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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CBS News
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Small-town patients face big hurdles as rural hospitals cut cancer care
For many, driving long distances to receive cancer care is necessary. To get treatment, a woman must drive nearly three hours east to San Antonio, TX from her hometown of Del Rio, TX. For rural patients, getting cancer treatment close to home has always been difficult. But in recent years, chemotherapy deserts have expanded across the United States, with 382 rural hospitals halting services from 2014 to 2022, according to a report published this spring by Chartis, a health analytics and consulting firm. Loss of chemotherapy services can signal other gaps in cancer care, such as a shortage of local specialty physicians and nurses, which is bad news for patients, said Marquita Lewis-Thames, PhD, an assistant professor at Northwestern University in Chicago whose research covers rural cancer care. Rural patients are less likely to survive at least five years after a cancer diagnosis compared with their urban counterparts, concluded a study co-authored by Lewis-Thames and published in JAMA Network Open in 2022. While the rural-urban survival gap narrowed over the nearly 40 years researchers studied, the disparity persisted across most racial and ethnic groups, with only a few exceptions, she said.
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HealthDay
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When Your Knee Cartilage Wears Out, a ‘Biomaterial’ Might Help Replace It
A newly developed biomaterial might be able to treat crippling arthritis by prompting the growth of new cartilage, a new animal study suggests. The biomaterial successfully regenerated high-quality cartilage in the knee joints of sheep within six months. “Cartilage is a critical component in our joints,” said lead researcher Samuel Stupp, PhD, a professor of materials science and engineering at Northwestern University. “When cartilage becomes damaged or breaks down over time, it can have a great impact on people’s overall health and mobility.” Further, Stupp explained, “The problem is that, in adult humans, cartilage does not have an inherent ability to heal,” Stupp added in a university news release. “Our new therapy can induce repair in a tissue that does not naturally regenerate. We think our treatment could help address a serious, unmet clinical need.” The new biomaterial combines an essential protein for cartilage growth and maintenance with a modified hyaluronic acid, which is naturally present in both cartilage and lubricating synovial fluid in joints.
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CNN
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‘I feel dismissed’: People experiencing colorism say health system fails them
The term colorism — a form of prejudice and discrimination in which lighter skin is favored over darker skin — was popularized by author Alice Walker in her 1983 book “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose.” Clinicians from various ethnic groups have recently begun to draw a direct line between colorism and poor health. A 2023 KFF survey found that, among Black and Hispanic adults, those with self-described darker skin tones reported more experiences with discrimination in daily life compared with those who have lighter skin tones. People who feel like they experience daily discrimination can be at higher risk for depression, loneliness, increased alcohol and drug use, and anxiety, data shows. And colorism can also lead to physical health concerns. Hair straighteners and skin lighteners commonly used by women of color, sometimes to conform to racialized beauty standards, increase their exposure to toxic chemicals, research shows. The feeling of shame and embarrassment colorism produces in people is palpable and needs to be acknowledged in health care settings, said Roopal Kundu, MD, a dermatologist who founded and directs the Northwestern Medicine Center for Ethnic Skin and Hair in Chicago. Kundu, who is of South Asian heritage, opened the center in 2005 and notes that some cases of diseases like psoriasis, skin cancer, and eczema get diagnosed later, or misdiagnosed, because they present differently on diverse skin tones. “How can we really make sure, as a field, that we’re taking care of everybody?” she said. “Healthy skin is beautiful skin. And beauty is across every single skin tone that there is.”
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Washington Post
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Suicide rates in children have continued to climb across 15 years, study finds
The suicide rate for U.S. children 8 to 12 years old has steadily climbed in the past decade and a half, with a disproportionate rise among girls, data released Tuesday by the National Institute of Mental Health shows. The findings, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, highlight pervasive issues regarding mental health that affect U.S. children daily, the study authors said. The coronavirus pandemic worsened the country’s ongoing mental health crisis, leading to increases in anxiety, depression and other mental health issues, according to experts. “This has been going on for a while, and we really saw things pick up when covid started [and] really seeing kids come in being miserable,” said Maria H. Rahmandar, MD, a pediatrician and co-author of the American Academy of Pediatrics clinical report on suicide and suicide risk in adolescents. “All of the pediatric providers I know were all hopeful that once kids were able to get back to school and their friends and a semblance of a normal life that mental health would improve, and we just haven’t seen that,” said Rahmandar, an associate professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
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Chicago Tribune
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COVID-19 on the upswing in Chicago again this summer
If it seems like you suddenly know a lot of people with COVID-19 this summer, it’s not just you. COVID-19 is again on the rise in the Chicago area and across the country — the fourth consecutive summer the nation has experienced an upswing. “It hasn’t gone away,” said Robert Murphy, MD, executive director of the Havey Institute for Global Health and a professor of medicine in infectious diseases at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “We are personally seeing a large jump in the number of cases, and the number of prescriptions we’re calling in for Paxlovid, the treatment that’s available.” It’s not entirely clear why COVID-19 cases keep rising during the summer months — a time typically associated with lower levels of respiratory illnesses. But doctors say it might have to do with waning immunity from vaccines, which many people received in the fall, and ongoing mutations to the virus. Virus strains known as FLiRT variants are responsible for most of the cases at the moment nationwide, according to the CDC.
