Recent News

New Theory Offered on MemoryBy Elizabeth Crown How do you remember your own name? Is it possible ever to forget it? The memory trace, or engram, “feels” like it is stored permanently in the brain, and it will never be forgotten. Indeed, the current view of memory is that, at the molecular level, new proteins[…]

January 11, 2005 Northwestern Study Shows Why Olive Oil Protects Against Breast Cancer CHICAGO—Oleic acid, the main monounsaturated fatty acid contained in olive oil, can cripple a cancer gene that is responsible for 25 to 30 percent of all breast cancers, according to an article by Northwestern University researchers published in the January 10 issue[…]

Medication May Improve Parkinson’s Drug Effects CHICAGO—Physicians at the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center at Northwestern University are conducting a research study to evaluate an experimental treatment intended to improve motor fluctuations associated with the “wearing-off” effects of medications to treat Parkinson’s disease. Individuals with advancing Parkinson’s disease develop inconsistent responses to medications, known[…]

‘Signal’ Enables Parasite to Target Blood Cells CHICAGO—Northwestern University researchers have identified a key molecular “signal” that allows malarial parasites to release virulence proteins inside human red blood cells. The investigators, led by Kasturi Haldar, PhD, and N. Luisa Hiller, also found that the process by which the malarial parasite remodels red blood cells is[…]

Sleeping Less May Be Related to Weight GainLack of sleep could make you fat. In an editorial published in the January 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, two Northwestern University researchers stress the need to better understand the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States by studying how loss of sleep alters[…]

Medical Students Spearhead Disaster Fund DriveFourteen Northwestern medical student groups have joined forces to raise funds to aid survivors of the recent earthquake and tsunami in South Asia. Led by the Feinberg School of Medicine chapter of GlobeMed, students are collecting monetary donations during the lunch hour in the Method Atrium, 310 East Superior Street,[…]

NMH, RIC to Lease VA Land Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) are one step closer to leasing the land occupied by the former VA Lakeside Medical Center (VALMC). During a formal ceremony on January 18 in Washington, NMH and RIC officials met with Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J.[…]

Superior Street Water Main Project StartsWhen the City of Chicago first installed the water main pipe that currently runs below Superior Street—between Lake Shore Drive and Fairbanks Court—traffic jams may have involved as many horses and carriages as cars. In place since 1911, the existing 8-inch pipe will soon be replaced with a larger, 12-inch[…]

Research Studies Drug to Treat Brain Metastases CHICAGO—A Northwestern University cancer researcher is conducting a study that will compare the effects of whole brain radiation therapy with supplemental oxygen without or with EfaproxynTM (efaproxiral), an experimental radiation sensitizer, in participants with brain cancer originating from metastatic breast cancer. It is believed that efaproxiral may improve[…]

Research Seeks to Advance Diabetes Treatment CHICAGO—Northwestern University has received a major grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to advance technologies in the field of islet cell replacement for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes. Principal investigator on the $1.5 million JDRF program project is Dixon B. Kaufman, MD, PhD, professor and vice[…]

December 21, 2004 Immigrants Just as Obese as U.S. Adults CHICAGO—Immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least 15 years are nearly as obese as U.S.-born adults, according to an article in the December 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Immigrants generally originate from countries where the prevalence[…]

Middle-Age Obesity May Raise Medicare Costs Overweight and obesity in young adulthood and middle age may have devastating effects on future Medicare expenditures, particularly given the continued and alarming increase in prevalence of obesity in the United States during recent decades, according to a study published in the December 8 issue of the Journal of[…]

December 8, 2004 Strength Training May Improve Leg Functioning CHICAGO—A Northwestern University researcher is conducting a clinical study to determine whether regular exercise can improve leg and ankle functioning in participants with peripheral artery disease (PAD), a condition similar to coronary artery disease, where fatty deposits on the walls of arteries block blood flow to[…]

December 21, 2004 Study Shows Toxic Proteins Affect Memory EVANSTON, Ill.—Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered a molecular mechanism—a tiny protein attacking nerve cells—that could explain why the brain damage in early Alzheimer’s disease results in memory loss and not other symptoms such as loss of balance or tremors. The research team, led by William[…]

Feinberg Lecture Features NBC’s Robert Bazell This year’s shortage of the flu vaccine has once again highlighted a potential public health threat that shouldn’t be taken lightly, according to Robert Bazell, chief health and science correspondent for NBC News and a regular contributor to NBC Nightly News, Today, and Dateline NBC. Bazell spoke at the[…]

November 2, 2004 Scientists Find ‘Holy Grail’ of Hearing Research CHICAGO—Northwestern University neuroscientists and colleagues have identified a protein long considered to be the missing link in hearing research, a finding that may eventually lead to gene therapies for deafness. In the online version of the journal Nature, Jaime Garcia-Añoveros, PhD, Anne Duggan, PhD, and[…]

November 9, 2004 Over-the-Counter Drugs Could Save $4.75 Billion Annually Using nonprescription, or over-the-counter (OTC), medications to treat common upper respiratory infections could save $4.75 billion a year, according to a new study conducted by researchers from Northwestern University. The study, which was sponsored by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association and was presented on October[…]

November 16, 2004 Stable Weight Reduces Heart Risk CHICAGO—Gaining 15 pounds or more over several years is the major contributor to progression of risk factors for heart disease and development of metabolic syndrome, while maintaining a stable weight—even in individuals considered obese—significantly reduces those risks, according to a study led by a Northwestern University researcher.[…]