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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TODAY
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Are fluoride tablets bad for kids’ health? What to know as FDA moves to take them off the market
As more communities and states around the country are removing fluoride from public drinking water, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is also moving to take prescription fluoride products for kids off the market. The HHS claimed fluoride tablets and drops can alter kids’ gut microbiome and lead to other health problems, such as reduced IQ, weight gain and thyroid disorders. It’s true that ingesting too much fluoride is dangerous. “Too much of anything, including fluoride, is usually not a good thing,” Santina Wheat, MD, MPH, a family medicine specialist at Northwestern Medicine and associate professor of family and community medicine. But according to the experts and the studies provided by HHS, such issues are associated with ingesting amounts of fluoride that far exceed the recommended amount in U.S. water supplies — 0.7 milligrams per liter, according to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements — and what’s prescribed by dentists and physicians. Study after study shows that water fluoridation decreases the risk of dental caries, also known as cavities, and associated tooth decay. “It decreases the risk of caries forming and slows down the progression of any that exist,” says Wheat. “On top of that, fluoride helps decrease gum disease.” Wheat adds that seeing a dentist regularly “can help identify any developing dental caries, and they can make individualized recommendations for prevention and treatment.”
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ABC News
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What to know about prostate cancer after former President Joe Biden’s diagnosis
Former President Joe Biden’s office announced on Sunday that he was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer. Biden’s office said the cancer was diagnosed after “increasing urinary symptoms” and that it has metastasized, spreading to his bones. The statement added that the cancer is “hormone-sensitive,” which may allow for effective treatment options, which Biden and his family are reviewing. Maha Hussain, MD, a prostate cancer expert and the Genevieve Teuton professor of medicine in the division of hematology-oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, told ABC News it is more common for prostate cancer to be found through regular annual exams than because of symptom occurrence. She added that many symptoms, such as frequent urination or difficulty passing urine, may not be due to prostate cancer but rather due to an enlarged prostate, which is common among older men. “The good news is, nowadays, we have had significant improvement in the medical management of prostate cancer that has spread, and there’s been significant prolongation of life, and so there are all kinds of different treatment options available for these patients,” Hussain said.
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Reuters
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Former US President Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive’ prostate cancer
Former U.S. President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, his office said in a statement on Sunday. Biden, 82, was diagnosed on Friday after experiencing urinary symptoms, and he and his family are reviewing treatment options with doctors, according to the statement. Chris George, MD, the medical director of the cancer program for the Northwestern Health Network, said prostate cancer is no longer curable once it spreads to the bones but that there are treatments that can control it. Biden lost a son, Beau Biden, in 2015 due to brain cancer. In 2022, Biden revived an Obama-era program known as Cancer Moonshot, seeking to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years.
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TIME
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How Doctors Treat Aggressive Prostate Cancer Like Joe Biden’s
In a statement from his personal office on May 18, former President Joe Biden revealed he has an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. Recent studies show that survival for men with prostate cancer that has spread to the bone is just under two years. But this form of cancer, though aggressive, can sometimes be controlled. Here’s what oncologists who treat prostate cancer say are the most common strategies for treating a cancer like Biden’s, and some of the challenges. “The good news is this: we have now entered an era of different treatments that I call therapy intensification where we are trying to attack cancer with a multi-modality approach,” says Maha Hussain, MD, deputy director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and professor of medicine (hematology and oncology). “We can come up with a significant prolongation of life by comparison to when I entered the field.” She has seen patients with prostate cancer that has spread survive and “live many, many years.” Most prostate cancer is fueled by the male hormone testosterone, so the most effective strategies to control it starve the cancer by cutting off its supply, say experts. Historically, doctors have removed the testes—the main source of the hormone—but today, pills and injections can suppress testosterone not just in the testes but in other organs that produce small amounts, such as the adrenal glands, as well. Doctors also now add chemotherapy to hormone-suppression to better control cancer growth.
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AP News
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Easily distracted? How to improve your attention span
Feel like you can’t focus? Like you’ll never finish a book again? Like the only way to keep your mind and hands busy is to scroll on social media for hours? You’re far from alone. One body of decades-long research found the average person’s attention span for a single screen is 47 seconds, down from 2.5 minutes in 2004. The 24/7 news cycle, uncertainty about the state of the world and countless hours of screen time don’t help, experts say. “When my patients talk to me about this stuff there is often a feeling of helplessness or powerlessness,” said Michael Ziffra, MD, a psychiatrist at Northwestern Medicine and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences (general psychiatry) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “But you can change these behaviors. You can improve your attention span.” The key is to make an intentional effort, experts say.“It is in many ways similar to a muscle in the sense that we can build it up with practice and exercises,” Ziffra said. “Conversely, it can weaken if we’re not exercising it.”
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Washington Post
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4 ways to make your house germier – in a good way
With many of us spring cleaning our homes, here’s advice from experts — protect your house’s microbiome for your health. The microorganisms in our homes, where we spend a large amount of time, can play an important role in our health. When cleaning your home, don’t overuse harsh chemical disinfectants because they could kill too many beneficial microorganisms, said Erica M. Hartmann, PhD, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University. Instead, when cleaning, ask yourself, “What problem do I want to solve?” Focus on disinfecting areas where you know there may be harmful microorganisms, such as the kitchen countertop, where bacteria such as E. coli could spread from handling raw meat, or the bathroom, where potentially harmful molds could grow, she said. When cleaning with chemical disinfectants, wear a mask and open a window to avoid breathing in chemicals, which could be harmful to your health, Hartmann recommended To remove debris such as dust or dirt from floors and shelves, skip disinfectants and use a damp cloth instead, she said.
