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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If You Have Any of These 9 Symptoms, It Could Be BA.5, Doctors Say
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If You Have Any of These 9 Symptoms it Could be BA.5
Even though the latest subvariant may be new, the symptoms it’s causing are not unfamiliar to most people. Doctors say treating some of the most common BA.5 ailments could be as simple as looking to basic remedies for relief – especially for taking care of a sore throat. “The best approaches are typically what grandma would advise,” says Michelle Prickett, MD, associate professor of medicine in pulmonary and critical care at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She advises taking plenty of fluids to stay hydrated and help reduce inflammation in the throat. She also recommends gargling a warm salt water solution a few times daily to help ease the pain. In addition, she says patients can manage other symptoms by taking over-the-counter cold medicines. Researchers were further able to narrow down the most common reported symptoms: nagging cough, runny or stuffy nose, fatigue or lethargy, sore throat, headache, muscle pain, fever and sneezing.
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USA Today
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Queer conversion therapy is still practiced in the US. Experts say we need to talk about it.
Even though bans on queer conversion therapy exist, experts say the pseudoscientific practice lurks and needs to be addressed by lawmakers. Talk therapy is a common technique but more extreme practices exist including eversion treatments that induce vomiting or paralysis and snapping an elastic band around the wrist when someone is aroused by same-sex images or thoughts. Some of the practices used in queer conversion interventions include electric shock, deprivation of basic needs and reconditioning around sexual functioning, says Jagadisa-devasri Dacus, associate director of the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing (ISGMH) at Northwestern University and research assistant professor. Outcomes include self-blame, sexual dysfunction and loss of social supports. “There are groups that still continue to perpetuate this is an effective method of helping to provide therapeutic services or supportive services to those questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Dacus says. Dacus further shares seeking help in learning to understand and accept one’s sexual orientation or gender identity as opposed to trying to change it leads to better mental health and overall wellness for queer people. The ISGMH has found when young LGBTQ people have supportive parents or caregivers, they can form better connections, develop more positive self-esteem and experience a lower rate of anxiety and depressive episodes.
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New York Times
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What Types of Exercise Do You Need to Reduce Dementia Risk
Three major long-term studies released in recent months have attempted to characterize the types, intensities and durations of physical activity that confer the most overall protection against dementia. These studies, which followed thousands, and even hundreds of thousands, of people for years at a time, confirm that regular physical activity, in many forms, plays a substantial role in decreasing the risk of developing dementia. Vigorous exercise seems to be best, but even non-traditional exercise, such as doing household chores, can offer a significant benefit. And, surprisingly, it’s just as effective at reducing the risk of those with a family history of dementia. According to Sandra Weintraub, PhD, professor of psychology and neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, “Some people work up quite a sweat when they are doing household chores. It might be that if you do three hours of household chores, you are as good as if you did 30 minutes of aerobic exercise. These studies suggest the ways we move our bodies on a daily basis could add up over time. They also solidify the notion that regular, lifelong physical activity, in all of its forms, goes a long way toward reducing the risk of dementia. “Your brain is part of your body and is going to benefit from anything you do that is good for your general health,” Weintraub said.
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Yahoo! News
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Supplements That Are “Not Worth It” Says Pharmacist
Millions of Americans take a dietary supplement daily to improve overall health but do they really work? Many experts believe the best way to get essential nutrients is through diet, including Dr. Jeffrey Linder, chief of general internal medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He says, “Patients ask all the time, ‘What supplements should I be taking?’ They’re wasting money and focus thinking there has to be a magic set of pills that will keep them healthy when we should all be following the evidence-based practices of eating healthy and exercising.” While some supplements can be helpful, especially if you have a chronic condition that causes a vitamin deficiency like Crohn’s Disease, be careful what you take. There’s many that are ineffective or can cause harmful side effects.
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CNN
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Conservatives have pushed infant safe haven laws as an alternative to abortion. But few American women use them
As many American women reckon with the sudden loss of their constitutional right to abortion, conservatives have floated an alternative they say makes abortion less necessary: safe haven laws. But American women – even in states where in recent years they have had little access to abortion – rarely use safe havens as an option. Northwestern University professor Katie Watson, who teaches law, ethics and humanities to medical students, said the conservative argument that safe havens are an alternative to abortion is disingenuous. “When a person has an abortion, they are saying, ‘I do not want to have a baby.’ And adoption (or using a safe haven) does mean they don’t have to parent the child, but they still had a baby, which was the thing that most people having an abortion did not want to do,” Watson said. Watson further shared that the existence of safe haven laws may not be the only reason why fewer infants are dying by homicide. “Our recognition and treatment of prenatal and perinatal depression is so much better. The awareness that pregnancy can mess with your head and your mental health sometimes may contribute to that lower rate of infantcide.”
