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Study reveals new epigenetic mechanism underlying progression of cancer tumors

Aggressive cancer growth and alterations in gene activity without changes in DNA sequence (epigenetics) are associated with mutant p53 proteins, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

3 Sep 2015

Penn Medicine hospitals named among HRC Foundation's 'Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality' list

The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Hospital, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and Chester County Hospital were announced among the 2015 class of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation's "Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality" list, and the first to be announced in the organization's rolling admissions in 2015.

1 Sep 2015

HealthSouth to acquire home health agency operations of CareSouth Health System

HealthSouth Corporation, a leading provider of post-acute healthcare services, today announced its Encompass Home Health operating unit ("Encompass") has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the home health agency operations of CareSouth Health System, Inc. for a cash purchase price of $170 million.

31 Aug 2015

Adventist Health System uses MyRounding platform to enhance patient experience, quality of care

MyRounding Solutions, the leader in developing patient experience technology, announced today that Adventist Health System (AHS) has selected MyRounding to streamline and optimize its rounding process and enhance patient experience, quality of care and employee engagement throughout its participating hospitals.

28 Aug 2015

Use of observation stays may lead to financial burden for some Medicare patients

In the midst of a growing trend for Medicare patients to receive observation care in the hospital to determine if they should be formally admitted, a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania shows that for more than a quarter of beneficiaries with multiple observation stays, the cumulative out-of-pocket costs of these visits exceeds the deductible they would have owed for an inpatient hospital admission.

27 Aug 2015

Inpatient palliative care visits associated with improved quality of life for patients with heart failure

A recent randomized trial conducted by researchers at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, part of Allina Health, found that inpatient palliative care (PC) visits were associated with improved quality of life and symptom burden for patients with heart failure (HF).

26 Aug 2015

Novel synthetic DNA vaccine induces protective immunity against MERS virus in animal study

A novel synthetic DNA vaccine can, for the first time, induce protective immunity against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus in animal species, reported researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

21 Aug 2015

New partnering scholarship launched to inspire and develop potential oncology nurses

As experienced oncology nurses know, a cancer diagnosis is only the first step on a long and challenging road ahead—for patients and providers alike. For both, a wide range of procedures becomes part and parcel of every day.

19 Aug 2015

Reducing amyloid fibril levels in semen may help reduce transmission of HIV

There may be two new ways to fight AIDS -- using a heat shock protein or a small molecule - to attack fibrils in semen associated with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) during the initial phases of infection, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

18 Aug 2015

Risk for endophthalmitis no higher with Avastin, finds study

Eye injections of the drug Avastin, used to treat retinal diseases, bring no greater risk of endophthalmitis, a potentially blinding eye infection, than injections with the much more expensive drug Lucentis made by the same company, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Their findings are published today in JAMA Ophthalmology.

14 Aug 2015

Tumor cells associated with pancreatic cancer work with each other to increase tumor spread

Tumor cells associated with pancreatic cancer often behave like communities by working with each other to increase tumor spread and growth to different organs. Groups of these cancer cells are better than single cancer cells in driving tumor spread, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published in Cancer Discovery online in advance of the print issue.

13 Aug 2015

Penn Medicine experts say that health care innovation is about testing new ideas to promote better patient care

Health care has much to learn from innovative high-tech companies, but not in the way most people think, according to a Perspective published today in the New England Journal of Medicine and authored by innovation experts from the Perelman School of Medicine and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Innovation, they say, can most effectively achieve meaningful outcomes by testing many new ideas quickly, cheaply, and contextually.

13 Aug 2015

Major gaps found in existing evidence for best practices for cleaning hospital room surfaces to prevent HAIs

Tray tables, bed rails, light switches, and toilets: All are common vectors for swapping germs between patients and health care workers. While a new systematic overview in this week's Annals of Internal Medicine points to several promising cleaning tactics of these "high-touch surfaces," there's a lack of evidence as to which is the most effective at reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

11 Aug 2015

Investigational topical drug shows promise in patients with early stage cutaneous T cell lymphoma

Results of a phase one trial show that an investigational topical drug, resiquimod gel, causes regression of both treated and untreated tumor lesions and may completely remove cancerous cells from both sites in patients with early stage cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) - a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that affects the skin.

7 Aug 2015

UC Davis study finds higher survival rates for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer

Combing data collected on thousands of California ovarian cancer patients, UC Davis researchers have determined that almost one-third survived at least 10 years after diagnosis.

7 Aug 2015

Penn researchers identify major genetic factor that keeps moles in non-cancerous, no-growth state

Moles are benign tumors found on the skin of almost every adult. Scientists have known for years that a mutation in the BRAF gene makes them start growing, but until now haven't understood why they stop. Now, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have identified a major genetic factor that keeps moles in their usual non-cancerous, no-growth state.

6 Aug 2015

Penn research reveals additional pathway for origin of colon cancer

Cancer researchers already know of some oncogenes and other factors that promote the development of colon cancers, but they don't yet have the full picture of how these cancers originate and spread. Now researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have illuminated another powerful factor in this process.

6 Aug 2015

People with chronic insomnia may be able to get relief from half of standard sleeping pills

The roughly nine million Americans who rely on prescription sleeping pills to treat chronic insomnia may be able to get relief from as little as half of the drugs, and may even be helped by taking placebos in the treatment plan, according to new research published today in the journal Sleep Medicine by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

4 Aug 2015

Penn Medicine devises new approach to develop vaccines against lethal diseases

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have devised an entirely new approach to vaccines - creating immunity without vaccination.