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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New Netflix documentary calls out Xanax overuse: What doctors want you to know
For years, the rates of anxiety – and the use of a fast-acting prescription drug to alleviate its symptoms – have been on the rise. The pandemic, experts say, has dramatically pumped up those numbers. A new Netflix film “Take Your Pill: Xanax” spotlights the alarming number of Americans using the medication Xanax to calm their anxiety. The film tells its tale by interweaving the stories of people who use the medication with the opinions of experts who say that while Xanax is quite effective at quieting anxiety, it is a powerful drug that should ideally be used short term. Listening to patients in the film describe how effective the drug is, it’s easy to understand how someone might end up using it for years. The film follows one individual who when realizing his symptoms stemmed from Xanax, he began to slowly and carefully reduce his dose. Cutting back or quitting cold turkey can be dangerous, experts say. “Stopping cold turkey can result in seizures,” says Will Cronenwett, MD, chief of general psychiatry at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Xanax locks onto the same receptors of the brain as alcohol.” The drug can also be fatal if combined with other sedating medications or alcohol, he adds. “In my practice since the pandemic I’ve seen a great deal more people with complaints of anxiety,” Cronenwett says. “People feel less safe, and feeling unsafe about yourself in the world is similar to the feeling of anxiety disorder.”
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New York Times
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What Is Stiff Person Syndrome?
Pop superstar Celine Dion announced Thursday that she is canceling and rescheduling her planned 2023 tour dates after being diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological condition. Stiff person syndrome is a rare autoimmune neurological condition that affects the central nervous system and can cause rigidity throughout the body and painful muscle spasms. The syndrome itself is not deadly, but it can significantly affect a patient’s quality of life. There is no cure for stiff person syndrome, so doctors focus on symptom and pain management. Tapering down body’s immune response can help alleviate symptoms, said Dr. Senda Ajroud-Driss, associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. For the non-pharmacological treatments, patients may undergo cognitive behavioral therapy and other psychotherapy to help them mitigate the emotional triggers that prompt muscle spasms, as well as to develop skills for living with a chronic condition. Other types of treatments, such as physical therapy, aqua therapy, heat therapy and acupuncture can provide relief for some patients.
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New York Times
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How to Actually Enjoy the Holidays
It’s no secret that the holidays are stressful. Last year, the American Psychiatric Association polled over 2,000 adults: 41 percent reported an increase in worrying during the season. This year, 31 percent said they expected to feel even more stressed than they did in 2021. The reasons are plentiful: social obligations, gift-giving woes, family tensions, travel challenges, financial concerns and the lists go on. We asked experts to provide a few solutions to our holiday stressors. Setting boundaries is important to determine what is important to you. Once your priorities are sorted, you’ll need to get comfortable saying no. Inger E. Burnett-Zeigler, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, recommended three different ways of declining. You can simply say “No,” because “‘No’ is a complete sentence,” she explained. You can say, “No, not right now,” and suggest a different timeline, or you can say, “I can’t do this, but I can do that.” Planning in advance for travel is another way to reduce stress around the holidays. “Of course, no matter how much you prepare, travel comes with some uncertainty. But accepting the stress that arises may actually help you handle it, said Michael Ziffra, MD, a psychiatrist at Northwestern Medicine. Try writing down your top five worries ahead of time, a technique often used in cognitive behavioral therapy, he said. Beside each worry, explore how likely it is that your concern will happen and how bad it would be if it did. This practice can help replace worst-case scenarios in your mind with situations that are more realistic, Ziffra said.
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WebMD
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Beyond Babies, RSV Infections Put Older People at Risk, Too
The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) “season” this year is notable for a number of reasons, including the relatively early and large spike in cases that is challenging the capacity of children’s hospitals nationwide. But the spotlight on pediatric cases is overshadowing how this virus also raises risk for people 65 and older. RSV in older Americans “remains under-recognized by both physicians and especially the public.” The symptoms of RSV in younger and older people are often similar. “Many things are the same, especially the prominence of severe cough and airway disease,” says Richard G. Wunderink, MD, a professor of medicine in pulmonary and critical care at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. But because children have smaller airways than adults, the inflammation caused by RSV can cause more trouble in younger patients, Wunderink says. Clearing increased mucus can be more difficult, for example. That much mucus can plug the child’s airway and even cause a lung to collapse. This condition, known as atelectasis, “is a major reason for admission to pediatric ICUs,” Wunderink says. In contrast, he says, “Adults have bigger airways, so we don’t see as much mucus plugging and atelectasis.”
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The Washington Post
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Why flying while sick can make you feel worse
The coronavirus, flu and RSV are all circulating at such high levels that hospitals are overwhelmed. Health experts warn it’s best not to fly if you have any symptoms. Not only do you risk getting the passengers around you ill, but the environment on board could make you feel even worse. Respiratory illnesses affect your sinuses and Eustachian tubes, which connect your middle ear to your throat. Both are air-filled chambers, so when you’re on a plane, the pressure inside needs to equalize with the cabin pressure after takeoff and upon landing. When you’re sick, those tubes become inflamed and narrow, making equalizing pressures more difficult. Jeffrey A. Linder, professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said the “calculus has changed” in recent years to reduce the need to travel while ill, thanks to the ability to quickly test for covid and the proliferation of remote work. “If you can’t get your symptoms under control with over-the-counter medicines, you should try to avoid flying,” Linder said.
