Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Gender Differences, Menopause, OBGYNE, PLoS / 28.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Eija K. Laakkonen PhD Assistant professor Gerontology Research Center Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences University of Jyväskylä MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Physical activity improves health and may delay the onset of chronic diseases. For women in particular, the rate of some chronic diseases accelerates at middle age around the time of menopause; therefore it is important to identify the determinants of health-enhancing physical activity during midlife in this population. The main aim of this study was to characterize the level of physical activity and to examine the association between different female reproductive factors and objectively-measured physical activity in middle-aged women. The reproductive factors included cumulative reproductive history index, and perceived menopausal and pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Primary Care / 28.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Molly Candon, PhD Fellow Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, The Wharton School Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research, Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Primary care practices are less likely to schedule appointments with Medicaid patients compared to the privately insured, largely due to lower reimbursement rates for providers. Given the gap in access, concerns have been raised that Medicaid enrollees may struggle to translate their coverage into care. Despite the substantial increase in demand for care resulting from provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), our 10-state audit study recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine finds that primary care appointment availability for new patients with Medicaid increased 5.4 percentage points between 2012 and 2016, while appointment availability for patients with private coverage did not change. Over the same time period, both Medicaid patients and the privately insured experienced slight increases in wait times. (more…)
Author Interviews, Compliance, Lancet, Mental Health Research, Schizophrenia / 27.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ernst L Noordraven MSc, PhD student Department of Psychiatry Epidemiological and Social Psychiatric Research institute Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Provision of financial incentives is a promising intervention for improving adherence in patients taking antipsychotic medication. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of this intervention for improving adherence to antipsychotic depot medication in patients with psychotic disorders, irrespective of their previous compliance. Our 12-month randomized controlled trial showed that financial incentives improved adherence to antipsychotic depot medications in patients with psychotic disorders, regardless of their level of compliance at study entrance. Patients received either treatment as usual plus a financial reward for each depot of medication received (€30 per month if fully compliant; intervention group) or treatment as usual alone (control group). Based on the use of depot registrations from 155 patients (92%), the adjusted difference in adherence was 14·9% (95% CI 8·9–20·9%; p<0·0001) in favour of the intervention group. Our study is also the first to demonstrate that the effects on medication adherence persist after monetary rewards are discontinued, for at least a 6-month follow-up period (adjusted difference 6·5%, 95% CI 2·0–10·9; p=0·047). (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JACC, Mayo Clinic, Technology / 27.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC): Clinical Electrophysiology (JACC CEP) publication entitled, “Novel Electrophysiology Recording System Enables Specific Visualization of the Purkinje Network and Other High-Frequency Signals” reports important findings obtained using BioSig Technologies’ PURE EP System during a series of pre-clinical studies conducted at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. These studies are part of a company-funded Advanced Research Program announced on March 28, 2016. The JACC CEP manuscript provides an excellent example of the PURE EP System’s ability to record challenging high frequency signals known as Purkinje potentials. These signals are of great interest to electrophysiologists when assessing arrhythmia syndromes dependent on the Purkinje network. (more…)
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, Environmental Risks, Pediatrics, Thyroid Disease, Toxin Research / 27.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jana Weiss PhD Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry Stockholm University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In an earlier publication, we could see an association between elevated concentrations of brominated flame retardants (BFR) in the blood of cats with developed Feline hyperthyroidism, compared to healthy cats (Norrgran et al 2015, ES&T 49:5107-5014). To establish the exposure pathway we now took paired samples from healthy cats and dust from their households. We also analysed the cats food to include another major exposure pathway. In total 17 families participated. They lived in houses in the countryside or in apartments in the city. All families had kids under 12 years of age living at home, thus representing a household with typical child products. The dust was sampled from the living room, the child’s room and from the adult’s bedrooms. We could not see any difference in the composition of compounds between the rooms, but we saw that levels were in general higher in the living room compared to the other two rooms. This was expected as many products being treated with BFRs can be found in the living room. We could see that higher levels of some  brominated flame retardants in the dust were correlated to elevated levels in the cat’s blood. Therefore, this hypothesized exposure pathways is now statistically established. We could also confirm cat food to be the major exposure pathway for naturally brominated compounds coming from the marine food web, such as6-OH-BDE47, a known thyroid hormone disruptor. