Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JACC, Surgical Research, Technology / 20.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Evolut TAVR PlatformDr. Shazia Afzal MD University Hospital Düsseldorf, Medical Faculty, Division of Cardiology, Pulmonology and Vascular Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Since its introduction in 2002, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) emerged to an increasingly important interventional procedure in the field of structural heart disease. Widespread use in Europe, the USA and Canada lead to continuous technological development and improved patient’s safety, procedural success and clinical outcome. In 08/2017 one of the market leaders introduced its latest generation valve model -the CoreValve Evolut PROTM- which was especially designed to mitigate paravalvular leakage after valve deployment. We conducted the first prospective study which directly compares the Evolut PROTM with its direct predecessor the Evolut RTM as a head-to-head analysis especially focusing on hemodynamic performance and clinical outcome in a real-world setting. To ensure comparability between groups, we performed propensity score matching with special interest in CT-derived data to guarantee equitable anatomical conditions. Since both valves are on the market but sold at different prices the pivotal question is whether the Evolut PROTM reaches its target. In a highly budget restricted health care system with limited refunding cost-effectiveness evolves to a substantial discussion point in daily clinical practice. Our results may not be marketing friendly but we think of relevance for the interventional community. 
Author Interviews, CMAJ, HIV, Sexual Health / 20.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46090" align="alignleft" width="200"]"HIV infecting a human cell" by NIH Image Gallery is licensed under CC BY 2.0 HIV Infecting T Cell[/caption] Rachel Rodin Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control Public Health Agency of Canada MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: On December 1, 2016 (World AIDS Day), the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, federal Minister of Justice, committed to working with provinces and territories, affected communities, and medical professionals to examine the criminal justice system’s response to non-disclosure of HIV status in the context of sexual relations. To this end, Justice Canada worked with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), provincial and territorial public health and justice counterparts, and a variety of other stakeholders to develop a comprehensive report on the issue of HIV non-disclosure. As part of this work, Justice Canada asked PHAC to provide an assessment of the most recent medical science on sexual HIV transmission risk. In collaboration with external peer reviewers, PHAC undertook a systematic review of the full body of scientific evidence on sexual HIV transmission risk. The review found that the risk of sexual transmission of HIV is negligible when an individual is taking antiretroviral therapy as prescribed and maintains a suppressed viral load. The review also concluded that the risk remains low when the individual is on antiretroviral therapy with varying viral load, or is not on antiretroviral therapy but uses condoms.   
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 20.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "Pondering a firearm" by Dan Foy is licensed under CC BY 2.0Erin Morgan PhD Student | Department of Epidemiology University of Washington MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Going into this study we were interested in looking at youth exposure to unsafely stored firearms. Unsafely stored firearms in the household, especially those that are stored unlocked, are a known risk factor for adolescent suicide. We were also interested in looking into a population of children and teens who are at particularly heightened risk for suicide and unintentional injury—those living with an adult who misuses alcohol. Overall, we found that about 30% of those under the age of 18 live in a firearm owning home and among those youth, around 55% lived with a firearm stored in a way other than locked and unloaded. Among those in firearm owning household, we also found that when compared to youth living with a survey respondent that did not report alcohol misuse, those living with an adult that did misuse alcohol were 20% more likely to reside in a home where the firearm was stored unsafely; children were 27% more likely to live in a home reporting unlocked storage, specifically.
Alcohol, Author Interviews, CDC, JAMA, Primary Care, USPSTF / 20.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46135" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr. Carol Mangione M.D., M.S.P.H., F.A.C.P Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Division Chief of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research Professor of Medicine. Barbara A. Levey, MD, and Gerald S. Levey, MD Endowed chair in medicine David Geffen School of Medicine University of California Dr. Mangione[/caption] Dr. Carol Mangione M.D., M.S.P.H., F.A.C.P Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Division Chief of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research Professor of Medicine. Barbara A. Levey, MD, and Gerald S. Levey, MD Endowed chair in medicine David Geffen School of Medicine University of California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Unhealthy alcohol use is relatively common and is increasing among U.S. adults. Alcohol use is the third leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. and contributes to more than 88,000 deaths per year. In pregnancy, it also leads to birth defects and developmental problems in children. The Task Force found that screening tests and brief counseling interventions can help detect and reduce unhealthy alcohol use among adults, and in turn help prevent negative consequences related to alcohol use. For adolescents ages 12 to 17, clinicians should use their best judgment when deciding whether or not to screen and refer their patients to counseling, until we have better studies available.
