Author Interviews, Brain Injury / 06.02.2015

Ashley Di Battista, Ph.D. Research Fellow Critical Care Medicine| Neurosciences & Mental Health Program The Hospital for Sick Children Toronto, ON, CanadaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ashley Di Battista, Ph.D. Research Fellow Critical Care Medicine| Neurosciences & Mental Health Program The Hospital for Sick Children  Toronto, ON, Canada Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Di Battista: Most of what is known about adolescent quality of life (QoL) after traumatic brain injury (TBI) doesn’t come from adolescents – it comes from their parents.  This profoundly non- concordant data (known as the “Proxy Problem”) is drawn from parent reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaires (e.g. the PedsQL ™).  Parent report can be influenced by the parents’ own distress after their child’s traumatic brain injury – which results in parents providing poorer estimates of their child’s QoL.  Lack of insight is often purported to explain this difference, in the absence of direct examination of insight, or subsequent data, to support this claim.  HRQoL has been criticized in the broader wellbeing literature as incompatible with the QoL construct– due to the absence of core features of the overall QoL model, and an inherent suggestion that a lack of overt pathology is equivalent to a good outcome. Proxy reported, HRQoL focused research has generated a polarized view of quality of life after pediatric traumatic brain injury. This misrepresentation is due in part to the way in which we acquire this data (e.g. the tools) and who we ask (e.g. parents). The current study explored the individual adolescent experience of quality of life after traumatic brain injury and whether the tools commonly used to assess quality of life after brain injury are of capturing what adolescents define as relevant to their definition of quality of life. Our findings revealed that when adolescents did endorse changes in functioning on the PedsQL, they did not consider these changes to be relevant to, or impact on, their self-described QoL. While the PedsQL™ is capable of documenting changes post-injury, it does not seem to capture domains of relevance to the adolescent idea of QoL. The ability of these adolescents to reflect on their own circumstances, engage in pre-to-post injury analysis of their functioning challenges default positioning that lack of insight is the sole determinant for differences in reports between proxies and adolescents on quality of life . (more…)
BMJ, Heart Disease, Hospital Readmissions, Yale / 06.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kumar Dharmarajan MD MBA Section of Cardiovascular Medicine Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Dharmarajan: We know that patients are at high risk for rehospitalization and death in the month after hospital discharge. Yet little is known about how these risks dynamically change over time for the full year after hospitalization. This information is needed for patients and hospitals to set realistic goals and plan for appropriate care. We found that the risk of rehospitalization and death decline slowly following hospitalization and remain elevated for many months. We also found that specific risk trajectories vary by discharge diagnosis and outcome. For example, risk remains elevated for a longer period of time following hospitalization for heart failure compared with hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction. For all 3 conditions we studied (heart failure, heart attacks, and pneumonia), risk of rehospitalization remained elevated for a longer period of time than the risk of death. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, OBGYNE, Occupational Health / 06.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Barbara Grajewski, Ph.D., M.S., Epidemiologist Elizabeth Whelan, Ph.D., Branch Chief Christina Lawson, Ph.D., Epidemiologist Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response: The study, published January 5 online ahead of print in the journal Epidemiology, looked at potential workplace reproductive hazards for flight attendants. While in flight, flight attendants are exposed to cosmic radiation from space and, periodically, can be exposed to radiation from solar particle events. Flight attendants can also experience circadian disruption (disruption to the body’s internal time clock) from traveling across time zones and from working during hours when they would normally be asleep. For this study, we analyzed 840 pregnancies among 673 female flight attendants and examined company records of 2 million single flights flown by these women. From these data, we estimated a marker of circadian disruption—working during normal sleeping hours—and exposure to cosmic and solar particle event radiation for each flight. This gives us a much more specific estimate of the exposures these workers face on the job every day. We also assessed the physical demands of the job, such as standing and walking for more than 8 hours a day and bending at the waist more than 25 times a day. Cosmic radiation and circadian disruption among flight attendants are linked very closely on many flights and are very difficult to look at separately when trying to understand what causes miscarriage. This is the first study that has attempted to separate these two exposures to determine which is potentially linked to miscarriage. This study is also an improvement over other studies in its assessment of cosmic radiation for each individual flight flown and from documentation of solar particle events. Earlier studies have looked at how many years a flight attendant has worked or other ways to estimate exposures that are not as specific. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, HIV, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 06.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Azfar-e-Alam Siddiqi, MD, PhD Associate Chief of Science (Acting) HIV Incidence and Case Surveillance Branch Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Sidiqqi: African Americans remain the population most affected by HIV in the United States -- accounting for almost half (44 percent) of all new infections and more than a third (41 percent) of people living with HIV, despite representing just 12 percent of the U.S. population. We also know that far too many African Americans living with HIV do not get the medical care and treatment they need to stay healthy and protect themselves and others. In fact, less than half (40 percent) of African Americans living with HIV are engaged in care and only one-quarter (28 percent) have the virus under control through treatment. To better understand mortality among African Americans with HIV, our team analyzed data from the National HIV Surveillance System for 2008 through 2012. Because immune suppression caused by HIV infection can result in fatal co-illnesses, our analysis estimated deaths due to all causes, rather than limiting their analysis to deaths resulting directly from HIV infection. This method allowed us to capture the fullest picture of mortality among African Americans with HIV. According to our new analysis, from 2008-2012, the death rate per 1,000 blacks living with HIV decreased 28 percent, more than the overall decline (22 percent) observed among all persons living with HIV and more than declines observed among other races/ethnicities (13 percent for whites and 25 percent for Hispanics). Despite substantial declines in mortality, the death rate per 1,000 blacks living with HIV in 2012 was 13 percent higher than the rate for whites and 47 percent higher than the rate for Hispanics. (more…)
