Author Interviews, Hospital Acquired, Infections, Surgical Research, Technology / 10.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alex Carignan, MD, MSc Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Université de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Although reports of iatrogenic transmission directly linked to surgical power tools (SPTs) are rare, the decontamination of such instruments is challenging due to their complex designs, which may restrict access to cleaning and sterilization agents, and because they often become contaminated after use. Most studies on infection risk with ultrasonic surgical power tools include patients who underwent phacoemulsification surgeries,but it is logical to assume that lumen contaminants, including bacteria and proteinaceous material from previous operations, may be found in neurosurgery SPTs as well. During June 2015, the infection control department at our institution was notified of an increase in the number of surgical site infection cases following craniotomy since January 2015. We investigated an outbreak of neurosurgical SSIs at a tertiary care hospital in Quebec, Canada, to identify the outbreak’s cause, and our investigation strongly suggests that modifying the reprocessing procedure of an ultrasonic surgical aspirator caused the outbreak. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks, Melanoma / 10.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sophie Seite, Ph. D La Roche-Posay Dermatological Laboratories Asnières, France. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The survey included nearly 20,000 men and women in 23 countries, ages 16-65, and was primarily conducted online. The questionnaire collected data regarding demographics, sun exposure, behaviors regarding prevention and tanning, risk knowledge, self-examination, medical advice seeking, and social attitude. This unprecedented international survey on sun exposure behaviors and skin cancer detection found that there are many imperfections and geographical inequalities in primary and secondary prevention of skin cancer. The study was published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology & Venereology by researchers from La Roche-Posay and the George Washington University (GW) Department of Dermatology. Survey results indicate that 88 percent of those questioned were aware of the risks of developing skin cancer when exposed without protection to the sun. However, just 1 in 2 respondents has ever consulted a dermatologist for a mole screening and 4 in 10 people don’t think to protect themselves from the sun outside of vacation. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Prostate Cancer / 10.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tudor Borza, MD, MS Urologic Oncology and Health Service Research Fellow Department of Urology, University of Michigan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Starting in the late 2000’s studies began to identify overdiagnosis and overtreatment in men with prostate cancer. Because of the indolent nature of some prostate cancers many men who ended up diagnosed and treated would have never had any consequences from their prostate cancer. This led national organizations (like the American Urological Association and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network) to call for decreased prostate cancer screening (using the serum PSA test) and eventually led to the US Preventive Services Task Force to recommend against routine PSA screening, citing that the harms from diagnosis and treatment outweighed the harms from the disease. Over the same specialists treating the disease began to report on the safety of surveillance strategies in select men with prostate cancer. Watchful waiting (delaying any treatment until men become symptomatic from their cancer and then offering palliative treatment) was found to be comparable to initial treatment in men with a limited life expectance, either from advanced age or multiple comorbidities. Similarly, active surveillance (a technique employing intense monitoring with PSA testing, digital rectal exams, repeat biopsies and possible use of MRI or other biomarkers) was introduced with the goal of delaying treatment in some men with low risk cancer until the cancer becomes more aggressive and was shown to have similar outcomes to initial treatment in carefully selected men. We wanted to study the trends in initial prostate cancer treatment in this context of recommendations for decreased screening and recognition of the feasibility of surveillance in certain patients with prostate cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease / 10.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Mohammed Qintar, MD Cardiovascular Fellow St Luke’s Health System Kansas City MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: One in four patients experience recurrent chest pain after acute myocardial infarction, but not all patients present with cardiac chest pain secondary to coronary ischemia. The frequency of non-cardiac chest pain re-hospitalitzation after acute myocardial infarction and its impact on patients’ health status has not been described after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Both providers evaluating these patients and patients who have recently suffered an AMI are understandably concerned about any recurrent chest pain symptoms, and often present for urgent evaluation of these symptoms. In the first year after acute myocardial infarction, we found that a third of patients hospitalized for evaluation of chest pain actually presented with non-cardiac chest pain. Compared with patients not hospitalized with chest pain, non-cardiac chest pain hospitalization was associated with worse angina-related quality of life and general mental and physical health status. The quality of life for patients hospitalized with non-cardiac chest pain was similar to patients hospitalized with cardiac chest pain, suggesting a significant impact on their quality of life even though their pain did not reflect underlying coronary ischemia. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Heart Disease, JACC, Surgical Research / 10.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA, FSCAI, FESC Executive Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart & Vascular Center Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Cangrelor is a potent, fast on, fast off, intravenous ADP receptor antagonist that is now available for use during PCI. Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors are intravenous antiplatelet agents that work by a different mechanism. Doctors have asked whether there is any advantage to combining them or whether one class is preferable to the other during PCI. We analyzed close to 25,000 patients from the CHAMPION trials. Cangrelor’s efficacy in reducing peri-procedural ischemic complications in patients undergoing PCI was present irrespective of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor administration. However, glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor use resulted in substantially higher bleeding rates, regardless of whether the patient was randomized to cangrelor or to clopidogrel. Thus, in general, cangrelor and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors should not routinely be combined. If an operator wishes to use a potent intravenous antiplatelet during PCI, cangrelor is similarly efficacious as glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, but with less bleeding risk. (more…)
Author Interviews, Lancet, Pediatrics, Surgical Research, Weight Research / 10.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Thomas H. Inge MD University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine Aurora, CO 80045 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Gastric bypass surgery helps severely obese teenagers lose weight and keep it off, according to the first long term follow up studies of teenagers who had undergone the procedure 5-12 years earlier. However, the studies show some patients will need further surgery to deal with complications or may develop vitamin deficiencies later in life, according to two studies published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. Severe obesity is classified as having a BMI of 40 or over (around 100 pounds overweight) and affects around 4.6 million children and teenagers in the USA. It causes ill health, poor quality of life and cuts life expectancy. The studies are the first to look at long-term effects of gastric bypass surgery in teenagers. Until now, it has been unclear how successful the surgery is in the long-term and whether it can lead to complications. Thousands of teenagers are offered surgical treatment each year. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, Dermatology / 10.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Anthony Bewley FRCP Consultant Dermatologist Whipps Cross University Hospital & The Royal London Hospital  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Delusional infestation (DI) is a very disabling condition, whereby patients hold a fixed, unshakeable false belief of being infested with insects or other inanimate objects such as fibres and threads. Previous studies have indicated a high rate of recreational drug use amongst patients with delusional infestation (DI). The aim of our pilot study was to look at the prevalence of recreational drug use in patients with delusional infestation who attended clinic over a three year period (Group 1). We also prospectively offered a urine drugs test to 24 consecutive patients over a three month period (Group 2). (more…)
Author Interviews, Global Health, JAMA, OBGYNE, Surgical Research / 09.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jianmeng Liu, PhD, MD Professor in Epidemiology and Biostatistics Director, Institute of Reproductive and Child Health/key Laboratory of Reproductive Health Ministry of Health Director, Office for National Maternal and Child Health Statistics of China Peking University Health Science Center Beijing, China MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cesarean overuse can jeopardize maternal and child health. It has been widely concerned that cesarean rate in China is at an extremely high level. Concerns about “alarming” rates increased after a World Health Organization (WHO) report that 46.2% of births were delivered by cesarean in 2007-2008, based on analysis of deliveries in 21 hospitals of 3 provinces of China. Since 2002, reducing the cesarean rate has been a national priority, and a variety of policies, programs and activities have emerged at both the central and local governments. Previous national estimates of cesarean rates have been based on surveys with limited geographical coverage. Given the marked diversity of geography, economy, and life circumstances throughout China, survey estimates are likely to be sensitive to the area sampled. By analyzing county-level national data on cesarean rates that have been collected since 2008, this study aimed to determine the overall rate and change in rate of cesarean deliveries, examine geographic variation, and, in areas where declines occurred, assess changes in maternal and perinatal mortality. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, JAMA / 09.