Author Interviews, NEJM, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 17.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Carla M. Bann, Ph.D. Division of Statistical and Data Sciences RTI International Research Triangle Park, NC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Several medical advances have been made over the past two decades to improve the care and survival of infants born pre-term. However, approaches to care differ greatly among providers for infants born at the limits of viability (22 to 24 weeks gestation), far earlier than the 40 weeks generally expected for a pregnancy to reach full-term. Little is known about the outcomes of these infants, particularly whether those who survive experience significant neurodevelopmental impairments. RTI served as the data coordinating center for this research that examined the survival and neurodevelopmental impairment at 18-22 months corrected age of over 4,000 infants born at 22 to 24 weeks gestation during 2000 to 2011 at medical centers participating in a national research network funded by the NIH. In this group of babies, infant survival improved over time from survival rates of 30 percent in 2000-2003 to 36 percent in 2008-2011. The proportion of infants who survived without a neurodevelopmental impairment also increased from 16 percent in 2000-2003 to 20 percent in 2008-2011. (more…)
Author Interviews, Immunotherapy, Pulmonary Disease / 17.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Hossein-Ardeschir Ghofrani University of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center Giessen, Germany, and Member of the German Center of Lung Research and Department of Medicine Imperial College London London, UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterised by increased pulmonary vascular resistance (increased resistance to blood flow in the pulmonary circulation), which can lead to right heart failure and death. Riociguat is the first of a new class of drugs – the soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators. It has been approved for the treatment of PAH based on the impressive efficacy and safety results from two pivotal Phase III studies: PATENT-1 and its long-term extension phase, PATENT-2. PATENT-1 was a 12-week, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of riociguat in patients with PAH. Patients who completed PATENT-1 without ongoing riociguat-related serious adverse events (AEs) could enter PATENT-2, in which they received open-label riociguat. PATENT-1 admitted patients whether they were treatment-naïve or already receiving targeted PAH therapies, such as endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs) and prostanoids. This current analysis compared the safety and efficacy of riociguat between treatment-naïve and pretreated patients in the PATENT-2 long-term extension study. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Surgical Research / 17.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brian J. F. Wong, MD, PhD Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic Department of Biomedical Engineering University of California, Irvine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Research in facial attractiveness is difficult because of the inherent subjectivity of rating. Most people can look at a face and instinctively tell you whether that face is attractive or not, by subconsciously picking up on biologic cues like fertility, coloration, and proportions. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Breast Cancer, Genetic Research / 17.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Carlos H. Barcenas M.D., M.Sc. Assistant Professor Department of Breast Medical Oncology MD Anderson Cancer Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Over the last decade we have realized that we were over-treating many early stage breast cancer patients. In addition to the chemotherapy’s obvious side effects, there are also long term complications for breast cancer survivors. Since 2005, we are using a 21-gene-expression assay that predicts the risk of distant recurrence among early stage breast cancer patients. In 2015, initial results from the international clinical trial, TAILORx, found that women with hormone receptor positive, HER2 and lymph node negative early stage disease that had a low recurrence score (RS) of 0-10 from this assay could have chemotherapy omitted altogether. While these findings changed care for women with a low RS, questions remain regarding the management of women with an intermediate RS, defined by this trial as a RS of 11-25. For our retrospective, single-institution study we identified 1,424 stage I and II breast cancer patients with hormone receptor positive, HER2 and lymph node negative treated between 2005 and 2011 who underwent the 21-gene expression assay. The RS distribution was: 297 (21 percent) scored 0–10; 894 (63 percent) scored 11-25; and 233 (16 percent) scored >25. Of those groups, 1.7, 15 and 73.4 percent received chemotherapy, respectively. With a median follow up of 58 months, those with a RS of 11-25 had an invasive disease-free survival (IDFS) rate at five years of 92.6 percent, regardless if patients received chemotherapy or not. Among those patients who did not receive chemotherapy, the estimated rates of IDFS and overall survival was 93 percent and 98 percent, respectively, which was comparable to those who did receive chemotherapy. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews / 17.