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Health Sciences
Comprehensive Parkinson's Biomarker Test Has Prognostic and Diagnostic Value, Penn Medicine Team Reports
Perelman School of Medicine researchers at the University of Pennsylvania report the first biomarker results reported from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), showing that a comprehensive test of protein biomarkers in spinal fluid have prognostic and diagnostic value in early stages of Parkinson’s disease.
Penn Medicine: Obesity/Mortality Paradox Demonstrates Urgent Need for More Refined Metabolic Measures
Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania point out that the body mass index (BMI), based on the weight and height, is not an accurate measure of body fat content and does not account for critical factors that contribute to health or mortality, such as fat distribution, proportion of muscle to fat, and the sex and
Minor and Major: Penn Study Finds A New Gene Expression Mechanism
A rare, small RNA turns a gene-splicing machine into a switch that controls the expression of hundreds of human genes.
Penn: Researchers Agree that Alzheimer's Test Results Could be Released to Research Participants, if Guidance and Counseling in Place
A leading group of Alzheimer's researchers contends that, as biomarkers to detect signals of the disease improve at providing clinically meaningful information, researchers will need guidance on how to constructively disclose test results and track how disclosure impacts both patients and the data collected in research studies.
Penn Medicine Researchers Evaluate Outcomes and Costs in Perioperative Care
Differences in the utilization of intensive care services may be one potential explanation for improved outcomes after major surgery in the U.S.
Tumors Form Advance Teams to Ready Lungs for Spread of Cancer, Finds Penn Study
Cancer metastasis requires tumor cells to acquire properties that allow them to escape from the primary tumor site, travel to a distant place in the body, and form secondary tumors.
Penn Alum Provides Social Health Services at Free Clinic
At a soup kitchen in the basement of the St. Agatha-St. James Catholic Church, located at the edge of the University of Pennsylvania’s campus, May graduate Kyra Edson provides free health services to those in need.
Penn Medicine Researchers Find Sleep Beliefs Vary Along Racial Lines in Philadelphia
When it comes to sleep, Penn Medicine researchers are finding out that some things really are black and white.
Penn: Variants at Gene Linked to Kidney Disease, Sleeping Sickness Resistance
A new study led by University of Pennsylvania researchers involves a classic case of evolution’s fickle nature: a genetic mutation that protects against a potentially fatal infectious disease also appears to increase the risk of developing a chronic, debilitating condition.
Penn Study Shows How Viruses in Gut Bacteria Change
Humans are far more than merely the sum total of all the cells that form the organs and tissues.
In the News
UPenn hosts free online panel for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion
The Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative, led by José Bauermeister and Jessica Halem of the School of Nursing, will host a free online panel in April on the integration of LGBTQ+ people in the workforce.
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How to die in good health
PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel says that incessantly preparing for old age mistakes a long life for a worthwhile one.
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Mayor Parker’s plan to ‘remove the presence of drug users’ from Kensington raises new questions
Shoshana Aronowitz of the School of Nursing and Ashish Thakrar of the Perelman School of Medicine comment on the lack of specificity in Philadelphia’s plan to remove drug users from Kensington and on the current state of drug treatment in the city.
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How many patients would recommend their Philly-area hospital to family and friends? Check your local hospital
The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania has been named one of the most recommended acute-care facilities by patients in the Philadelphia area.
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Homeward bound: When a Penn Medicine nurse was diagnosed with uterine cancer, she turned to the service dogs she helped to train
A profile highlights Maria Wright of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, from her volunteer work connecting people with service dogs to her cancer diagnosis and her own journey applying for a service dog.
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