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Many patient-advocacy organizations do not have adequate disclosure practices, study reveals

Over the past few decades, hundreds of patient-advocacy organizations have emerged in the United States, promoting disease research and influencing FDA and health insurer policies.

3 Mar 2017

Scientists reveal new mRNA method to deliver safe, cost-effective therapeutic antibodies

Using antibodies to treat disease has been one of the great success stories of early 21st-century medicine. Already five of the ten top-selling pharmaceuticals in the United States are antibody products. But antibodies are large, complex proteins that can be expensive to manufacture.

2 Mar 2017

Highly prevalent gene variants in African Americans contribute to kidney disease

African Americans have a heightened risk of developing chronic and end-stage kidney disease. This association has been attributed to two common genetic variants - named G1 and G2 -- in APOL1, a gene that codes for a human-specific protein.

1 Mar 2017

Affordable Care Act improves access to primary care for Medicaid patients, Penn study finds

Since the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, which provided access to health insurance to millions of previously uninsured adults in the United States, the availability of appointments with primary care physicians has improved for patients with Medicaid and remains unchanged for patients with private coverage, according to new research led by the Perelman School of Medicine and the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.

28 Feb 2017

Cocaine use by fathers may negatively impact cognitive development in male offspring

Fathers who use cocaine at the time of conceiving a child may be putting their sons at risk of learning disabilities and memory loss.

24 Feb 2017

Penn expert suggests shorter radiation treatment for men with prostate cancer

Men with prostate cancer can receive shorter courses of radiation therapy than what is currently considered standard, according to Justin Bekelman, MD, an associate professor of Radiation Oncology, Medical Ethics, and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center.

22 Feb 2017

Studies show benefits and risks of testosterone treatment in older men

It is commonly known that testosterone levels decrease as men age, but until last year, little was known about the effects of testosterone treatment in older men with low testosterone.

21 Feb 2017

New model of cervical cancer care reduces delay between diagnosis and treatment

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for women low- and middle-income countries, including Botswana, where 75 percent of cervical cancer patients suffer from advanced forms of the disease.

21 Feb 2017

Penn researchers find new way to track rare T cells in blood after annual flu vaccine

For most vaccines to work the body needs two cell types - B cells and T helper cells - to make antibodies. B cells are the antibody factories and the T helper cells refine the strength and accuracy of antibodies to home and attack their targets.

20 Feb 2017

Stem cells collected from fat more stable than previously thought, Penn study shows

Adult stem cells collected directly from human fat are more stable than other cells - such as fibroblasts from the skin - and have the potential for use in anti-aging treatments, according to researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

17 Feb 2017

Experts establish first set of diagnostic criteria for life-threatening idiopathic multicentric CD

More than six decades after Castleman disease was first described, a group of experts from Penn Medicine and other institutions around the world has established the first set of diagnostic criteria for a life-threatening subtype of the condition, idiopathic multicentric CD, which is often misdiagnosed as other illnesses.

16 Feb 2017

Penn Medicine's ODC collaborates with FAST to develop gene therapy for Angelman syndrome

Penn Medicine's Orphan Disease Center announces a new partnership with FAST to study gene therapy approaches to treat Angelman syndrome.

14 Feb 2017

New ASTRO guideline underscores safety, effectiveness of palliative radiation therapy for bone metastases

The American Society for Radiation Oncology recently published an updated clinical guideline that underscores the safety and effectiveness of palliative radiation therapy (RT) for treating painful bone metastases.

14 Feb 2017

New therapeutic agent shows potential for treating optic neuritis linked to multiple sclerosis

A new therapeutic agent tested in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) produced anti-inflammatory activity and prevented loss of cells in the optic nerve, according to a new study by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, with Pittsburgh-based Noveome Biotherapeutics.

9 Feb 2017

Study finds moderate or severe signs of depression and anxiety among hospice caregivers

Currently, more than 34 million people in the U.S. care for terminally ill love ones, but few resources are available to help them navigate the challenges they encounter.

8 Feb 2017

Study links higher BMI to lower chances of getting hospice care

The heavier someone is, the less likely they are to have what many people might call a "good death", with hospice care and a chance to die at home, a new study finds. And that difference comes with a financial, as well as a personal, cost, the research shows.

8 Feb 2017

Penn scientists discover clues that could lead novel therapies for preventing heart failure

Of the more than 700,000 Americans who suffer a heart attack each year, about a quarter go on to develop heart failure.

7 Feb 2017

Penn scientists find cytokine as key to fighting and treating viral infection in the lungs

Viral infections that occur in a patient's lungs are a significant cause of hospitalization and death among children and the elderly.

3 Feb 2017

New Zika vaccine candidate shows potential to protect against virus with single dose

A new Zika vaccine candidate has the potential to protect against the virus with a single dose, according to a research team led by scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

2 Feb 2017

VUMC’s V3 program that pairs volunteers with dying patients expanding in 2017

After a successful 2016 pilot, Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Vigil Volunteers (V3) program — which pairs volunteers with dying patients who either have no known family or friends, or whose family and friends are unable to be with them — is expanding in 2017.

30 Jan 2017