Author Interviews, Lancet, Mental Health Research / 24.09.2015

Professor Jane Pirkis PhD Centre for Mental Health Melbourne School of Population and Global Health University of Melbourne, AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Jane Pirkis PhD Centre for Mental Health Melbourne School of Population and Global Health University of Melbourne, Australia Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Professor Pirkis:  Public sites that gain a reputation as places where people might go to seek to end their lives are a particular problem in suicide prevention.  Any suicide is tragic, but suicides at these sites have an extra level of complexity because they can lead to copycat acts and can have a major impact on people who work at or live near these sites, or visit them for other reasons.  Our meta-analysis, which pooled data from 18 individual studies from around the world,  found that three interventions work really well in reducing suicides at these sites.
  • Restricting access to means (e.g., installing barriers) can reduce suicides at these sites by 90% or more, and
  • encouraging help-seeking (e.g., installing phones that link directly to crisis services) and
  • increasing the likelihood of someone intervening (e.g., installing CCTV cameras, training staff who work at these sites) can each reduce them by around 50%, or more in some cases.  The interventions seem to work well together and complement each other too.  
Author Interviews, Imperial College, Parkinson's / 23.09.2015

Dr. Ilse S. Pienaar Honorary Lecturer in Neuroscience at Imperial College London (& Snr. Lecturer in Cellular Pathology, Northumbria University) Centre for Neuroinflammation & Neurodegeneration Division of Brain Sciences Faculty of Medicine Imperial College London Hammersmith Hospital Campus London United KingdomMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Ilse S. Pienaar Honorary Lecturer in Neuroscience at Imperial College London (& Snr. Lecturer in Cellular Pathology, Northumbria University) Centre for Neuroinflammation & Neurodegeneration Division of Brain Sciences Faculty of Medicine Imperial College London Hammersmith Hospital Campus London United Kingdom   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Pienaar: A highly heterogeneous brainstem structure, the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) has been deemed a promising target for the delivery of deep-brain stimulation (DBS), to alleviate aspects of Parkinson's disease (PD), especially gait and postural instability. However, optimal therapeutic targeting of the PPN has been hampered due to DBS being unable to discriminate between cell types being targeted. We optomised a novel technique, Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADD) in a rat model of PD, by which to target only the PPN cholinergic neurons. A series of behavioral tests revealed that selective stimulation of the PPN cholinergics completely reverses gait problems and postural instability in the PD rats.
Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, JAMA, Pulmonary Disease, University of Michigan / 23.09.2015

Thomas Valley, MD Fellow, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MIMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Thomas Valley, MD Fellow, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Valley: There has been dramatic growth in intensive care unit (ICU) use over the past 30 years. As the reasons for this growth are not entirely clear, some have suggested that the ICU is a meaningful source of low-value care. The value of the ICU, however, depends on the net benefit that ICUs provide patients. Prior observational studies assessing the effectiveness of the ICU were limited because patients admitted to the ICU are inherently sicker and more likely to die than patients admitted to the general ward. Given the substantial number of patients with pneumonia who are admitted to an ICU, it is vital to understand whether admission to the ICU is beneficial. In our study of 1.1 million Medicare beneficiaries with pneumonia between 2010 and 2012, we used an instrumental variable, a statistical technique to pseudo-randomize patients based on their proximity to a hospital that uses the ICU frequently for pneumonia, in order to determine whether ICU admission saved lives and at what financial cost. An estimated 13 percent of patients were admitted to the ICU solely because they lived closest to a hospital that used the ICU frequently for pneumonia. Among these patients, ICU admission was associated with a nearly six percent reduction in 30-day mortality compared to general ward admission. In addition, there were no significant differences in hospital costs or Medicare reimbursement between patients admitted to the ICU and to the general ward.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Cleveland Clinic, JAMA / 22.09.2015

