Author: Marie Benz MD FAAD

01 Oct

Posted at 22:04h in Author Interviews, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pulmonary Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Donald ZozDonald Zoz, M.D. Director, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs Respiratory Specialty Care Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this announcement? Would you briefly explain what is meant by systemic sclerosis and how it affects lung function?  Response: In September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Ofev as the first and only therapy to slow the rate of decline in pulmonary function in patients with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). The FDA granted priority review and Fast-Track designation earlier this year. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is characterized by thickening and scarring of lung tissue and is the leading cause of death among people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), also known as scleroderma. In fact, approximately 25 percent of SSc patients develop significant lung involvement within three years of diagnosis. Prior to this approval, there were no options for this patient population, making this an exciting announcement for the community. 

30 Sep

Posted at 19:36h in Author Interviews, Genetic Research, JAMA, Mental Health Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51603" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr Sophie Legge Research Associate MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences Cardiff University Cardiff Dr. Legge[/caption] Dr Sophie Legge Research Associate MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences Cardiff University Cardiff MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Psychotic experiences, such as hallucinations and delusions, are features of mental health disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but they are also reported by approximately 5%-10% of the general population. Psychotic experiences are only considered to be symptoms of mental illness if there are other symptoms of that disorder. It is currently unclear what the genetic causes of psychotic experiences in the general population are, and whether these causes are related to the genetic causes of schizophrenia and other mental health disorders. Given that psychotic experiences are one of the key symptoms of schizophrenia, they may be more closely related than with other mental health conditions such as depression.

30 Sep

Posted at 19:33h in Alcohol, Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cognitive Issues
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51654" align="alignleft" width="133"]Manja Koch Dr. oec. troph. (Ph.D. equivalent) Research Associate Department of Nutrition Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Manja Koch[/caption] Manja Koch Dr. oec. troph. (Ph.D. equivalent) Research Associate Department of Nutrition Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Majken K. Jensen, PhD Associate Professor of Nutrition Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthMajken K. Jensen, PhD Associate Professor of Nutrition Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are highly prevalent conditions. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 50 million people are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias worldwide. Given the lack of a cure or even disease-modifying therapies for most dementias, the identification of risk factors or factors that prevent or delay the onset of dementia remains of paramount concern. Alcohol is a globally consumed beverage and light-to-moderate alcohol consumption, defined as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men, tends to be associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease, a major risk factor for dementia. However, the effects of light-to-moderate alcohol intake on the brain are less clear. 

30 Sep

Posted at 19:28h in Allergies, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, CMAJ, Dermatology, Heart Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51631" align="alignleft" width="120"]Hyon K. Choi, MD, DrPH Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Director, Gout and Crystal Arthropathy Center Director, Clinical Epidemiology and Health Outcomes Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. Choi[/caption] Hyon K. Choi, MD, DrPH Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Director, Gout and Crystal Arthropathy Center Director, Clinical Epidemiology and Health Outcomes Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Allopurinol is a very common and generally safe medication prescribed to lower serum urate levels, most commonly to patients with gout. However, it can be associated with very rare but serious cutaneous adverse events which includes Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis. Prior studies have demonstrated several risk factors for these types of cutaneous adverse events, including presence of chronic kidney disease, older age, female sex, higher initial dose of allopurinol, and the HLA-B*5801 allele, which is more commonly found in Asians and Black patients. A prior study in Taiwan suggested that heart disease (ischemic heart disease and heart failure) may also be associated with an increased risk of hospitalizations for these cutaneous adverse reactions related to allopurinol. Thus, our goal was to investigate this association using a general population cohort from Canada. Using Population Data BC, we found that heart disease was in fact independently associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for these cutaneous adverse reactions.

