Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Education / 30.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Adam Brufsky, MD, PhD, FACP Medical Director of the Women's Cancer Center University of Pittsburgh Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
  • The Make Your Dialogue Count survey was conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Novartis between June 20 and August 22, 2014. A total of 359 surveys were collected among women 21 years+ living with advanced breast cancer in addition to 234 caregivers of women with advanced breast cancer and 252 licensed oncologists who treat at least five advanced breast cancer patients per month within the United States. Novartis conducted the survey with guidance from oncologists, patient advocacy experts and a psychologist to better understand the dialogue around treatment goals and decisions that takes place among advanced breast cancer patients, caregivers and oncologists.
  • Main survey findings show communication gaps exist in discussions between patients and oncologists, particularly around treatment plans and goals.
  • 89% of patients and 76% of oncologists said that it’s important or very important to discuss long-term treatment plans beyond the current recommended treatment at their initial advanced breast cancer diagnosis. Yet, 43% of patients reported that this did not take place.
  • 70% of patients and 65% of oncologists said that it’s important or very important to refer patients to support services at their initial advanced breast cancer diagnosis. Yet, only 36% of patients reported that this was something their doctor did.
  • 23% of oncologists said that at times their emotions have kept them from sharing certain information with their advanced breast cancer patients, and 27% of oncologists said that, in certain situations, they do not discuss with patients the fact that advanced breast cancer is incurable.
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Author Interviews, BMC, Heart Disease, Mediterranean Diet, Nutrition / 30.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Nita Forouhi, MRCP, PhD, FFPHM Programme Leader MRC Epidemiology Unit University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine Institute of Metabolic Science Cambridge Biomedical Campus MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The benefits of the Mediterranean diet for cardiovascular health are well documented in countries of the Mediterranean region and some other countries, but there is little such evidence in the UK general population. Our work fills this research gap. In our study we followed up 23,902 initially healthy Britons living in Norfolk (Eastern England) for an average of 12 to 17 years, and determined the occurrence of new cases of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and deaths due to CVD during that time period. Our results showed that those adults who adhered to a Mediterranean diet had 6% to 16% lower risk of developing CVD, compared to those who had dietary habits further away from the Mediterranean-type diet pattern. This was the case even when we accounted for several important risk factors and correlates of CVD, including as age, sex, body mass index, lifestyle habits such as smoking, alcohol intake and physical activity, and socio-economic factors. We also modelled what would happen in the study population if all the participants increased their adherence to the Mediterranean-type diet. From this we estimated that nearly 4% of all new cardiovascular disease cases, or 12.5% of cardiovascular deaths in the population could potentially be avoided. This is novel information about the potential health benefit of a Mediterranean-type diet in a UK context. However, we should remember that our study was an observational study, not a clinical trial with a dietary intervention, and thus we cannot imply a cause and effect relationship between increasing adherence to the Mediterranean diet and reduction in cardiovascular disease. We defined the Mediterranean diet using a 15 point score based on guideline recommendations from a Mediterranean dietary pyramid published by the Mediterranean Diet Foundation. The recommendations had not previously been specifically tested for their associations with health, so our findings, for the first time, show the utility of the Mediterranean dietary pyramid. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Heart Disease / 29.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Headshot portrait of Dr. Kim Harmon, family medicine, sports medicine.Kimberly G. Harmon, MD University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in a young athlete is tragic devastating families and communities.  It has been characterized as “rare” by some, however, previous studies have looked at broad age ranges of athletes and used various methods to determine the incidence rate, sometimes only including athletes which have events during school sponsored events.  In addition, many studies only look at sudden cardiac death and do not include sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) where the athlete has a cardiac arrest but is resuscitated and survives. SCA is important to include as ideally we would like to prevent both SCA and SCD in athletes.  In this paper, over 1/3 of all US high school athletes were studied for six years to determine the incidence and the causes of SCA/D.   Media reports were used to identify cases and then autopsies were obtained in those who died. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Nutrition, Science / 29.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Distinguished Professor Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh RMIT's School of Engineering Australia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 1- The development of "swallow-able gas sensor capsules". This was the final test on animals and focused on the measurement of a food supplement (cinnamon) to show the extraordinary capability of this noninvasive tool that will revolutionise the future of Gastroenterology and Food Sciences 2- That cinnamon can improve the health of the stomach, and hence our overall health, by adjusting the acidity and enzymatic secretion in the stomach. So the good effect of cinnamon is not just a grandparent old advice - It is real. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies / 29.