4.21
Health Sciences
Looking out for speech disturbance may be the most important stroke sign
With COVID-19 protocols, fewer in-person doctor visits and ubiquitous face masks make tell-tale signs of stroke like facial drooping and arm weakness harder to detect.
Where the economy falters, deaths from heart disease rise
Where the economy falters, deaths from heart disease rise
A new study finds that the diverging economic fortunes of different parts of the country is linked to differing death rates from heart disease and stroke among middle-aged Americans.
More chairs, new presence expand dental care access
More chairs, new presence expand dental care access
A growing presence in community care centers has given Penn Dental Medicine more opportunities to serve Philadelphians and to train its students.
Five years later: CAR T therapy shows long-lasting remissions in non-Hodgkin lymphomas
Five years later: CAR T therapy shows long-lasting remissions in non-Hodgkin lymphomas
Findings represent the longest follow-up data to date for a personalized cellular therapy approved by the FDA for the treatment of aggressive lymphomas.
Behavior Change for Good unveils effective strategies to boost vaccination rates
Behavior Change for Good unveils effective strategies to boost vaccination rates
Texts with “reserved for you” messaging boosted flu vaccine rates by up to 11%.
Study explores neurocognitive basis of bias against people who look different
Study explores neurocognitive basis of bias against people who look different
Research from Penn Medicine shows brain responses and attitudes reinforce the “anomalous is bad” stereotype.
Penn Med students create unexpected community outreach
Penn Med students create unexpected community outreach
The Perelman School of Medicine’s Medical School Government used its annual funding that usually goes to events in non-pandemic times to help the West Philadelphia community.
Companionship that spans generations and reduces isolation for seniors
Companionship that spans generations and reduces isolation for seniors
With the pandemic, Penn Memory Center’s social interaction and companionship program for seniors moved online.
Five Penn faculty named 2021 Sloan Research Fellows
Five Penn faculty named 2021 Sloan Research Fellows
The fellowship recognizes extraordinary U.S. and Canadian researchers whose creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next generation of scientific leaders.
Engaging faith communities to reduce vaccination disparities
Engaging faith communities to reduce vaccination disparities
In partnership with Mercy Philadelphia and community faith leaders, Penn Medicine held a vaccine clinic at the Church of Christian Compassion that reached 500 people in West Philadelphia. At least two more such events are planned.
In the News
Seattle Times
Your COVID post-vaccine activities safety guide, including gyms, shopping, taking an Uber and more
Once two weeks have passed following a second COVID-19 vaccine dose (or one Johnson & Johnson dose), individuals are considered fully vaccinated. At that point , what activities are considered “safe” to resume? Meenakshi Bewtra of the Perelman School of Medicine says that for vaccinated people, activities that were once considered risky are safer, but advises people to proceed with caution in light of new variants, and to keep public health and safety at the forefront of daily activities by wearing a mask and maintaining social distance in public.
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CBS Philadelphia
Earth Week: New research links lung cancer to air pollution in Philadelphia
Air in the Philadelphia region is ranked as the 12th most polluted in the country by the American Lung Association. Toxins in the air, mainly from traffic and industry, are known to cause lung cancer. Trevor Penning, a pharmacology professor in the Perelman School of Medicine, developed hazard indices for 421 zip codes using satellite imagery for particulate matter and volatile organic compounds.
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Science Daily
The immune link between a leaky blood-brain barrier and schizophrenia
For people with schizophrenia and other mental disorders, a more permissive blood-brain barrier appears to allow the immune system to get improperly involved in the central nervous system. The inflammation that arises likely contributes to the clinical manifestations of neuropsychiatric conditions, according to new findings from a team led by researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
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Philadelphia Inquirer
I’m a doctor who examines asylum seekers. I want Biden to fix the asylum system
Jules Lipoff of the Perelman School of Medicine argued for reforming and expanding the U.S. asylum system. “We must renew the United States as a bold world leader in standing for the dignity of human rights,” he wrote.
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CNBC
Dr. Zeke Emanuel on why the U.S. should consider a vaccine mandate
PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel talks about why a vaccine mandate for some types of workers may be a necessary last resort in establishing herd immunity. “I don’t think the risks of the vaccine compare to the risks for the country of the coronavirus is really at issue,” he said.
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