Internal Medicine | Penn Today

‘Three Identical Strangers’ and the real science of nature vs. nurture

Rebecca Waller of the School of Arts and Sciences discussed epigenetics, the study of how a person’s environment can effect gene expression.

Clues to your health are hidden at 6.6 million spots in your DNA

Daniel Rader of the Perelman School of Medicine discussed the availability of genetic screening for early indicators of heart disease.

New hepatitis C drugs mean diseased organs can be used for transplants

The Perelman School of Medicine’s Peter Reese discussed the possibility of increased rejection in patients who’ve received infected kidneys, saying “we can’t rule it out. It’s possible there’s more immunological injury with hep C infection.”

Making hepatitis C-infected organs safe for transplantation

Twenty patients at Penn Medicine have been cured of the hepatitis C virus following lifesaving kidney transplants from deceased donors who were infected with the disease. The kidney transplants for these patients, too, are functioning just as well as kidneys that are transplanted from similar donors without HCV.

Patients who accepted infected kidneys cured of hepatitis C

The Perelman School of Medicine’s Peter Reese led a 20-patient study that found that hepatitis C-infected kidneys can be safely transplanted into recipients without transmitting the disease.

How China is evolving from a maker of copycat medicines into a producer of complex drugs

The Perelman School of Medicine’s Carl June discussed China’s advantages in conducting medical trials. “Clearly it gives them a competitive advance,” said June. However, he cautioned, “early stage testing can be done with very little oversight.”

Red blood cell “hitchhikers” offer new way to transport drugs to specific targets

A new drug-delivery technology which uses red blood cells to shuttle nano-scale drug carriers, called RBC-hitchhiking, has been found to dramatically increase the concentration of drugs ferried precisely to selected organs.

Audio: Your dog can get a Lyme disease vaccine. Why can’t you?

On NPR’s “Stateside,” Robert Aronowitz of the School of Arts and Sciences discussed the history of Lyme disease and why getting a vaccine is no longer an option for prevention.

New York has world-class hospitals. Why is it so bad for people in need of transplants?

David Goldberg of the Perelman School of Medicine estimated that New York-area hospitals could be transplanting organs from 100-200 more people per year than they are currently, each of which could benefit as many as eight recipients.

Amazon Could Radically Change How You Get Prescriptions

The Wharton School’s Lawton R. Burns offered commentary on PillPack’s recent acquisition by Amazon. “It gives me pause thinking about what's going to drastically change here,” said Burns.

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