30 Sep

Posted at 19:23h in Author Interviews, Frailty, Geriatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51607" align="alignleft" width="150"]Brian Clark, Ph.D. Executive Director, Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Harold E. Clybourne, D.O. Endowed Research Chair Professor of Physiology OHIO University Dr. Clark[/caption] Brian Clark, Ph.D. Executive Director, Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Harold E. Clybourne, D.O. Endowed Research Chair Professor of Physiology OHIO University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Muscle weakness strongly contributes to mobility limitations and physical disability. Over 40% of the 46 million older adults in the U.S. have one or more physical limitations when performing daily tasks essential for maintaining independence. Preserving physical function is a major public health priority as it will drastically reduce health care costs and improve quality of life. Over the past several decades, the scientific and medical communities have recognized that muscle weakness is a major factor in determining the incidence of physical limitations and general poor health in older adults. It has long been presumed by many that age-related weakness is principally caused by loss of muscle mass (i.e., sarcopenia). However, over the past 10-20 years the presumption has been questioned. For instance, a 2009 study reported that the decline in leg extensor muscle strength in older adults —observed longitudinally over 5 years—occurs more rapidly than the concomitant loss of quadriceps mass, and that in a subset of older adults that actually gained muscle mass there was still a substantial loss of strength. Findings of this nature clearly illustrate that that the loss of strength is only modestly associated with loss of mass in older adults. The mechanisms of muscle strength, however, are multifactorial and determined by a combination of both neurological and muscular factors (of which muscle mass is one of the factors).

28 Sep

Posted at 00:43h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Lung Cancer, Vaccine Studies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Naomi E Aronson, MD, FIDA, FACP Professor and Director, Infectious Diseases Division Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Bethesda, MD  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: BCG is a live attenuated mycobacteria vaccine used to prevent tuberculosis which has been reported to have associated nonspecific effects such as treatment of diabetes, bladder cancer, prevention of severe respiratory infections in children, and suppressed autoimmune responses. In earlier reports in the 1970s, results of epidemiologic studies were divided as to whether BCG vaccine was associated with subsequent rates of malignancy, specifically leukemia (protective) and non Hodgkins lymphoma (higher rates). To further evaluate these observations we studied cancer data collected in the 60 year follow up of a controlled trial of BCG in American Indian/ Alaska Native schoolchildren.

28 Sep

Posted at 00:40h in Author Interviews, BMC, Cost of Health Care, Diabetes, Yale
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Phoebe Tran Doctoral Student Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology Yale School of MedicinePhoebe Tran Doctoral Student Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology Yale School of Medicine  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: As the prevalence of diabetes risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and physical inactivity are considerably higher in US individuals residing in rural areas compared to their urban counterparts, rural residents face increased risk of developing diabetes. Diabetes screening is a useful tool that can be used to identify people with newly developed type 2 diabetes and offer them early treatment. In this study, we examined whether there are differences in diabetes screening levels between rural and urban areas across the US using nationally representative survey data from 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.  

28 Sep

Posted at 00:35h in Aging, Author Interviews, Genetic Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51628" align="alignleft" width="200"]Lara Puhlmann, PhD student International Max Planck Research School NeuroCom Research Group Social Stress and Family Health Lara Puhlmann[/caption] Lara Puhlmann, PhD student International Max Planck Research School NeuroCom Research Group Social Stress and Family Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Studies are increasingly investigating ways to influence the length of telomeres (i.e., protective chromosomal caps), with the aim of improving a person’s health and aging trajectory. There is evidence that telomere length can change faster than previously thought, possibly taking just one to six months of mental or physical training to elongate. However, the broader biological implications of such short-term change in telomere length remain unclear. 

26 Sep

Posted at 23:48h in Author Interviews, Chocolate, Ophthalmology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. med. Jakob Siedlecki MD Department of Ophthalmology Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The background is that a previous study has found beneficial effects of dark chocolate on visual function. This finding was attributed to improved blood supply due to vasodilation induced by Flavanols in dark chocolate.