Author Interviews / 19.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46082" align="alignleft" width="200"]"neuron" by Taylor Maley is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Neuron-Creative Commons[/caption] Jace B. King, PhD Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience University of Utah, Salt Lake City MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Aberrant brain connectivity is believed to be a robust neurobiological underpinning in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. To date, the majority of functional connectivity fMRI studies have focused on the strength of the relationship between coactivating regions of the brain during a resting state. An often-replicated finding suggests individuals with autism demonstrate increased short-range functional connectivity and decreased long-range functional connectivity. Our study focuses on the temporal domain of functional connectivity fMRI data acquired using long duration multiband, multiecho acquisitions. We used two different measurements of the temporal synchrony between brain regions to establish that, on average, individuals with autism exhibit prolonged functional connectivity in multiple regions associated with a diagnosis of the disorder. A number of these findings were then replicated in a large multisite dataset (Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange). Additionally, we found a strong positive relationship between the duration of functional connectivity in multiple brain regions and symptoms relating to social dysfunction in individuals with autism suggesting that they may need to hang on to neural connections just a bit longer in order to process social queues and quickly changing novel sensory information.
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Heart Disease, JAMA, Weight Research / 19.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "Obesity runs rampant in Indiana." by Steve Baker is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0Haris Riaz MD (Cardiology Fellow Haitham Ahmed MD, MPH , Preventive Cardiologist, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Elevated cholesterol (specially low density lipoprotein) has been causally linked to the development of coronary artery disease whereas the causal relationship between obesity and cardiovascular disease has remained controversial. This is important because of increasing epidemic of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Mendelian randomization studies provide one way of determining a causal association where we can look at the outcomes of individuals stratified by the presence or absence of a particular allele. Since these alleles are randomly distributed in the population of interest, this is "nature's randomized trial" in that the particular allele is naturally distributed and hence minimal risk of bias. In other words, lets say that I hypothesize that a particular gene "A" is linked with coronary artery disease. If the given gene is indeed causally linked with coronary artery disease, patients with activation of that gene should have significantly greater risk of developing coronary artery disease. Based on these principles, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the available evidence and found that the risk of developing coronary artery disease and diabetes is significantly increased with obesity. Although hypothesis generating, we think that these findings may suggest a causal association between obesity and cardiovascular disease. 
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, JAMA / 19.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "A neonate with Down's?" by Sadasiv Swain is licensed under CC BY 2.0Rosalyn Hithersay LonDowns Kings College, London  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In our research group, we have been following a large group of adults with Down syndrome in the UK to track changes with ageing in their health and cognitive function. It has been known for some time now that people with Down syndrome are at high risk for developing dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. This new study has shown the huge impact that this risk has on mortality for these adults. We found that dementia is now the likely underlying cause of death in more than 70% of adults with Down syndrome aged over 35 years. This is a much bigger proportion of deaths due to Alzheimer’s disease compared to the general population: in England and Wales only 17.5% of deaths past the age of 65 would be related to dementia of any kind. 
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks / 19.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46115" align="alignleft" width="133"]Dr. Gilbert Rochon, III PH.D., MPH Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Global Health Management & Policy Tulane University’s School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine Senior Consultant with MSF Global Solutions, LLC New Orleans Dr. Rochon[/caption] Dr. Gilbert Rochon, III PH.D., MPH Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Global Health Management & Policy Tulane University’s School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine Senior Consultant with MSF Global Solutions, LLC New Orleans MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Having observed the frequency with which President Donald Trump characterized changes in regulatory policies and funding levels with respect to public health and the environment as eliminating or curtailing "unnecesssary Obama-era regulations," I became curious as to the full extent and impact of such deregulation and under-funding of health and environmental safeguards. In the process, I found it necessary to review federal government contributions to public health and the environment under all previous presidents. 
