Medicine | Penn Today

The immune link between a leaky blood-brain barrier and schizophrenia

For people with schizophrenia and other mental disorders, a more permissive blood-brain barrier appears to allow the immune system to get improperly involved in the central nervous system. The inflammation that arises likely contributes to the clinical manifestations of neuropsychiatric conditions, according to new findings from a team led by researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). “Our hypothesis was that, if the immune function of the blood-brain barrier is compromised, the resulting inflammation will have an impact on the central nervous system,” says Jorge Iván Alvarez, an assistant professor at Penn Vet and senior author on the work, published in the journal Brain.

opthamalogy exam tool in front of a computer screen displaying a large zoomed-in retina

Gene therapy shows promise in initial trial for patients with childhood blindness

Penn Medicine researchers delivered working copies of the gene GUCY2D to the eyes of patients with severe vision impairments.

medical professional in scrubs holds a vial of covid vaccine.

Study suggests those who had COVID-19 may only need one vaccine dose

People who have recovered from COVID-19 had a robust antibody response after the first mRNA vaccine dose, therefore only a single dose may be needed to produce a sufficient antibody response, according to new research from the Penn Institute of Immunology.

Fingers holding a small glass vial of methadone.

Medication access for opioid use disorder lower among those in criminal justice system

Penn Medicine research finds Medicaid expansion helps increase access to medications for opioid use disorder, but limitations exist to broadening access.

Gloved hand putting substance into a test tube with a pipette in a lab setting.

Penn Medicine awarded nearly $7 million to study influenza viruses

Penn Medicine is one of five institutions in the U.S. chosen by the National Institutes of Health as a Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response to improve pandemic preparedness.

microscopic view of pancreatic cancer cells.

Immune-stimulating drug before surgery shows promise in early-stage pancreatic cancer

Giving early-stage pancreatic cancer patients a CD40 immune-stimulating drug helped jumpstart a T cell attack to the notoriously stubborn tumor microenvironment before surgery and other treatments.

African American COVID patient wearing a respirator in a hospital bed.

Racial bias in mortality prediction scores

In mass casualty situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, mortality prediction models alone could divert scarce critical care resources away from Black patients.

A person wearing a face mask gets their hair buzzed by a barber also wearing a face mask in a West Philly barbershop.

Helping salons safely reopen in West Philadelphia

A Penn Medicine program called SHARP, or Safe Haircuts As We Reopen Philadelphia, helped refine plans for hair salons and barbershops to safely reopen.

A person receives a vaccination at a Penn Medicine vaccine site by a masked professional while other masked people wait on folding chairs in the room.

An approach to COVID-19 vaccination equity for Black neighborhoods

A new paper centers racial equity and address the structural barriers that have prevented Black and other underrepresented minority communities from being vaccinated against COVID-19 at equitable rates.

Person kneeling on ground while their dog is vaccinated on a sidewalk in Peru, the medical workers are wearing PPE and working in a temporary plastic tent bubble to protect against COVID.

In Peru, a race to vaccinate dogs as two epidemics collide

A team of workers in Peru, led by Penn Medicine’s Ricardo Castillo-Neyra, led a two-month rabies vaccination campaign.

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