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Harvey Kaufman MD Quest Diagnostics Madison, New Jersey MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Quest Diagnostics is the leading provider of diagnostic information services, meaning we provide information and insights from our laboratory test services. This includes analyzing results of our laboratory test data in order to provide insights into health, wellness and disease to help providers, patients and health plans make better healthcare decisions. A Quest Diagnostics Health Trends™ study published in the Pediatrics evaluated 276,949 de-identified test results from children ages infant through 9 years over an 11-year period to determine trends in laboratory rotavirus detection and the impact of the rotavirus vaccine on rotavirus detection. Vaccination is recommended for infants. In the study, two patients groups were evaluated for rotavirus vaccine – likely vaccinated (children who were infants after vaccine availability) and unlikely vaccinated (children who were infants prior to vaccine availability). (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 28.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Sarah El-Heis MBBS, MRCP (London) Clinical Research Fellow MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit University of Southampton Southampton General Hospital Southampton MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Atopic eczema is a common, multifactorial and potentially distressing skin condition. Evidence that it partly originates in utero is increasing with some studies suggesting links with aspects of maternal diet during pregnancy. Nicotinamide is a naturally occurring nutrient that is maintained through the dietary intakes of vitamin B3 and tryptophan. As a topical treatment it has been used in the management of some skin conditions including atopic eczema, and has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects, to stabilise mast cells and to alter lipids in the outer layers of the skin. The objective of our study was to examine the link between maternal serum concentrations of nicotinamide and related tryptophan metabolites to the risk of atopic eczema in the offspring. We found that maternal late pregnancy concentrations of nicotinamide and related metabolite concentrations were not associated with offspring atopic eczema at age 6 months. Higher maternal serum concentrations of nicotinamide and anthranilic acid were, however, associated with a 30% lower risk of eczema at age 12 months. (more…)
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Lipids / 28.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Johan Frostegård MD PhD Professor of medicine Karolinska Institutet's Institute of Environmental Medicine and Consultant at Karolinska University Hospital's Emergency Clinic MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Statins are one of the worlds most sold medications, which has generated large profits, but also, in my opinion, helped many people. Still, side effects are much discussed after more than 2 decades of use, as exemplified by a current debate between Lancet and BMJ (the former has the opinion that side effects are not major issues, but the latter do not agree). Also the exact role of LDL (low density lipoprotein, also known as the ”bad cholesterol”) as a risk factor is discussed, and can vary, according to many researchers. LDL levels are important among middle aged persons, especially men, as a risk markers for cardiovascular disease, especially myocardial infarction. LDL is most likely less important as a risk factor in individuals above 60 years of age, and also among women – as compared to middle aged men. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Depression, JCEM, Menopause, Sleep Disorders / 28.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hadine Joffe, MD, MSc Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School Vice Chair for Psychiatry Research Director of Division of Women's Mental Health / Dept of Psychiatry / Brigham and Women’s Hospital Director of Psycho-Oncology Research / Dept of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care /Dana Farber Cancer Institute www.brighamwharp.org MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We conducted this study to advance our understanding about causes of mood disturbance in the menopause transition that are specifically related to menopause. We used an experimental model to dissect out the contributions of hot flashes and sleep disturbance from contribution of changing levels of estrogen because hot flashes, sleep problems, and estrogen fluctuations co-occur and are difficult to distinguish from one another. Understanding whether hot flashes and/or sleep disturbance are causally related to mood disturbance will help us identify who is at risk for mood changes during the menopause transition. This is incredibly important now that we are finding effective non-hormonal treatments for hot flashes and sleep disruption. (more…)
Author Interviews, Parkinson's, Pharmacology / 28.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rosa & Co. LLC,Dr. Christina Friedrich Chief Engineer, PhysioPD Rosa & Co. LLC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Elan was developing compounds for the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease. The compounds were designed to modify negative effects of alpha-synuclein on neurotransmitter vesicle trafficking, but these effects are poorly understood. Elan and Rosa collaborated in the development of a Synuclein PhysioMap®, a graphical model architecture to support hypothesis generation and testing. The objectives of the project were to provide insight into alpha-synuclein function in vesicle trafficking, memorialize and communicate the current state of knowledge within Elan, and to recommend experiments to test hypotheses, resolve uncertainties and identify and prioritize potential targets. (more…)
