Author Interviews, Duke, NEJM, Rheumatology, Stem Cells, Transplantation / 04.01.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Keith M. Sullivan, M.D. James B. Wyngaarden Professor Of Medicine Division of Cellular Therapy Duke University Medical Center Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
  • Scleroderma with internal organ involvement is a devastating  autoimmune disorder with considerable morbidity and high mortality which have not changed in 40 years of reporting. Effective new therapies are needed.
  • Despite 2 prior randomized trials showing benefit for reduced-intensity stem cell transplant vs. conventional cyclophosphamide immune suppression, clinical practice in the US did not change due in part due to concern about patient safety and durability of response (attached).
  • The current randomized trial compares 12 monthly infusions of cyclophosphamide with high-dose chemotherapy plus whole-body irradiation designed to wipe-out (myeloablate) the defective, self-reactive immune system and replace with the patients own stem cells which had been treated to remove self-reacting lymphocytes. This was the first study to test if myeloablative autologous could re-establish a normal functioning immune system in patients with scleroderma.
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Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Sleep Disorders, UCSF / 03.01.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Now I’m having contractions.” by Remus Pereni is licensed under CC BY 2.0Kathryn A. Lee, RN, CBSM, PhD Department of Family Health Care Nursing University of California at San Francisco San Francisco, California  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Sleep deprivation can adversely affect health and wellbeing in any patient population. In pregnancy, adverse outcomes may include preterm birth, longer labor, cesarean birth, and depression. We found that women with high-risk pregnancies were sleep deprived even prior to hospitalization. Our sample averaged 29 weeks gestation, and half reported getting only between 5 and 6.5 hours of sleep at home before hospital admission. Our sleep hygiene intervention strategies gave them more control over the environment in their hospital room, and they self-reported significantly better sleep than controls. Interestingly, both groups increased their sleep time to almost 7 hours at night, on average, in the hospital before they were discharged home. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 03.01.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Breastfeeding welcome here” by Newtown grafitti is licensed under CC BY 2.0Clare Relton, PhD School of Health and Related Research University of Sheffield, Sheffield, England MedicalResearch.com: What are the key findings of your report? Response: Our five year research project explored whether offering financial incentives (shopping vouchers) for breastfeeding increased breastfeeding. We studied what happened to breastfeeding rates at 6 to 8 weeks post-partum in areas in England with low (<40%) breastfeeding prevalence. Our cluster randomized clinical trial (which included 10 010 mother-infant dyads) showed that areas with the financial incentive had significantly higher rates of breastfeeding at 6 to 8 weeks (37.9% vs 31.7%) compared to usual care. The financial incentive scheme was widely acceptable to healthcare providers (midwives, health visitors, doctors) and mothers. The financial incentives made it easier for everyone to discuss breastfeeding and mothers reported feeling valued (supported and rewarded) for breastfeeding. (more…)
Author Interviews, Mayo Clinic, OBGYNE, Surgical Research / 03.01.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Shannon Laughlin-Tommaso MD Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Consultant, Division of Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Mayo Clinic, Rochester New York  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: There are increasing data from a number of studies about the long term risks of hysterectomy both with and without removing the ovaries. We studied women who underwent hysterectomy with conservation of both ovaries to determine the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease using the Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP). The advantage of using the REP is that we were able to follow women for an average of 22 years, where previous studies had only been able to follow for 7-10 years and we were able to determine which women already had cardiovascular disease risk factors at the time of hysterectomy. We found that women who undergo hysterectomy have a 33% increased risk of new onset coronary artery disease, a 13% increased risk of hypertension, a 14% increased risk in lipid abnormalities, and an 18% increased risk of obesity. For women who had a hysterectomy before age 35 years, these risks were even higher: 2.5-fold risk of coronary artery disease and 4.6-fold risk of congestive heart failure. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Weight Research / 02.01.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael P. Bancks, PhD Northwestern University Chicago, Illinois  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We know that the disparity in diabetes between black and white youth and young adults is growing, but the reasons why are unclear. We also know that traditional risk factors for diabetes, such as obesity and low socioeconomic status, are more common among blacks as compared with whites. Our study describes how the unequal rates of these traditional diabetes risk factors explain or account for the higher rates of diabetes among blacks. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, JAMA, Nutrition, Pediatrics / 02.01.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Baby Bottle” by brokinhrt2 is licensed under CC BY 2.0Mikael Knip, MD, PhD Professor of Pediatrics TRIGR PI  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Experimental studies have indicated that the avoidance of early exposure to cow's milk proteins reduces the cumulative incidence of autoimmune diabetes in animal models of human type 1 diabetes, e.g. BB rats and NOD mice. Epidemiological studies in humans have suggested that there may be a link between type 1 diabetes and short breastfeeding or early introduction of infant formulas. All regular infant formulas contain intact cow's milk proteins. The main finding was that weaning to an extensively hydrolyzed formula did not reduce the cumulative incidence of Type 1 diabetes in at-risk children by the mean age of 11 years. The extensively hydrolyzed formula did not contain any intact cow's milk proteins but only small peptides (maximal size 2000 daltons). (more…)
