Author Interviews, Autism, Emory, Pediatrics / 25.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Warren Jones, PhD Director of Research, Marcus Autism Center Children's Healthcare of Atlanta CHOA Distinguished Chair in Autism Asst. Professor, Dept. of Pediatrics Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta, Georgia 30329 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: These results help clarify an important and longstanding question in autism: why do children with autism look less at other people’s eyes? Two ideas for reduced eye contact in autism have been proposed: - One idea is that children with autism avoid eye contact because they find it stressful and negative. - The other idea is that children with autism look less at other people’s eyes because the social cues from the eyes are not perceived as particularly meaningful or important. This study is important because each idea reflects a very different understanding of what autism is. And maybe even more importantly, each idea reflects a very different view about the right treatment approach to autism and to reduced eye contact in autism. To answer this question, we used eye-tracking technology to study how 86 children with and without autism paid attention to other people’s eyes. Children were tested when they were just two years old, at their time of initial diagnosis. (more…)
Author Interviews, HIV, NEJM, University of Pennsylvania / 24.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Katharine J Bar, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Attending Physician, Infectious Diseases, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Physician, International Travel Medicine, Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine Director, Penn CFAR Viral and Molecular Core MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The passive administration of monoclonal antibodies has revolutionized many fields of medicine. Anti-HIV monoclonal antibodies are being explored as components of novel therapeutic and curative strategies, as they can both neutralize free virus and kill virus-infected cells. We sought to determine whether passive administration of an anti-HIV monoclonal antibody, VRC01, to chronically HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral medications (ART) would be safe and well tolerated and could delay virus rebound after discontinuation of their ART. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Genetic Research / 23.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mauro D’Amato Ikerbasque Research Professor Head, Unit of Gastrointestinal Genetics, Department of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases BioDonostia Health Research Institute San Sebastian, Spain MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a very common condition, whose underlying pathophysiology is poorly understood. People with IBS often complain certain foods trigger their symptoms and, at least in some patients, incomplete breakdown of carbohydrates may result in malabsorption with diarrhoea, bloating and abdominal pain. At the extreme of the spectrum of such clinical manifestations, this is what happens in a hereditary form of sucrose intolerance, the congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency (CSID) due to mutations in the Si gene that lead to defective enzymatic disaccharidase activity in the gut. Because IBS shows genetic predisposition, we tested the hypothesis that mutations and DNA variants affecting SI enzyme function may confer increased risk of IBS. We studied almost 2000 individuals from several clinics from Europe and USA, and found out that rare SI mutations and other more common defective DNA variants are indeed more frequent in patients than healthy controls. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Geriatrics, Radiation Therapy / 23.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Emily C. Daugherty, MD Upstate Medical University Radiation Oncology Resident, PGY-4 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Adjuvant radiation following breast conserving surgery has been well established in the management of early-stage breast cancer as it has been shown to decrease the incidence of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrences and also reduce breast cancer mortality. Large prospective trials have shown for elderly patients with favorable, ER positive pathology, omission of radiation after lumpectomy can be considered. However, women with ER negative disease were typically not included in these trials and given their higher risk for relapse as well as lack of effective endocrine therapy, we hypothesized that adjuvant radiation would benefit women over 70 years with early-stage, ER negative tumors. (more…)
Author Interviews, Neurological Disorders, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics / 23.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marius George Linguraru, DPhil, MA, MB Principal Investigator Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Radiology George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Children’s National Health System Washington, DC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is the most common cancer predisposition syndrome affecting the central nervous with an incidence of one in 3,000 births. Nearly one in five children with NF1 develops an optic pathway glioma (OPG), a low-grade tumor of the anterior visual pathway (i.e., optic nerves, chiasm and tracts). These tumors are not amenable to surgical resection and can cause permanent vision loss ranging from a mild decline in visual acuity to complete blindness. Only half of children with NF1-OPGs will experience vision loss, typically between 1 to 6 years of age. The other half will never lose vision or require treatment. All previous studies have consistently demonstrated that the change in NF1-OPG size is not related to the clinical outcome. For example, the optic pathway glioma size may be stable or even decrease, yet the vision will decline. Alternatively, the OPG size may increase, yet the clinical outcome remains stable or even improves. As no imaging or clinical features can identify which children with NF1-OPGs will ultimately lose vision, clinicians struggle to follow these children and decide when to intervene. We used quantitative imaging technology to accurately assess in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) the total volume of OPGs in NF1. We also determined the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in these children, a measure of axonal degeneration and an established biomarker of visual impairment. The results were outstanding, as we showed for the first time that the volume of an optic pathway glioma is indeed correlated with the likelihood of vision loss in children with Neurofibromatosis type 1. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Genetic Research / 22.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Dr. Regina Betz and Dr. Buket Basmanav Ünalan (first author) Institute of Human Genetics University of Bonn Bonn, Germany MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Up to know, the cause for uncombable hair was totally unknown. We identified now mutations in three genes, all being responsible for uncombable hair syndrome. Of interest, the corresponding proteins, namely, PADI3, TGM3 and TCHH, are all in the same cascade that is responsible for the formation and mechanical strengthening of the hair shaft. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA / 22.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Vinay Kini, MD, MS Division of Cardiovascular Medicine Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania The Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Recent studies have shown that use of cardiac stress tests has declined by about 25% among Medicare beneficiaries and by about 50% in Kaiser Permanente over the last several years. However, the reasons for these declines is not well understood. Decreases in the use of stress testing could be due to dissemination of appropriate use criteria and other clinical practice guidelines, advances in preventive care, reductions in reimbursement for testing, or other health system organizational characteristics. Therefore, our goal was to determine whether similar declines in testing are observed among a nationally representative cohort of commercially insured patients. We identified over 2 million stress tests performed among 33 million members of the commercial insurance company, and found that there was a 3% increase in the overall use of stress testing in this cohort between 2005 and 2012. Declines in the use of nuclear SPECT tests were offset by increases in the use of stress echocardiography, exercise electrocardiography, and newer stress test modalities such as coronary computed tomography angiography. The largest increase in use of testing was seen among younger individuals - there was a 60% increase in use of testing among patients aged 25-34, and a 30% increase among individuals aged 35-44. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Pediatrics, Social Issues / 22.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Charles Opondo, BPharm MSc PhD. Researcher in Statistics and Epidemiology National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit Nuffield Department of Population Health University of Oxford Oxford MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Our study measured fathers’ involvement in their child’s upbringing in infancy by looking at their emotional response to their child (e.g. feeling confident with the child, making a strong bond with the child), how involved they were in childcare (e.g. changing nappies, playing, night feeding, and also general care tasks around the house such as meal preparation) and their feelings of being a secure in their role as a parent (e.g. feeling included by mother in childcare, not feeling inexperienced with children). We found that the children of fathers who scored highly in terms of their emotional response and feeling like a secure parent were less likely to have symptoms of behavioural problems when they were 9 or 11 years. However, fathers being more involved in direct childcare did not seem to affect the child’s risk of having later behavioural problems. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Dermatology, JAMA, UCLA / 22.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Albert Yoon-Kyu Han, PhD Class of 2017 Medical Scientist Training Program David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lip makes up a large portion of oral cancers (25%). Most of the demographic and prognostic indicators for lip SCC are only available through retrospective case series. Thus, we used the national cancer database (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results, or SEER) to examine the incidence, treatment, and survival of patients with lip SCC. The main findings of this study were that lip Squamous cell carcinoma predominantly affects white men in their mid-60s. We also found that the determinants of survival for lip SCC include age at diagnosis, primary site, T stage, and N stage. More specifically, on the primary site, SCC of the upper and lower lip had similar survival, whereas SCC of the oral commissure was associated with decreased survival. (more…)
Author Interviews, NEJM, Outcomes & Safety, Surgical Research / 22.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alan Karthikesalingam MD PhD, NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Vascular Surgery St George's Vascular Institute London, UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The background for this study was that the typical diameter at abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)  repair, and the population incidence of AAA repair, have been known to vary considerably between different countries. This study aimed to observe whether a discrepancy in the population incidence rate of AAA repair between England and the USA was seen alongside a discrepancy in population rates of AAA-related mortality or AAA rupture in those countries. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Education, Surgical Research / 22.