Author Interviews, CDC, Opiods, Pharmacology / 21.02.2015

Dr. Zhou Yang Office of the Associate Director for Policy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Zhou Yang Office of the Associate Director for Policy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response: Prescription drug misuse and abuse, largely those involving opioid painkillers, have been characterized as an epidemic. According to a CDC report, drug-related overdose has surpassed traffic crashes to become the leading cause of injury death in the U.S. in 2009. Medicaid programs in most states implement Patient Review and Restriction (PRR) programs, also called ‘lock-in’ program. The PRR programs use a set of behavioral indicators to identify patients at higher risk of opioid drug misuse and abuse, and ‘locks’ them in to a designated provider, pharmacy, or both. Pharmacy shopping is one of the key indicators employed by the PRR program. However, definition of pharmacy shopper varies widely across states. In addition, the PRR programs have not paid attention to the indicators of prescribing overlapped drugs, which we see as a missed opportunity to help the PRR program to better target users at high risk of overdose. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Response: Among a number of currently used definitions of pharmacy shopping, we found that the definition of ‘four or more pharmacies visited within any 90-day period’ is the most effective one. We also found that having overlapping opioid prescriptions is associated with an elevated risk of overdose. In fact, patients who exhibited both pharmacy shopping and having overlapping prescription had more than twice the risk of overdose than those who only exhibited pharmacy shopping. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, NIH, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 21.02.2015

Yeyi Zhu, PhD IRTA Postdoctoral Fellow Epidemiology Branch Division of Intramural Population Health Research Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIHMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yeyi Zhu, PhD IRTA Postdoctoral Fellow Epidemiology Branch Division of Intramural Population Health Research Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Zhu: Currently in the US, nearly two thirds of reproductive-aged women are overweight or obese. Moreover, the amount of weight gained during pregnancy can have immediate and long-lasting impacts on health of a woman and her infant. Previous evidence implicates that excessive gestational weight gain above the Institute of Medicine guidelines is related to high birthweight (>4000 g), a marker of intrauterine over-nutrition which may impose a greater risk of offspring’s obesity and metabolic diseases in later life. Given that more than one third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese in the US, it is of great public health significance to improve our understanding of determinants and mediators of childhood obesity. The length of breast feeding and age at introduction of solid foods are infant feeding practices that are potentially modifiable in early life. We therefore examined whether birthweight and infant feeding practices, specifically length of breast feeding, mediate the relationship between maternal gestational weight gain and childhood growth in the National Children’s Study Formative Research in Anthropometry, a cross-sectional multi-ethnic study of 1387 mothers and their children aged 0-5.9 years in the US (2011-2012). We illustrated that the intergenerational relationship between maternal gestational weight gain and early childhood growth (i.e., z scores for weight-for-age, weight-for-height, and body mass index-for-age) largely acts through birthweight rather than directly on childhood growth. Further, given the negative association of breastfeeding duration with childhood anthropometrics, longer length of breastfeeding suppressed the positive associations of gestational weight gain and birthweight with childhood growth. In addition, analysis by ethnicity revealed that these associations were only significant in non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black participants as opposed to Hispanics and other ethnicities. (more…)
Author Interviews, Electronic Records / 21.02.2015

Rally HealthMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brian Dolan Chief Strategy and Partner Integration Officer Rally Health MedicalResearch.com Editor’s note: On February 3, 2015, Rally Health launched a New HIPPA compliant Digital Engagement platform that gives consumers the support and tools they need to better manage their health and well-being. Brian Dolan, the Chief Strategy and Partner Integration Officer at Rally Health, was kind enough to answer questions regarding the new health care interface for the readers of MedicalResearch.com. MedicalResearch: What is the background or vision for the Rally Health digital engagement platform? Mr. Dolan: We designed the platform to give consumers the support and tools they need to better manage their health and well-being. Rally leverages the power of personal health data, social networking, and gamification to encourage consumers to take control of their health. Rally’s proven behavior-changing technology encourages consumers to manage their own health by inspiring sustained action and offering intrinsic and extrinsic value-based incentives for engagement. Members can also meet other Rally users for ongoing support and encouragement. With the right balance of social and digital connectivity, Rally Health creates a modern consumer experience that makes getting healthy personal, relevant and fun. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Prostate Cancer / 21.02.2015

