TIME named University of Pennsylvania cancer and HIV gene therapy pioneer Carl June, MD, to the 2018 TIME 100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
There’s increasing physiological evidence connecting breathing patterns with the brain regions that control mood and emotion. Now researchers have added neurons associated with the olfactory system to the connection between behavior and breathing. Connecting patterns in these interactions may help explain why practices such as meditation and yoga that rely on rhythmic breathing can help people overcome anxiety-based illnesses.
A Mayo Clinic study of children who received one or more exposures to anesthesia before the age of 3 has provided valuable information about the potential neurological and behavioral impact of general anesthesia on very young children, according to the International Anesthesia Research Society and the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia.
A host of nuclear RNA-binding proteins, when misplaced outside the nucleus, form the harmful clumps seen in several brain disorders, including FTD and ALS. Clumps that form from these disease proteins are composed of sticky fibrils that damage nerve cells.
Wistar and partners at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania; Inovio Pharmaceuticals; and GeneOne Life Science were recognized among the Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards by the Clinical Research Forum for their groundbreaking phase 1 DNA-based Zika vaccine research – the first trial of a Zika vaccine in humans, which proved safe and effective.
Cleaning out your medicine cabinet is about more than having a tidy bathroom. In an age of opioid addiction, it can also prevent leftover medications from getting into the wrong hands.
An international team focused on HIV cure research spearheaded by The Wistar Institute in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania and Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) in Barcelona, Spain, established that the CD32 molecule is not a preferential biomarker to identify HIV silent reservoirs within the immune system of patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART), as proposed by a recent landmark study.
PAs increasingly used in dermatology to cut costs and improve access, but are less likely than dermatologists to accurately diagnose early stage skin cancers, according to new research.
A group led by the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania has proposed three solutions to maximize the clinical benefit and affordability of targeted cancer drugs.
A study published in JNCCN estimates costs for people age 18 and up, ranks the price tags of the top four cancer types, and highlights potential cost-saving benefits of prevention and screening.
People with obesity are more likely to develop a rapid and irregular heart rate, called atrial fibrillation, which can lead to stroke, heart failure and other complications, according to Penn State researchers.
Can medical marijuana help to fight the opioid epidemic? Many believe that it can. But a new study finds that people who use medical marijuana actually have higher rates of medical and non-medical prescription drug use—including pain relievers. The study appears in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), published by Wolters Kluwer.
The Emily Whitehead Foundation today presented a check totaling $250,000 to Stephan A. Grupp, MD, PhD, Director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Frontier Program, and Section Chief of the Cellular Therapy and Transplant Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), benefitting cellular immunotherapy research at CHOP.
As immunotherapies continue to make up a larger share of new cancer drugs, researchers are looking for the most effective ways to use these cutting edge treatments in combination with each or with other pre-existing options. New studies from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania are providing fresh clues on potentially effective combinations with CAR T therapy in brain cancer as well as a novel therapeutic target in head and neck cancer, and also providing greater understanding of the mechanisms of resistance in pancreatic cancer.
In preclinical studies using cell models that mimicked liver cells of patients with the rare disease Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), a widely used cholesterol-lowering drug increased a precursor of HDL (high-density lipoprotein), the “good cholesterol.” Decreased HDL and ApoA-l levels in the general population are associated with an increased risk of death from cardiomyopathy and heart failure. Researchers found the FA patients had serum ApoA-I levels lower than healthy control subjects.
Wolters Kluwer Health announced today an expansion of local language search capabilities in Ovid® Discovery that lets clinicians quickly and easily search evidence-based guidelines and other medical resources in German, Chinese, and six other languages.
Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, along with the Institute for Health Research at Kaiser Permanente Colorado, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, and Marshfield Clinic Health System in Wisconsin, have received a five-year, $15.5 million National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant to improve lung cancer screening. Specifically, the focus will be on improving the effectiveness of screening, and increasing the delivery of screening in populations that experience disparities in early diagnosis, treatment, and mortality for this deadly cancer.
