Karen Kreeger

PHILADELPHIA - The most common form of heritable cognitive impairment is Fragile X Syndrome, caused by mutation or malfunction of the FMR1 gene. Loss of FMR1 function is also the most common genetic cause of autism. Understanding how this gene works is vital to finding new treatments to help Fragile X patients and others.

Karen Kreeger ・October 31, 2011

PHILADELPHIA - The pigmented cells called melanocytes aren't just for making freckles and tans. Melanocytes absorb ultraviolet light, protecting the skin from the harmful effects of the sun. They also are the cells that go haywire in melanoma, as well as in more common conditions as vitiligo and albinism.

Karen Kreeger ・October 26, 2011

PHILADELPHIA - Obesity and insulin resistance are almost inevitably associated with increases in lipid accumulation in the liver, a serious disease that can deteriorate to hepatitis and liver failure.  A real paradox in understanding insulin resistance is figuring out why insulin-resistant livers make more fat.  Insulin resistance occurs when the body does a poor j

Karen Kreeger ・October 24, 2011

PHILADELPHIA - Recent studies have identified many genes that may put people with schizophrenia at risk for the disease. But, what links genetic differences to changes in altered brain activity in schizophrenia is not clear.

Karen Kreeger ・October 7, 2011

Nearly five million Americans live with heart failure, with as many as 700,000 new cases diagnosed each year. In addition to lifestyle factors, scientists have shown that heart failure has a strong heritable component, but identifying the responsible genes has been a major challenge.

Karen Kreeger ・October 6, 2011

There’s more than one way to mop up after a flu infection.

Karen Kreeger ・October 3, 2011

PHILADELPHIA —Three labs from the University of Pennsylvania have received $12.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of its $143.8 million national grant program to challenge the scientific status quo with innovative ideas that have the potential to speed the translation of medical research into improved health for the American public.

Karen Kreeger ・September 28, 2011

PHILADELPHIA —Despite what Hollywood would have you believe, not all epidemics involve people suffering from zombie-like symptoms--some can only be uncovered through door-to-door epidemiology and advanced mathematics.

Karen Kreeger ・September 27, 2011

PHILADELPHIA —Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Monash University, and Virginia Tech have used a set of novel inhibitors to analyze how the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, uses enzymes to chew up human hemoglobin from host red blood cells as a food source.

Karen Kreeger ・September 20, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — "You are what you eat" is familiar enough, but how deep do the  implications go? An interdisciplinary group of investigators from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found an association between long-term dietary patterns and the bacteria of the human gut.

Karen Kreeger ・September 6, 2011