Author: Marie Benz MD FAAD
21 Nov Without Fiber, Gut Bacteria Begin To Eat Our Intestinal Lining
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29871" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Mahesh Desai[/caption]
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.
21 Nov USPSTF Updates Recommendation of Statins for Prevention of Heart Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29860" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Doug Owens[/caption]
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.
21 Nov Fecal Microbiota Transfer Effective in Over 80% of Recurrent C. Diff Infection
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.21 Nov Despite Recent Modest Declines, Childhood Obesity Prevalence Remains High
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.21 Nov Tiny Skin-Mounted Sensor Can Monitor Heart, GI and Voice Sounds
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29851" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Tiny Skin Sensor Can Monitor Body Sounds[/caption]
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.
20 Nov How Does Gout Affect Risk of Colon Cancer?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29599" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. Michael Pillinger[/caption]
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.
20 Nov Autism: Timely Access to Behavioral Intervention Decreases Overall Costs
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29602" align="alignleft" width="193"]
Dr. Melanie Penner[/caption]
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).
20 Nov Increased Risk of Heart Disease in Postmenopausal Women With History of Weight Cycling
Posted at 20:46h
in Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Menopause, Weight Research, Women's Heart Health
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_29651" align="alignleft" width="195"]
Dr. Somwail Rasla[/caption]
Somwail Rasla, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island
Brown University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Weight cycling has been studied as a possible risk factors for all-cause mortality and was found to be insignificant in some studies and significant in other studies when adjusted to age and timing of when the weight cycling occurred. It was proposed that weight cycling may increase risk of chronic inflammation by which weight cycling was considered to be a risk factor for increased morbidity and all cause mortalities. Other studies have reported that frequent weight cycling was associated with shorter telomere length, which is a risk factor for several comorbidities including CHD. Earlier studies showed that weight cycling has an association with increase in size of adipocytes as well as fluctuation of serum cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, and glucagon which may contribute to the increased incidence of diabetes. Alternatively, in the nurses’ health study , weight cycling was not predictive of cardiovascular or total mortality.
20 Nov Difficulty Smelling May Lead to Malnutrition In Chronic Kidney Disease Patients
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29645" align="alignleft" width="197"]
Dr. Teodor G. Paunescu[/caption]
Dr. Teodor G. Paunescu PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Boston
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Patients with kidney disease frequently report food aversion and poor dietary intake leading to malnutrition, a complication associated with high morbidity and mortality. However, there are no effective treatments currently available to address this complication, and the mechanisms underlying anorexia and food aversion in these patients remain unclear.
Because of the critical role of olfaction in flavor appreciation and dietary intake, we decided to quantify olfactory (smelling) deficits in advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients.
We found that patients with kidney disease have significant olfactory deficits that need objective assessments for accurate characterization. Our results also indicate that olfactory deficits likely attribute to nutritional impairment in patients with kidney disease.
20 Nov Kidney Organoids Derived from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Model Polycystic Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29634" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Ryuji Morizane[/caption]
Dr. Ryuji Morizane MD, PhD
Associate Biologist, Renal Division
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Affiliated Faculty, Harvard Stem Cell Institute
Instructor, Harvard Medical School
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) accounts for 10% of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), and there is currently no curable treatment available for patients with PKD.
The adult onset form of PKD, the most common type of PKD, takes 30 years to form cysts in humans; therefore, it is difficult to study mechanisms of PKD to find novel therapeutics for patients.
20 Nov Deadly Batteries: Number of Serious Button Battery Incidents Still Not Decreasing
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Toby Litovitz, MD Executive & Medical Director, National Capital Poison Center Professor of Emergency Medicine, Georgetown University Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine The George Washington University Washington DC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Over the past decade, a dramatic and persistent rise in the severity of swallowed batteries has been attributed to increased use of 20 mm diameter lithium coin cell batteries. With its larger diameter compared to traditional button cells, these cells get stuck in the esophagus of small children. There the greater voltage (3 V for lithium coin cells rather than 1.5 V for traditional button batteries), causes these cells to rapidly generate an external current that hydrolyzes tissue fluids, generating hydroxide and causing severe burns, injury and even death. Severe or fatal complications include perforations of the esophagus, tracheoesophageal fistulas, recurrent laryngeal nerve damage leading to vocal cord paralysis, spondylodiscitis, strictures and aortoesophageal fistulas – the latter nearly always fatal.20 Nov Menopausal Hormone Therapy Benefits Bone Health For Several Years After Discontinuation
Posted at 13:03h
in Author Interviews, Endocrinology, Hormone Therapy, JCEM, Menopause, Osteoporosis
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_29927" align="alignleft" width="131"]
Dr Georgios Papadakis[/caption]
Dr Georgios Papadakis
FMH, Médecin InternenMédecin assistant
Service d'endocrinologie, diabétologie et métabolisme
Lausanne
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: This study was mainly motivated by the absence of available data on the effect of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) on bone microarchitecture, as well as contradictory results of previous trials regarding the persistence of a residual effect after MHT withdrawal.