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Sleep Disorders / 27.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kelly L. Sullivan, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Epidemiology Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health Georgia Southern University Statesboro, Georgia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The original aim of this study was to determine which factors were associated with getting sufficient sleep in men and women. In this analysis, we considered many possible influences including BMI, age, race, education, marital status, exercise, employment status, and income in addition to having children in the household. The aim was to determine which factors were most strongly associated with insufficient sleep in men and women specifically in order to inform efforts to best address their sleep challenges. In this study, we found that younger women with insufficient sleep time were more likely to have children in the household compared with women who reported sufficient sleep. Each child in the household was associated with a nearly 50% increase in a woman’s odds of insufficient sleep. This finding held after controlling for the potential effects of age, exercise, employment status and marital status. Children in the household were also associated with the frequency of feeling unrested among younger women, but not among younger men. Women with children reported feeling tired about 25% more frequently compared to women without children in the household. (more…)
ASCO, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Endocrinology, Journal Clinical Oncology, Prostate Cancer, Testosterone / 27.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Farzin Khosrow-Khavar, M.Sc. Ph.D. Candidate Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University Center for Clinical Epidemiology - Jewish General Hospital Montreal, QC  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Previous studies have shown an association between androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. However, these studies had methodological limitations that may account for this positive association. Using appropriate study design and methodology, we found no association between androgen deprivation therapy and risk of dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease) in patients with prostate cancer. These results were consistent by cumulative duration of  androgen deprivation therapy use and by ADT modality. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Gender Differences / 27.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sean Notley, PhD. Postdoctoral Fellow School of Human Kinetics | École des sciences de l'activité physique University of Ottawa | Université d'Ottawa Ottawa ON MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Gender-differences in human heat loss (skin blood flow and sweating) have long been ascribed to innate differences between men and women. However, we believed that these were more related more to size than to gender, because most previous research compared average (larger) men with average (smaller) women. In our view, the size and shape (morphology) of an individual might be as important, if not more important, than gender in determining heat loss. When we matched men and women for body morphology, and when we studied those participants in tolerable conditions, we found that larger men and women were more dependent on sweating and less on skin blood flow, while smaller individuals were more reliant on skin blood flow and less on sweating. Moreover, as anticipated, gender differences in those heat-loss responses could be explained almost entirely by individual variations in morphology. (more…)
AHA Journals, Allergies, Author Interviews, Heart Disease / 27.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Roberta Rossini, MD, PhD USC Cardiologia, Cardiovascular Department Bergamo, Italy  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Aspirin (ASA) is stilll the cornerstone of antithrombotic therapy in patients with coronary artery disease, especially after PCI, both in the acute and the chronic phase of treatment. However, ≈2% of patients have hypersensitivity to ASA. ASA desensitization may represent a valid approach. Desensitization protocols generally involve gradual increases in patient exposure to ASA with the goal of mitigating or abolishing immune-mediated reaction. However, many desensitization protocols require several days to be completed, making them unpractical. This may also contribute to the limited experience with applying ASA desensitization protocols in real-world practice in patients with CAD. We previously reported the results of a pilot investigation supporting the feasibility of performing a rapid (<6 hours) Aspirin desensitization protocol in patients undergoing PCI with stent implantation (Rossini R, Angiolillo DJ, Musumeci G, Scuri P, Invernizzi P, Bass TA, Mihalcsik L, Gavazzi A. Aspirin desensitization in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions with stent implantation. Am J Cardiol. 2008;101:786–789. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2007.10.045). The encouraging findings from our pilot feasibility investigation prompted the design of a larger scale multicenter investigation aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of a rapid aspirin  desensitization protocol in patients with a history of ASA hypersensitivity undergoing coronary angiography. (more…)