Karim Chamie MD Department of Urology Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center UCLA Medical Center, Santa MonicaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Karim Chamie MD Department of Urology Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response:  Active surveillance has been shown to be safe and effective. There are multiple longitudinal studies that have demonstrated the safety of active surveillance for men with indolent prostate cancer. In this context, we sought out to determine national practice patterns for localized prostate cancer. Moreover, we wanted to identify patient, tumor, and physician factors that influence treatment decision. What we found was that the vast majority of patients undergo radiation therapy, regardless of patient age and health or severity of tumor. Instead, by far the most significant predictor of whether a patient undergoes radiation therapy is whether they have been referred to a radiation oncologist. On the other hand, surgeons significantly incorporate patient age and health and tumor severity when considering radical prostatectomy (surgery). (more…)
Aging, AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness / 20.02.2015

Thomas W. Buford, PhD Assistant Professor, Division of Clinical Research Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, University of Florida College of Medicine Director, Health Promotion Center University of Florida Institute on AgingMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Thomas W. Buford, PhD Assistant Professor, Division of Clinical Research Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, University of Florida College of Medicine Director, Health Promotion Center University of Florida Institute on Aging Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Buford: This study was a cross-sectional analysis of data collected from over 1000 older adults upon their entry into the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) study. Briefly, participants were recruited into the LIFE Study who were over 70 years of age, sedentary, and had mobility limitations. The objective of this study was to examine, at baseline prior to their participation in the study interventions, the association between daily physical activity habits and risk of major cardiovascular events (i.e. heart attack and coronary-related death). The study utilized accelerometers, devices designed to identify and quantify human movement, to measure participant’s daily activity. Predicted risk of cardiovascular events was determined using a risk score established in the Framingham Heart Study. As identified by accelerometry measures, participants spent on average 70% of their waking hours being sedentary. The major finding of the study, however, was that even extremely low-level activity was associated with an improved cardiovascular risk profile. For every 25-30 minutes a participant was sedentary per day, predicted risk was 1 percent higher. Conversely, But activity identified as slightly above sedentary — which could be light housework or slow walking — was associated with higher levels of the more beneficial kind of cholesterol, HDL, in people with no history of heart disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Exercise - Fitness, Pain Research, Weight Research / 20.02.2015

Dan White PT , ScD, Msc University of DelawareMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dan White PT , ScD, Msc University of Delaware Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. White: We know that diet and exercise are beneficial to reduce knee pain, however it is not known whether diet and exercise can actually prevent the development of knee pain in people at high risk.  We found that an intensive program of diet and exercise had a small but statistically significant protective effect with preventing the development of knee pain in overweight and obese people with diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Connective Tissue Disease, Emory, Kidney Disease, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 20.02.2015

Laura Plantinga, PhD Assistant Professor Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta, GA 30322MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laura Plantinga, PhD Assistant Professor Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Medicine Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta, GA 30322 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Plantinga: Quality of care for end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which is treated with dialysis or kidney transplantation, is a high priority for the U.S. healthcare system, given universal coverage of these services. However, quality of ESRD care remains relatively unexplored in lupus patients, who have multiple providers and may have greater access to care. We found that, overall, nearly three-quarters of U.S. ESRD patients with lupus had pre-ESRD nephrology care and about 20% of lupus patients on dialysis were waitlisted for kidney transplant per year; however, fewer than one-quarter of those who started on dialysis had a permanent vascular access in place, which is associated with better outcomes than a temporary catheter. Furthermore, patients who were black or Hispanic were nearly a third less likely to have pre-ESRD care and were also less likely to be placed on the kidney transplant waitlist in the first year of dialysis than white patients. Having Medicaid or no insurance at the start of ESRD were both associated with lower likelihood of quality ESRD care by all measures, despite universal Medicare coverage after the start of ESRD. While there was geographic variation in quality of ESRD care, patterns were not consistent across quality measures. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Pediatrics / 20.02.2015

Katherine M. Keyes, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Epidemiology Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health New York, NY 10032MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Katherine M. Keyes, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Epidemiology Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health New York, NY 10032 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Keyes: The Monitoring the Future study is an annually conducted survey of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade high school students in the United States, covering a wide range of adolescent health behaviors. The same questions on adolescent sleep were queried every year since 1991, allowing us to examine historical trends in the amount of sleep adolescents report. We found that there have been substantial decreases in the proportion of adolescents who report 7 or more hours of sleep on a regular basis, across all age groups and across all demographic groups. In the most recent years, after age 15, less than half of adolescents report regularly getting 7 or more hours of sleep every night. Given the importance of sleep in both the short and the long term for adolescent health, these findings suggest substantial public health concern. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Ophthalmology, UCLA / 20.02.2015

Rohit Varma, MD, MPH Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology USC Eye Institute, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CaliforniaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rohit Varma, MD, MPH Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology USC Eye Institute, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Varma: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 4.4% of adults with diabetes aged 40 and older have advanced diabetic retinopathy that may result in severe vision loss. Clinical trials have shown that intravitreal injections of anti-VEGFs, such as ranibizumab, can reduce visual impairment and even in some cases improve visual acuity outcomes in patients with diabetic macular edema. We developed a model, based on data from the RIDE and RISE clinical trials, to estimate the impact of ranibizumab treatment on the number of cases of vision loss and blindness avoided in non-Hispanic white and Hispanic persons with diabetic macular edema in the United States.Results from the model suggest that, compared with no treatment, every-4-week ranibizumab 0.3 mg reduces legal blindness between 58%-88% and reduces vision impairment between 36%-53% over 2 years in this population. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, JAMA / 20.02.2015

Dr. Peter Forster PhD Fellow of Murray Edwards College and McDonald Institute at the University of CambridgeMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Peter Forster PhD Fellow of Murray Edwards College and McDonald Institute at the University of Cambridge   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?   Dr. Forster: As a result of our paternity testing work at the Institute for Forensic Genetics in Munster (Germany), we have accumulated a pool of over 24,000 parents and their children, of whom we know for certain that they are biologically related. Occasionally we observe a new mutation in these children, which must have come either from the sperm or the egg of one of the parents. As we analyse highly variable microsatellite DNA (a repetitive type of DNA, also know as STR DNA, which stands for "short tandem repeat" DNA), we can fairly easily find out whether the mutation has come from the mother or the father. It turns out that the fathers contribute 6-7 times more mutations to the children than the mothers do. This has long been known. What is new is that we have observed that the male and female teenagers at puberty do NOT set out with the same low mutation load, but instead, the teenage boys already have a sixfold higher mutation load in their sperm than the girls in their oocytes. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Nutrition, OBGYNE, Sugar / 20.02.2015

