10.26
Health Sciences
COVID-101: Medical students get a crash course in coronavirus
COVID-101: Medical students get a crash course in coronavirus
When physicians-in-training at the Perelman School of Medicine were sent home for remote work and virtual learning due to the pandemic, 80 fourth-year students immersed themselves in a crash course on COVID-19 virology, epidemiology, therapies, vaccines, and related topics.
Gender parity in heart failure research calls for more women authors and patients
Gender parity in heart failure research calls for more women authors and patients
An analysis led by Penn Medicine identifies gender disparities in authorship of heart failure guideline citations and clinical trials.
An improv class that enriches the mind and soul, even remotely
An improv class that enriches the mind and soul, even remotely
The Penn Memory Center’s Cognitive Comedy program gives people with memory impairments and their caregivers a no-pressure space to think creatively, socialize, and be part of a community.
Iranian, American health experts share coronavirus experiences in rare talk
Iranian, American health experts share coronavirus experiences in rare talk
The coronavirus crisis and the move to online events presented Penn’s Middle East Center with a rare opportunity to foster the first public conversation about the virus between senior health officials in Iran and counterparts in the United States.
Shining a light on the dangers of lead
Shining a light on the dangers of lead
Lead poisoning robs children of opportunity, and the impact is worse in underserved communities. Faculty and students at Penn are bringing scientific and policy attention to the problem, while empowering young people to minimize their risk and be leaders for change.
Trauma centers weathered increase in gun violence from city’s COVID hotspots
Trauma centers weathered increase in gun violence from city’s COVID hotspots
A study evaluating how Philadelphia’s Level 1 trauma centers responded during the worst of COVID-19 showed a disproportionate number of patients from the hardest-hit neighborhoods.
Enhanced Recovery program significantly reduces post-op opioid use
Enhanced Recovery program significantly reduces post-op opioid use
An Enhanced Recovery After Surgery protocol for elective spine and peripheral nerve surgery decreases opioid use and the length of hospital stays.
New genetic cause of an inherited neuropathy discovered
New genetic cause of an inherited neuropathy discovered
A discovery by Penn researchers in siblings may hold answers to new gene therapies for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
Uncovering the neurological connections to COVID-19
Uncovering the neurological connections to COVID-19
A variety of research efforts across Penn are working to uncover the neurological implications of COVID-19, including stroke, neuroinflammation, and loss of smell.
Greater access to HIV and tuberculosis medications is needed worldwide
Greater access to HIV and tuberculosis medications is needed worldwide
A Penn-led study finds a specific combination of HIV and TB treatments, which is difficult to obtain in certain parts of the world, decreased the mortality risk for patients with HIV and multidrug-resistant TB.
In the News
Philadelphia Inquirer
Stress from COVID-19 has led to a surge in teeth grinding, dentists say
Thomas Sollecito of the School of Dental Medicine commented on teeth grinding during the pandemic. “The stress and distress of the world’s events will affect things like sleep and someone’s clenching and grinding,” he said. “If we’re constantly under that duress, the frequency and intensity of clenching and grinding is just going to continue.”
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Business Insider
A Chinese city says it tested 3 million people for COVID-19 in 2 days, showing how much the U.S. and Europe still lag behind in testing capability
Carolyn Cannuscio of the Perelman School of Medicine commented on the U.S. ability to test for COVID-19. “We have a broken testing system, and that sets us up for failure in contact tracing because people are waiting so long to get their test results that we have missed a critical period for counseling those people to stay home and avoid infecting others,” she said.
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The Hill
Advocates plead for housing aid as eviction cliff looms
Michael Levy of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the dangers posed by evictions during a pandemic. “Larger households are dangerous for infectious disease because you have more people so there's more avenues of ingress of the virus,” he said. “The worry was even a fairly modest change in the household size structure in a population could have kind of an outsized effect on an epidemic on a city scale.”
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The New York Times
Can Trump really speed approval of COVID treatments?
Susan Ellenberg of the Perelman School of Medicine said she’d want to see clinical trial data before deciding whether to trust a coronavirus vaccine that was approved under Emergency Use Authorization. “If it looked to me like it was very effective, and I didn’t see any safety problems, then definitely,” she said. “I think I would recommend people getting it. I would get it myself.”
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The New York Times
Why a hospital might shun a Black patient
Amol S. Navathe and Harald Schmidt of the Perelman School of Medicine proposed a more equitable payment model for hospital care. “Because a vast majority of programs that tie payment to cost and quality goals aren’t focused on disadvantaged populations, they create incentives for hospitals to avoid patients from these groups,” they wrote.
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