Jeffrey L. Cummings, M.D., Sc.D. Director, Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health Camille and Larry Ruvo Chair for Brain Health Cleveland Clinic Las Vegas, NV 89106MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jeffrey L. Cummings, M.D., Sc.D. Director, Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health Camille and Larry Ruvo Chair for Brain Health Cleveland Clinic  Las Vegas, NV 89106  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Cummings: Agitation is a common problem in Alzheimer’s disease (AD); approximately 70% of patients with AD will experience periods of agitation.  This difficult behavior challenges patients and caregivers, adversely affects quality of life, and may precipitate institutionalization.  There are not drugs approved for treatment of agitation in Alzheimer’s disease. The study reported in JAMA showed that a drug based on a combination of dextromethorphan and quinidine (DM/Q) produced statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in agitation in Alzheimer’s disease patients.  The study met its primary outcome (decline in the Neuropsychiatric Inventory agitation scale in drug compared to placebo) and many of its secondary outcomes (e.g, decreases in caregiver stress).  The agent was safe and well tolerated.
Author Interviews, End of Life Care, Heart Disease, JAMA / 22.09.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Timothy J. FendlerMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Timothy J. Fendler MD MS Department of Cardiology, Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute Kansas City, Missouri Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Fendler: In-hospital cardiac arrest occurs commonly in the United States and is associated with low rates of meaningful survival. This poor prognosis should prompt patient-clinician discussions about goals of care and preferences for future resuscitative efforts. Little is known about how prognosis is aligned with code status decisions among survivors of in-hospital cardiac arrest (in other words, as prognosis worsens, are patients more likely to adopt Do-Not-Resuscitate orders, a sign of less aggressive treatment preferences, should recurrent cardiac arrest occur). We found that, among patients who survive an in-hospital cardiac arrest, there is generally good alignment between prognosis and code status decisions. That is, as prognosis worsens among survivors of in-hospital cardiac arrest, the rate of DNR status adoption increases, on average. However, among patients with very low levels of neurologic functioning and very poor prognosis, nearly two-thirds did not adopt DNR status, despite the fact that only about 4% of these patients with poor prognosis experienced actual favorable neurological survival. These results imply that there could be better alignment between prognosis and goals of care decisions that places the patient's wishes, safety, and quality of life at the forefront of decision-making and decreases the likelihood of undue suffering when the outcome may not be improved by it. Second, survival rates were much lower in patients with DNR orders, compared to those who did not adopt DNR status, after survival from in-hospital cardiac arrest. This was observed regardless of prognosis, implying that patients who adopt DNR status, and thus only request they be treated differently in the setting of recurrent cardiac arrest, may be receiving less aggressive treatment than they prefer, in areas of their care outside of resuscitation from cardiac arrest.
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Pediatrics, Social Issues / 22.09.2015

Avik Chatterjee, MD, MPH Physician, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program Instructor, Harvard Medical School Associate Epidemiologist, Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston, MAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Avik Chatterjee, MD, MPH Physician, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program Instructor, Harvard Medical School Associate Epidemiologist, Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston, MA Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Chatterjee: Substance use, sexual activity and violent behaviors are common during adolescence. Understanding risk factors for these behaviors will improve our ability to prevent them and their sequelae. The Chaos, Hubbub and Order Scale (CHAOS) is a measure of household physical and social disorder, and higher CHAOS score, as reported by parents, has been shown to be correlated with less self-regulatory behavior in children. Thus, CHAOS could be a risk factor for the above behaviors in adolescents. We used data from the RISE study, in which 929 adolescents completed face-to-face and computer-assisted (for sensitive questions) interviews about their health behaviors to analyze the relationship between CHAOS score and risky health behaviors. We found that students with highest CHAOS score, compared to those with zero CHAOS score, had elevated odds for tobacco use (3x), alcohol use (2.5x), any substance use at school (6x) and fighting in the past 12 months (2x).
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Heart Disease, OBGYNE, Women's Heart Health / 22.09.2015

Barbara A. Cohn, PhD Director of the Child Health and Development Studies at the Public Health Institute. Berkeley, CaliforniaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Barbara A. Cohn, PhD Director of the Child Health and Development Studies at the Public Health Institute. Berkeley, California Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Cohn: I guessed that pregnancy complications would be an early warning sign of cardiovascular problems because of the extraordinary demands that pregnancy places on a woman’s cardiovascular system. Medical Research: What data were used for this study? Dr. Cohn: The Child Health and Development Studies is a large pregnancy cohort that enrolled more than 20,000 pregnancies in the 1960’s. Women and their families have been followed now for more than 50 years. Information on pregnancy complications was captured from medical records as they occurred, long before cardiovascular disease developed. These data are the basis for the current study. Medical Research: Why hasn’t this study already been done? Dr. Cohn: Long-term, large studies of pregnancy are rare. I first tried to do this study forty years ago when I was in graduate school.   At that time, Dr. Bea van den Berg, the late, second director of the Child Health and Development Studies advised that the study mothers were still too young to observe their cardiovascular disease experience. Now 40 years later, my colleague Piera Cirillo and I have been able to test the idea that combinations of pregnancy complications are linked to cardiovascular disease death for women.
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, PLoS / 22.09.2015