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Dmitri Alden MD, FACS Surgical Oncologist, specializes in liver cancer, bile duct cancer, metastatic ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer at Lenox Hill Hospital, NY Dr. Alden is an advocate of the role of empathy in medicine and discusses his passion for compassionate care in this interview. Please see his bio and website at http://www.liversurgeryny.com. MedicalResearch.com: Why do you feel that empathy is a vital part of treating a patient? Response: Over the last decade many physicians, patients and other professionals began to recognize that medical care is much more than treatment with medications or an act of surgery. Healing involves pain and suffering and dealing with psychological issues connected to the stress of being taken out of one’s normal life routine. Pain is now considered a “vital sign” and only recently it became mandatory to address it properly and document it in a medical record. Empathy in my opinion is a “vital sign” of any relationship that forms between a patient and a medical professional. When expressed genuinely, it makes a tremendous impact on patient’s overall experience and recovery. MedicalResearch.com: How do you define empathy in regards to medical treatment? Response: Empathy is understanding and true genuine caring. Patients and doctors create a unique and very personal relationship built on trust and “chemistry”. The doctor’s ability to express empathy, step in the patient’s shoes, get to know their life, loves, personal problems and to structure care around this unique individual enhances the patient’s belief in the route of treatment chosen and the doctor’s ability to provide a cure. MedicalResearch.com: Do you feel that the medical system doesn't emphasize empathy enough? Response: Doctors are trained without an emphasis on empathy. They focus on acquiring immense amounts of information that need to be learned during medical school and residency. Emotions are currently left to the side in order to succeed. The end product is often a machine that knows what to do in any medical situation but has difficulty to connect on an emotional level. I feel that empathy is also a very important step towards achieving successful outcomes because a patient will feel more invested in following the doctor's advice if he feels there is compassion and understanding. (more…)
ADHD, Author Interviews, JAMA, Neurological Disorders, NIH / 22.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gustavo Sudre, PhD Section on Neurobehavioral Clinical Research, Social and Behavioral Research Branch National Human Genome Research Institute Bethesda, Maryland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: ADHD is the most common childhood neuropsychiatric disorder, affecting 7-9% of school age children. It is highly heritable (h2=0.7), but few risk genes have been identified. In this study, we aimed to provide quantitative brain-based phenotypes to accelerate gene discovery and understanding. ADHD is increasingly viewed as resulting from anomalies of the brain’s connectome. The connectome is comprised of the structural connectome (white matter tracts joining different brain regions) and the functional connectome (networks of synchronized functional activity supporting cognition). Here, we identified features of the connectome that are both heritable and associated with ADHD symptoms. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Infections / 22.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Adam Friedman, MD, FAAD Associate Professor of Dermatology Residency Program Director Director of Translational Research Department of Dermatology George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study was developed out of a session I and my colleague, Neal Bhatia, held at the 2016 Orlando Dermatology Aesthetic and Clinical Conference. As an interactive session which had the audience answer whether they clinically thought an image was representative of a fungal skin infection or not, we collected audience responses and were impressed by how even dermatologists struggle with making this diagnosis clinically. This is not so surprising given the protean nature and diverse presentations of these infections, not to mention the many mimics which are not due to infection. Only one of the thirteen images shown was appropriately diagnosed by 90% of the audience. This highlights that the importance of using bedside diagnostic techniques such as KOH preps and culture to identify underlying cause in order to appropriately use the right therapy for the right condition. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Bone Density, JAMA, Kaiser Permanente, Osteoporosis, Pharmacology / 22.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joshua I. Barzilay, MD Kaiser Permanente of Georgia Duluth, GA 30096 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Hypertension (HTN) and osteoporosis (OP) are age-related disorders. Both increase rapidly in prevalence after age 65 years. Prior retrospective, post hoc studies have suggested that thiazide diuretics may decrease the risk of osteoporosis. These studies, by their nature, are open to bias. Moreover, these studies have not examined the effects of other anti HTN medications on osteoporosis. Here we used a prospective blood pressure study of ~5 years duration to examine the effects of a thiazide diuretic, a calcium channel blocker and an ACE inhibitor on hip and pelvic fractures. We chose these fractures since they are almost always associated with hospitalization and thus their occurrence can be verified. After the conclusion of the study we added another several years of follow up by querying medicare data sets for hip and pelvic fractures in those participants with medicare coverage after the study conclusion. (more…)