Author Interviews, HIV, Pediatrics, PLoS / 28.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kenneth K. Mugwanya MBChB, MS Department of Epidemiology andDepartment of Global Health University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Division of Disease Control, School of Public Health Makerere University Kampala, Uganda MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Women living in regions with high HIV prevalence are at high risk of HIV acquisition in pregnancy and postpartum because they infrequently use condoms, do not know their partner's HIV status, and have biologic changes or changes in their partner's sexual partnerships that increase susceptibility. Moreover, acute HIV infection during pregnancy or breastfeeding period is associated with high rates of mother-to child HIV transmission because of high circulating level of HIV virus in blood. Oral antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a powerful HIV prevention strategy recommended by both the World Health organization and US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. PrEP is an attractive prevention strategy for women as it can be used discreetly and independent of sexual partners. However, there is limited research about the safety of PrEP in HIV-uninfected pregnant or breastfeeding mothers and their infants. (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, Genetic Research, Kidney Disease, Nature / 28.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof Adrian S. Woolf Chair, Professor of Paediatric Science University of Manchester, UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Several years ago, Laurent Fasano discovered that the Drosophila teashirt gene was needed to pattern the body of embryonic flies. He then found that this transcription factor had three similar genes in mammals. Working with Adrian Woolf in the UK, they found that Teashirt-3 (Tshz3) was needed in mice to make muscle form in the ureter When the gene was mutated, mice were born with ureters that were 'blown-up' and they failed to milk urine from the kidney with the bladder. (more…)
Author Interviews, C. difficile, Microbiome, Nature, Vanderbilt / 28.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eric P Skaar, Ph.D., MPH Director, Division of Molecular Pathogenesis Ernest W. Goodpasture Professor of Pathology Vice Chair for Basic Research, Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology Vanderbilt University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Nutrient metals are known to be a critical driver of the outcome of host-pathogen interactions, and C. difficile is the most common cause of hospital-acquired infections. C. difficile infection typically occurs following antibiotic-mediated disruption of the healthy microbiome. We were interested in learning how nutrient metals can shape the microbiome and impact the outcome of Clostridium difficile infection. We found that excess zinc alters the structure of the microbiome and increases the severity of C. difficile infection in mice. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections / 28.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Bashir A. Lwaleed PhD, FRCPath, PGCAP, FHEA, CBiol FSB, FIBMS Faculty of Health Sciences University of Southampton South Academic and Pathology Block (MP 11) Southampton General Hospital Southampton UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The study merges two longstanding interests. We have long worked out of several departments at Southampton and Portsmouth on the therapeutic potential for natural products (including the medium – chain fatty acids GLA (evening primrose oil) and EPA (fish oil) as well as honeys from a number of floral sources. Secondly, there is an established research theme in the Faculty of Healthcare Science at Southampton addressing continence related issues; moreover catheter management as an economic and infection control issue is a major concern in the NHS Trust Urology department. Biofilms on catheters are sources of infection, honey has proven antibacterial (and other therapeutic) properties in topical applications such as skin ulceration. It is a logical step to assess whether a similar use may be made for honey instilled into the bladder and/or flushing the lumen of a catheter. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA / 28.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kanu Okike MD MPH Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kaiser Moanalua Medical Center Honolulu, Hawaii MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Many journals in the social sciences practice double-blind review, in which reviewers and authors are both blinded to each others' identities. In medicine, on the other hand, most journals practice single-blind review, in which authors' identities are known to reviewers. Concerns have been raised that this could lead to biased reviews, however, especially in the case of well-known authors. In our study, we composed a fabricated test manuscript and randomized reviewers for an orthopaedic journal to receive single-blind (prestigious authors listed) or double-blind (no authors listed) versions. In our study, the reviewers who were under the impression that the manuscript was written by prestigious authors (single-blind review) awarded higher marks and also recommended acceptance more often, in spite of the fact that the manuscripts were otherwise identical. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Frailty, Geriatrics / 27.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Thomas M. Gill, M.D. Humana Foundation Professor of Geriatric Medicine Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology & Investigative Medicine Director, Yale Program on Aging/Pepper Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Maintaining independent mobility is an important goal of clinical medicine and public health, especially among older persons, who are at the greatest risk for disability. By adopting a walking routine and other moderate physical activities, older adults can recover from a major disability more quickly, and maintain their independence over time. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research, Prostate Cancer, Science / 27.