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Shinsuke Ishigaki Department of Neurology Department of Therapeutics for Intractable Neurological Disorders Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine Nagoya,Japan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a pathological process that has been characterized by personality changes, abnormal behaviors, language impairment, and progressive dementia. The genetic and pathological similarities in fused in sarcoma (FUS), transactive response (TAR) DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), and C9orf72 in relation to FTLD and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have recently lead to the recognition that the two conditions represent points on a spectrum of a single disease entity. Additionally, Frontotemporal lobar degeneration has also been classified as a tauopathy, characterized by an accumulation of phosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau (tau) in affected neurons. Our study demonstrated a biological link between FUS/SFPQ and the regulation of tau isoforms involved in the early phase of Frontotemporal lobar degeneration. (more…)
Author Interviews, HIV, Immunotherapy / 17.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brinda Emu MD Assistant Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases Yale University New Haven, CT  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Ibalizumab is a fully humanized monoclonal antibody that targets the CD4 receptor.  This Phase III registrational study enrolled individuals with HIV infection that harbor high levels of multi-drug resistance, with limited treatment options.  At IDWeek in October, 2016, data was presented that demonstrated patients experienced a significant decrease in viral load after receiving a single loading dose of ibalizumab 2,000 mg intravenously (IV) in addition to their failing antiretroviral therapies (ART) (or no therapy). Seven days after this loading dose, 83% of patients achieved a ≥ 0.5 log10 decrease from baseline compared with 3% during the seven-day control period .These results were statistically significant (p<0.0001). At CROI, additional data on the Week 24 results from this study are now presented. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness / 17.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laurie de Grace Master's graduate from the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation University of Alberta MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Little is known about the development of substance addiction in the context of sport. There is substantial evidence showing a positive association between sport participation and alcohol use, particularly the binge drinking that is more commonly associated with athletes than non-athletes. However, the connection between sport participation and the use of other substances is not clear. We undertook this study to learn from the perspective of those in recovery from substance addiction, how sport may or may not have played a role in their substance use and subsequent addiction. (more…)
Author Interviews, Outcomes & Safety / 17.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview wth: Kevin Kavanagh, MD, MS Board Chairman of Health Watch USA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The genesis of our study was a desire to respond to a keynote speech at a major national patient safety conference which seemed to mitigate the problem of preventable hospital mortality in the United States. Our main finding is that there is credible evidence indicating that the preventable hospital mortality rate is more than 160,000 per year. When one considers the events which were not captured, and that we did not count diagnostic errors or post-discharge presentation of events, this number can be projected to approximate or exceed 200,000. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, JAMA, OBGYNE / 17.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lisa Underwood, PhD Research Fellow| Centre for Longitudinal Research Growing Up in New Zealand | Who are Today’s Dads? School of Population Health, Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences University of Auckland  Auckland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study is part of the contemporary, longitudinal study Growing Up in New Zealand, which is tracking the development of more than 6000 children born in 2009 and 2010. In previous reports we investigated antenatal and postnatal depression symptoms among the mothers of our cohort children. In this study we looked at the partners of those mothers to explore whether men and women have different risks for depression in each perinatal period. Our main findings were that expectant fathers were at risk if they felt stressed or were in poor health. Elevated depression symptoms following their child’s birth, were also linked to social and relationship problems. The strongest predictor of postnatal paternal depression was no longer being in a relationship with the child’s mother. (more…)
