A doctor who performs nearly 100 ACL surgeries annually describes Derrick Rose's season-ending injury and what the star will go through to recover in the coming months. more ›

Researchers have uncovered some secrets of the root cause of the ALS and will help find ways to treat the disease, as well as other neurological diseases. more ›

This isn't an excuse to increase your alcohol intake. more ›

The Center for Study of Traumatic Encephalopthy at the Boston University School of Medicine released their report on the brain of former Bears great Dave Duerson and, to no one's surprise, found signs of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy related to his playing career. Dr. Ann McKee, a co-director at the center, said Duerson "had the classic pathology of (the brain disease) and severe involvement of all the things that affect judgment, inhibition, impulse, mood control and memory." more ›

The brain of former Blackhawks and Red Wings enforcer Bob Probert showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Boston University researchers revealed Wednesday. Probert, who died of a heart attack at the age of 45 last summer, was worshipped in some hockey circles for his fights and his toughness. more ›

The budget deficits states are facing is leading to some tough decisions as to where to spend funding. Among many programs that could be adversely affected are HIV treatment programs, including here in Illinois. more ›

[Disco] Revolutionary new research is dancing its way out of the University of Illinois medical school: more ›

A new study from the University of Illinois' school of medicine found that the ideal number of chest compressions when performing CPR is near 100 per minute, or, as students discovered, the same beat of the Bee Gee's classic disco hit, "Stayin' Alive." According to CNN:

[Dr. David Matlock's] study involved 15 students and doctors and had two parts. First they did CPR on mannequins while listening to the song on iPods. They were asked to time chest compressions with the song's beat.

We enjoy any excuse for a party but when lesions and scabs are involved we can't help but be a bit repulsed. more ›

Remember that amendatory veto Blagojevich put together a while back? The one that would have required insurance companies to cover up to $36,000 a year in occupational, physical, speech and behavioral therapies in addition to psychiatric and psychological services, and an unlimited number of doctor visits for autistic kids until they turn 21? more ›

Illinois had more cases of measles than any other state this year, and according to the CDC, most of the people infected were unvaccinated children who are homeschooled. According to Cook County Public Health Department's Catherine Counard, not vaccinating a child affects more than just one person. "[Parents are] making a choice for the entire community. Because they're putting others at risk. And if their children become infected and expose a newborn infant who then dies, thats a pretty serious consequence." [WBEZ] more ›

A program at the Art Institute uses art to help nursing students strengthen their observational and visual perception skills. "The Discerning Eye: Visual Observation Skills from the Art Museum to Patient Diagnosis" is a 90-minute presentation meant to be incorporated into the patient-analysis section of the nurse residency program at the University of Chicago. The program aims to increase students’ awareness and ability to filter visual stimuli, while helping to challenge the perception that art has no tangible value in the real world. more ›

Governor Blagojevich used his amendatory veto power Sunday to expand House Bill 4255, which requires public employee health plans to cover preventative physical therapy treatments for multiple sclerosis and to expand autism coverage. The legislation comes from Senate Bill 1900, which did not pass earlier this year, despite broad bi-partisan support. Insurance policies in Illinois will now be required to cover up to $36,000 a year in occupational, physical, speech and behavioral therapies in addition to psychiatric and psychological services, and an unlimited number of doctor visits for autistic kids until they turn 21. "Since most insurance companies do not cover the cost of treating autism, families can be torn apart and sent to the brink of financial ruin trying to care for their child," Blagojevich said Sunday. more ›

A Cary woman was maybe bitten by a rabid bat, so McHenry County officials are warning people stay the eff away from the flying mammals. Bat bites can be so tiny they're almost impossible to detect, so people who've been around bats are often given rabies vaccines as a precaution. This is the 15th report of a rabid bat in Illinois so far this year; 113 were reported last year, but there hasn't been a case of rabies in a person in Illinois since 1954. According to the CDC, tens of thousands of people are treated for possible rabies exposure every year, but a few still die. more ›

Just in case your faith in humanity was in a healthy zone, consider the case of Jaylen Brown, a severely disabled 13-year-old who died last week from sepsis. His mother and two nurses have been charged with felony neglect, and a Trib story today outlines just how severe the kid's suffering was. more ›

Four people got new kidneys today from living-donor transplants at Northwestern in what doctors there call a "domino exchange," in which donors "agreed to give a kidney to a stranger in exchange for a compatible kidney from an unrelated donor for their sick relative." Like a big old organ web of sharing and caring. Living-donor kidneys are the best kinds of kidneys to get, and donors lead totally normal lives afterwards. more ›

Mayor Daley unleashed a barely coherent rant today in favor of putting the Children's Museum in Grant Park. Even crazier than his ramblings? Most aldermen are backing him. [Trib, S-T] more ›

Today's long read, totally worth it: Violin prodigy Rachel Barton Pine's career was put on hold after a Metra accident severed her left leg and mangled her right in 1995. Now her career's getting back on track, but the road hasn't been easy. [Trib] more ›

Around 50 CPD officers currently on desk duty will be reassigned to street patrol near a handful of Chicago Public Schools. [S-T] more ›

"'I don’t know why more banks don’t have security guards,' [bank robber] Renell Baker says." [AP] more ›

Is Illinois heading towards legalized medical marijuana? State Senator John Cullerton (pretty website!) hopes so. He's sponsoring a bill that the Senate Public Health Committee approved 6-4 yesterday. A similar measure failed in the Senate last year, but try, try again. more ›

Who doesn't love going to the eye doctor--so many cool tools and bright lights, and the "what's better, one or two?" thing is like a quiz you can't fail. Best! Thank jeebus we never went to the Myers-Wyse Center for the Eye in Skokie, though. Too bad for Roman Tesfaye. She did go there and got way more (less?) than an eye exam. more ›

Laughter, the best medicine. As in, your doctor is laughing at you and giving you fake medicine just to get you to shut up. The U of C surveyed internists from U of C, Northwestern and University of Illinois at Chicago, and of the 233 doctors who responded, 48 percent said they'd given patients placebos, including "vitamins, herbal supplements, saline infusions, dummy pills and doses of medicine too low to be effective. One of the most common placebo treatments was giving antibiotics for viral infections that don't respond to antibiotics." Er, isn't that an awful idea? Taking antibiotics you don't need can make those antibodies ineffective when you do need them. more ›