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Internal medicine
App predicts risk of developing hernia following abdominal surgery
A Penn-developed app can predict the likelihood that a patient will develop an incisional hernia following abdominal surgery, utilizing electronic health records to identify the most common risk factors for patients.
A DIY colorectal cancer screening kit
At-home screening kits are found to be effective, with roughly a quarter of patients overdue for screenings mailing the completed kits back within two months.
Battle of the bacteria: Studying the causes of and protectors against premature birth
Seven types of bacteria and certain immune factors in a woman’s vagina and cervix may be responsible for increasing the risk of spontaneous preterm birth or protecting against it.
With a second patient free from HIV, what’s next?
Scientists have succeeded in sending an HIV patient into long-term remission, only the second time such a feat has been documented. Pablo Tebas and Bridgette Brawner discuss what this means for HIV research and for people living with the virus.
Hep C-infected organs may be viable option for patients awaiting a heart transplant
Successfully treating the virus post-transplant has the potential for expanding the use of HCV-infected organs, including hearts, to broaden the donor pool for those on a transplant waitlist.
What’s overlooked can be fatal
New research shows that spontaneous coronary artery dissection is not only far more common than was previously thought, but that patients may benefit most from conservative treatment that allows the body to heal on its own.
Immune profiling: A new opportunity for drug development
Immunologists, oncologists, and infectious disease specialists are thinking about the immune system in a new way based on its integral and ubiquitous ties to human health, amassing data on its role in gastroenterology, neurology, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disease.
To resolve inflammation, location matters
A single protein can both restrain the initiation of inflammation and help to actively resolve it, according to new research led by George Hajishengallis of the School of Dental Medicine. He and his colleague found that the type of cell that secretes the protein determines which activity the protein promotes.
On the biomed menu: Mini-organs, organ-on-a-chip
Since the first paper describing a brain organoid—a miniature, simplified version of a human organ—published in 2013, many new technologies, from organs-on-a-chip to organoids, have continued biomedical science down the innovative path.
Seven Penn researchers receive NIH Director Awards
Seven researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, and School of Engineering and Applied Science are to receive National Institutes of Health Director Awards, highly competitive grants to support innovative biomedical research.
In the News
Philadelphia Inquirer
E-Cigarettes Disappoint in a Workplace Quit-Smoking Study
The Perelman School of Medicine’s Scott Halpern led a study on the effects of vaping on smoking cessation. Halpern found that e-cigarettes were no more helpful than other stop-smoking tools, and that “the very best way to help them quit is to offer them money.”
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
New Blood Test for Pregnant Women Could Predict Preterm Birth
The Perelman School of Medicine’s Michal Elovitz discussed the results from her research exploring methods for predicting preterm births. The study’s results were published in Science.
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