Author Interviews, Sexual Health, Technology / 16.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Krychman is Executive Director, President, and CEO of the Southern California Center for Sexual Health and Survivorship Medicine and Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, Irvine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is a Member of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH), The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) and a Certified Sexual Counselor by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT). He served as a member of the Standards Committee for the International Society for Sexual Medicine during their 2016 International Consensus Meeting.   MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this technology and study? What are the main findings? Response: Viveve Medical, Inc. is a women's health and wellness company committed to advancing new solutions to improve women's overall well-being and quality of life.  The internationally patented Viveve® technology and the GENEVEVE™ treatment, incorporates clinically-proven, cryogen-cooled monopolar radiofrequency (CMRF) energy to uniformly deliver non-ablative, deep penetrating volumetric heat into the submucosal layer of the vaginal introitus (opening) while gently cooling surface tissue to generate robust neocollagenesis.  One 30-minute in-office session tightens and restores the tissue around the vaginal introitus addressing the common medical condition of vaginal laxity and can improve a woman’s sexual function. VIVEVE I is a landmark study.  Results of the VIVEVE I clinical study, "Effect of Single-Treatment, Surface-Cooled Radiofrequency Therapy on Vaginal Laxity and Female Sexual Function: The VIVEVE I Randomized Controlled Trial," were recently published in the February 2017 issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine (JSM) under the Female Sexual Function category.   Some of my high-level thoughts to reiterate from this study are: It is the first-ever large, randomized, sham-controlled study to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of energy-based procedures in gynecological applications, including vaginal laxity, which is a significant medical condition affecting millions of women worldwide that may lead to a reduction in sexual function. The primary endpoint of the VIVEVE I study was a comparison of the proportion of women reporting no vaginal laxity in the treatment group versus the sham group at 6 months post-treatment. Subjects receiving the active treatment were three times more likely to report no vaginal laxity at six months versus the sham group (p-value = 0.006). Statistically significant and sustained improvement in sexual function (baseline FSFI total score ≤26.5) after a single treatment, with an adjusted mean difference in the active group vs sham group of 3.2 at 6 months (p-value = 0.009). "Placebo Effect" in the sham group did not rise above dysfunctional (FSFI ≤26.5) and diminished at 6 months. Statistically significant improvement in sexual function was achieved in 93% of subjects in the active group vs the sham group in two individual key domains of FSFI (p-value = 0.007). Bottom line: Geneveve is a safe effective treatment that can be performed as an outpatient in one 30-minute visit to improve sexual function as it has been affected by vaginal laxity. (more…)
Author Interviews, Weight Research / 16.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Corrine I. Voils, PhD Research Career Scientist, William S Middleton Veterans Memorial Hospital Visiting Professor of Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Weight loss interventions can help people lose weight, but most people tend to regain weight after a weight loss period. There is a need to identify effective strategies to help people maintain weight loss. We found that an intervention focused on maintenance behavioral skills that was delivered primarily by telephone reduced weight regain compared to usual care over 56 weeks. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, NEJM, Zika / 16.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gabriela Paz-Bailey MD PhD Senior Epidemiologist Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Zika virus is recognized as a cause of microcephaly and other severe birth defects when a woman is infected during pregnancy. Additionally, it has been associated with potentially fatal complications, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome. It is not well understood how often Zika virus particles can be detected in semen and other body fluids and for how long they remain detectable. Existing evidence is based on case reports and cross-sectional observations, primarily from returning travelers. A more comprehensive description of the dynamics of the early stages of Zika virus infection, observed within infected people over time, is needed to inform diagnostic testing as well as prevention recommendations and interventions. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 16.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:: Margaret Q. Rosenzweig PhD, CRNP-C, AOCNP, FAAN Acute and Tertiary Care Department University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: A significant survival disparity still exists between African American and non-Hispanic white women diagnosed with breast cancer. There is evidence that symptom incidence, associated distress, and overall cancer-related distress may be unexplored, important contributing factors. The current study was a secondary, exploratory aim from the Attitudes, Communication, Treatment, and Support (ACTS) Intervention to Reduce Breast Cancer Treatment Disparity study, which is a randomized controlled trial of a psychoeducational intervention to encourage acceptance and adherence to chemotherapy compared with usual care for  African American women with breast cancer. The purpose of the current study was to: 1) describe and compare the number of chemotherapy-related symptoms and associated distress among AA women with breast cancer over the course of chemotherapy at 3 time points (at baseline before initiating chemotherapy, midpoint, and at the completion of chemotherapy); and 2) to describe the relationship between the number of chemotherapy-related symptoms and overall cancer distress compared with the ability to receive at least 85% of the prescribed chemotherapy within the prescribed timeframe. