Articles by Laura Cofsky

05/23/12 10:57pm

Get Healthy Philly initiative tackles poverty, tobacco use and obesity

For the past two years, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, in collaboration with numerous members of the Penn community, has been working to revitalize the city of Philadelphia, one photograph at a time.
04/23/12 9:42pm

Penn Med blood center seeks donations from community

Since Nov. 2009, Penn Medicine’s Blood Donation Center has supplied the hospital with blood cells and platelets from members of the Penn community.
04/16/12 8:10pm

Philadelphia County ranks last in state-wide health assessment

The county ranked last out of 67 counties in measures of health outcomes, which include mortality rates and health factors, such as smoking, air pollution exposure, the percentage of health-insured residents and residents’ education levels.
04/03/12 11:54pm

Joke Issue: 'DP' to charge for online content

To emulate The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, The Daily Pennsylvanian will begin charging readers $20 a month to read online content.
04/02/12 9:21pm

Patients with liver cancer more likely to be on transplant waitlist

To the surprise of many in the medical community, patients with both liver disease and a certain kind of liver cancer are eight times less likely to die than those who just suffer from the disease.
03/28/12 10:13pm

Penn researchers discover possible cause for male baldness

After four years of studies, researchers at Perelman School of Medicine have found what may be one of the main causes of male pattern baldness — an mRNA chain called PGD2.
03/20/12 9:03pm

'Drunkorexia' a prevalent disorder on college campuses

Some students suffer from drunkorexia — a combination of an eating disorder and binge drinking.
03/14/12 10:49pm

School of Medicine becomes regional heart center

The Perelman School of Medicine has been selected as a regional center for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Heart Failure Clinical Trials Network for the 2012 to 2018 cycle.
03/01/12 1:46am
Last Saturday, Penn Dems announced that College junior Andrew Silverstein resigned from his position as president. College sophomore Andrew Brown will assume the position, effective immediately, in leading the student group for the next year.
02/21/12 11:37pm

Medicare finds HUP to have high complication rates

According to a recently publicized Medicare report, many teaching hospitals ­­— including the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania — were found to have higher complication rates than the U.S. national rate.
02/21/12 11:03pm

Jimmy John's drops sprouts after E. coli outbreak

The chain, headquartered in Illinois, is currently linked to a five-state outbreak of E. coli.
02/17/12 12:28am

Norovirus outbreak hits college campuses

What some refer to as “the cruise ship virus” is spreading around many college campuses in the northeast. According to a statement released by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health last month, instances of norovirus, also known as the stomach flu, are on the uptick.
02/15/12 9:31pm

Alcohol most commonly abused drug among students

Alcohol was found to be the number one culprit for students seeking treatment for substance abuse.
02/13/12 11:13pm
Those complaining that “the bug” is making its way around campus might be surprised to know that this flu season hasn’t been as severe as in years past.
02/10/12 1:01am

Penn Med finds new vaccine for breast cancer

The cure for cancer remains unknown, but researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine may have developed a way to stop one kind of cancer in its tracks.
02/01/12 8:05pm

Study finds new harm to cell phone use

Researchers are once again citing cell phone use as an obstacle to good health. But the new concern is not another type of cancer nor a fatal disease — it’s neck and back pain caused by texting and checking email on smart phones.
01/30/12 9:18pm

American Psychiatric Association aims to redefine autism

The American Psychiatric Association is looking to redefine autism, which may have a large effect on those currently suffering from the disorder.
01/25/12 9:33pm

SEPTA announces new fare system

SEPTA announced it will unveil a new fare system by the end of 2013. The new fare technology — one of several updates being made to Philadelphia’s transit system — will allow patrons to use train passes instead of tokens. It will also allow people to pay with credit and debit cards.
01/23/12 8:12pm

CHOP clarifies policies regarding medical discrimination

Last week, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia denied three-year-old Amelia Rivera a kidney transplant. Without a transplant or a suitable substitute — such as dialysis — her life could be in jeopardy.
01/22/12 9:33pm

Penn Med study shows ingredient in Muscle Milk may treat concussions

A common nutrient found in weight training supplements such as Muscle Milk and protein powder — might be the key to successfully treating concussions, or at least speeding up the healing process.
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