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Health Sciences
Penn Study Cautions Use of Drugs to Block 'Niacin Flush' in Heart Patients
Niacin, or vitamin B3, is the one approved drug that elevates "good" cholesterol (high density lipoprotein, HDL) while depressing "bad" cholesterol (low density lipoprotein , LDL), and has thereby attracted much attention from patients and physicians. Niacin keeps fat from breaking down, and so obstructs the availability of LDL building blocks.
DNA Sequencing Consortium Finds Patterns of Mutations in Autism, Highlighting Potential Risk Factors
Researchers have long recognized that autism runs in families, suggesting a genetic component. Yet, few genes have so far been identified and the underlying genetic nature of autism — how many genes contribute and to what extent they influence a person's chances of developing the disorder — remains poorly understood.
Penn Medicine Researchers Find that Molecular Pair Controls Time-Keeping and Fat Metabolism
The 24-hour internal clock controls many aspects of human behavior and physiology, including sleep, blood pressure, and metabolism. Disruption in circadian rhythms leads to increased incidence of many diseases, including metabolic disease and cancer. Each cell of the body has its own internal timing mechanism, which is controlled by proteins that keep one another in check.
Penn Vet Ophthalmologists Conducting Free Eye Exams for Service Dogs
The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s Ryan Hospital is once again participating in the National Service Dog Eye Exam sponsored by the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO) and Merial.
Penn Bioethicist Jonathan Moreno Appointed to UNESCO International Bioethics Committee
PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania’s Jonathan Moreno has been invited to join the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s
Penn Biologists Identify a Key Enzyme Involved in Protecting Nerves From Degeneration
PHILADELPHIA –- A new animal model of nerve injury has brought to light a critical role of an enzyme called Nmnat in nerve fiber maintenance and neuroprotection.
Duality of Longevity Drug Explained by Penn Medicine Researchers
A Penn- and MIT-led team explained how rapamycin, a drug that extends mouse lifespan, also causes insulin resistance. The researchers showed in an animal model that they could, in principle, separate the effects, which depend on inhibiting two protein complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2, respectively.
Penn Researchers Call for a Re-Examination of Transplant Waitlist Prioritization
Patients with end-stage liver disease complicated by the most common type of liver cancer — hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) — are less likely to die or become too sick for a transplant while waiting for a new liver than those with other complications of end-stage liver disease, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the Univ
Penn Receives $2 Million to Help Prevent Chronic Diseases Among HIV-Positive African-American Men
Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, have received a $2 million grant from the National
Inner Weapons Against Allergies: Gut Bacteria Control Allergic Diseases, Penn Study Finds
When poet Walt Whitman wrote that we "contain multitudes," he was speaking metaphorically, but he was correct in the literal sense. Every human being carries over 100 trillion individual bacterial cells within the intestine -- ten times more cells than comprise the body itself.
In the News
Fortune
California declares a state of emergency as a new severe bird flu case was discovered. What it means for the rest of the country
Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine says the latest H5N1 bird flu strain might have a greater potential to adapt and cause severe disease in humans.
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The New York Times
Is protein powder a scam?
Colleen Tewksbury of the School of Nursing and Perelman School of Medicine says that the vast majority of people in the U.S. already get enough protein from the foods they eat and don’t need to take it in supplement form.
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Las Vegas Sun
Nation’s health care industry can be improved, if we have the will to try
Michael Anne Kyle of the Perelman School of Medicine says that patient frustration with health care is fueled by spending a lot of money while still facing problems with the service.
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The Washington Post
Dogs may be able to communicate by pressing buttons, research suggests
Postdoc Amritha Mallikarjun of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that dogs use buttons as a trained behavior to try and get the things they want.
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NPR
For kids with rare genetic disorders, customized CRISPR treatments offer hope
Scientists at Penn are trying to develop a template for groups of rare conditions that are similar enough to be affected by a single, easily adaptable gene-editing treatment.
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