Ekaterina Maslova PhD Doctor of Science in Nutrition and Epidemiology Center for Fetal Programming Copenhagen, DenmarkMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ekaterina Maslova PhD Doctor of Science in Nutrition and Epidemiology Center for Fetal Programming Copenhagen, Denmark Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: From prior studies we know that excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) in pregnancy is associated with complications for both the mother and the child, including gestational diabetes, hypertension, and high birth weight. Understanding the factors that determine gestational weight gain would allow for interventions early on to improve pregnancy outcomes. Dietary intake has been found to influence gestational weight gain in other studies, but evidence is conflicting and still quite limited. In non-pregnant populations a high-protein diet was shown to decrease weight and improve weight maintenance. We therefore hypothesized that a similar relation may exist for gestational weight gain in pregnant women. In this study we had data on dietary intake of more than 45,000 Danish women who were pregnant between 1996 and 2002. We examined the relation between their intake of protein and carbohydrates and the rate of gestational weight gain (in grams per week). We found that women who consumed a high protein-to-carbohydrate (PC) ratio gained less gestational weight gain compared to women with a lower PC ratio in their diet. The results was stronger in women who started their pregnancy already overweight compared to normal weight women. Since a high PC ratio may result from either a high protein intake or low carbohydrate intake, we decided to focus on a component of carbohydrates that may increase gestational weight gain: added sugar. We found that pregnant women with higher intake of sugar gained more weight in pregnancy compared to those who consumed less added sugar. This averaged out to about 1.4 kg (or 7%) higher weight gain across the entire pregnancy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Toxin Research / 20.02.2015

Katherine A James, PhD, MSPH, MSCE Colorado School of Public Health University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, ColoradoMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Katherine A James, PhD, MSPH, MSCE Colorado School of Public Health University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, Colorado Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. James: Exposure to inorganic arsenic in drinking water has been associated with several chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus in areas with high levels of exposure.  Our study is one of the first to show association with cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus in a low-moderately exposed population. Our results show that for every 15 micrograms per liter of inorganic arsenic in drinking water the risk for CHD disease increased 38% and for diabetes it increases 27%. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Cancer Research / 20.02.2015

Dr Cristina Renzi Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, Health Behaviour Research Centre, London, UKMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Cristina Renzi Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, Health Behaviour Research Centre, London, UK MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Renzi: Only a minority of symptomatic individuals undergoing cancer investigations are diagnosed with cancer and more than 80% receive an 'all-clear' or non-cancer diagnosis (here called a 'false alarm'). This makes it important to consider the possible unintended consequences of a false alarm. Several studies have shown that investigations for a suspected cancer can have negative psychological effects, even for individuals ultimately diagnosed with a benign condition. In addition, an association between false alarms and subsequent delayed diagnosis has been reported for various cancers, with both patients and healthcare providers contributing to delays. Our review published by BMJ Open focused on 19 research papers which reported information on false alarms and subsequent symptom attribution or help-seeking. By integrating the available evidence from qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies this review allowed us to identify areas that need to be addressed in order to reduce the risk of delayed help-seeking after a previous false alarm. In particular, over-reassurance and under-support of patients can be an unintended consequence of a false alarm leading to delays in help-seeking, even years later, if patients notice possible symptoms of the disease again. The review, funded by Cancer Research UK, looked only at adult patients who had a false alarm after raising concerns about their symptoms; the effect of a false alarm might be different in patients who are investigated for suspected cancer following cancer screening. (more…)
Author Interviews, Education, Pediatrics / 20.02.2015

Julia Jaekel PhD Department of Developmental Psychology Ruhr-University Bochum in GermanyMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Julia Jaekel PhD Department of Developmental Psychology Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Jaekel: Recent reports suggest that delayed school entry (DSE) may be beneficial for children with developmental delays. However, studies of the effects of DSE are inconclusive. Our study investigated the effects of delayed school entry versus age-appropriate entry (ASE) in a large sample after minimizing selection bias and accounting for confounding effects of preschool knowledge. We found that delayed school entry has no effect on Year 1 teacher ratings of academic performance. In contrast, DSE children’s standardized mean test scores of mathematics, reading, writing and attention at 8 years of age were lower than ASE children’s mean scores. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brain Injury, Neurology, Parkinson's / 20.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Line Kenborg, MSc, PhD Survivorship Unit Danish Cancer Society Research Center Copenhagen Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The hypothesis that head injuries increase the risk for Parkinson disease has been examined in many studies during the past decades, but the findings have been highly inconsistent. We have previously examined the hypothesis in a study based on information on head injuries and Parkinson disease from the Danish National Hospital Registry. In this study, we found a positive association between a hospital contact for a head injury in middle or late adulthood and a diagnosis of Parkinson disease. The reported association, however, was almost entirely due to injuries that occurred during the months preceding the first hospital contact for Parkinson disease. Because we used information from registries, we lacked detailed diagnostic information to distinguish Parkinson disease from other types of parkinsonism, and we had no information on milder head injuries and head injuries in early life. So we wanted to study whether head injuries throughout life increased the risk for Parkinson disease in the largest interview-based case-control study to date including patients with a verified diagnosis of Parkinson disease. The main finding of our study is that we do not find any association between head injuries and Parkinson disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, PLoS / 19.02.2015

