Blog – Medical Research News and Interviews

09 Oct

Posted at 13:29h in Author Interviews
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51791" align="alignleft" width="133"]Dr. Aurimas Vyšniauskas PhD Center for Physical Sciences and Technology Vilnius, Lithuania Dr. Vyšniauskas[/caption] Dr. Aurimas Vyšniauskas PhD Center for Physical Sciences and Technology Vilnius, Lithuania MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Fluorescent viscosity sensors (also known as molecular rotors) are small molecules that emit light when excited by a laser and the lifetime of their emission is affected by viscosity around the molecule. Higher is the viscosity, longer is the duration of the emission. These molecules are especially useful for sensing viscosity in small biological objects, like a living cell. This is very tricky to do using other methods simply due to a very small size of a cell. Many scientists are interested in the viscosity inside the cell because it tells us how quickly various proteins and other molecules move and reactions in a cell occur. Knowing this information would help us to better understand how various diseases, such as diabetes or Alzheimers, change inner environment of affected cells.

08 Oct

Posted at 17:29h in Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Outcomes & Safety, Stanford
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51734" align="alignleft" width="200"]Daniel Tawfik, MD, MS Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine Dr. Tawfik[/caption] Daniel Tawfik, MD, MS Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Professional burnout is very common among health care providers and is frequently associated with poor quality of care in the published literature. However, we know that reporting biases are common in many fields of literature, and these biases typically result in exaggerated effects being published relative to the true effect. Research on burnout and quality of care appears especially vulnerable, because many studies are not pre-specified or have several potential methods of analysis. If the studies or analyses with more impressive results are more likely to be published, this would result in a skewed picture of the relationship between burnout and quality of care.

08 Oct

Posted at 13:49h in Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Health Care Systems, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51752" align="alignleft" width="150"]William Shrank, MD, MSHS Chief Medical Officer Humana Dr. Shrank[/caption] William Shrank, MD, MSHS Chief Medical Officer Humana  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Health care waste is a serious problem in the system and the rising and uncontrolled costs of healthcare remain one of the top political and social issues in the U.S. We thought that sufficient time had passed since the 2012 groundbreaking analysis that was developed by Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP and Andrew D. Hackbarth, MPhil, that first characterized waste in the US health system. 

08 Oct

Posted at 13:46h in Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Mental Health Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51779" align="alignleft" width="200"]Marjaana Koponen, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher Kuopio Research Centre of Geriatric Care School of Pharmacy University of Eastern Finland Dr. Koponen[/caption] Marjaana Koponen, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher Kuopio Research Centre of Geriatric Care School of Pharmacy University of Eastern Finland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: It is known that antipsychotics are commonly used in the treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, although their use has been linked to serious adverse events. In this study, we found that community dwellers with Alzheimer’s disease who initiated antipsychotic use accumulated more hospital days than non-initiators. This may partially reflect adverse effects and events of antipsychotic use. On the other hand, antipsychotic users accumulated more hospital days due to dementia, mental and behavioral disorders and their caregivers’ days off. Thus, another reason for a higher accumulation of hospital days is care burden and the difficulties in treating the most severe behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.

07 Oct

Posted at 16:44h in Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, End of Life Care, Primary Care, Pulmonary Disease, University of Pennsylvania
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51756" align="alignleft" width="180"]Gary Weissman, MD, MSHP Assistant Professor of Medicine Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Division Palliative and Advanced Illness Research (PAIR) Center University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine  Dr. Weissman[/caption] Gary Weissman, MD, MSHP Assistant Professor of Medicine Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Division Palliative and Advanced Illness Research (PAIR) Center University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There are millions of hospitalizations every year in the United States (US) that include a stay in an intensive care unit (ICU). Such ICU stays put strain on health system resources, may be unwanted by patients, and are costly to society. As the population of the US gets older and more medically complex, some have argued that we need more ICU beds and a larger ICU workforce to keep pace. We hypothesized that some proportion of these ICU admissions could be prevented with early and appropriate outpatient care. Such a strategy would alleviate some of the strains and costs associated with ICU stays. If an appreciable proportion of ICU stays were preventable in this way, it would strengthen support for an alternative population-health based framework instead of further investments in the ICU delivery infrastructure. 

