The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first ever non-surgical treatment for the rare neuroendocrine cancers pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma. The approval was based on a multi-center trial led by researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania and was granted to Progenics Pharmaceuticals for AZEDRA (iobenguane I131).
A common class of drugs used to treat diabetes exerts a powerful check on macrophages by controlling the metabolic fuel they use to generate energy. Keeping macrophages from going overboard on the job may inhibit the onset of obesity and diabetes following tissue inflammation.
PHILADELPHIA— The United States Congressional Budget Office estimates that 5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is spent on medical tests and procedures that do not improve patient outcomes. In an effort to reduce unnecessary testing, procedures and related spending, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has named Penn Medicine and two other organizations among a select few health care organizations in the country designated as a “qualified provider-led entity” (QPLE).
Pairing an online patient dashboard with “nudges” to doctors tripled statin prescribing rates in a clinical trial led by Penn Medicine researchers. The study used two nudges, active choice framing to prompt physicians to make a decision on prescriptions, and peer comparison feedback which provided physicians with information on their performance relative to other physicians.
Mice fed a fattening diet develop new liver circadian rhythms that impact the way fat is accumulated and simultaneously burned. The team found that as liver fat production increases, surprisingly, so does the body’s ability to burn fat. These opposing physiological processes reach their peak activity each day around 5 p.m., illustrating an unexpected connection between overeating, circadian rhythms, and fat accumulation in the liver.
While Botox may be most commonly known for its usefulness as a cosmetic anti-aging treatment, what’s not nearly as well-known is that cosmetics were not the original intention of the substance. Dig a little deeper and you might be surprised to find out just how many uses the substance has in other areas of medicine.
John Wherry, PhD, has been appointed the new chair of the department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics at Penn. He is an international leader in the study of T cell exhaustion, which prevents optimal control of infections and can hamper anti-tumor immune responses.
Reduced levels of plasmalogens are associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease, according to new research presented this week at AAIC 2018.
Patients who sought care for a sprained ankle in states that were found to be "high prescribers" of opioids were approximately three times more likely to receive a prescription for the drugs than those treated in "low-prescribing" states, according to new research. Additional results of the study show that patients who received prescriptions for long courses of the drugs (e.g. more than 30 tablets of oxycodone 5 mg) were five times more likely to fill additional opioid prescriptions over the next 6 months than those who received just a few days' supply (e.g. 10 tablets of less).
The National Institute on Aging Genetics of Alzheimer's Disease Data Storage Site will begin making large-scale DNA sequence data available to investigators accelerate research.
Mental health has recently been in the news for all the wrong reasons: unexpected celebrity suicides, an increase in depression diagnoses, the CDC’s report that the suicide rate has increased by 30 percent since 1999, etc. Penn Medicine’s Collaborative Care Behavioral Health initiative aims to catch untreated mental health issues through a preexisting relationship: the primary care physician.
Greening vacant urban land significantly reduces feelings of depression and improves overall mental health for the surrounding residents, researchers show in a new randomized, controlled study. The findings have implications for cities across the United States, where 15 percent of land is deemed “vacant” and often blighted or filled with trash and overgrown vegetation.
With the 4th of July in the rearview mirror and Labor Day coming down the pike, barbecue season is in full swing. Though some may prefer meatless options like veggie burgers or grilled portabellas, summertime staples like hot dogs and hamburgers still occupy a good bit of that paper plate real estate. In fact, July has been named National Hot Dog Month by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council and today, July 18, marks this year’s National Hot Dog Day. While these classics have been the center piece of many American BBQs for decades, the harsh reality is that they remain some of the unhealthiest choices. Despite these known risks coming from clinicians, and data from organizations such as the World Health Organizations (WHO), which reported in 2015 that processed meat was linked to an increase in cancer risk, these items are not likely to disappear from party menus. So while moderation is king, we asked Penn experts in nutrition to dissect some typical barbecue fare to show just how
Cancer patients receiving anti-PD-1 therapies who develop lesions, eczema, psoriasis, or other forms of auto-immune diseases affecting the skin may experience those adverse reactions on a delay – sometimes even after treatment has concluded.