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WGN
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Stickers allow patients to do a sleep study right in their own bed
Sleep stickers. It’s technology that can detect breathing problems, specifically obstructive sleep apnea. The condition is estimated to affect 30 million people yet 80% are undiagnosed. Local researchers hope to change that statistic without leaving home. A typically sleep study involves electrodes and bulk equipment attached in a lab where patients are monitored overnight. Dr. Steve Xu is an assistant professor at Northwestern and CEO and cofound of Sibel Health. “The ability to sleep comfortably in your natural position we feel is important and really gives us a true sense of how well you are actually sleeping in your home, in your own bed,” he said. “For those that use our system, it’s like wearing two stickers,” he said. “It monitors things like blood oxygenation, but also monitors something called peripheral arterial tonometry. And that signal is very important because it also allows us to determine when you stop breathing at night.” Initially developed for use in the neonatal intensive care unit to monitor babies’ vital signs, Northwestern University researchers grew the system for adults. In a study of 225 participants comparing the system to a standard in-lab evaluation, the stickers had a 90% sensitivity rate.
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Long COVID Doubles Risk of Some Serious Outcomes in Children, Teens: Study
CDC researchers report that children and teenagers with long COVID have about twice the risk of getting serious outcomes, compared to others without COVID. Heart inflammation; a blood clot in the lung; or a blood clot in the lower leg, thigh, or pelvis were the most common bad outcomes in a new study. “the message that we should take away from this is that we should be very keen on all the methods of prevention for COVID, especially the vaccine” says Stuart Berger, MD, chief of cardiology in the division of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Compared to kids with no history of a COVID-19 diagnosis, the long COVID-19 group was 101% more likely to have a blood clot in the lung, 99% more likely to have heart muscle inflammation, 87% more likely to have a blood clot in a vein, 32% more likely to have acute and unspecified renal failure and 23% were more likely to have type 1 diabetes. Berger continues to express that the long-term effects of long COVID-19 are real, concerning and potentially very serious.
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US News & World Report
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AHA News: What Parents Can Do to Protect Kids From Heart Disease
According to a recent study in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, only 2.2% of 2- to 19- year-olds had “optimal” scores on a scoring system that included diet, physical activity and body mass index. And while nearly 57% of 2- to 5-year-olds had high scores, among 11- to 19-year-olds, that fell to 14%. Protecting a child’s heart health can begin with a focus on a mother’s health during or even before pregnancy, said Dr. Amanda Marma Perak, assistant professor of pediatrics and preventive medicine at Northwestern University and senior author of the Circulation study. She recently helped write an update to the scoring system for heart health now known as Life’s Essential 8. It weighs eight contributors to heart health for children and adults: diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep health, body weight, blood lipids, blood glucose and blood pressure.
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Reuters
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U.S. regulators defend requiring more data on monkeypox drug
As U.S. monkeypox cases rise, U.S. health agencies in a medical journal article defended their decision to require human trial data to show that SIGA Technologies’ experimental drug TPOXX is safe and effective to treat the virus. In 2018 the FDA approved TPOXX for smallpox in adults and children based on studies of animals infected with monkeypox and rabbitpox, as well as safety in healthy people. NIH is planning a U.S.-based random clinical trial to study TPOXX. On July 21, the CDC and FDA began allowing doctors to prescribe the drug before the trial paperwork is completed, but still requires approval of a hospital’s institutional review board for each dose. “It’s definitely better. It’s still very burdensome,” said Dr. Karen Krueger, assistant professor in infectious diseases at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who said there is additional paperwork after the patient visit and for several follow-up visits. “It’s doable, but certainly a lot more challenging than how we normally prescribe drugs.” Northwestern has treated at least 20 monkeypox patients with TPOXX and will be one of the sites for the NIH trial.
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New York Times
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More Men Are Seeking Out Testosterone Tests. Are They Getting Duped?
Men have been drawn to virility enhancement for centuries, either to treat diseases or restore youthful vigor. Today, many have turned to increasing their testosterone levels to give them confidence, fight aging raise physical or mental performance and generally help them feel their best. Typically this starts with testing, then often leads to testosterone replacement therapy through a doctor or specialized “low T” clinic. During the pandemic, however, more men struggling with feelings of malaise have turned to virtual options for testosterone testing and treatment, spurring interest in what was already a $1.7 billion industry. “It’s really never been easier to pursue some of these diagnostic tests and treatments,” said Dr. Joshua Halpern, assistant professor of urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. But, he added, while online services can increase access to quality care, they also have the potential to harm. Over time, testosterone therapy can suppress a man’s natural ability to produce the hormone and lead to infertility.