Author Interviews, JAMA, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics / 19.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "i have a lazy eye but it's a good thing" by jessica mullen is licensed under CC BY 2.0Eileen E. Birch, PhD Director, Crystal Charity Ball Pediatric Vision Evaluation Center Retina Foundation of the Southwest Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology UT Southwestern Medical Center   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: We previously reported that amblyopia, but not nonamblyopic strabismus or anisometropia, is associated with slower reading speed (Kelly et al  Journal of AAPOS 2015) and that this is related to abnormal eye movements and unstable fixation associated with amblyopia (Kelly et al 2017).  We have also shown that amblyopic children are slower at completing Scantron answer sheets (JAMA Ophthalmology 2018).  We thought that these difficulties experiences in school-age children with amblyopia might affect their self-perception.
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Omega-3 Fatty Acids / 18.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “omega 3” by Khaldaa Photographer is licensed under CC BY 2.0Philippa Middelton MPH Associate Professor Healthy Mothers, Babies and Children South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Adelaide, Australia  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: For several decades, it has been known that fish or fish oils can lengthen gestation. In our Cochrane review of 70 studies and nearly 20,000 women we show that fish oil (mainly as omega-3 fatty acid supplements), prevents premature birth, specifically
  • An 11% reduction in premature birth < 37 weeks gestation;
  • And a 42% reduction in premature birth < 34 weeks gestation.
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Gluten, Microbiome, Nature / 17.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46109" align="alignleft" width="153"]Professor Oluf Pedersen Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research University of Copenhagen Dr. Pedersen[/caption] Professor Oluf Pedersen Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research University of Copenhagen MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We focused our study on healthy people due to the world-wide bottom-up movement among healthy adults to live gluten-free or on a low-gluten diet. Therefore, we undertook a randomised, controlled, cross-over trial involving 60 middle-aged healthy Danish adults with two eight week interventions comparing a low-gluten diet (2 g gluten per day) and a high-gluten diet (18 g gluten per day), separated by a washout period of at least six weeks with habitual diet (12 g gluten per day). The two diets were balanced in number of calories and nutrients including the same total amount of dietary fibres. However, the composition of fibres differed markedly between the two diets. When the low-gluten trend started years back the trend was without any scientific evidence for health benefits. Now we bring pieces of evidence that a low-gluten diet in healthy people may be related to improved intestinal wellbeing due to changes in the intestinal microbiota which to our surprise is NOT induced by gluten itself but by the concomitant change in the type of dietary fibres linked to a low-gluten intake.
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, University of Michigan / 17.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Renuka Tipirneni, MD, MSc Assistant Professor Holder of the Grace H. Elta MD Department of Internal Medicine Early Career Endowment Award 2019-2024 University of Michigan Department of Internal Medicine, Divisions of General Medicine and Hospital Medicine, and Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation Ann Arbor, MI 48109Renuka Tipirneni, MD, MSc Assistant Professor Holder of the Grace H. Elta MD Department of Internal Medicine Early Career Endowment Award 2019-2024 University of Michigan Department of Internal Medicine Divisions of General Medicine and Hospital Medicine, and Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation Ann Arbor, MI 48109 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response:  Navigating health insurance and health care choices is challenging and requires significant health insurance literacy (knowledge and application of health insurance concepts). We looked at the association between U.S. adults' health insurance literacy and avoidance of health care services due to perceived cost. We found that 30% of people we surveyed reported delayed or foregone care because of perceived cost, and that those with lower health insurance literacy reported significantly greater avoidance of both preventive and nonpreventive health care services.