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gary O’Donovan, Ph.D. Research Associate: Exercise as Medicine School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine Loughborough University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study was inspired by the classic Harvard University study of weekend warriors. It was a privilege to work with Professor I-Min Lee, one of the authors of the classic study. Our study was much larger than the classic study. With greater statistical power, we found that, compared with inactive adults, all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, and cancer mortality risks were significantly lower in weekend warriors who performed the recommended amount of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity in one or two sessions per week. Our study extends the classic study by showing that the benefits of the weekend warrior physical activity pattern are much the same in men and women. (more…)
Author Interviews, End of Life Care, Transplantation / 09.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, MD, PhD Organización Nacional de Trasplantes Madrid Spain  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Organ shortage remains the most important barrier to the development of transplantation therapies. It leads to deaths on the waiting list, poor quality of life, increased costs to healthcare systems and emerging unethical practices as organ trafficking, mostly in the form of transplant tourism. Shortage of organs to meet the transplantation needs is a universal problem – also in Spain. The potential of donation from the deceased is decreasing or expected to decrease in most developed countries, which makes it imperative to conceive new ways of increasing organ availibility. In 2008, ONT conceived the 40 donors pmp plan, which includes the three strategies that are described in the paper: -          The identification of possible donors outside of the ICU to pose the option of intensive care to facilitate organ donation. -          The promotion of the expanded and non-standard risk donor. -          The development of donation after circulatory death The three strategies have made the country not only reach, but even surpass the objective of 40 donors pmp (43,4 in 2016). (more…)
Author Interviews, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Genetic Research, NEJM / 09.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jennifer E Posey MD, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Molecular and Human Genetics Baylor College of Medicine Tamar Harel MD, PhD Clinical Genetics Academic Research Fellow Department of Molecular and Human Genetics Baylor College of Medicine Current affiliation: Department of Genetic and Metabolic Diseases Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center Jerusalem, Israel MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: As physician scientists and geneticists, our goal is to understand how genetic variation in each of us can impact health and disease. Physicians are often taught that the simplest explanation for a medical condition is the most correct explanation, and have historically searched for a single unifying diagnosis. However, in our own practice, we have met – and learned from – individuals who have more than one genetic condition affecting their health. In the past, it was difficult for physicians to diagnose such individuals. Genetic testing required a physician to recognize the potential for more than one genetic diagnosis in an individual. Single-gene and gene panel testing provided an additional barrier to accurate diagnoses, as they are more narrow in scope, and more than one molecular test was often needed to identify all conditions. Targeted testing also required a physician to accurately pre-suppose which combination of genetic conditions was most likely, and choose the correct targeted tests. The clinical availability of whole exome sequencing (WES) has removed these barriers: WES is a broad-based, unbiased analysis of an individual’s genetic variation that does not pre-suppose a specific genetic cause. If analysis is pursued systematically, WES can identify more than one genetic diagnosis in an individual, even when not suspected. In our study, we have been able to assess the frequency with which individuals can have more than one genetic diagnosis, and have begun to understand how genetic variation at more than one place in the genome can affect how a condition may present. We found that among 7,374 individuals referred for WES, 2,076 (28%) had a molecular diagnosis. Of these 2,076, 5% had two, three, or four molecular diagnoses. In our analyses of the clinical features that may be observed in an individual with two genetic conditions, we found that pairs of diagnoses with overlapping clinical features may be incompletely diagnosed as having one or the other condition, and pairs of diagnoses with very distinct clinical features may be erroneously diagnosed in the clinic as having an entirely new condition. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Colon Cancer, Cost of Health Care, Mammograms, Medical Imaging, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Radiology / 09.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Gregory Cooper, MD Program Director, Gastroenterology UH Cleveland Medical Center Co-Program Leader for Cancer Prevention and Control, UH Cleveland Medical Center Professor, Medicine, CWRU School of Medicine Co-Program Leader for Cancer Prevention and Control UH Seidman Cancer Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The Affordable Care Act, among other features, removed out of pocket expenses for approved preventive services, and this may have served as a barrier to cancer screening in socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. If so, then the gap in screening between socioeconomic groups should narrow following the ACA. The main findings of the study were that although in the pre-ACA era, there were disparities in screening, they narrowed only for mammography and not colonoscopy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nature, Pain Research, Vitamin D / 09.