New Penn Med center in Philadelphia aims to help people with Williams syndrome, develop better treatments
It's one of the first in the country to help children and adults with Williams syndrome, a rare condition that makes them extra friendly.
"This center is going to be life-changing for families," said Jocelyn Krebs, director of the Armellino Center of Excellence for Williams Syndrome.
For Krebs, this work is personal. She researched the disorder for decades and then had a child born with the condition, which she calls "an insane coincidence."
"Suddenly I went from a scientist who understood Williams syndrome very deeply in one way to a mom trying to figure out, what do you do with a kid that has these various challenges?" Krebs said.
The center includes a sensory room with different lights and playful distractions to ease anxiety, which is common for people with Williams syndrome.
Krebs' son Rhys has intellectual disabilities, a primary symptom of Williams syndrome.
In collaboration with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the center will provide comprehensive care and research for adults and children with Williams syndrome, which often comes with severe heart problems and social challenges.
"A behavior that is very characteristic of Williams syndrome, sometimes called the cocktail party syndrome because of it … is this incredible friendliness, hypersociability," Krebs said. "And what it really is is just a completely uninhibited social approach."
With the right kinds of early intervention, people with Williams are able to thrive. This center will help assure that can happen and look for better treatments and new hope for brighter futures.
An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people in the United States have Williams syndrome, which is diagnosed with genetic testing.
Learn more about the center on Penn Medicine's website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New Study Reveals the PERFECT Room Temperature for Sleeping
There's plenty of debate over what exactly the ideal room temperature is while sleeping. Some like it downright balmy while others prefer a chill to the air. Well, we can finally put a rest to the discourse because a new study from the National Sleep Foundation has revealed the optimal room temperature for snoozing. Be prepared to grab your favorite down comforter because the ideal temperature is around 65°F (18.3°C). News of the study was shared by the Instagram account @explain, but the full report can be found on the National Sleep Foundation website. The report, which was published earlier this month, goes into further detail on why resting in a room that's too stuffy can be detrimental to your sleep. "Warmer temperatures can cause discomfort and restlessness, and anyone who has slept in a stuffy bedroom can attest that it is hard to nod off when they are sweaty and dehydrated. A bedroom that is too warm can interfere with the body's thermoregulation abilities and cause fatigue. Often, a person who is fatigued will feel physically and mentally tired, but unable to fall asleep," the report revealed. While some people are thrilled at the confirmation that a cooler temperature is most ideal when it comes to sleeping, others aren't quite sure they can afford that cool comfort. "Tell that to my electric company.. if i set it at 65 in the summer I'd lose my house 😂," read one of the most liked comments under @explain's Instagram post. "Research also shows that you will need a second job to pay the electric bill," someone else chimed in. Will you be adjusting your thermostat tonight? You Might Also Like 15 Home Bar Gifts Every Cocktail Enthusiast Will Appreciate 32 Low Light Indoor Plants That Can Survive in the Darkest Corners of Your Home These Are the 50 Best Paint Colors for Your Living Room
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity: This Blue Chip Healthcare Stock Down 50% Could Double Your Money
Key Points Novo Nordisk's recent financial results and clinical progress haven't impressed Wall Street. However, the company can right the ship through innovation in its core specialty and elsewhere. The stock looks attractively valued at current levels and could beat the market over the next six years. 10 stocks we like better than Novo Nordisk › Investors looking to strike while the iron is hot can buy beaten-down stocks that appear to have excellent chances of bouncing back. And that describes shares of Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) very well. The pharmaceutical leader is down by 52% over the trailing-12-month period as of July 17, but initiating a position now could double investors' money in six years or so. Here's why this stock is a screaming buy at its current levels. Novo Nordisk's recent challenges Novo Nordisk focuses on developing diabetes treatments, an area where it has been a leader for many decades. As of February, it held a 33.3% market share for diabetes drugs. This sort of long-term dominance doesn't happen by accident. The company has consistently attracted top talent in the pharmaceutical industry, which, combined with its extensive experience in diabetes, has enabled it to break new ground repeatedly. Why, then, have