Author Interviews, Global Health, Heart Disease, JAMA, Pediatrics, Surgical Research / 17.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_45975" align="alignleft" width="144"]Marcelo G. Cardarelli, MD A member of Inova Medical Group Dr. Cardarelli[/caption] Marcelo G. Cardarelli, MD Inova Children’s Hospita Fairfax, Falls Church, Virginia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Global Humanitarian Medical efforts consume a large amount of resources (nearly $38B in 2016) and donors (Countries, International organizations, WHO, Individuals) make the decisions as to where their funds should be allocated based on cost-effectiveness studies. Most resources go to prevent/treat infectious diseases, sanitation efforts and maternal/child care issues. An insignificant amount of resources is directed to satisfy the surgical needs of the populations in low and middle income countries (LMICs). The idea behind our project was to find out if it was cost-effective to perform a tertiary surgical specialty (pediatric cardiac surgery) in this context and the answer (at $171 per DALY averted) was an overwhelming yes! But most importantly, we believe, as many others do, that judging the cost/effectiveness of an intervention in order to decide resources allocation is valid for diseases that can be prevented, but not relevant when it comes to surgical problems that are not preventable. Instead, we propose the use of another measure of effectiveness, what we call "The Humanitarian Footprint". The Humanitarian Footprint represents the long term benefits, as measured by changes in the life expectancy, extra years of schooling and potential lifetime earnings of patients treated surgically during humanitarian interventions. To our surprise and based on the results, the effects on society of at least this particular surgical intervention were greater than we expected. We suspect this measure can be used in many other surgical humanitarian interventions as well. 
Allergies, Author Interviews, Dermatology, Immunotherapy, JAMA / 17.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46078" align="alignleft" width="162"]Hives - Wikipedia image James Heilman, MD - Own work Hives - Wikipedia image[/caption] Christopher S. Lee, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, FHFSA Professor and Associate Dean for Research Boston College William F. Connell School of Nursing Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Although the efficacy of omalizumab (i.e. can it work?) in the treatment of chronic idiopathic (spontaneous) urticaria has been established in clinical trials, the effectiveness of omalziumab (i.e. does it work?) in the real-world management is less well established. The purpose of this study was to synthesize what is known about the benefits and harms of omalizumab as used in real-world treatment of Chronic Idiopathic (Spontaneous) Urticaria.
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JACC, Outcomes & Safety / 17.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46093" align="alignleft" width="142"]Teryl K. Nuckols, MD Vice Chair, Clinical Research Director, Division of General Internal Medicine Cedars Sinai Los Angeles, California Dr. Nuckols[/caption] Teryl K. Nuckols, MD Vice Chair, Clinical Research Director, Division of General Internal Medicine Cedars Sinai Los Angeles, California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) penalizes hospitals with increased 30-day readmission rates among seniors admitted with heart failure (HF).  Heart failure readmission rates declined markedly following the implementation of this policy. Two facts have raised concerns about whether the HRRP might have also inadvertently increased 30-day heart failure mortality rates. First, before the policy was implemented, hospitals with higher heart failure readmission rates had lower 30-day HF mortality rates, suggesting that readmissions are often necessary and beneficial in this population. Second, 30-day HF mortality rose nationally after the HRRP was implemented, and the timing of the increase has suggested a possible link to the policy. Are hospitals turning patients away, putting them at risk of death, or is the increase in heart failure mortality just a coincidence? To answer this question, we compared trends in 30-day HF mortality rates between penalized hospitals and non-penalized hospitals because 30-day HF readmissions declined much more at hospitals subject to penalties under this policy.
Allergies, Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 16.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eliane Abou-Jaoude, MD  Allergy and Immunology Fellow Henry Ford Health System Detroit, MichiganEliane Abou-Jaoude, MD  Allergy and Immunology Fellow Henry Ford Health System Detroit, Michigan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Early life exposure to diverse types of microbes is necessary for healthy immune development and may impact the risk for developing allergic disorders. Theoretically the transfer of parental microbes to their offspring during infancy can influence a child’s developing gut microbiome and subsequent immune response patterns. We wished to investigate whether parental pacifier cleaning methods, reported at 6-months of age, were associated with altered serum IgE trajectory over the first 18 months of life. 
