Every healthcare patient shares the universal dislike of long waiting room times. There’s nothing more frustrating than sitting in a...
Dr. Jonathan Baktari[/caption]
Jonathan Baktari, MD
CEO of e7health.com
Dr. Baktari, CEO discusses the COVID-19 Delta COVID-19 variant and his insights into pandemic concerns and control.
MedicalResearch.com: What is meant by the 'Delta' variant? Are there differences in the clinical presentation or complications?
Response: Variants are now given Greek lettering for everyone and the Delta variant represents the variant from India. Pulmonary reports indicate it is much more contagious and there are reports of increased hospitalization with this variant.
MedicalResearch.com: Where is the variant currently found and where is it likely to spread?
Response: Obviously India, but it has taken over as the dominant strain in England and it is about 6% of the strains in the United states and growing.
Don’t Endure It Alone Get your friends and family involved with the detox process so that you have people you can...
Dr. Conner[/caption]
Christopher Conner, MD, PhD
Neurosurgery resident
McGovern Medical School
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: There has been a growing understanding in medicine that the incidence of motor vehicle trauma is changing. We have watched as Friday and Saturday night emergencies have declined without a good explanation. Several other studies have investigated this, but the results were not conclusive.
We think that is due to a lack of data from the rideshare companies and hospitals directly 
Dr. Turchin[/caption]
Alexander Turchin, MD, MS
Director of Informatics Research
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Brigham and Women's Hospital
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: There is an epidemic of obesity in the U.S.: over 40% of adults are obese. Obesity causes numerous complications, ranging from heart attacks to cancer. Bariatric surgery is one of the most effective ways to treat obesity, but very few patients utilize it; it is unclear why.
The problem with the goals that many people set is that they are simply not measurable. For example, the goal could be to do with running. Rather than just simply saying ‘I would like to be able to run for a while’, you should instead say ‘I would like to be able to run for a mile’. There you have a clear target to aim for. Once you hit this target, you will then be able to make the necessary adjustments to it. For example, you can increase the distance that you are running or say that you will do it in a certain amount of time.
Dr. Greco[/caption]
Giampaolo Greco PhD MPH
Assistant Professor
Department of Population Health Science and Policy
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The motivation for our study was to understand why mortality rate from breast cancer is much higher in African American women than in White women, despite the fact that these groups have similar incidence rate of breast cancer.
Metabolic syndrome, a cluster of metabolic abnormalities that includes abdominal obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia, is more prevalent among African American women and may be a risk factor for breast cancer.
Subjective social status (SSS) is the perception of individuals of their own ranking in the social hierarchy and complements other parameters of socioeconomic status, such as income and education, that are considered more objective. Socioeconomic status is associated with cardiovascular and mental health. Although objective measures of social status are associated with worse breast cancer outcomes, the relationship of SSS to breast cancer is uncertain.
Dr. Pasquale[/caption]
Louis Pasquale, MD, FARVO
Professor of Ophthalmology
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Site Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology
Mt. Sinai Hospital and Vice Chair of Translational Ophthalmology Research
Mount Sinai Healthcare System
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Studies on the relation between caffeine intake and glaucoma have been contradictory, although our work suggested an adverse association amongst people with a self-reported family history of glaucoma.
Dr. Takahashi[/caption]
Mai Takahashi MD MPH
Mount Sinai Beth Israel - Resident Physician
New York, New York
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response:
The incidence of head and neck cancer had been significantly increasing in North America and Europe driven by Human Papillomavirus-related cancer (HPV OPC) which account for more than 60% of total oropharyngeal cancer cases. Compared to environmentally related oropharyngeal cancer, the HPV OPC patient population is generally younger and has a much better prognosis. However, they will suffer from long-term deteriorations in quality of life (QoL) and the declines associated with treatment intensity. Hence multiple studies have focused on de-intensification therapy with reduced dose chemoradiotherapy (CRT). 
Dr. Ian White[/caption]
Ian A. White, M.S., Ph.D.
Founder, President & Chief Scientific Officer
Neobiosis, LLC
Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute
University of Miami
MedicalResearch.com: What is the mission of Stem Cell Institute and Neobiosis?
The Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami was established to capitalize on pioneering work in the use of adult stem cells for the repair of malfunctioning human organs. The goal of the Institute is to find new treatments for heart disease, neurological disease, bone disease, diabetes, cancer, eye diseases, and other chronic, debilitating, or incurable diseases.
Neobiosis is a privately-owned biotech company dedicated to the manufacture and development of regenerative tissues, cells, and the secretome from perinatal sources. Our mission is to provide high-quality products for research and clinical trials by focusing on the science of regenerative medicine.
Dr. Hyunju Kim[/caption]
Dr. Hyunju Kim Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In the past few months, we have learnt that individuals with comorbidities (obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension) are at higher risk of Covid-19. The etiology of these conditions is largely driven by poor nutrition and unfavorable lifestyle choices, yet no study examined whether dietary habits play a role in Covid-19 infection, severity of symptoms, and duration of illness.
Dr. D'Amico[/caption]
Anthony D'Amico, MD, PhD
Professor and Chief of Genitourinary Radiation Oncology
Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: 3 randomized trials published in Sept, 2020 in the Lancet and Lancet Oncology concluded that delivering radiation therapy (RT) after surgery for prostate cancer when the PSA rises signaling recurrence (i.e. early salvage RT) as opposed to when the PSA is undetectable (i.e. adjuvant RT) did not compromise subsequent cancer progression.
However these trials may have missed the benefit of adjuvant RT because a minority of men (9 to 17% of the study cohorts) were found to have adverse factors at prostatectomy which are associated with cancer progression and death from prostate cancer.
Specifically, men with adverse pathology at prostatectomy comprise the vast majority of men who go on to die from prostate cancer and therefore have the most to gain from adjuvant RT. Yet, given the results of the 3 randomized trials many physicians are no longer offering adjuvant RT, even in men with adverse pathology at surgery.
Dr. Ferrara[/caption]
Michele Ferrara, PhD.
Professor of Psychobiology and Physiological Psychology
Chair of the Psychology Didactic Council
Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences
University of L'Aquila
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: During the current period of social distancing, the pervasive increase in the use of electronic devices (smartphones, computers, tablets and televisions) is an indisputable fact. Especially during the long lockdown period of Spring 2020, technologies played a pivotal role in coping with the unprecedented and stressful isolation phase. However, exposure to backlit screens in the hours before falling asleep can have serious repercussions on sleep health: on the one hand, by mimicking the effects of exposure to sunlight, and thus interfering with the circadian rhythm of the hormone melatonin, and on the other hand, counteracting the evening sleepiness due to the emotionally and psycho-physiologically activating contents.
In light of this assumption, we decided to test longitudinally during the third and the seventh week of lockdown a large Italian sample (2123 subjects) through a web-based survey. We assessed sleep disturbances/habits and the occurring changes of electronic device usage in the 2 hours before the sleep onset.
Prof Jeffrey S Tobias, Prof Jayant S Vaidya, Prof Max Bulsara and Prof Michael BaumMedicalResearch.com Interview with:[/caption]
Professor Jayant S Vaidya
MBBS MS DNB FRCS PhD
Professor of Surgery and Oncology
University College London
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What type of single dose radiation is used?
Response: The new paper published in the British Journal of Cancer (go.nature.com/3yN0mzu) expands on the previously published results of the large international randomised trial (TARGIT-A trial)(BMJ 2020;370:m2836), that confirmed the long-term effectiveness of Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy (TARGIT-IORT): a breast cancer treatment which is increasingly available throughout the world.
The TARGIT-A trial found that a single dose of targeted radiotherapy during surgery (TARGIT-IORT) is just as effective as conventional radiotherapy, which requires several visits to hospital after surgery. From the perspective of patients, it is so much better for them and also allows prompt completion of cancer treatment during the COVID pandemic.
Conventional external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) is delivered from outside the body via a radiotherapy machine (linear accelerator), and consists of a daily treatment session (known as fractions) to the whole breast, over a period between three to six weeks. Each of these treatments is given over a few minutes, but requires up to 30 hospital visits, which could be a significant distance from where the patient lives.