Author Interviews, Education, NYU, Pediatrics, Pediatrics / 02.01.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Adriana Weisleder, PhD Research scientist, Department of Pediatrics NYU Langone Medical Center New York  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: An estimated 250 million children in low- and middle-income countries do not reach their developmental potential due to poverty. Many programs in the US, such as Reach Out and Read and Video Interaction Project, have shown success in reducing poverty-related disparities in early child development by promoting parent-child interactions in cognitively stimulating activities such as shared bookreading. This randomized study sought to determine whether a program focused on supporting parent-child shared bookreading would result in enhanced child development among 2- to 4-year-old children in a low-resource region in northern Brazil. Families in the program could borrow children’s books on a weekly basis and could participate in monthly parent workshops focused on reading aloud. Findings showed that participating families exhibited higher quantity and quality of shared reading interactions than families in a control group, and children showed higher vocabularies, working memory, and IQ. (more…)
ASCO, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Journal Clinical Oncology, Kidney Disease, UT Southwestern / 01.01.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kevin D. Courtney, M.D., Ph.D.  Assistant Professor UT Southwestern Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common form of kidney cancer. Metastatic ccRCC does not respond to traditional chemotherapy. Current standard treatments for metastatic ccRCC include drugs called vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (VEGFR TKIs) that block the growth of new blood vessels that feed the cancer, as well as drugs that inhibit an enzyme called mTOR that is involved in ccRCC growth and immune therapies that rev up the body’s immune response to try to fight the cancer. Each of these treatments can have significant side effects for patients that can make them difficult to tolerate. Metastatic ccRCC is largely incurable, and we need novel and better-tolerated treatments. A central driver of ccRCC is a protein called hypoxia inducible factor 2alpha (HIF-2alpha). This protein has been very difficult to try to target with a drug. This study is the first to test a drug that targets HIF-2alpha in patients with metastatic ccRCC. The study results showed that the HIF-2alpha inhibitor, PT2385 (Peloton Therapeutics) was active in fighting metastatic ccRCC and was well-tolerated. (more…)
Author Interviews, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, JAMA / 01.01.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andre Russowsky Brunoni, MD, PhD Coordinator, Service of Interdisciplinary Neuromodulation, Laboratory of Neurosciences  Department and Institute of Psychiatry Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Center for Applied Neuromodulation, University Hospital University of São Paulo São Paulo, Brasil  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In this study, our aim was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as an add-on treatment for patients with bipolar depression. There are a only few treatment alternatives for bipolar depression, which often have important side effects. Thus, we wanted to evaluate the efficacy of this non-pharmacological treatment. We found that active vs. sham tDCS effected greater response and remission for patients with bipolar depression. The frequency of adverse effects was similar, including treatment-emergent affective switches. However, higher rates of skin redness were observed in the active group. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Diabetes, End of Life Care, JAMA / 01.01.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Laura A. Petrillo MD Instructor in Medicine Harvard Medical School, and Palliative Care Physician Massachusetts General Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Hospice is end-of-life care focused on maximizing quality of life. Hospice often involves reducing or stopping treatments that are unlikely to have short-term benefit in order to avoid uncomfortable side effects. About a quarter of Americans die in nursing homes, and some of them receive hospice care in their final days. We looked at whether adults with type 2 diabetes experience low blood sugar while on hospice in veterans’ nursing homes, since low blood sugar signals inappropriately aggressive diabetes treatment in patients close to death and contributes to unnecessary discomfort. We found that one in nine people experienced low blood sugar at least once while receiving hospice care. Among people who were on insulin, the number was one in three. (more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews / 29.