Author Archives: Marie Benz MD FAAD

About Marie Benz MD FAAD

Physician in practice over 30 years. Editor of MedicalResearch.com. All interviews conducted exclusively for MedicalResearch.com by Marie Benz, MD.

TRAP: Traffic Related Air Pollution Linked to Millions of Pediatric Asthma Cases Worldwide

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Ploy Pattanun Achakulwisut, PhD
Postdoctoral Scientist in Climate change, Air pollution, and Public Health
Milken Institute School of Public Health (Anenberg Group
The George Washington University, D.C 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Dozens of epidemiological studies have found positive and generally statistically significant associations between long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) and asthma development in children. The evidence is most robust for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a major component of and commonly used surrogate for the complex TRAP mixture. Recent reviews conducted by the US Environmental Protection Agency and Health Canada concluded that there is “likely a causal relationship” between long-term NO2 exposure and pediatric asthma development.

Using NO2 as a proxy for TRAP, our study provides the first global estimate of the number of new asthma cases among children that are attributable to traffic pollution, using fine spatial-scale global datasets that can resolve within-city and near-roadway NO2 exposures.

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Lead in Topsoil Linked to Cognitive Difficulties in 5 Year Old Boys

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Edson R. Severnini PhDAssistant Professor Of Economics And Public PolicyCarnegie Mellon University

Dr. Severnini

Edson R. Severnini PhD
Assistant Professor Of Economics And Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Response: Although lead has been banned from gasoline, paint, and other substances in the United States and many other countries around the world, the legacy of lead use is a critical environmental and public health issue. Surface soil contamination, in particular, has been long recognized as an important pathway of human lead exposure, and is now a worldwide health concern.

This study estimates the causal effects of exposure to lead in topsoil on cognitive ability among 5-year-old children. We draw on individual level data from the 2000 U.S. Census, and USGS data on lead in topsoil covering a broad set of counties across the United States.

We find that higher lead in topsoil increases considerably the probability of 5-year-old boys experiencing cognitive difficulties such as learning, remembering, concentrating, or making decisions. Living in counties with topsoil lead concentration above the national median roughly doubles the probability of 5-year-old boys having cognitive difficulties. This harmful effect does not seem to extend to 5-year-old girls, potentially due to the natural protection of estrogen.  Continue reading →

How Many Cancer Patients Use Complementary or Alternative Medicine Treatments?

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Nina Niu Sanford, M.D. Assistant ProfessorUT Southwestern Department of Radiation OncologyDallas TX 75390

Dr. Niu Sanford

Nina Niu Sanford, M.D.
Assistant Professor
UT Southwestern Department of Radiation Oncology
Dallas TX 75390

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Response: There has been increasing interest in use of complementary and alternative medicine in the oncology population – both in terms of its potential efficacy and harms.

The main finding of this study is that approximately 1/3 of cancer patients and survivors self-reported using complementary or alternative medicine over the past year, the most common being herbal supplements.

Of these patients, approximately 1/3 did not disclose to their physicians that they were doing so.

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Stress from Traumatic Events Linked to Increased Risk of Heart Disease

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Huan Song Associated Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Karolinska Institutet

Huan Song

Huan Song, PhD
Center of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine,
University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  

Response: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) presents a group of diseases that are common and sometimes fatal in general population. The possible role of stress-related disorders in the development of CVD has been reported. However, the main body of the preceding evidence was derived from male samples (veterans or active-duty military personnel) focusing mainly on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or self-reported PTSD symptoms. Data on the role of stress-related disorders in CVD in women were, until now, limited. Although incomplete control for familial factors and co-occurring psychiatric disorder, as well as the sample size restriction, limit the solid inference on this association, especially for subtypes of CVD.

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New Probiotic Targets Harmful Intestinal Biofilm in Crohn’s Disese

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Professor Mahmoud A. Ghannoum, PhDDirector of the Center for Medical MycologyCase Western Reserve School of Medicine and UH

Dr. Ghannoum

Professor Mahmoud A. Ghannoum, PhD
Director of the Center for Medical Mycology
Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and UH

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? 

