A 24/7 virtual care service means freedom from on-call hours Aileen John is a regional medical director for Penn Medicine Primary Care.(Image: Courtesy of Penn Medicine News) News A 24/7 virtual care service means freedom from on-call hours A new initiative, Penn Medicine OnDemand, frees Penn primary care doctors from most on-call duties after work hours, while patients still have 24-hour access to virtual care.
Where peak performance meets progressive disease Hansell Stedman is a professor of surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine.(Image: Margo Reed) News Where peak performance meets progressive disease Hansell Stedman and his team draw on personal experience at the extremes of muscle function—world-class athleticism and muscular dystrophy—as they strive to develop a safer gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Methadone treatment for opioid use rising, but better access needed to reach more Image: Digicomphoto/Science Photo Library via Getty Images Methadone treatment for opioid use rising, but better access needed to reach more Researchers at Penn Medicine find that treatment numbers rose during the 2010s as the opioid crisis became prominent, including increases in buprenorphine, an easier-to-access medication. 2 min. read
Distinct frontal brain signal tied to compulsive behaviors in people with OCD Image: jiefeng jiang via iStock Distinct frontal brain signal tied to compulsive behaviors in people with OCD A new Penn Medicine study shows targeted brain stimulation can significantly reduce symptoms of compulsive behaviors. 2 min. read
Safe driving habits boosted by insurance plans that reward safe driving Image: wmaster890 via Getty Images Safe driving habits boosted by insurance plans that reward safe driving Popular insurance programs offering discounts for driving safely can reduce risky behaviors like speeding and hard braking, Penn Medicine researchers show. 2 min. read
Leveraging AI to help stroke survivors recover speech abilities Shreya Parchure, an M.D.-Ph.D. candidate at Penn, conducts much of her AI-driven research in the Laboratory for Cognition and Neural Stimulation, focusing on ways to personalize speech therapy for patients with post-stroke aphasia.nocred Leveraging AI to help stroke survivors recover speech abilities Doctoral student Shreya Parchure and her team evaluated the usefulness of an AI tool for personalizing speech therapy for patients with post-stroke aphasia. 4 min. read
Low-dose radiation therapy helps relieve osteoarthritic pain Image: Mark Kostich via Getty Images Low-dose radiation therapy helps relieve osteoarthritic pain Penn Medicine clinicians are using a less intense form of radiation therapy typically used for cancer treatment to help bring patients relief from other conditions. 2 min. read
Cholesterol crystals may be hidden trigger for some liver disease Cholesterol crystals may be hidden trigger for some liver disease New research from Penn Medicine finds that cholesterol crystals in the liver may stiffen the organ in those with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease before scarring develops, and may help explain why high cholesterol worsens this type of liver disease. 2 min. read
1 in 4 young people using psychotropic drugs are taking dangerous combinations Image: Chinnapong via Getty Images 1 in 4 young people using psychotropic drugs are taking dangerous combinations A Penn Medicine study shows that the use of medicines to address mental health or behavioral conditions climbed from 2001 until 2020, but the increase has led to safety concerns. 2 min. read
Pink noise reduces REM sleep and may harm sleep quality Image: lisanna881 via Getty Images Pink noise reduces REM sleep and may harm sleep quality Penn Medicine researchers find that earplugs work better in protecting sleep from traffic noise, challenging the widespread use of ambient sound machines and apps marketed as sleep aids. 2 min. read