We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 1279 postmenopausal women aged 50-80 years participating in OsteoLaus cohort of Lausanne University Hospital. Participants had bone mineral density (BMD) measurement by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at lumbar spine, femoral neck and total hip, as well as assessment of trabecular bone score (TBS), a textural index that evaluates pixel grey-level variations in the lumbar spine DXA image, providing an indirect index of trabecular microarchitecture.
20 Nov Cesarean Section Rates Vary Across US Hospitals
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kamila Mistry, PhD MPH AHRQ MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Although the overall cesarean section (C-section) rate in the United States has declined slightly in recent years, nearly a third of all births continue to be delivered by C-section—higher than in many other industrialized countries. A number of medical as well as nonmedical factors may contribute to high C-section rates. C-section is the most common surgical procedure performed in the United States. This operation carries additional risks compared with vaginal delivery, such as infection and postoperative pain. A C-section also may make it more difficult for the mother to establish breastfeeding and may complicate subsequent pregnancies. Consensus guidelines from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other national efforts to improve perinatal care have shown promise in reducing nonmedically indicated C-sections. However, recent research has found wide variation in hospital C-section rates even for low-risk deliveries.20 Nov Breast Cancer Cells Become Chemotherapy Resistant By Eating Surrounding Stem Cells
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29824" align="alignleft" width="144"]
Dr. Thomas Bartosh Jr,[/caption]
Thomas Bartosh Jr, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor Medical Physiology
Texas A&M Health Science Center
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: One mysterious and devastating aspect of breast cancer is that it can reemerge abruptly, often as metastatic disease, in patients many years after an apparent eradication of the primary tumor. The sudden reappearance of cancer has been termed relapse and is thought to occur because a minimal number of resilient tumor cells are able to evade frontline therapies and linger in an undetectable/dormant state somewhere in the body for an unpredictable amount of time. Then, for reasons that remain unclear, these same dormant cells awaken and rapidly grow, and produce almost invariably fatal cancerous lesions. The therapeutic challenges of tumor dormancy and need to decode the underlying mechanisms involved are apparent.
Cancer cell behavior is strongly influenced by various non-malignant cell types that are found within the tumor mass itself and that help make up the tumor microenvironment (TME). In particular, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs), which are actively recruited into the tumor stroma, directly interact with carcinoma cells and significantly impact cancer progression, although the role of MSCs in tumor dormancy remains ill-defined.