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USA Today
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Images of darker skin are absent from medical texts. Dermatologists are changing that.
Skin of color is underrepresented in medical training and textbooks, which can lead to missed diagnoses and inequities in care. More and more, dermatologists have been calling for action, raising awareness of the dearth and taking matters into their own hands to launch their own training programs. Doctors in training rely on images to develop familiarity with how skin conditions present. Eczema, psoriasis, inflammation, acne and other skin conditions show up differently in various skin tones. For example, psoriasis patches in Black and Hispanic patients may be dark brown or purple-grey, and the scales that cover them can also be a grey or silver in color. In white people, these are pink or reddish in tone. Faculty and trainees can help textbook publishers hasten change, wrote professor of dermatology Roopal Kundu, MD. She implored medical schools to begin implementing student-led curriculum review panels. “Text publishers and editors are steadily beginning to address these disparities, but bottom-up change from trainees is necessary to comprehensively address this issue,” she wrote.
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NBC 5 Chicago
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Study: Some Testosterone Therapy Companies Not Following Medical Guidelines
While demand for testosterone therapy has soared in the United States, a new study from Northwestern Medicine found several direct-to-consumer companies offering the therapy did not follow medical guidelines nor convey the health risks of therapy. Josh Halpern, MD, MS, a Northwestern urologist and assistant professor of urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, co-authored a study that was published in JAMA. “Low testosterone is really quite prevalent,” Halpern said. “We’ve seen an increased use in testosterone overall over the last few years. It really does need to be prescribed and monitored carefully, and so, that was the reason that we wanted to explore the kind of quality of care that these platforms were offering.” The study, published online, does not name the companies involved. The authors said they believe there is value in telemedicine improving access to this kind of care.
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Yahoo! News
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Colleges Struggling to Recruit Therapists for Students in Crisis
Across the country, college students are seeking mental health therapy on campus in droves, part of a 15-year upswing that has spiked during the pandemic. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in December issued a rare public health advisory noting the increasing number of suicide attempts by young people. Colleges and universities are struggling to keep up with the demand for mental health services. Amid a nationwide shortage of mental health professionals, they are competing with hospital systems, private practices and the burgeoning telehealth industry to recruit and retain counselors. Even before the pandemic, university counseling center staff members were overwhelmed, Bettina Bohle-Frankel, MD, clinical instructor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine wrote in a letter to the New York Times. “Now, overburdened, underpaid and burned out, many therapists are leaving college counseling centers for less stressful work and better pay. Many are doing so to protect their own mental health.”
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US News & World Report
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‘Tumor Progressing,’ ‘Positive Findings’: Patients Often Confused by Medical Jargon
A new study finds that the medical jargon doctors use can be completely misunderstood by patients. Common medical lingo that makes perfect sense to doctors often gets lost in translation when conveyed to laypeople, the new research found. It turns out that many people mistakenly believe it’s good news if a tumor is “progressing” or a chest X-ray is “impressive.” A classic example is in the reporting of test results, said Michael Wolf, PhD, MPH, professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. A “positive” result on a cancer screening test, for example, means you might have cancer. A “negative” result, therefore, is good – the opposite of how people use those words in everyday language. Wolf, who wasn’t involved in the new research, studies healthcare communication. HE said he wasn’t surprised by the findings: It’s well recognized that medical jargon is a problem, that it confuses patients and that doctors need to be more clear in their language. When doctors fail to be clear, patients should not be afraid to speak up, Wolf said. “Even if they appear rushed,” he added, “you have the right to ask questions.”
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WGN
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Study shows progress in vaccine development for deadly brain tumor
Glioblastoma is a highly lethal type of tumor. For the majority of patients, survival is often measured in months, not years, particularly after a recurrence. Now, there is a little hope in the form of a vaccine, but local doctors say, not so fast. Rimas Lukas, MD, associate professor of neuro-oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine says, “Unfortunately, at this time we do not have a cure for the disease. And so even if scans look good, we’re working under the assumption that there is residual tumor cells that will grow at some point in time.” There have been some advancements – most notably a device worn on the scalp that uses electrical fields to slow disease progression. “When cells are within an electrical field, and they are trying to divide and make more tumor cells, it stops them from dividing and it also kills some of those cells,” Lukas said. The device, known as tumor-treating fields, has been shown to improve survival and is now considered part of the contemporary standard of care that includes surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. “It’s something exciting because the immune system has demonstrated proof of principle of being very effective at treating some highly aggressive cancers, so Stage 4 melanoma now have long-term survivors,” Lukas said.