Author Interviews, Stroke / 26.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Philip Bath Stroke Association Professor of Stroke Medicine/Head of Division of Clinical Neuroscience Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences University of Nottingham  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Blood thinning (antiplatelets) drugs reduce further strokes (recurrence) after stroke and mini-stroke (TIA). One antiplatelet, such as aspirin, is better than none, and two different drugs are better than one. The question then is whether three would be better still, providing excess bleeding is not problematic. 3096 patients with ischaemic stroke (stroke due to a blood clot) or mini-stroke were enrolled within 48 hours. They were randomised to take intensive separate antiplatelet therapy (three drugs comprising aspirin, clopidogrel and dipyridamole) or guideline therapy (either clopidogrel alone, or combined aspirin and dipyridamole) for 30 days (after which they took guideline treatment). At 90 days we assessed whether patients had had another stroke or mini-stroke, and how dependent or disabled this had left them. There were slightly fewer recurrent strokes and mini-strokes between intensive and guideline treatment but the difference was not different statistically, so a neutral trial. In contrast, major bleeding was significantly increased in the intensive group as compared with guideline treatment. When looking at the net benefit/harm, there was no difference between the treatment groups. (more…)
Author Interviews, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Social Issues, Stroke / 26.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Matthew D. Holtkamp, D.O. CPT, MC, USA Medical Director, Intrepid Spirit, Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic Staff Neurologist, Department of Medicine Teaching Fellow, Uniformed Services University Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center Fort Hood, Texas 76544 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Racial and Socioeconomic disparities in the outcomes of stroke patients is well documented in the US Civilian Healthcare system. That Healthcare system has wide variations in access to care and in the levels of available care. In contrast, the Military Healthcare system is a single payer system meaning that every member has the same healthcare benefits. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Geriatrics, Heart Disease, Stroke / 26.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ariela Orkaby, MD, MPH Geriatrics & Preventive Cardiology Associate Epidemiologist Division of Aging, Brigham and Women's Hospital Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Atrial Fibrillation is a common heart rhythm that affects 1 in 25 adults over age 60 and 1 in 10 adults over age 80. The feared consequence of atrial fibrillation is stroke, leading to the prescription of blood thinning medications (anticoagulants such as warfarin) to prevent strokes. However, there is an underutilization of these life-saving medications in older adults, and particularly in those who have dementia. In part, this is due to a lack of research and inclusion of older adults with dementia in prior studies. In this study, we used clinical Veterans Administration data, linked to Medicare, to follow 2,572 individuals over age 65 who had atrial fibrillation and until a diagnosis of dementia. The average age was 80 years, and 99% were male. We found that only 16% remained on warfarin. We used statistical methods to account for reasons why a patient would or would not be treated with warfarin and found that those who continued to take warfarin had a significantly lower risk of stroke (HR 0.74, 95% Confidence interval 0.54- 0.99, p=0.47) and death (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.60-0.87, p<0.01) compared to those who did not continue to take warfarin, without an increased risk of bleeding. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research / 26.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Chiara Manzini PhD Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology, and Integrative Systems Biology George Washington University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: I have been working on finding genes that are mutated in rare forms of muscular dystrophy associated with brain and eye deficits for many years. In the current study, which was a large collaborative effort, we found that mutations in the INPP5K gene cause a new type of muscular dystrophy with short stature, intellectual disability and cataracts. INPP5K is critical for processing a chemical called inositol phosphate which has multiple functions within the cell. We found that the mutations in the patients severely disrupt INPP5K function and when we removed the gene during zebrafish development, the fish showed the same findings observed in the patients: small size, disrupted muscle structure and eye deficits. We are very excited because this is a new disease gene for muscular dystrophy and a novel disease mechanisms, which can open up multiple new lines of investigation. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Karolinski Institute, Outcomes & Safety / 25.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lars H. Lund, MD Phd, Assoc. Prof., FESC Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and Department of Cardiology, Karolinska University Hospital Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Registries are accepted for quality reporting but it is actually unknown whether in heart failure they directly improve outcomes. Here, enrollment in SwedeHF was strongly associated with reduced mortality. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA / 25.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The incidence of subdural hematoma (SDH; a bleed located within the skull, but outside the brain) has been reported to be on the increase. Previous studies have shown an association between use of antithrombotic drugs and SDH. However, studies with updated estimates of this risk and with focus on current more complex and aggressive regimens of antithrombotic treatment are scarce. We therefore performed this study, where we identified 10,010 patients aged 20-89 years that were admitted with SDH in Denmark in 2000 through 2015. Preadmission use of antithrombotic drugs (low-dose aspirin, clopidogrel, vitamin K antagonist, e.g. warfarin, and direct oral anticoagulants) of these cases was compared to that of 400,380 individuals from the general population with no history of SDH (controls). We found that use of antithrombotic drugs was associated with an increased risk of subdural hematoma . The magnitude of this risk varied by type of antithrombotic, and was, e.g., low for use of low-dose aspirin, and highest for warfarin. Further, with a single exception (low-dose aspirin and dipyridamole), concurrent use of more than one antithrombotic drug was associated with higher risk of SDH, particularly if warfarin was taken along with an antiplatelet drug, e.g., low-dose aspirin or clopidogrel. Increasing use of antithrombotic drugs was observed in the study period. The incidence of subdural hematomas in the Danish population also increased markedly in the years 2000-2015, particularly among those aged 75+ years. Our study indicates that this increased incidence, can, at least partly, be explained by increased use of antithrombotic drugs. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, MRI, NEJM / 25.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Robert Russo, MD, PhD, FACC The Scripps Research Institute The La Jolla Cardiovascular Research Institute  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: For an estimated 2 million people in the United States and an additional 6 million people worldwide, the presence of a non-MRI-conditional pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is considered a contraindication to magnetic resonance imaging. This creates a dilemma for at least half of these patients, who are predicted to require an MRI scan during their lifetime after a cardiac device has been implanted. Safety concerns for patients with an implanted cardiac device undergoing MRI are related to the potential for magnetic field-induced cardiac lead heating resulting in myocardial thermal injury, and a detrimental change in pacing properties. As a result, patients with an implanted device have long been denied access to MRI, although it may have been the most appropriate diagnostic imaging modality for their clinical care. Despite the development of MRI-conditional cardiac devices, a strategy for mitigating risks for patients with non MRI-conditional devices and leads will remain an enduring problem for the foreseeable future due to an ever increasing demand for MRI and the large number of previously and currently implanted non-MRI-conditional devices. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA, Stroke / 25.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Peter Brønnum Nielsen MD PhD Aalborg Thrombosis Research Unit Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health Department of Cardiology, Atrial Fibrillation Study Group Aalborg University Hospital Aalborg, Denmark   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response:   Patients who sustain an intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) event are often excluded from randomized trials investigating stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF) by use of oral anticoagulant treatment. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Neurology, Sleep Disorders / 25.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Matthew P. Pase Sidney Sax NHMRC Fellow, Department of Neurology Boston University School of Medicine Investigator, Framingham Heart Study; Senior Research Fellow, Swinburne University of Technology. Boston MA 02118 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Sleep disturbances are common in dementia. However, most studies have focused on patients who already have dementia and so it is unclear whether disturbed sleep is a symptom or a cause of dementia. We studied 2,457 older participants enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study, a large group of adults sampled from the community in Framingham, Massachusetts. We asked participants to indicate how long they typically slept each night. Participants were then observed for the following 10-years to determine who developed dementia, including dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. Over the 10 years, we observed 234 cases of dementia. Information on sleep duration was then examined with respect to the risk of developing dementia. (more…)
Author Interviews, Eating Disorders, Mental Health Research, Weight Research / 24.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andres M Lozano OC, MD PhD FRCSC FRSC University Professor, University of Toronto Dan Family Professor and Chairman of Neurosurgery RR Tasker Chair in Functional Neurosurgery Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience Toronto Western Hospital Toronto MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We discovered an area of the brain that is overactive in patients with depression and anxiety the subcallosal cingulate area (SCC). As these problems feature prominently in patients with Anorexia, we hypothesized that adjusting thie activity of this brain area with Deep brain stimulation (DBS) could be helpful. Our findings suggest that DBS in anorexia patients is relatively safe, can normalize abnormal brain activity and may help some with severe and resistant symptoms. (more…)
