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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As the BA.5 variant spreads, the risk of coronavirus reinfection grows
The latest omicron offshoot, BA.5 has quickly become dominant in the United States, and thanks to its elusiveness when encountering the human immune system, is driving a wave of cases across the country. Many people now see the pandemic as part of the fabric of modern life rather than an urgent health emergency. Beyond the direct suffering of such a massive outbreak, there could be economic disruptions as tens of millions of people become too sick to work. “It feels as though everyone has given up,” said Mercedes Carnethon, PhD, an epidemiologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Carnethon said she also isn’t as cautious as she used to be. She is worried she’ll contract the coronavirus again, but doesn’t think a “zero covid” strategy is plausible. Population-level immunity is one reason the virus remains in mutational overdrive. The risk of reinfections has increased because newly emergent subvariants are better able to evade the front-line defense of the immune system, and there is essentially no effort at the community level to limit transmission.
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USA Today
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‘DIY abortion’: Experts warn Americans against ‘extremely dangerous’ herbs in viral post
The changing landscape of abortion access across the country has prompted many Americans to turn to the internet for answers, including how to self-manage an unwanted pregnancy at home. Google searches for “DIY abortion” have skyrocketed since the Supreme Court’s decision in June overturning Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50-year landmark ruling legalizing abortion nationwide. Experts urge pregnant people to stay away from herbal concoctions as they can cause immediate and long-term danger to both the fetus and mother. Dr. Melissa Simon, vice chair for research in the obstetrics and gynecology department at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine said, “It breaks my heart that we are here at this point in time where people are going to attempt something that could potentially kill them.” She further shared, “I really hope that people don’t home remedies to accomplish an abortion…It’s extremely dangerous.”
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New York Times
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Why we’re still arguing about abortion and regret
There is a large divide between whether or not most women regret having abortions. However, there is a difference, experts say, between the emotion of regret – for instance, regretting the circumstances around an unwanted pregnancy – and actually feeling that abortion was not the right decision. “When people express sad or complicated or negative emotions, we’re quick to call that regret, but that usually isn’t accurate,” said Katie Watson, associate professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “This is the key question: If you had a time machine and you could go back to that moment of unwanted pregnancy, but you can’t change anything else … knowing what you know now, would you make a different decision?” she said. “That’s actually true decisional regret.” According to the research, they found no evidence of emerging negative emotions or abortion decision regret. More than 95 percent of the 667 women studied said having an abortion was the right decision for them, even five years after. Over those five years, relief was the most commonly felt emotion at all times.
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New York Times
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Is ‘Face Blindness’ Real?
The condition of prosopagnosia is not related to memory loss, vision impairment or learning disabilities. Prosopagnosia is only face blindness, not color blindness or overall visual impairment, said Dr. Borna Bonakdarpour, behavioral neurologist and assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. It’s not the same as forgetfulness or sometimes struggling to find the right word. Prosopagnosia varies in severity; some people with the condition may have trouble recognizing a familiar face, like a friend or family members, while others may not even be able to identify their onw reflections. There is no treatment for the condition, Dr. Bonakdarpour said, but there are ways to manage it. People with prosopagnosia often focus on features like hair color, walking style or voices to tell people apart. People who acquire prosopagnosia later in life, opposed to being born with the condition, may have lesions in the brain as a result of a head injury or trauma. People can also acquire the condition after strokes or as they develop Alzheimer’s disease, Dr. Bonakdarpour said.
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Yahoo! News
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No, monkeypox is not a ‘gay disease.’ Here’s what experts want you to know.
News of the growing monkeypox outbreak, from the start, has noted that the virus is disproportionately impacting queer men. That has set off two kinds of alarm bells – about both the disease itself and also the misleading narratives that monkeypox is a “gay disease.” In response, and in an attempt to inform gay and bisexual men of their risk of contracting the disease, while warding off stigma, LGBTQ groups began issuing statements last week that monkeypox can impact “anyone, anywhere.” Experts like Northwestern Medicine’s Robert H. Murphy, add that monkeypox is “not a sexually transmitted disease in the classic sense.” It is not believed, although it is not yet known for certain, that it is spread through sexual fluids. A level of precaution about any physical contact, then, should be of top concern.