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WebMD
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Understanding Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy
Sudden death from epilepsy can occur when having an intense seizure. A seizure can be so strong that you don’t wake up afterwards. Fortunately, that is extremely rare and happens infrequently. “To keep it in perspective– most patients with epilepsy are otherwise healthy. You know, it affects you in your best years of life often,” said Stephen Schuele, MD, MPH, chief of epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology in the department of neurology and professor of neurology and physical medicine and rehabilitation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. According to Schuele, it’s important to look at the course of seizures in a broad context. “I look at it in the broad context of education. You know, when you have your patient coming with the first seizure, they have– many of them have questions which fill a full hour. And I think that that is correct, you know? If I would have my first seizure, I would have an hour of questions for you. So I think if you create a culture of education and being open for questions of your patients, I think that’s probably the most important aspect to actually lead into discussing SUDEP as well.”
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New York Times
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Breast Cancer Survival Not Boosted by Double Mastectomy, Study Says
For the more than 310,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer every year, no matter how well the treatment goes, there is always a lingering fear. Could the disease come back, even years later? And what if it comes back in the other breast? Could they protect themselves today by having a double mastectomy? A study has concluded that there is no survival advantage to having the other breast removed. The finding that a double mastectomy is not protective against death for many breast cancers seems counterintuitive, Dr. Narod admitted. An accompanying editorial, by Seema Ahsan Khan, MD, a breast cancer surgeon at Northwestern University, and Masha Kocherginsky, PhD, a biostatistician also at Northwestern, called it a conundrum. Dr. Khan says she too counsels women that a double mastectomy is not a cure-all. But, she said, there are reasons some women choose to have one anyway. Other women who are having one breast removed and reconstructed choose the same for the second breast for cosmetic reasons. “The decisions are complex,” she said. “I have always advised women that a second cancer may occur in the future,” she said. “But if it occurs there is still a good chance of survival.”
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Forbes
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GLP-1s Are Growing In Popularity For Weight Loss But Losing Steam Among People With Diabetes, Study Suggests
The use of GLP-1 medications like semaglutide for weight loss has increased twofold over the past decade, but declined in use among type 2 diabetics, according to a new study, and the researchers warn the resulting and ongoing drug shortage may limit diabetics’ access to the drugs. Adverse side effects may also be causing a decline in GLP-1 use among type 2 diabetics. Metformin is considered the go-to drug for glucose management in type 2 diabetics, but many patients take second-line drugs—type 2 diabetes drugs that aren’t insulin—like GLP-1s to assist with treatment, according to a study by Northwestern Medicine. Almost 40% of patients taking second-line diabetes drugs stop treatment, but this number is even higher (50%) among those taking GLP-1s. The researchers believe this may be due to gastrointestinal side effects—like vomiting, nausea and diarrhea—associated with GLP-1s. Other than side effects, the high cost of the drugs is also a leading cause of discontinuation, according to a separate study by the American Diabetes Association.
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Yahoo! News
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What is a siesta? The history of the afternoon nap and its benefits.
A siesta is a short nap in the early afternoon, typically after lunch. While those of us programmed to overschedule our lives may see daytime napping as lazy, it’s actually an effective tool in maintaining longer and more productive days. It’s been a traditional practice in many cultures for centuries, especially in Spain and Latin America, where people take a break during the hottest part of the day to rest and recharge. An afternoon nap has many health benefits. These can include “improvements in energy, alertness, productivity and cognitive function, as well as reductions in fatigue, errors and risk for accidents,” says Keith C. Summa, MD, PhD, a sleep researcher and assistant professor at Northwestern Medicine Feinberg School of Medicine. Part of the basis for siestas and afternoon naps goes back to our body’s natural 24-hour, or circadian, rhythm in body temperature. “Body temperature is at its lowest in the middle of the night during sleep and then begins to rise in anticipation of waking up as well as throughout the morning. In the midafternoon, there is a dip when the body temperature decreases for a short period of time before rising again until peaking in the evening. It then begins to fall in the early night,” says Summa. Decreasing body temperature helps us fall asleep. So, siestas and afternoon naps take advantage of this normal rhythm by allowing a person to take a daytime rest when the body is most receptive to its benefits.
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WebMD
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The Aging Brain: Is Decline Preventable?
The changes [of the brain] can begin in middle age, but they’re not usually noticeable until decades later. By age 60 and beyond, the changes can pick up speed and may become obvious. Those who have apparently slowed down the process the most are called “super agers” and are the focus of intense research. But plenty of other people, beyond their 70th birthday, boast that they wow their friends often with their spectacular memories and other mental skills. These “super agers” include Edith Smith, who, at 110, is the oldest of more than 100 people taking part in the Northwestern University SuperAging Program. Similar programs, also funded by the National Institutes of Health, are in operation at other sites in the U.S. “There are many different definitions of successful cognitive aging,” said Tamar Gefen, PhD, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, who directs the program there. For the Northwestern program, “a super ager is an individual over age 80 whose memory function is at the level of a 50-year-old or even better,” she said, as determined by testing. Gefen is often asked for a profile of a typical super ager. She doesn’t have one. “We have super agers who smoke. We have super agers who drink a six-pack [although not every day]. We have super agers who are depressed. Some have 8 years of education; others have 20 years. We have super agers who are Holocaust survivors, who have been to hell and back.”
