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.
-
TODAY
–
Does weight and BMI affect breast cancer? The role of belly fat
You don’t need a DEXA scan to know whether your excess pounds are piling up in the wrong places, experts said. “Simplistically, if you look in the mirror, you can see if the fat is concentrated in your middle rather than your chest and legs,” said Dr. William Gradishar, a breast cancer specialist and a professor of medicine at Northwestern University. “You don’t need to be a fashion editor or scientist to see that.”
-
U.S. News & World Report
–
Some Diabetes Drugs Linked to Higher Heart Risks
Study author Dr. Matthew O’Brien said the new findings call for a “paradigm shift in how we’re treating diabetes.” Currently, people with type 2 diabetes are given metformin, and if they need a second treatment, they’re often given sulfonylureas or basal insulin. But these findings call that practice into question. “People who started taking sulfonylureas and basal insulin have a much higher incidence of cardiovascular disease. So, if all the new drugs lower cardiovascular disease risk, that’s where we should go first to treat type 2 diabetes,” O’Brien explained. He is an assistant professor of general internal medicine, geriatrics and preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
-
Chicago Tribune
–
Caramels, bath bombs, oils: CBD products are filling store shelves. Here’s why cannabis items are suddenly trendy.
But user beware: Cannabinoid receptors are so widely distributed throughout the body that activating one for a certain purpose, say to treat arthritis pain, may activate others and cause unwanted effects. That has caused challenges for pharmaceutical development, according to the research. More valid scientific experiments must be conducted to determine whether and how CBD — and marijuana, for that matter — is effective, said Dr. Stephen Hanauer, medical director of the Digestive Health Center at Northwestern Medicine. “Aspirin can be very helpful for a headache or a joint ache, but if you’ve got a bleeding ulcer, it’s got harmful effects,” Hanauer said. “We need to know both the good and the bad.”
-
Chicago Tribune
–
Laughing gas for childbirth? More Chicago hospitals offering nitrous oxide to women in labor.
At Prentice, some women have asked if the gas is available, said Dr. Nicole Higgins, section chief and medical director of obstetric anesthesiology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Until now, she’s had to say no, though she hopes it will be approved for use within the next six months. Word of the gas has spread quickly in recent years as moms and moms-to-be swap information in mom groups on social media, she said. Her own mother used nitrous oxide to deliver her in the early 1970s.
-
Forbes
–
Abiomed Sells $600 Million Worth Of Its Pencil-Size Heart Pump. But Some Doctors Have Big Questions About It.
Part of the reason it’s so hard is because often patients’ hearts have stopped and “you really can’t get consent ahead of time,” says William O’Neill, a cardiologist and Abiomed consultant at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit who was an early adopter of Impella. His study of 104 patients treated with the Impella shows 77% survived to leave the hospital, versus a 50% historical survival rate. Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, says it’s all about selecting the patients who have the best chance of being helped. “The Impella is definitely a step forward. It’s less than a perfect device, but better than what we have had before.”
-
National Public Radio
–
An Epidemic Is Killing Thousands Of Coal Miners. Regulators Could Have Stopped It
This advanced stage of black lung leaves lungs crusty and useless, says Dr. Robert Cohen, a pulmonologist at the University of Illinois, Chicago who has spent decades studying black lung and PMF disease. “You have a much harder time breathing so that you can’t exercise,” Cohen noted. “Then you can’t do some simple activities. Then you can barely breathe just sitting still. And then you require oxygen. And then even the oxygen isn’t enough. And so … they’re essentially suffocating while alive.”
-
Reuters
–
Yes, it’s still hard for dads to talk about condoms with sons
Still, the results highlight the importance of parents having frequent, ongoing, open communication with teens about sex, said Dr. Kate Lucey of Northwestern University and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “Sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis are all on the rise among adolescents, and condom use is one of the best ways to prevent STDs,” Lucey, the author of an accompanying editorial, said by email. “Having one-on-one, honest conversations with your teen about why condom use is important and the specifics of how to use a condom is critical.”
-
HealthDay
–
AHA: Barbershops Help Trim High Blood Pressure Numbers for Black Men
Blyler said having highly paid pharmacists spending hours driving to barbershops could ultimately be too expensive. She’s now conducting a study in which pharmacists conduct follow-ups remotely, via video conferencing. She said she’d like to see future studies targeting African-American women in beauty shops. But the study’s promise far outweighs its logistical roadblocks, said Dr. Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “It’s an ingenious and potentially disruptive study that makes a very strong case that going into the community works,” said Yancy, who was not involved in the study.
-
Chicago Tribune
–
‘I was given a gift:’ United Airlines CEO recalls heart transplant
He was sitting alongside others who had also undergone heart transplants at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. They gathered as Northwestern doctors announced that this year they’ve broken the record for performing the most heart transplants ever at an Illinois hospital in one year. With less than two weeks left in 2018, doctors have transplanted 54 hearts this year, besting the previous record of 45 heart transplants set by Rush University Medical Center in 1995, according to Northwestern. “The accomplishment is a reflection (that) there’s more patients in Chicago that are receiving the type of care that they ought to be receiving,” said Dr. Allen Anderson, medical director of the Center for Heart Failure at Northwestern’s Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.
-
The New York Times
–
Scant Evidence Behind the Advice About Salt
This is a minuscule amount of data on which to base strong recommendations. An accompanying editorial written by Clyde Yancy, a professor of cardiology at Northwestern School of Medicine, noted that only 0.3 percent of the studies that looked at sodium restriction and heart failure were of sufficient quality to be included in this systematic review. We need better research. Some of that may be on the way. The Geriatric Out of Hospital Randomized Meal Trial in Heart Failure randomly assigned 66 patients to home-delivered low-salt meals after hospital discharge to study how well they work. Its findings are pending.