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Formation of vitamin D in the skin with UVB light from the sun is a main source of vitamin D during summer months, but in the winter months the UVB light is too weak for vitamin D production. Headache prevalence has been suggested to be related to increasing latitude (less UVB light throughout the year) and possibly to be less prevalent during summer (more UVB light), which suggests a possible role for vitamin D exposure. Some previous small studies have suggested that low serum vitamin D levels might be associated with more frequent headache or migraine. Our study included 2601 men from the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study (KIHD) from eastern Finland, aged 42-60 years in 1984-1989, which makes it one of the largest studies so far regarding vitamin D and headache. In our study chronic headache (occurring weakly or daily) was reported by 250 men, and men reporting chronic headache had lower serum vitamin D levels than others. When we divided the study population into four groups based on their serum vitamin D levels, the group with the lowest levels had over a twofold risk of chronic headache in comparison to the group with the highest levels. Chronic headache was also more frequently reported by men who were examined outside the summer months of June through September. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Biomarkers / 09.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Paola Sebastiani PhD Department of Biostatistics Boston University School of Public Health Boston, MA 02118 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Human life expectancy has increased steadily in the last century and has led to a growth of the elderly population and a need for prevention strategies and interventions that promote healthy aging. A challenge in assessing the effect of such interventions is ‘what to measure’ because people can age very differently from one another. Our study used 19 blood biomarkers that include for example cholesterol level and hemoglobin A1C to discover 26 biological signatures of aging in approximately 4,700 participants of the Long Life Family Study. These signatures are essentially patterns of values of the 19 biomarkers and we showed that one of these signatures is associated with better physical and cognitive functions, and reduced risk for disease and mortality compared to the most common signature in the study. Additional signatures predict varying risk for diabetes, cardiovascular and other aging-related diseases. We replicated these results in an independent data set. The associations of these biomarker signatures with physical and cognitive functions, and risk for morbidity and mortality support the conclusion that they capture different form of biological aging. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, Nature, Technology / 08.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hyo-Jick Choi, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering University of Alberta Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 1H9 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Respiratory diseases such as influenza transmitted either through breathing aerosols exhaled/coughed out by an infected person or through direct contact. Despite controversy over its efficacy, surgical mask has been widely used by general public during the past respiratory disease outbreaks because of low cost, easy wearability, and widespread use in normal day-to-day situation. Critical issue is that virus captured on the filter of the mask still maintains infectivity for long time, raising concerns of secondary infections and transmissions. This led us to develop a strain-nonspecific and reusable airborne virus deactivation system based on salt recrystallization principle. Salt recrystallization is hypothesized to cause deactivation of viruses transmitted through aerosols via two successive processes: 1) salt on filter fiber dissolves upon exposure to the pathogenic aerosols and 2) salt crystallizes as aerosols evaporate. To demonstrate the concept, we coated the fiber of the surgical mask filter with sodium chloride (NaCl) salt crystal and tested its performance using three different types of influenza viruses. Salt-treated filter provided higher filtration efficiency compared to non-treated regular filter and successfully destroyed multiple subtypes of influenza viruses trapped on the filter within few minutes, leading to significant infectivity loss. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, NEJM / 08.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: John Z. Ayanian, MD, MPP Director of the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and Alice Hamilton Professor of Medicine University of Michigan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Our study assessed the broad economic impact of Medicaid expansion in Michigan – one of several Republican-led states that have chosen to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. About 600,000 low-income adults in Michigan are covered through the program, known as the Healthy Michigan Plan, which began in April 2014. Using an economic modeling tool that is also used to advise the state government for fiscal planning, we found that federal funding for the Healthy Michigan Plan is associated with over 30,000 additional jobs, about $2.3 billion in increased personal income in Michigan, and about $150 million in additional state tax revenue annually. One third of the new jobs are in health care, and 85 percent are in the private sector. The state is also saving $235 million annually that it would have spent on other safety net programs if Medicaid had not been expanded. Thus, the total economic impact of the Healthy Michigan Plan is generating more than enough funds for the state budget to cover the state’s cost of the program from 2017 through 2021. Beginning in 2017, states are required to cover 5 percent of the costs of care for Medicaid expansion enrollees, and the state share of these costs will rise to 10 percent in 2020. The remaining costs are covered by federal funding. (more…)