Dr. Cristiano Ferlini, MD Director of Biomedical Research Rudy and Sally Ruggles Chief of cancer research Western Connecticut Health Network Research InstituteMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Cristiano Ferlini, MD Director of Biomedical Research Rudy and Sally Ruggles Chief of cancer research Western Connecticut Health Network Research Institute Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Ferlini: Our aim is to understand why some cancer patients respond well to conventional treatment while others suffer progressive disease.  Nextgen sequencing technologies provide data that shed light on the mechanisms underlying differences in clinical outcome. However, analyses utilizing these data have been focused on human genes. This is to be expected given that the subjects under investigation are indeed humans. We adopted a novel approach in this and a prior study which involved in-depth, comprehensive mapping of microRNA sequences in human cancers to viral genes to assess their presence and significance. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Ferlini: We discovered a surprising number of viral microRNA sequences in a wide variety of cancer tissues. We also documented an interplay between these viral microRNAs and genes related to anticancer immunity. Both viruses and cancers share a common goal of suppressing the immune system to promote their own survival. Synergistic immunosuppression seems particularly relevant for the Epstein Barr virus, an unfortunate fact given its ubiquity in human populations. After the acute phase of EBV infection, the virus persists indefinitely in a dormant state inside B lymphocytes. When cancers grow, they create a protected microenvironment in which  anticancer immunity is suppressed.  We have obtained evidence suggesting that when EBV infected B cells circulate within these domains, the virus becomes reactivated and produces microRNAs which further amplify immunosuppressive genes.
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, JACC, NYU/NYMC, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 22.09.2015

Gbenga Ogedegbe, MD, MS, MPH FACP Professor of Population Health and Medicine Director, Division of Health and Behavior Director, Center for Healthful Behavior Change Vice Dean, NYU College of Global Public Health NYU Langone School of Medicine Department of Population Health New York, NY 10016MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gbenga Ogedegbe, MD, MS, MPH FACP Professor of Population Health and Medicine Director, Division of Health and Behavior Director, Center for Healthful Behavior Change Vice Dean,  NYU College of Global Public Health NYU Langone School of Medicine Department of Population Health New York, NY 10016 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Ogedebge: Evidence from clinical trials have previously indicated that a common blood pressure medication, angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, (when prescribed as first line treatment) may not provide the same benefits in blacks compared to whites. However blacks are grossly underrepresented in these studies, despite the fact they have disproportionately higher rates of hypertension-related morbidity and mortality than whites. Thus, we chose to study this particular question because it allows us to evaluate this evidence in a large population of hypertensive black patients who receive care in a real-world practice setting. This study evaluates racial differences in cardiovascular outcomes and mortality between hypertensive black and white patients whose treatment was initiated with angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, outside of a clinical trial.  ACE inhibitors are one of several classes of drugs commonly prescribed to individuals with hypertension to prevent deaths, heart attack, kidney failure, heart failure and stroke.
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, JNCI / 21.09.2015

Philip S. Rosenberg, PhD Biostatistics Branch, Senior Investigator Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive Bethesda, MD 20892MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Philip S. Rosenberg, PhD Biostatistics Branch, Senior Investigator Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive Bethesda, MD 20892  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Rosenberg: It has been previously reported that breast cancer burden (number of new cases diagnosed in a year) is expected to rise in the future, mostly due to the aging of the female population in the US. Also, it has been established that the age-adjusted breast cancer incidence rates (cases per 100,000 women per year) are increasing for invasive ER-positive cancers overall and decreasing for ER-negative cancers overall. When taken together, these two trends tend balance each other out, resulting in a somewhat flat breast cancer incidence rate overall.  Though the overall trends for invasive breast cancer have been previously reported, this study uses a more refined forecasting method by including recent birth cohort patterns to forecast breast cancer to 2030 by age group, estrogen receptor-status, and invasive vs. in situ tumors. New in this report are the findings for in situ tumors and the more granular break down by age, ER status, and invasive vs. in situ tumors both for rate and burden (number of cases).
Author Interviews, Psychological Science, University of Pittsburgh, Weight Research / 21.09.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Linda J Ewing PhD RN Department of Psychiatry and Lora E Burke PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN Department of Health and Community Systems University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study was the product both of work done in Dr. Burke’s lab as well as cumulative findings of other investigators demonstrating that improved self-efficacy is related to positive changes in health behaviors (e.g., physical activity, increased Intake of healthier foods, such as fruits and vegetables).  Given that, we designed a behavioral weight loss study that included an intentional focus on enhancing participant self-efficacy for healthy behaviors related to weight loss maintenance.  No previous study had self-efficacy enhancement as a focus of intervention with the long-term goal of increasing weight loss maintenance.  Thus our study focused on mastery performance of weight loss related behaviors.  Findings supported our hypothesis; participants in both arms of the study (standard behavioral weight loss (SBT) and SBT with self-efficacy enhancement (SBT+SE) achieved clinically significant weight loss.  Participants in the SBT+SE group had greater weight loss maintenance while those in the SBT group had clinically significant weight regain.
Author Interviews, FDA, JAMA, University of Pittsburgh / 21.09.2015