Author Interviews, Emergency Care, Pain Research / 06.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Erin R. Schlemmer, MPH Health Care Manager / Epidemiologist Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Response: Low back pain (LBP) is a common reason for emergency department (ED) visits. Usually, uncomplicated acute LBP is a benign, self-limited condition that can be managed without the need for imaging studies. However, national data have shown that a substantial proportion of ED patients with LBP receive imaging studies, and that the use of advanced imaging has increased considerably for this population in recent years. A number of groups (including specialty societies, a consortium of health plan medical directors, and an expert panel of emergency medicine physicians) have offered recommendations for the appropriate use of imaging for Low back pain. Within these guidelines, there are a number of “red flag” conditions that serve as indications for Low back pain imaging, and it is generally accepted that most patients do not require imaging to inform treatment of their Low back pain unless they have one or more red flags. Our objective was to use claims data from a large commercial insurer to describe the imaging indications and imaging status of patients presenting to the ED with Low back pain, and to describe demographic and healthcare use characteristics associated with non-indicated imaging. MedicalResearch: What are the main findings? Response: We found that over half (51.9%) of all patients presenting to the ED with low back pain had no claims-based evidence of indications for imaging. Overall, 36.5% of patients received imaging, and 10.2% received advanced imaging (CT or MRI). Among patients with imaging indications, the most common indication was trauma (71.6%), followed by cancer (24.0%). Although nearly a third of non-indicated patients received imaging, this population had a lower prevalence of imaging compared to patients with imaging indications (30.1% vs. 43.5%), and were also less likely to have prior healthcare use (such as ED visits) in the past year. Among non-indicated patients who received imaging, 26.2% received advanced imaging (CT or MRI) and 4.3% had >1 type of imaging. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness / 06.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Paula Iso-Markku, MD, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine,  HUS Medical Imaging Center,  Helsinki University Central Hospital and University of Helsinki Helsinki , Finland MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Iso-Markku : The social, financial and humane burden of the dementia is extensive as the worldwide prevalence of dementia is estimated around 35.6 million. Finding efficient prevention strategies for dementia is crucial. Within the past decade vascular risk factors have been recognized as very potential risk factors of dementia. As physical activity is known to affect vascular risk factors, it might also be a potential preventive tool against dementia. Few comprehensive epidemiological studies on physical activity in middle age and dementia occurrence later in life have been conducted. The comprehensive Finnish Twin Study offers a unique approach to the subjects as the shared growing up environment and genes can be taken into account. The study population is extensive and a good representation of the Finnish population. In this study the association of physical activity in adulthood and dementia mortality was investigated in a 29-year follow-up. The main finding in this study was that persistent vigorous (i.e. more strenuous than walking) physical activity was significantly associated with lower dementia mortality. The results in the paired analysis, comparing twins to co-twins, were similar but remained non-significant. The analyses of the volume of physical activity were, however, controversial. (more…)
Technology / 06.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gautam M. Shah Vice President of Product Management at VoceraMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gautam M. Shah Vice President of Product Management at Vocera MedicalResearch.com Editor’s Note: Vocera announced on February 5, 2015, it will “provide a cloud-based secure text messaging solution as a benefit to all of its U.S. healthcare customers, at no additional cost, for use by any of their affiliated healthcare providers. Vocera Secure Texting will connect seamlessly with Vocera Communication Systems installed in over 800 U.S. hospitals” (Vocera press release). Mr. Shah, from Vocera, answers some questions regarding this new technology for the readers of MedicalResearch.com below. MedicalResearch: What is the background for this technology? Mr. Shah: The Vocera Secure Texting solution is a cloud-based, secure, HIPAA-compliant texting application that seamlessly integrates with the Vocera Communication System.  The solution will allow physicians to securely communicate with all members of their patient's care team, while helping hospital CIOs improve security associated with protecting personal health information (PHI). MedicalResearch: How will this texting method facilitate communication among health care providers? Mr. Shah: This solution is being offered to all of our 800+ U.S. hospital customers at no cost, and to new customers for a nominal fee. Vocera Secure Texting will connect seamlessly with our award-winning communication system to enable physicians to securely text care teams and improve care coordination, operational efficiencies, and patient experience. What’s unique about Vocera Secure Texting is that it combines the convenience physicians need with the security health systems require. Our new secure texting app will be easy to use and provide a HIPAA-compliant alternative to SMS, as well as basic communication and collaboration capabilities for physicians and care teams. (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, Infections / 06.02.2015