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sandra Andorf PhD Kim and Ping Li Director of Computational Biology Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University Instructor, Nadeau Lab Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Food allergies are on the rise in the world. Approximately 15 million Americans have food allergies, which includes around 6 million children. Of people with food allergies, 30-40% are allergic to more than one food and therefore these people have a greater risk for an accidental ingestion resulting in an allergic reaction or anaphylaxis. Currently there is no FDA approved treatment for food allergies but oral immunotherapy, a treatment in which the patient eats small but slowly increasing doses of their allergen until they can tolerate a specified dose, was shown in research settings to be safe in children and adults for up to 5 foods in parallel. In this trial, we studied the efficacy and safety of Omalizmuab (an anti-IgE drug) treatment with oral immunotherapy in multifood allergic participants versus placebo with oral immunotherapy for a total of 9 months. We found that 83% of the participants who received Omalizumab could tolerate at least 2 g of at least two different food allergens at the end of the trial compared to 33% of those who received placebo. The participants that received Omalizumab were also desensitized faster, meaning they were on average able to eat 2 g of each of their allergic foods earlier in the treatment. Furthermore, we could show that the use of Omalizumab and the fast updosing is safe. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, OBGYNE / 29.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laura R. Wherry, Ph.D. Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Los Angeles, CA 90024  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: All states provide Medicaid coverage to pregnant women, but many low-income women do not qualify for the program when they are not pregnant. However, state decisions to expand Medicaid coverage to low-income parents and adults allow low-income women to have Medicaid coverage prior to, and between, their pregnancies. Increased health insurance coverage for low-income women during these non-pregnancy periods may help improve their preconception health and their planning of pregnancies, ultimately leading to healthier pregnancies and infants. This study examines how state expansions in Medicaid coverage for low-income parents before the Affordable Care Act affected the health insurance status of mothers prior to additional pregnancies (i.e. their pre-pregnancy health insurance status). I also examine whether there are changes in pregnancy intention (i.e. whether the pregnancy was mistimed or unwanted), as better access to pre-pregnancy insurance coverage could increase contraception utilization and improve the planning of pregnancies. Finally, I examine whether there were changes in insurance coverage during pregnancy and in the utilization of prenatal care, since women who have pre-pregnancy insurance coverage may experience fewer barriers to establishing care during their pregnancies. (more…)
Author Interviews, Parkinson's / 28.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Frances M. Weaver PhD Hines VA Hospital Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Healthcare Hines, IL 60141 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Research has shown that deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson’s disease (PD) improves motor function and this improvement is sustained. There is also improvement in quality of life after DBS. However, it is not known whether DBS also effects survival. A few studies that have examined survival have had mixed results. In the current study we compared survival for a large cohort of persons with Parkinson’s disease who underwent DBS to a match group of persons with PD who were managed medically. We found a modest improvement in survival for persons with Parkinson’s disease who underwent DBS compared to individuals who did not. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cocaine / 27.12.2017

“cocaine photo” by Imagens Evangélicas is licensed under CC BY 2.0MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mary Kay Lobo, PhD Associate Professor University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology Baltimore, MD 21201  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Altered energy balance has been studied in drug abuse but the fundamental source of energy, mitochondria, has not been well examined.  In this study we found that a molecular regulator of mitochondrial fission (division) is increased in the nucleus accumbens, a major brain reward region, of rodents exposed to repeated cocaine and postmortem samples of cocaine dependent individuals.  We further found that mitochondrial fission is increased in a nucleus accumbens neuron subtype in rodents that self-administer cocaine. Pharmacological blockade of mitochondrial fission can prevent physiological responses to cocaine in this neuron subtype while reducing cocaine-mediated behaviors.  Finally, genetic reduction of mitochondrial fission in this neuron subtype in the nucleus accumbens can reduce drug (cocaine) seeking in rodents previously exposed to cocaine. In contrast, increasing mitochondrial fission, in this neuron subtype, enhances cocaine seeking behavior. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Nature, UT Southwestern / 27.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hamid Mirzaei, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Biochemistry University of Texas Southwestern Department of Biochemistry Dallas, TX 75390 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Aging is a complex process at the cellular level with distinct organismal phenotypes. Despite millennia-old obsession with aging and relentless pursuits for ways to stop and reverse it, such elixir has not been found due to the complexity of the involved mechanisms and our limited understanding of the processes that lead to aging. Although progress has been made in recent years in slowing down the aging process in model organisms and human cells. In this study, we report that and FDA approved antihypertensive drug, hydralazine, decelerates aging in C. elegans by mechanisms that seem to resemble dietary restriction. We show that hydralazine increases the median lifespan of the C. elegans by 25% which is comparable to or better than other known antiaging compounds. We demonstrate that not only hydralazine-treated worms live longer, they appear to be healthier in general. Because aging is directly linked to neurodegenerative diseases, we tested our drug on both in vitro and in vivo models of neurodegenerative diseases using chemical and biological stressors (rotenone and tau fibrils) and show that hydralazine has neuroprotective properties as well. (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, JAMA, Nutrition, OBGYNE / 27.