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Health Sciences
Penn Study Adapts Proven Community Health Worker Model for Outpatient Setting
Penn's Innovative Community Health Worker (CHW) model, shown to reduce admissions and lead to better health outcomes for hospitalized patients, can now be used in outpatient settings, according to a study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine in the journalPopulation Health Management.
Penn Program in the Environmental Humanities Is Shaping a New Normal
There’s no doubt about it. Philadelphia weather is getting hotter and wetter each year influencing public concern about climate change.
Penn Researchers Identify a New Cause of Inherited Neuropathy
Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT) is a family of inherited disorders of the peripheral nervous system, affecting approximately one in 2,500 Americans. Its most common iteration, CMT1, comes in many forms, most of which have to date been linked to a small set of causative genes.
Penn, University of Michigan VA-led Study: Antipsychotic Drugs Linked to Increased Mortality Among Parkinson's Disease Patients
At least half of Parkinson’s disease patients experience psychosis at some point during the course of their illness, and physicians commonly prescribe antipsychotic drugs, such as quetiapine, to treat the condition. However, a new study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan Medical School, and the Philadelphia and Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers and suggests that these drugs may do significantly more harm in a subset of patients. The findings will be published in the March 21 issue of JAMA Neurology.
Genomes of Chimpanzee Parasite Species Reveal Evolution of Human Malaria, According to Penn-led Study
Understanding the origins of emerging diseases – as well as more established disease agents -- is critical to gauge future human infection risks and find new treatment and prevention approaches. This holds true for malaria, which kills more than 500,000 people a year. Symptoms, including severe anemia, pregnancy-associated malaria, and cerebral malaria, have been linked to the parasite’s ability to cause infected red blood cells to bind to the inner lining of blood vessels.
Penn Biochemist Receives Protein Society Award
Benjamin Aaron Garcia, PhD, a Presidential Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has been selected to receive the 2016Protein Science Young Investigator Award.
Penn Vet Study Identifies Mechanism Explaining Female Bias in Autoimmunity
Possessing two X chromosomes is a double-edged sword, immunologically speaking. Females are better at fighting off infection than males, but they are also more susceptible to many autoimmune conditions, such as lupus.
Proactively Treating HIV Patients at Risk for Tuberculosis with Multi-Drug TB Regimens Doesn't Save More Lives
The number one killer of HIV patients in resource-limited areas, including parts of Africa and India, is tuberculosis (TB), underscoring the need for optimal treatments and effective strategies to address this deadly co-infection.
Before Retinal Cells Die, They Regenerate, Penn Vet Blindness Study Finds
Until relatively recently, the dogma in neuroscience was that neurons, including the eye’s photoreceptor cells, rods and cones, do not regenerate. This is the reason that nerve damage is thought to be so grave. More recent studies have poked holes in this belief by showing that, in some vertebrate species, neurons can be stimulated to divide.
Penn Researchers Show Rising Opioid Prescriptions Following Low-Risk Surgeries
Physicians are prescribing more opioid painkillers than ever before to patients undergoing common surgeries, according to new research from the department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
In the News
Sugar-coated gold nanoparticles could replace some antibiotics
According to a Penn Medicine study, a new therapy involving laser light and sugar-coated gold nanoparticles can reduce tooth decay and infected wounds without needing antibiotics.
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A new strategy to attack aggressive brain cancer shrank tumors in two early tests
A clinical trial led by Stephen Bagley of the Perelman School of Medicine suggests that targeting two associated proteins with CAR T cell therapy could be a viable strategy for shrinking brain tumors.
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Alzheimer’s may be caused by a build-up of fat in brain cells
A study by Michael Haney of the Perelman School of Medicine suggests that the root cause of Alzheimer’s is a build-up of fat droplets in brain cells.
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Cats aren’t jerks. They’re just misunderstood
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that the domestic cat suffers from its legacy of being a not-quite-wild animal on the margins of society.
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Philadelphia hospital program adds psychologists to bridge mental health services for trauma survivors
A new psychology team at the Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program has provided about 46 survivors with short- and long- term therapy, featuring remarks from Elinore Kaufman and Lily Brown of the Perelman School of Medicine.
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