Shai Mulinari Researcher, PhD Sociology, Lund University MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Shai Mulinari  Researcher, PhD Sociology, Lund University Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Mulinari : Over the past decade, several so-called whistleblower cases have spotlighted the illicit marketing practices of pharmaceutical companies in the US but relatively few similar cases have been brought in Europe. The reason for this discrepancy is unclear but one possibility is that the wider use of self-regulation in Europe encourages companies to comply with drug promotion rules and deters illicit conduct. But to date self-regulation of medicines promotion has been poorly studied. We therefore investigated pharmaceutical industry self-regulation in the UK and Sweden. These are two countries often cited as places where self-regulation is effective. One of things that we found was that between 2004 and 2012 the Swedish and UK self-regulatory bodies ruled that 536 and 597 cases, respectively, were in breach of the country’s rules on medicines promotion; many of the violations in both countries concerned misleading claims about a drug’s effects. This equates to an average of more than one case per week in each country. Charges incurred by companies because of these violations were equivalent to about 0.014% and 0.0051% of annual sales revenue in Sweden and the UK, respectively. Notably, nearly 20% of the cases in breach of the code of conduct in both countries were serious breaches. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Geriatrics, PLoS / 19.02.2015

Tess Harris St George’s University of LondonMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tess Harris St George’s University of London   MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Response: Physical activity is vital for both physical and mental health in older people, preventing at least 20 common health problems. Yet the majority of older people do not achieve the World Health Organisation physical activity guidelines for health of at least 150 minutes every week of at least moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity in bouts that each last at least 10 minutes. Brisk walking is a good way to achieve moderate intensity physical activity, with a low risk of harm. Pedometers can give you direct feedback on your step-count and accelerometers record both step-counts and the intensity of physical activity achieved. The PACE-Lift trial assessed whether an intervention to increase walking, comprising pedometer and accelerometer feedback, combined with physical activity consultations provided by practice nurses over a 3 month period, based on simple behaviour change techniques, could lead to sustained increases in physical activity in 60-75 year olds. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Duke, JAMA, Radiation Therapy, Thyroid / 19.02.2015

Sanziana Roman MD FACS Professor of Surgery Duke University Section of Endocrine Surgery Director of the Endocrine Surgery Fellows and Scholars Program Duke University School of Medicine Chief, General Surgery and Associate Chief of Surgery for Clinical Affairs, DVAMCMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sanziana Roman MD FACS Professor of Surgery Duke University Section of Endocrine Surgery Director of the Endocrine Surgery Fellows and Scholars Program Duke University School of Medicine Chief, General Surgery and Associate Chief of Surgery for Clinical Affairs, DVAMC Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Roman: Adjuvant radioactive iodine (RAI) is commonly used in the management of differentiated thyroid cancer. The main goals of adjuvant RAI therapy are to ablate remnant thyroid tissue in order to facilitate long-term follow-up of patients, decrease the risk of recurrence, or treat persistent and metastatic lesions. On the other hand, Adjuvant radioactive iodine ( therapy is expensive, with an average cost per patient ranging between $5,429.58 and $9,105.67. It also carries the burden of several potential complications, including loss of taste, nausea, stomatitis with ulcers, acute and/or chronic sialoadenitis, salivary duct obstruction, dental caries, tooth loss, epiphora, anemia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, acute radiation pneumonitis, pulmonary fibrosis, male infertility, and radiation-induced malignancies. Therefore, Adjuvant radioactive iodine ( should be used only for appropriately selected patients, for whom the benefits would outweigh the risks. Based on current guidelines, adjuvant RAI is not recommended for patients with papillary thyroid cancers confined to the thyroid gland when all foci are ≤1 cm (papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, or PTMC). Similarly, Adjuvant radioactive iodine ( does not have a role in the treatment of medullary and anaplastic thyroid cancer. Given the fact that variation in treatments exist, our goal was to analyze patterns of inappropriate adjuvant RAI use in the U.S. in order to identify potential misuses leading to an increase of costs for the healthcare system and unnecessary patients’ exposure to risks of complications. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, NEJM / 19.02.2015