Author Interviews, Memory / 24.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Takuya Takahashi M.D. Ph.D. Professor, Department of Physiology Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine Yokohama Japan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: A number of patients suffer from traumatic fear memories (eg. PTSD). At this point, there exists no treatment to control aversive fear memories. People can form aversive fear memory from traumatic events such as disasters and accidents. These fear memories can induce depression and anxiety disorders (eg. panic disorders). Therefore, it is crucial to understand the molecular mechanism underlying fear memory formation and this could lead to the invention of novel technology to control fear memories. We have previously reported that the formation of fear memory modifies synapses by the incorporation of AMPA receptors at hippocampus. Further, this molecular events are required for the fear memory formation (Mitsushima et al. PNAS 2011, Mitsushima et al. Nature Communications 2013). Here, we invented the novel technology to erase fear memory by the optical manipulation of AMPA receptor, an important molecule at glutamatergic synapses. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Pharmacology / 24.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Dr. med. Kristian Reich Dermatologie, Allergologie Psoriasis- und Neurodermitis-Trainer Hamburg MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Ustekinumab is an antibody against the p40 molecule shared by IL-12 and IL-23. The antibody shows a favorable benfit-risk profile in the treatment of psoriasis. IL-23 is regarded a key driver in psoriasis pathology. It is speculated that antibodies against the IL-23-specific subunit p19 may produce even higher levels of clinical response than ustekinumab or the anti-TNF antagonist adalimumab. Guselkumab is the first IL-23p19 antibody to publish phase III data in psoriasis.    (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Heart Disease, JAMA / 24.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Philip C. Haycock, PhD MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit University of Bristol Bristol, England MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The direction and causal nature of the association of telomere length with risk of cancer and other diseases is uncertain. In a Mendelian randomization study of 83 non-communicable diseases, including 420,081 cases and 1,093,105 controls, we found that longer telomeres were associated with increased risk for several cancers but reduced risk for some other diseases, including cardiovascular diseases. (more…)
Author Interviews, Smoking, Tobacco, Tobacco Research / 24.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jennifer M. Polinski PhD Senior Director, Enterprise Evaluation and Population Health Analytics, CVS Health CVS Caremark Corporation Harvard School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Nearly three years ago, we removed tobacco products from all CVS Pharmacy locations to help our customers on their path to better health. While there is a growing body of evidence that suggests that restricting access to tobacco helps reduce its use, we wanted to understand if our decision to remove tobacco had a nationwide impact on our customers’ purchasing behavior and presumed smoking habits. In fact, our research findings, published in the American Journal of Public Health, show that CVS Health’s decision to remove tobacco from all CVS Pharmacy stores reduced the number of cigarette purchases across all other retail settings, including gas stations, convenience stores, and other outlets. In addition, customers who exclusively purchased cigarettes at CVS Pharmacy were 38 percent more likely to stop buying cigarettes, and those who purchased three or more packs of cigarettes per month at a CVS Pharmacy were more than twice as likely to stop buying cigarettes altogether. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Johns Hopkins, Pain Research / 24.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Xinzhong Dong PhD The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience and Center for Sensory Biology Howard Hughes Medical Institute Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, MD 21205 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: It is a puzzle that troubles the field for many years that how pain and itch, two closely related sensations (once thought as one sensation), are differentiated by the nervous systems. Coding of pain and itch are heatedly debated for decades. The current specificity theory suggests that these two kinds of signals are carried by separate pathways, with some interactions, for example pain can inhibit itch and that explains why we all scratch to inhibit pain. It is true in the periphery (our previous study indicate a small population of neurons in the periphery only codes for itch sensation), but now our study suggests that there could be more crosstalk between these two sensations in the central than we expected. People might not notice in real life, but in human psychophysical studies, well-isolated experimental environments, when human subjects are given itchy substances, they typically report intense itch sensations accompanied by minor noxious sensations, such as pricking, stinging and burning. Our new leaky gate model suggest in certain circumstances intense itch signals can trigger minor pain sensations, which can explain such phenomenon. (more…)
