The Women’s Health Research Institute at Northwestern University applauds the recent release of a new Action Plan developed the Food in Drug Administration in response to a Congressional directive to look closer at the inclusion and analysis of demographic subgroups including women and minorities in applications for new drugs and devices.
The Action Plan to Enhance the Collection and Availability of Subgroup Data, released August 18, includes 27 action steps that address the quality of data collection, reporting and analysis; barriers to subgroup inclusion in clinical trials; and availability and transparency of sub group data in new drug/device applications. Members of the WHRI Leadership Council, composed of researchers, educators and clinicians at Northwestern Medicine committed to women health and the study of sex differences will be reviewing and commenting on the plan. In addition, several Council members will be participating in workgroups helping the National Institute of Health develop guidelines to increase the inclusion of female subjects in all basic science, translational and clinical research.
Last night I watched American Ninja Warrior because Internet sensation Kacy Catanzaro, a 5 ft, 100 lb athlete, was the only women competing in the American Ninja Warrior Finals. Despite 2 years of training, she simply could not complete the "jumping spider" obstacle part of the course last night. In the replays, you could see that her legs connected well with the walls, but her arms could not span the gap adequately. Evidently she worked hard on this task and likely made it during practice but men (or women) with wider arm spans have a greater likelihood of connecting with a wall with 'all fours'.
Melina Kibbe, MD reported in a new study that surgical researchers rarely use female animals or cells in the published studies---despite a huge body of evidence showing that sex differences can play a critical role in medical research. "Women make up half the population, but in surgical literature, 80 percent of the studies only include males," said Kibbe. Published Aug. 28 in the journal Surgery, the study follows a "60 Minutes" segment aired in February that featured Dr. Kibbe and raised concerns that overlooking sex differences in biomedical research could lead to serious adverse effects.
Reasons to try the Mediterranean Diet:
Medicaid patients in Illinois (our home state!) could gain increased access to contraception under policy changes proposed August 18 by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, according to the 
It’s been over a year since the controversial Texas law (
Podiatrists call stiletto's "shoe-icide". They can lead to sprained ankles, a permanent "pump bump" on the heel, deformity, chronic pain and even hairline fractures. Certain ballet flats can also cause serious problems. To learn more about the potential health problems and solutions that allow you to stay fashionable, visit this 
Musculoskeletal health is one of the areas of medicine in which differences between males and females are most striking. Although males have a higher incidence of traumatic injuries, females are disproportionately disabled by musculoskeletal conditions such as adolescent spinal deformities, ACL injuries, osteoarthritis, and osteoporotic fragility fractures. Therapeutic modalities have been based on studies of male populations or young adult male animals, or the studies do not specify the sex of the population. Understanding of these conditions as they occur throughout the human life span thus has been limited with respect to sex. Fostering research The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Women’s Health Issues Advisory Board (WHIAB) seeks to advocate, advance, and serve as a resource on sex and gender differences in musculoskeletal health and research. Since females suffer from disease in different ways than males, recognizing sex-related differences is critical to optimizing patient care. In an effort to foster the mission of the WHIAB, the Journal of Orthopaedics is featuring 10 articles which highlight research focused on sexual dimorphism in orthopaedics. Sexual dimorphism is considered a priority within the spectrum of orthopaedic research as demonstrated within these articles, including research in basic science, anatomy, biochemistry, hormonal, physiological, neuromuscular, and clinical form and function of bone and soft tissues.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), more commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the function of nerves and muscles in the body--and it has been getting a lot of attention lately. ALS is the "progressive degeneration of the motor neurons," and when the motor neurons die, the "ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost," which eventually leads to paralysis and death. ALS is 20% more common in men than women, but as one's age increases, the incidence of ALS equalizes between the sexes. The ALS Association was established in 1985 to fight this disease by leading the way in research, care services, public education, and public policy. It was not until this year, however, that the ALS Association began to attract national social media attention with their Ice Bucket Challenge. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has exploded on social media sites and has inspired a surge of funding for this disorder.
Office workers with more light exposure at the office had longer sleep duration, better sleep quality, more physical activity and better quality of life compared to office workers with less light exposure in the workplace, reports a new study from Northwestern Medicine and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.