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WGN
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Examining the mentality of the suspected gunman in the Illinois parade shooting
Disproportionately, shooters are white males when it comes to mass shootings. Women do not typically engage in mass shootings, in the past 50 to 60 years only 2 cases were women ever involved in a mass shooting. Professor Lori Ann Post, expert on mass shootings and director of the Institute for Public Health (IPHAM) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, shares insight regarding the most recent mass shooting. According to Post, the objective of the mass shooter is to kill as many as possible and planning it for a parade allowed him a large group of people and the reason may simply be he felt these were easy targets. The family members said there’s no signs whatsoever, but there are always signs. He’s not a normal person and he’s been planning this murder since at least since September 2021. He’s engaged in activities that are affiliate with extreme right groups. He’s posting disturbing photos, but those are very alarming and if you ever see someone posting weapons like that or videos about killing, definitely tell someone. It’s worth looking into. We can definitely identify people like that who are potential mass shooters.
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Chicago Tribune
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Purchase of rifle allegedly used in Highland Park massacre highlights limits of Illinois gun laws
A day after a gunman fired 70 rounds into a crowd at the Highland Park Independence Day parade, concerns and questions began to emerge about the availability of high-capacity firepower in Illinois, including whether existing rules and laws around background checks are enough to protect the public. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine professor Lori Ann Post, who has studied decades of mass-shooting events, said the story playing out in Highland Park fits an all-too-familiar pattern of failing to identify and act to prevent those who should not be carrying firearms from doing so. “We look backwards and it makes sense that he did this,” Post said. “But what we have to do is identify this ongoing, escalating socially deviant behavior. We are absolutely failing.” Illinois’ red flag law, which has existed since 2019, is designed so that people can ask a civil court to intervene and remove firearms from someone who appears to be a danger to themselves or others, experts say.
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WTTW
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How Abortion Bans Could Impact Infertility Treatments
The Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has had an immediate impact on women with unwanted pregnancies. But people who desperately want to have children are also being impacted. Patients undergoing in vitro fertilization, known as IVF, and their doctors, are worried that overturning Roe could impact them as well. “In states where bills are being introduced defining a fetus as a person, or defining life as beginning at fertilization, this could dramatically change the way in vitro fertilization is practiced,” says Dr. Kara Goldman, medical director of fertility preservation at Northwestern Medicine and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Physicians like myself who practice reproductive medicine are afraid for our patients. What does this mean for a patient’s frozen embryos?” Further, Goldman shares, “When a patient has completed their family, embryos are either donated to research or destroyed. If embryo destruction is outlawed, this will have tremendous ramifications for not only the tens of thousands of embryos – and the families who have created those embryos through careful decision-making between the physician and patient – but importantly will have ramifications for the future practice of IVF and the hundreds of thousands of Americans who rely on this technology to build their families,” says Goldman.
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WTTW
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After Highland Park Mass Shooting, ‘People are Feeling Lots of Different Things.’ Help Is Available, Clinicians Say
Highland Park’s Fourth of July Parade turned into a tragedy Monday as a gunman opened fire on the celebrations, leaving seven dead and at least 30 injured. That sudden shift from a celebratory mood to one of imminent danger can make it difficult for people to process their emotions in the aftermath. Area clinicians say feelings of guilt and traumatic flashbacks are normal responses but those impacted should not hesitate to reach out for help. Common symptoms people may be experiencing include irritability, anxiety, depression, being agitated or hypervigilant about their surroundings or safety. These feelings are normal, says Sheehan Fisher, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, and they shouldn’t be ignored. “When it comes to so many other parts of health, people are not shy about going to a doctor, but when it comes to mental health people view it as something they should be strong enough to manage it on their own,” Fisher said. Fisher advises people connect with community members, family and friends.
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CNN
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My transplant opened my eyes to the need for organ donors
In 2021, nearly 170 people were registered as donors in the United States. That number, coupled with the fact that a single organ donor can save up to eight lives, seems to offer hope for transplant candidates. Inequities in general health and access to healthcare, issues linked to socioeconomic status and a history of discrimination also affect who gets an organ and even who ends up needing one in the first place. There’s also anoth4er culprit, according to Dr. Juan Carlos Caicedo, founder and director of the Hispanic Transplant Program at Northwestern University: Most US transplant centers have not implemented a multicultural or multilingual approach to care. “Only 10% of those programs have a website translating different languages besides English,” he said. Caicedo’s research indicates that centers incorporating languages and culturally sensitive care are successful in getting more Hispanic patients to be living donors. The point of the transplant system is to keep more people alive and healthy – which includes Black women such as myself as well as low-wage earners adn those who don’t speak English as a native language.