Author Interviews, Immunotherapy, Multiple Sclerosis / 22.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with Ralph Kern, M.D. Senior vice president, Worldwide Medical Biogen MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Previously reported clinical trials of daclizumab demonstrated significant efficacy across clinical and MRI measures, compared to placebo and interferon beta-1a 30 mcg intramuscular (IM) injection, and established the therapy’s safety profile for up to two to three years. These trials were the basis for approval by health authorities in the United States, European Union and Australia. Daclizumab is a once-monthly, self-administered, subcutaneous therapy for relapsing forms of MS (RMS). At ECTRIMS we presented the first interim results from EXTEND, a long-term extension study. EXTEND is an ongoing multicenter, open-label study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of daclizumab treatment in more than 1,500 patients with RMS. This interim ECTRIMS analysis includes up to five years of data from patients who were previously enrolled in DECIDE. DECIDE was a Phase 3 study evaluating the effects of daclizumab relative to interferon beta-1a IM. In the new analysis, patients who were treated with interferon beta-1a IM for two to three years in DECIDE switched to daclizumab when they enrolled in EXTEND, and were compared to daclizumab patients treated continuously in both DECIDE and EXTEND. (more…)
Author Interviews, Johns Hopkins, Kidney Disease, Nutrition, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 21.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Deidra C. Crews, MD, ScM, FASN, FACP Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology Associate Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion, Department of Medicine Director, Doctoral Diversity Program Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore MD 21224 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Studies suggest that dietary patterns influence risk of kidney function decline. Barriers may hinder urban African Americans' following healthful diets that could mitigate their increased risk of kidney function decline. In this study, we characterized contextual barriers to healthful eating among urban African Africans with hypertension and examined the association of these barriers to kidney function decline over 1 year. We examined the presence of healthy foods in neighborhood stores of study participants. We also assessed them for food insecurity (the inability to afford nutritionally adequate and safe foods), directly observed and documented the presence of fruits and vegetables in their homes, and examined their fruit and vegetable intake via questionnaire. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Neurological Disorders, Parkinson's / 21.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Adolfo Ramirez Zamora, MD Associate Professor of Neurology and Phyllis E. Dake Endowed Chair in Movement Disorders Department of Neurology Albany Medical College MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Patients with SPG 11 mutations can present with motor symptoms characterized by juvenile onset dystonia, Parkinsonism and lower extremity spasticity. Parkinsonism appears to be responsive to levodopa therapy early in the disease but treatment is complicated by the occurrence of motor fluctuations resembling parkinson disease. Patients have short duration of medication effects, unpredictable response to medications along with generalized, excessive involuntary movements known as dyskinesias. Deep Brain stimulation is a well-established treatment for movement disorders but it has never been used in this disease. We first report the clinical outcome obtained with globus pallidus internal deep brain stimulation in a patient with parkinsonism, dystonia, dyskinesias related to SPG 11. Additionally, we report for the first time the basal ganglia changes observed in the disease using intraoperative neuronal recordings. Patient had a sustained and remarkable response to stimulation over the next two years without side effects. Neurophysiologic changes revealed a unique pattern of neuronal firing despite of the resemblance to advance Parkinsons disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, Kidney Disease, UCSF / 21.11.2016

Tanushree Banerjee, PhD Research Specialist in the Department of Medicine Division of General Internal Medicine UCSFMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tanushree Banerjee, PhD Research Specialist in the Department of Medicine Division of General Internal Medicine UCSF MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Acidosis is usually noted in advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) while it is relatively unexplored whether changes in the undetermined anions, as measured by anion gap occur earlier in the course of CKD. Consumption of animal-sourced protein is acid-inducing and therefore such diet presumably increases undetermined anions. Since higher dietary acid load is associated with progression of CKD, we wanted to explore whether the increase in undetermined anions in moderate CKD is associated with CKD progression. (more…)
Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Emergency Care, Heart Disease, Kidney Disease / 21.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Paul E Ronksley, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Community Health Sciences Cumming School of Medicine University of Calgary Calgary Canada MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Prior studies have observed high resource use among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which is related to the medical complexity of this patient population. However, there has been limited exploration of how patients with CKD use the emergency department (ED) and whether utilization is associated with disease severity. While the ED is essential for providing urgent or emergent care, identifying ways of improving ED efficiency and decreasing wait times has been recognized as a priority in multiple countries. Improving coordination and management of care for patients with multiple chronic conditions (the norm for CKD) in an outpatient setting may meet health care needs and ultimately improve patient experience and outcomes while reducing the burden currently placed on the ED. However, this requires an understanding of ED use among patients with CKD and the proportion of use that is amenable to outpatient care. Using a large population-based cohort we explored how rates of ED use vary by kidney disease severity and the proportion of these events that are potentially preventable by high quality ambulatory care. We identified all adults (≥18 years) with eGFR<60 mL/min/1.73m2 (including dialysis-dependent patients) in Alberta, Canada between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011. Patients with CKD were linked to administrative data to capture clinical characteristics and frequency of ED encounters, and followed until death or end of study (March 31, 2013). Within each CKD category we calculated adjusted rates of overall  emergency departmentt use, as well as rates of potentially preventable ED encounters (defined by 4 CKD-specific ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs); heart failure, hyperkalemia, volume overload, malignant hypertension). (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Fertility, OBGYNE / 21.