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Iryna Saranchova MD PhD candidate Michael Smith Laboratories Vancouver, BC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? • The immune system is efficient at identifying and halting the tumour emergence at early stages. However, when metastatic (sufficient to cause death) tumour appears, the immune system is no longer able to recognize the cancer cells and control their growth and spread. • Recent studies of solid cancers have shown considerable heterogeneity between different tumour types and several lines of evidence suggest that tumours are not only heterogeneous, but they constantly evolve during the disease progression and this often hampers the existing treatment methods. • It means that it is important to consider each patient’s mutational changes accumulated over time in antecedent primary, metastatic lesions and/or local recurrences. This approach will help to understand the mechanism of tumour development, create a background for specific treatment modality and prevent therapeutic failure with consequent systemic relapse of the disease • Therefore, in our project we were aiming to find possible immune markers of tumour transition from the primary stage to its metastatic form. For this purpose, we selected a special study model: two pairs of separate mouse tumour cell lines, where metastatic cells arose from the initial primary tumour. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dental Research, Exercise - Fitness / 27.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sonia Julià-Sánchez, PhD Universitat de Barcelona MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Over the last few years, a growing interest has focused on the potential correlation between the stomatognathic system and the body balance. While this relationship is still a subject for debate, it is well known that sensory information contributes differently on the postural control regulation depending on the conditions of the surface area. Therefore, we hypothesized that dental occlusion may contribute differently on the body balance control depending on the stability condition (stable versus unstable) and that influence might be more evident in fatigue conditions due to reorganization of the sensory information sources. In the current study we aimed to determine whether: (i) dental occlusion influences body balance in stable and unstable surfaces, and (ii) the influence of dental occlusion on the balance control comes strongly into effect under fatigue conditions. Our results showed that dental occlusion influenced balance control, at unstable level, both at rest and fatigue condition. However, when measuring at stable level, the influence of dental occlusion only reached significance in fatigue condition. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Stroke / 27.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Michael Hill, MSc, MD, FRCPC Professor for the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences, Community Health Sciences, Medicine and Radiology University of Calgary Director of the Stroke Unit Calgary Stroke Program Alberta Health Services MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The HERMES collaboration is a pooled individual patient meta-analysis of recent endovascular ischemic stroke trials. The current analysis assesses the role of time to treatment and outcome. We show that there is a clear relationship between time from onset-to-treatment and outcome, with treatment gradually becoming less effective as time elapses from stroke onset. Treatment was still effect, on average, out to just beyond 7 hours from stroke onset. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics / 27.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Erik Berg, MD Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care University of Bergen Bergen, Norway MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Parents regularly express concern about long term health outcomes for children born with oral cleft. In this study we used population-based long-term follow-up data from multiple national registries to focus on the future health outcomes of cleft cases without additional chronic medical conditions or congenital anomalies. The study cohort consisted of all individuals born in Norway between 1967 and 1992. All patients treated for clefts in Norway during the study period were invited to participate. 2 337 cases with isolated clefts and 1 413 819 unaffected individuals were followed until 2010. The main outcome variables were conditions diagnosed in childhood or early adulthood, need for social security benefits, and risk of death. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Colon Cancer, Geriatrics / 27.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Xabier Garcia-De-Albeniz MD PhD Research Associate Department of Epidemiology Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Mongan Institute for Health Policy Massachusetts General Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Randomized controlled trials are considered the gold standard to inform health care delivery. Unfortunately, no randomized controlled trials of screening colonoscopy have been completed. Ongoing trials exclude persons aged 75 or older, and will not have mature results before 2025. However, healthy persons older than 75 may live long enough to benefit from colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. The Medicare program reimburses screening colonoscopy without an upper age limit since the year 2001. We used the extensive experience of Medicare beneficiaries to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of screening colonoscopy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Clots, CHEST, OBGYNE, Surgical Research, Thromboembolism / 27.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marc Blondon, MD Division of Angiology and Hemostasis, Department of Specialties of Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland Seattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development, Seattle, WA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Venous thromboembolism, a condition including deep vein thrombosis (blood clots) and pulmonary embolism, is more common in older than younger patients. However, pregnancy and particularly the postpartum period are times at greater risk of blood clots in women. It is important to understand the risk and the risk factors for thrombosis in the postpartum period to guide the use of preventive measures such as heparin, an anticoagulant treatment, or leg compression devices. Our study summarizes the evidence on the link between C-sections and blood clots from the past 35 years. Our meta-analysis demonstrates that:
  • C-section carries a 4-fold increased risk of blood clots in the postpartum period, compared with vaginal deliveries ;
  • that this risk is most prominent but not restricted to emergency C-section ;
  • and that women who undergo elective C-section are also at higher risk than women who have a vaginal delivery.