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Marte Bjørk, MD PhD Department of Clinical Medicine University of Bergen, Department of Neurology Haukeland University Hospital Bergen, Norway MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In utero antiepileptic drug exposure are associated with neurodevelopmental problems in the child. We looked into if maternal folate during pregnancy could reduce the risk of autistic traits in children of women in need of antiepileptic drugs in pregnancy. The rationale for the hypothesis that folate could be beneficial, was that many antiepileptic drugs interact with folate metabolism. Folic acid supplement use is also associated with slightly reduced risk of autism in children of women from the general population. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Pediatrics / 27.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Babies at Brunch!” by TJ DeGroat is licensed under CC BY 2.0Kandice A. Kapinos, Ph.D. Economist Professor RAND Corporation Pardee RAND Graduate School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In the U.S., we have relatively high rates of breastfeeding initiation – about 80% of mothers will attempt breastfeeding, but rates drop off precipitously in the first few months of an infant’s life. There are tremendous health benefits for both the mother and child from breastfeeding and estimates of significant cost savings from diseases prevented from breastfeeding. However, breastfeeding can be difficult, especially when you need to return to work or school. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, but only 22% of mothers breastfeed exclusively for 6 months. My coauthors, Tami Gurley-Calvez and Lindsey Bullinger, and I were interested in evaluating provisions in recent healthcare legislation (the Affordable Care Act) that required private insurers to cover lactation support services, including breast pumps and visits with lactation consultants, without cost-sharing. (more…)
Author Interviews, Chemotherapy, JAMA, Ovarian Cancer / 26.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Debra Richardson, MD, FACOG, FACS Associate Professor, Section of Gynecologic Oncology, Oklahoma TSET Phase I Program Stephensen Cancer Center The University of Oklahoma MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of gynecologic cancer deaths. Pazopanib is an oral multitarget tyrosine kinase inhibitor of VEGF receptors 1, 2, and 3; platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptors α and β and c-KIT. Weekly paclitaxel is an active agent for recurrent ovarian cancer. This was a national, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled phase 2b trial of weekly paclitaxel with or without pazopanib for the treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer. The primary objective was to estimate the progression-free survival (PFS) hazard ratio (HR) of the combination of weekly paclitaxel (80mg/m2 D1, 8, 15 every 28 days) and pazopanib (800mg PO daily) compared with weekly paclitaxel and placebo in women with persistent or recurrent ovarian cancer. 106 women were enrolled. There was no difference in median PFS, overall survival (OS), or proportion responding. Severe hypertension was more common on the pazopanib plus paclitaxel arm. More patients discontinued treatment on the paclitaxel arm for disease progression, and more on the pazopanib plus paclitaxel arm for adverse events. Patients with VEGFA CC genotype may be more resistant to weekly paclitaxel than those with the AC or AA genotype. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, OBGYNE / 26.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gabriele Saccone, MD Department of Neuroscience Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry School of Medicine University of Naples Federico II Naples, Italy MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Preterm birth is a major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. About 15 million infants were born too soon every year, causing 1.1 million deaths. The cervical pessary is a silicone device that has been studied to prevent preterm birth. However, the efficacy of this device in preventing preterm birth is still subject of debate. (more…)
Author Interviews, Social Issues / 22.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Lidl Shopping Trolley” by Jeff Djevdet is licensed under CC BY 2.0Alexander P. Henkel, PhD Business Intelligence and Smart Services (BISS) Institute / Open University, The Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: As consumers, we are frequently bombarded with a myriad of marketing tactics. One tactic regularly employed by thrift-oriented brands is to highlight low prices, discounts, and sales promotions. When consumers encounter these low-price signals, they may adopt a price conscious mentality, that is, a singular focus on getting the cheapest deal. A price conscious mentality is likely beneficial for consumers, as it helps them save money. However, it is also possible that it has negative implications, particularly for how consumers perceive and interact with other human beings in the marketplace, such as customer service employees. We investigated this question in a collaboration project between the Business Intelligence and Smart Services (BISS) Institute (founded by the Open University and Maastricht University, both Netherlands) and the University of British Columbia in Canada. (more…)