26 Sep

Posted at 23:11h in AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Heart Disease, Stroke
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Zara Berg, Ph.D Fort Peck Community College Poplar, Montana MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: This study is part of the cohort that consist of the Honolulu Heart Program (HHP) and what later became the Honolulu-Asia Aging study. HHP study cardiovascular research starting in the 1960’s, which is equivalent to the Framingham Study. This study was used to establish the epidemiology parameters for cardiovascular diseases and is one of the longest longitudinal (34 years of follow-up) study on cardiovascular diseases and other diseases that effect the elderly. The participants were all Japanese that fought in WWII which is a sample size of 8,006 participants. In additional, there is multiple studies based on this cohort for the last fifty plus years, ranging from occupational exposure, cancer, neurological diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. 

26 Sep

Posted at 12:43h in Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Pediatrics, Personalized Medicine
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51656" align="alignleft" width="151"]James P. Franciosi, MD Chief of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Nemours Children's Hospital Dr. Franciosi[/caption] James P. Franciosi, MD Chief of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Nemours Children's Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic inflammation of the esophagus that is driven by eosinophils. A common class of medications used for this condition are called Proton Pump Inhibitors, or PPIs, which block the production of gastric acid in the stomach. Currently only 30 to 60 percent of children with EoE respond well when treated with PPIs. We hypothesized that genetic variants in the genes for CYP2C19 and STAT6 could plausibly be associated with response to PPI therapy for EoE.

26 Sep

Posted at 12:41h in Author Interviews, Nutrition, Pediatrics, Sugar, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51635" align="alignleft" width="171"]Professor Alex Bentley Head of Anthropology University of Tennessee Knoxville TN  Dr. Bentley[/caption] Professor Alex Bentley Head of Anthropology University of Tennessee Knoxville TN  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In recent years, considerable evidence has accumulated suggesting that excess sugar consumption, e.g. in sugar-sweetened beverages, has been a major driver of the U.S. obesity crisis. Critics of this idea, however, have asked: why did the rise in sugar consumption precede the U.S. obesity crises by a decade or more, and why did obesity continue to rise even after sugar consumption began declining the early 2000s? We modeled the delayed onset of obesity by assuming that diet is a cumulative process that begins in childhood. On average, each age cohort (birth year) has its own specific cumulative exposure to excess sugar in their diets.  The inherent delay in our model links childhood consumption of excess sugar with propensity for adult obesity as an adult. Our model explains a simple process by which excess sugar in diets of children of the 1970s and 1980s could explain the sharp increase of adult obesity that began in the 1990s.

25 Sep

Posted at 14:25h in Author Interviews, Dermatology, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51611" align="alignleft" width="150"]Hal Flowers MD Assistant Professor of Dermatology University of Virginia Dr. Flowers specializes in autoimmune connective tissue disease (rheumatologic dermatology), phototherapy and blistering skin diseases Dr. Flowers[/caption] Hal Flowers MD Assistant Professor of Dermatology University of Virginia Dr. Flowers specializes in autoimmune connective tissue disease (rheumatologic dermatology), phototherapy and blistering skin diseases  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Unfortunately, there really is not much literature at all addressing the treatment of atopic dermatitis with apple cider vinegar (ACV), even though we know that this is something our patients are doing. ACV is appealing as a “natural therapy” for treatment of skin disease. Since it’s an acid, it can theoretically correct the loss of acidity that occurs in the skin of our eczema patients. Plus, we know that high enough concentrations will kill certain bacteria that promote eczema, particularly Staphylococcus aureus. There are plenty of blogs and anecdotes as well as physicians who recommend this treatment, but as of yet, we don’t know the best concentration, safety or the benefit of ACV. 