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: David McLernon PhD MPhil BSc Research Fellow in Medical Statistics Medical Statistics Team Institute of Applied Health Sciences University of Aberdeen Foresterhill Aberdeen MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Normally when a couple attend a fertility clinic to begin IVF treatment they are only informed about their chances of having a baby for the first attempt of IVF. In actual fact the first treatment is often unsuccessful and many couples will go on to have several complete cycles of the treatment– each involving the transfer of one or two fresh embryos potentially followed by one or more frozen embryo transfers. We felt that a prediction model that could calculate the chances of having a baby over the complete package of treatment would provide better information for couples. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Kidney Disease / 21.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Csaba P. Kovesdy Fred Hatch Professor of Medicine Director, Clinical Outcomes and Clinical Trials Program Division of Nephrology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center Nephrology Section Chief, Memphis VA Medical Center Memphis TN, 38163 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Many ESRD patients initiate dialysis in an inpatient setting. This practice is expensive, and carries potential risks (e.g. hospital associated infections, medication errors, etc.). There is very little information about the characteristics of patients who transition to ESRD (i.e. start dialysis) in an inpatient setting, and about their outcomes. We examined a cohort of >50,000 US veterans who started dialysis during 2007-2011, and found that about half of them performed their first treatment in an inpatient setting. Compared to patients starting dialysis as outpatients, those who transitioned in an inpatient setting had a significantly higher prevalence of comorbid conditions, and were much less likely to have received pre-dialysis nephrology care, or to have a mature AV fistula or AV graft at the first hemodialysis treatment. Mortality was significantly higher in the inpatient start group, but the differences were attenuated by adjustment for comorbid conditions and vascular access. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Heart Disease, Surgical Research / 21.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr James Spratt Bsc, MD, FRCP, FESC, FACC Spire Edinburgh Hospitals and Spire Murrayfield Edinburgh Spire Shawfair Park Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Gender differences exist between male and female patients following routine PCI but data regarding these differences in Chronic Total Occlusions (CTO) Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) is limited. We maintain a dedicated national (United Kingdom) prospective CTO database contributed to by dedicated CTO PCI operators (lifetime CTO PCI >300). We retrospectively analysed this database from 2011-2015 to compare outcomes and characteristics of male versus female patients undergoing CTO PCI. We attempted to limit the bias of this observational study by propensity matched analysis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Herpes Viruses, Vaccine Studies / 21.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Elisabeth J. Cohen, MD NYU Langone Medical Center MedicalResearch.com Editor’s note: Elisabeth J. Cohen, MD, of NYU Langone Medical Center, will head a five year study to evaluate new treatment protocols for herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO). Herpes zoster ophthalmicus is a form of shingles that can cause prolonged pain and permanently damage the eye. Dr Cohen and NYU have received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the longer-term use of suppressive antiviral medication to reduce complications of HZO, MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Can you tell us a little about herpes zoster/shingles? Response: The rationale for the study is two-fold: First: the accumulating evidence that zoster is followed by chronic active infection caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV) that contributes to complications including vision threatening eye disease and life threatening stroke. Second: the proven efficacy of suppressive antiviral treatment in reducing recurrent herpes simplex virus eye disease, caused by a different herpes virus, but with similar disease manifestations. Zoster/shingles is caused by localized, unilateral reactivation of varicella zoster virus (VZV) in people who have had varicella/chicken pox resulting in a painful blistering rash that can be followed by chronic pain/postherpetic neuralgia. There are over one million new cases of zoster per year, and the incidence has increased over the past 6 decades for unknown reasons. Although the rate of zoster increases with age, the largest number of cases occur in people in their fifties. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Microbiome, Nutrition / 21.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Over the last few decades, our intake of dietary fiber has fallen drastically mainly due to the consumption of processed food, which has been connected to increased cases of intestinal diseases including colon cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. The gut microbiota is essential for us as it allows our body to digest dietary fiber contained in fruits and vegetables, that could otherwise not be processed. Changed physiologies and abundances of the gut microbiota following a fiber-deprived diet have been commonly linked to several intestinal diseases. However, the mechanisms behind these connections have remained poorly understood. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA / 21.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Doug Owens MD former USPSTF Task Force member Professor at Stanford University Henry J. Kaiser, Jr. Professor Director of the Center for Health Policy Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research Department of Medicine and School of Medicine Stanford MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for review and statement? Response: Cardiovascular disease is serious—it can lead to heart attacks and strokes, and is responsible for one in every three adult deaths in the U.S. People with no signs or symptoms and no past history of cardiovascular disease can still be at risk. Fortunately, some people can benefit from taking a medication called statins to reduce that risk. (more…)
Author Interviews, C. difficile / 21.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yvette van Beurden PhD student Gastroenterology & Hepatology / Medical Microbiology & Infection Control VU University medical center Amsterdam, the Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The use of fecal microbiota transfer (FMT), which is defined as the transfer of intestinal microbiota from healthy donors to patients, has gained momentum across the globe, since it was established as a highly effective method for treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), with cure rates around 85%. However, worldwide implementation of FMT is currently limited by a lack of uniform guidelines, concerns about safety, and remaining uncertainty of long-term side effects. In our study, we reported the long-term follow up of patients treated with FMT for recurrent CDI. With a primary cure rate of 82%, our study supports the currently available evidence that fecal microbiota transfer is a very effective treatment for recurrent CDI. Importantly, a first post-FMT recurrence of CDI can be successfully treated with antibiotics. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 21.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Liping Pan, MD MPH Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, GA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This CDC report is the first to use the WIC Participant Characteristic (WIC PC) data from the USDA to monitor trends in obesity among young children aged 2 to 4 years in the WIC program. The main findings of the study are: • 34 of 56 (61%) WIC state agencies reported modest decreases in obesity among young children from 2010 to 2014. • From 2000 to 2010, the prevalence of obesity among 2-4 year olds increased from 14.0% to 15.9%, then dropped to 14.5% from 2010 to 2014. • Obesity prevalence varied by state, ranging from 8.2 percent in Utah to 20.0 percent in Virginia. • From 2010 to 2014, obesity prevalence decreased among all major racial/ethnic groups, including non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanics, American Indians/Alaska Natives, and Asians/Pacific Islanders. • From 2000 to 2014, obesity prevalence decreased significantly among Asian/Pacific Islanders, from 13.9 percent to 11.1 percent. (more…)
Author Interviews, Technology / 21.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: YuHao Liu (Howard) Materials Research Laboratory University of Illinois Urbana Champaign MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Our research group has been working on developing the next-generation wearable technology - integrating electronic tattoos on human skin for healthcare monitoring. This novel platform allows us to explore new sensors and actuators that are better than the commercially available ones. We have developed sensors that can measure temperature, pressure, hydration, electrophysiology..etc. However, no one ever think about capturing sound from the body until our team developed this new technology. In fact, body sounds can be important indicator in healthcare monitoring or even disease diagnostic. (more…)
Author Interviews, Colon Cancer, Gout, NYU, Rheumatology / 20.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael Pillinger, MD Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology NYU School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We are interested in the co-morbidities of gout and the fact that gout is accompanied by multiple cardiovascular, renal and other events. The implications of gout for cancer are less clear, but the basic biology suggests that either: 1) the acute and chronic inflammation of gout could contribute to a pro-cancer environment; 2) the anti-oxidant effects of urate could have anti-cancer properties; 3) the ability of uric acid to serve as a "danger signal" released from dying cells (potentially including cancer cells" could promote anti-cancer immunity. The clinical literature is murky at best. (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, JAMA, Pediatrics / 20.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Melanie Penner, MD FRCP (C) Clinician investigator and developmental pediatrician Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Studies have shown that accessing intensive behavioral intervention (IBI) services at younger ages is associated with improved outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In Ontario, Canada, children wait years to access publicly-funded IBI. This analysis estimated costs and projected adult independence for three IBI wait time scenarios: the current wait time, a wait time reduced by half, and an eliminated wait time. The model inputs came from published literature. The main findings showed that eliminating the wait time generated the most independence and cost the least amount of money to both the government and society. With no wait time for intensive behavioral intervention, the government would save $53,000 (2015 Canadian dollars per person) with autism spectrum disorder over their lifetime, and society would save $267,000 (2015 Canadian dollars). (more…)