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Genetic Research / 16.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. med. Rachel Würstlein Senior Specialist Clinic and Polyclinic for Obstetrics and Gynecology Klinikum der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München • Campus Innenstadt Munich MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Gene expression profiles provide important information on the risk of recurrence, and subtyping in HR+ HER2- early breast cancer, in addition to conventional clinicopathological factors. The PRIMe study was performed by the West German Study Group (WSG) and prospectively investigated the impact of the gene expression tests MammaPrint, a 70-Gene Breast Cancer Recurrence Assay, and the corresponding 80-Gene Molecular Subtyping Assay, BluePrint, on adjuvant chemotherapy decisions for early-stage breast cancer patients. To do this, a risk assessment (chemotherapy followed by endocrine therapy, versus endocrine therapy alone) for distant metastasis was performed in 452 patients from 27 study centers using conventional clinicopathological factors such as tumour size and grade first, then compared to the results of the gene expression tests MammaPrint and BluePrint. Doctors and patients then reviewed the results and made a decision on the optimal treatment plan, namely in deciding whether or not patients would benefit from, and should therefore be treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. (more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews, Immunotherapy, Imperial College, JAMA / 16.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stephen R. Durham, MD Imperial College, London, and Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust London, United Kingdom MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Allergic rhinitis affects 1 in 4 the UK population and may compromise sleep and work/school performance and be associated with bronchial asthma. When nasal steroids and antihistamines do not work or cause side effects, allergen immunotherapy is an alternative. Immunotherapy using high doses of grass pollen allergen as monthly injections or daily tablets under the tongue are highly effective. Treatment for 3 years not only gives sustained improvement on treatment but also long-term benefits and disease remission for at least 2-3 years after stopping treatment. This single centre study at Imperial College London and Royal Brompton Hospital London included 106 adults with severe Hayfever followed up for 3 years, 2 years on treatment and 1 year after stopping treatment. In this double-blind trial, 3 randomised groups took sublingual immunotherapy, subcutaneous immunotherapy and placebo treatment. 92 completed the trial. Results showed that 2 years treatment with both modalities did not result in persistent benefit at year 3, although the researchers found that both treatments were effective compared to placebo during years 1 and 2. (more…)
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Geriatrics, Heart Disease / 15.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Olga Khavjou RTI International MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States and is one of the costliest chronic diseases. As the population ages, CVD costs are expected to increase substantially. To improve cardiovascular health and control health care costs, we must understand future prevalence and costs of CVD. In 2015, 41.5% (more than 100 million people) of the U.S population was estimated to have some form of CVD. By 2035, the number of people with CVD is projected to increase to over 130 million people, representing a 30% increase in the number of people with CVD over the next 20 years. Between 2015 and 2035, real total direct medical costs of CVD are projected to more than double from $318 billion to $749 billion and real indirect costs (due to productivity losses) are projected to increase from $237 billion to $368 billion. Total costs (medical and indirect) are projected to more than double from $555 billion in 2015 to $1.1 trillion in 2035. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, Hepatitis - Liver Disease / 15.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Cheryl Isenhour, DVM, MPH Epidemiologist |Prevention Branch Division of Viral Hepatitis | NCHHSTP Centers for Disease Control and Prevention MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: It is estimated that there are over 3 million people in the United States living with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Risk factors for infection include, but are not limited to, injection drug use, history of incarceration, HIV coinfection, and blood transfusion prior to July 1992. Several direct acting antiviral medications have recently been approved to treat, and in the majority of cases, cure HCV. The first step in identifying infected persons so that they may be cured of this infection is a blood test for antibodies to HCV. The greatest burden of HCV is among persons born from 1945 through 1965; the baby boomer birth cohort. Therefore, in 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published updated HCV antibody testing recommendations to include one-time testing of persons in the birth cohort. The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published similar recommendations the following year. Additionally, in recent years there has been an increase in HCV infections related to injection drug use among younger people. We used commercial insurance claims data to describe trends in HCV antibody testing over a 10-year period (2005 – 2014), both to assess the impact of the CDC and USPSTF testing recommendations, and to better understanding how trends varied by gender, age group, and geography. (more…)
