Perelman School of Medicine

Penn Medicine Researchers Pinpoint Potential New Drug Target for Protection against Certain Neurodegenerative Diseases

Penn Medicine researchers have discovered that hypermethylation - the epigenetic ability to turn down or turn off a bad gene implicated in 10 to 30 percent of patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) - serves as a protective barrier inhibiting the development of these diseases.  Their work, published this month in Neurology, may suggest a neuroprotective target for drug discovery efforts.

Lee-Ann Donegan

Penn Medicine Study Finds Being Near Greened Vacant Lots Lowers Heart Rates

Greening vacant lots may be associated with biologic reductions in stress, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Residents who walked near newly greened vacant lots had significantly lower heart rates compared to walking near a blighted, or neglected, vacant lot.

Greg Richter

Penn Researchers Describe New Approach to Promote Regeneration of Heart Tissue

The heart tissue of mammals has limited capacity to regenerate after an injury such as a heart attack, in part due to the inability to reactivate a cardiac muscle cell and proliferation program. Recent studies have indicated a low level of cardiac muscle cell (cardiomyocytes) proliferation in adult mammals, but it is insufficient to repair damaged hearts.

Karen Kreeger

Two Penn Medicine Gene Therapy Researchers Receive Pennsylvania Bio Awards

Two researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvaniawill be honored for their contributions for the burgeoning field of gene therapy by Pennsylvania Bio at their annual dinner this week. Pennsylvania Bio is the statewide bioscience trade organization which works to make the Keystone State a life sciences hub by creating an environment which cultivates progress and success.

Paul Foster

Penn Medicine Analysis Shows that One-Third of Americans Do Not Have Access to Stroke Center Within One Hour

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States, but access to rapid EMS care and appropriate stroke care centers with the ability to deliver acute stroke therapies can drastically mitigate the debilitating effects of a stroke. A population-based approach to health planning would prevent disparities in access to specialized stroke care, says new Penn Medicine research.

Lee-Ann Donegan

Penn Medicine: Gorilla Origins of the Last Two AIDS Virus Lineages Confirmed

Two of the four known groups of human AIDS viruses (HIV-1 groups O and P) have originated in western lowland gorillas, according to an international team of scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Montpellier, the University of Edinburgh, and others.

Karen Kreeger



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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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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Philadelphia Inquirer

Broad Street runners from Penn are racing with gyroscopes to study the Achilles tendon

Casey Jo Humbyrd and Josh Baxter of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues will track data from running the Broad Street Run to understand how a healthy Achilles tendon functions.

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