07 Oct

Posted at 16:23h in Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks, General Medicine, JAMA, Melanoma, Stanford
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_18136" align="alignleft" width="150"]Eleni Linos, MD DrPH, MPH Assistant Professor UCSF School of Medicine Dr. Linos[/caption] Eleni Linos MD MPH DrPH Professor of Dermatology and Epidemiology Stanford University  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: We know that tanning beds are harmful: people who use tanning beds are more likely to get skin cancer. Sexual minority men are much more likely to use tanning beds and also more likely to get skin cancer. In a separate study we discovered that one reason sexual minority men use tanning beds is if it is convenient: e.g. if close to home, cheap, and easy. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjd.17684). Recent research showed that tobacco retailers cluster in LGB neighborhoods: https://sph.unc.edu/sph-news/more-tobacco-retailers-in-lgbt-neighborhoods-may-explain-smoking-disparities/. This made us wonder if tanning salons also cluster in neighborhoods with more gay men. 

06 Oct

Posted at 17:37h in Author Interviews, Dermatology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51770" align="alignleft" width="150"]Peter C. Friedman, M.D., Ph.D. Diplomate of the American Academy of Dermatology Dr. Friedman[/caption] Peter C. Friedman, M.D., Ph.D. Diplomate of the American Academy of Dermatology www.skincenterderm.com MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study and case series? Would you describe nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasma? Response: Plasma is essentially ionized gas, the fourth state of matter: molecules or atoms move freely in gas state but in a higher energy state atoms shed electrons and both electrons and ions then move freely and independently. If this material has a temperature close to room temperature, we call it non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma, or cold plasma. It has been established in countless in vitro and animal experiments that cold plasma has a significant effect on living cells and tissues, for example: selective destruction of cancer cells, helping normal tissue development, inhibiting bacterial, fungal and even viral proliferation. In the handful of clinical trials it could improve wound healing, treat nail fungus. Our group was able to cure precancerous actinic keratosis lesions in a number of patients in a prior study. Based on some of the basic science data regarding the specific molecular and intracellular effects of cold plasma, we theorized that it may be able to cure warts, which are caused by human papilloma virus infection.

06 Oct

Posted at 16:42h in Alcohol, Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Jiabi Qin, MD, PhD Xiangya School of Public Health Central South University Changsha, China  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Congenital heart defects (CHDs), defined as a gross structural abnormality of the heart or intrathoracic great vessels occurring in embryonic period and affected nearly 1% of lives births, is the most common of all congenital defects and remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity in fancy and childhood. With a worldwide prevalence of CHDs now estimated to be 1.35 million newborns with CHDs every year, the number of CHDs is steadily increasing, representing a major global health burden. The association between maternal alcohol exposure and the risk of congenital heart defects (CHDs) has been explored, but little is known about the association between paternal alcohol exposure and the risk of CHDs. Furthermore, subsequent studies regarding the association between alcohol exposure and the risk of congenital heart defects have not yield consistent results. Therefore, given the inconsistency of existing literatures and insufficient evidence of primary studies, further an update meta-analysis based on the new and previously is evidently required. Especially, to our knowledge, any meta-analysis between paternal alcohol exposure and the risk of CHDs have not been conducted. 