25 Sep

Posted at 11:27h in ADHD, Author Interviews, Depression, Education, JAMA, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51452" align="alignleft" width="200"]Jeremy Brown Jeremy Brown[/caption] Jeremy Brown BA MSc RESEARCH DEGREE STUDENT IN PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Given the way schools typically work, children in the same year as each other can be almost a whole year apart in terms of age. We’ve known for a while that children who are young in their year at school are also more likely to be diagnosed as having hyperactivity disorders and tend to do less well academically than the older children in the year. They also seem to be at increased risk of suicide. This is thankfully an extremely rare occurrence in children, but there is little evidence about whether younger children are more likely to be diagnosed with depression. We used electronic health records for just over a million children in the UK to see if there was any association between how old the children were in their year and whether they got diagnosed with ADHD, intellectual disability and depression.

25 Sep

Posted at 11:21h in Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Menopause
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: John Bark, PhD Student Behavioral Neuroscience Program Department of Psychology University of Illinois at Chicago  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: 80% of women undergoing menopause experience vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats.   40-60% of women in menopause experience sleep problem.  Both of these symptoms of menopause have been associated with cognitive difficulties, but to my knowledge, this is the first study to use objective assessments of sleep and vasomotor symptoms to understand their effects on the brain.

24 Sep

Posted at 20:15h in Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Dental Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Eva Muñoz Aguilera BDS MFDS MClinDent (Dist) MPerio RCSEd EFP Diploma in Periodontology and Implant Dentistry Senior Clinical Teaching Fellow in Periodontology UCL Eastman Dental Institute, London MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: High blood pressure and periodontitis are highly prevalent conditions that affect more than one third of the adult population worldwide. High blood pressure is the leading global cause of premature death and is the main preventable cause of cardiovascular disease,  while gum disease - also known as periodontitis - leads to severe inflammation of the gums and tooth loss. It impairs aesthetics and function and reduces quality of life. Most importantly, there is increasing evidence that periodontitis increases risk for future cardiovascular disease. Both diseases share common risk factors such as obesity and smoking and are major health problems that significantly impact on health costs. 

24 Sep

Posted at 20:08h in AACR, Author Interviews, Pancreatic
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51591" align="alignleft" width="200"]Hadas Reuveni, PhD Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder TyrNovo Dr. Reuveni[/caption] Hadas Reuveni, PhD VP of Research and Development Kitov Pharma MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Current treatments fail to provide patients with an effective and long-lasting response, mostly given to the nature of the tumor microenvironment which hinders drug accessibility, the late stage on diagnosis and the rapid upregulation of compensatory alternative signaling pathways by the tumor cells that lead to cancer drug resistance. Two of the major parallel pathways regulating tumor survival and metastasis as well as the crosstalk of the tumor and its microenvironment are mediated by insulin receptor substrate (IRS) 1 and 2, and by the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). Both IRS1 and STAT3 have been shown to play a significant role in development of drug resistance by tumor cells. NT219, the focus of the current study, is a small molecule that presents a new concept in cancer therapy. NT219 represents a new family of novel compounds acting as a dual inhibitor of both IRS1/2 and STAT3 signaling both directly in the tumor and its microenvironment. We have previously shown that simultaneous inhibition of these two pathways is crucial to overcome drug resistance, and to prolong the positive response of the anti-cancer activity of approved cancer drugs. NT219 targets IRS1/2 for degradation using a unique mechanism, supported by a feed-forward decrease in IRS gene expression. A long-term suppression of both IRS and STAT3 by NT-219 has been demonstrated in previous preclinical studies, which lasted days following removal of NT219 from the cancer cells, assuring a strong and prolonged anti-cancer activity. This study was designed to investigate the efficacy of NT219 at overcoming drug resistance to several approved oncology therapies using patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models of KRAS mutant pancreatic cancer, as well as to validate NT219's mechanism of action and optimal dose regimen. 