Author Interviews, Metabolic Syndrome / 15.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “The Mountains of Spain” by Nan Palmero is licensed under CC BY 2.0Pedro González Muniesa  Director of International Relations of Human Nutrition and Dietetics Universidad de Navarra Nutrition Research Center / Dpt. Nutrition, Food Science and Physiology School of Pharmacy / University of Navarra  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Several other studies have reported lower incidence rates of conditions linked to MetS such as obesity (Díaz-Gutiérrez et al.,2016; Voss et al., 2013; Woolcott et al., 2014), heart disease (Ezzati et al., 2012; Faeh et al., 2016), hypertension (Norboo et al., 2015) or type 2 diabetes (Woolcott et al., 2014) on subjects living at high altitudes. To our knowledge this is the first study that has found a protective effect on living at a higher altitude against metabolic syndrome, and it is one of the very few that has found this effect at a median altitude of less than 600 meters. (more…)
Author Interviews, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Breast Cancer, Dermatology, JAMA / 15.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Julie Rani Nangia, M.D. Assistant Professor Breast Center - Clinic Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX, US MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study was fueled by the feedback from women undergoing chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. One of the most distressing side effects of their treatment is hair loss. It robs them of their anonymity and, for many, their femininity. Scalp cooling therapy has been available for a few years in the UK, but has faced obstacles in FDA clearance in the states. The makers of the scalp cooling device used in this study, Paxman Coolers Ltd., have a personal connection to breast cancer, as the company founder’s wife passed away from the disease. This was the first randomized scalp cooling study, and it shows that the Paxman Hair Loss Prevention System is an effective therapy for reducing chemotherapy-induced alopecia. The results show a 50% increase in hair preservation of grade 0 or 1, meaning use of a scarf or wig is not necessary, in patients who received the scalp cooling therapy as opposed to those who did not. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JACC, Pharmacology / 15.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gavin Y Oudit, MD, PhD, FRCPC Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta Clinician-Scientist Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute Canada Research Chair in Heart Failure Division of Cardiology Edmonton, Alberta Heart specialist Gavin Oudit and his research team discovered a molecule — angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)—that works to restore balance to the pathways responsible for chronic and acute heart failure, including in hearts from patients with advanced heart failure who underwent heart transplants. In developing the new drug, Oudit and his team discovered to an extent not seen before how the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), which regulates the body’s sodium balance, fluid volume, and blood pressure, is at play in both acute and chronic heart failure. In collaboration with Dr. Oudit, recombinant human ACE2 was made by Apeiron Biologics, purchased by GlaxoSmithKline, and has recently completed phase II clinical trial. (more…)
ALS, Author Interviews, Genetic Research, JAMA / 15.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Dr. Christine Van Broeckhoven PhD DSc Professor in Molecular Biology and Genetics, University of Antwerp Science Director, VIB Center for Molecular Neurology Research Director, Laboratory for Neurogenetics, Institute Born-Bunge Senior Group Leader, Neurodegenerative Brain Diseases University of Antwerp and Dr. Sara Van Mossevelde, MD Center for Molecular Neurology, VIB Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp Department of Neurology and Memory Clinic Hospital Network Antwerp Middelheim and Hoge Beuken Antwerp, Belgium MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and/or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and a C9orf72 repeat expansion present with highly variable onset ages of disease. In the Belgian patient cohort the onset ages ranged from 29 to 82 years of age. This high variability suggested the influence of modifying factors on disease expression. As in other repeat expansion diseases, repeat length is the prime candidate as genetic modifier. In a molecular study (Gijselinck et al., Molecular psychiatry 2016), we were able to provide evidence for an inverse correlation of repeat length with onset age in affected parent – affected children in a C0orf72 families. Also, the degree of methylation of the C9orf72 repeat correlated with repeat size. In this clinical study of affected parent – affected children pairs we provided additional evidence for the occurrence of disease anticipation in C9orf72 pedigrees by analyzing age at onset, disease duration and age at death in successive generations. Within 36 C9orf72 pedigrees with available age data of patients in two to four generations, we observed a significant decrease in age at onset across successive generation while no generational effect was seen on disease burden, disease duration or age at death. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research / 15.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Edwin Posadas, MD, FACP, KM Director, Translational Oncology Program Medical Director, Urologic Oncology Program Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute Clinical Chief, Division of Hematology/Oncology Associate Professor, Department of Medicine Cedars-Sinai MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings of your work so far? Response: The technology we are using is called a NanoVelcro assay. This is a nanotechnology that can be used to isolate rare cells and cell-like particles in the blood stream. We have focused the use of the NanoVelcro on isolating circulating tumor cells (or CTCs). This technology is about 10 times more sensitive than that currently used in clinics. More importantly, because of some modification in our approach, we can now not only capture CTCs, but also examine them under the microscope and even analyze them using advanced molecular techniques. In this way, we take a classic and modern approach to our work. We firmly believe that there is much to be learned by studying the shapes of these CTCs. We in the cancer field have long known that shape and cellular function are intimately related. In fact, a young pathologist in our group readily recognized that patients with the most aggressive cancers had CTCs with small nuclei, which we verified in a larger study. We are now exploring the importance of these shape variations in CTCs by coupling this classic microscopy-driven approach with RNA characterizations, giving us insight into the molecular nature of the CTC. My collaborator, UCLA Professor Hsian-Rong Tseng, PhD, is a brilliant engineer who has found ways of altering the system to allow us to capture and release live cells for analysis. By using this system, we believe that one day we may be able to avoid performing invasive tissue biopsies to study a cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Psychological Science, Social Issues / 15.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brian Chin, B.S. PhD Student Doctoral Student Department of Psychology Carnegie Mellon University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Numerous studies demonstrate that married people tend to be healthier than those who are single, divorced, or widowed. However, less clear are the psychological and biological mechanisms through which this occurs. To this end, recent research has focused on how the unmarried may experience either greater amounts of stress or different types of stressful situations that put them at increased risk for morbidity and mortality. Models linking stress and disease often implicate the HPA axis as one pathway through which these stressful experiences can affect health. One way to index HPA axis activity is by measuring cortisol, a hormone that plays a regulatory role for many immunological and metabolic processes in the body. The primary aim of our study was to examine whether cortisol could be one biological mechanism through which marital status impacts health. Over three non-consecutive days, 572 healthy adult participants between 21-55 years old provided multiple saliva samples that were used to measure cortisol. Relative to their never married or previously married counterparts, married people had both lower cortisol outputs and steeper daily declines – both of which have been shown to be associated with better health outcomes. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Nutrition / 14.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: John C. Price, Ph.D Asst. Professor Chemistry and Biochemistry Brigham Young University Provo, Utah MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Since 1930 it has been known that the rate of biological aging could be modified by the diet.  In mice for example if you let them eat as much as they want they will live almost 3 years.  Providing essentially the same diet but controlling the number of total calories, there is an almost linear increase in lifespan as you restrict calories.  The studies in mice and rats have been repeated hundreds of times since that time.  There have been a lot of somewhat conflictive observations, like increased formation of new mitochondria, and increased autophagy which targets organelles for degradation, during stable reduced calorie intake. This expectation, that a restricted diet with fewer calories available to the animal could support increased protein synthesis and degradation and result in increased lifespan, is what got us interested in studying Calorie Restriction.  So we measured the relative synthesis rates for several hundred proteins in 18 month old calorie restricted mice which were experiencing the benefits of improved health and lifespan.  We found overwhelmingly that the calorie restricted mice had reduced synthesis rates down to as low as 25% of the age matched control group.  