Author Interviews / 16.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "Mothers and Daughters" by Joe Shlabotnik is licensed under CC BY 2.0Robert F. Lynch, PhD Department of Biology University of Turku Turku, Finland  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response:  The take home message is that we were trying to experimentally induce something called a Trivers-Willard effect in humans. The Trivers-Willard hypothesis is a theory that uses evolutionary logic to predicts that parents who are in good condition will bias investment towards sons, while parents who are in poor condition will bias investment towards daughters.  The logic is that this should be the case because high-quality sons are expected to out-reproduce high quality daughters, while low-quality daughters are expected to out-reproduce low quality sons. We found almost nothing supporting this.  Instead we found strong and consistent effects across 4 dependent variables (explicitly stated preferences, implicit associations via IAT tests, actual donations to charities after an experimental prime and a forced choice adoption preference) of women preferring daughters or girls and men having either a slight or no preference for sons or boys. Of course we get into the details of why this may not be so surprising after all from an evolutionary point of view.  And we also discuss how things like sexual genetic conflict might mask TW effects and how cultural changes regarding the expected value of males and females may also play a role in explaining these differences.   
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Microbiome, Pediatrics / 16.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46046" align="alignleft" width="180"]Thomas Thymann PhD DVM MSc Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Comparative Pediatrics and Nutrition Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences University of Copenhagen Frederiksberg, Denmark Prof. Thymann[/caption] Thomas Thymann PhD DVM MSc Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Comparative Pediatrics and Nutrition Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences University of Copenhagen Frederiksberg, Denmark MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Infants that are born preterm are at risk of developing a severe and life threatening intestinal disease referred to as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). This condition is known to be under influence of several factors including the microorganisms that start to colonize the intestine immediately after birth. We wanted to see whether fecal matter collected from healthy 10-day old piglets, would benefit the pattern of early colonization, and prevent NEC.
Allergies, Asthma, Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Science / 16.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "Dogs and Kids Mix Well" by Tony Alter is licensed under CC BY 2.0Catarina Almqvist Malmros MD, PhD Professor | Consultant Pediatrician Dept of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics | Karolinska Institutet Lung and Allergy Unit | Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital Stockholm, Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We have previously shown an association between growing up with dogs and a lower risk of childhood asthma (doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.3219) but it has been unknown whether this link is modified by characteristics of the dog. Sex of the dog may have an effect on expressed allergens, and uncastrated male dogs release more of a certain allergen than castrated male dogs and female dogs. Some breeds are also described as ‘hypoallergenic’, but there is no scientific evidence whether they are more suitable for people with allergies. We examined how variables such as sex, breed, number of dogs or size of dog are associated with the risk of asthma and allergy among children with a dog in their home during the first year of life. We included all Swedish children born between January 2001 and December 2004 whose parents had a registered dog in a dog-owner register and linked the data to the Swedish population- and health data registers. Main findings are that children raised with only female dogs at home had a 16 per cent lower risk of asthma than those with male dogs, and that children living with two or more dogs had a 21 per cent lower risk of asthma than those with only one dog. Importantly, families with parental asthma or allergies had ‘hypoallergenic’ breeds more often than children whose parents did not have asthma or allergies; 11.7% compared to 7.6 . Exposure to these breeds was associated with a 27 per cent higher risk of allergy and no decreased risk of asthma. 
Author Interviews, Lancet, Mental Health Research, PTSD / 16.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46001" align="alignleft" width="160"]Sanford Nidich, Ed.D. Director, Center for Social-Emotional Health Maharishi University of Management Research Institute Fairfield, Iowa Dr. Nidich[/caption] Sanford Nidich, Ed.D. Director, Center for Social-Emotional Health Maharishi University of Management Research Institute Fairfield, Iowa MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex and difficult-to-treat disorder, affecting 10-20% of veterans across eras. Previous research raised the question of whether a non-trauma focused treatment can be as effective as trauma exposure therapy in reducing PTSD symptoms. The overall objective of the study was to compare Transcendental Meditation (TM), a non-trauma focused practice, to prolonged exposure (PE) in a non-inferiority clinical trial, and to compare both to a PTSD health education control group. Transcendental Meditation was found to be as effective as PE in reducing PTSD symptoms severity from baseline to three-month posttest. In standard superiority comparisons, significant reductions in PTSD symptoms were found for TM vs. HE, and PE vs. HE. Percentages of participants with clinically significant improvement, as measured by the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) interview (≥10 point reduction), were TM=61%, PE=42%, and HE=32% 
Author Interviews, Depression, JAMA, Testosterone / 16.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_45941" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr. Andreas Walther Dr. Walther[/caption] Dr. Andreas Walther PhD Department of Biological Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Task Force on Men’s Mental Health of the World Federation of the Societies of Biological Psychiatry MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The study situation with regard to endogenous testosterone level and depressive symptoms in men is currently very mixed. There are studies that show no association, but other studies show that low testosterone levels are associated with increased depressive symptoms. That is why several studies have tried to administer testosterone in men to treat depressive symptomatology among other conditions (e.g. erectile dysfunction, cognitive decline). However, no clear conclusions could be drawn from the studies to date, as some studies reported positive results, while others did not show any effects. Likewise, some studies showed better results in certain subgroups of men such as dysthymic men, treatment resistant, men with low testosterone, which raised the question of relevant moderators.