24 Sep

Posted at 16:07h in Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Electronic Records
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51411" align="alignleft" width="200"]John (Xuefeng) Jiang PhD Professor and Plante Moran Faculty Fellow Eli Broad College of Business Accounting & Information Systems Michigan State University East Lansing, MI  Dr. Jiang[/caption] John (Xuefeng) Jiang PhD Professor and Plante Moran Faculty Fellow Eli Broad College of Business Accounting & Information Systems Michigan State University East Lansing, MI MedicalResearch.com: How did you get interested in this issue? Response: This is the third project of our data breach trilogy. We first examined which healthcare providers (focusing on hospitals) more likely suffer from a data breach. We documented large hospitals, despite their resources, are more likely to experience a data breach. Some hospitals experienced multiple incidents (https://jamanetwork.altmetric.com/details/18464149). The findings made us wonder what happened? Besides size, what other factors contribute to data breaches? Based on detailed event descriptions, we documented the circumstances under which each data breach occurred (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2715158). We found more than half of data breaches could be attributed to healthcare providers’ internal mistakes or negligence (e.g., forgot to encrypt laptop computers, used cc instead of bcc in emailing patients, didn’t revoke former employees’ login credentials after employment terminated) rather than external forces (e.g., hacking). We also found mobile devices (e.g. laptop computers, usb drives) are associated with most data breaches than paper records or network servers. Our results suggest if healthcare providers strengthen their internal control and limit the use of mobile device might be effective ways to reduce data breach risks. 

24 Sep

Posted at 16:01h in Author Interviews, BMJ, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Nutrition, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Deirdre K Tobias, ScD Associate Epidemiologist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School nuts-nutrition-weight-obesityMedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What types of nuts are helpful? Peanuts included?  Response: We did not have the granularity in our study to evaluate too many individual nut types, and did not perform head-to-head comparisons between types of nuts. All seemed to be better for long-term weight control compared with the snacks like potato chips that we know are not great for us on a regular basis.

24 Sep

Posted at 15:55h in Author Interviews, Education, Exercise - Fitness, Orthopedics, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51581" align="alignleft" width="200"]Alison E. Field, ScD Professor and Chair of Epidemiology Brown University School of Public Heath Providence, RI  Prof. Field[/caption] Alison E. Field, ScD Professor and Chair of Epidemiology Brown University School of Public Heath Providence, RI  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Over past couple of decades there has been a large change in youth sports from playing different sports in each season to more and more specialization where children are playing the same sport for three or more seasons. The concern with that change is that specialization at young ages will lead to more injuries, as well as athlete burnout.  

24 Sep

Posted at 14:34h in Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Duke, Neurology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Juan Helen Zhou, PhD, on behalf of the co-authors Associate Professor and Principal Investigator Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders (NBD) Programme Duke-NUS Medical School, SingaporeJuan Helen Zhou, PhD, on behalf of the co-authors Associate Professor and Principal Investigator Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders (NBD) Programme Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Alzheimer’s disease and cerebrovascular disease are among the leading disorders affecting the elderly, with up to 50 per cent of dementia patients showing co-occurrence of both disorders. It is therefore of great interest to understand the influence of co-occurring Alzheimer’s disease and cerebrovascular disease pathologies on brain changes, and examine if such changes are able to track early differential disease progression. Past cross-sectional studies have suggested that Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular disease pathologies contribute independently to brain functional and structural changes, and cognitive decline. Our study sought to demonstrate the independent contributions of both pathologies to brain functional networks in a longitudinal cohort of mild cognitive impairment patients, often regarded as early stage of the disease.

23 Sep

Posted at 22:58h in Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Diabetes, Diabetes Care, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51566" align="alignleft" width="133"]Rebecca Myerson, PhD Assistant Professor, Population Health Sciences School of Medicine and Public Health University of Wisconsin, Madison Dr. Myerson[/caption] Rebecca Myerson, PhD Assistant Professor, Population Health Sciences School of Medicine and Public Health University of Wisconsin, Madison MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Many people with diabetes are undiagnosed, and those who are diagnosed often are untreated and uncontrolled. Increasing access to health insurance for patients with health care needs was a goal of the Affordable Care Act. We analyzed information from 11 years of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which gathers data that are nationally representative of the civilian population. The biennial survey includes biomarkers, including HbA1c, a measure of blood-sugar control. Using the NHANES data allowed the researchers to identify those with undiagnosed diabetes.