05 Oct

Posted at 21:05h in Allergies, Author Interviews, C. difficile, Dental Research, Infections
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51763" align="alignleft" width="157"]Alan E. Gross, PharmD Clinical Assistant Professor University of Illinois Chicago, IL Dr. Gross[/caption] Alan E. Gross, PharmD Clinical Assistant Professor University of Illinois Chicago, IL MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Dentists prescribe 10% of all outpatient antibiotics. Most of this prescribing is for infection prophylaxis prior to dental procedures. Our prior research has found that 80% of prescriptions for dental prophylaxis is unnecessary. Although antibiotic prophylaxis prior to dental procedures is often for a short course (e.g. one time amoxicillin dose), there may be patient harm associated with this.

05 Oct

Posted at 11:47h in Author Interviews, HIV, Infections, STD, UCSD
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51649" align="alignleft" width="150"]Dr-Martin Hoenigl Dr. Hoenigl[/caption] Martin Hoenigl, MD Assistant Professor UCSD MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Technology has changed the way men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) seek sex. Over 60% of MSM in the US use the internet and/or smartphone-based geospatial networking apps to find sex partners. Grindr™, a sophisticated geosocial networking app, is the most frequently used dating app among MSM in the United States. Previous research has shown that MSM who use Grindr™ have a greater frequency risky sexual behavior, and more sexual partners, but little is known about the association between Grindr™ use and prevention behavior such as the use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We evaluated risk behavior, PrEP use, and Grindr™ usage among MSM receiving community-based HIV and bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening in central San Diego. Participants who tested negative for HIV and who were not on PrEP were offered immediate PrEP. 

05 Oct

Posted at 03:59h in Author Interviews, Cannabis, JAMA
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  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Although marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I drug at the Federal level, as of June 2019, 33 states and the District of Columbia have legalized one or more forms of marijuana; 11 states and the District of Columbia have approved both medical and recreational uses. Public opinion on marijuana has changed dramatically over the last two decades and support for legalization has doubled since 2010. However, very little is known about the prevalence and patterns of marijuana use among adults with medical conditions. This study analyzed the 2016 and 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to report the prevalence and patterns of marijuana use among adults with self-reported medical conditions. 

04 Oct

Posted at 21:27h in Author Interviews, Memory
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51748" align="alignleft" width="200"]Noah Forrin, PhD Postdoctoral fellow in Psychology University of Waterloo Dr. Forrin[/caption] Noah Forrin, PhD Postdoctoral fellow in Psychology University of Waterloo  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Everyday experience suggests that people have poor memory for information that they encounter prior to their own public performance.  For example, prior to giving a presentation at school or at work, people often struggle to remember information from a presentation that occurred before their own. n our study, we tested the hypothesis that performance anticipation reduces memory for pre-performance information.  We found that when participants anticipated a simple upcoming presentation--reading words out loud in front of someone else--their memory was diminished prior to reading those words out loud.  Memory may be reduced in this way because people are thinking about their upcoming performance or because they are anxious (i.e., performance anxiety).

04 Oct

Posted at 21:13h in Author Interviews, CDC, Infections, JAMA, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51743" align="alignleft" width="200"]Daniel C. Payne, PhD, MSPH Senior Scientific Advisor Viral Gastroenteritis Branch US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Payne[/caption] Daniel C. Payne, PhD, MSPH Senior Scientific Advisor Viral Gastroenteritis Branch US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Rotavirus vaccines have been recommended for US infants for more than 10 years.  This study used seven years of active surveillance data from seven hospitals around the US to evaluate the effectiveness of rotavirus vaccines in the US. 