Dr. Tamar Krishnamurti PhD Department of Engineering & Public Policy Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Tamar Krishnamurti PhD Department of Engineering & Public Policy Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Krishnamurti: In 2012, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act became law. As part of this law, FDA can assign drugs the “breakthrough” designation. Breakthrough drugs are drugs that are intended to treat a serious or life threatening condition and have shown preliminary evidence of a substantial improvement over existing therapies on at least one one clinically significant endpoint. These clinical endpoints can be surrogate outcomes and don't have to be a direct outcome of the disease. All FDA press releases announcing approval of breakthrough-designated drugs use the term “breakthrough” and about half use the term “promising” when describing the drugs. Our study randomly assigned participants to read 1 of 5 short descriptions of a recently approved drug. These vignettes differed by the term assigned to the drug (e.g. "breakthrough" or "promising") or by whether the basis for the designation was clearly and succinctly explained in the description. We found that using the terms "breakthrough" and "promising" to describe these drugs resulted in people having unwarranted confidence about the effectiveness of breakthrough drugs, which could prevent them from making a fully informed decision about whether to take the drug or not. The influence of these terms on peoples' judgments was mitigated by explaining the regulatory meaning of the drug's approval (which is required in the drug's professional label, but not in public discourse about the drug).
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics / 21.09.2015

Dr. Ziming Xuan ScD, SM, MA Assistant Professor, Community Health Sciences School of Public Health Boston University MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Ziming Xuan ScD, SM, MA Assistant Professor, Community Health Sciences School of Public Health Boston University  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Xuan: With respect to background, among the 15000 some teenagers died annually in the US, the 3 leading causes of death were unintentional injuries, homicide, and suicide. Among these fatal youth injuries, 83% homicides were gun-related, and about half of suicides involved a gun (45%). So, The purpose of the study was to investigate the association between state gun law environment and youth gun carrying in the United States, and whether this association is mediated by adult gun ownership. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Xuan:
  • Among 38 states in our study, 5.7%of high school students living in the 19 states with stricter gun laws carried a gun in past 30 days while 7.3% of students living in states with the weaker gun laws carried a gun.
  • A 10-point increase in the strictness of the state gun law score was associated with a 9% decrease in the odds of youth gun carrying.
  • Across states, restrictive gun laws may reduce youth gun carrying by limiting adult gun ownership.
Author Interviews, Clots - Coagulation, Heart Disease, JACC / 21.09.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Renato Valenti, MD David Antoniucci, MD Cardiology Department; Careggi Hospital Florence; Italy Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response: Previous data have shown that high residual platelet reactivity in patients receiving clopidogrel is associated with high risk of ischemic events and cardiac death after PCI at short-  and long-term follow-up. Clopidogrel nonresponders patients of  the  REsponsiveness to CLOpidogrel and StEnt thrombosis (RECLOSE-2) ACS study received an increased dose of clopidogrel or switched to ticlopidine under light transmittance aggregometry (LTA) adenosine diphosphate  (ADP) test guidance. Despite some decrease of ADP test after treatment adjustment, there was no improvement on clinical outcome. Currently no evidence exists that the achievement of an optimal platelet aggregation inhibition in clopidogrel nonresponders  modifies  the risk profile of  these patients. The RECLOSE-3  study invesigated if a new antiplatet therapy with prasugrel in clopidogrel nonresponders can modify the risk profile of these patients and improve the outcome in term of cardiac mortality. From the RECLOSE-3 registry we identified  302 consecutive  patients who were clopidogrel nonresponders.  Nonresponders  switched to prasugrel therapy.  Due to the nonrandomized study design the clinical outcome of clopidogrel nonresponders switched to prasugrel (from RECLOSE-3 study) was compared with the historical cohort of clopidogrel nonresponders of the RECLOSE-2 ACS (248 patients)  study. The primary endpoint of the study was cardiac mortality. The 2-year cardiac mortality rate was  4.0% in the RECLOSE-3 group and 9.7% in the RECLOSE-2 group (p=0.007). The difference in 2-year cardiac mortality remained also considering exclusively patients  with ACS on admission: 3.2% and 9.7%, respectively, p=0.023.At the final model of multivariable analysis, prasugrel treatment was inversely related to the risk of  2-year cardiac death (HR 0.32; p=0.036)  after adjusting for ACS and other well known covariates related to the outcome. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Response: The main finding of the RECLOSE-3 study is that nonresponsiveness to clopidogrel may be a “modifiable risk factor” for cardiac death after PCI. Prasugrel treatment overcomes nonresponsiveness to clopidogrel and results in thrombotic risk similar to the one of clopidogrel responders.
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Cost of Health Care / 21.09.2015