Computer-aided surgery facilitates complete cancer removal for difficult pelvic tumors
Six regional health systems today announced the founding of a nonprofit clinical research consortium – Partners in Innovation, Education, and Research (PIER Consortium™) – a streamlined clinical trial system that will span New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Neurobiology researchers have identified a pathway in brain circuitry that, when stimulated, leads to “antidepressive” behavior in animals. If such brain stimulation proves to have similar effects in people, it may eventually lead to a novel treatment for depression.
How to Define and Find Value in Cancer Care: Experts debate how to provide the most valuable care for people with cancer during keynote addresses and roundtable discussion at the NCCN 23rd Annual Conference
Providing anesthesia and pain medicine to patients taking anticoagulants can be dangerous due to serious drug interactions. This app gives doctors access to warnings and critical information related to the many drug interactions based on the most up-to-date guidelines available.
Anesthesiologists across the world are experiencing severe shortages of anesthetic medications that are key to providing safe and effective patient care. The result is work-arounds – finding other approaches that can result in the best possible outcomes. Physicians and other clinicians will discuss their personal experiences and challenges as well as methods they’ve found to manage this crisis during an informal, open-format discussion on Saturday, April 21st at 11:30 am in the O’Neill Room on the 4th Floor. Dr. Edward Mariano, chief of the Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care Service and associate chief of staff for inpatient surgical services at VA Palo Alto Health Care System, will moderate the discussion. Members of the press are invited to attend to learn more about the challenges and threats these shortages pose and strategies to manage until more supplies are produced and distributed. Read more here.
Researchers are continually working to find treatments that reduce the need for opioids and better manage patient pain. One example is the use of peripheral nerve blocks in patients undergoing the common procedure of a knee replacement. Dr. David Kim of the Hospital for Special Surgery will discuss his findings with the media during a briefing on Saturday April 21st at 9 am in the Press Room (Gilbert) on 4th Floor. Dr. Kim received a Best of Meeting Abstract Award for the 2018 World Congress on Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. His abstract can be viewed here.
The protein known as phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) is frequently mutated or affected by cancer as tumors develop. Now a new study from the Basser Center for BRCA at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania shows PTEN may serve as a marker for whether a patient with BRCA 1-2 deficient ovarian cancer is likely to respond to checkpoint inhibitor therapy.
Checkpoint inhibitors that block the protein PD-1 are used in melanoma patients after they’ve had surgery to remove their cancer, but not all patients benefit from the immunotherapy. Now a new study from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania found that shifting use of anti-PD-1 drugs to before surgery may provide clues about which patients will benefit and which may be at increased risk for recurrence.
Findings from a new randomized clinical trial, now show that contrary to a long held belief in the ophthalmic community, omega-3 supplements are no more effective than placebo at alleviating dry eye symptoms.
Michael Solomon, Ph.D., professor of marketing at Saint Joseph’s University and author of "Marketers, Tear Down These Walls!: Liberating the Postmodern Consumer," suggests that traditional lines drawn between market segments — young vs. old, online vs. in-store — are far from effective in today's business world.
Many people accept deteriorating eyesight as an inevitable part of getting older, but blurry or distorted vision – such as when straight lines appear wavy – could be signs of age-related macular degeneration.
For Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs), primary care management of common chronic diseases is an important strategy for providing cost-effective care. But early data suggest that the proportion of visits for chronic conditions delivered by primary care providers (PCPs) varied between ACOs, reports a study in the May issue of Medical Care, published by Wolters Kluwer.
Wistar researchers have found that soluble antibodies promote tumor progression by inducing accumulation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in pre-clinical cancer models.
Psychological distress is common in the aftermath of a traumatic injury. Symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress can make it harder to re-establish one’s social and family life, work performance, and wellbeing after injury.
Metformin, the most widely used medication for diabetes, has also been shown to help treat dementia and some cancers. New research shows smoking cessation may be added to that list. The research team found that after giving mice metformin the animals displayed reduced symptoms when going through nicotine withdrawal.