Response: The driving force for this study was our finding that patients with Crohn’s disease had a significantly high level (or abundance) of pathogenic fungi (called Candida tropicalis) as well as bacteria (Escherichia coli, and Serratia Marcescens) compared to their non-diseased first-degree relatives. Not only were their levels high, but these organisms cooperated to form polymicrobial digestive plaque (or digestive biofilms) that aggravated the inflammatory symptoms in these patients.

Based on this we wanted to develop a probiotic that targeted these organisms and the biofilms they form. Our efforts led to the design of the novel Biohm probiotic which we tested and the results were described in our publication.

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Sunshine Act Has Not Increased Number of Patients Who Know Whether Their Own Physician Receives Industry Payments

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Genevieve P. Kanter, PhDAssistant Professor (Research) of Medicine, Medical Ethics and Health PolicyUniversity of Pennsylvania Perelman School of MedicinePhiladelphia, PA  19104-6021

Dr. Kanter

Genevieve P. Kanter, PhD
Assistant Professor (Research) of Medicine
Medical Ethics and Health Policy
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Philadelphia, PA 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  

Response: In 2010, the US Congress—concerned about the adverse influence of financial relationships between physicians and drug and device firms, and the lack of transparency surrounding these relationships—enacted the Physician Payments Sunshine Act. This legislation required pharmaceutical and medical device firms to report, for public reporting through the Open Payments program, the payments that these firms make to physicians.

We sought to evaluate the effect of Open Payments’ public disclosure of industry payments information on US adults’ awareness of the issue of industry payments and knowledge of whether their physicians’ had received industry payments.  Continue reading →

Collagen Biomarker Associated With Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure Risk

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Susana Ravassa PhD
Program of Cardiovascular Diseases, CIMA
University of Navarra, and IdiSNA
Navarra Institute for Health Research
Pamplona, Spain 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an evolving epidemic responsible for substantial morbidity, mortality and health-care expenditure. In particular, when AF and heart failure (HF) occur in combination, clinical evolution is particularly poor. Left atrial (LA) myocardial interstitial fibrosis (MIF) is the main structural lesion in AF and considered as the main factor responsible for the perpetuation of this pathology. In addition, it is known that MIF is associated with a lower effectiveness of the treatment of AF by pulmonary vein isolation with catheter ablation. Therefore, the identification of biomarkers related to MIF, as an affordable and minimally invasive approach, is of great interest to detect patients at risk of AF, as well as to monitor their response to the LA ablation therapy.

We had previously demonstrated that the deleterious impact of MIF in the heart is due to alterations in both the quality (i.e., extent of cross-linking among collagen fibrils and type of collagen fibers that determine their rigidity and resistance to degradation [collagen cross-linking or CCL]) and the quantity (i.e., extent of collagen fibers that occupy the myocardial tissue [collagen deposition or CD]) of fibrotic tissue. We have shown that certain circulating biomarkers related to collagen type I metabolism are associated with CCL and CD. On the one hand, the serum carboxy-terminal propeptide of procollagen type I (PICP), released during the conversion of procollagen type I into fibril-forming mature collagen type I, is directly correlated with myocardial CD.

On the other hand, the ratio of serum carboxy-terminal telopeptide of collagen type I to serum matrix metalloproteinase-1 (serum CITP:MMP-1 ratio) is inversely correlated with myocardial CCL, as the higher is the cross-linking among collagen type I fibrils the lower will be the cleavage of CITP by MMP-1 during the process of degradation of the fiber. Interestingly, we have previously reported that the combination of these biomarkers identifies patients with heart failure presenting with a complex pattern of MIF characterized by both increased CCL and CD (CCL+CD+) showing a higher risk of adverse clinical evolution as compared with heart failure  patients without this combination of biomarkers. As both increased CCL and CD have been found in the left atrial myocardium in patients with AF, we designed this investigation to explore whether the CCL+CD+ combination of biomarkers is associated with AF. Continue reading →

Verubecestat Failed to Slow Progression of Early Alzheimer’s Disease

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Michael F. Egan, MDVice President,  NeuroscienceGlobal Clinical DevelopmentMerck Research LaboratoriesNorth Wales, PAMichael F. Egan, MD
Vice President,  Neuroscience
Global Clinical Development
Merck Research Laboratories
North Wales, PA 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  

Response: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) appears to be due to the gradual accumulation of amyloid over many years (the “amyloid hypothesis”). At some point, it is thought that amyloid triggers abnormalities in tau, which then forms deposits within neurons and leads to progressive neurodegeneration.

