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Health Sciences
Penn Study Shows Antidepressants Work Best for Severe Depression, Provide Little to No Benefit Otherwise
PHILADELPHIA –- A study of 30 years of antidepressant-drug treatment data published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that the benefit of antidepressant medication compared with placebo may be minimal or nonexistent in patients with mild or moderate symptoms.
Genetic Study Led by University of Pennsylvania and Cornell Clarifies African and African-American Ancestry
PHILADELPHIA –- People who identify as African-American may be as little as 1 percent West African or as much as 99 percent, just one finding of a large-scale, genome-wide study of African and African-American ancestry released today.
Antidepressants May Change Personality, Leading to Reduced Depression, Says Penn Collaboration
PHILADELPHIA –- Examining data obtained from a University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University psychology study, researchers at these universities and Northwestern University have reported the first placebo-controlled evidence that antidepressant medications—particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs—can substantially change patients’
Penn Researchers Find Reproductive Germ Cells Survive and Thrive In Transplants, Even Among Species
PHILADELPHIA –- Reproductive researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have succeeded in isolating and transplanting pure populations of the immature cells that enable male reproduction in two species—human spermatogonia and mouse gonocytes.
Fighting Sleep, Penn Researchers Reverse the Cognitive Impairment Caused By Sleep Deprivation
PHILADELPHIA –- A research collaboration led by biologists and neuroscientists at the University of Pennsylvania has found a molecular pathway in the brain that is the cause of cognitive impairment due to sleep deprivation.
Penn Launches Web Site Tracking Research Funded by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
PHILADELPHIA –- The University of Pennsylvania has launched a Web site to inform the public of scientific research funding it has received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the stimulus measure that has delivered the largest increase in basic funding in the history of federally funded scient
In the News
Healio
Children, teens face 25% higher risk for adverse GI outcomes after COVID-19 infection
According to a study by Ph.D. student Dazheng Zhang of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues, children and adolescents experienced increased risk for gastrointestinal symptoms and disorders after COVID-19 infections.
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CBS News
Pennsylvania doctors reflect on COVID-19 pandemic 5 years later
Raina Merchant of the Perelman School of Medicine says that Penn Medicine had to be nimble during the COVID-19 pandemic to respond to many changes in information and optimize care for patients.
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Good Housekeeping
Is This Viral Trend Really the Ultimate Cure for Bloat?
Anish A. Sheth of the Perelman School of Medicine says there’s no medical evidence that topical castor oil has any medically therapeutic benefits.
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The New York Times
Mutated DNA restored to normal in gene therapy advance
Kiran Musunuru of the Perelman School of Medicine says that a new infusion offers the hope of precisely treating other genetic diseases by fixing mutations, an alternative to current gene therapies.
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Healio
Consider cost-effectiveness of treatment when managing glaucoma
Lama Al-Aswad of the Perelman School of Medicine says that glaucoma should be diagnosed early to decrease the cost to health care, help patients, and prevent blindness.
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