Latest Penn Medicine News

May 22, 2013

Penn Study Shows How Immune System Peacefully Co-exists with "Good" Bacteria

Understanding How This Immunological Truce Is Kept Suggests New Ways to Fight Inflammatory Diseases

The human gut is loaded with commensal bacteria – "good" microbes that, among other functions, help the body digest food. The gastrointestinal tract contains literally trillions of such cells, and yet the immune system seemingly turns a blind eye. However, in several chronic human diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), HIV/AIDS, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, the immune system attacks these normally beneficial bacteria, resulting in chronic inflammation and contributing to disease progression. Now, researchers may finally understand an important mechanism that keeps this friendly truce intact – a finding that may lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies for such chronic diseases. Read more ...

Penn Medicine at the American Thoracic Society International Conference

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Penn Medicine Magazine

Spring 2013

Current Issue: Spring 2013

Charles C. Branas, Ph.D., had been studying gun violence and its connection to geography and place since coming to Penn in 2000. “I really wanted to turn the corner and start doing something to improve health and safety.” To do so, he’s employed one of epidemiology’s oldest tools – maps.

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