  Swain_SandraMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sandra M Swain, MD, FACP, FASCO Medical Director, Washington Cancer Institute MedStar Washington Hospital Center Washington DC 20010 MedicalResearch: What take-home message would you like the general public to understand about this new analysis from the Cleopatra study? Potential Key Message Options:
  • Updated results from the CLEOPATRA study showed that people treated with the combination of pertuzumab, trastuzumb and chemotherapy lived 15.7 months longer than those who received trastuzumab and chemotherapy alone (median survival of 56.5 months versus 40.8 months).
  • The survival improvement of nearly 16 months observed in CLEOPATRA is unprecedented among studies of metastatic breast cancer. This is the kind of survival improvement that those of us who treat breast cancer strive for, and this data will be incredibly meaningful to patients and their families.
  • Furthermore, the median survival of nearly five years observed in CLEOPATRA patients treated with the pertuzumab regimen is the longest ever observed in a clinical study of people with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, once one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer.
  • Patients who responded with shrinkage of their tumor had a response that was 8 months longer with the pertuzumab regimen compared to the trastuzumab and chemotherapy regimen.
(more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, UCSD / 18.02.2015

Dr. Rahul S. Desikan MD, PhD Department of Radiologoy University of California, San Diego School of MedicineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Rahul S. Desikan MD, PhD Department of Radiologoy University of California, San Diego School of Medicine Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Desikan: The MAPT gene encodes the tau protein, which plays an integral role in Alzheimer's disease (AD) neurodegeneration. Though a number of studies have investigated this issue, the role of the MAPT gene in Alzheimer's disease is still unclear. In contrast, a number of studies have found a robust association between MAPT and increased risk for other 'tauopathies' like Parkinson's disease (PD). In our study, rather than evaluating all possible genetic loci, we only assessed shared genetic variants between Alzheimer's disease and PD. By using this type of approach, we were able to increase our statistical power for gene discovery in Alzheimer's disease. We found genetic overlap between Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease at a locus on chromosome 17 within the MAPT region. Our findings demonstrate that this MAPT associated locus increases risk for Alzheimer's disease, correlates with gene expression of MAPT and is associated with brain atrophy of the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus on longitudinal MRI scans. (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Smoking / 18.02.2015

Virender K. Rehan, MD LA BioMed Lead ResearcherMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Virender K. Rehan, MD LA BioMed Lead Researcher   Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Rehan: A new study holds hope for reversing asthma caused by smoking during pregnancy. The study, published online by the American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, reported that a medication that stimulates certain proteins in the body reversed airway damage in disease models of asthma caused by prenatal exposure to nicotine. This is the first study to indicate that the damage caused by exposure to nicotine during pregnancy could actually be reversed. Earlier studies found this medication could prevent nicotine-induced asthma when given during pregnancy. Researchers at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) conducted the study to determine if the lung and airway damage caused by nicotine could be reversed and found it could be. (more…)
Author Interviews, End of Life Care / 18.02.2015