04 Oct

Posted at 13:48h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51722" align="alignleft" width="138"]Dr Ranjit Manchanda MD, MRCOG, PhD Professor & Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) Fellow Integrated Academic Training Programme Director London Specialty School of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Health Education England Cancer Research UK, Barts Centre | Queen Mary University of London Department of Gynaecological Oncology | Barts Health NHS Trust, Royal London Hospital London Dr. Manchanda[/caption] Dr Ranjit Manchanda MD, MRCOG, PhD Professor & Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) Fellow Integrated Academic Training Programme Director London Specialty School of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Health Education England Cancer Research UK, Barts Centre | Queen Mary University of London Department of Gynaecological Oncology | Barts Health NHS Trust, Royal London Hospital London  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Current national and international guidelines recommend genetic-testing (for BRCA genes) in women with breast cancer (BC) who fulfil recognised/established clinical criteria which are based on a history of cancer in the patient and family. However 50% of BRCA carriers do not fulfil these criteria. Thus the current  family-history or clinical-criteria based approach misses half the people at risk. Additionally only 20%-30% of patients eligible tend to get referred for and access BRCA testing. Newer genes like PALB2 which cause breast cancer have been identified and can also be tested for. Knowing a patient’s mutation status (carrier identification) can have a number of benefits. After unilateral breast cancer, mutations carriers can choose contralateral prophylactic-mastectomy (CPM) or preventative mastectomy of the second breast to reduce their risk of developing contralateral breast cancer. Additionally they can opt for surgical prevention for ovarian-cancer (OC). Cancer affected carriers may become eligible for novel drugs (like poly-adenosine-diphosphate-ribose-polymerase (PARP) inhibitors) and other precision-medicine based novel drug therapies through clinical trials. A major advantage of genetic-testing is enabling testing relatives of breast cancer mutation carriers, to identify unaffected relatives carrying mutations who can benefit from early diagnosis and cancer prevention. Testing everyone instead of being restricted by family history will identify many more mutation carriers and their family members who can benefit from precision prevention. A large proportion of these cancers are preventable in known unaffected mutations carriers.

03 Oct

Posted at 16:48h in Antibiotic Resistance, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, Journal Clinical Oncology, University Texas
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_33272" align="alignleft" width="133"]Fangjian Guo, MD, PhD Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston TX Dr. Fangjian Guo[/caption] Fangjian Guo, MD, PhD Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston TX  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: The identification of BRCA1/BRCA2 pathogenic variants in women susceptible to breast or ovarian cancer in the 1990s created an opportunity for targeted, individualized cancer prevention. BRCA testing in young women before cancer onset enables early detection of those with increased cancer risk and creates an opportunity to offer life-saving prophylactic procedures and medication. We used insurance claims data to assess the use of BRCA testing in unaffected young women <40 years of age between 2006 and 2017 and found that BRCA testing among cancer-free women under 40 has more than doubled in recent years. However, only about 25% of all BRCA testing done in 2017 was performed in unaffected young women under 40.

03 Oct

Posted at 11:58h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research
Dr. Dario Altieri in his lab with Dr. Ekta Agarwal conducting an experimentMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ekta Agarwal, Ph.D. Postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dario Altieri, M.D. Wistar president and CEO ,Director of the Institute’s Cancer Center Robert & Penny Fox Distinguished Professor and co-first author on the study. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Mitochondrial reprogramming is one of the hallmarks of cancer cell growth and metastasis. There are several studies correlating mitochondrial dynamics to increased cancer cell motility and invasion. However, therapies that can target molecular markers associated with mitochondrial functions and integrity are still obscure. Thus, it is crucial to identify novel targets and pathways that regulate mitochondrial functions in cancer. This study reveals one such mitochondrial molecular pathway which might serve as an actionable anti-cancer therapy.

02 Oct

Posted at 23:31h in Author Interviews, Education, Heart Disease, Technology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51701" align="alignleft" width="200"]Tiffany G. Munzer, MD Department of Pediatrics University of Michigan Medical School Ann Arbor Dr. Munzer[/caption] Tiffany G. Munzer, MD Department of Pediatrics University of Michigan Medical School Ann Arbor  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There’s been such a rise in the prevalence of tablet devices and the recommendation for families of young children has been to engage in media together because children learn the most from screens when they’re shared with an adult. However, little is known about how toddlers and adults might behave and interact using a tablet.

