Media Coverage

Current recommendations are for parents to introduce babies to as wide a variety of foods as possible, including ones that contain peanuts. But in high risk kids — especially those who have both eczema and sensitivities to allergens — it makes sense to hold off until the child is in the pediatrician’s office, said Dr. Ruchi Gupta, director of the Science & Outcomes of Allergy & Asthma Research Program and an associate professor of pediatrics and medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

CHICAGO — Today, Kevin Condreva will receive a new kidney at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. All told, his transplant will involve surgery on eight people.
Condreva, 22, and his aunt, Donna Spans, 63, are two links in a transplant “chain” that by the end of the day tomorrow will give a new lease on life to four people from the Chicago area. Condreva is actually undergoing his second transplant; he was just 15 when he first noticed blood in his urine and was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy, a common kidney disease that damages the organ’s ability to filter waste from the blood. When he was 17, his mom was his donor, but the disease came back. That kidney failed, too.

According to the report, fewer than 18% of all the posts for cosmetic surgery on Instagram were placed by board-certified plastic surgeons; many of the procedures were offered by other types of physicians, as well as barbers, dentists and at least one hair salon. What’s more, posts from other providers were found to be a lot more visible than those from certified cosmetic surgeons, who were more likely to use less search-friendly terms like #augmentationmammoplasty, as opposed to #boobjob. “The confusing marketing on social media is putting people at risk,” wrote Dr. Clark Schierle, senior author of the Northwestern study.

CHICAGO — A Northwestern oncologist and hematologist was honored Wednesday for his efforts in cancer research and treatment.

At the request of firefighters Patrick Jessee and Lt. Michael Schubert, the Chicago city council passed a resolution to honor Dr. Leo Gordon for his work.

“Because of you, countless patients will get to spend this holiday season with their families,” Ashley Bloom, with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, said.

Dr. Gordon treated Jessee for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2011 and Schubert for Hodgkins Lymphoma just a year and a half ago. He’s now in remission and feeling 90 percent normal.

U.S. doctors and patients are making more decisions together, which looks like a win-win for both, researchers say. A new analysis of national survey data found that shared decision-making between doctors and patients rose 14 percent between 2002 and 2014. “There has been increased attention among clinicians and health systems to involve patients in decision-making,” said Dr. Jeffrey Linder Dr. Jeffrey Linder , co-lead author of the study. He’s chief of general internal medicine and geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

U.S. doctors and patients are making more decisions together, which looks like a win-win for both, researchers say. A new analysis of national survey data found that shared decision-making between doctors and patients rose 14 percent between 2002 and 2014. “There has been increased attention among clinicians and health systems to involve patients in decision-making,” said Dr. Jeffrey Linder Dr. Jeffrey Linder , co-lead author of the study. He’s chief of general internal medicine and geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

The Oncofertility Consortium hosted its annual conference, “Research and Translational Medicine: Meeting the Needs of Cancer Patients and Survivors,” Nov. 14-16 at Prentice Women’s Hospital.

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s Dr. Teresa Woodruff coined the term “oncofertility” in 2006. In 2006, the Oncofertility Consortium was founded and is, according to its website, “a national, interdisciplinary initiative designed to explore the reproductive future of cancer survivors.”

Scientists have long suspected that PAI-1 has other functions outside of clotting that relate to aging. Dr. Douglas Vaughan, a cardiologist at Northwestern medical school, noticed, for example, that mice that had been genetically engineered to produce high levels of the protein age fairly quickly, going bald and dying of heart attacks at young ages. People who have higher levels of the protein in their bloodstreams also tend to have higher rates of diabetes and other metabolic problems and to die earlier of cardiovascular disease.

“This is one of the first clear-cut genetic mutations in human beings that acts upon aging and aging-related disease,” Dr. Douglas Vaughan told Newsweek. Vaughan is a cardiologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and one of the lead authors of the study, which was published in Science Advances on Wednesday. SERPINE1 makes a protein called plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, or PAI-1, which may play a role in diabetes and Alzheimer’s, he noted.

Margaret and Mark Zumdahl have made countless memories during their 25-year marriage, but Margaret, who lives with Alzheimer’s, is slowly starting to lose those memories. Thanks to a special program at Northwestern’s Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center, the couple is receiving help to deal with the disease.