Recent News

March 28, 2006 Magnesium-Rich Diet May Reduce Metabolic Syndrome Risk CHICAGO—A magnesium rich-diet may help reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome and, perhaps, a heart attack or diabetes, Northwestern University researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors, including excess waist[…]

April 4, 2006 Early Diagnosis Important in Muscle Disorder CHICAGO—Dermatomyositis, a rare, debilitating inflammatory disease, should be diagnosed and treated promptly in children, Northwestern University researchers recommend. Dermatomyositis is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks muscle and skin, often causing an extensive rash, as well as progressive, severe muscle weakness, pain,[…]

Michael Ravitch Lecture Series Takes Off When long-time Northwestern medical educator Michael M. Ravitch, PhD, suffered a stroke in 1997, he was catapulted into the world of the disabled. Upon his death in 2004, his family and friends established a lecture series in his memory to recognize three things: His many contributions to medical education—he[…]

April 4, 2006 Evolution is Topic of Silverstein LectureCHICAGO—Eugenie C. Scott, PhD, and Robert T. Pennock, PhD, two noted experts on the controversy surrounding evolution, creationism, and intelligent design, will be the guest speakers for the annual Center for Genetic Medicine Silverstein Lecture Series at Northwestern University. The lecture, “Evolution: The Impact of Social and[…]

March 21, 2006 Many African American Seniors Have Misconceptions About Flu Vaccine CHICAGO—Public service messages about the importance of getting vaccinated against the flu may not be addressing some of the key concerns of African American seniors and may contribute to lower vaccination rates, according to Northwestern University researchers. The results of their preliminary study,[…]

Excitement Rules at Match Day Flying confetti accompanied the opening of “official” envelopes at this year’s Match Day. Gathering at a hotel near campus on March16, fourth-year students at the Feinberg School of Medicine accompanied by friends and family members awaited residency training matches with excitement mixed with a bit of trepidation. They joined 15,000[…]

March 7, 2006 Researchers Use Embryonic Model to Reprogram Malignant Melanoma CHICAGO—Scientists at Northwestern University and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have reprogrammed malignant melanoma cells to become normal melanocytes, or pigment cells, a development that may hold promise in treating of one of the deadliest forms of cancer. A report describing the group’s[…]

NIH’s Nabel Speaks on Genomics at Feinberg Lecture At the Feinberg Lecture reception, keynote speaker Dr. Elizabeth Nabel joins Dr. Francis Klocke, director of the Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute. Americans have experienced a decline in heart disease in the past several decades, and the future holds even more innovative therapies to prevent heart attacks and[…]

February 28, 2006 Let Patients Describe Race/Ethnicity CHICAGO—Allowing patients to use their own terms to describe their race or ethnicity for medical records may help reduce differences in how health care is provided to racial and ethnic minorities versus whites, according to a study in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health.[…]

In Memoriam (Charles Staley) Charles J. “Tod” Staley, MD, associate professor emeritus of surgery at the Feinberg School, died February 19 at his Barrington, Illinois, home. He was 85. A general surgeon with special training in cancer surgery, Dr. Staley joined the medical school in 1954 and was promoted to associate professor in 1965. He[…]

March 21, 2006 Research Study Will Assess Use of Botox for Excessive Sweating in Teens CHICAGO—Forget that adage about how men sweat and women perspire. We all sweat, and it’s a good thing we do. Sweating controls body temperature. But some people, including adolescents, sweat copiously and uncontrollably following mild or even no stimulation. They[…]

February 14, 2006 Ethnic Gap Widens for Kids’ Asthma CHICAGO—Fifty percent more black children than white children are hospitalized for asthma, and 25 percent more black children than white children are dying from asthma, according to a report in the February issue of Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The report described a study by[…]

February 7, 2006 More People Have Cholesterol Levels Above Optimum CHICAGO—An estimated 63 million adults have low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels higher than what would be ideal as recommended by the National Institutes of Health. Of that group, 38 million are people with health conditions that put them at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. These[…]

February 20, 2006 Doctors Fail to Recommend Colon Cancer Tests CHICAGO—Fewer than nine out of 10 low-income, medically underserved minority patients at risk for colorectal cancer receive a recommendation for colorectal cancer screening by physicians at government-supported community health centers, according to a study by Northwestern University researchers. The researchers subsequently found that 7 percent[…]

February 7, 2006 Heart Disease Prevention Should Start Before Middle Age CHICAGO—If you think you’re too young to worry about heart disease or stroke—think again. Efforts to prevent America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers should begin long before you’re middle-aged, according to a study in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The study,[…]

February 21, 2006 Noted Cardiologist to Give Feinberg Lecture on March 8 CHICAGO—Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), will speak at the 10th Annual Frances Feinberg Lecture at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, in the Conference Center of the Feinberg Pavilion, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 251 E. Huron[…]

February 1, 2006 Stem Cell Transplantation as Lupus TreatmentCHICAGO—About half of patients with severe lupus that does not respond to standard treatment and who undergo autologous stem cell transplantation to boost their immune system have substantial improvement of their disease after several years, according to preliminary research published in the February 1 issue of the[…]

Galter Library’s Restored Rare Books Featured at Block Museum Exhibit Albinus’ Tabulae Selecti et Musculorum Corporis Humani, published in 1747, required restoration before it could be displayed. The exhibit “Anatomy of Gender” at Northwestern’s Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art explores the relationship between sex, gender, and images of dissection in Renaissance and early[…]

Martha Twaddle Passionate About End-of-Life Care by Cheryl SooHoo Mentors have meant a great deal to Martha L. Twaddle, MD, GME ’89. She has valued their sage advice and used their counsel in many ways to define her life. So in 1989 when Harry J. Miller, MD, now associate professor emeritus of medicine and former[…]