Meghan F. Davis, DVM MPH PhD Assistant Professor Department of Environmental Health Sciences Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Meghan F. Davis, DVM MPH PhD Assistant Professor Department of Environmental Health Sciences Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Davis: Asthma rates have been on the rise, particularly in children. Interventions targeted at allergens and other environmental factors known to exacerbate asthma are only partially successful, suggesting a role for novel drivers of morbidity among existing patients with asthma. In this study, we evaluated associations between nasal colonization with the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus and symptoms related to wheeze and asthma using data from the nationally-representative NHANES database. We found that S. aureus nasal colonization was associated with asthma symptoms in children and young adults, but not in older adults. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Nature, Rheumatology / 06.02.2015

psoriasis_kneesMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Anne Barton FRCP PhD and Dr John Bowes PhD Centre for Musculoskeletal Research and Centre for Genetics and Genomics, The University of Manchester, Manchester UK Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an inflammatory condition causing pain and stiffness in joints and tendons. Approximately one third of patients with psoriasis will go on to develop PsA resulting in a reduction in their quality of life caused by increasing disability and additional health complications. A key area of research within the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Genetics and Genomics in the Centre for Musculoskeletal Research is the identification of risk factors for the development of Psoriatic arthritis; this will allow us to understand the underlying cause of disease and ultimately help identify psoriasis patients at high risk of PsA, allowing early treatment to be introduced to reduce the impact of PsA. Our study focuses on the identification of genetic risk factors for Psoriatic arthritis; we compared the frequency of genetic variants, referred to as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), between large numbers of DNA samples from patients with PsA and healthy control samples. When the frequency of the SNP is significantly different between cases and controls, the SNP is said to be associated with risk of developing Psoriatic arthritis and this association is interpreted as being important in the disease process. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Response: When we analysed the data from the study we found a new association to SNPs on chromosome 5, and when we investigated these SNPs for association with skin-only psoriasis, we did not find any evidence for association. In addition, we also found SNPs that were specifically associated with Psoriatic arthritis at a gene on chromosome 1. This gene is known to be associated with psoriasis, but our results show that there are different SNPs associated with PsA and psoriasis at this gene. Hence, our results identify new SNPs that are specifically associated with PsA. In addition, identifying which cells are the key drivers of inflammation in Psoriatic arthritis will help us to focus on how the genetic changes act in those cells to cause disease. Our results show that many of the PsA associated SNPs occur in regions of the genome that are important in the function of CD8+ cells,  an important cell type in the immune system. (more…)
ADHD, Author Interviews, FASEB, Occupational Health, Toxin Research / 06.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jason R. Richardson MS,PhD DABT Associate Professor Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Resident Member Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute Piscataway, NJ MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Richardson:  Although ADHD is often though of as a genetic disorder, no single gene can explain more than a fraction of the cases. This suggests that environmental factors are likely to interact with genetic susceptibility to increase risk for ADHD. Our study reports that exposure of pregnant mice to relatively low levels of a commonly used pesticide reproduces the behavioral effects of ADHD in their offspring. Because the study was in animals, we wanted to see if there was any association in humans. Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention we found that children and adolescents with elevated levels of metabolites of these pesticides in their urine, which indicates exposure, were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Lung Cancer / 06.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Teresa W-M. Fan PhD and Andrew N Lane, PhD Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response:  The study began about eight years ago at the University of Louisville as a collaboration between thoracic surgeon Michael Bousamra II, immunologist Jun Yan and our metabolomics team (T. Fan, R Higashi and A.N. Lane) now at the U. Kentucky. Lung cancer remains as the highest cancer mortality in North America, and is unfortunately often not diagnosed until the most successful treatment, surgery, is no longer an option.  Furthermore although there are numerous subtypes of the disease, the options for chemotherapy are quite limited. We wanted to know how the biochemistry of early stage (resectable) lung cancer differs from that of healthy or at least non-cancerous lung tissue from the point of view of basic tumor biology, and whether we might uncover better option for therapeutic intervention. To this end, we applied our stable isotope resolved metabolomics (SIRM) technique directly to patients who were diagnosed with resectable NSCLC. By this technique, the fate of individual atoms from a non-radioactive enriched precursor (C-13 glucose in this instance) are traced as they are taken up from the blood and metabolized in situ. This technique, along with model studies with mice, isolated cell cultures, and so-called “Warburg” slices provides tremendous detail about the functional biochemistry of a cancer within its natural microenvironments, compared with non-cancerous tissue. The major finding published in this article is that the anaplerotic enzyme pyruvate carboxylase is greatly upregulated in NSCLC compared with paired non-cancerous lung tissue, whereas the other commonly utilized anaplerotic enzyme glutaminase was not. Interestingly, only cancer cells showed strong staining for pyruvate carboxylase, whereas in the paired non-cancerous lung tissue, only resident macrophages stained for PC. Pyruvate carboxylase was further shown to be essential for tumor growth in both call culture and in mouse xenografts. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, mBio, Weight Research / 06.02.2015