Author Interviews, Mental Health Research, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 24.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Shannon K. de l’Etoile, Ph.D., MT-BC Associate Dean of Graduate Studies Professor, Music Therapy University of Miami Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music Coral Gables, FL MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Infant-directed (ID) singing allows infants to have emotionally-synchronized interactions with caregivers, during which they gain valuable experience in self-regulation. Maternal depression can disrupt mother-infant interaction, thus hindering infants’ efforts at self-regulation and possibly contributing to a depressed interaction style that can generalize to infant interaction with strangers. Additionally, maternal depression can alter the acoustic parameters of ID singing, such that mothers may not modify musical elements (i.e., tempo and key), to accommodate infant state. (more…)
Author Interviews / 24.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jonah P. Zuflacht M.D. Candidate | Class of 2017 Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Recent evidence suggests that psychological distress, including the symptoms of psychiatric illness, may increase the risk of stroke. However, existing studies have been limited by small sample sizes, methodological bias, and poorly defined criteria for what constitutes psychological distress. We used a case-crossover design to assess the relationship between hospitalization or emergency department visit for a psychiatric condition and stroke in adults. We found that psychiatric hospitalization increases the short-term risk of stroke, particularly within the 15-day period following the diagnosis. This effect is particularly pronounced in younger patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Chemotherapy, Personalized Medicine / 24.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eran Andrechek, PhD Eran Andrechek, PhD Associate Professor Department of Physiology Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Associate Professor Department of Physiology Michigan State University East Lansing, MI  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Of the various types of breast cancer, triple negative breast cancer (lacking estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and HER2) has the worst outcome and is largely limited to chemotherapy for treatment.  Other types can be treated with personalized medicine, resulting in better outcome.  For instance, a HER2+ve breast cancer can be treated with Herceptin, which targets HER2 itself.  The fact that triple negative breast cancer lacks these sort of targeted treatments presents a clear need in breast cancer therapy. The goal of this study was to bring together our computational work using large databases from breast cancer with research into therapeutic options.  Essentially we wanted to ask if we could use patterns in what genes were being expressed to predict optimal therapy for triple negative breast cancer.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Stroke, Technology / 23.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michel Piotin, MD PhD Principal investigator and Interventional Neuroradiologist Rothschild Fondation Hospital, Paris  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) with a stent retriever (SR), in association with intravenous rtPA, is now the standard of care in anterior circulation ischemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion Thrombectomy (MT) with a stent retriever (SR), in association with intravenous (IV) rtPA, is now the standard of care in anterior circulation ischemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion. Favorable outcome is strongly associated with the successful reperfusion status. New techniques for MT such as ADAPT (A Direct first pass Aspiration Technique) is promising to increase reperfusion status and clinical outcome in retrospective studies. Our study objective was to determine which technique should be used in frontline strategy (ADAPT or Stent Retriever) to achieve maximum reperfusion. The ASTER study is the first independent large randomized controlled trial focusing on ADAPT technique with blinded assessment data. (more…)
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Menopause, University of Pittsburgh, Women's Heart Health / 23.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Samar R. El Khoudary, Ph.D., M.P.H. Assistant professor Department of Epidemiology University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Our study revealed a previously unknown, menopause-specific indicator of heart disease risk. For the first time, we’ve pinpointed the type of heart fat, linked it to a risk factor for heart disease and shown that menopausal status and estrogen levels are critical modifying factors of its associated risk in women. My team evaluated clinical data, including blood samples and heart CT scans, on 478 women from Pittsburgh and Chicago enrolled in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). The women were in varying stages of menopause, averaged 51 years old and were not on hormone replacement therapy. In a previous study, we showed that a greater volume of paracardial fat, but not epicardial fat, after menopause is associated with a decline in the sex hormone estradiol—the most potent estrogen—in women. The higher volume of epicardial fat was tied to other risk factors, such as obesity. In the new study, we built on those findings to discover that not only is a greater paracardial fat volume specific to menopause, but—in postmenopausal women and women with lower levels of estradiol—it’s also associated with a greater risk of coronary artery calcification, an early sign of heart disease that is measured with a heart CT scan. (more…)