02 Oct

Posted at 23:11h in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cost of Health Care, Diabetes, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51730" align="alignleft" width="200"]Andrew Sumarsono, MD UT Southwestern Medical Center Dr. Sumarsono[/caption] Andrew Sumarsono, MD UT Southwestern Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: There are currently 12 types of medications used to treat type 2 diabetes. With approximately 30 million adults living with diabetes in the United States, the rising cost of insulin has raised concerns about the affordability of diabetes care. We evaluated trends in total spending and number of prescriptions of all diabetes therapies among Medicare Part D beneficiaries between 2012 and 2017.

02 Oct

Posted at 21:26h in Author Interviews, ENT, Genetic Research, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51688" align="alignleft" width="150"]Manvendra K Singh PhD Program in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School National Heart Research Institute, National Heart Center Singapore, Singapore Dr. Singh[/caption] Manvendra K Singh PhD Program in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School National Heart Research Institute, National Heart Center Singapore, Singapore MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Craniofacial and cardiovascular abnormalities are the most common defects, contributing to more than one-third of the congenital diseases. Proper formation of these structures involves intricate processes such as proliferation, migration, and differentiation of neural crest cells (NCCs). Functional defects in NCCs result in craniofacial malformations, including cleft lip and/or cleft palate. Many transcription factors, chromatin remodelling factors, non-coding RNA and signalling molecules have been implicated in impaired neural crest development that result in cardio-craniofacial syndromes. However, the cell-autonomous role of splicing regulators in neural crest biology remains unclear and warrants further investigation.

02 Oct

Posted at 20:42h in Author Interviews, Kidney Disease, OBGYNE
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51684" align="alignleft" width="180"]Silvi Shah, MD, MS, FACP, FASN| Assistant Professor  Division of Nephrology, University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH-45267 Dr. Silvi Shah[/caption] Silvi Shah, MD, MS, FACP, FASN| Assistant Professor Division of Nephrology, University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH-45267 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Our study uses data from the largest retrospective cohort of dialysis patients in the United States from the United States Renal Data System to determine pregnancy rates and factors associated with pregnancy in 47,555 women aged 15-44 years on dialysis. We identified 2,352 pregnancies with a rate of 17.8 pregnancies per 1000 person-years (PTPY) with the highest rate in women aged 20-24 years (40.9 PTPY).

02 Oct

Posted at 18:41h in Author Interviews, Heart Disease, NEJM
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51678" align="alignleft" width="225"]Dr Jean-Baptiste Lascarrou Dr. Baptiste Lascarrou[/caption] Dr Jean-Baptiste Lascarrou  Médecine Intensive Réanimation CHU de Nantes Nantes   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Ancillary study of TTM1 trial & meta-analyses of nonrandomized studies have provided conflicting data on moderate therapeutic hypothermia, or targeted temperature management, at 33°C in patients successfully resuscitated after nonshockable cardiac arrest. Nevertheless, the latest recommendations issued by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation and by the European Resuscitation Council recommend moderate therapeutic hypothermia.

01 Oct

Posted at 22:15h in Author Interviews, Infections, JAMA, OBGYNE, USPSTF
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_44364" align="alignleft" width="170"]Melissa A. Simon, M.D., M.P.H. Member, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force George H. Gardner professor of clinical gynecology, Vice chair of clinical research Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Professor of preventive medicine and medical social sciences Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Dr. Simon[/caption] Melissa A. Simon, M.D., M.P.H. Member, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force George H. Gardner professor of clinical gynecology, Vice chair of clinical research Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Professor of preventive medicine and medical social sciences Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Asymptomatic bacteriuria, or ASB, is when someone has bacteria in their urine but does not have any signs or symptoms of a urinary tract infection. For pregnant people, this can be a major health concern resulting in severe, even life-threatening, infections that can lead to serious harms for both the mother and the baby. The Task Force’s primary finding in updating its recommendation on this topic was that screening for ASB continues to be beneficial in preventing complications and preserving the health of mothers and their babies during pregnancy. 

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.