PHILADELPHIA – Penn Wissahickon Hospice and Caring Way received the Circle of Life® award from the American Hospital Association (AHA) for expanding the reach of innovative palliative and end-of-life care to the community. Penn was among three programs nationwide to receive this honor, along with Arizona Palliative Home Care Program and Palliative Care and Western Connecticut Health.
Commercial insurance medical policies that do not cover treatment with proton therapy can make it difficult for patients to participate in randomized clinical trials funded by the NCI, part of the National Institutes of Health, that are evaluating the therapy.
Patients who suffer from Aspirin Exacerbated Respiratory Disease (AERD) often experience an additional allergic reaction when drinking alcohol, including nasal congestion, wheezing, and a runny nose. Now a new study led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania finds a common treatment for AERD – aspirin desensitization – can also help alleviate the alcohol-induced symptoms of the condition.
Using genome editing to inactivate a protein called PCSK9 effectively reduces cholesterol levels in rhesus macaques, the first demonstration of a clinically relevant reduction of gene expression in a large animal model using genome editing. This finding could lead to a possible new approach for treating heart disease patients who do not tolerate PCSK9 inhibitors—drugs that are commonly used to combat high cholesterol.
A poorly understood mutation in the brain cancer glioblastoma (GBM) is now being implicated for the first time as the driver of rare but deadlier cases of the disease, a team of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research reported this week in Cancer Cell.
Brian C. Capell, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Dermatology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, a core faculty member of the Penn Epigenetics Institute, and a member of the Abramson Cancer Center, has been awarded a prestigious Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award for 2018.
As the roles for telemedicine, robotics, and even augmented reality in medicine expand, some researchers are focusing on making sure conversation and storytelling - tools and skills that have been around since the beginning of time - still play a central role in health care.
Nearly all major neurodegenerative diseases are defined by the presence of one of four proteins that have gone rogue. As such, investigational drugs aimed at preventing or slowing the disease often hone in on just one of these proteins. However, targeting multiple proteins at once may be the real key, according to a recent Penn Medicine study.
Stimulating the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for controlling complex ideas and behaviors, can reduce a person’s intention to commit a violent act by more than 50 percent, according to research from the University of Pennsylvania and Nanyang Technological University.
“Hot” tumors filled with T cells are often considered to be more sensitive to immunotherapy compared to “cold” tumors with fewer T cells, but a clear demonstration of why has eluded cancer biologists—until now. Researchers discovered that whether a tumor is hot or cold is determined by information embedded in the cancer cells themselves, which could help oncologists more precisely tailor treatments to a patient’s unique tumor composition.
To make sure that good ideas to enhance healthcare are not lost due to a lack of resources, a growing number of centers at Penn Medicine organize forums to pitch ideas to improve medical devices and technology, hold annual competitions to fund studies to improve patient care while keeping costs down, and sponsor seed grants for programs focused on patients who need individualized tailoring of their treatment. This last category is where precision medicine comes in, which is designed to enhance care for particular groups of patients, based on their genetic background, patient history, and unique diagnosis.
The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC) has granted a three-year accreditation and its highest honor, the Outstanding Achievement Award, to the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
Protein fragments, called amyloid fibrils, in human semen significantly increase Ebola virus infection and protect the virus against harsh environmental conditions such as heat and dehydration. Follow-up studies from the 2014 epidemic found that men can harbor the virus in their semen for at least 2.5 years, with the potential to transmit the virus sexually during that time. Targeting amyloids in semen may prevent a sexually transmitted spread of the Ebola virus.
Influenza A hijacks host proteins for viral RNA splicing and blocking these interactions caused replication of the virus to slow, which could point to novel strategies for antiviral therapies.
Black Americans are nearly three times more likely to be killed by police than their white counterparts, with even larger disparities among those who are unarmed. The trend is also harming the mental health of the black community, according to new research published in The Lancet from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Boston University School of Public Health.
The key to better treatments for brain injuries and disease may lie in the molecules charged with preventing the clumping of specific proteins associated with cognitive decline and other neurological problems, researchers from the Penn report in a new study published in Neurobiology of Disease.
