Media Coverage

Gynecologists say women shouldn’t clean inside their vagina, but the marketing of these intimate washes – sold by The Honey Pot and other newcomers as well as long-established brands like Vagisil and Summer’s Eve – is confusing. Tacoma McKnight, MD, an associate professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, said the fear of a smelly or unclean vagina has in some cases been passed down from an older generation, and now crops up on social media or blogs. Black women may receive these messages more. (In a 2002 study, 58.5 percent of Black women reported douching and 35.6 percent of Hispanic women said they did the same, compared with 26.6 percent of white women.) “It’s a fine line,” said Dr. McKnight, that these companies “take advantage of.” She added: “They certainly are saying the right things, because, yes, you do want people to feel good in that aisle because that aisle has notoriously been a problem one. But at the same time you’re still a part of the problem.”

On Sept. 11, the Food and Drug Administration approved an emergency use authorization for updated COVID-19 vaccines. The next day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement that recommended updated vaccines for people 6 months and older. As these new vaccines become available, it is critical that we improve access to save lives, wrote Sara Becker, PhD, Rinad S. Beidas, PhD and Amelia Van Pelt, PhD, MPH, in an article in the Chicago Tribune. The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines has added effective tools to our public health tool kit. However, new vaccines that sit in freezers will serve little purpose to our community. We cannot afford to wait until the next wave of COVID-19 cases incapacitates our health system or the next public health crisis emerges. Implementation scientists require a seat at the table to help shape decisions to save lives and improve public health.

n the sprawling campus of Northwestern Medicine on the fourth floor of Prentice Women’s Hospital, a brand new Hispanic breast cancer clinic has opened, thanks to Claudia Tellez, MD. The Northwestern Medical Oncologist and medical director of Hispanic Breast Cancer Clinic calls this her labor of love. It blossomed after 25 years of being a doctor and advocate, but not seeing many Hispanic patients receiving top treatment. “Hispanics represent about one-third of the population in the city of Chicago, but we see less than 10% of Hispanics here at the clinic, so there’s a big opportunity. Dr. Tellez explains that breast cancer is the most common and deadly cancer for Hispanic women, with a large number of women impacted with cancer not coming to major medical centers. “Latina women are actually being diagnosed at at younger ages with more advanced breast cancer, that’s because many are not presenting for screening. So they’re presenting with more advanced cancers and they’re presenting with more subtypes of cancer that are more aggressive,” Tellez said. From the moment they walk into the clinic, they’re met with bilingual signs, which Tellez says is vital to helping educate patients about their condition. It also connects patients with important clinical trials, because “less than 7% of Hispanic patients are participating in clinical trials and it should be equivalent to population.” Dr. Tellez explains that therefore, a third of patients should be participating.

Stress can take a toll on anyone. But if you have depression, you might not bounce back from stress easily. The death of a loved one, a job loss, or a divorce could trigger symptoms such as guilt and hopelessness. But there are stpes you can take to get better. You might have a lot tied up in your work. For starters, a job loss can take you away from an entire network of people. Try to gain some control of the situation, says Tim Pearman, PhD, a professor of medical social sciences and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Pearman suggests you update your resume but stay flexible. “There may be a whole bunch of job opportunities available to you that you might not even think about outside of your field,” he says. “Maybe it’s time to break the mold of how you self-identify in terms of your career path and consider other options.” Casting a wider net in your job search may help you feel more in control and less hamstrung by the recent job loss. In terms of losing a loved one pay attention to your symptoms. If you can’t focus on your work or get out of bed, or you’ve been depressed for more than a few months, “at that point, it’s probably time to seek professional help,” Pearman says.

Coffee can be many things: a morning ritual, a cultural tradition, a productivity hack and even a health drink. Studies suggest, for instance, that coffee drinkers live longer and have lower risks of Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, cardiovascular conditions and some cancers. But between your breakfast brew, lunchtime latte and afternoon espresso, is it possible to have too much? And if so, how can you tell? Coffee contains thousands of chemical compounds, many of which may influence health, said Marilyn Cornelis, PhD, an associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. But coffee is also the largest source of caffeine for people in the United States, and that’s where most of the risks associated with coffee consumption come from, she said. But “most people are kind of well tuned with their response to caffeine,” Dr. Cornelis said, and when they begin to experience even mild symptoms of having too much, they cut back. That said, if you’re prone to abnormal heart rhythms, or if you notice palpitations after having caffeine, you may be more sensitive to its effects and should not consume more than you’re used to, or ingest large doses from concentrated sources.

