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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The Washington Post
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Infant peanut exposure can prevent allergies, but parents worry
Exposing infants to peanuts between four and six months of age can potentially prevent peanut allergies, yet many parents remain anxious about the prospect and aren’t aware that it’s safe, new research shows. The practice of introducing peanut-containing foods in infancy has been recommended by health officials since 2017. Research shows that allowing babies to take small, supervised tastes of peanut-containing foods rather than waiting until they are older can go a long way to reducing the number of children who develop peanut allergies. “Quality of life is very challenging when you have to avoid food all day every day, yet even six years after the guidelines changed, the message that peanut introduction shouldn’t be feared still isn’t getting to parents and caregivers,” said Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH, senior investigator of the study and director of the Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research at Northwestern Medicine. “Peanuts are healthy and can prevent allergies, especially in high-risk infants. There’s an opportunity here to potentially prevent this epidemic.”
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Fox 32 Chicago
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New tech that improves outcomes for liver transplant patients arrives in Chicago
New technology that improves outcomes for liver transplant patients has arrived in Chicago. Northwestern Medicine’s Organ Transplant Center says it now offers warm and cold liver perfusion, it’s one of the largest transplant centers in the Midwest to offer both techs. The transplant team’s leader says the techniques help preserve and repair the donated liver, so patients see faster and better recovery. Doctors say the advanced procedure helps them serve more patients, more quickly. The perfusion tech is also used by the heart and lung transplant teams at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
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CBS News
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How to sleep in a heat wave, according to experts
July is the hottest month on record for the planet and very likely the hottest period in 120,000 years according to global climate authorities. It’s not just unbearable sunshine – temperatures at night aren’t dropping as they should. Nights are warming faster than days on average in most of the US. To get the best quality sleep, experts have long recommended sleeping in a cool rom – between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit. Experts are sharing tips for sleeping in the heat during this summer. These include staying hydrated, eating light, showering in tepid water and setting time aside to relax. Avoiding alcohol is another piece of advice offered by Phyllis Zee, MD, PhD, chief of sleep medicine and professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Drinking booze in the evening dehydrates the body and sets you up for nighttime sweats, she said. Further, using ceiling fans or electric fans can help keep your bedroom cool. “There are also fairly inexpensive ice cooling fans that can be placed near the bed,” Zee said. “If you’re unable to keep the bedroom cool, sleeping temporarily on lower floors like the basement will be cooler.”
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CBS News
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Hospital introduces new dancing program to combat Parkinson’s disease
Around half a million Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, according to the National Institutes of Health. It’s a brain disorder that can cause unintended movements like shaking and muscle stiffness. But a U.S. hospital is using a new approach aimed at helping those living with Parkinson’s. It’s called Dancing with Parkinson’s, a five-week program offered by Northwestern Medicine and the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. “Learning and trying to remember steps in a dance routine in a dance class is good for working with memory and improving thinking. We’ve seen benefits in people describing improvement in anxiety and fatigue,” according to Danny Bega, MD, Movement Disorders Specialist at Northwestern Medicine.
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AP News
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Sesame is being newly added to some foods. The FDA says it doesn’t violate an allergy law
Food manufacturers who deliberately add sesame to products and include the ingredient on labels are not violating a new federal food allergy law, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. Sesame can be found in obvious places, like sesame seeds on hamburger buns, but it is also a major ingredient in everything from protein bars to ice cream and is added to sauces and spice mixes. Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH, a pediatrician and director of the Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research at Northwestern University, called the FDA’s decision “disappointing.” She said, “It doesn’t violate the law; people can do what they want,” she said. “But in order to support these adults and children with sesame allergy, I would have hoped they would have come out in a way to prevent or discourage this.”