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, JAMA, Prostate Cancer, Radiation Therapy, Surgical Research / 16.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_45955" align="alignleft" width="200"]Anthony Victor D'Amico, MD, PhD Professor and Chief, Genitourinary Radiation Oncology Harvard Medical School Dr. D'Amico[/caption] Anthony Victor D'Amico, MD, PhD Professor and Chief, Genitourinary Radiation Oncology Harvard Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: This study investigated whether surgery followed by the use of adjuvant low dose radiation and short course hormonal therapy as compared to high dose radiation and hormonal therapy could provide an equivalent low risk of death from prostate cancer amongst men presenting with aggressive and not infrequently fatal Gleason score 9 or 10 prostate cancer. It has been shown previously (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2673969) and validated in the current study that surgery alone in such cases leads to a more then 2.5-fold increase in the risk of death from prostate cancer as compared to high dose radiation and hormonal therapy. 
Author Interviews, Weight Research / 16.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gelesis, Inc.H.M. Heshmati, M.D. Executive Vice President, Endocrinology and Metabolism Gelesis, Inc.  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: The Gelesis Loss Of Weight (GLOW) clinical study is a pivotal, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of our lead investigational product candidate, Gelesis100, which is an oral, non-systemic approach to weight loss. The GLOW study was designed to assess change in body weight in adults with overweight or obesity after six months of treatment with Gelesis100. Main findings from the GLOW study include the following:
  • 59% of Gelesis100-treated adults achieved weight loss of at least 5% over six months.
o   The new data show that Gelesis100-treated adults fell into two groups: responders, the 6 out of 10 who lost an average of 10% of their total body weight (about 22 pounds) and nearly 4 inches from their waist circumference. Non-responders, the 4 out of 10 who lost an average of 1% of their total body weight (about 2 pounds). o   The complete Gelesis100 treatment group (including both responders and non-responders) demonstrated superiority compared to placebo (–6.4% vs. –4.4%, P=0.0007)
  • Successful response to Gelesis100 may be predicted by elevated fasting plasma glucose at baseline or weight loss as early as week 8.
  • There was a clear and early separation between responders and non-responders. More specifically, weight loss of at least 3% as early as after eight 8 weeks of treatment predicted clinically meaningful weight loss at six months, with sensitivity and specificity levels exceeding 80%.
  • The study also showed that nearly half of the adults with prediabetes or drug-naive type 2 diabetes were super-responders. These individuals, who typically face greater challenges to lose weight, had six times greater odds of being super-responders, compared to placebo (adjusted OR: 6.1, P=0.0071).
  • Gelesis100 had a highly favorable safety and tolerability profile. 
Author Interviews, Autism, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Pediatrics / 16.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "Cairo Air Pollution with less smog - Pyramids1" by Nina Hale is licensed under CC BY 2.0Lief Pagalan, MSc Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University Research Trainee, Centre for Hip Health and Mobility Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Pregnant women more heavily exposed to air pollution had higher chances of having children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The causes of ASD are not fully understood, but this study adds to the growing evidence that environmental risk factors have a role to play. Our study found an association between autism spectrum disorder in the children of women more heavily exposed to air pollution. We observed these results using well-defined cases of ASD and in Vancouver, Canada, which typically has lower air pollution. These findings are consistent with studies done in the U.S., Israel, and Taiwan, which have also found an increased risk of ASD from exposure to air pollution. 