Steven L. D'Amato, BSPharm, BCOP President and Executive Director New England Cancer Specialists Scarborough, Maine Association of Community Cancer CenteMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Steven L. D'Amato, BSPharm, BCOP President and Executive Director New England Cancer Specialists Scarborough, Maine Association of Community Cancer Centers Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The Trends in Cancer Programs annual survey, which began in 2009, provides key insight into nationwide developments in the business of cancer care. It’s a joint project between the Association of Community Cancer Centers and Lilly Oncology.  The goals of the survey are to:
  • Provide ACCC with information to help guide its education and advocacy mission
  • Assist member organizations to understand nationwide developments in the business of cancer care
  • Assist members in evaluating their own cancer program’s performance relative to similar organizations through a consistent and meaningful benchmark.
This year’s key findings show that patient-centered services – like nurse navigation, psychological counseling, survivorship care and palliative care – are continuing to grow in U.S. cancer programs. However, the biggest challenge facing cancer centers is reimbursement for these types of services. Additionally, mirroring what we are seeing in the industry in general, measurement is becoming more and more important. More cancer programs are now using quality metrics to show payers the value of care provided. More information about our findings can be viewed here: http://www.accc-cancer.org/surveys/pdf/Trends-in-Cancer-Programs-2015.pdf.
Author Interviews, Dental Research, Heart Disease / 21.09.2015

Boxi Zhang PhD Student School of Health and Medical Sciences Örebro University MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Boxi Zhang  PhD Student  School of Health and Medical Sciences Örebro University   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In the past decade, many studies raise concerns about the increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease and mortality among patients with periodontitis. Porphyromonas gingivalis is the major pathogen causing periodontal disease. This bacterium also plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. In this study, we infect human aortic smooth cells with P. gingivalis and show that this periodontal pathogen affects gene and protein expression in human aortic smooth muscle cells associated with increased inflammation and atherosclerosis.
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Exercise - Fitness, Nutrition / 21.09.2015

Beetroot juice WikipediaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Chris Thompson BSc MSc ANutr AFHEA University of Exeter St. Luke's Campus Exeter Devon Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response: Dietary nitrate has been shown to favourably alter the contractility of type II muscle fibres and enhance blood flow to working muscles that are predominantly type II. Dietary nitrate may also improve perfusion to areas of the brain responsible for cognitive function. It is therefore possible that through these mechanisms, nitrate-rich beetroot juice supplementation may improve both physical and cognitive performance during exercise which reflects the high intensity intermittent nature of team sport play. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Response: Participants were able to complete greater total work during an intermittent sprint test following nitrate-rich beetroot juice supplementation. We also found that dietary nitrate enabled a reduction in response time to decision making during the cognitive tasks performed throughout the exercise test.
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Outcomes & Safety, Technology / 21.09.2015

Wencui Han PhD Assistant Professor Business Administration University of Illinois at Urbana ChampaignMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Wencui Han PhD Assistant Professor Business Administration University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Han: Well-designed disease registries integrate a variety of information, including patient demographics, laboratory results, pharmacy data, and comorbidity data, to serve a variety of functions outside the clinical encounter. However, the adoption of disease registries by healthcare organizations is associated with significant direct and indirect costs. The impacts of using disease registries that meet meaningful use (MU) requirements in improving health outcomes and creating cost savings are understudied. This study examines the impact of using a registry for patient reminders and for improvement of the quality of care, hospital utilization, and cost saving. The results suggest that the use of diabetes registries meeting Meaningful Use core objectives is associated with higher completion or recommended lab tests and a lower hospital utilization rate for patients with type 2 diabetes.
Author Interviews, BMJ, Exercise - Fitness / 21.09.2015

Yi-Wen Chen PhD Candidate, and Darlene Reid, BMR(PT), PhD Professor and Chair Department of Physical Therapy University of Toronto Toronto, OntarioMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yi-Wen Chen PhD Candidate, and Darlene Reid, BMR(PT), PhD Professor and Chair Department of Physical Therapy University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response: Tai Chi is a time-honored exercise in China, developed during the Sung Dynasty, which has gained increased popularity in Western society. Most styles of Tai Chi consist of slow rhythmic movements that often emphasize typical attributes of exercise including range of motion, strengthening, balance, and postural alignment. In addition, there are spiritual aspects of Tai Chi that focus on relaxation, breath control, and cultivating internal energy. Several studies have demonstrated its multifaceted benefits in the elderly and in people living with chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory disorders and arthritis. If you were interested in seeing videos of beginner practices, check out some tai chi online to better clarify the motions previously described. Many individuals that require increased exercise and physical fitness also have one or more comorbidities; 9 out 10 Canadians live with more than one chronic condition and this proportion increases to 98% in adults over the age of 65 years. Increased fitness can increase quality of life and decrease risk of mortality and morbidity in older persons and in many chronic conditions. However, treatment, including exercise is often prescribed within a single specialty. Rarely is information provided to health professionals that integrates therapeutic approaches across several common chronic disorders. Accordingly, we performed a systematic review to determine if Tai Chi is an effective physical activity that improves symptoms, physical function, quality of life and depression in cancer, osteoarthritis (OA), heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)? We also examined if Tai Chi had similar effects for the same outcome measures across different chronic conditions?
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Genetic Research, Journal Clinical Oncology, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 20.09.2015