20 Nov Rolex Winner PEEK Vision Allows Smartphone-Based Eye Exams In Resource Poor Settings
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Andrew Bastawrous, Ophthalmologist Rolex Awards for Enterprise United Kingdom Dr. Bastawrous’ smartphone-based portable eye examination system, Peek Vision, allows patients in low resource setting, to be screened for vision problems and eye diseases, enabling accurate diagnosis and treatment. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for Peek Vision? What are the main findings of your work with this system? Response: Mama Paul has been blind for almost 20 years, most of her time is spent within the safety of her tiny home. It is basic, but in her mind’s eye she can still picture where the door is, her son - Paul, lives next door and is always willing to help. Losing sight is the sense most people fear losing most. I am severely visually impaired, I am also fortunate to have perfect vision when wearing corrective glasses or contact lenses and privileged to be in the profession of ophthalmology where centuries of research and practice have brought us to a time when so much of blindness is now curable or preventable. There is no feeling like it: when the eye patch comes off someone who hasn’t seen for years, the sheer wonder as they take in their surroundings and their anticipation to see faces that have become voices and places that have become memories. Back in 2011, as I pondered and planned for the challenges that lay ahead of us in Kenya, I had the continual thought that there must be an easier way to reach people, a way that is less expensive, less resource hungry and therefore could be used on a much wider scale. In Kenya, and much of Africa, more people have access to a mobile phone than they do clean running water. It had to be possible to harness this connectivity.19 Nov Auditory Perceptual Abnormalities As High Risk Indictor of Progression to Psychosis
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Guillermo Horga, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry Columbia University Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Some people who eventually develop schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders have early “prodromal” symptoms such as subtle perceptual abnormalities and unusual thoughts that precede the onset of these disorders by months or even years. These subtle symptoms are typically not fully formed or met with full conviction, which distinguishes them from full-blown symptoms of psychosis. The “prodromal” phase has been the subject of intense study as researchers believe it can provide an invaluable window into the neurobiological processes that cause psychotic disorders as well as an opportunity to develop early preventive interventions. Persons who experience “prodromal” symptoms (known as “clinical high-risk” individuals) tend to report a variety of relatively subtle perceptual abnormalities (e.g., heightened sensitivity to sounds, distortions in how objects are perceived, momentarily hearing voices of speakers who are not present), unusual thoughts, and disorganized speech, some of which have been shown to be particularly informative in distinguishing who among these persons will eventually develop a full-blown psychotic disorder, a prediction that is clinically important as it may indicate the need for close monitoring of individuals who are at the greatest risk. Even though subtle perceptual abnormalities are common in this population, the available research indicates that they are as a whole uninformative for clinical prediction purposes. However, previous research in this area had never examined in detail whether assessing perceptual abnormalities in different sensory domains (such as visual versus auditory abnormalities) separately could be more informative than assessing them as a whole.19 Nov Urate Lowering Therapy in Moderate to Severe Chronic Kidney Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29815" align="alignleft" width="140"]
Dr. Gerald Levy[/caption]
Gerald D. Levy MD
Internal Medicine/Rheumatology
Southern California Kaiser Permanente
Downey, CA
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of your study?
Patients with hyperuricemia and chronic kidney disease (CKD) improve when serum Uric Acid (sUA) is brought below 6mg/dl with urate lowering therapy.
We found a 6% improvement in this group compared to patients not at goal.
More importantly the stage of CKD appears to be important with CKD II showing approximately 3% who improve with nearly 10% of patients improving in the CKD III group.
We did not see benefit in those patients who are stage 4 CKD.
19 Nov Hypoglycemia Linked To Increased Mortality in Hospitalized Patients
Posted at 20:30h
in Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Diabetes, JCEM, Outcomes & Safety
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Amit Akirov, MD
Institute of Endocrinology
Rabin Medical Center- Beilinson Hospital
Petach Tikva, Israel
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: As hypoglycemia is common among hospitalized patients with and without diabetes mellitus, we aimed to investigate the association between spontaneous and insulin-related hypoglycemia including severe hypoglycemia and all-cause mortality among a large cohort of hospitalized patients.
19 Nov No Increased Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease with Allopurinol Use
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Ana Beatriz Vargas dos Santos Médica do Serviço de Reumatologia Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis worldwide and, despite available treatment, the management of gout remains suboptimal. One of the reasons for this suboptimal management of gout is the hesitant use of urate-lowering therapy, including a common reduction in dose or discontinuation of allopurinol in patients with gout who have kidney dysfunction based on the assumption that allopurinol may be worsening kidney function. However, there is no evidence that allopurinol is toxic for the kidneys, and this dose reduction or discontinuation results in more difficult-to-treat gout. Chronic kidney disease stage 3 or above occurs in approximately 20% of people with gout, and there is emerging evidence that urate-lowering therapy may improve kidney function in patients with both gout and CKD. Although CKD is common, most people with gout start out with normal kidney function. Yet, there are limited data regarding the effects of allopurinol on kidney function in such individuals. We, therefore, undertook this study to assess whether people with newly diagnosed gout who are starting allopurinol are at increased risk for developing CKD stage 3 or worse.19 Nov Brain-Computer Interface Allows Locked-in ALS Patient To Communicate