Author Interviews, CDC, Gastrointestinal Disease, Infections, Vaccine Studies / 15.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "Day 19: Norovirus (stomach flu) visits our home." by Loren Kerns is licensed under CC BY 2.0Rachel M. Burke, PhD, MPH Epidemiologist, Viral Gastroenteritis Branch Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, GA 30329 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Noroviruses are the leading cause of vomiting and diarrhea from acute gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach or intestines) among people of all ages in the United States. Each year in the United States, norovirus illness is responsible for an estimated 19 to 21 million cases of acute gastroenteritis, and contributes to 56,000 to 71,000 hospitalizations and 570 to 800 deaths, mostly among children and the elderly. CDC linked information from two different surveillance systems to analyze 3,747 norovirus outbreaks reported by health departments from 2009 to 2016. Our study provides a comprehensive description of norovirus outbreaks from the epidemiology and laboratory perspectives, using the National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) and CaliciNet, respectively.  Norovirus outbreaks caused by GII.4 strains occurred more often in healthcare settings, affected older adults, and caused more severe illness, leading to hospitalization or death.
Addiction, Author Interviews, Opiods / 15.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kirk Evoy, PharmD, BCACP, BC-ADM, CTTS "Wolf Administration Holds a Press Conference Expanding Access to Naloxone" by Governor Tom Wolf is licensed under CC BY 2.0Clinical Assistant Professor  College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin Adjoint Assistant Professor  School of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Ambulatory Care Pharmacist  Southeast Clinic, University Health System  UT Health Science Center at San Antonio Pharmacotherapy Education and Research Center San Antonio, TX 78229  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Previous studies in Indiana and New York City, and the similar study in California published alongside ours identified that, despite the fact that laws designed to increase naloxone access had been in place for 2-3 years, patients were still not able to obtain naloxone without first seeing a doctor in many pharmacies. Our study showed contrasting results to the previous studies, with a much higher proportion of pharmacies stocking naloxone and stating their willingness to dispense without an outside prescription. Among the 2,317 Texas chain community pharmacies we contacted, 83.7% correctly informed our interviewers that they could obtain naloxone without having to get a prescription from their doctor before coming to the pharmacy.  We also found that 76.4% of the pharmacies had at least one type of naloxone currently in stock.
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks / 15.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Audra Stinchcomb, PhD Principal Investigator Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences University of Maryland School of Pharmacy MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: We have been studying the heat effects and repeated dose effects on the absorption of drugs across the skin for more than 5 years.  We were curious to see if the effects we saw on gel, cream, and ointment pharmaceuticals also occurred with sunscreen. Sunscreens are typically used in the hot sun and with reapplication every 80 minutes or so, depending on the product and user.
Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Lifestyle & Health / 15.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "Blood pressure check" by Army Medicine is licensed under CC BY 2.0Pallavi Bhandarkar MPH Nova Southeastern University Kirkland, Washington preetipshenoy@gmail.com  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Gender based preventative health has been of interest to medical community since 1900’s with health disparities between males and females being of particular interest. United States founded National Research Institutes for female health in 1900. This led to comprehensive and systematic medical services being offered which have improved female health care significantly. Similar research programs and initiatives to improve men’s health were started only in 2000 (1). Cultural depiction of men being fearless and based on perception of masculinity leads them to underutilize the preventative health care screenings available to them or sometimes even delay care when they need it the most. Males have been found to have higher mortality rates compared to females. Life expectancy for females was 5.0 years higher than for males. The difference in life expectancy between the sexes has narrowed since 1979, when it was 7.8 years, but it increased 0.2 year in 2016 from 2015, the first increase since 1990. Death rates for males increased significantly for age groups 15–24, 25–34, 35–44, and 55–64. Rates decreased significantly for age groups 75–84 and 85 and over” (2) My research study adopted the basic survey design and conducted an anonymous survey throughout United States with men aged 18 to 40 being the participants. Our goal was to identify these gaps, analyze the reasons for underutilization and identify opportunities to improve preventative care guidelines among the male population. The main findings were almost similar to the BFRSS data obtained by CDC in the year 2016.