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WebMD
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U.S. Maternal Mortality Crisis Grows, Yet Deaths Seem Preventable
A growing number of women have medical conditions that put them at high risk of death during and after giving birth. An estimated 30% of maternal deaths in the United States result from cardiovascular disease – a problem that has become more common with increases in diabetes and obesity. And in some women with previously normal high blood pressure, hypertension can develop suddenly during pregnancy. This is called preeclampsia and is increasing in the U.S., particularly in Black women. In rare cases, it can become the life-threatening condition eclampsia, with seizures and death. Rates of maternal mortality have increased in recent years. In 2021, 1,205 women died of maternal causes, compared to 861 in 2020. What troubles many experts is that it is estimated that 80% of these deaths are preventable. “That is a ridiculous number,” said Melissa Simon, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Health Equity Transformation at Northwestern Medicine and professor of obstetrics and gynecology and preventive medicine. “For a health care system in a country that is so high-resourced and high-income, for eight out of 10 deaths for moms who are pregnant [to be preventable], that’s absolutely unacceptable.”
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WebMD
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Taking a Closer Look at the Misconceptions About Genomic Tests
Scientists can scan your entire DNA library. That’s more than 20,000 genes. This kind of testing, called genomic testing, has transformed the diagnosis and management of cancer and rare genomic disease. David VanderWeele, MD, PhD, assistant professor of hematology and oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says electronic medical records keep track of who looks through your health information. People can’t access your records if it’s not related to your medical care. You might feel more or less comfortable with certain kinds of genomic tests. Your doctor can go over the ins and outs of the one that’s best for you.
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ABC News
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Watching TV as a kid linked to high blood pressure and obesity as an adult: Study
The amount of time that young people spend watching screens — instead of physical activity like sports, hikes or gardening — could be linked to health issues in adulthood, according to a new study. Children and teenagers who spent more time watching television had less efficient oxygen use during exercise, higher blood pressure, and higher rates of obesity in mid-adulthood, even when accounting for sex, childhood body mass index and the family’s economic situation, the study published in Pediatrics says. “This really highlights the importance of critical development years. To emphasize – from a structural societal level, systems level, the need to set up programs, schooling, and support to allow parents to be successful in helping their children be more physically active,” says Veronica Johnson, MD, an assistant professor of internal medicine and pediatrics focusing on obesity medicine at Northwestern Medicine.
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WTTW
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Northwestern Medicine Study Suggests Multidisciplinary Care Best for Long COVID Patients
The Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive COVID-19 Center released the results of a study on 1,200 long COVID patients. According to the CDC, one in five COVID-19 patients experienced long COVID three months later, about 150 million adults in the U.S. Marc Sala, MD, pulmonologist and assistant professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, said the study’s aim was, in part, to begin identifying patterns in the people who presented with long COVID. “We looked back on about 1,200 patients with our center’s involvement for treating patients with long COVID,” Sala said. “We looked back on these individuals to ask ourselves what types of patterns they have in their test results and what were some characteristics of the different individuals — not just in neurology, but pulmonology and cardiology as well. We wanted to know what were the demographics, the types of individuals we had seen all across this time. We wanted to know how successful was the center in terms of allowing access to different populations, and when we did test on these individuals — CT scans, neurological questionnaires and such — what were the results with any given person?” A key finding was multidisciplinary care for long COVID is an advisable approach. “A lot of what our and other studies show is that … multiple specialties on an individual seems to be important,” Sala said. “So if someone has more neurological manifestations, that person should be seen by a neurologist who specializes in this. Similarly for cardiology and lung health as well. Multiple providers of different specialties seems to have added value in treating patients for their constellation of symptoms. There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to managing long COVID.
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CBS News
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Parkinson’s patients find freedom through ballet program
For those who suffer from Parkinson’s disease, even the simplest motor functions can become everyday obstacles. In an effort to improve those skills, Northwestern Medicine is teaming up with one of the country’s premiere dance companies to provide patients with a little jazz, a little tap and even a little ballet. There is no known cure for Parkinson’s, but there may very well be a rhythmic remedy for the debilitating disorder that, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation, strikes nearly 90,000 Americans annually. Participants said dancing in a group setting can offset the feeling of helplessness and loneliness that come with physical and mental decline. The only bad news to report is that classes are filled up for the summer but if you’re interested, they may offer more in the future.