  • Importantly, we estimated an absolute risk of blood clots after a C-section of 2-4 per 1000 pregnancies: on average, 3 out of 1000 women after C-section will develop a blood clot.
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Author Interviews, Multiple Sclerosis, Pharmacology / 27.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marcia Kayath, MD Vice President and Head US Clinical Development and Medical Affairs US General Medicines Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Injectable disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are typically used first-line in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), but discontinuation of injectable DMTs is common, especially within the first 12 months of treatment1,2. PREFERMS is the largest, prospective, randomized, active-controlled, open-label study to evaluate patient retention in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). In the 12-month, Phase IV study, a total of 875 patients were randomized (1:1) to Gilenya® (fingolimod) 0.5 mg or to a pre-selected injectable DMT (IFNβ-1a, IFNβ-1b or glatiramer acetate), and followed up quarterly for 12 months3. After a minimum of 3 months of treatment, a single on-study treatment switch was allowed, however, switches due to efficacy or safety were allowed (based on patient-doctor consultation) at any month following randomization3. The primary endpoint was to compare the patient retention on randomized treatment over 12 months3. This study was powered for the primary endpoint (retention rate)3. The study was not powered to detect the treatment difference in the secondary efficacy endpoints or treatment effects related to switching study medication3. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, Memory, University Texas, Weight Research / 27.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ursala. H. Winzer-Serhan Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics Texas A&M Health Science Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Nicotine is a plant alkaloid that is naturally occurring in the tobacco plant. Smoking delivers nicotine to the brain where it acts as a stimulant. Tobacco and electronic cigarette smoking delivers many other chemicals to the body, which are harmful and can cause cancer. However, the drug nicotine by itself is relatively benign and poses few health risks for most people. Nicotine acts in the brain on nicotinic receptors, which are ion channels that are widely expressed in the brain. They play an important role in cognitive functions. Research with rodents and in humans has shown that nicotine can enhance learning and memory, and furthermore, can protect neurons during injuries and in the aging brain. With the increasingly older population, it becomes more and more important to delay cognitive decline in the elderly. Right now, there is no drug available that could delay aging of the brain. (more…)
Author Interviews, Kidney Disease, Transplantation / 26.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Adam Johnson, MD, PhD, MBA, FACS Thomas Jefferson University Dr. Cataldo Doria, senior author and designer of the study, emphasized that the work was a team effort MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The goal was to develop an algorithm to identify which donors would be most suitably transplanted as dual kidneys instead of as single kidneys. Dual kidney transplantation is a resource intensive procedure, but may make the most out of two kidneys whose function may be too marginal to transplant independently. Currently allocation decisions are based on individual surgeon and institutional experience and without much available outcome data. This score provide decision support for which donor grafts would have the greatest benefit if transplanted as dual kidneys. (more…)
Author Interviews, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Brain Injury, Depression, JAMA / 26.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ricardo E. Jorge  MD Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Director Houston Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders Senior Scientist  Beth K. and Stuart C. Yudofsky Division of Neuropsychiatry Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center Baylor College of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Depressive disorders affect between one-third and one-half of patients with traumatic brain injury. Once established, these disorders are difficult to treat and frequently follow a chronic and refractory course. Depression has a deleterious effect on TBI outcomes, particularly affecting the community reintegration of TBI patients. In this randomized clinical trial that included 94 adult patients with TBI, the hazards for developing depression for participants receiving placebo were about 4 times the hazards of participants receiving sertraline treatment. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Karolinski Institute, PLoS / 26.