Focus: Hidden - Pennsylvania

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A new study describes how the centromere is stabilized during replication.

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The Monell Center has established a formal partnership with Drexel University to promote education and research on flavor perception and food science. The agreement, which follows years of informal collaboration, leverages the respective strengths of two preeminent Philadelphia institutions.

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A patient safety team who analyzed alarm fatigue in pediatric hospital units has been recognized for the best research paper of 2014 in a journal dedicated to biomedical technology.

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A green dye that sticks to bone grafts becomes antimicrobial with the flick of a light switch and could help reduce the risk of infections during bone-reconstruction surgeries.

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Obesity and depression – not only lack of sleep – are underlying causes for regular drowsiness, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. They say the findings could lead to more personalized sleep medicine for those with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS).

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An international team of gastroenterologists, pediatricians, natural products chemists, and veterinarians, working with zebrafish models and mouse cell cultures have discovered that a chemical found in Australian plants provides insights into the cause of a rare and debilitating disorder affecting newborns called biliary atresia, the most common indication for a liver transplant in children.

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Children who undergo heart surgery are better off receiving fresh whole blood transfusions from a single donor, rather than receiving component blood from multiple donors. Limiting donor exposures reduces the patients' risk of complications.

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Some at-risk patients opted out of comprehensive cancer gene screening when presented with the opportunity to be tested for the presence of genes linked to various cancers, according to a recent study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Concern for uncertainty and potential distress were cited among the most common reasons to refuse testing.

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Parents, teachers and others can find it hard to spot signs of depression and anxiety in children – and struggle with how they can help. Here are some tips.

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Only half of women with cystic fibrosis (CF) report using contraception and frequently apt to become pregnant unintentionally, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The results of the study were presented earlier this week at the 2015 American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting in San Francisco. As recently as the 1960s, children with cystic fibrosis – an inherited disease that causes thick, sticky mucus to form in the lungs, pancreas, and other organs – often died before attending elementary school. Today many people with the disease live into their 30s, 40s and beyond.

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Penn State College of Medicine has been awarded nearly $14 million in funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to study the effectiveness of a program integrating strength training, balance exercises and walking for older adults who have had a fall-related fracture.

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Wistar and Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center advance biomedical science one partnership at a time

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The Lariat device is associated with a significant incidence of death and urgent cardiac surgery during its frequent off-label use to prevent stroke in patients with the irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation. Following a systematic review of case reports and an FDA safety database, researchers are calling for formal controlled investigations into the safety and efficacy of off-label use of the Lariat device, which has never been approved for treatment of this condition.

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Barriers to telemedicine including insurance and public attitude are covered.

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Gene therapy for Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), an inherited disorder that causes loss of night- and day-vision starting in childhood, improved patients’ eyesight within weeks of treatment in a clinical trial of 15 children and adults at the Scheie Eye Institute at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. New results involving a subset of patients from the ongoing trial show that these benefits peaked one to three years after treatment and then diminished. The findings are published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.

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Researchers from the lab of Antonio Giordano, MD, PhD, Director and Founder of the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA (www.shro.org), have uncovered a new molecular mechanism whereby human cells protect their genome from the detrimental effect of UV radiations.

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In recent years, research has shown that cancerous cells have a different metabolism – essential chemical and nutritional changes needed for supporting the unlimited growth observed in cancer– than normal cells. Now, scientists at The Wistar Institute have identified a way that cells can reprogram their metabolism to overcome a tumor-suppressing mechanism known as senescence, solidifying the notion that altered metabolism is a hallmark of cancer progression.

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Young women may be up on the latest fashions and trends as they prepare for prom season. But what many don’t know is that the tan that looks oh-so-good with their dress may be the first step toward skin cancer.

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People with insomnia and other sleep problems have increased sensitivity to pain, reports a study published in PAIN®, the official publication of the International Association for the Study of Pain. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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Have you ever dreamed of taking fat from one area where you had a little too much, and transferring to somewhere you wanted a little more? A Brazilian plastic surgery team has done just that, using a combined liposuction and fat grafting technique to augment and enhance the buttocks, reports a study in the May issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

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After common plastic surgery procedures, obese patients have more complications and make more hospital visits—leading to higher healthcare costs, reports a study in the May issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

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Researchers are making progress toward developing effective approaches to early detection and intervention for psychosis—with the goal of lessening the impact or even preventing the development of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Recent developments in early detection and intervention for psychosis are presented in the May special issue of The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, published by Wolters Kluwer.

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For more than 100 years, exposing students to basic and clinical research has been an essential component of a medical school education in the United States. However, today, new models of medical education in which research plays a minimal role are likely to create a two-tiered system of education, decrease the physician-scientist pipeline and diminish the application of scientific advances to patient care.

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University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing Announces Major General Margaret C. Wilmoth as Commencement Speaker on May 18, 3 p.m. at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia

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Researchers discover the role of a major cytokine in multiple sclerosis that could be a target for new therapy against the disease.

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Stacey Cahn, PhD, associate professor of psychology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, explains how food sciences contributes to overeating.