Senior Principal Investigator - Systems Biology Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences Brenner Centre for Molecular Medicine SingaporeMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joanna Holbrook PhD Senior Principal Investigator - Systems Biology Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences Brenner Centre for Molecular Medicine Singapore Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Holbrook: Bacteria in the human gut may influence many aspects of our health; however, it is not fully known what determines the composition of the gut microbiota. Rapid bacterial colonisation of the infant gut could be influenced by the environment of the baby before birth, and microbiota content has been associated with the development of obesity and insulin resistance. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Holbrook: The rate of bacterial colonisation of the gut is influenced by external factors such as the method of delivery and duration of gestation. Also, infants with a mature gut bacteria profile at an early age gained normal levels of body fat, while infants with less mature gut bacteria profiles displayed a tendency to gain lower levels of body fat at the age of 18 months, indicating that gut bacteria could be related to normal development and healthy weight gain. (more…)
Author Interviews, Geriatrics, Hip Fractures, Lancet / 06.02.2015

Ingvild Saltvedt PhD Department of Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Medical Faculty Trondheim, Norway MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ingvild Saltvedt PhD Department of Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Medical Faculty Trondheim, Norway Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Saltvedt: Hip fracture patients are often old, frail and have many comorbidities. When treated with a traditional orthopaedic approach the outcomes are often poor, and many patients get functionally impaired with reduced ability to walk independently and impairment in daily life activities and with high costs for the society.  In many ways these patients are geriatric patients with hip-fractures. It has previously been shown that acutely sick geriatric patients benefit from treatment in geriatric wards and different kind of  orthogeriatric treatment models where orthopaedic surgeons and geriatricians collaborate have been studied and have shown beneficial results on short term outcomes. In the present study patients home-dwelling hip-fracture patients were randomised to orthogeriatric treatment or traditional orthopaedic treatment from admission to the hospital and during the entire stay except for the surgery that was performed similar in both groups. The study focused on long-term outcomes and also on use of health care services and cost-effectiveness.  Patients in the orthogeriatric group got comprehensive geriatric assessment and treatment performed by an interdisciplinary team that emphasised early mobilisation and rehabilitation and started discharge planning early. In the orthopaedic group traditional treatment according to national and international guidelines was offered. The primary endpoint was mobility at four months, that was better in the orthogeriatric group than in the orthopaedic group, the same difference was also shown at 12 months. In addition there were differences in instrumental activities of daily living and personal activities of daily living, quality of life and fear of falling, all differences were statistically and clinically significant and in favour of the orthoegeriatric group. The length of hospital stay was 1,7 days longer in the geriatric group, while there was no differences in days spent in hospital during one year of follow-up. One of four orthogeriatric patients were discharged directly home as compared to one of ten in the orthopaedic group. The orthopaedic group spent more days in nursing homes and rehabilitation institutions during one year of follow-up. The treatment was cost-effective in favour of the orthogeriatric group. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews / 05.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: V. Zlokovic, MD, PhD Professor and Chair Department of Physiology and Biophysics Keck School of Medicine of USC.V. Zlokovic, MD, PhD Professor and Chair Department of Physiology and Biophysics Keck School of Medicine of USC.   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Zlokovic: Our team used high-resolution imaging of the living human brain to show for the first time that the brain’s protective blood barrier becomes leaky with age, starting at the hippocampus, a critical learning and memory center that is damaged by Alzheimer’s disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, Cost of Health Care, HIV / 05.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ya-lin (Aileen) Huang, PhD. Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, GA, 30329 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Huang: With an estimated 50,000 new HIV infections each year in this country, and no vaccine or cure available yet, prevention is critical. Maximizing the impact of all available prevention strategies could significantly reduce new infections in this country. The purpose of this study is to provide evidence for the cost effectiveness of the interventions recommended under the funding announcement and to highlight where more cost-effectiveness studies may be needed. We limited our scope to the four interventions required under the health department funding announcement, including HIV testing, prevention with HIV-positives and their partners, condom distribution and efforts to align policies with optimal HIV prevention, care and treatment. Our review provides an updated summary of the published evidence of cost-effectiveness of four key HIV prevention interventions recommended by CDC: HIV testing, prevention with HIV-positives and their partners, condom distribution and policy initiatives. Models suggest that more than 350,000 HIV infections have been avoided because of the nation’s HIV prevention efforts. In addition to lives saved, HIV prevention has also generated substantial economic benefits. For every HIV infection that is prevented, an estimated $402,000 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23615000) is saved in the cost of providing lifetime HIV treatment. It is estimated that HIV prevention efforts have averted more than $125 billion in medical costs since the beginning of the epidemic. (more…)
Author Interviews, Emergency Care, Mental Health Research, UCSD / 05.02.2015

