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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ABC 7 Chicago
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Mammograms encouraged by doctors after many breast cancer screenings postponed due to COVID-19
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and doctors say it’s the perfect time to get a mammogram. Since many women postponed the screening during the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors are encouraging patients to get back on track. Dr. Sonya Bhole, a radiologist and assistant professor at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, said that women should get their first mammogram around 40-years old. “We know that women’s risk of breast cancer increases at the age of 40,” Dr. Bhole said. “One in six breast cancer diagnosis are in women in their 40s.” Bhole said that minorities are also more likely to be diagnosed prior to 50. As more screenings happen, Dr. Bhole is saying that they are seeing an increase in positive screenings. Bhole said that the procedure takes less than an hour which makes it tolerable for most patients.
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The Washington Post
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Fetterman’s use of captions is common in stroke recovery, experts say
During his first on-camera interview since having a stroke, Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman stumbled over words and used closed captioning to read interview questions, prompting Republicans to raise new questions about his health. Disability advocates, however, say that response shows a lack of understanding about accommodations that are often made after a major health event such as a stroke. While neurological experts said they could not offer a specific diagnosis about Fetterman’s health, they noted that closed captions are a common tool for people with auditory processing or hearing issues, conditions which have nothing to do with overall intelligence. Issues with processing sounds can happen for several reasons. Hearing is an especially unique sense because unlike sight or smell, sound gets processed before it even reaches the brain. There are a number of areas where understanding can be impaired, even if someone has no hearing loss or intellectual disability, said Borna Bonakdarpour, an associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
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Yahoo! News
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If You Feel Burning Or Stinging During Sex, You Definitely Want to Let Your Doctor Know
Three out of four women experience some pain during intercourse at some point in their lifetime, according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). But if you consistently have pain during or right after sex, it’s worth investigating what the cause is, says Lauren Streicher, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “You may have burning upon entry, not because of an inability to lubricate, but because lack of lubrication is the body’s defense mechanism in anticipation of pelvic pain. In addition to dryness, the muscles at the opening of the vagina contract to prevent painful penetration,” Dr. Streicher explains. Other reasons you may experience pain include yeast infection, vestibulodynia, vaginismus, inflammatory reaction or perimenopause or menopause.
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USA Today
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Lung disease tests are failing Black patients, studies show. Experts are calling for change.
Widely used lung function tests often fail to detect lung disease in Black patients, according to research — and experts are calling for new methods of testing. Spirometry, the most common lung function test used by medical professionals, measures how much air a patient breathes into their lungs and how much they can exhale quickly. But increasingly, research shows differences based on race don’t reflect biology, but instead structural racism’s effect on health.“ We’ve decided in the United States that it’s ‘normal’ for Black people to have lower lung function than white people,” said Dr. Ravi Kalhan, deputy division chief of pulmonary and critical care at Northwestern University. “Race-specific equations result in us not diagnosing lung disease in Black people – despite quite high prevalence.” Dr. Gabrielle Liu, an instructor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s pulmonary and critical care division, along with Kalhan and others, studied spirometry tests and CT scans of more than 2,600 patients, who were Black and white adults. “Our study findings suggest that this practice is actually normalizing worse lung health,” Liu said of the research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine this summer.
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Fox 32 Chicago
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Covid-19 booster shots authorized for kids, Chicago hospital to offer them soon
The FDA and CDC have authorized updated COVID-19 booster shots for children as young as five years old. The updated vaccine adds omicron Ba.4 and Ba.5 spike protein components, targeting recent Omicron variants that are more transmissible. Dr. Bill Muller with Lurie Children’s Hospital and professor of pathology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says especially as we approach winter, and children are spending more time indoors, the shot will offer added protection. “The other thing to remember is we’re starting to get into the season where people are spending much more time indoors and there’s a lot more circulation of respiratory viruses. Children are in school and now that masking requirements are in some cases completely absent and in some cases just relaxed, there’s gonna be more opportunities for the virus to circulate. So I think it makes sense to get vaccinated as soon as you can to get protection through the winter,” said Miller.