Aditya Bardia MBBS, MPH Attending Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02114MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Aditya Bardia MBBS, MPH Attending Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02114   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response:  Multiple studies have consistently shown that African American women with cancer, including breast cancer, have worse outcomes than Caucasian counterparts. While socioeconomic issues, including access to care plays an important role, the contribution of tumor biology has been less clear. In this study, utilizing exome sequencing data, we linked the racial distribution of primary breast cancer with tumor genotypic traits, including somatic mutations, gene-expression profiles and intra-tumor heterogeneity. We observed that in addition to having a higher prevalence of triple negative breast cancer than Caucasian women (something that has been documented in the literature), African American women had a significantly higher prevalence of TP53 mutations, TNBC basal-like 1 and mesenchymal stem-like tumors, and intratumor genetic heterogeneity, and all of which suggest more aggressive tumor biology, suggesting that differences in tumor genomic profile contribute, at least partly, to the known racial disparity in survival between African Americans and Caucasians breast cancer patients.
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Flu - Influenza, Geriatrics, Lancet, Vaccine Studies / 20.09.2015

Dr Ayman Chit PhD Sanofi Pasteur Swiftwater, PA 18370MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Ayman Chit PhD Sanofi Pasteur Swiftwater, PA 18370 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Chit: Our analysis used data from a large-scale, multi-center efficacy trial, in which a higher-dose split-virus inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV-HD, Fluzone® High-Dose vaccine, Sanofi Pasteur) was compared to a standard-dose split-virus inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV-SD, Fluzone vaccine, Sanofi Pasteur) in persons 65 years of age and older.  These data were supplemented with US healthcare cost data. In the efficacy trial, a total of 31,989 adults 65 years of age and older were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either IIV-HD or IIV-SD and followed for six to eight months post-vaccination for the occurrence of influenza, serious adverse events, and medical encounters. Healthcare utilization (HCU) data were captured for all participants through a surveillance program that covered each influenza season, including the following events occurring within 30 days after any respiratory illness: use of prescription and non-prescription medications (limited to antipyretics/analgesics/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antivirals and antibiotics), emergency room visits, non-routine or urgent care visits, and hospitalizations. In addition, all hospitalizations were captured for participants for the entire duration of the study. The primary results from the efficacy trial were published in The New England Journal of Medicine, which reported that IIV-HD was 24.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.7% to 36.5%) more effective in preventing laboratory-confirmed influenza-like illness compared to IIV-SD.1 In the current supplemental analysis of the trial, we used US healthcare cost data to evaluate economic impacts of using IIV-HD compared to IIV-SD within the efficacy trial participants. In this analysis, total healthcare payer costs (the combined costs of study vaccine, prescription drugs, emergency room visits, non-routine and urgent-care visits, and hospital admissions) were about $116 less per person.
  1. DiazGranados et al, NEJM, 2014;14;371(7):635-45 
Author Interviews / 20.09.2015

Miklos Z Molnar, MD, PhD, FEBTM, FERA, FASN Associate Professor of Medicine Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis, TN, 38163 MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Miklos Z Molnar, MD, PhD, FEBTM, FERA, FASN Associate Professor of Medicine Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis, TN, 38163 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Restless legs syndrome is a common sleep disorder, but there is a paucity of large cohort studies examining the association of restless legs syndrome with clinical outcomes, including all-cause mortality, incident coronary heart disease, stroke and chronic kidney disease. From a nationally representative prospective cohort of over 3 million US veterans [93% male, median follow-up time of 8.1 years (interquartile range: 7.0–8.5years)] with baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2, a propensity-matched cohort of 7392 patients was created, and the association between incident restless legs syndrome and the following was examined:
  • (1) all-cause mortality;
  • (2) incident coronary heart disease;
  • (3) incident strokes; and
  • (4) incident chronic kidney disease defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m2.
Compared with restless legs syndrome-negative patients, incident restless legs syndrome was associated with 88% higher mortality risk [hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval: 1.88 (1.70–2.08)], and almost four times higher risk of coronary heart disease and stroke [hazard ratio: 3.97 (3.26–4.84) and 3.89 (3.07–4.94), respectively]. The risk of incident chronic kidney disease was also significantly higher in incident restless legs syndrome patients [hazard ratio: 3.17 (2.74–3.66)] compared with restless legs syndrome-negative counterparts. These associations was independent from other confounders such as demographic data, comorbidities and other sleep disorders (sleep apnea and periodic limb movements in sleep).
Author Interviews / 20.09.2015

