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Treating metastatic melanoma with a triple threat—including radiation therapy and two immunotherapies that target the CTLA4 and PD-1 pathways—could elicit an optimal response in more patients, one that will boost the immune system’s attack on the disease, suggests a new study from a multidisciplinary team of researchers from Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center published today in Nature.

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Approximately 1,500 oncology stakeholders are expected to attend NCCN’s 20th Annual Conference: Advancing the Standard of Cancer Care™, March 12 – 14, 2015, in Hollywood, Florida.

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The national gross domestic product (GDP) is a stronger predictor of job satisfaction than workers' personal or job-related characteristics, reports the March Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

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While the pattern for making a wearable fabric battery has already been laid out, it’s now time to select the threads that will turn a textile into an energy storage device. That process is being driven by Drexel University doctoral student Kristy Jost, who’s threaded her way into the forefront of research on conductive yarns.

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Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States, but access to rapid EMS care and appropriate stroke care centers with the ability to deliver acute stroke therapies can drastically mitigate the debilitating effects of a stroke. A population-based approach to health planning would prevent disparities in access to specialized stroke care, says new Penn Medicine research. Their evaluation of access to stroke centers in the U.S. found that even under the most optimal conditions, a large proportion of the United States population would be unable to access a comprehensive stroke center within 60 minutes. The study is published in the current issue of Neurology.

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An increase in Twitter sentiment (the positivity or negativity of tweets) is associated with an increase in state-level enrollment in the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) health insurance marketplaces — a phenomenon that points to use of the social media platform as a real-time gauge of public opinion and provides a way for marketplaces to quickly identify enrollment changes and emerging issues.

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Biology student Jasjit Dhillon BI’15 was selected as the recipient of University of the Sciences' 2015 Founders’ Day Undergraduate Student Award of Merit during the University’s 194th Founders’ Day Ceremony on Feb. 19.

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Wolters Kluwer, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, today announced an agreement with the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) to publish its official title, the Journal of Physician Assistant Education (JPAE), effective with the March 2015 issue.

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University of the Sciences proudly recognized pharmaceutical sciences professor Adeboye Adejare, PhD, with the 2015 Founders’ Day Faculty Award of Merit during the University’s 194th Founders’ Day ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 19.

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Drug-induced acute liver failure is uncommon, and over-the-counter medications and dietary and herbal supplements -- not prescription drugs -- are its most common causes, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The findings are published in the current issue of Gastroenterology.

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Wolters Kluwer, a leading global provider of information and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry, today announced a partnership with the Society of Pediatric Nurses (SPN) to review pediatric-specific content for the Lippincott Solutions software suite. With a membership comprised of more than 3,500 pediatric nurses, SPN is the premier pediatric nursing society in the U.S.

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For patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, the anesthesiologist managing the procedure can have a major impact on the risk of adverse outcomes, according to a study published on January 23rd in Anesthesia & Analgesia.

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Penn Medicine researchers found that patients who did not respond to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety in childhood had more chronic and enduring patterns of suicidal ideation at 7 to 19 years after treatment. This study adds to the literature that suggests that successful CBT for childhood anxiety confers long-term benefits. The complete study is available in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

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Two of the four known groups of human AIDS viruses (HIV-1 groups O and P) have originated in western lowland gorillas, according to an international team of scientists.

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Two of the fastest-growing plastic surgery procedures are gluteoplasty or "butt augmentation," to improve the appearance of the buttocks; and labiaplasty to address cosmetic and functional concerns with the vagina. New insights into the use and outcomes of these procedures are presented in the March issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

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Analyzing a puzzling multisystem disorder in three children, genetic experts have identified a new syndrome, dubbed CHOPS syndrome, shedding light on key biological processes during human development.

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The "wearable technology" Google Glass has a wide range of possible applications in plastic surgery—with the potential to enhance surgical training, medical documentation, and patient safety, according to a special paper in the March 2015 issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

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More than three-fourths of infants with skull flattening related to sleep position achieve normal head shape with conservative treatment—without the need for helmet therapy, reports a study in the March issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

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Patients that are on Medicaid or uninsured have higher rates of reportable patient safety and quality of care issues during hospitalization for brain tumors, reports a study in the March issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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Genomics researchers analyzing common variable immunodeficiency disease (CVID) in children have discovered links to a gene crucial to the body’s defense against infections. The finding may represent an inviting target for drug treatment.

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Violence during the civil war in Guatemala from 1960 to 1996 resulted in the development of significant mental health problems and conditions for the county’s people, according to a new multi-institution study from researchers under the Guatemala-Penn Partnership.