TARGIT-IORT is delivered immediately after lumpectomy (tumour removal), via a small ball-shaped device placed inside the breast, directly where the cancer had been. The single-dose treatment lasts for around 20 to 30 minutes and replaces the need for extra hospital visits, benefiting both patient safety and well-being. The device used is called INTRABEAM.
The new results are described on the Nature.com and UCL webpages
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2021/may/pioneering-single-dose-radiotherapy-breast-cancer-treatment
and explained in a short video https://youtu.be/w0OMjVfJ5pY 
Dr. Chien-Wen Tseng[/caption]
Chien-Wen Tseng, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.E.E.
The Hawaii Medical Service Association Endowed Chair
Health Services and Quality Research
Professor, and Associate Research Director
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Gaining weight during pregnancy is natural but gaining too little or too much weight can be harmful for pregnant people and their babies. For the first time, the Task Force reviewed the evidence and found that counseling pregnant people on healthy weight gain during pregnancy can lower their risk for diabetes during pregnancy, emergency cesarean deliveries, and babies born with a birth weight that is too high. Pregnant people may not know what amount of weight gain is healthy during pregnancy, or how weight gain can affect their pregnancy and baby.
We recommend that clinicians offer all pregnant people counseling on healthy weight gain throughout their pregnancy for healthier, safer pregnancies.
Dr. Michele Hill[/caption]
Michelle Hill, PhD
Head, Precision & Systems Biomedicine Group
QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The role of cholesterol and cholesterol lowering drug therapy in prostate cancer has been previously investigated with mixed results. Our previous laboratory studies indicate that high cholesterol diet accelerates the spreading of advanced prostate cancer. We also observed a change of the cellular location of cholesterol, from the cell periphery (plasma membrane) to inside the cell.
This study investigates the how the change in cholesterol location promotes prostate cancer spread.
Professor Marie-Aleth Richard
EADV Communications Committee Chair
Professor, University Hospital of La Timone
Marseille, France
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this Roundtable event? Would you describe the mission of the European Commission’s Beating Cancer Plan?
Response: Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan is the first, comprehensive EU strategy on cancer, aimed at tackling the disease through all key stages: prevention; early detection; diagnosis and treatment; and quality of life of cancer patients and survivors. The Plan also aims to create opportunities to improve cancer care through research and innovative projects, such as artificial intelligence, and to promote equal access to knowledge and treatments in cancer care across Europe.
The EADV seeks to create a bridge between the EU health policy agenda and scientific research, by engaging with policymakers, patient organisations and other stakeholders to support a patient centric-approach; tackling melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) at all stages of the pathway, from prevention to follow-up care.
Through our Roundtable event, the EADV brought together these key stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of the EBCP on preventing both melanoma and NMSC, as well as identify joint recommendations that step-up measures towards this goal.
Prof. Hypponen[/caption]
Professor Elina Hypponen
Professor in Nutritional and Genetic Epidemiology
Director: Australian Centre for Precision Health
University of South Australia
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Diet is an important determinant of cardiovascular disease, and several studies have shown an association between high dairy and milk consumption with cardio-metabolic risk factors.
Especially high fat dairy products can increase the risk of high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease by increasing the intakes of saturated fat and dietary cholesterol.
However, milk is also a rich source of calcium and other nutrients, and evidence from randomized controlled trials has been inconsistent with respect to the role milk may have in cardiovascular health 
Dani Clode[/caption]
Dani Clode
Designer & Senior Research Technician
Plasticity Laboratory
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience
University College London
MedicalResearch.com: What was the inspiration behind creating the Third Thumb?
