Latest Chicago Sci+Health news

Experts foretell diabetes epidemic will have major impact in Chicago

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:05 -0500

While childhood obesity rates remain sky-high in the U.S., society has yet to feel the full weight of our expanding waistlines, experts say. For young adults, this could mean a type 2 diabetes epidemic lurks in the not-so-distant future.

"It can take up to 10 years for a person to develop type 2 diabetes, so it means we have yet to see the most damaging effects of childhood obesity," says Dr. Joyce Lee, a University of Michigan pediatric endocrinologist whose work on this topic was recently published in Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine.

Database deity

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:11:24 -0500

If Adrian Holovaty builds a database that includes you or your neighborhood (or your neighbors!), pay attention.

You just might learn something.

NPR, listeners mourn commentator who humanized his cancer fight

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:45:35 -0500

Leroy Sievers brought the humor, fear and fight of his battle wth cancer to a global audience through his audio segments on NPR's Morning Edition and on his blog.

Sievers died Sunday due to cancer-related causes. He was 53.

Chicago's waterways: The gateway for aquatic invasive species

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:03:45 -0500

The Chicago and Calumet Rivers are just thin trickles compared with the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes. But the health of the two vastly larger water systems relies, in part, on the pair of lowly rivers that flow through Chicago.

The Chicago and the Calumet are connected by the man-made Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to the Des Plaines River, which in turn flows to the Kankakee and Illinois Rivers, which eventually empty into the Mississippi. This complex network allows water to be exchanged between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi.

CommunityHealth tackles diabetes epidemic with medicine, education

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:37:32 -0500

For Paulino Carmona, the wake-up call came in 1986 when pieces of his teeth started breaking off.

The 58-year-old Chicago resident knew he had diabetes, and his dental problems were only one of the signs that his condition had spiraled out of control. Since then, Carmona has regained control of his disease, with a little help from CommunityHealth. The non-profit health center serves all of Chicago, but draws many of its clients from the Humboldt Park area, a community experiencing diabetes rates of epidemic proportions.

White Sox star pitches in to cure childhood diabetes

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:30:18 -0500

Kamila Vázquez was just 2 years old when she was diagnosed with diabetes. Her parents must now monitor her blood sugar levels and keep a close watch on what she eats, making simple things like birthday parties quite complex.

Kamila is one of the 150,000 people under 18 years old in America diagnosed with diabetes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but she is fortunate in many respects. She has two loving parents: her mother, Kamilla, and her father, who is All-Star White Sox pitcher Javier Vázquez.

Special Olympics and UIC team up to research aging individuals with disabilities

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:19:47 -0500

The University of Illinois at Chicago will receive $4.25 million over the next five years for research on aging individuals with disabilities, and the award will be partially matched by Special Olympics International.

UIC's Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging with Developmental Disabilities (RRTC) will start receiving its money on October 1 from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), which is part of the U.S. Department of Education.

Chicago begins pilot of faster, more accurate bacteria test at 63rd Street Beach

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:05 -0500

Taking a dip in Lake Michigan has always been something of an act of faith. The water you are swimming in today may be full of dangerous E. coli bacteria, but the earliest the city could close the beach down is tomorrow because the daily water samples take a day to yield results.

But now the guessing game is over, at least at Chicago’s 63rd Street Beach. This summer marks the beginning of a pilot program designed to better judge whether the water is safe for swimming.

Divers discover history in Lake Michigan waters

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:05 -0500

Most people don’t expect to have any scuba diving experience in Lake Michigan, let alone an exciting one. While diving is usually synonymous with warm, turquoise water and dazzling marine life, scuba divers in the Great Lakes region guard a well-preserved secret.

“If you’re diving and you want to see fish you have to go to the tropics,” says Cris Kohl, author of eleven books on the Great Lakes. “But if you want to see the best preserved shipwrecks in the world you have to dive here, because you sure won’t see them in saltwater.”

National study finds clinicians under-report child abuse

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:05 -0500

Almost one out of three cases involving children with suspicious injuries is unreported to child protective services, according to a just published study in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The "Child Abuse Reporting Experience Study" is the first study of its kind, and was led by Dr. Emalee G. Flaherty, head of the protective services team at Children's Memorial Hospital, in Lincoln Park.

"It's the first prospective study ever looking at decision making around injuries," Flaherty said.