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Emergency care providers vary in their understanding of a type of medical order intended to communicate seriously ill patients' choices for life-sustaining treatments, according to a pair of studies in the March Journal of Patient Safety. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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Genetic factors help to explain the commonly found association between low back pain and depression, suggests a large study of twins in the March issue of PAIN®, the official publication of the International Association for the Study of Pain. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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A technique called orthokeratology ("Ortho-K")—using custom-made contact lenses to shape the growing eye—has a significant effect in slowing the progression of myopia (nearsightedness) in children, according to a research review in the March issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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The Monell Center announces a CME Program, FAQ sheet and video to promote Anosmia Awareness Day on February 27. Each was designed to increase awareness and increase the limited information available on anosmia, the loss of our sense of smell, which affects many millions worldwide.

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Two widely used targeted therapy drugs— approved by the FDA for use in metastatic kidney cancer —are no more effective than a placebo in preventing return of the disease to increase life spans of patients suffering from advanced kidney cancer after surgery, according to new results to be presented by a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center during the 2015 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

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Researchers find many new gene-regulating molecules that are tissue and human specific.

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NCCN has published NCCN Guidelines for Patients®: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), the newest addition to the library of NCCN Guidelines for Patients®.

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Patients receiving a brief intervention to help them quit smoking before surgery are still more likely to be nonsmokers at one-year follow-up, reports a study in Anesthesia & Analgesia.

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Valerie Smith, a distinguished scholar of African American literature and culture and current Dean of the College at Princeton University, was named the 15th president of Swarthmore College on Saturday, Feb., 21, following unanimous agreement by its Board of Managers.

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Palbociclib, an investigational oral medication that works by blocking molecules responsible for cancer cell growth, is well tolerated and extends progression-free survival in newly diagnosed, advanced breast cancer patients, including those whose disease has stopped responding to traditional endocrine treatments.

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Wolters Kluwer is pleased to announce today that it is the official publisher of the Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy Journal, official journal of the Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Section of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) with the release of its March issue. The journal is part of Wolters Kluwer’s Lippincott Williams & Wilkins portfolio of nearly 300 medical, nursing and allied health titles. This is the sixth APTA section journal published by Wolters Kluwer.

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Stacey C. Cahn, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, discusses triggers, treatments and the prevalence of anorexia, the deadliest eating disorder.

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Immune cells engineered to seek out and attack a type of deadly brain cancer were found to be both safe and effective at controlling tumor growth in mice that were treated with these modified cells. The results paved the way for a newly opened clinical trial for glioblastoma patients at Penn.

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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services encourages concordance to NCCN Guidelines for Medicare patients in order to achieve better care, smarter spending, and healthier people.

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Children born with a DNA abnormality on chromosome 16 already linked to neurodevelopmental problems show measurable delays in processing sound and language, says a study team of radiologists and psychologists.

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Next generation chemotherapy for prostate cancer has unique properties that could make it more effective earlier in treatment if confirmed in clinical trials.

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Many mental health therapists use treatments that have little evidence to support them. A new multi-institution study led by Penn Medicine has found that an organization’s culture and climate are better predictors of the use of evidence-based practices than an individual therapist’s characteristics in the treatment of children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders.

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Researchers in the laboratory of Rugang Zhang have discovered a target for ovarian clear cell carcinoma, a very difficult-to-treat form of the disease.

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The Orphan Disease Center at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has awarded its inaugural grants funded by proceeds from the 2014 Million Dollar Bike Ride. Thirteen institutions – from academia in the US, Canada, Germany, and Australia – received grants ranging from $35,000 to $60,000 from funds raised by 13 disease-specific cycling teams.

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From many clinical researchers presenting findings at Cardiology 2015, conference organizers chose 8 finalists for the Outstanding Investigator Award. Their research in pediatric cardiology is summarized below.

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A study led by researchers at The Wistar Institute has shown that targeting both PI3K and the mitochondria within these cancer cells can dramatically improve the effectiveness of targeted therapy and significantly reduce the chances of developing resistance.

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Researchers found common molecules signifying perturbed metabolism in response to sleep restriction in a comprehensive metabolic profiling of blood from both rats and humans. Their findings point to an overall shift in how lipids are metabolized and evidence of systemic oxidative stress.

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Physicians often blame patient demands for contributing to high medical costs, however, a new Penn Medicine study involving more than 5,000 patient-clinician visits indicates that cancer patients rarely push for unnecessary tests and treatments from their health care providers.

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Experience with the Ebola outbreak highlights local health departments' essential role in responding to global health threats posed by infectious diseases, according to a special article in the March/April issue of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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Experts have warned for years that insufficient sleep can lead to weight gain. A new Penn Medicine study found that not only do we consume more food following a night of total sleep deprivation, but we also we consume more fat and less carbohydrates and a region of the brain known as the salience network is what may lead us to eat more fat. The new findings are published in Scientific Reports.

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An international group of more than 800 medical experts at the nation’s largest pediatric cardiology conference are discussing challenges in treating congenital heart disease in fetuses, neonates, children and young adults.

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University of the Sciences has unveiled a bold marketing campaign on billboards, public transit, and local television and radio stations. Featuring a new theme, “Proven Everywhere,” the campaign reflects USciences’ emphasis on providing students with transformative experiences that prepare them for successful careers in healthcare and science.