In a study of over 12,000 lines of fruit flies, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found a single gene, called nemuri, that increases the need for sleep.
A novel “Enhanced Recovery After Surgery” (ERAS) protocol developed by Penn Medicine for patients undergoing spinal and peripheral nerve surgery significantly reduced opioid use. The new study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine showed that when an ERAS protocol was employed fewer patients needed pain medications one month after surgery.
If a patient has private insurance, doctors can get prior approval to prescribe a drug “off-label” to make sure the medication will be covered, but these lists are incomplete, outdated, and frequently in conflict with each other.
Researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania say they’ve identified how to fuel macrophages with the energy needed to attack and eat cancer cells.
The marketing of direct-to-consumer “neurotechnologies” can be enticing: apps that diagnose a mental state, and brain devices that improve cognition or “read” one’s emotional state. However, many of these increasingly popular products aren’t fully supported by science and have little to no regulatory oversight, which poses potential health risks to the public. In a new piece published in the journal Science this week, two bioethicists from Penn Medicine and the University of British Columbia suggest the creation of a working group that would further study, monitor, and provide guidance for this growing industry – which is expected to top $3 billion by 2020.
The use of antibiotics to treat inflammatory skin conditions like acne and rosacea is decreasing over time, but there has been an increase in prescriptions associated with dermatologic surgical procedures.
The Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania announced today that Richard S. Schiffrin, Esq., has been appointed chair of the Center Director’s Leadership Council.
The increase in opioid prescriptions for people over the past decade may have been paralleled by an increase in opioid prescriptions for pets, according to a study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Veterinary Medicine. The findings, in this first-ever study of veterinary opioid prescriptions, suggest that there is also an increased demand for veterinary opioids, driven by complex procedures performed in veterinary medicine, as well as a heightened awareness of the importance of pain management. Given that opioid prescribing in veterinary medicine is not as heavily regulated as medical prescriptions for humans, it is possible that misused veterinary prescriptions could contribute to the ongoing opioid epidemic. The results are published today in JAMA Network Open.
Penn experts share their recommendations and advice for future female neuroscientists.
Researchers have demonstrated—using fat cells derived from human stem cells—that individual genetic variation can be used to predict whether the TZD rosiglitazone will produce the unwanted side effect of increasing cholesterol levels in certain individuals.
Maria A. Oquendo, MD, PhD, is probing the human mind and brain to prevent more lives from being lost to the tenth leading cause of death in the United States.
Until now, it was unclear how this DNA packing affected development in early embryos. In a paper published this week in Science, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that in mouse embryos--only eight days after fertilization--compacted regions along the genome increase at protein-coding genes. Days later in the cell differentiation phase, these domains open to allow certain genes to be read and made into their corresponding proteins.
When researchers unlock the mysteries of Castleman disease, they may single out 2018 as one of the years in which they laid the foundation to help them turn the key, and the University of Pennsylvania has been the epicenter.
Brain tumor patients will now have access to Penn Medicine’s world-renowned cancer expertise through the launch of a new telemedicine second opinion program for brain tumors.
The overwhelming draw of DTC genetic kits is their appeal to discover more about one’s ancestry and heritage, as well as health and wellness. When I first wrote on this topic, I sought details about my risk for heart disease, given my family history, but as I learned from speaking with several Penn Medicine geneticists, DTC kits aren’t set up for this area yet. However, it is possible to glean the genetic basis for seemingly off-beat behaviors and traits, such as toe-length ratio or sweet-versus-salty taste preference.
Researcher shows the two most common means of resistance to BRAF and MEK inhibitors are actually connected processes and can be targeted by other therapies.
A new treatment for patients with a form of congenital retinal blindness has shown success in improving vision, according to results published today in led by researchers at the Scheie Eye Institute in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Arcadia University are launching a Master of Science in Genetic Counseling program at Penn in 2019.
More and more, through sequencing done for medical reasons or done by direct-to-consumer companies, people learn they have variants of disease genes with uncertain significance to their health. With a new assay, researchers have a way to determine the potential impact of these cardiomyopathy variants on the health of patients and their family members.
A team of surgeons from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania are the first in the world to use a surgical robot to assist with a bilateral free flap breast reconstruction, allowing patients to recover and be discharged more quickly and without the use of addictive narcotic painkillers.
The Basser Center for BRCA at Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center, the world’s first comprehensive center aimed at advancing research, treatment, and prevention of BRCA-related cancers, has announced Maria Jasin, PhD, as the recipient of the sixth annual Basser Global Prize. Jasin is a member of the Developmental Biology Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a professor at the Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences at Cornell University.
In an update to a global clinical trial stretching from Philadelphia to four continents, the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy Kymriah® (tisagenlecleucel, formerly CTL019) led to long-lasting remissions in patients with relapsed/refractory (r/r) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first ever inhibitor drug specifically approved for treating patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a mutation in the Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) gene.
Why do humans have hair on our arms and legs but not on the palms of our hands and the soles of our feet? It’s a fundamental question in human evolution that researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania say they’ve found clues to in a new study.
To combat "fake news" that undermines health information, a pair of health scientists explain what to think about when trying to break through people's spheres of influence when it comes to research.
Penn researchers will present findings at the 60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego, including studies that evaluate CAR T combinations, how the timing of CAR T therapy may impact its effectiveness, and which patients who currently aren’t eligible for CAR T therapy should have greater access.