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Maléne Lindholm, PhD Karolinska Institutet Dept. of Physiology & Pharmacology Stockholm Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: It is well known that exercise training provides marked health benefits and can prevent and treat a broad set of diseases. Therefore, a deeper understanding and characterization of the molecular processes behind training adaptation is essential for human health. This study aimed at exploring the effects of endurance training on the human skeletal muscle transcriptome (activity of all genes) and investigate the possible presence of a muscle memory of training. To do this, the healthy volunteers in this study first trained only one leg, 4 times per week for 3 months. After 9 months of detraining, the subjects then came back and trained both legs in the same way as during the first training period, thus one leg was then previously well-trained and one previously untrained. This meant that each individual was their own control, as both legs have the same genome, experience the same stress, diet etc. Only the training status differed. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Opiods, Pain Research / 26.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jaren Howard, PharmD, BCPS Associate Director Medical Affairs Strategic Research Purdue Pharma L.P. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The existing scientific literature estimating the healthcare burden of opioid misuse disorders often combines all patients within the broad category of “opioid abuse,” defined as opioid abuse, dependence, or overdose/poisoning. Collectively, these three conditions can significantly increase healthcare costs among commercially insured patients. • Real world medical coding practices present challenges to researchers aiming to separately analyze excess costs by diagnosis, though combining these diagnoses may mask some variation in excess costs. • Furthermore, little is known about the specific drivers of excess costs in terms of medical conditions driving excess costs or places of service at the diagnosis-level. (more…)
Author Interviews, CMAJ, Vaccine Studies / 26.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Kevin Schwartz, MD MSc Infection Prevention and Control Physician Infection Prevention and Control Public Health Ontario | Santé publique Ontario MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There has been a resurgence of pertussis, or ‘whooping cough’, in several countries and regions since the introduction of the new “acellular” pertussis vaccine in the 1990s to replace the older “whole cell” vaccine. In Ontario, we have not seen large increases but observed a small outbreak in 2012 that affected both unvaccinated people, as well as in those who have been vaccinated against pertussis. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of the current acellular vaccine used in Ontario. We wanted to find out whether immunity wanes with time in the same way as had been previously observed during a large outbreak in California. We also wanted to study the impact of receiving the older ‘whole cell’ vaccine, which we used in Ontario until 1997. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, NIH, OBGYNE / 26.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stefanie N. Hinkle, Ph.D. Staff Scientist | Epidemiology Branch Division of Intramural Population Health Research Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Thank you for the interest in our research. Nausea and vomiting are very common early in pregnancy and these symptoms can be difficult for women. Before we began this study there was very limited high-quality data on the implications of these difficult symptoms in pregnancy. Our study is unique because we asked women to report their symptoms continuously throughout their pregnancy before they may or may not have gone on to have a loss. We found that among women with 1 or 2 prior pregnancy losses, women who have nausea, and particularly nausea with vomiting, were less likely to have a pregnancy loss. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, JAMA, NIH, Parkinson's / 26.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yong Cheng, PhD, post-doc fellow Section on Cellular Neurobiology Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health Bethesda, Maryland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Parkinson’s disease is the second most neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. The symptoms of the disease are typically movement related. However, the nonmotor features in PD are increasingly recognized. Evidence suggests that inflammation may play a role in the development of AD, and a substantial number of studies have demonstrated altered levels of peripheral blood inflammatory cytokines in patients with  Parkinson’s disease, but findings have been inconsistent for individual cytokines and between studies. Therefore, we undertook a systematic review of the scientific literature, using a meta-analysis to quantitatively summarize clinical data on blood cytokine levels in patients with PD, compared with healthy controls. (more…)