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Health Sciences
Penn Study Describes the Molecular Cause of Common Cerebrovascular Disease
Cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs) are clusters of dilated, thin-walled blood vessels in the brain that can cause stroke and seizures, yet exactly how they form is somewhat of a mystery.
Training China’s Next Generation of Dentists
Penn’s multitude of rapidly growing China connections can be viewed through a number of different prisms. Some focus on its manufacturing networks or banking system. Others see it in terms of civil engineering challenges or consumer purchasing trends.
2016 President’s Engagement Prize Winners Announced at Penn
Seniors Vaishak Kumar, Melanie Mariano and Kriya Patel have been named recipients of the 2016 President’s Engagement Prizes at the University of Pennsylvania. The announcement was made today by Penn President Amy Gutmann.
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.
In the News
6ABC.com
Bird flu suspected in deaths of 200 snow geese in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley
Stephen Cole of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that indoor cats are contracting bird flu through raw pet foods of poultry origin or raw milk products.
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Self
The surgeon general calls for new warning labels on alcohol—here’s the truth about how it impacts your health
Henry Kranzler of the Perelman School of Medicine says that alcohol’s effects on the brain are observed more readily because it’s the organ of behavior.
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NPR
Tuberculosis rates plunge when families living in poverty get a monthly cash payout
Aaron Richterman of the Perelman School of Medicine says that there are large and underappreciated benefits of cash-transfer programs, such as potentially ending a tuberculosis epidemic.
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Newsweek
Cancer breakthrough as ‘speckles’ may reveal best treatment
A paper co-authored by PIK Professor Shelley Berger finds that patterns of “speckles” in the heart of tumor cells could help predict how patients with a common form of kidney cancer will respond to treatment options.
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Time
Scientists are racing to develop a new bird flu vaccine
Drew Weissman and Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine are testing a vaccine to prevent a strain of H5N1 bird flu in chickens and cattle.
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