Many Americans have become accustomed to swabbing their noses when taking COVID-19 tests both at home and in doctors’ offices. Now, test makers are banking on influenza as a new frontier in at-home testing. At-home rapid antigen COVID-19 tests that were popular during the height of the pandemic had a reputation for being less accurate. The FDA says that at-home COVID antigen tests are less precise than molecular tests (i.e., the PCR tests that needed to be done in a hospital or clinic), and false negatives may be more likely to happen, especially if the test is taken shortly after infection, leading the FDA to recommending doing a repeat test after a negative result. Looking ahead, Ramon Lorenzo Redondo, PhD, an assistant professor of infectious diseases at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, said that having “pipelines” in place for the development of new at-home test systems could be beneficial if a new virus — or another pandemic — emerges. “With this plus many other tools that we are developing, I think we could at least handle it better if [there is] another pandemic,” Redondo says. “Imagine a new virus appears that creates another problem, then you have all these pipelines and tools that now can be developed sooner. So I think, in general, this is good to have and to improve handling of epidemics or pandemics.”

As we continue to live with COVID-19, patients and doctors will learn more about the reasons infections can range from asymptomatic to very serious. Many researchers and doctors believe inflammation is the cause of severe COVID. This is due to the virus causing a “cytokine storm” that can adversely affect the organs in a patient’s body, including the heart and lungs. Research from Northwestern University and University of Wisconsin, is pointing to bacterial pneumonia as the cause of many sever COVID deaths. “Critically ill patients who recovered from pneumonia were more likely to live,” said Benjamin D. Singer, MD, senior author of the study, professor of pulmonary medicine, and a Northwestern Medicine pulmonary and critical care doctor in Chicago. A very important aspect of the Northwestern study is that it highlights the importance of screening susceptible COVID patients for pneumonia as soon as possible. The good news: Patients who test positive can immediately talk to their doctors about their risk factors and get the treatment they need to prevent serious illness.

In a 2022 study that asked a few dozen postmenopausal women who experienced pain during penetrative sex to describe their experiences of intercourse, the most common response was “burning.” Other terms were “raw,” “dry,” “sharp,” “ripping,” “sandpaper” and “knives.” What they were describing is known as dyspareunia, which is one of the more overlooked and under-treated symptoms of menopause. Dyspareunia can occur at any life stage but it spikes after the menopausal transition, though signs can emerge during perimenopause too, said Lauren Streicher, MD, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University and author of “Slip Sliding Away: Turning Back the Clock On Your Vagina.” Estimates about the prevalence of dyspareunia range between 13 and 84 percent of postmenopausal women — a highly inexact figure in large part because many women and doctors don’t broach the subject. As a result, women often don’t receive the care they need for dyspareunia despite the fact that it is easily treatable, Dr. Streicher said. If left untreated, the condition can worsen to a point that it leads to a loss of self-esteem, reduced quality of life, depression and a significant shift in the relationship dynamic with a partner.

A man’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, however he is helping her remember through music. “Alzheimer’s disease has crushed Marti’s memory. At this stage, she cannot form a word. But somehow the pathway to musical melodies remains clear,” Adam says. “And it is along this pathway that she and I are able to communicate.” According to a study from Northwestern University, many Alzheimer’s patients can still recall melodies from their past because the cerebellum, where musical memories are processed, is affected later in the disease. This allows patients like Marti to recognize and enjoy the music they’ve always loved, even after they can no longer speak. A series of new treatment options in 2023 has shown promise for the millions of Americans with Alzheimer’s. This July, the Food and Drug Administration gave full approval for Leqembi, the first drug shown to slow the disease. And a new experimental drug called donanemab, which was found to slow Alzheimer’s progression by about 35%, has been submitted to the FDA for approval. A decision is expected by the end of 2023. However, both of these new drugs can only slow the disease, not stop or reverse it.

More than a week after new Covid vacines were approved and recommended for all Americans aged 6 months and older, some are having trouble getting the shots. Insurance companies are denying coverage, with some blaming the difficulties on billing codes. Pharmacies are canceling some appointments because the drugs haven’t arrived. Several of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains acknowledged a challenging rollout. CVS, Walgreens and Safeway pharmacies have had to cancel and reschedule some appointments because of delayed shipments of the vaccines, the companies said. Other providers delayed making the shots available. Rite Aid said new vaccines would be in stores by this weekend; Kaiser Permanente said it would largely not administer Covid shots until next week. “We’ve gone from the federal government steering and driving vaccine supply and coverage to it being pushed out through regular market channels like it’s just another health care product,” said Lindsay Allen, PhD, a health economist at Northwestern Medicine.