Amyloid is made up of  a small, sticky peptide, Abeta, which is produced when the enzyme BACE cleaves a large protein called APP.  In our trial, we tested whether a potent BACE inhibitor, verubecestat, could slow disease progression in subjects with early AD (or prodromal AD) by blocking formation of Abeta.  A previous trial in subjects with dementia due to AD failed to find evidence of efficacy.

One possible reason for this failure is that subjects had too much amyloid in their brain already.

Continue reading →

Parkinson’s Disease: Mindfulness Yoga and Stretching To Reduce Anxiety and Depression

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Jojo Kwok  R.N., BN(Hons), MPH, Ph.D.
School of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
The University of Hong Kong

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Response: Before the study, we knew that mind-body exercises such as yoga and stretching improves the physical health of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), however the benefits to their mental health was not known. This study concludes that mindfulness yoga alleviates psychological distress, improves spiritual well-being and quality of life, not to mention motor symptoms and mobility. When it comes to managing the stress and symptoms of Parkinson Disease, what is exciting, is that yoga has now been proven to be a better strategy than just stretching.

Yoga draws together body, mind and spirit through mindful practice of

1) yoga posture,
2) breathing and
3) meditation.

These form the three core components of our Mindfulness Yoga Program. Mindfulness is non-judgemental awareness of the present moment – of one’s physical sensations and thoughts, be they positive or negative.

By adopting a mind-body approach, patients are much better positioned to reframe their illness journey than through physical training alone. By learning to relate non-judgmentally to their physical symptoms and emotions, they develop new coping skills that cultivate openness, acceptance and resilience to these symptoms. They feel better.  Continue reading →

Does Vitamin D Supplementation Impact Relapse-Free Survival in GI Cancers?

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Mitsuyoshi Urashima MD, PhD, MPH
Professor of Molecular Epidemiology
Jikei University School of Medicine
Tokyo, JAPAN

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  

Response: Serum levels of vitamin D, increase in response to exposure to sunlight, a vitamin D-rich diet, or vitamin D supplementation. In 1989, the risk of colon cancer was estimated to be 70% lower in people with serum vitamin D levels ≥ 20 ng/mL, compared with those < 20 ng/mL.

In a cohort study, higher vitamin D levels were associated with lower total cancer incidence and lower total cancer mortality, particularly digestive system cancer mortality. However, because of the studies’ observational nature, whether lower levels of vitamin D is merely a precursor to relapse and death or causally related to shorter survival cannot be determined.

To clarify this, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial using vitamin D supplement was performed in patients with digestive tract cancer from esophagus to rectum; this is the first trial designed to evaluate the effect of vitamin D on survival of these patients.  Continue reading →

Waivers to Allow PAs and NPs to Prescribe Buprenorphine Vary by State

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Joanne Spetz, PhDProfessorPhilip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy StudiesSan Francisco, CA 94143-0936

Dr. Spetz

Joanne Spetz, PhD
Professor
Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies
San Francisco, CA 94143-0936 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Response: Medication treatment is an important component of treatment for opioid use disorder. Buprenorphine has been the focus of policies designed to increase access to treatment and is the most widely-used medication due to well-established evidence of its efficacy and its accessibility outside licensed narcotics treatment programs. The most common brand name for this medication is Suboxone.

There is a shortage of providers authorized to prescribe it, in part because only physicians were permitted to obtain waivers from the Drug Enforcement Agency to prescribe it outside of licensed narcotics treatment programs until the opioid bill of 2016. That bill granted nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) the ability to apply for waivers. However, in states that require NPs and/or PAs to be supervised by or collaborate with a physician, there are additional requirements regarding the training of the physician before the NP or PA can apply for a waiver. This affects nearly half of states for NPs, and all states for PAs.