Mohammed K. Ali, MBChB, MSc, MBA Associate Professor of Global Health and Epidemiology Rollins School of Public Health Emory University MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mohammed K. Ali, MBChB, MSc, MBA Associate Professor of Global Health and Epidemiology Rollins School of Public Health Emory University Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Ali: The background of this study is that we attempted to provide a comprehensive overview so that readers could see what has been happening for the 4 most common sets of chronic non-communicable diseases (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, common cancers, and chronic respiratory diseases) over the past 30 years (1980-2012). We looked at one measure: death due to these conditions as that is the longest-standing way to understand what diseases are most common in society and warrant efforts to address them. And, we picked these 4 groups of conditions because together, they account for one out of every two deaths worldwide. We compiled data for 49 countries where over 70% of deaths in the country are documented and reported to the World Health Organization’s Mortality Database. What we found is that:
  • Between 1980 and 2012, death rates for many conditions (heart disease and stroke; cervical and stomach cancers) declined worldwide.
  • Second, deaths due to diabetes, liver cancers, and female lung cancer and female respiratory diseases increased worldwide.
  • And third, there were disparities between high-income countries (like the US, Australia, European countries) and low- and middle-income countries (like Mexico or Eastern European countries) in that these latter countries experienced less impressive declines in deaths due to heart disease, stroke, stomach, and cervical cancers, and actual increases in deaths due to breast cancers and colon cancers.This suggests that we have made important strides in high-income countries, largely due to efforts to lower tobacco exposure, and that awareness, access to healthcare, screening, and earlier treatments seem to be having an effect on prolonging survival from many cancers. Similarly, greater attention to and treatment of cardiovascular risk factors may be yielding benefits. However, more efforts are needed in low- and middle-income countries, and these disparities should not be overlooked.
Author Interviews, BMJ, Hearing Loss, Heart Disease, Occupational Health / 20.09.2015

Wenqi Gan, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health University of Kentucky College of Public Health Lexington, KY 40536MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Wenqi Gan, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health University of Kentucky College of Public Health Lexington, KY 40536 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Wenqi Gan: In epidemiologic studies on health effects of noise exposure, community noise is typically assessed using noise prediction models, occupational noise is assessed using self-reports or historical records. These methods are able to estimate community noise exposure in residential areas and occupational noise exposure in the workplace; however, these methods are not able to accurately reflect actual personal noise exposure in the home and workplace. The lack of personal noise exposure information is a major limitation of previous studies, which could cause underestimations of the true health effects of noise exposure. Bilateral high-frequency hearing loss, an objective indicator for long-term exposure to loud noise, may be used to investigate health effects of noise exposure. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Wenqi Gan: This study includes 5223 people aged 20-69 years who participated in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004. Compared with people with normal high-frequency hearing, people with bilateral high-frequency hearing loss were approximately two times more likely to have coronary heart disease. This association was particularly striking for people who were chronically exposed to loud noise in the workplace or leisure time. For example, for currently employed workers with occupational noise exposure history, the possibility of having coronary heart disease increased more than four times. This study confirms that chronic exposure to loud noise is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease.
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, JAMA, Prostate Cancer / 18.09.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sindy Magnan, MD, MSc, FRCPC Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Medicine CHU de Québe Université Laval Québec City, Québec, Canada Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Magnan : Androgen deprivation is the standard therapy for patients with advanced or recurrent prostate cancer. Intermittent administration of this treatment could offer several advantages over the standard continuous administration by delaying the development of castration-resistant disease and by reducing the drugs’ adverse effects. However, this mode of administration remains controversial. We thus conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to compare the effectiveness and tolerability of intermittent versus continuous androgen deprivation. Intermittent therapy was non-inferior to continuous therapy with respect to overall survival. No major difference in global quality of life was observed between the two interventions, but some quality-of-life criteria, mainly in relation with physical and sexual functioning, seemed improved with intermittent therapy.
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Pain Research / 18.09.2015

psoriasis foundationMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alexander Egeberg, MD Department of Cardiology Herlev and Gentofte Hospital Hellerup, Denmark Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Egeberg: Psoriasis is a common chronic skin disease, with a strong inflammatory component. Within the last decade, our understanding of psoriasis have advanced significantly, and psoriasis is now widely regarded as a systemic disease, where the skin is a direct marker of disease activity. The inflammatory pathways in psoriasis have also been implicated in several central nervous system diseases such as depression, uveitis, and multiple sclerosis. Moreover, pain generation and sensitization can occur as a result of the pro-inflammatory mediators which are upregulated in psoriasis. In the present study, we investigated the association between psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and the risk of new-onset migraine. The main finding was a psoriasis-severity dependent increased risk of new-onset migraine, and patients with severe skin psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis appeared to have the highest risk.
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Sleep Disorders / 18.09.2015