Wolters Kluwer Health today released the results of a study conducted in partnership with the Rockburn Institute that revealed when nurses use Lippincott Advisor and Lippincott Procedures at the bedside, hospitals’ Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) scores went up. Notably, the study found that hospitals using both evidence-based clinical decision support (CDS) tools exceeded the national average and had a nearly 25% higher average rank on 2017 scores than their peers, based on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) performance measures.
Wistar researchers have identified a novel therapeutic vulnerability in NRAS mutant melanoma and an effective strategy to address it, using a combination of two clinically relevant inhibitors, according to study results published online in EMBO Molecular Medicine.
A new type of cancer vaccine has yielded promising results in an initial clinical trial. The personalized vaccine is made from patients’ own immune cells, which are exposed to the contents of the patients’ tumor cells, and then injected into the patients to initiate a wider immune response. The trial, conducted in advanced ovarian cancer patients, was a pilot trial aimed primarily at determining safety and feasibility, but there were clear signs that it could be effective: About half of the vaccinated patients showed signs of anti-tumor T-cell responses, and those “responders” tended to live much longer without tumor progression than those who didn’t respond. The study is published today in Science Translational Medicine.
Nearly 60,000 people die from bleeding each year, and though injuries that result in extreme blood loss have long been a sight all too common in areas like West Philadelphia, the national spotlight has certainly shone upon the issue of late. These days it seems everyone has a dog in the fight; as politicos battle over gun control legislation, teens march in the streets advocating for improved school safety measures, and debates wear on across the dinner table, trauma experts at the national, state, and local levels are taking cues from decades-long CPR awareness campaigns to improve public education and training in life-saving bleeding control (B-Con) techniques.
Non-small cell lung cancer Nanoparticles pass the next stage of development in preclinical tests.
The longer a patient with a positive screening result waits for diagnostic testing, the worse their cancer outcomes may become, according to a literature review of breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung studies in the journal led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
James C. Gee, PhD, an associate professor of Radiologic Science and director of the Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory in the department of Radiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has been inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows.
The NCCN Oncology Research Program’s Shared Resource Database is now available to all cancer centers in the United States, in order to facilitate more cancer research.
Experts in pediatric kidney disease have published a new staging system to help doctors better predict the length of time until a child with chronic kidney disease will need to undergo a kidney transplant or start receiving dialysis. Although this type of prognostic guide exists for adults, this is the first such tool specific to children.
Known for his pioneering work on the development and use of propofol as well as perineural catheters for continuous nerve blocks, Dr. Alain Borgeat of Switzerland has been awarded the prestigious Gaston Labat Award for his many contributions to research and education in regional anesthesia and pain medicine.
Matching unique genetic information from cancer patients’ tumors with treatment options – an emerging area of precision medicine efforts – often fails to identify all patients who may respond to certain therapies. Other molecular information from patients may reveal these so-called “hidden responders."
ASRA has announced the 2018 recipients of three of its research grants including the inaugural recipients of ASRA's new Young Investigator and Graduate Student Awards. The studies have implications for patients with cancer, reduced opioid use, and potential local anesthetic options.
Barbara Duffy Stewart, MPH, founding executive director of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI), has announced her retirement, effective October 15. AACI’s Board of Directors has approved the appointment of Jennifer W. Pegher, MA, as the association’s next executive director.
Researchers at Penn State have developed a water filtration system that removes contaminants and reduces toxicity in hospital wastewater.
A promising class of drugs known as CD40 monoclonal antibodies could be the spark needed to light the fire in the immune system of patients who don’t respond to the newer cancer immunotherapies. Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, director of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania and an internationally renowned cancer immunotherapy expert, makes the case for the drugs in a new perspective piece published this week in Cancer Cell, as part of a series in the issue focusing on the next phase of the evolving field of cancer immunotherapy.
The flavor of an e-cigarette may affect more than a consumer’s taste buds, according to Penn State researchers who say the chemicals that make up the different flavors also produce different levels of free radicals.
PHILADELPHIA – Jeffrey S. Berns, MD, associate chief of the division of Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, received the 2018 Donald W. Seldin Distinguished Award from the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), an award given to clinicians who display excellence in clinical nephrology.
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