CureTalks@Penn Research Interviews

Dan Vogl, MD, MSCE, who lead studies on Selinexor, explains how the drug works, how it should be used, potential side effects and who should consider using it.

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic skin condition that affects 10 to 20 percent of children but often appears in adults as well, particularly the elderly. Also known as eczema, atopic dermatitis has no known cure, though flare-ups can nearly always be minimized and sometimes prevented

Endometriosis is a debilitating condition in which tissues similar to uterine tissue are found outside of the uterus, most often in the pelvic cavity and on surrounding organs. The condition can cause chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and many other symptoms. The relationship between endometriosis and infertility has been debated for many years.

Each year, roughly 5,000 people of all ages in the United States are diagnosed with Castleman disease, a rare disorder that activates the body’s immune system, releasing excess inflammatory proteins that can shut down the liver, kidneys and bone marrow.

Women with PCOS have a hormonal imbalance and metabolism problems that may lead to obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, infertility, endometrial cancer and more.

Of the nearly 100,000 people waiting for a kidney transplant in the US, many will never get one. Meanwhile, hundreds of Hepatitis C infected organs are discarded because of the infection.

Alzheimer's Disease and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are two of the most common neurodegenerative conditions in the United States, but they are often misdiagnosed for each other. They have varying effects on behavior and require different therapies.

In December 2017, the FDA approved the first ever DNA-altering gene therapy that can reverse an inherited form of progressive blindness. The gene therapy, called Luxturna, was developed by Jean Bennett, MD, PhD, and Albert M. Maguire, MD, spouses and co-directors of the Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics at Penn Medicine.

Listen to Stephan Grupp, MD, discuss CAR T cell therapy, an immunotherapy treatment that uses a patient's own genetically altered immune cells to fight cancer.

FDA approval of the breakthrough CAR T cell therapy for cancer brings the first approved gene therapy treatment to the United States. It reprograms the body's own immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells.