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2021 Newsletter

Headshot of Erica Robb Thaler, MD in business attireDear Colleagues,

I’m pleased, this year, to bring you the Penn Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Newsletter.

The expertise of our department runs deep in every otorhinololarygology specialization, providing optimal care for our patients. For this issue, we’re featuring three exceptional examples of advanced rhinology expertise:

  • Our first article is focused on Biologics and AERD Care. AERD, formally called Samter’s Triad, is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the sinuses and lungs. The Penn AERD Center is one of the premiere centers in the country. In this article, Center Medical Director John v Bosso, MD, weighs in on the efficacy, safety, and role of biologics in the treatment of AERD.
  • Our second article discusses advanced research into Sinonasal cancer care. The combination of rarity, histopathological diversity, and treatment uncertainty makes the rigorous, longitudinal assessment of Sinonasal cancers particularly challenging. To enhance our understanding of the disease, Penn Otorhinolaryngology – partnered with other academic medical centers across the nation – has established a biobank to catalog tissues and data on these rare cancers with the goal of using genetic analysis to align specific genes with clinical outcomes and advance treatment outcome effectiveness and potential future treatments.
  • Our third article highlights research into a potental protection from COVID-19. Previous studies have suggested nitric oxide (NO) inhibited viral replication and impaired viral fusion and entry into target cells when pretreated with nitric oxide synthase, an enzyme that produces NO. With the arrival of COVID-19 in March 2020, Penn otorhinolaryngology, in partnership with GeneOne Life Sciences, saw an opportunity to repurpose an existing clinical trial to explore a potential prophylactic therapy for the novel coronavirus.

    • I trust you will find this issue engaging and look forward to sharing more exciting clinical advances from Penn ENT in the future.

    Regards,

    Erica R. Thaler, MD
    Interim Chair, Department of Otorhinolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery
    Professor of Otorhinolaryngology
    Director, Otorhinolaryngology Outpatient Surgical Practices, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
    Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs, Department of Otorhinolaryngology

  • Hand holding 2 pills

    Biologics and AERD Care

    Penn AERD Center Medical Director John v Bosso, MD, discusses the efficacy, safety, and role of biologics in the treatment of AERD.

  • Researcher filling vial for testing

    Sinonasal Cancer Biospecimen Bank Advances

    At Penn Medicine, researchers in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery have established a sinonasal cancer tissue banking repository in an effort to better understand the genetic variability of these malignancies, and their identification with patient outcomes and patient quality of life.

  • Coronavirus cell image

    Quinine: The Tonic for COVID-19?

    Bitter taste receptors were thought to be a part of the long-known sensory concordance of taste and smell when first discovered in the sinonasal cavity roughly 15 years ago. However, when the receptors were found elsewhere in the body soon afterward, it was apparent that bitter taste receptors were involved in a broader form of chemosensory communication.

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