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A simple method of testing "twilight vision" gives reliable results in identifying people who have decreased visual acuity under low light conditions, according to a study in the May issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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Ultrasound has become an essential tool for diagnostic and procedural uses in the critical care environment. The May issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia outlines a new set of basic ultrasound learning skills developed specifically for use in anesthesiology-critical care medicine (ACCM) training programs.

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Interventional treatments—especially surgery—provide good functional outcomes and a high cure rate for patients with lower-grade arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) of the brain, reports the May issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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To ice or not to ice -- that is the question. Or maybe the real issue is to heat or not to heat?

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Doctors, lawyers and other “high level” professionals may have a built-in survival edge if they’re diagnosed with the disease frontotemporal dementia (FTD), according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Their work is published in this week’s issue of Neurology.

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Penn translational med pioneer advocates that to “influence emergence of the clinic of the future, one designed to practice precision medicine,” an NIH plan to establish large-scale collaborative clinical trials needs also to pay better attention to three areas of emerging practice: adaptive clinical trials, merging EMRs and biobanks, and human phenotyping.

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In the largest genome-wide analysis of common variable immunodeficiency disorder (CVID), scientists identified a gene that may be a "missing link" between overactive and underactive immune activity.

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In the first major study to examine the use of a computer-assisted, photo-driven differential diagnosis generator for skin conditions, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found physicians routinely used the tool, without an increase in calling for inpatient dermatology consultations.

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President Bobby Fong and Suzanne Fong will "graduate" with the Class of 2015

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As computers continue to shrink—moving from desks and laps to hands and wrists—memory has to become smaller, stable and more energy conscious. A group of researchers from Drexel University’s College of Engineering is trying to do just that with help from a new class of materials, whose magnetism can essentially be controlled by the flick of a switch.

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Brain researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a new brain mapping model which could improve the success rate of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in treating conditions including depression, neuropathic pain, and stroke. The model helps pinpoint target sites during TMS, a procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to alleviate or eliminate symptoms of stroke, depression, and attention disorders. The new model will be presented at the 67th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, April 22.

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The Saint Joseph’s University Board of Trustees today elected Mark C. Reed, Ed.D., as the Jesuit institution’s 28th — and first lay — president in its 164-year history. Dr. Reed currently serves as senior vice president and chief of staff at Fairfield University.

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The lab of Kristen Lynch, PhD studies how this splicing occurs in T cells and how it is regulated by multiple proteins. A new study describes a cascade of events that may explain changes in gene expression that occur during the development of the human immune system.

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Critical questions about life outcomes beyond clinical interventions are the focus of a report issued today from Drexel University’s A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, from its Life Course Outcomes Research Program. The “National Autism Indicators Report: Transition into Young Adulthood” is a comprehensive report (available free online) that presents new findings about a wide range of experiences and outcomes of youth on the autism spectrum between high school and their early 20s, including new safety and risk indicators for young adults with autism. The report describes the indicators now available and serves as a call to action to fill the remaining large gaps in knowledge.

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New research from the Monell Center reveals that tumor necrosis factor (TNF), an immune system regulatory protein that promotes inflammation, also helps regulate sensitivity to bitter taste. The finding may explain taste abnormalities and decreased food intake associated with infections, autoimmune disorders, and chronic inflammatory diseases.

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Two Monell Center scientists have been recognized by the Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) for their contributions to the understanding of the senses of taste and smell. Robert F. Margolskee, MD, PhD, the Center’s Director and President, and Joel Mainland, PhD, Louise Slade Assistant Member, will be honored at the upcoming 2015 AChemS Annual Meeting.

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Use of either proximal embolic protection devices (P-EPDs) or distal filter embolic protection devices (F-EPDs) during elective carotid artery stenting results in low rates of in-hospital stroke and death, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The study, published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, found that although P-EPDs have been theorized to be more effective than F-EPDs at preventing stroke during carotid artery stenting, this first comparative effectiveness study revealed no statistically significant difference between the two devices.

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Once again, researchers at Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center have extended the reach of the immune system in the fight against metastatic melanoma, this time by combining the checkpoint inhibitor tremelimumab with an anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody drug.

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The PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab, a cancer immunotherapy drug, shrank or halted growth of tumors in 76 percent of patients with pleural mesothelioma, a rare and deadly form of cancer that arises in the outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall, according to a new study from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Patients diagnosed with the disease, which is tied to exposure to asbestos, have a median survival rate of about one year.

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Genetically modified versions of patients’ own immune cells successfully traveled to tumors they were designed to attack in an early-stage trial for mesothelioma and pancreatic and ovarian cancers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The data adds to a growing body of research showing the promise of CAR T cell technology. The interim results will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2015, April 18-22.

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The American Academy of Neurology today launched a new online medical journal, titled Neurology® Genetics, to provide neurologists and scientists interested in applying findings from basic science with peer-reviewed articles, editorials and reviews to enhance patient care, education, and clinical research.

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Understanding the molecular signals that guide early cells in the embryo to develop into different types of organs provides insight into how tissues regenerate and repair themselves. By knowing the principles that underlie the intricate steps in this transformation, researchers will be able to make new cells at will for transplantation and tissue repair in such situations as liver or heart disease.