the company's shares dropped by 52% over the past year? Because Novo Nordisk failed to impress the market with its financial results and clinical progress. The developments that led to the drugmaker's share plunge would have been excellent for almost any other pharmaceutical company, but investors held it to a higher standard given its rich valuation metrics. For instance, the company reported phase 3 results for CagriSema, an investigational weight management medicine, that proved it's more effective than its famous semaglutide (Wegovy), reducing patients' weight by an average of 22.7% in 68 weeks. However, management was looking for a 25% figure in the study. Very few anti-obesity therapies in development have achieved results comparable to CagriSema, but that was not enough to please investors. The good news: Novo Nordisk's pipeline in diabetes and the fast-growing area of weight management remains robust. The company has several promising candidates in development, including Amycretin, for which it recently initiated late-stage studies. And management has significantly expanded its pipeline through acquisitions. Even with mounting competition, the company should continue to be one of the leaders in its core areas of focus. It's been developing medicines in other fields as well, including various rare diseases (such as the blood disorders beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease), neurological disorders (including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's), and others. Making progress in diabetes and obesity while diversifying its lineup should work wonders for Novo Nordisk down the line. The price is right Net sales in the first quarter grew by 19% year over year to 78.1 billion Danish krone ($12.1 billion). The company's net profit was up 14% year over year to $4.5 billion. These would be excellent results for most similarly sized drugmakers, yet Wall Street remains unimpressed. In my view, that has created a wonderful opportunity to buy shares on the dip. The company's forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) has declined significantly over the past year and now stands at 16.9, barely above the healthcare industry's 16.2 and lower than the S&P 500's 22.3. But given Novo Nordisk's still excellent position in its core markets of diabetes and obesity treatments -- the latter of which should grow rapidly in the coming years -- and the company's better-than-average revenue and earnings growth, its stock is arguably worth a steeper premium. In fact, the forward P/E is about as low as it has been in over two years. At current levels, shares look like a steal. Here is how things could evolve for the company in the next six years. First, it could make significant clinical and regulatory progress and launch at least one -- if not several -- blockbuster weight loss or diabetes medications. Second, the company should continue recording strong results, with revenue and earnings moving in the right direction. Lastly, it looks likely to continue increasing its dividend, which it has done significantly over the past half-decade. The stock needs a compound annual growth rate of 12.2% to double in the next six years. Novo Nordisk can pull it off, especially for those who opt to reinvest the dividend. Should you buy stock in Novo Nordisk right now? Before you buy stock in Novo Nordisk, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Novo Nordisk wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $652,133!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,056,790!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 15, 2025 Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity: This Blue Chip Healthcare Stock Down 50% Could Double Your Money was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBS News
36 minutes ago
- CBS News
Man rushed to hospital after being trapped under tractor in water northwest of Chicago
An elderly man was hospitalized Sunday evening after a tractor rolled over and left him trapped in a creek northwest of Chicago for hours. At 2:47 p.m., the Harvard Fire Protection District was dispatched to the area of Bunker Hill and Island roads in unincorporated Harvard, Illinois, in McHenry County. They found a tractor had flipped over in a body of water and left the person driving the tractor trapped underneath. The man's head was all that was visible above the water. The rural crash site was remote, with no paved roadways and rough terrain. Fire crews had to haul their rescue equipment over a mile using pickup trucks and all-wheel drive utility vehicles, the fire protection district said. Once everything was in position, the crews used chains and a heavy-duty front loader to lift the tractor just enough to free the man within 25 minutes of their arrival. The man suffered critical injuries when the tractor rolled, and he had been exposed to the water for an extended period, the fire protection district said. It was believed he had been trapped for nearly three hours before his family found him. Due to how long he remained underwater and given his age, a University of Wisconsin Health Med Flight helicopter airlifted him to OSF St. Anthony Medical Center.