Author Interviews, Methamphetamine / 07.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Zoe M. Weinstein MD Assistant Professor of Medicine, Boston University Director, Addiction Consult Service Boston Medical Center Boston MA 02118 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Like other chronic, life-long medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes, opioid use disorder (OUD) requires long-term engagement in therapy; however many individuals who participate in Office Based Addiction Treatment are not able to be retained in care long-term. This observational study followed more than 1,200 patients over 12 years with the goal of identifying patient-specific factors associated with retention in the treatment program for longer than one year. While the study found that older age, female, and co-morbid psychiatric diagnosis were associated with greater odds of treatment retention beyond one year, patients who were black or Hispanic, unemployed, and had evidence of hepatitis C viral infection were associated with decreased odds of treatment retention beyond one year. (more…)
Author Interviews, Lancet, Pediatrics, Surgical Research, Weight Research / 07.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Torsten Olbers PhD Department of Gastrosurgical Research Institute of Clinical Sciences University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital Gothenburg Sweden  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The background to study was the lack of effective treatments for adolescents with severe obesity and the observation that many adults undergoing gastric bypass regret that they didn't´t do it earlier. The medical indication is to hopefully prevent development of diseases and organ damage due to cardiovascular risk factors and to enable them to have normalised psychosocial development (education, relation etc). In fact most of the adolescents undergoing surgery had parents having undergone surgery. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, JAMA, Multiple Sclerosis / 07.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof Rogier Q Hintzen Neurologist/immunologist Head MS Centre ErasMS Dept of Neurology Erasmus MC, Rotterdam MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Years ago, we identified soluble (s) CD27 as a biomarker for T cell activation in body fluids, as part of my PhD study. (J Immunol. 1991 Jul 1;147(1):29-35.) As we presume the neuropathology seen in MS is guided by T cells we were interested to be able to quantify the activity of such cells in a given patient. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is as close as we can get to the site of the disease process in MS, therefore we focus on biomarkers in this compartment. We found clearly elevated levels of sCD27 in CSF of Multiple Sclerosis patients versus non-inflammatory controls. In this study we investigated whether at the moment of first attack of suspected Multiple Sclerosis, quantification of CSF sCD27 can predict further progression in to a diagnosis of MS and whether sCD27 levels are correlated with later attack frequency. Indeed, we found that high sCD27 measured at this early stage predicts a more rapid diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis and a more aggressive disease course. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 06.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nathalie Auger MD MSc FRCPC Montréal, Québec MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We carried out this study because congenital heart defects take a large share of birth defects, but not much is known on its risk factors. In previous research, we found that very high temperatures in the summer were associated with a greater risk of stillbirth. We sought to determine whether elevated outdoor heat could also be linked with congenital heart defects in a sample of about 700,000 pregnancies. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research / 06.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rebecca Siegel, MPH Strategic Director, Surveillance Information Services American Cancer Society, Inc. 250 Williams St. Atlanta, GA 30303 MedicalResearch.com: What is the bottom line for incidence and mortality trends? Response: The bottom line for cancer mortality is that in contrast to many other major causes of death, cancer death rates continue to decline, dropping by 25% from 1991 to 2014. This translates to about 2 million fewer cancer deaths over this time period than would be expected if cancer death rates had remained at their peak. Death rates are the best measure of progress against disease. Cancer incidence rates also dropped in men over the past decade of data, whereas in women they are flat. The drop in men is because of large declines for the top 3 cancers (prostate, lung, and colorectum), which account for more than 40% of cancers diagnosed in men. The stable trend in women is largely because declines in lung and colorectal cancers are offset by a flat trend for both breast and uterine corpus (i.e., endometrial) cancers, which combined account for almost 40% of cases in women, as well as rapid increases for thyroid cancer over the past decade -- increasing by almost 5% annually. Importantly, thyroid incidence rates have stabilized in the past few data years because of modifications in diagnostic criteria. (more…)
