January 2012 Archive - Penn Medicine News Blog

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides exquisite structural detail of the brain, for example, to detect tumors or relative size of regions. However, current MRI methods are not capable of imaging the distribution of neurotransmitters – the brain’s chemical messengers -- across the whole brain. A new Nature Medicine paper out this week from Perelman School of Medicine researchers led by Ravinder Reddy, PhD, professor of Radiology, describes a first-of-its-kind MRI technique (GluCEST) to measure glutamate concentration and local changes across the whole brain. The technique is based on chemical exchange effects of protons in water.

Every saga needs occasional updates. TDP-43 -- a protein important in gene expression that can undergo pathologic misfolding -- is no different. Earlier reports on the protein were outlined in a Penn Med news blog, which describes its pathology and genetics related to neurodegenerative disease. But now the field is maturing and researchers are linking TDP-43 to a well-established clinical area - the role of oxidative stress in the demise of nerve cells.

This month, the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania united with First Lady Michelle Obama and more than 100 other members of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to improve the health and wellness of military service members and their families as part of the new...

A year into the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania’s new Patient- and Family-Centered Care Initiative, big changes are in place to help our patients play a more active role in their care, and improve support for their loved ones during stressful -- and often frightening or unexpected -- hospitalizations....

The holiday party season is over. But for Maria Neimark Geffen, PhD, assistant professor of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine, the party must go on. The focus of Dr. Geffen’s research is on understanding how the brain processes sound information in the natural world....

For many people, feeling healthy is reason enough to put off scheduling a preventive exam, even when it’s doctors orders. For others, a busy schedule often gets in the way and there’s just no time. Still other patients put off exams because of cultural and socioeconomic barriers. Some patients, for...