“For a lot of these patients, it’s been a revolving door,” Barnett said. “It’s a tough population. We treat them, they leave, and they come back to be revived again. There’s more hope now that they’ll get treatment.”

Every brain injury is different. Traumatic brain injury may result in some physical changes, such as seizures and temporary paralysis, but the majority of the lingering difficulties experienced by brain injury survivors are unnoticeable to the average passerby, often leading to painful and dangerous stigma.

When a doctor tells a patient there are no realistic paths for curative treatment, the doctor needs to be confident about that. Yet with so many experimental therapies, promising new drugs, and clinical trials offering hope to even the sickest of patients, how can any doctor, even the best doctor, be sure?

In part one of this post, we talked about the nature of migraines — where they come from, and what models physicians are using to approach them. In this part, we look at the complexities inherent to medicating something that’s such a moving target.

“How to Keep Fat Burning Post-Workout.” “Your Clean Eating Grocery List.” “25 Essential Oil Remedies for Every Ailment.” In the (paraphrased) words of Sesame Street, one of these articles is not like the others...or is it? The focus on mind and body wellness no longer ends at 30-day exercise challenges, detox nutrition guides, and a few yoga poses and mindfulness tips. Complementary therapies, such as aromatherapy, have made their way into hospitals as legitimate pain and anxiety management methods, including at Pennsylvania Hospital.

It wasn’t long ago that the hot flashes and night sweats that came with menopause signaled an unofficial end to one’s sex life, and in some sense was a big blaring reminder that the end was approaching. But the average lifespan of a woman today is 81, and the average age of menopause is 51 – making the post-menopausal stage of life considerable.

Again and again, it’s the rare among humans that help the rest of us. The exploration of human genetics is revealing new targets to combat heart disease among atypical variants. Mutations in genes that play a role in heart health are the inspiration for a cluster of new heart drugs.

Twenty-seven European countries have shifted from an “opt-in” organ donation system to an “opt-out” (or “presumed consent”). But what works in one country may not work in another, especially when talking about a place like the United States.

When it comes to presenting information in an easy to understand way, clinicians and researchers at Penn Medicine often turn to analogies – much like our 9th grade bio teachers did – to help explain the complexities of what they do, to boil down seemingly common but not always easily defined treatments and diseases, and give some relatable context to their research.

By mindfully moving and breathing with the body parts that earlier in the day they had learned about in lectures and examined up-close in donated cadavers in the lab, first-year medical students at Penn gain a deeper appreciation of these structures in a living body.