Abuse and Neglect, Genetic Research, Schizophrenia, UCSD / 06.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brian P. Head, MS, PhD Associate Professor, UCSD Research Scientist, VASDHS Department of Anesthesiology VA San Diego Healthcare System San Diego, CA 92161-9125 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: DISC1 is a schizophrenia associated gene originally identified in a Scottish family. DISC1 protein is highly expressed in the developing brain and in the dentate gyrus of the adult hippocampus, and is involved in neuritogenesis and neuronal signaling. DISC1 is located in multiple intracellular locations including axons and synapses, and loss of DISC1 function causes deficits in neural development, neuronal proliferation, axonal growth, and cytoskeleton modulation, which are consistent with abnormal neural development in schizophrenia. SynCav1 means synapsin-driven caveolin construct. Synapsin promoter is neuronal specific which allows us to increase caveolin expression-specifically in neurons. We have previously shown that SynCav1 increases neuronal signaling and dendritic growth and arborization in vitro (Head BP JBC 2011), and when delivered in vivo augments functional neuroplasticity and improves learning and memory in adult and aged mice (Mandyam CD Biol Psych 2015). Since loss of DISC1 function equates to schizophrenic-like symptoms, then decreased DISC1 expression in Cav-1 KO mice agrees with this premise. Thus, loss of Cav-1 increases their likelihood of developing schizophrenia-like symptoms. Because re-espression of Cav-1 restored DISC1 expression as well as expression of key synaptic proteins, this proof-of-concept findings not only builds upon our previously results demonstrating that Cav-1 is critical for neuronal signaling and functional synaptic plasticity but also strongly links Cav-1 with maintaining normal DISC1 expression levels and potentially attenuating schizophrenia-like symptoms. (more…)
Author Interviews, Technology / 06.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lukas Bereuter, PhD Candidate University of Bern ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research Bern, Switzerland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Today, most electronic implants are powered by primary batteries. After battery depletion, the whole implant has to be replaced by a surgery. This causes repeated interventions in a patients’ life, which bears the risk of complications and is costly. To overcome this problem, several groups presented prototypes of implants that are powered by solar cells that are implanted under the skin. However, precise knowledge of the actual light exposure and expectable power output of such an implant in everyday life was lacking so far. With this study, we investigated the real-life feasibility of a solar-powered implant for the first time. For this, we developed portable light measurement devices that feature solar cells and continuously measure a subcutaneous solar cell’s output power when powered by AGM Solar Batteries. The measurement devices were worn by volunteers in their daily routine in summer, autumn and winter. The study showed, that subcutaneously implanted solar cells could generate enough power in everyday-life to fully power e.g. a cardiac pacemaker. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, Orthopedics / 06.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Charles L. Shapiro, MD Professor of Medicine Co-Director of Dubin Breast Center Director of Translational Breast Cancer Research Director of Cancer Survivorship, Tisch Cancer Institute Mount Sinai Health System Division of Hematology / Medical Oncology: Tisch Cancer Institute New York, NY 10029 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Metastases to bone are frequent in many cancers and cause pain, pathological fractures, necessitate surgical and/or radiation treatments, cause spinal chord compression that can lead to paralysis, and significantly increase health care costs. Zoledronic acid, a bisphosphonate that inhibits bone resorption, is used in standard practice because it reduces the risks skeletal-related events including cancer-related pathological fractures, the need for surgery and/or radiation to bone metastases, and spinal chord compression in patients with breast cancer, prostate cancer and multiple myeloma. However, the optimal dosing interval for zoledronic acid is unknown and based on prior studies and empiricism it is administered monthly along with anti-cancer treatments. In this trial, over 1800 breast cancer, prostate cancer and multiple myeloma patients with bone metastases were randomized to the standard dosing interval of monthly zoledronic acid versus every 3-months zoledronic acid for a duration of two years. The results overall, and in each specific disease site, show that giving zoledronic acid once every 3-months as opposed to monthly did not result in any increase in skeletal-related events. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews / 06.