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New York Post
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I got prostate cancer at 47 despite having no symptoms — why my doctor sent me for a screening
The Chicago-based artist and Northwestern Medicine employee was hit with crushing news: He had prostate cancer at just 47 years old. The real kicker? He had zero symptoms. “It shocked me,” said Jones, who didn’t know at the time that black men are 70% to 110% more likely to develop prostate cancer than their white peers — and twice as likely to die from the disease. Being proactive about screening is critical, as prostate cancer grows slowly and many men show no symptoms until it’s in advanced stages, Adam Murphy, MD, MBA, MSCI, a urologist at Northwestern Medicine, told The Post. “When people come in with symptoms, it’s usually things like blood in the urine or difficulty urinating, which means that you have a large tumor or cancer spread,” he said. “That makes it less curable.” The biggest impact of his cancer journey has been the new outlook it gave him on life. “I just want to help people,” Jones said. He’s made it his mission to raise awareness about prostate cancer and the importance of screenings, sharing his message with family, friends and even strangers.
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Chicago Tribune
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Mundelein home to latest example of evolving cannabis industry; ‘If moms are using it, it’s legitimate’
A few weeks ago, representatives of Terrabis stood before the Mundelein Village Board discussing their proposal to turn a former bank building into their newest cannabis shop location. The board members were deciding whether or not to give a thumbs-up to the company to move ahead with more planning. The company’s co-founders had backgrounds in the corporate world of McDonald’s and Insomnia Cookies, and their shop’s design looked closer to a new fast-food restaurant than a drug store. According to Richard, Miller, MD, an emeritus professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, perceptions related to marijuana have changed repeatedly throughout history. Cannabis goes back beyond recorded history, he said, and had an “enormous number” of medical benefits in ancient times. Miller and Ashlee Humphreys, a professor at Northwestern University who studies the legitimization process for industries, both noted that cannabis use was used to stigmatize marginalized communities, including people of color, immigrants and low-income individuals. But in the decades since, perceptions have shifted, Humphreys said. “We’ve seen that change,” she said. “The stigma with marijuana use is really just not as present as it was even 20 or 30 years ago.” The real turning point in the perception of cannabis can be credited, or blamed, on mothers, Humphreys said. “I think when it went over to moms, that was the new test,” she said. “If moms are using it, it’s legitimate.”
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US News & World Report
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Double Lung Transplant Saves Mother Of Twins
he timing of Cornelia Tischmacher’s pneumonia couldn’t have been worse — eight months after the Berlin mom gave birth to twins. But the pneumonia just wouldn’t go away, so Tischmacher went to a doctor in January 2018. Tests revealed that the then-40-year-old had stage 3 lung cancer. The diagnosis shocked Tischmacher, an active nonsmoker with a busy career as an art historian and gallerist. Her road to survival eventually led to the United States, where Tischmacher received a double-lung transplant at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago the day after Christmas 2024. “During our first telehealth visit with Cornelia, it was clear to us that she was at the end of the road,” Ankit Bharat, MBBS, chief of thoracic surgery and director of the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, said in a news release. “Cornelia had failed every other medical treatment available to her, including surgeries, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, but the cancer continued to progress to stage 4 and became so advanced that it was causing her lungs to fail,” said Bharat, who performed Tischmacher’s surgery. “She couldn’t breathe, and a lung transplant was her only option to fix the lung failure, remove all the cancer cells from her body, and give her a fighting chance to be there for her twins,” Bharat said. “With how quickly her disease was progressing, it was clear to us that Cornelia would not be able to leave the hospital without receiving a lung transplant,” Krishnan Warrior, MD, a lung transplant pulmonologist at Northwestern’s Canning Thoracic Institute who has been caring for Tischmacher, said. Tischmacher, now 48, spent one week recovering at Northwestern Memorial before being discharged to an apartment in Chicago. She’ll spend a year in the city to be near her transplant team.
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TODAY
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Her inability to swallow was dismissed as an eating disorder. She had a rare condition
About 14 years ago, when Jessica Herrala, then 34, tried swallowing, it felt as if something was lodged in her throat. “I honestly thought I had a tumor,” Herrala, 48, of Chicago, tells TODAY.com. Worried, she visited a doctor who told her she was fine and sent her home. Then she began “to regurgitate food constantly.” Other doctors had few answers, and one suggested her she had bulimia. Eventually, Herrala was diagnosed with a rare swallowing disorder called achalasia. While rare, achalasia causes devastating symptoms. “The actual word in Latin means failure to relax,” John Pandolfino, MD, chief of gastroenterology at Northwestern Medicine, tells TODAY.com. “The thing that causes most of the problem is that your lower esophageal sphincter … doesn’t open up when you swallow.” Doctors are uncertain why people develop achalasia. While some medications help some people manage their symptoms, others, like Herrala, undergo surgery. “Doctors dissect out the lower esophageal sphincter area and then they cut muscle through the esophagus,” Pandolfino says. “When they’re done, they take part of the stomach, and they flap it over. So it actually protects the area that they cut and also prevents some reflux.”