[caption id="attachment_57498" align="alignleft" width="145"] Third Thumb Dani Clode Design[/caption]
Response: From a design perspective, augmentation is about designing a new relationship with technology, creating something that is no longer just a tool for the hand, but instead an extension of the hand. I created the Third Thumb during my Design Product Masters project at the Royal College of Art (London). The Third Thumb is a flexible 3D-printed thumb extension for your hand, controlled by your toes. It is operated wirelessly with pressure sensors and affords proportional control over two degrees of freedom. The project began as a way to better understand what it was like to control something extra attached to my body. As an upper-limb prosthetics designer,
I wanted to understand the unique relationship between a person and a prosthetic, it’s a relationship unlike any other product, and I wanted to explore that. The Plasticity Lab then got in contact with me after seeing the Third Thumb online, as they were already exploring augmentation in the brain. We started collaborating on this research shortly after, and I now work as an in-house designer for the Plasticity Lab, collaborating on neuroscience research.
Medical professionals move from person to person throughout the day. If they get behind, they may become harried. Don't let...
Dr. Kubik[/caption]
Martha Kubik, Ph.D., R.N.
Professor and Director
School of Nursing
College of Health and Human Services
George Mason University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, yet about a quarter of people ages 50 to 75 have never been screened for this devastating disease. Fortunately, we know that screening for colorectal cancer is effective and saves lives. New science about colorectal cancer in people younger than 50 years old has enabled us to expand our previous guidelines to recommend that all adults ages 45 to 75 be screened for colorectal cancer to reduce their risk of dying from this disease. 
Dr. Peacock[/caption]
Frank Peacock, MD, FACEP, FACC
Professor of Emergency Medicine, Associate Chair
Research Director, Department of Emergency Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Emergency medicine (EM) physicians, like myself, are always looking for ways to improve the patient experience. Often times, we will encounter a patient in the emergency department (ED) who is presenting with one of the most common side effects of opioids, which is opioid-induced constipation (OIC). OIC impacts 40-80% of patients on long-term opioid therapy[i],[ii] and may lead to emergency room visits which are associated with a significant burden on patients and the healthcare system. We wanted to compare the impact of treating OIC patients with FDA-approved prescription medications for OIC versus the impact of not treating OIC patients with an FDA-approved prescription medication for OIC in the ED setting to better understand the impact to overall ED costs and the length of stay for a hospitalized patient.
Dr. Talley[/caption]
Nicholas J. Talley, MD, PhD
Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global ResearchUniversity of Newcastle, Australia
Adjunct Professor of Medicine
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Department of Medicine
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What is meant by Eosinophilic Gastritis and/or Duodenitis?
Response: Eosinophilic gastritis and/or eosinophilic duodenitis (EG/EoD) is an eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease (EGID) characterized by chronic gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and elevated eosinophils in the stomach and/or the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine). When patients have both EG and EoD, it is sometimes referred to as eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EGE). You may have heard of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), which is the more well understood EGID characterized by elevated eosinophils in the esophagus.
Until recently, EG/EoD was thought to be very rare, but prevalence had never been assessed in a prospective, systematic manner. New research indicates that EG/EoD may be a common cause of chronic, moderate-to-severe GI symptoms. Related, millions of patients in the United States suffer with chronic GI symptoms or are diagnosed with a functional GI disorder (FGID). FGIDs are diagnoses of exclusion, and excitingly the study results we present at DDW 2021 suggest that EG/EoD may be the underlying cause of many of these patients’ chronic, moderate-to-severe GI symptoms.
Dr. Herremans[/caption]
Kelly Herremans, MD
Lead researcher on the study
Surgical research fellow
University of Florida College of Medicine
Gainesville
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Pancreatic cancer is a deadly malignancy with an estimated 5-year survival rate of only 9%. Significant racial and ethnic disparities exist in pancreatic cancer. Underrepresentation in the clinical trials that determine safety and efficacy may contribute to these disparate outcomes.
Dr. Barnes[/caption]
Edward L. Barnes, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
UNCHealth Care and a medical advisor to the Global Healthy Living Foundation
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Although historically inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) have been considered diseases of non-Hispanic whites, the current burden of Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) in minority populations is largely unknown. I
n our study, we evaluated the relative prevalence of CD and UC across racial and ethnic groups within the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet) and compared the racial/ethnic distribution of IBD in PCORnet to that of the United States (US) census data, the overall PCORnet population, and PCORnet patients with selected immune-mediated conditions.