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DNA misfolding linked to heightened risk for Type 1 diabetes

It's known that genetics, or an inherited genome, is a major determinant of one's risk for autoimmune diseases, like Type 1 diabetes. In human cells, a person's genome--about six feet of DNA--is compressed into the micrometer space of the nucleus via a three-dimensional folding process.

11 Feb 2020

Patients use smartphones more than wearable devices to track physical activity

Doctors who want to track their patients' physical activity might have more luck doing it with smartphones than wearable fitness devices, according to a new Penn Medicine study.

9 Feb 2020

Study highlights urgent need to address funding and workforce in palliative care

New research at Trinity College Dublin, published today (Thursday, February 6th, 2020), shows that the number of people dying in Ireland with palliative care needs will increase 84% to 2046.

6 Feb 2020

What to do if your home health care agency ditches you

Craig Holly was determined to fight when the home health agency caring for his wife decided to cut off services Jan. 18.

4 Feb 2020

Why home health care is suddenly harder to come by for Medicare patients

The decision came out of the blue. "Your husband isn't going to get any better, so we can't continue services," an occupational therapist told Deloise "Del" Holloway in early November. "Medicare isn't going to pay for it."

3 Feb 2020

Death receptor pathway drives resistance to CAR T cell therapy

Some cancer cells refuse to die, even in the face of powerful cellular immunotherapies like CAR T cell therapy, and new research from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania is shedding light on why.

30 Jan 2020

Psychedelic drug has enduring antianxiety and antidepressant effects in cancer patients

Following up on their landmark 2016 study, researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine found that a one-time, single-dose treatment of psilocybin, a compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, combined with psychotherapy appears to be associated with significant improvements in emotional and existential distress in cancer patients.

28 Jan 2020

New stigma-reduction intervention benefits obese individuals who struggle with poor self-image

People with obesity are often treated with less respect than other people, discriminated against, and socially devalued because of their weight.

24 Jan 2020

Quality of end-of-life care in ICUs higher than other hospital departments

Family caregivers of the deceased rated the quality of end-of-life care in the intensive care unit (ICU) higher than the end-of-life care in other hospital departments (also called wards), according to new, large Penn Medicine study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

23 Jan 2020

Patients want a ‘good death’ at home, but hospice care can badly strain families

“I’m not anti-hospice at all,” said Joy Johnston, who relocated to New Mexico years ago at age 40 to care for her dying mother.

23 Jan 2020

Diagnosed with dementia, she documented her wishes. They said no.

When she worked on the trading floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, long before cellphone calculators, Susan Saran could perform complex math problems in her head. Years later, as one of its top regulators, she was in charge of investigating insider trading deals.

21 Jan 2020

Asian parents with terminally ill children may not share psychological pain with their spouses

A study of families in Singapore with terminally ill children found that parents tend to defer discussing their psychological pain with their spouses to protect them from emotional distress.

16 Jan 2020

New study challenges concerns over readmission reduction initiatives in hospitals

A UT Southwestern study is challenging concerns that a federal health policy enacted in 2012 to reduce hospital readmissions leaves patients more vulnerable.

16 Jan 2020

Hospital readmission program not associated with increased risk of death in patients

The Obamacare program intended to reduce the risk of patients being readmitted after hospitalizations for heart attacks, heart failure, and pneumonia has not caused an increase in mortality risk for patients in emergency departments or observational units, according to a new report.

16 Jan 2020

Study demonstrates feasibility of giving entire course of radiation in less than a second

Cancer patients may one day be able to get their entire course of radiation therapy in less than a second rather than coming in for treatment over the course of several weeks, and researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania have taken the first steps toward making it a reality.

9 Jan 2020

Researchers one step closer to developing vaccines that protect infants against infections

A new Penn Medicine study puts researchers within closer reach of vaccines that can protect infants against infections by overcoming a mother's antibodies, which are known to shut down immune defenses initiated by conventional vaccines.

9 Jan 2020

Researchers identify how anatomical connections in the brain develop during adolescence

The human brain is organized into circuits that develop from childhood through adulthood to support executive function- critical behaviors like self-control, decision making, and complex thought.

3 Jan 2020

Residents of Hispanic neighborhoods less likely to receive bystander CPR, study shows

People living in predominately Hispanic neighborhoods are less likely to receive CPR from a bystander following an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest compared to people living in non-Hispanic neighborhoods, researchers from Penn Medicine and the Duke University of School of Medicine reported in the journal Circulation.

2 Jan 2020

Consumers feel empowered and confused by direct-to-consumer fertility tests, study reveals

Direct-to-consumer hormone-based "fertility testing" for women is viewed by consumers as both an alternative, empowering tool for family planning, and a confusing and misleading one, according to the results of a new study from Penn Medicine.

30 Dec 2019

Closing of local automotive assembly plants may lead to rise in opioid overdose deaths

Closing of local automotive assembly plants may lead to increases in deaths from opioid overdose, according to a study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts General Hospital.

30 Dec 2019

Hospice News and Research

DNA misfolding linked to heightened risk for Type 1 diabetes

Patients use smartphones more than wearable devices to track physical activity

Study highlights urgent need to address funding and workforce in palliative care

What to do if your home health care agency ditches you

Why home health care is suddenly harder to come by for Medicare patients

Death receptor pathway drives resistance to CAR T cell therapy

Psychedelic drug has enduring antianxiety and antidepressant effects in cancer patients

New stigma-reduction intervention benefits obese individuals who struggle with poor self-image

Quality of end-of-life care in ICUs higher than other hospital departments

Patients want a ‘good death’ at home, but hospice care can badly strain families

Diagnosed with dementia, she documented her wishes. They said no.

Asian parents with terminally ill children may not share psychological pain with their spouses

New study challenges concerns over readmission reduction initiatives in hospitals

Hospital readmission program not associated with increased risk of death in patients

Study demonstrates feasibility of giving entire course of radiation in less than a second

Researchers one step closer to developing vaccines that protect infants against infections

Researchers identify how anatomical connections in the brain develop during adolescence

Residents of Hispanic neighborhoods less likely to receive bystander CPR, study shows

Consumers feel empowered and confused by direct-to-consumer fertility tests, study reveals

Closing of local automotive assembly plants may lead to rise in opioid overdose deaths

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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