11/15
Meredith Mann
meredith.mann@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Medicine
Opioid prescriptions filled after eye surgery doubled over a decade
Opioid prescriptions filled after eye surgery doubled over a decade
A Penn study suggests efforts in the past decade to reduce the invasiveness and recovery time for these procedures have not reduced opioid use.
A new herpes vaccine leaves no trace of infection or disease
A new herpes vaccine leaves no trace of infection or disease
A novel vaccine developed at Penn Medicine protected almost all animal subjects exposed to the virus.
Pairing science with ethics to save lives
Pairing science with ethics to save lives
Penn President Amy Gutmann and Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor Jonathan Moreno discussed their new book “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven But Nobody Wants to Die” at a Free Library of Philadelphia book talk Monday.
Minority students still underrepresented in medical schools
Minority students still underrepresented in medical schools
While numbers of black and Hispanic physicians have increased, a Penn study shows the physician workforce does not represent the shifting demographics of the U.S. population.
The U.S. and Canada are seven times more likely to prescribe opioids than Sweden
The U.S. and Canada are seven times more likely to prescribe opioids than Sweden
Within 30 days of discharge, nearly half of all surgical patients in the United States received opioids in excess of 200 morphine milligram equivalents, compared to just 11 percent of the patients in Sweden.
Hormone that helps stabilize blood pressure cuts blood transfusions by half
Hormone that helps stabilize blood pressure cuts blood transfusions by half
A Penn study shows that trauma patients with severe blood loss, most often gunshot victims, need only half the usual volume of blood when receiving an arginine vasopressin treatment.
Treatment doctor tested on himself can put others into remission
Treatment doctor tested on himself can put others into remission
Five years ago, David C. Fajgenbaum both a Penn Medicine researcher and patient, tried an experimental treatment for Castleman disease based on his laboratory research findings in the hopes of saving his own life. He has been in remission ever since.
Dangers and protections of rising temps for people on common medicines
Dangers and protections of rising temps for people on common medicines
We know that as temperatures rise, so do many health risks: not just for heat stroke and dehydration but also for heart disease, respiratory diseases, and deaths overall. Three studies explore the impact that rising temperatures have on people who take common medications.
Blinking eye-on-a-chip used for disease modeling and drug testing
Blinking eye-on-a-chip used for disease modeling and drug testing
Penn Engineering’s Dan Huh and Jeongyun Seo built an eye model that could imitate a healthy eye and an eye with dry eye disease, allowing them to test an experimental drug without risk of human harm.
A cohort study comes of age
A cohort study comes of age
For nearly two decades, a major national study of kidney disease led and coordinated at Penn has defined key risk factors in an all-too-common silent epidemic.
Media Contact
In the News
The Washington Post
The latest skincare trend: Beef fat. Yes, beef fat
Bruce Brod of the Perelman School of Medicine says that there’s no evidence to show beef tallow is better than conventional moisturizers.
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CBS Philadelphia
Philadelphia doctors and scientists encourage young women to pursue STEM careers at Penn event
The STEM Goes Red event hosted at Penn Medicine showed young Philadelphia women in high school how to program miniature computers, with remarks from Helene Glassberg of the Perelman School of Medicine.
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ScienceFriday.com
CAR-T cell therapies show promise for autoimmune diseases
Daniel Baker, a Ph.D. student in Carl June’s lab at the Perelman School of Medicine, discusses the results of a study on donor CAR-T cell therapy.
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AARP.org
Fifteen things to know about the two new Alzheimer’s drugs
Jason Karlawish of the Perelman School of Medicine says that some reactions to new Alzheimer’s drugs can resemble flu-like symptoms, such as chills, shortness of breath, and rash.
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Stat
Social media misinformation is scaring women about birth control
In an opinion essay, postdoc Emily Pfender of the Leonard Davis Institute and Perelman School of Medicine cautions that social media can set back women’s health by perpetuating fear and misinformation instead of empowering informed choices.
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
Does it matter what time you take your medicine?
Garret FitzGerald of the Perelman School of Medicine says that the timing of medication dosing can substantially influence the drug levels in people’s blood.
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