We found that the average percentage of NPs with waivers was 5.6% in states that do not require physician supervision, but only 2.4% in more restrictive states. Even after adjusting for other factors, we found that the percentage of NPs with waivers was 75% higher when physician oversight is not required. We didn’t find a similar result for PAs, probably because they must have physician oversight in all states.  Continue reading →

Racial Disparities in Kidney Transplants Persist Despite New Allocation System

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Sanjay Kulkarni, MD MHCM FACSAssociate Professor of Surgery & MedicineSurgical Director – Kidney Transplant ProgramMedical Director – Center for Living Organ DonorsScientific Director – Yale Transplant ResearchNew Haven, CT 06410

Dr. Kulkarni

Sanjay Kulkarni, MD MHCM FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery & Medicine
Surgical Director – Kidney Transplant Program
Medical Director – Center for Living Organ Donors
Scientific Director – Yale Transplant Research
New Haven, CT 06410

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The kidney allocation system changed in December of 2014.

The aim of the new system was to increase transplant in patients who were highly sensitized (difficult matches based on reactive antibodies) and to improve access to underserved populations. Continue reading →

Same Autistic Trait Can Be Helpful or Hindering, Depending on Context

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Ginny Russell, PhDCollege of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter Medical SchoolUniversity of Exeter, College HouseExeter United Kingdom

Dr. Russell

Ginny Russell, PhD
College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter Medical School
University of Exeter
Exeter United Kingdom 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: The study was done to find out what autistic adults could tell us about their own abilities. They told us about their abilities and how these abilities had helped them in their everyday lives: at work, in their relationships with other people, and at home.

Hyper focus, attention to detail, and the ability to remember were the abilities that autistic people said benefitted them most often. But autistic adults who were interviewed said although their autistic traits were sometimes helpful, at other times they hindered their progress. So the same trait might be useful in some circumstances and unhelpful in other situations. For example, hypersensitivity led one person to enjoy nature, but was difficult to cope with in crowded streets. The study highlights this interchangeability.

Continue reading →

Lack of HPV Vaccination in Young Minority Men Is Not a Matter of Access

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Perry N Halkitis, PhD, MS, MPH
Dean and Professor
Department of Urban-Global Public Health
Rutgers Public Health 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Response: The rate of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is high among young minority gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men despite the availability of a vaccine that can prevent the infection, a Rutgers School of Public Health study found.

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Majority of Surveyed Hospitals Prohibit Physician Participation in End of Life Option Act

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Cindy L. Cain, PhDAssistant ProfessorDepartment of SociologyUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamBirmingham, AL 35233 

Dr. Cain

Cindy L. Cain, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Sociology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL 35233  

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: The End of Life Option Act permits terminally ill Californians to request a prescription for medications that would hasten death, providing they meet all requirements of the law and follow the steps outlined by their health care provider.

However, the law also allows health care providers and organizations to opt out of participating. Until now, we did not know how common it was for entire health care organizations to opt out.

In this study, we found that 61% of the surveyed hospitals prohibited physician participation in the End of Life Option Act. Thirty-nine percent of hospitals did allow participation in the law; these participating hospitals were less likely to be religiously affiliated and more likely to be nonprofit.

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Is There a Link Between Benzodiazepines During Pregnancy and Childhood ADHD?

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Angela Lupattelli, PhDSchool of PharmacyUniversity of Oslo

Dr. Lupattelli

Dr. Angela Lupattelli, PhD
School of Pharmacy
University of Oslo

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Response: Between 1-4% of pregnant women take at least once a benzodiazepine and/or a z-hypnotic medication during the course of gestation. These medications are generally used intermittently in pregnancy, mainly for treatment of anxiety disorders and sleeping problems, which are not uncommon conditions among pregnant women.

However, data regarding the safety of benzodiazepine and/or a z-hypnotic in pregnancy on child longer-term development are sparse. For instance, studies on child motor skills are only available up to toddler age, and little is known in relation to other child developmental domains. So, there is an urgent need to better understand whether prenatal use of benzodiazepine and/or a z-hypnotic medication may pose detrimental longer-term child risks. Continue reading →

Integrated Approach to Laboratory Measurements to Identify Acute Kidney Diseases

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Matthew T James MD, PhDAssistant ProfessorUniversity of Calgary

Dr. James

Matthew T James MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of Calgary 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Response: The Acute Kidney Disease and Disorders (AKD) criteria from the KDIGO Acute Kidney Injury guidelines identified many patients who do not meet existing criteria for Chronic Kidney Disease or Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), and the majority of AKD events occured in the community rather than hospital setting.