This observation has now been independently confirmed by multiple groups. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, Nature / 14.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andrea K. Globa, Ph.D. Candidate Graduate Program in Neuroscience Life Sciences Institute University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Addiction is a complex disease, characterized by continued substance use despite serious negative consequences, increased drug tolerance, and withdrawal. In fact, the statistics show that over 40 million Americans abuse or are addicted to nicotine, alcohol or other drugs. This is a huge public health issue, so naturally, scientists are interested in figuring out why people get addicted, and in particular why certain people are more prone to addiction than others. Studies examining genetic differences in addicted populations have shown that there are many mutations in genes that are important for brain function. One group of genes affected encode proteins that act as 'glue' to hold cells together. These proteins are called cadherins. In the brain, cadherins are important for holding brain cells together at spots where they communicate with one another – and these points where brain cells talk to one another are called synapses. Many neuroscientists believe that addiction is actually a type of "pathological" learning, where there are changes at synapses in a brain circuit involved in reward and motivation. So we decided to examine the molecular mechanisms that are important for the strengthening of synapses in this brain circuit. To put it very simply, to learn something you have to make your synapses stronger, and this involves adding more cadherin or 'glue' to the synapse. We wanted to see if these same rules held true in addiction. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, Lancet, Vitamin D / 14.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Adrian R Martineau B Med Sci DTM&H MRCP PhD Clinical Professor of Respiratory Infection and Immunity Centre for Primary Care and Public Health. Blizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry Queen Mary, University of London MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In addition to its well-known effects on bone, Vitamin D has also been shown to boost immune responses to viruses and bacteria that cause respiratory infections in lab experiments. In order to see whether these effects translate into a health benefit, a total of 25 clinical trials of vitamin D supplementation to prevent various respiratory infections have been carried out in around 11,000 people living in 14 different countries over the last decade. These trials have yielded conflicting results: in some, vitamin D reduced the risk of infections, but in others it did not. The reason why vitamin D ‘worked’ in some trials, but not in others, has been the subject of much debate. In order to answer this question, we assembled an international consortium of investigators and compiled the raw data from every trial into a single database containing information from 10,933 people in total. This allowed us to run sub-group analyses to determine whether particular groups of people benefit more from vitamin D supplementation than others. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pain Research / 14.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dan Cherkin PhD Emeritus Senior Investigator Group Health Research Institute Seattle, WA 98101 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We previously reported the results of a randomized trial examining the effectiveness of Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for persons with chronic low back pain (Cherkin et al, JAMA, March 22, 2016). The current report examines whether the relative effectiveness of these approaches compared with usual care that we found after one year were still evident after two years. We found that there was little decrease in the magnitude of the effects of both MBSR and CBT between one and two years, but the two-year outcomes were statistically significant only for chronic low back pain. As previously reported for outcomes up to one year, there were no significant differences in outcomes between CBT and MBSR. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pain Research, Radiation Therapy / 14.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rachel McDonald, MD(C) Department of Radiation Oncology Odette Cancer Centre Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Toronto, Ontario, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Radiation treatment has been demonstrated in numerous studies to provide effective and timely pain relief to those suffering from painful bone metastases. However, as a palliative treatment, the goal should be not only to reduce pain but also to maintain and even improve quality of life. To date, studies have not effectively demonstrated this; most of these have included either small sample sizes or utilize questionnaires that aren’t tailored to the palliative cancer population with bone metastases. We aimed to determine how soon after radiation treatment one can expect an improvement in quality of life. Our results showed that patients who had a pain response to radiation also had significantly greater improvements in pain, pain characteristics, functional interference, and psychosocial aspects of well-being at day 10 post-treatment. Further improvements in most domains of quality of life were found for responders at day 42. (more…)