Author Interviews, Social Issues / 22.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Marriage” by sowrirajan s is licensed under CC BY 2.0Dr Akanksha Marphatia and co-authors, Dr Alice Reid and Dr Gabriel Amable Cambridge, UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Although the total prevalence of girls marrying below the UN prescribed minimum age of 18 years has decreased over time, this is mostly due to a decrease in child marriages, <15 years. Marriages during adolescence, between 16-17 years, have increased. Women marring just after 18 years may also experience some of the consequences of those marrying under-age. These patterns are important to recognise because the predictors and consequences of marriage in these age groups are likely to differ. The aim of our review was to summarise research evidence on why women’s marriage age, independent of early child-bearing, is a major public health issue. In the four South Asian countries of our review, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, marriage precedes reproduction. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, Pfizer, Vaccine Studies / 22.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Judith Absalon, M.D., M.P.H Senior Director, Vaccines Clinical Research Pfizer Pharmaceuticals MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for these two studies? Response: Invasive serogroup B meningococcal disease (MenB) is uncommon, yet serious, is unpredictable and can strike at any age, including healthy teenagers and young adults, with potentially long-lasting and devastating consequences, including death. The data from these two Phase 3 studies, one in adolescents (Study 1009) and one young adults (Study 1016), highlight that Trumenba can help protect teens and young adults against meningococcal group B disease. Additionally, these two large Phase 3 studies confirmed the results of earlier studies and supported the transition from Accelerated to Traditional Approval in the US; were pivotal for approvals in Europe, Australia, and Canada earlier this year; and add to the growing portfolio of research for TRUMENBA. (more…)
Author Interviews, Education, Social Issues / 22.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “working class” by arileu is licensed under CC BY 2.0Igor Grossmann, Ph.D. Director, Wisdom and Culture Laboratory Associate Professor of Psychology University of Waterloo, Canada Associate Editor, Emotion MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Our Wisdom & Culture laboratory studies the concepts of wisdom and cultural factors. For wisdom, we specifically focus on pragmatic reasoning that can help people to better understand and navigate uncertain contexts – strategies that philosophers for millennia discussed as “epistemic virtues.” In our prior work, my colleagues and I have observed that wisdom tends to be lower in situations when self-interests are salient, and higher when one adopted an socially-sensitive interdependent mindset. In other work by myself and several other labs, consistent finding emerged showing that lower social class tends to be more socially interdependent, whereas middle class (both in the US, Russia, and even China) tends to be more self-focused. This led to the present research, which combines prior insights to examine how wise reasoning varies across social classes. Because lower class situation involves more uncertainty and more resource-scare life circumstances, we questioned whether these situations would also evoke more wise reasoning from people who are in them. Higher class situations are assumed to provide conditions that benefit people in every way. But in so doing, they may also encourage entitlement, self-focus and thereby intellectual humility and open-mindedness – key features of a wise thought. As such, our studies show that it turns out that middle class conditions are not beneficial in at least one way – they may discourage reasoning wisely. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Esophageal, Gastrointestinal Disease, JAMA / 21.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Edward D. McCoul, MD, MPH Ochsner Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Population-level data suggests a link between gastroesophageal reflux disease and cancer of the throat and sinuses in adults over 65 years of age.  T he strength of association between reflux and cancer is strongest for anatomic sites closest to the esophagus, where acid and other stomach contents may have the greatest exposure. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Hematology / 21.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: janseen-oncologyMaria-Victoria Mateos, MD, PhD University Hospital of Salamanca/IBSAL Salamanca, Spain MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The Phase 3 ALCYONE study data showed DARZALEX (daratumumab) in combination with bortezomib, melphalan, and prednisone (VMP) significantly improved clinical outcomes, including reducing the risk of disease progression or death by 50 percent, in newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) at a median follow-up of 16.5 months (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 0.50; 95 percent CI [0.38-0.65], p<0.0001). The median progression-free survival (PFS) for DARZALEX-VMP had not yet been reached, compared to an estimated median PFS of 18.1 months for patients who received VMP alone. In addition to reducing the risk of disease progression or death, DARZALEX significantly improved the overall response rate (ORR) as compared to VMP alone, including more than doubling rates of stringent complete response, significantly improved rates of very good partial response or better and complete response or better (CR). The most common (≥10 percent) Grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) for DARZALEX-VMP vs. VMP were neutropenia (40 percent vs. 39 percent), thrombocytopenia (34 percent vs. 38 percent), anemia (16 percent vs. 20 percent) and pneumonia (11 percent vs. 4 percent). One patient in each arm discontinued treatment due to pneumonia, and 0.9 percent of patients discontinued DARZALEX due to an infection. Twenty-eight percent of patients experienced infusion reactions (IRs) due to DARZALEX.. In the DARZALEX-VMP arm, 42 percent of patients experienced a serious adverse event (SAE), compared to 33 percent in the VMP arm. The study findings were as a late-breaking abstract (Abstract #LBA-4) at the 59th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Emergency Care, ENT, JAMA / 21.12.2017