Dr Manolis Kallistratos MD,PhD FESC,EHS Cardiologist at Asklepieion Voula General Hospital Athens, Greece MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Manolis Kallistratos MD,PhD FESC,EHS Cardiologist at Asklepieion Voula General Hospital Athens, Greece  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr Kallistratos: We all know that lifestyle changes represent the cornerstone of treatment of arterial hypertension. Lifestyle changes include restriction of salt and alcohol, physical activity, smoking cessation and weight loss. On the other hand, we know that many individuals especially the elders are sleeping at noon. Unfortunately there are few studies assessing mid-day sleep. A study in healthy individuals affirmed that sleeping at noon resulted in a decrease of 12% of the relative risk of coronary mortality in healthy subjects.  So the question regarding this habit is: Is it only a custom, a behavioral adaptation or is it also beneficial? Should mid-day sleep be included in the life style changes suggested by the doctors in patients with arterial hypertension? because we all know that nowadays is almost a privilege for a few due to the “nine to five” working culture, and the intense daily routine. For this purpose we prospectively studied 386 middle-aged patients (200 males and 186 females) from our outpatient hypertensive clinic. We observed that hypertensive patients that slept at noon presented lower pulse wave velocity levels (less stiff arteries), lower daytime and nighttime as well as average systolic blood pressure levels (24-hours SBP) . In general mid-day sleep decreased systolic blood pressure levels (during 24 hours) for approximately 6 mm of Hg. 60 minutes of mid-day sleep, decreased average SBP in our patients for about 4 mmHg. In addition, there was a trend, patients who slept at noon to be under fewer medications.
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Pediatrics / 18.09.2015

Juliana F. W. Cohen, ScD, ScM Harvard T. H Chan School of Public Health Department of Health Sciences, Merrimack College North Andover, MAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Juliana F. W. Cohen, ScD, ScM Harvard T. H Chan School of Public Health Assistant Professor Department of Health Sciences School of Science and Engineering Department of Health Sciences, Merrimack College North Andover, MA  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Cohen:  There is a substantial amount of variation in the amount of time students have to eat lunch because there are no national standards for lunch period lengths. This study found that when students had less than 20 minutes of seated time in the cafeteria, they were less likely to select a fruit and consumed significantly less of their entrees, milk and vegetables compared with students who had at least 25 minutes to eat their lunch.
Accidents & Violence, Technology / 18.09.2015

Dr. Xiaohu Xia Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Chemistry Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI 49931MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Xiaohu Xia Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Chemistry Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI 49931 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Xiaohu Xia, Jingtuo Zhang, Ning Lu, Moon J. Kim, Kushal Ghale, Ye Xu, Erin McKenzie, Jiabin Liu, Haihang Ye. Pd–Ir Core–Shell Nanocubes: A Type of Highly Efficient and Versatile Peroxidase Mimic. ACS Nano, 2015; 150910154147007 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b03525Dr. Xia: Peroxidases, a family of enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of certain compounds with peroxides, have found widespread use in areas such as biomedicine and environmental protection. Over the past several years, researchers have found that certain inorganic nanomaterials (such as nanoparticles made of metal, metal oxides, and carbon) possess intrinsic peroxidase-like activities. As the major advantage over their natural counterparts, these peroxidase mimics are much more stable because they are less vulnerable to denaturation and protease digestion. In spite of the superior stability of the mimics, improvement in their catalytic efficiency has been met with limited success. The catalytic efficiencies for most of the previously reported peroxidase mimics with sizes 1-100 nm are limited to the range of 101-104 s-1 in terms of catalytic constant (Kcat, which measures the maximum number of chemical conversions of substrate molecules per second per enzyme/mimic). Our research team have recently developed a new type of peroxidase mimic with a record high efficiency that was engineered by coating ~18 nm palladium (Pd) nanocubes with ultrathin iridium (Ir) skins of a few atomic layers (i.e., Pd-Ir core-shell cubes, see Figure). The catalytic efficiency of our Pd-Ir cubes could reach a level of Kcat = 106 s-1. In view of the substantially enhanced efficiency, we applied our Pd-Ir cubes to the colorimetric enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of human prostate surface antigen (PSA) by functionalizing their surface with antibodies. The detection limit of the Pd-Ir cubes-based ELISA of PSA was determined to be 0.67 pg/mL, which is over 100-fold lower than that of the conventional horseradish peroxidase(HRP)-based ELISA using the same set of antibodies and the same procedure (see Figure).