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Health Sciences
Penn Medicine's New Immunotherapy Study Will Pit PD-1 Inhibitor Against Advanced Lung Cancer
Penn Medicine researchers have begun a new immunotherapy trial with the “checkpoint inhibitor” known as pembrolizumab in patients with oligometastatic lung cancer—a state characterized by a few metastases in a confined area—who have completed conventional treatments and are considered free of active disease but remain at a high risk for recurrence.
Self-affirmation Can Boost Acceptance of Health Advice, Penn-led Study Finds
A new discovery shows how a simple intervention—self-affirmation—can open our brains to accept advice that is hard to hear.
Penn Researchers Show Value of Tissue-Engineering to Repair Major Peripheral Nerve Injuries
Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is a common consequence of traumatic injuries, wounds caused by an external force or an act of violence, such as a car accident, gun shot or even surgery. In those injuries that require surgical reconstruction, outcomes can result in partial or complete loss of nerve function and a reduced quality of life. But, researchers at Penn Medicine have demonstrated a novel way to regenerate long-distance nerve connections in animal models using tissue-engineered nerve grafts (TENGs).
Penn-led Study: Children With Respiratory Failure Can Be Awake Yet Comfortable in ICU
For small children, being hospitalized is an especially frightening experience above and beyond the challenges of whatever they are being treated for. They are often connected to a variety of unpleasant tubes and monitors, which they may instinctively try to remove.
Penn Medicine Study Shows Menopause Does Not Increase or Create Difficulty Sleeping
Women in their late thirties and forties who have trouble sleeping are more than three times more likely to suffer sleep problems during menopause than women who have an easier time getting shut-eye, according to a new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Penn’s Joshua Plotkin to Receive 2015 Akira Okubo Prize for Mathematical Biology
Joshua Plotkin of the University of Pennsylvania has been named winner of the 2015 Akira Okubo Prize, awarded jointly by the International Society for Mathematical Biology and the
Penn Study Reveals Possible Therapeutic Target for Common, But Mysterious Brain Blood Vessel Disorder
Tens of millions of people around the world have abnormal, leak-prone sproutings of blood vessels in the brain called cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs). These abnormal growths can lead to seizures, strokes, hemorrhages, and other serious conditions, yet their precise molecular cause has never been determined. Now, cardiovascular scientists at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have studied this pathway in heart development to discover an important set of molecular signals, triggered by CCM-linked gene defects, that potentially could be targeted to treat the disorder.
Penn Dental Medicine Team Shows Why Wound Healing Is Impaired in Diabetics
One of the most troubling complications of diabetes is its effect on wound healing. Roughly 15 percent of diabetics will suffer from a non-healing wound in their lifetime. In some cases, these open ulcers on the skin lead to amputations.
Penn Study Uncovers Secrets of a Clump-Dissolving Protein
Workhorse molecules called heat-shock proteins contribute to refolding proteins that were once misfolded and clumped, causing such disorders as Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease. James Shorter, PhD, an associate professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has been developing ways to "reprogram" one such protein – a yeast protein called Hsp104 -- to improve its therapeutic properties.
Medicaid "Fee Bump" to Primary Care Doctors Associated with Better Access to Appointments, According to Penn Study
The increase in Medicaid reimbursement for primary care providers, a key provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was associated with a 7.7 percentage points increase in new patient appointment availability without longer wait times, according to results of a new 10-state study — co-authored by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the Urban Institute, and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation — published online-first by the New England Journal of Medicine.
In the News
Slate.com
What’s going on with tranq?
Jeanmarie Perron of the Perelman School of Medicine says that the appearance and progression of skin ulcers and tissue loss on xylazine users is different than with other intravenous drugs.
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The Hill
It’s time to end the Medicare-Medicaid merry-go-round
In an opinion essay, Rachel M. Werner of the Leonard Davis Institute, Wharton School, and Perelman School of Medicine says that Medicare and Medicaid fail to integrate coverage and coordinate care across their two plans.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Inside Penn’s transfer center
Penn Medicine’s transfer command center gets patients from affiliated hospitals and hospitals outside Philadelphia to specialized care that can save lives, with comments from CEO Kevin Mahoney.
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The Wall Street Journal
The quest for treatments to keep weight off after Ozempic
Researchers at Penn are conducting a co-authored study of the brains, fat and muscle cells, and eating patterns of people trying to maintain new body sizes.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Operating rooms are major sources of greenhouse gasses. Penn is eliminating a form of anesthesia that hangs in the air for more than a decade after use
Penn Medicine is phasing out the anesthesia desflurane at four of its six hospitals to eliminate harmful greenhouse gases, with remarks from Greg Evans.
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