This study characterized the frequency and outcome for patients with AKD (without  AKI) as well as AKD with CKD from among over 1.1 million adults  residing in Alberta Canada who received  kidney function testing and were followed for up to 8 years.

Continue reading →

Tracing Extrachromosomal DNA Inheritance Patterns in Glioblastoma Using CRISPR

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Eunhee Yi, Ph.D.Postdoctoral AssociateThe Jackson Laboratory

Dr. Yi

Eunhee Yi, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate
The Jackson Laboratory

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Response: Recurrence after therapy for glioblastoma (GBM) is unavoidable. There are substantial differences among the cells of GBM tumors in the abundance and types of genetic materials. This heterogeneity is a major driver of therapy failure and disease progression. We previously reported that extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) elements, which reside outside the linear genome and represent a mechanism to amplify and activate oncogenes, is a potential cause of the increasing genetic diversity in GBM. Our current study is focused on the development of a novel cytogenetic tool to visualize ecDNA to visualize the behavior of these elements in live cells. We have leveraged the unique properties of ecDNA to develop a CRISPR-based “ecDNA tracing toolbox (EDTB)”.  Continue reading →

Surgery Beneficial to Some HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Sharon S. Lum, MD, FACSProfessor in the Department of Surgery-Division of Surgical Oncology Medical Director of the Breast Health CenterLoma Linda University HealthLoma Linda University School of Medicine

Dr. Lum

Sharon S. Lum, MD, FACS, Professor
Department of Surgery-Division of Surgical Oncology
Medical Director of the Breast Health Center
Loma Linda University Health
Loma Linda University School of Medicine 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  

Response: Anecdotally, we observed that many patients with advanced HER2+ breast cancer have had tremendous responses to the new targeted therapies and the oncologists were referring them back to surgeons for consideration of local regional therapy.

While traditionally surgeons have avoided operating on metastatic breast cancer patients due to the patient’s likelihood of dying from their metastatic disease, these HER2+ patients seemed to be doing so well that surgery might make sense. In our surgical oncology clinic, we seemed to be operating more on these patients. Since these patients seemed to be living longer, they might survive long enough for their primary tumor to become a problem for them.

However, we did not have any data to support doing surgery in these cases. Prior studies have demonstrated mixed results regarding the survival benefit from surgery for stage IV breast cancer patients, but these were completed prior to routine use of anti-HER targeted therapies, so we wanted to further examine the role of surgery in HER2+ stage IV breast cancer patients.

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Medicaid Work Requirements Disproportionately Affect Those with Mental Health or Substance Use Disorders

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Hefei Wen, PhDAssistant Professor, Department of Health Management & PolicyUniversity of Kentucky College of Public Health

Dr. Wen

Hefei Wen, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Management & Policy
University of Kentucky College of Public Health

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Work requirements condition Medicaid eligibility on completing a specified number of hours of employment, work search, job training, or community service. Little is known about how behavioral health and other chronic health conditions intersect with employment status among Medicaid enrollees who may be subject to work requirements.

Continue reading →

Acetaminophen and Stroke Risk in Diabetic Nursing Home Patients

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Philippe Girard, MD,
Gérontopôle de Toulouse, CHU Toulouse
Toulouse, France

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The idea for this study came about in 2016 when a systematic review assessing acetaminophen’s adverse event (AEs) profile came out with results suggesting increased mortality and morbidity (Paracetamol: not as safe as we thought? A systematic literature review of observational studies, PMID: 25732175).

Pr Yves Rolland had collected data from his IQUARE study (Improving the Quality of Care of Long-Stay Nursing Home Residents in France, PMID: 26782872) including all prescriptions from over 6000 nursing home residents and all their medical history over an 18 month follow-up period.

We thought it would be a good idea to assess the safety profile of acetaminophen on this geriatric population.  Continue reading →

Medication Abortion Rebounded in Texas After FDA Approved Label Change for Mifeprex®

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Sarah Baum, MPHinvestigator at the Texas Policy Evaluation ProjectAssociate at Ibis Reproductive Health

Sarah Baum

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Sarah Baum, MPH
investigator at the Texas Policy Evaluation Project
Associate at Ibis Reproductive Health

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  

Response: Before 2013, use of medication abortion in Texas mirrored national trends, which have steadily increased since the approval of mifepristone–one of the two medications used for medication abortion–in 2000. However, House Bill 2 (HB 2), which was implemented on November 1, 2013, imposed restrictions on medication abortion and required providers to follow the outdated mifepristone label. HB 2 reduced the gestational age limit to 49 days and generally required four visits.