Michael Wilson, MD, PhD, FAAEM Attending Physician, UCSD Department of Emergency Medicine Director, Department of Emergency Medicine Behavioral Emergencies Research (DEMBER) lab UC San Diego Health SystemMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael Wilson, MD, PhD, FAAEM Attending Physician, UCSD Department of Emergency Medicine Director, Department of Emergency Medicine Behavioral Emergencies Research (DEMBER) lab UC San Diego Health System MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Wilson: Emergency departments (EDs) nationwide are crowded. Although psychiatric patients do not make up the largest proportion of repeat visitors to the emergency department, psychiatric patients stay longer in the ED than almost any other type of patient. So, it’s really important to find out things about these patients that may predict longer stays. In this study, we looked at patients on involuntary mental health holds. The reasoning is simple: patients on involuntary mental health holds aren’t free to leave the ED. So, the only thing that should really matter is how quickly an Emergency department can release them from the involuntary hold. Surprisingly, though, this wasn’t the only thing that correlated with longer stays. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Nutrition, Pulmonary Disease / 05.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Raphaëlle Varraso INSERM U1168, VIMA (Aging and chronic diseases. Epidemiological and public health approaches), 16 avenue Paul Vaillant Couturier Villejuif, France MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Respiratory health and lung function, strongly predict general health status and all-cause mortality. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is currently ranked the third leading cause of death worldwide. The predominant risk factor for COPD in the developed world is cigarette smoking, but up to one-third of COPD patients have never smoked, suggesting that other factors are involved. Besides smoking, relatively little attention has been paid to other modifiable risk factors that might decrease risk of developing COPD, including diet. The Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)-2010, a new measure of diet quality based on current scientific knowledge, has been linked to risk of major chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. However, the role of dietary scores on risk of COPD is unknown. We examined this issue among >120,000 US female and male health professionals (Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study), and we reported that a high AHEI-2010 dietary score score (reflecting high intakes of whole grains, vegetables, fruit, polyunsaturated fatty acids, nuts and legumes, and long-chain omega-3 fats, a moderate intake of alcohol, and low intakes of red/processed meats, trans fat, sodium and sugar-sweetened beverages) was associated with a lower risk of COPD in both women and men. This novel finding supports the importance of diet in COPD pathogenesis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hospital Readmissions, Pediatrics, Pediatrics / 05.02.2015

Mark Brittan MD MPH Assistant Professor, Pediatric Hospital Medicine Children's Hospital Colorado University of Colorado School of MedicineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mark Brittan MD MPH Assistant Professor, Pediatric Hospital Medicine Children's Hospital Colorado University of Colorado School of Medicine MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Brittan: As hospitals face reimbursement penalties for excess readmissions, clinicians are increasingly focused on improving care transitions in order to reduce readmissions. We are interested in learning about feasible ways to reduce pediatric readmissions so that we can improve the quality of care and experience of children and families who are being discharged from the hospital. The purpose of this study was to assess whether outpatient follow-up visits after hospital discharge can help to prevent readmissions. We chose to examine this question in a population of medically complex children enrolled in Medicaid. Children with medical complexity account for a growing proportion of pediatric hospitalizations and inpatient costs. These children are often dependent on technology (for example, ventilator machines, feeding tubes, and chronic indwelling catheters), and can have very complex care plans and medication regimens. Publically insured children are also vulnerable to increased hospital utilization and may not always have optimal or easy access to outpatient services. Showing a relationship between post-discharge outpatient visits and fewer readmissions would suggest that improvements in coordination of care or access to outpatient follow-up care may help to reduce readmissions in these children. To assess this relationship, we retrospectively analyzed 2006-2008 Colorado Medicaid claims data from which we were able to gather demographic, clinical, and visit information for all enrollees. In our study, we excluded children who were readmitted within 3 days of hospital discharge so that we could evaluate children who had a chance to follow-up. The study cohort included 2415 medically complex children aged 6 months to 18 years who were hospitalized at least once. Of these children, 6.3% were readmitted on days 4 – 30 after hospital discharge. Almost 22% of the children had an outpatient follow-up visit within 3 days of discharge, and 40% had a visit on days 4-29 after discharge. In the final analysis, we found expected associations between readmission and previously described risk factors, including number of patient comorbidities and longer initial hospital length of stay. Examining the relationship between outpatient follow-up and readmission, we found that children with later outpatient follow-up visits (days 4-29) were significantly less likely to be readmitted than those who did not have an outpatient visit on days 4-29 after discharge. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, JAMA, OBGYNE, UC Davis / 05.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Eleanor B. Schwarz, M.D., M.S University of California, Davis Sacramento, CA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Schwarz: The background for this study is that… Women treated with Isotretinoin receive a lot of scary information about this medication’s risk of causing birth defects, but few receive clear information on the most effective ways to protect themselves from undesired pregnancy and the risks of medication-induced birth defects. Our main finding is that women who spent less than a minute reviewing a simple information sheet were significantly more likely to be aware that some contraceptives are considerably more effective than others. MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report? Dr. Schwarz: Clinicians who prescribe medications that can cause birth defects should make sure their patients are aware of the fact that women using a birth control pill are typically twenty times more likely to experience a contraceptive failure than those using a subdermal contraceptive implant (e.g. Nexplanon) or intrauterine contraceptive (e.g. Mirena, ParaGard). (more…)