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Emma E. McGinty, PhD, MS Center for Injury Research and Policy and Center for Mental Health and Addiction Policy Research, Department of Health Policy and Management Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore MD 21205 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: All states in the US have some kind of ignition interlock lock, but until this study we didn’t know whether these laws meet their intended goal – to reduce alcohol-involved fatal crashes. Specifically, we lacked evidence on the effectiveness of two different types of interlock laws – mandatory interlock laws, which require all individuals convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol to install an interlock, and partial interlock laws, which require some segments of high-risk DUI offenders – like repeat offenders or those convicted of driving with a very high blood alcohol content – to use an interlock in order to drive legally. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, Medicare, Orthopedics, University of Pennsylvania / 06.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amol Navathe, MD PhD University of Pennsylvania Staff Physician, CHERP, Philadelphia VA Medical Center Assistant Professor of Medicine and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, The Wharton School Co-Editor-in-Chief, HealthCare: the Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Bundled payments pay a fixed price for an episode of services that starts at hospital admission (in this case for joint replacement surgery) and extends 30-90 days post discharge (30 days in this study). This includes physician fees, other provider services (e.g. physical therapy), and additional acute hospital care (hospital admissions) in that 30 day window. (more…)
Author Interviews, Memory, Pediatrics / 06.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Shelley Gray PhD Professor, Speech and Hearing Department of Speech and Hearing Science Arizona State University Tempe, AZ MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Working memory is the part of our human memory system that simultaneously processes and stores incoming information. It is important to understand the structure of working memory so that more tailored assessments and interventions can be developed to help children with poor working memory learn more successfully. In this study we tested four competing models of working memory in second grade students with typical development using the Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM; Gray, Alt, Hogan, Green, & Cowan, n.d.; Cabbage et al., in press). (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Weight Research / 06.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Stacey Lockyer BSc(hons) MSc PhD RNutr Nutrition Scientist British Nutrition Foundation Imperial House 6th Floor London MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This in depth review examines the potential health benefits of resistant starch, a form of starch that is not digested in the small intestine and is therefore considered a type of dietary fibre. Some forms of resistant starch occur naturally in foods such as bananas, potatoes, grains, and pulses, and some are produced or modified commercially and incorporated into food products as a functional ingredient. There has been increasing research interest in resistant starch, with a large number of human studies published over the last 10 years looking at a variety of different health outcomes such as postprandial glycaemia, satiety and gut health. The review summarises reported effects and explores the potential mechanisms of action that underpin them. There is consistent evidence that consumption of resistant starch in place of digestible carbohydrates can aid blood glucose control and this has resulted in an approved health claim in the European Union. There is also some evidence that resistant starch can support gut health and enhance satiety, though much more research is needed in these areas. (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, Fish, NEJM, Pediatrics / 06.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hans Bisgaard, M.D., D.M.Sc. COPSAC, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Asthma and lower respiratory infections are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in pediatric populations. Thus, having low cost, effective, safe options for prevention could have important implications for both clinical practice and public health. The increased use of vegetable oils in cooking and of grain in the feeding of livestock has resulted in an increase in the intake of n−6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and a decrease in the intake of n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially the long-chain poly-unsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) — eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n–3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n–3, DHA) — found in cold-water fish. N3-LCPUFAs are known to have immune-modulatory effects, and observational studies have suggested an association between a diet that is deficient in n−3 LCPUFA during pregnancy and an increased risk of asthma and wheezing disorders in offspring. Only a few randomized, controlled trials of n−3 LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy have been performed and these have generally been underpowered and produced ambiguous results. Therefore, we conducted a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial of n−3 LCPUFA supplementation during the third trimester of pregnancy in a total of 736 Danish women to assess the effect on the risk of persistent wheeze and asthma in offspring. The clinical follow-up rate among children was 96% (N=664) by the end of the 3 years double-blind period and 93% (N=647) after an additional follow-up to age 5 years. (more…)