October 2012 Archive - Penn Medicine News Blog

This month marks three years since the late Mildred Cohn, PhD, the Benjamin Rush Professor Emerita of Physiological Chemistry at the time of her retirement from the Penn department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, passed away. Her early work using magnetic forces to study the structure of molecules led to the...

Two recent multicenter studies by Penn Medicine researchers have explored some of the issues involved in helping patients understand how receiving a destination LVAD will impact end-of-life planning and what is needed from a destination LVAD patient’s caregiver.

The forthcoming Fall 2012 issue of Penn Medicine will include Part 1 of Marshall Ledger’s engrossing article on psychiatry at Penn. The article is timed to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the publication of Medical Inquiries and Observations, Upon the Diseases of the Mind, by Dr. Benjamin Rush, considered the...

Ah, the fabulous colors of fall. A time when those of us inhabiting the more northern parts of the hemisphere are treated to a natural environment rich in russet, gold and burgundy hues. Then, come October: PINK. There are all the little ribbons, t-shirts and caps. There’s pink neon lights...

Last month, I wrote a post in anticipation of starting the training necessary to become a volunteer with Penn Wissahickon Hospice. Since that time, I’ve completed training to become an inpatient hospice greeter and actually volunteered twice. Although it’s still very early on in my experience, I think I’ve gleaned a few insights that I wanted to share.

"The moral test of a government is how it treats those who are at the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those who are in the shadow of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped," said former U.S. Vice-President...

Modern day medical imaging exams have become a critical diagnostic tool for conditions of all kinds – from detecting the earliest breast cancers, long before a tumor could grow large enough for a woman to feel a lump in her own body, to finding malformations in the hearts of tiny...

Genetic Counseling Can Help Identify Clues Confusion and fears surrounding breast cancer abound. While researchers have long since put some myths to rest -– such as ideas that using anti-perspirant, drinking caffeine, and wearing an underwire bra will all increase your risk -- others issues related to breast cancer risk...

On October 20th, 2012, HUP traumatic brain injury survivor Candace Gantt will participate in an Ironman Triathlon in Wilmington, North Carolina called Beach to Battleship to raise funds for brain injury research in Penn’s Center for Brain Injury and Repair (CBIR).

During the first Presidential debate of the 2012 election season earlier this week, President Barack Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney went to the mat to discuss – among other topics – the future of health care in the United States. Though the two have opposing views on how to...

A team of Perelman School of Medicine researchers, led by Edna Foa PhD, director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, are conducting the first study that examines whether one of the most effective forms of psychotherapy for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), exposure and ritual prevention (EX/RP), can help people with OCD achieve and maintain wellness after they stop taking the medications their doctors prescribe for their OCD.

Greg Sonnenberg, PhD, research associate in the Division of Gastroenterology and the Institute for Immunology, is one of 14 early-career scientists supported this year with an NIH Director's Early Independence Award. These support exceptional early-career scientists to move directly into independent research positions by essentially omitting the traditional post-doctoral training period.

Exhibit A: This year’s incoming class of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania was assigned to read Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All, by Paul A. Offit, MD. Issued by Basic Books in 2011, the book came out this year in paperback. During...