the hospital. Nicholas, who was administered regional anesthesia, could hear what the transplant team was saying around him, but for the most part, it felt like “a lot of noise and motion and lights,” he said. Satish Nadig, MD, PhD, chief of transplant surgery and director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center at Northwestern, and Vinayak Rohan, MD, a transplant surgeon and the surgical director for kidney transplant at Northwestern, were both part of Nicholas’ transplant team. Instead, some patients can have successful surgeries with regional anesthesia, where only the region of the body that’s being operated on gets anesthesia, and the patient remains awake. In Nicholas’ case, he got a spinal anesthesia shot, a form of regional anesthesia that is also less invasive and can lead to a quicker recovery time. Rohan said the national average hospital stay after a kidney transplant is five to seven days and typically two to three days at Northwestern, but because of the use of regional anesthesia, Nicholas’ was out within 24 hours of a major surgery. Nadig said Nicholas’ kidney failure was “cured immediately” with a new, fully functioning kidney. Other than managing some mild discomfort with over-the-counter pain relievers, Nadig said Nicholas didn’t use any opioid narcotic pain medication post-surgery, another benefit to less anesthesia.

It’s summer, and RSV and flu have come and gone. But, as ever, COVID-19 is different. Even though the pandemic may be behind us, the virus is once again surging in the U.S. People who have been infected recently have experienced symptoms of fever, coughing, malaise, and even intestinal discomfort. But having more severe symptoms than you may be used to doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve encountered a more virulent strain. Robert Murphy, MD, professor of infectious diseases at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says that worse-than-usual bouts with COVID-19 could be due to the fact that their immunity is much lower now than what it was in previous years when more people were more recently vaccinated. The low uptake of the newest vaccine means fewer people have the strongest possible protection against the latest variants. “Vaccines gives you better immunity than getting the disease,” says Murphy. “Vaccines provide a controlled exposure that gives you a stronger immunologic response than from an infection.”

Apple watches and other wearable devices may be more useful to your long term health goals than you think. Some doctors are recommending them as a medical tool to help diagnose and manage certain conditions, including heart disease monitoring and post-surgery recovery. “There are a lot of health benefits” in using these devices, said Rod Passman, MD, cardiologist and professor of medicine at Northwestern Medicine and professor of cardiology and preventive medicine at Northwestern University School of Medicine. “It empowers patients to get involved in their health care. It allows them to understand lifestyle choices may impact their health. And from my perspective, it allows me to monitor my patients long term, remotely, no matter where they are in the world, to understand what’s going on with their heart rhythm, simply by doing an EKG from the watch itself,” Passman told CBS News. “So I think this is a very powerful tool, and many of us are using it, not only to diagnose disease, but perhaps even manage diseases like abnormal rhythm.” Passman said a diagnosis isn’t made “purely because your watch says something’s wrong,” but it can be a helpful tool in assisting the process. “We always want to get medical grade confirmation before we embark on any treatment. However, we understand that this is a pretty accurate tool for detecting abnormal rhythms, and certainly the EKG that’s done, when it’s interpreted by a skilled physician can be incredibly powerful,” he said.

It’s not just emotional pain that lingers after a shooting. Gunshot survivors are often left with chronic, debilitating physical conditions and they’re seeking relief from the daily reminder of the damage they suffered. Liz Turnipseed was shot during the Highland Park Parade Shooting two years ago. “As the day would go on my pain level would increase, so the more that I did, the worse it would get,” she said. “It can just be debilitating and take over your life.” Jason Ross, MD, assistant professor of anesthesiology (pain medicine) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine treats patients with chronic pain and that now includes gunshot wound survivors. “When I first met her, we tried a number of different treatments for her including injections and medications,” he said. He placed two sets of internal wires in Turnipseed’s lumbar area and two more at the base of her spine. An implanted battery pack powers a constant electrical stimulus to nearby nerve roots that lead to the spinal cord. Turnipseed hopes sharing her story will help other gunshot wound survivors access the care and resources they require.

Mammals, including humans, are born with all the oocytes—cells that mature into eggs—they will ever have. But unlike the many short-lived cells in the body, some oocytes are alive and healthy even after more than 4 decades. Now, two new mouse studies uncover a possible reason for this longevity, which preserves fertility well into adulthood. Both studies also found some proteins are more likely to stick around than others. One that stands out, says neuroscientist Jeffrey Savas, PhD of Northwestern University, a co-author of the eLife study, is ZP3, which is important because it’s also the receptor on the egg surface that allows sperm to enter. Mitochondria were also rich in long-lasting proteins. Offspring inherit the organelles from their mother, and durable proteins might ensure that mitochondria are sound when they are passed on via eggs. The gradual disappearance of long-lived proteins from the ovaries may help explain why fertility falls after a certain age. Francesca Duncan, PhD, a reproductive biologist at Northwestern and a co-author on the eLife study, says she initially thought the opposite because cells can’t change out long-lived proteins, and they may accumulate so much damage over time that they fail. “I had assumed that if a protein was long-lived, it had to be bad,” Duncan says.

Parks and lakes aren’t just good for your soul — new research suggests they also appear to protect your arteries. Living near green space and “blue” water space lowers a person’s odds of hardened arteries in middle-aged urban dwellers, researchers found. “Our findings provide quantitative evidence supporting environmental policies to enhance the accessibility and quality of residential blue and green spaces,” said researcher Lifang Hou, MD, PhD, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Artery calcification occurs when calcium forms plaques on the walls of arteries. These plaques can combine with blood clots to clog the arteries, causing heart attacks and strokes. These results show that city investments in parks, lakes and other natural spaces “can promote public health benefit and address racial and neighborhood-related health disparities,” Hou said in a Northwestern news release. “Having more green and blue spaces may provide increased opportunities for physical activities, social interactions, stress relief and restoration, all of which have been linked to improved metabolic and cardiovascular health,” Hou explained. “Additionally, exposure to green and blue spaces has been shown to boost people’s immune systems, reduce chronic inflammation and slow down the biological aging process, all of which are biologically important in people’s overall health and cardiovascular health,” Hou added.