Latest University of Pennsylvania School Stories
Scientists said on Monday that kids who take drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not appear to have a higher risk of heart problems or death. Parents and doctors have been concerned in recent years about scattered reports regarding sudden deaths among children on the medications. However, researchers said that despite their limitations to study this, they call their findings reassuring. "The risk of death is certainly no higher in children who take ADHD...
Several genes have been linked to ALS, with one of the most recent called FUS. Two new studies in PLoS Biology, one from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and the other from colleagues at Brandeis University, both examined FUS biology in yeast and found that defects in RNA biology may be central to how FUS contributes to ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. These findings point to new targets for developing drugs.Proteins aggregate to form insoluble clumps in the brain and spinal...
Findings might lead to targets for therapy, early detectionSquamous cell cancers of the oral cavity and esophagus are common throughout the world, with over 650,000 cases of oral cancer each year and esophageal cancer representing the sixth most common cause of cancer death in men. Research by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine investigators has shown that a protein that helps cells stick together is frequently absent or out of place in these cancers, but it's unclear if its loss...
A new study suggests that people who use certain prescribed antibiotics for treatment of acne are unlikely to develop bacteria resistance to those drugs, even when they use the antibiotics for months at a time. Researchers are surprised by the findings given what is known about bacteria's ability to adapt to common antibiotics and become immune to their effects. And it's interesting because the bacteria the researchers studied -- Staphylococcus aureus -- is the root cause of MRSA. MRSA is an...
JAMA studies identify shift in prescribing patterns and recommend interventions to protect vulnerable populationsTwo reports by addiction researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the National Institute on Drug Abuse show a drastic shift in prescribing patterns impacting the magnitude of opioid substance abuse in America. The reports, published in JAMA, recommend a comprehensive effort to reduce public health risks while improving patient care, including better...
Penn study offers novel drug combination to halt tumor growthResearchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine may have found a way to turn an adaptive cellular response into a liability for cancer cells. When normal cells are starved for food, they chew up existing proteins and membranes to stay alive. Cancer cells have corrupted that process, called autophagy, using it to survive when they run out of nutrients and to evade death after damage from chemotherapy and other...
Heart patients share perspectives on deactivation, donation and reuse of devicesEach year, more than 100,000 patients in the U.S. undergo implantation of a new implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for heart rhythm abnormalities. This number constitutes a 20-fold increase over the last 15 years. Current medical guidelines advocate discussion of end of life care of these medical devices, including deactivation, but many patients may not understand their options. Now, researchers at the...
Current research supports the notion that lifestyle choices influence cardiovascular health, but to what extent specific emotions play is undefined. Now, new research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has revealed the role that guilt may play as a motivational tool for cardiovascular patients.Penn researchers interviewed 100 adult cardiology outpatients about the role that guilt plays in their adherence to instructions given by their physicians and as part of their views...
New biomarker for tau-related brain disorders? Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have determined that a well-known chemical process called acetylation has a previously unrecognized association with one of the biological processes associated with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. The findings were published in the latest issue of Nature Communications.Tau is one of the primary disease proteins associated with a suite of neurodegenerative diseases. Tau...
Patients treated on weekends have greater chance of survivalPatients who've been hurt in car or bike crashes, been shot or stabbed, or suffered other injuries are more likely to live if they arrive at the hospital on the weekend than during the week, according to new University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine research published in the March 21 issue of Archives of Surgery. The findings, which also showed that trauma patients who present to the hospital on weeknights are no more likely to...
