Breakthroughs

This talk was given at Northwestern Medicine on March 17, 2020 by Dr. Michael Ison. He discusses the virology and epidemiology of COVID-19 as well as predictors of patient outcome and strategies to manage patients with the infection.

A new Northwestern Medicine study published in JAMA Pediatrics has revealed that more stringent negligence laws, which hold adults responsible for safe storage of firearms, may have potential to reduce firearm fatalities in children. Hooman Azad, a third-year medical student at Feinberg and first author of the study explains.

Most people with peripheral artery disease, PAD, have great difficulty walking and few treatments to help. Preliminary results of a new Northwestern Medicine study suggest that cocoa may have a therapeutic effect on walking performance in people with PAD. Dr. Mary McDermott led this study and shares the results.

An important finding detailed in a new Northwestern Medicine study warns of the role certain kinds of meat may play in increasing cardiovascular disease risk and premature death. Norrina Allen, PhD, led this research and shares details about the study.

Microbiologist Karla Satchell, PhD, is leading a national effort to investigate the structure biology of the components of the new coronavirus virus (2019-nCoV) and ultimately understand how to stop it from replicating in human cells through a medication or vaccine.

This work is being done with the Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases at Northwestern, which is funded by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

When we read about college and youth sports today, it's usually about the dangers to health - mainly, concussions. However, a new study led by Nina Kraus, PhD, director of Northwestern's Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, BrainVolts, has found that athletes have healthier brains than non-athletes. 

In this bonus episode, Clyde Yancy, MD, and Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM, offer tips for people to consider in the new year, that can improve their health.

Lloyd-Jones suggests experimenting with different tactics to lose or maintain weight, such as intermittent fasting. 

"The important thing, if you need to lose weight, is to find out what works for you. It doesn't really matter how you do it, as long as you do it," Lloyd-Jones says. "75 percent of Americans are overweight or obese; we are the fattest nation there has ever been. It is not anyone's fault, but it is something we have to do something about."

If losing weight feels like an overwhelming goal, Lloyd-Jones suggests people concentrate on not gaining any additional weight instead.

Yancy often quotes to his patients a phrase coined by Northwestern physician Neil Stone, MD: "eat less, do more and know your numbers (such as blood pressure)." But Yancy says he would add one more idea to that phrase: maintain a healthy social life. 

"Remain engaged with people who matter to you and people for whom you matter, because it looks like it can add years to your life expectancy and cognitive function," he says. 

Of the thousands of studies published by Northwestern scientists in 2019, some of the most discussed came from the field of cardiology. Two Northwestern physician scientists, Dr. Clyde Yancy and Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, review some of these findings and share their thoughts on advances in cardiology to come in 2020. 

It is the most common tumor found in women and is the cause of 200,000 hysterectomies in the United States every year. Yet, uterine fibroids have not been a frequent topic of medical research. Northwestern’s Serdar Bulun, MD, leads one of the few research programs focused on the molecular and cellular abnormalities that may cause uterine fibroids and is investigating novel targets to treat the condition.

In recent Northwestern Medicine study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, women surgical residents reported more mistreatment than men, which was linked to higher burnout rates and more suicidal thoughts.