On March 29, 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a revised label for Mifeprex® (mifepristone 200 mg) that reflected evidence-based practice, which essentially nullified the medication abortion restrictions in HB 2. The label change brought medication abortion prescribing guidelines in line with evidence-based practice, reducing the number of required in-person visits from four to two and extending the period when patients can take the pill from seven weeks of pregnancy to 10 weeks. Continue reading →

Is There a Risk of Bleeding With Ibuprofen After Tonsillectomy ?

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Gillian R. Diercks, MD, MPHInstructor in Otolaryngology, Harvard Medical SchoolDepartment of OtolaryngologyMassachusetts Eye and Ear InfirmaryBoston, Massachusetts

Dr. Diercks

Gillian R. Diercks, MD, MPH
Instructor in Otolaryngology, Harvard Medical School
Department of Otolaryngology
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Boston, Massachusetts 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Pediatric tonsillectomy is a commonly performed procedure, representing the second most common ambulatory surgery performed on children in the United States, with over half a million children undergoing the surgery annually.  A major concern for surgeons, patients, and their families is the issue of postoperative pain control as pain can last up to 10-14 days after surgery, be quite severe, and result in readmission to the hospital or ED visits for medications and dehydration.

In young children and children with sleep apnea we cannot safely administer narcotic pain medications at home.  This leaves limited options for pain control, including acetaminophen and ibuprofen.  However, there are concerns that ibuprofen could potentially increase bleeding risk after surgery because of its effects on platelet function in the blood.  At baseline, the risk of postoperative hemorrhage within the first two weeks after tonsillectomy is around 4.5%, with about 1-1.5% of children requiring a return to the operating room to control severe bleeding.  Our study set out to show that the risk of severe postoperative bleeding when ibuprofen is given for 9 days after tonsillectomy was not increased compared with the bleeding risk when acetaminophen was administered instead.

Our study could not conclude that the risk of bleeding is no different when ibuprofen is used, and was suggestive that the bleeding risk may actually be higher. Continue reading →

Peptide May Reduce Inflammation in Kidney Disease

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Rudolf Lucas, PhDProfessor Pharmacology and ToxicologyVascular Biology Center, Division of Pulmonary Medicine

Dr. Lucas

Rudolf Lucas, PhD
Professor Pharmacology and Toxicology
Vascular Biology Center, Division of Pulmonary Medicine

Michael P. Madaio, MDSydenstricker Professor and ChairmanDepartment of Medicine

Dr. Madaio


Michael P. Madaio, MD
Sydenstricker Professor and Chairman
Department of Medicine

Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
Augusta, Georgia 30912, USA.

 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a crucial mediator of glomerulonephritis, but the cytokine is also important in defense to bacterial infections. As such, chronically inhibiting TNF, using soluble TNF receptor constructs or neutralizing anti-TNF antibodies can promote infection.

In this study, we wanted to develop a novel therapeutic strategy to specifically inhibiting deleterious TNF signaling, while preserving the beneficial anti-bacterial actions of the cytokine.

Continue reading →

Massive Reduction in Cervical Cancer Among Vaccinated Young Women

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Tim PalmerHonorary Senior LecturerDepartment of PathologyUniversity of EdinburghEdinburgh, UK

Dr. Palmer

Dr. Tim Palmer
Honorary Senior Lecturer
Department of Pathology
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, UK 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Response: High risk HPV infection is the obligate cause of between 70 and 90% of cervical cancers, depending upon the country. The development of vaccines against the commonest hr-HPV types has the potential to reduce the burden of cervical cancer, especially in low and middle income countries that cannot afford screening programmes. Cervical cancer affects predominantly women in their 30s and is a major public health issue even in countries with well-established screening programmes. Scotland has had a successful immunisation programme since 2008, and women immunised at age 12 to13 have been screened since 2015. We can therefore demonstrate the effect of hr-HPV immunisation on the pre-invasive stages of cervical cancer.

Continue reading →