Eva E. Bolt MD Physician researcher Dept. Public and Occupational Health EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research (VU University Medical Center) Medical Faculty Amsterdam, The NetherlandsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eva E. Bolt MD Physician researcher Dept. Public and Occupational Health EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research (VU University Medical Center) Medical Faculty Amsterdam, The Netherlands Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Bolt: Three-quarter of all Dutch physicians have ever been asked by a patient to perform euthanasia. Each request for euthanasia calls for careful deliberation. Firstly, the physician needs to judge whether euthanasia would be possible within the limits of the law. Above that, a physician needs to decide whether performing euthanasia is in line with his personal believes and values. This study shows that cause of suffering is an important factor in this decision. In the Netherlands, the euthanasia law gives physicians the possibility of performing euthanasia, if they adhere to strict rules. The euthanasia law is not restricted to certain diseases. However, this study shows that the attitude of physicians towards performing euthanasia varies by condition. Most Dutch physicians would consider granting a request for euthanasia in case of cancer (85%) or another severe physical disease (82%). In contrast, only four out of ten physicians would consider granting a request for euthanasia in case of early-stage dementia. One in three would consider it in case of advanced dementia or psychiatric disease, and one in four in case of a person who is tired of living without suffering from a severe disease. (more…)
Alcohol, Author Interviews, Personalized Medicine / 18.02.2015

Sean M. Murphy, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Health Policy & Administration Washington State University MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sean M. Murphy, Ph.D. Assistant Professor  Department of Health Policy & Administration Washington State University Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Murphy: Professional healthcare advice regarding excessive alcohol consumption has been shown to reduce demand in a controlled setting. However, success in a clinical trial isn’t always indicative of an intervention’s effectiveness in everyday use. Studies testing the effect of provider advice on alcohol demand in a non-controlled environment are few, and have failed to control for non-moderate drinkers.  Therefore, it is possible that the estimated effect of professional-health advice primarily reflected moderate-drinkers’ responses. The distinction between moderate and non-moderate drinkers is an important one, as society bears a large cost for those who consume above-moderate quantities, while moderate drinkers have been shown to be relatively productive and healthy. Excise taxes may not be efficient given that they impose negative externalities on moderate drinkers, while excessive drinkers have been shown to be relatively unresponsive to price increases. We found that personalized information from a healthcare professional was negatively associated with reported alcohol consumption among both “risky” and “binge" drinkers. Moreover, we found that personalized drinking advice may have an impact on those who are reluctant to state that they were given such advice. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA, Karolinski Institute / 18.02.2015

Karolina Szummer, MD, PhD Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine Karolinska Institutet Karolinska University Hospital Stockholm, Sweden MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Karolina Szummer, MD, PhD Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine Karolinska Institutet Karolinska University Hospital Stockholm, Sweden Please note: This work is comparing the anticoagulant fondaparinux with low-molecular-weight heparin (not heparin). Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Szummer: Since the publication of the OASIS-5 trial in 2006, many hospitals chose to change their medical practice and start using fondaparinux instead of low-molecular-weight heparin in the treatment of myocardial infarctions. In this study from the nation-wide near-complete myocardial infarction registry we were able to follow how the use of fondaparinux instead of low-molecular-weight heparin translated in clinical life was associated to a reduction in bleeding events and death. It is a very satisfying study, that confirms that the randomized clinical trial results are transferred with improvements in outcome to the treated patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Sleep Disorders / 18.02.2015

Karen Thorpe PhD Professor, Developmental Psychology Program Leader, Early Education and Development Group Program leader, Sleep in Early Childhood Group School of Psychology and Counselling Queensland University of Technology Australia MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Karen Thorpe PhD Professor, Developmental Psychology Program Leader, Early Education and Development Group Program leader, Sleep in Early Childhood Group School of Psychology and Counseling Queensland University of Technology Australia MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Professor Thorpe: Sleep is undoubtedly important not only for how well we think, feel and behave in our daily lives but also for longer-term health. In childhood, the quantity and quality of night-time and 24 hour sleep have consistently been identified as predictor of health. For example, night sleep predicts weight status. These findings have led to the hypothesis that increasing quantity of sleep through promoting daytime sleep would benefit child health. We sought to look for evidence on the independent effects of daytime sleep on child health, learning and behavior to assess whether this hypothesis was supported. (more…)
Author Interviews, Toxin Research / 18.02.2015