For the first time, bioengineered spinal discs were successfully implanted and provided long-term function in the largest animal model ever evaluated for tissue-engineered disc replacement. A new Penn Medicine study published in Science Translational Medicine provides compelling translational evidence that the cells of patients suffering from neck and back pain could be used to build a new spinal disc in the lab to replace a deteriorated one. The study, which was performed using goats, was conducted by a multidisciplinary team in the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, School of Engineering and Applied Science, and School of Veterinary Medicine.
The Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania announced today that it is joining the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® as its 28th member institution.
Continuing its mission of high-quality patient care, cutting-edge research and innovation, and training the world’s doctors, Penn Medicine has announced it is expanding to the United Kingdom.
After the first year of an innovative, five-year contract between the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) and Independence Blue Cross (Independence), the health system is reporting a more than 25 percent cut in hospital readmissions – the largest readmission reduction in both organizations’ history. As part of the first collaboration of its kind in the United States between a health system and a health insurer, the two organizations have launched a new slate of innovations to reduce the number of patients who return to the hospital within a month of going home. The contract provided that Independence wouldn’t pay for the resulting hospitalization in those cases.
Anti-malaria drugs known as chloroquines have been repurposed to treat cancer for decades, but until now no one knew exactly what the chloroquines were targeting when they attack a tumor. Now, researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania say they have identified that target – an enzyme called PPT1.
Winners of Penn's Art in Science competition feature beautiful visual images produced using methods of scientific inquiry. And next month, a new medical student group will host its first-ever Penn Med art show to highlight the artistic talents of medical students, faculty, and staff.
Intensive behavioral therapy (IBT) is proven to help adults with obesity achieve meaningful weight loss. A new Penn Medicine study, published in Obesity, is the first randomized controlled evaluation of the efficacy of IBT when implemented under the CMS coverage guidelines.
A Penn Medicine study, published online today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, showed that even after controlling for risk factors like income, education, smoking, and exercise, among others, black patients remained at significantly higher risk for SCD than white patients.
Comparing five- and one-star Yelp reviews of hospital emergency departments and urgent care centers, the strengths and weaknesses of each, in patients' experience, were determined.
a team from Penn and CHOP have received a major grant from the Federal Highway Administration, an agency within the United States Department of Transportation, to help curb distracted driving. The team will investigate strategies — such as redesigning insurance discounts — for reducing cell phone use while driving.
Penn Medicine was named "Most Wired" for the sixth year in a row because of its effort to embrace and implement technology.
“Think globally, act locally” is a popular global health idea that encourages people to consider the health of the entire planet while taking actions in their own cities and communities. And it’s an idea that inspired a group of students in the Perelman School of Medicine to join with other medical schools in Philadelphia and start a group dedicated to the growing field of global surgery. Until recently, surgery has been largely omitted from global health efforts, taking a back seat to infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. But as progress is made to treat and prevent these diseases, it has become clear that there is a significant need to focus on treating people in resource-limited settings who are in need of surgical care. And this need touches almost every aspect of health care from cancer to obstetrics to orthopedics. In fact, according to the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, more than 18 million people die each year from lack of surgical care.
Penn Medicine emergency department physicians are calling for more readily available testing strips to identify the presence of fentanyl in patients experiencing a drug overdose, and a rapid, coordinated response among health care providers and city agencies to help curb overdoses and identify high potency high risk drugs.
Penn Medicine is announcing a new Translational Center of Excellence focused on Glioblastoma Multiforme, the most common and lethal form of brain cancer. The team will investigate new immune therapies for glioblastoma.
As many as 16.5 million adults in America suffer from a skin disease known as atopic dermatitis, an inflammatory disease that results in red, itchy skin. The estimate comes from a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, which also projected 6.6 million of these adults have disease that would be classified as moderate to severe, leading to a decrease in quality of life.
PHILADELPHIA — A $17.5 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) will propel Penn Medicine research efforts to prevent Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Harold I. Feldman, MD, MSCE, chair of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics and director of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and J.
Penn Medicine and Wharton are joining forces to launch an executive health care leadership program that will offer participants a strategic toolkit to cement their ability to lead at a time when science, technology, and economics are reshaping the practice of medicine.
When it comes to biology, fiction often predates reality, sometimes by centuries. Since the first paper describing a brain organoid (a miniature, simplified version of a human organ) published in 2013, many new technologies – no longer the stuff of Gothic novels – have continued biomedical science down the path of innovation.
Why are some people’s nightmares other people’s joyrides?
Community health workers—trusted laypeople from local communities who help high-risk patients to address social issues like food and housing insecurity—can help reduce hospital stays by 65 percent and double the rate of patient satisfaction with primary care, according to new study results published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
new program project grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will fund research by the Translational Center of Excellence for Lung Cancer Immunology at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania to improve the effectiveness of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy at fighting solid tumors.
Researchers have discovered a way to grow human stem cells destined to become mature sperm in an effort to provide fertility options later in life to males who are diagnosed with cancer and undergo chemotherapy and radiation as children.
Viral vectors used to deliver gene therapies undergo spontaneous changes during manufacturing which affects their structure and function. As gene therapy approaches become more common for treating disease, managing consistency of the molecular makeup of the virus particles that deliver genes is a key concern in manufacturing on a larger scale.
Contrary to the advice most cancer patients receive when they go through radiation treatment, topical skin treatments, unless applied very heavily, do not increase the radiation dose to the skin and can be used in moderation before daily radiation treatments.
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