“Qtip” by Rafael Castillo is licensed under CC BY 2.0MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eric T. Carniol, MD, MBA Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Tympanic membrane perforations (aka "popped" or "burst" ear drum) is a common complaint of patients presenting to the emergency room, primary care offices, and otolaryngologist (ENT doctors) offices. These may be caused by trauma, infections, or other causes. As well, many patients will use qtips (cotton-tipped applicators) to clean ears and remove ear wax and are unaware of the potential harms of doing so. This study was designed to examine the cause of ear drum perforations as diagnosed in emergency departments in the United States. Foreign body instrumentation of the ear (qtips, hair combs, hair pins, needles, etc) were the cause of 61.2% of perforations. Cotton tip applicators are the single leading cause of traumatic tympanic membrane perforation in all age groups except young adults (13-18) and 19-36 year olds, in which it is the second largest cause (behind water trauma). Children less than 18 years old constitute nearly 2/3 of all ear drum perforations in the emergency department. (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Pediatrics, Pediatrics / 21.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Premature baby” by Elin B is licensed under CC BY 2.0Suvi Alenius, MD National Institute for Health and Welfare Helsinki and Oulu, Finland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Parents of very or extremely low birth weight infants are less likely to have subsequent children after preterm birth. We assessed whether this phenomenon extends over the whole range of prematurity. We now show that parents of preterm-born infants (gestational age less than 37 completed weeks of gestation) have fewer subsequent children than do parents of term born infants. This is not limited to the extreme group of parents of children born very preterm, but is even seen within the large groups of parents of infants born less preterm. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Lifestyle & Health / 20.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Exercise” by Diabetes Education Events is licensed under CC BY 2.0Michelle Brasure, MSPH, PhD, MLIS Evidence-based Practice Center School of Public Health University of Minnesota  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We conducted a large systematic review to assess the evidence relating to interventions to prevent cognitive decline and dementia. We included experimental studies with follow up times of at least six months. This paper analyzes the physical activity interventions; other papers in this issue address other types of interventions. (more…)
Allergan, Author Interviews, Bipolar Disorder, Brigham & Women's - Harvard / 20.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: allerganGary Sachs, MD Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this data milestone? Response: Bipolar disorder affects about 5.7 million adults in the United States.  It is a common, often disabling condition in which abnormal mood states impair a person’s ability to carry out everyday tasks. Bipolar disorder touches nearly every family and community in America, because periods of illness, a patient’s symptoms often impact their family, their friends, and their community. There are a limited number of products approved to treat bipolar depression and even fewer products that have been studied and approved to treat the full spectrum of bipolar disorder, from mania through depression. Having another product proven to treat the full range of bipolar disorder would be a welcome addition to the treatment options currently available to the psychiatry community and patients. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Mineral Metabolism / 19.12.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Val Andrew Fajardo, PhD. NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow | Centre for Bone and Muscle Health Brock University | Department of Health Sciences St. Catharines, ON, Canada  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Lithium is best known for its role as a mood stabilizer, and several ecological studies across a number of different regions have shown that trace levels of lithium in tap water can exert its mood stabilizing effect and reduce rates of suicide, crime, and homicide. The results from our study show that these trace levels of lithium could also potentially protect against Alzheimer’s disease.  These findings are actually supported by several years of research using pre-clinical and clinical models to demonstrate low-dose lithium’s neuroprotective effect against Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, we also found that trace lithium in tap water may potentially protect against obesity and diabetes – an effect that is also supported with previous literature.  In fact, some of the earlier reports of lithium’s effect of increasing insulin sensitivity and improving glucose metabolism were first published in the 1920s.  Finally, we found that trace lithium’s effect on Alzheimer’s disease may be partly mediated by its effect on obesity and diabetes. My collaborator Dr. Rebecca MacPherson who is an expert on Alzheimer’s disease as a metabolic disorder explains that this effect is in support of recent research demonstrating that obesity and diabetes are important risk factors in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.  So interventions aiming to reduce obesity and diabetes such as physical activity can go a long way in lowering risk for Alzheimer’s disease, which is also something we present in our study. (more…)