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mariska Van Steensel PhD Nick F. Ramsey, Ph.D. Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery Brain Center Rudolf Magnus University Medical Center Utrecht Utrecht, the Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Patients who are severely paralyzed due to for example ALS or brain stem stroke are often unable to speak (also called ‘ Locked-in State'), and therefore need assistive devices, such as an eye tracker, for their communication. When these devices fail (e.g. due to environmental lighting or eye movement problems), people may indicate yes or no with eye blinks in response to closed questions. This leaves patients in a highly dependent position, since questions asked may or may not represent their actual wish or comment. In the current study, we used a technology called brain-computer interfacing (BCI), to allow a patient with late-stage amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to control a communication device using her brain signals. The patient was implanted with subdural electrodes that covered the brain area that is normally responsible for hand movement. The electrodes were connected with wires, subcutaneously, to an amplifier/transmitter device that was placed subcutaneously under the clavicle. The patient was able to generate a signal equivalent to a mouse-click with this brain-computer interface by attempting to move her hand, and used it to make selections of letters or words on her communication device, with high accuracy and a speed of 2 letters per minute. She used the brain-computer interface system to communicate whenever she was outside, as her eye-tracker device does not function well in that situation.19 Nov Benefits and Harms of Duloxetine For Treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Emma Maund, MSc PhD Nordic Cochrane Centre MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Duloxetine has been approved in Europe for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women. It is not approved for this indication in the US and Canada. Currently, reasons why marketing authorization applications are withdrawn or denied are not published by either the Canadian or the US drug agency. However, the FDA has said that a higher-than-expected rate of suicide attempts - 2.6 timer higher - was observed in the open-label extensions of controlled trials of duloxetine for stress urinary incontinence. Given the FDA’s statement about the rate of suicide attempts, we wanted to determine whether duloxetine increased the risk of suicidality, violence or their possible precursors (drug induced akathisia, an extreme type of restlessness; activation, which consists of stimulating effects such as insomnia, anxiety and agitation; emotional disturbance, such as depersonalization and derealization; or psychotic events, such as delusions and hallucinations) in the randomized phases of the trials. We therefore assessed the benefits and harms of duloxetine in stress urinary incontinence using clinical study reports, including individual patient data, of the 4 main trials submitted by Eli Lilly to the European Medicines Agency.19 Nov MARIANNE Study of HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer: Trastuzumab Emtansine With or Without Pertuzumab vs Trastuzumab Plus Taxane
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29794" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Edith Perez[/caption]
Edith Perez, MD
Vice President and Head of U.S. Medical Affairs
Genentech BioOncology
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: MARIANNE was designed to evaluate three HER2-targeted regimens in previously untreated (first-line) HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (Kadcyla alone, Kadcyla plus Perjeta, Herceptin plus chemotherapy). The study met its non-inferiority endpoint, showing similar progression-free survival (PFS) among the three treatment arms. However, neither Kadcyla-containing treatment arm significantly improved PFS compared to Herceptin and chemotherapy.
19 Nov Precise Structure of Cannabis Brain Receptor Defined
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29787" align="alignleft" width="300"]
(l-r) Dr. Zhenhua Shao and Dr. Daniel Rosenbaum UT Southwestern[/caption]
Dan Rosenbaum, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Department of Biophysics
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, Texas
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: This study focuses on the structure of the human CB1 cannabinoid receptor.
The CB1 protein is a membrane-embedded G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) in the brain and peripheral tissues that responds to a variety of different compounds, including endogenous lipid messengers (‘endocannabinoids’), plant natural products (such as THC from the Cannabis sativa plant i.e. marijuana), and synthetic antagonists (such as the taranabant ligand used for this study). The CB1 receptor is involved in regulating neurotransmission in vertebrates, and is a potential therapeutic target for numerous conditions including obesity, pain, and epilepsy.
The main findings of this study entailed the solution of the high-resolution crystal structure of human CB1 receptor bound to the inhibitor taranabant. This structure revealed the precise shape of the inhibitor binding pocket, which is also responsible for binding THC and endocannabinoids. In addition to helping explain the mechanism of inhibitor and THC binding, our structure provides a framework for computational studies of binding to a large diversity of cannabinoid modulators of therapeutic importance.
19 Nov Gender-Specific Risk Factors for Stroke Outlined
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29782" align="alignleft" width="180"]
Dr. Catharina J. M. Klijn[/caption]
Catharina J. M. Klijn, MD
Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery
University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Neuroscience
Department of Neurology
Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre
Nijmegen, the Netherlands
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The incidence of stroke is higher in men than in women. This difference attenuates with increasing age. Established risk factors for stroke, such as hypertension, cigarette smoking and ischemic heart disease are more prevalent in men but only partly explain the difference in stroke incidence. The contribution of oral contraceptive use and hormone therapy to stroke risk has been previously reviewed. We aimed to evaluate what is known on other female- and male specific risk factors for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke incidence and stroke mortality through a systematic review and meta-analysis of 78 studies including over 10 million participants.