In an effort to improve stroke recognition and reduce life-threatening pre-hospital delays worldwide, researchers at Penn Medicine created a universal stroke awareness program, Stroke 112.
Penn Medicine launched the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, which aims to uncover the biological basis of aesthetics. The center will advance the understanding of human nature and preferences with consumer choices, the principles of design, and the appreciation and production of art.
Benjamin A.Garcia, PhD, an expert in quantitative proteomics has been awarded the Biemann Medal by the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS). The early-career award recognizes significant achievement in basic or applied mass spectrometry.
Garcia’s lab has develop
The concept of non-human beings endowed with intelligence dates back to at least Homer in the late eighth or early seventh century B.C. As society has developed and our ability to tell stories enhanced by technology, the idea of intelligent machines has captured the minds of societies across the globe.
Changes in cellular struts called microtubules can affect the stiffness of diseased human heart muscle cells, and reversing these modifications can lessen the stiffness and improve the beating strength of these cells isolated from transplant patients with heart failure.
While the opioid epidemic may feel too massive a problem to tackle or too overwhelming to even comprehend, experts in many corners of Penn Medicine are at work combating the deadly toll, including the physicians and researchers of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) at the Perelman School of Medicine. As one of two Roybal Centers on Behavioral Economics and Health nationally funded by the National Institute of Aging of NIH, CHIBE combines psychology and economics with clinical expertise in an effort to understand why individuals make certain decisions that impact their health and how to leverage their findings to advance policy, improve health care delivery, and encourage healthy behaviors among patients and best practices among clinicians. All those elements combine in their efforts to curb prescription opioid misuse.
The conversation Starbucks is now leading – whether by choice or not – is one that is not, and should not, be limited to your friendly neighborhood coffee juggernaut. It’s a conversation that’s been happening quietly for decades, and in recent years has begun to echo in every corner and industry across the country, and medicine is no exception, but new research is showing that despite the skepticism around the effectiveness of training programs, they may actually have the power to teach humility, empathy, and respect.
The number of insurance denials for life-saving hepatitis C drugs among patients with both private and public insurers remains high across the United States. Private insurers had the highest denial rates, with 52.4 percent of patients denied coverage, while Medicaid denied 34.5 percent of patients and Medicare denied 14.7 percent.
A combination of the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol can help bring closure to some women and their families suffering from miscarriage, and reduces the need for surgical intervention to complete the painful miscarriage process. Results of a new clinical trial led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, show that while the standard drug regimen using misoprostol on its own frequently fails to complete the miscarriage, a combination of misoprostol and the drug mifepristone works much more reliably.
Hospitals that receive bundled payments for joint replacements either voluntarily or through Medicare’s mandatory programs, vary by size and volume, but not in spending or quality, signaling a need for both programs, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The authors say the results show that voluntary programs tend to engage larger non-profit hospitals, whereas some hospitals with lower volumes and fewer resources might only participate under a mandatory program. The results are published this week in the June issue of the journal Health Affairs.
About 25 percent of Americans experience acute insomnia each year, but about 75 percent of these individuals recover without developing persistent poor sleep or chronic insomnia, according to a study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania which will be presented Monday at SLEEP 2018, the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).
Penn Medicine researchers are calling for greater precision in Medicare performance reporting for patients with gastrointestinal bleeding following an evaluation of patients with the condition.
n a finding that suggests the potential for practice change that would reduce the use of antibiotics in dermatology, researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found the diuretic drug spironolactone may be just as effective as antibiotics for the treatment of women’s acne.
Penn study finds value in collecting patients’ sexual orientation and gender identity, but cautions medical providers from drawing conclusions based on that information alone
A new approach pioneered at the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center may provide a new path towards treating Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) with CAR T cells.
Rates of inherited mutations in genes other than BRCA1/2 are twice as high in breast cancer patients who have had a second primary cancer – including, in some cases, different types of breast cancer – compared to patients who have only had a single breast cancer.
Where does a cardiologist go when she has an idea to improve a common medical device? She knows that a pacemaker with a longer lifespan and lighter weight could help improve her patients’ quality of life, but how does she make her idea into a reality? That’s where the Penn Center for Health, Devices, and Technology (Penn Health-Tech) comes in.
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