Author Interviews, Hepatitis - Liver Disease, HIV, Lancet / 05.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof Jean-Michel Molina Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris France MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof Jean-Michel Molina Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris France Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Prof. Molina: Treatment of co-infected patients is complicated by drug drug interactions with HIV drugs, and the news DAAs are not very potent on HCV G2 and 3 infections. (more…)
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Cleveland Clinic, Heart Disease, Kidney Disease / 05.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: W. H .Wilson Tang, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.H.A. Professor in Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195MedicalResearch.com Interview with: W. H .Wilson Tang, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.H.A. Professor in Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195.   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Tang: Our group has previously demonstrated that TMAO is linked to future cardiac risks in both humans and in animal models.  We now show that long-term exposure to higher levels of TMAO promotes renal functional impairment and fibrosis in animal studies.  We also show that in humans, as the kidneys lose function, TMAO isn’t eliminated as easily, and their blood levels further rise, thereby increasing cardiovascular and kidney disease risks further.  This newly discovered TMAO link offers further insight into the relationship between cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brain Injury, Technology / 05.02.2015

Uzma Samadani, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor; Departments of Neuroscience and Physiology NYU Langone Medical CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Uzma Samadani, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor Departments of Neuroscience and Physiology NYU Langone Medical Center Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Samadani: Research dating back as early as 3,500 years ago suggests the eyes serve as a window into the brain, with disconjugate eye movements -- eyes rotating in different directions -- considered a principal marker for head trauma. Current estimates suggest up to 90 percent of patients with concussions or blast injuries exhibit dysfunction in their eye movements. We wanted to find a way to objectively track and analyze eye movements following a head injury to measure injury severity and replace the current “state of the art” method of asking a patient to follow along with a finger. CT-scans and MRIs may not necessarily reveal concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the absence of structural damage, presenting a need for a diagnostic measure of head injury severity. In a study published earlier this year in the Journal of Neurosurgery, my team at the NYU Cohen Veterans Center tested our novel eye-tracking technology on military veterans, and found our device and tracking algorithm could reveal edema in the brain as a potential biomarker for assessing brain function and monitoring recovery in people with head injuries. Our latest paper, published January 29 in Journal of Neurotrauma, looked at a civilian population of patients admitted to the Bellevue Medical Center emergency department in New York City, with whom the NYU School of Medicine has an affiliation agreement. We compared 64 healthy control subjects to 75 patients who had experienced trauma that brought them to emergency department. We tracked and compared the movements of patients' pupils for over 200 seconds while watching a music video. We found that 13 trauma patients who had hit their heads and had CT scans showing new brain damage, as well as 39 trauma patients who had hit their heads and had normal CT scans, had significantly less ability to coordinate their eye movements than normal, uninjured control subjects. Twenty-three trauma subjects who had bodily or extremity injuries but did not require head CT scans had similar abilities to coordinate eye movements as normal uninjured controls. Among patients who had hit their heads and had normal CT scans, most were slightly worse at 1-2 weeks after the injury, and subsequently recovered about one month after the injury. Among all trauma patients, the severity of concussive symptoms correlated with severity of disconjugacy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, Toxin Research / 05.02.2015

Dr. Andrea Gore PhD Gustavus & Louise Pfeiffer Professor University of Texas Austin/Div of Pharmacology/ToxicoMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Andrea Gore PhD Gustavus & Louise Pfeiffer Professor University of Texas Austin/Div of Pharmacology/Toxicology MedicalResearch.com Editor’s Note: Dr. Gore, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal Endocrinology, has graciously answered several questions regarding the recent concerns of environmental chemicals linked to both early puberty and early menopause. Medical Research: How can chemicals found inside the home impact onset of menopause? Dr. Gore: It is important to clarify that the cause-and-effect relationship between chemicals and menopause is not established. The timing of menopause in women is due to a variety of factors including genetic traits, nutritional status, and general health or chronic disease. Some research on humans, including the recent study by Grindler et al., also suggests that environmental chemicals may contribute to the timing of earlier menopause. Animal models also suggest an advance in the timing of reproductive failure following earlier life exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). [See references below]. The question of exactly how chemicals may change the timing of menopause is therefore unresolved, but based on animal studies it is likely that the mechanisms include effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on the expression of genes and proteins involved in ovarian function that may lead to premature loss of follicles (eggs). Because the control of reproduction involves the brain and the pituitary gland, as well as the ovary, it is possible that endocrine-disrupting chemicals also impair how these organs regulate reproductive hormones.