Dr. Prashant Kumar PhD (Cantab), MTech, BEng, FHEA, FCPS, FCCT, CEng(IEI), MIEnvSc, MIAQM, MIAAPC Senior Lecturer in Wind Engineering Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (C5) Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences University of Surrey, GuildfordMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Prashant Kumar PhD (Cantab), MTech, BEng, FHEA, FCPS, FCCT, CEng(IEI), MIEnvSc, MIAQM, MIAAPC Senior Lecturer in Wind Engineering Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (C5) Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences University of Surrey, Guildford Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Kumar: Pollution is disproportionately spread in urban areas due to scattered mobile and stationary sources. Exhaust emissions from vehicles are one of the major sources of air pollution in urban areas. When vehicles stop at red lights, they go through different driving cycles such as idling, acceleration and deceleration. At the same time, a number of other vehicles are also queuing at red lights, emitting further emissions – these emissions take more time to disperse, especially in built-up areas, and end up accumulating in the air at traffic lights. In our study, we found that because drivers were decelerating and stopping at lights, then revving up to move quickly when lights go green, peak particle concentration was 29 times higher than that during free flowing traffic conditions. We also found that while drivers spent just two per cent of their journey time passing through traffic intersections managed by lights, that short duration contributes to about 25 per cent of their total exposure to these harmful particles. (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, Biomarkers / 17.02.2015

Alisa G. Woods, Ph.D., MSMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alisa G. Woods, Ph.D., MS Assistant Professor Biochemistry & Proteomics Group Department of Chemistry & Biomolecular Science Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, 13699 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Woods: Objective assessments for autism are greatly needed in order to understand autism cause and also to diagnose autism. Currently autism is diagnosed based on behavior, despite theories that autism may have a biological cause. We sought to develop a non-invasive biological test for autism, using saliva and mass spectrometry-based proteomics. We found nine statistically significant proteins that were elevated in the saliva of children with autism relative to typically developing controls and three proteins that were significantly decreased or absent. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Mayo Clinic, Smoking / 17.02.2015

Jon Ebbert, M.D. Associate director for research Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jon Ebbert, M.D. Associate director for research Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Ebbert: Some cigarette smokers prefer to reduce the number cigarettes that they smoke before quitting smoking completely. Previous studies have evaluated the use of nicotine replacement therapy and one smaller study looked at varenicline to help smokers quit through smoking reduction. We wanted to conduct a larger study with varenicline using a longer duration of treatment. We enrolled cigarette smokers who had no intention of quitting in the next month but who were willing to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoked while working toward a quit attempt in the next 3 months. (more…)
Author Interviews, Weight Research / 17.02.2015

Dr. med. Laurence Genton, FMH Médecine Interne Médecin adjointe agrégée, chargée de cours Nutrition Clinique Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève GenèveMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. med. Laurence Genton, FMH Médecine Interne Médecin adjointe agrégée, chargée de cours Nutrition Clinique Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève Genève Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Several studies have shown that body mass index is linked to mortality through a U- or J-curve, i.e. that a low and maybe a high body mass index are related to a higher risk of mortality in elderly people. However, body mass index consists of fat mass and fat-free mass, and the former studies cannot differentiate the impact of these body compartments. However, this differentiation may be important to guide our public health care strategies. For instance, fat and fat-free mass can both be reduced by hypocaloric diet and endurance exercise, while fat-free mass can be increased with adequate calorie and protein intakes, resistance exercise and anabolic treatments. Thus, this study aimed at evaluating the impact of fat mass and fat-free mass on mortality. We found that body mass index and body composition did not predict mortality in older women. However, a high fat-free mass was associated with a lower risk of mortality in men, even when adjusting for body mass index. (more…)