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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New York Times
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How Much Coffee Is Too Much Coffee?
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.
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Yahoo! News
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Do at-home flu tests really work? Here’s everything you need to know ahead of influenza season.
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.”
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WebMD
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Pneumonia, Not Just Inflammation, May Cause Severe COVID
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.
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New York Times
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What to Do About Painful Sex After Menopause
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.
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NPR
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Still there: Alzheimer’s has ravaged his mother’s memory, but music brings her back
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.
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New York Times
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New Covid Vaccine Rollout Is Slowed by Insurance and Supply Snags
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.
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Yahoo! News
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Can you ‘reverse’ a medical abortion? Here’s what experts say.
Medication abortions accounts for more than half of all abortions performed in the U.S. It involves taking two prescription medications: mifepristone, followed by misoprostal. Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone, which supports a healthy pregnancy, and misoprostol causes uterine cramping and shedding of the endometrium. A “reversal” involves giving doses of progesterone after mifepristone is taken — but before misoprostol is taken — to try to prevent pregnancy loss. (Supplemental progesterone is used to try to lower the risk of miscarriage in certain pregnancies, Lauren Streicher, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, shares. But this reversal treatment isn’t supported by science. The idea of an abortion reversal comes from a 2012 case series on six women who took mifepristone and were then given different doses of progesterone. Four of those women continued with their pregnancies, but ACOG points out that it’s difficult to know if the progesterone caused the pregnancies to continue or if other factors were at play. The study also did not have a control group (i.e., patients who did not take progesterone after mifepristone) and is therefore considered weak evidence, ACOG says. Taking mifepristone alone also isn’t a guarantee that an abortion will work, Streicher says: “The reason you use mifepristone and misoprostol is that if you use mifepristone alone, it doesn’t always work.”
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Yahoo! News
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Children have died from accidental fentanyl exposures. Here’s what parents need to know.
Fentanyl has made headlines for years, with the narcotic being blamed for the deaths of Prince, Tom Petty and Mac Miller. But more recent reports have linked the drug to children and teens – and some have died from accidental fentanyl exposure. It doesn’t take much fentanyl to do harm. “Fentanyl is very potent — it’s 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine,” Kristine Cieslak, MD, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Lurie Children’s at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital, tells Yahoo Life. “As little as 2 milligrams can be lethal in adults and even smaller amounts can cause death in children.” Pills that have been laced with fentanyl may look like candy and be swallowed by children if they’re found at a park or in a home. The medication can also cause drowsiness, nausea, confusion, unconsciousness and stroke, Cieslak says. “Fentanyl moves fast, which is why it’s important to call 911 immediately if you suspect your child has been exposed, Cieslak says. “First responders carry Narcan and can administer this lifesaving medication,” she explains. “Narcan reverses an opioid overdose by blocking the effects of opiates on the brain and restoring breathing. Seconds or minutes count and can be the difference between life or death, so parents should not attempt to drive their child to the emergency department.”
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Crain’s Chicago Business
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Making the case for better understanding of ‘arousal disorders’
In a new Northwestern Medicine study in the journal Sleep Medicine, researchers reviewed treatment on non-rapid-eye-movement disorders, like sleep apnea, insomnia and “arousal disorders” to find that sexsomnia, sleepwalking or sleeptalking and sleep terrors have few guidelines for treatment. Arousal disorders can involve things like sleep eating, engaging in sexual activity during sleep, walking, running or even driving while asleep and the intense fear of terrors, according to a Northwestern Medicine press release. However, unlike nearly every other type of sleep disorder, there are no consensus treatment guidelines for arousal disorders, Jennifer Mundt, PhD, led author of the study and assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, said in the release. “These disorders can be dangerous and result in injuries to the sleeper or loved ones, so it’s important that symptoms are evaluated and treated,” Mundt said in the release. “And we need to have guidelines, so patients are getting the most effective treatment, which is not necessarily a medication.” Mundt found that the treatments with the most evidence about their effectiveness are cognitive behavioral therapy, hypnosis, sleep hygiene and scheduled awakenings, in which a sleeper is is woken up before they usually have an episode.
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Chicago Tribune
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With new Spanish-language pulmonary-thoracic program, Northwestern doctors hope to improve health outcomes for Hispanic patients
Growing up on the South Side of Chicago as the child of Mexican immigrants who primarily spoke Spanish, Dr. Daniel Meza was often asked to translate for his parents during medical appointments. “It’s a skill that I grew up with, having that technical language,” Meza said. “I just recall how stressful it was for my parents when they were in clinics, and as well as for myself, being a small child.” Two months ago, Meza, an assistant professor of medicine in pulmonary and critical care at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, became a part of the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute Hispanic Program. Patients of the program receive lung and thoracic care, including surgery and preventive screenings, entirely in Spanish. “When I see patients come in with their children and they see I speak Spanish, there’s kind of a relief on both sides,” Meza said. The program launched two months ago. It is led by Dr. Diego Mauricio Avella Patino, a thoracic surgeon trained in Colombia, and by Meza, both native Spanish speakers. Avella performs surgeries related to esophageal disease, lung failure, various cancers, chest wall issues and breathing obstruction. Meza specializes in treating pulmonary problems such as asthma, respiratory failure and emphysema.