  1. Gore AC, Walker DM, Zama AM, Armenti AE, Uzumcu M. Early life exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals causes lifelong molecular reprogramming of the hypothalamus and premature reproductive aging. Mol Endocrinol. 2011;25:2157–2168.
  2. Shi Z, Valdez KE, Ting AY, Franczak A,GumSL, Petroff BK. Ovarian endocrine disruption underlies premature reproductive senescence following environmentally relevant chronic exposure to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonist 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Biol Reprod. 2007;76:198–202.
  3. Akkina J, Reif J, Keefe T, Bachand A. Age at natural menopause and exposure to organochlorine pesticides in Hispanic women. J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2004;67:1407–1422.
  4. Cooper GS, Savitz DA, Millikan R, Chiu Kit T. Organochlorine exposure and age at natural menopause. Epidemiology. 2002;13: 729–733.
  5. Hatch EE, Troisi R, Wise LA, et al. Age at natural menopause in women exposed to diethylstilbestrol in utero. Am J Epidemiol. 2006;164:682–688.
  6. KnoxSS, Jackson T, Javins B, Frisbee SJ, Shankar A, DucatmanAM. Implications of early menopause in women exposed to perfluorocarbons. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011;96:1747–1753.
  7. Farr SL, Cai J, Savitz DA, Sandler DP, Hoppin JA, Cooper GS. Pesticide exposure and timing of menopause: the Agricultural Health Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2006;163:731–742.
Medical Research: What are the primary sources of exposure to these chemicals? Dr. Gore: Endocrine-disrupting chemicals exposures come from a variety of sources, including plastic containers (e.g. water bottles) and other products, certain foods, personal care products, pesticides, and many others. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, NYU / 05.02.2015

Agnel Sfeir PhD Assistant Professor Skirball Institute - NYU New York, NY 10016MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Agnel Sfeir PhD Assistant Professor  Skirball Institute - NYU New York, NY 10016 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Sfeir: The main finding of this study, published in the journal Nature, is that inhibiting the action of a particular enzyme dramatically slows the growth of tumor cells tied to BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations which, in turn, are closely tied to breast and ovarian cancers. This discovery about the enzyme — called polymerase theta, or PolQ — resulted from efforts to answer a fundamental biological question: How do cells prevent the telomere ends of linear chromosomes, which house our genetic material, from sticking together? Cell DNA repair mechanisms can stitch together telomeres broken as part of cell metabolism. But such fusions, the researchers say, compromise normal cell growth and survival. In the purest biological sense, our findings (in experiments in mice and human cells) show how this particular enzyme, which we know is active in several tumors, promotes unwanted telomere fusions by inserting whole segments of DNA via a disruptive DNA repair pathway termed alt-NHEJ. It was quite remarkable to find that by blocking PolQ action, cancer cell growth was cut by more than half. Additional experiments confirmed that PolQ is needed to activate the alt-NHEJ pathway of DNA repair. Unlike the main, error-free pathway — or HDR pathway — the alt-NHEJ pathway does not use a related chromosome’s genetic material as a template to meticulously correct any damaged genetic material. As such, alt-NHEJ is highly likely to leave coding mistakes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Diabetes / 04.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mette Gyldenløve MD Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen Denmark MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Dr. Gyldenløve: Epidemiological studies have shown that patients with psoriasis have increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The pathophysiology is largely unknown, but it is hypothesised that systemic inflammation causes insulin resistance, which is an early feature of type 2 diabetes. Insulin sensitivity has only been sparsely investigated in patients with psoriasis, and previous studies have used suboptimal methodology. The objective of the present study was to investigate, if patients with psoriasis exhibit impaired insulin sensitivity when assessed by the hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp technique (gold standard). MedicalResearch: What are the main findings? Dr. Gyldenløve: In this study we found that normal glucose-tolerant patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis (n=16) had significantly reduced insulin sensitivity compared to age, gender, and body mass index (BMI)-matched, healthy control subjects (n=16). The two groups were similar with regard to age, gender, BMI, body composition, physical activity, fasting plasma glucose, and glycosylated haemoglobin. (more…)
Author Interviews, Columbia, Schizophrenia / 04.02.2015

Mark Slifstein, PhD Associate Professor of Neurobiology (In Psychiatry) Dept. of Psychiatry Columbia University NYSP Dr New York NY 10032 MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mark Slifstein, PhD Associate Professor of Neurobiology (In Psychiatry) Dept. of Psychiatry Columbia University NYSP Dr New York NY 10032 MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Dr. Slifstein: There has been considerable basic and clinical neuroscience research showing that the neurotransmitter dopamine plays a role in tuning cognitive processes taking place in the cortex. It has long been thought that dopamine is involved in the cognitive difficulties experienced by patients with schizophrenia, but it has been challenging to study dopamine in the cortex and other parts of the brain except in a deep structure rich in this neurotransmitter and its receptors, the striatum. In our study, we used an experimental design with Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging that allowed us to infer the amount of dopamine in the cortex. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, CDC, Cost of Health Care / 04.02.2015