23 Sep

Posted at 22:40h in Author Interviews, CT Scanning, JAMA, Lung Cancer, UCSF
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51556" align="alignleft" width="150"]Joshua Demb, PhD, MPH Postdoctoral Scholar, Moores Cancer Center University of California, San Diego Health Science Research Specialist Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System Dr. Demb[/caption] Joshua Demb, PhD, MPH Postdoctoral Scholar, Moores Cancer Center University of California, San Diego Health Science Research Specialist Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Our study leveraged radiation dose data from 72 facilities performing CT scans around the United States to learn more about the radiation dose used for lung cancer screening scans, as well as possible institutional predictors that might be associated with higher dose.  Currently, the American College of Radiology has recommendations for how these low-dose lung cancer screening scans should be performed. However, it is unclear how much adherence there currently is to these guidelines. Our findings indicated that there is wide variation in the distribution of radiation doses for low-dose lung cancer screening scans both within- and between facilities in our sample—in some cases this variation led to doses higher than the ACR recommendations.  

23 Sep

Posted at 22:28h in Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, University of Pittsburgh
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51408" align="alignleft" width="129"] Dr. Drak[/caption] Coleman Drake, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management Affiliate faculty member Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing University of Pittsburgh MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Every year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services puts out of notice of proposed changes to the rules governing the Health Insurance Marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act (e.g., healthcare.gov). The most recent notice for 2020 (issued in 2019) considered eliminating automatic reenrollment for Marketplace enrollees. On the one hand, requiring that enrollees actively select a health plan to stay insured is a good thing because it forces them to consider their options – we know that people make better health plan choices when they consider their choices. On the other hand, creating an administrative barrier to staying insured could cause some people to become uninsured. Since 3.4 million Marketplace enrollees used automatic enrollment in 2019, eliminating it might cause a spike in the uninsured rate.

23 Sep

Posted at 22:23h in Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Pediatrics, Smoking, UCSF
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51387" align="alignleft" width="126"]Gregory M Marcus, MD, MAS Professor of Medicine in Residence Endowed Professor in Atrial Fibrillation Research University of California, San Francisco Associate Chief of Cardiology for Research, UCSF Health University of California, San Francisco Dr. Marcus[/caption] Gregory M Marcus, MD, MAS Professor of Medicine in Residence Endowed Professor in Atrial Fibrillation Research University of California, San Francisco Associate Chief of Cardiology for Research, UCSF Health University of California, San Francisco MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Smoking remains the most common preventable cause of death and disability. We previously found evidence that tobacco smoke exposure in the young may lead to atrial fibrillation, the most common heart rhythm disturbance, later in life. Here we leveraged the multi-generational nature of the Framingham Heart Study to demonstrate that parental smoking was a risk factor for offspring atrial fibrillation. At least some of this relationship was explained by a greater propensity to smoke in offspring of smoking parents. These findings demonstrate a potentially new harmful effect of smoking pertinent to the most vulnerable population, our children. It also demonstrates how parental behaviors can have meaningful adverse consequences to their children decades later.

23 Sep

Posted at 21:45h in Author Interviews, Herpes Viruses, Science, University of Pennsylvania, Vaccine Studies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51550" align="alignleft" width="148"]Harvey M. Friedman, MD Professor of Medicine/Infectious Diseases University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-6073  Prof. Friedman[/caption] Harvey M. Friedman, MD Professor of Medicine/Infectious Diseases University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-6073  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:  Mice and guinea pigs are the animal models used to evaluate candidate vaccines for preventing genital herpes. My lab has been working on such a vaccine. Our candidate vaccine contains 3 immunogens. One immunogen is a protein on the virus that is required for the virus to enter cells (viruses need to enter cells to replicate). The other two immunogens are proteins on the virus that help the virus escape immune attack. Our intent is to produce antibodies to these 3 proteins by immunization and that the antibodies will bind to the proteins on the virus and block the protein functions. The virus then will not be able to enter cells and will not be able to use its evasion strategies to avoid the immune responses generated by the vaccine. Our vaccine aimed at preventing immune evasion is novel as a component of a genital herpes vaccine. 