18 Nov Acute Kidney Injury Linked To Increased Mortality in Critically Ill Children and Young Adults
Posted at 22:36h
in Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Kidney Disease, NEJM, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_29776" align="alignleft" width="133"]
Dr. Stuart L. Goldstein[/caption]
Stuart L. Goldstein, MD, FAAP, FNKF
Clark D. West Endowed Chair
Professor of Pediatrics
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Director, Center for Acute Care Nephrology | Associate Director, Division of Nephrology
Medical Director, Pheresis Service | Co-Medical Director, Heart Institute Research Core
Division of Nephrology and Hypertension | The Heart Institute
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati, OH 45229
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: This was a prospective international multi-center assessment of the epidemiology of acute kidney injury in children in young adults. Over 5,000 children were enrolled from 32 pediatric ICUs in 9 countries on 4 continents.
The main findings are:
1) Severe AKI, defined by either Stage 2 or 3 KDIGO serum creatinine and urine output criteria carried an incremental risk of death after adjusting for 16 co-variates.
2) Patients with AKI by low urine output would have been misclassified as not having AKI by serum creatinine criteria and patients with AKI by urine output criteria have worse outcomes than patients with AKI by creatinine crtieria.
3) Severe AKI was also associated with increased and prolonged mechanical ventilation use, increased receipt of dialysis or ECMO
18 Nov Americans Aware of Threat of Excessive Sugar Intake, But Aren’t Doing Much About It
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29771" align="alignleft" width="160"]
Healthline Sugar Survey[/caption]
Tracy Stickler, Editor in Chief
Healthline
Ms. Stickler discusses a Healthline survey of over 3000 Americans, regarding “their knowledge of sugar and how it affects the body to gauge their relationship about their own sugar consumption and the effects it has on them”.
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Our company surveyed over 3,000 Americans from across the country about their sugar consumption habits and awareness about added sugar in food.
What we learned is that while many people are aware of the threat overconsumption of sugar is to their health, they aren’t doing much about it. Why not? They don’t know how and quite often they don’t know how much sugar is contained in certain foods they eat. We have an awareness issue. Two out of 3 respondents answered incorrectly to our questions related to which food item contained more sugar.
18 Nov Breastfeeding Important For Mothers’ Health As Well As Babies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29763" align="alignleft" width="180"]
Dr. Melissa Bartick[/caption]
Melissa C. Bartick, MD, MSc
Department of Medicine
Cambridge Health Alliance
Harvard Medical School
Cambridge, MA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: This is the first study ever to combine maternal and pediatric health outcomes from breastfeeding into a single model.
We had published a cost analysis of suboptimal breastfeeding for pediatric disease in 2010, which found that suboptimal breastfeeding cost the US $13 billion in costs of premature death costs and medical expenses, and 911 excess deaths. We followed that up with a maternal cost analysis which found about $18 billion in premature death costs and medical expenses.
In both these studies, most of the costs were from premature death. We were unable to combine the results of these two studies because their methodologies were different, and both of them, especially the pediatric portion needed to be updated.
18 Nov New Capsule Can Reside in Stomach and Deliver Drugs for Several Weeks After Single Ingestion
Posted at 02:39h
in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Compliance, Gastrointestinal Disease, Pharmacology, Technology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_29758" align="alignleft" width="143"]
Dr. Traverso[/caption]
C. Giovanni Traverso, MB, BChir, PhD
Gastroenterologist and biomedical engineer
Division of Gastroenterology at BWH
Instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We developed a drug delivery system capable of safely residing in the stomach for 2 weeks. Furthermore we demonstrated the capacity of the novel dosage form, in the shape of a star, to protect the drug from the acidic stomach environment and also slowly release drug over the course of 14 days.
We applied this new technology towards efforts targeting the elimination of malaria. Specifically, we focused on a drug called ivermectin that has been used to treat parasites but also has the benefit of being toxic to malaria-carrying mosquitos when they bite someone who has ivermectin in their system.