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WBEZ Chicago
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Why so many children are being hospitalized in Chicago this fall
Following years of a pandemic, we are facing a flu season projected to be the worst in years. Meanwhile, children are already increasingly hospitalized for multiple reasons. Anisha Kshetrapal, an assistant professor of pediatrics in emergency medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, shares, “We’re seeing a lot of respiratory illness and young children with bronchiolitis, and it’s early for this year. Lurie Children’s is especially busy and calling across the city for patients to find beds. Masks, handwashing and immunizations are very important during this time of year to prevent illness. The flu shot decreases the severity, even if it doesn’t prevent you from getting it so doctors strongly recommend it. Dehydration and difficulty breathing are the main reasons to visit an ER if your child is sick.
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Retuers
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U.S. experts urge anxiety screening for children 8 and older
An influential panel of U.S. experts recommended for the first time on Tuesday that primary care doctors screen all children ages 8 to 18 for anxiety, even if there are no symptoms. Experiencing anxiety can be debilitating for a young person and it increases the risk for anxiety in adulthood as well as other conditions such as depression. In an editorial accompanying the task force’s advice, John Walkup, MD, of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital and professor and chief of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and his colleagues noted the majority of psychiatric disorders, including the anxiety disorders, arise in childhood and adolescence, and welcomed the screening recommendations. The number of U.S. children ages 3-17 diagnosed with anxiety rose by 29% from 2016 to 2020 and those diagnosed with depression rose by 27% during the same time period, an HHS study released in March showed. Experts have said the trend has been worsened by issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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WebMD
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Can Non-Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis Become AS?
If you have non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA), you may wonder if you’ll get ankylosing spondylitis (AS). That’s when your doctor can see certain bone changes on an X-ray — they don’t show up when you have nr-axSpA. Studies show anywhere from 8% to 40% of people with nr-axSpA may get AS within 2 to 10 years. But experts disagree on what this information means for how the disease progresses. Some think nr-axSpA is an early form of AS. Others view them as either distinct conditions or diseases on the same spectrum. Eric Ruderman, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, doesn’t think nr-axSpA is simply “pre-ankylosing spondylitis.” He describes them as “two parallel pathways.” The line between the two blurs in the early stages of the disease. One way to think about it is that everyone with AS goes through the non-radiographic phase. But only a certain number get AS. Early on, doctors can’t tell the difference between the two. And it can take years to find out. The good news is doctors are starting to catch non-radiographic changes earlier. In the future, scientists may know how to spot specific factors that lead to AS. But we’re not there yet.
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Retuers
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Fact Check – Vitamin D is not ‘the most effective medicine against cancer’
There is no evidence to support claims recently made online that vitamin D is “the most effective medicine against cancer” or that taking the vitamin prevents cancer or lowers the odds of dying from the disease, according to scientific analyses. A recent tweet claims, without citing any evidence that Vitamin D is “the single most effective medicine against cancer, far outpacing the benefits of any cancer drug known to modern science.” However, a 2022 evidence review by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, found that taking Vitamin D has no effect on cancer incidence or deaths in the general population. Jeffrey Linder, chief of general internal medicine and professor of general internal medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who co-wrote an editorial accompanying the study, told Reuter’s Fact Check that “those who have low vitamin D levels have other factors that lead them to a higher risk for cancer,”. He added, “It’s never been shown, among healthy adults, that supplementation with vitamin D reduces the risk of cancer.”
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WebMD
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Reddit Leads the Way for STD Information Seeking
Where do teens and young adults go to talk about sex, sexual health and sexually transmitted diseases? The obvious – routine medical checkups, hanging out with friends or partners – are becoming less common than social media platforms for information and advice. For patients and doctors, it’s a win-win situation, one that provides a chance to address and prevent the spread of STD misinformation and, at the same time, help to reverse skyrocketing rates of some of these infections in younger people. However, Reddit AMAs don’t come without risk, and it’s best for those who want STD information to be aware of the pitfalls and red flags. “One of the things to think about is than an approach like the subreddit adds to the false narrative that STDs in particular have to be symptomatic to be problematic, which we know is not the case,” explains Dennis Li, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and sexual and gender minority health and well-being at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “We also have to be careful not to misdiagnose and potentially cause harm,” he says, emphasizing that many young people – especially those with equity issues – don’t have experience in navigating health systems or reputable websites for information.