Judy A. Stevens PhD National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta GA 30341MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Judy Stevens PhD National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Stevens: Falls among people aged 65 and older are a serious, costly, and growing public health problem. As our population ages, falls will continue to increase unless we implement effective prevention strategies that are also cost-effective. This study found that three evidence-based fall prevention programs, the Otago Exercise Program, Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance, and Stepping On, were not only practical and effective but also provided a positive return on investment (ROI) or net benefit.  An ROI of 150% means for each $1 spent on implementing the program, you can expect a net benefit of $1.50. The analysis found that the cost of implementing each of these fall prevention programs was considerably less than the potential medical costs needed to care for someone injured from a fall. These research findings can help community organizations and policymakers identify and use programs that can both save lives and reduce costs. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, Lancet, Multiple Sclerosis / 04.02.2015

Dr Stefan M Gold Institute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis (INIMS) Centre for Molecular Neurobiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf Hamburg, GermanyMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Stefan M Gold Institute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis (INIMS) Centre for Molecular Neurobiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf Hamburg, Germany Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Gold: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system (brain and the spinal cord). In addition to motor symptoms such as walking impairment, patients with Multiple sclerosis frequently suffer from psychological problems including difficulties with learning and memory as well as depressed mood. Depression is particularly common in this patient group with a 3-4 fold elevated risk for developing major depressive disorder compared to the general population. Depression in Multiple sclerosis is associated with decreased quality of life, absence from work, and numerous other psychosocial problems. Despite this major impact on patients’ lives, depression in Multiple sclerosis is often not adequately diagnosed and treated: Antidepressant medication in this patient group often has side effects and the neurological problems associated with MS such as difficulties with concentration and fatigue make it particularly difficult for MS patients to complete “classical” depression treatments such as psychotherapy. The goal of our study was to make psychological treatments available for the many patients with Multiple sclerosis suffering from depression, who often have difficulties to find adequate treatment. For this study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, we conducted a randomized controlled trial of a fully-automated, computer-based program that can be accessed directly from patients’ homes over the internet. The program called “deprexis” was developed by the Hamburg-based company GAIA and uses methods of “cognitive behavioral therapy” or “CBT”. Ninety Multiple sclerosis patients were enrolled in the trial and randomly assigned to a 3 months therapy using the deprexis program or a waitlist control group. At the end of the intervention, depression had significantly decreased in the treatment group but remained unchanged in patients who did not have access to the program. In addition, patients using the computer program also reported reduced fatigue and improved quality of life. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, Infections, Lancet, Vaccine Studies / 04.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Matthew R Moore, MD National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USADr Matthew R Moore, MD National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Dr. Moore: Since introduction, pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have resulted in dramatic decreases in the number of cases of invasive pneumococcal disease in both children and adults.  The 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) was introduced into the routine infant immunization program in the United States in 2000. It was recommended for infants using a 4-dose schedule: 2, 4, 6, and 12 through 15 months of age. Studies showed that PCV7 was highly effective in preventing invasive pneumococcal disease. In 2010, the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) replaced PCV7 using the same 4-dose schedule. PCV13 is similar to PCV7, but includes protection against six additional serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae. There are more than 90 serotypes of pneumococcal bacteria. Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus, is a major cause of illness and death globally. Pneumococcus can cause many types of illness that ranging from mild to life-threatening, including pneumonia, ear and sinus infections, meningitis, and bacteremia. Some of these infections are considered invasive because they invade parts of the body that are normally free from bacteria. Invasive pneumococcal disease, including meningitis and bacteremia, is often severe and can be deadly. MedicalResearch: What are the main findings? Dr. Moore: Invasive pneumococcal disease decreased substantially in the first 3 years after PCV13 was introduced into the U.S. infant immunization schedule. By June 2013, more than 30,000 cases of invasive pneumococcal disease and 3,000 deaths are estimated to have been prevented in the United States due to PCV13. Children under the age of five, which is the age group that actually received the vaccine, experienced the greatest and quickest benefit from PCV13.  For example, the overall number of cases of invasive pneumococcal disease decreased by 64% in this age group between 2010 and 2013. Significant decreases were seen as early as six months after the immunization recommendation was made. Adults, who were not targeted for vaccination, also experienced health benefits from PCV13 introduction. For example, the overall number of cases of invasive pneumococcal disease decreased by 32% for adults aged 18 to 49 years, while adults 65 and older experienced a more modest 12% decrease.  These reductions are further evidence that both PCV7 and PCV13 reduce the spread of pneumococcus, which is why vaccinating children leads to disease reductions in adults. For both children and adults, the greatest reductions were seen in the number of cases of invasive pneumococcal disease that were caused by serotypes that are covered by PCV13 but not PCV7 (serotypes 19A and 7F specifically). (more…)