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Internal Medicine
Helping the brain to heal the gut
In the second edition of her book on irritable bowel syndrome, Penn psychologist Melissa Hunt explores advances made in the past decade. Her aim is to offer accessible, effective, self-help psychological treatment for those who suffer from the disorder.
Exploring racism’s health impact in a VA renal clinic
A new study by Penn LDI’s Kevin Jenkins provides new insights into how structural racism impacts Black patients’ lives and treatment experience for chronic kidney disease.
How one inflammatory disorder exacerbates another
Researchers from the School of Dental Medicine and colleagues from Dresden, Germany demonstrate that an association between conditions such as severe gum disease and arthritis is traceable to the bone marrow.
A possible key to supporting muscle regeneration in Duchenne muscular dystrophy
New Perelman School of Medicine research found that restoring a single protein in muscles affected by the genetic disorder Duchenne muscular dystrophy improved their ability to heal.
No-click system doubles hepatitis C screening orders
A Penn Medicine study finds that screening rates climbed to 80% for patients whose doctors didn’t need to opt in to order a screening.
‘Mapping’ pancreatic cells at the development of Type 1 diabetes
Penn Medicine researchers examine of the underpinnings of the disease by creating a “map” to chart pancreatic islet cells over time.
Interaction with lung cells transforms asbestos particles
To better understand what happens once asbestos enters a human body, researchers in the School of Arts & Sciences took a nanoscale look at the mineral.
A serendipitous finding lends new insight into how atopic dermatitis develops
Research from the School of Dental Medicine, the Perelman School of Medicine, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory reveals a mechanism behind the inflammation that is a feature of the common skin disease.
A structural blueprint of nanoparticles to target acute lung inflammation
Targeting neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that, when overactive, contributes to acute lung inflammation, is a potential new route to diagnose and treat acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Heart disease-protective diabetes drug is not used equitably
The medication GLP-1 RA treats diabetes and is linked to positive outcomes for heart disease patients, yet a Penn Medicine study has found inequities in its use along racial, ethnic, and economic lines
In the News
Can a night owl become an early bird?
“Your circadian rhythm tendencies are genetic and can’t really be changed,” said Ilene M. Rosen of the Perelman School of Medicine, referring to the body’s innate 24-hour circadian cycles that govern when we wake up and fall asleep. “But the good news is that we can give our clocks some cues that influence it a little bit.”
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Researchers discover test to predict which patients with rare blood disease will respond to only FDA-approved treatment, and identify alternative therapy
David Fajgenbaum and Sheila Pierson of the Perelman School of Medicine discuss their latest research and findings in the treatment of Castleman disease.
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Tower Health’s liver and kidney transplant program will move to Penn Medicine
Tower Health announced Wednesday that instead of closing the liver and kidney transplant program it inherited two years ago from the shuttered Hahnemann University Hospital outright, it will let Penn Medicine take it over. Patient screening and pre- and post-transplant care will continue at Reading Hospital in Berks County, but surgeries will move to Penn’s Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in mid-December.
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Organ transplants dive amid virus crisis, start to inch back
Peter Reese of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the resumption of organ transplants. “Transplant centers and patients really want to get going again, but there are all these questions,” he said. “We need to be finding places that maintained their transplant rates and finding out what they did.”
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Can melatonin vapes safely help people sleep?
Julio Chirinos of the Perelman School of Medicine wrote an editorial to accompany a new study about the effects of marathon running on the heart. “Exercise is great for the entire body, including the arteries,” he said.
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What is syphilis, and why are rates rising?
Amy Forrestel of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the symptoms, spread, and long-term effects of syphilis. If left untreated, the sexually transmitted infection “can wreak a lot of havoc” on the body, said Forrestel.
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