22 Sep

Posted at 03:16h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Smoking, Tobacco, Tobacco Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51463" align="alignleft" width="165"]Hongying (Daisy) Dai, PhD Associate Professor Department of Biostatistics | College of Public Health University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha Dr. Hongying (Daisy) Dai[/caption] Hongying (Daisy) Dai, PhD Associate Professor Department of Biostatistics | College of Public Health University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Previous studies have reported a surge in e-cigarette use among youth during the 2017 - 2018. For instance, the prevalence of current (past 30-day) e-cigarette use increased by 77.8% (from 11.7% to 20.8%) among high school students and by 48.5% (from 3.3% to 4.9%) among middle school students. As a result, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that youth e-cigarette use is reaching an epidemic proportion in September 2018. Whether e-cigarette use prevalence also increased among young adults (aged 18-24 years), a population with high e-cigarette use rates and vulnerability to nicotine dependence, is unknown.

21 Sep

Posted at 12:23h in Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51447" align="alignleft" width="200"]Sarah Ballou, PhD Health psychologist in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA Dr. Ballou[/caption] Sarah Ballou, PhD Health Psychologist Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Obesity is known to be associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal and liver diseases, but less is known about the relationship between obesity and constipation or diarrhea. We used a nationally representative sample of the US population to evaluate whether obesity was associated with abnormal bowel habits. We found that obese individuals were 60% more likely to have diarrhea, even after controlling for possible confounding factors such as dietary, lifestyle, psychological, and medical conditions.

21 Sep

Posted at 11:54h in Author Interviews, Dengue, Duke, Vaccine Studies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51442" align="alignleft" width="142"]Dr Shee-Mei Lok, PhD Professor in the Emerging Infectious Disease program Duke-NUS, a school of National University of Singapore Dr. Shee-Mei Lok[/caption] Dr Shee-Mei Lok, PhD Professor in the Emerging Infectious Disease program Duke-NUS, a school of National University of Singapore MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Dengue virus consists of four different serotypes (DENV1-4) and within each serotypes, there are multiple strains. In terms of the viral particle shape, our previous research work using some laboratory adapted strains showed these DENV2 strains are very interesting in that it can change shape from the smooth spherical surface particles when grown at mosquito physiological temperature (29oC) and then becomes bumpy surfaced particles when incubated at human physiological temperature (37oC). This ability to transform into different virus surface structures helps the virus to escape from the immune system of the human host. Hence understanding the mechanism of how this occur is important for therapeutics and vaccine development. Here we also identified a laboratory adapted virus strain that do not showed this structural changes. [caption id="attachment_51443" align="alignleft" width="720"]Xin-Ni Lim, Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School Micrographs of DENV2 with different distribution of smooth and bumpy surfaced particles when incubated at different temperatures to mimic the physiological temperature in the mosquitoes (29°C, left panel), human host (37°C, middle panel) and when humans are experiencing high fever (40°C, right panel). Colour gradient from blue to red shows the rise in temperature.
Xin-Ni Lim, Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School[/caption] We showed some differences in their amino acid sequences and We showed some differences in their amino acid sequences and mutating these residues coupled with observing their surface structures showed which residues are important for this temperature induced structural change. Results showed that subtle mutations at different places on the envelope protein can destabilize the virus allowing them to change in structure when temperature is elevated. Due to the poor selection pressure of the artificial laboratory tissue culture system, gradual mutations of the virus is accumulated causing the virus to have bumpy surface morphology.