Blog – Medical Research News and Interviews
15 Jun Virtual Reality Improves Recall
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_42466" align="alignleft" width="200"]
A picture of Eric Krokos, UMIACS graduate student, using the EEG Headset while on the computer.[/caption]
Eric Krokos
5th-year Ph.D. student in computer science
Augmentarium visualization lab
augmentarium.umiacs.umd.edu
University of Maryland
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: I am interested in exploring the use of virtual and augmented reality in high-impact areas like education, medicine, and high-proficiency training. For VR and AR to excel as a learning tool, we felt there needed to be a baseline study on whether people would perceive information better, and thus learn better, in an immersive, virtual environment as opposed to viewing information on a two-dimensional desktop monitor or handheld device.
Our comprehensive user-study showed initial results that people are able to recall information using virtual reality—there was an 8.8 percent improvement in recall ability from our study participants using VR.
15 Jun Could Restricting Nicotine in E-Cigarettes Do More Harm Than Good?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr Lynne Dawkins, PhD
Associate Professor
London South Bank University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Many people think that it’s the nicotine that’s harmful so they opt for using a low strength in their e-liquid. We know from tobacco smoking that when people switch to using a lower nicotine yield cigarette, they compensate in order to maintain a steady blood nicotine level by taking longer, harder drags and this can increase exposure to toxins in the smoke. We also know from some of our other work with vapers (e-cigarette users) that they tend to reduce the nicotine strength of their e-liquid over time. We therefore wanted to explore whether vapers also engage in this compensatory puffing and whether this has any effect on exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.
15 Jun Parent Skin Cleansing Prior to Infant Contact in NICU Important to Reduce Staph Infections
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Gwen M. Westerling, BSN, RN, CIC
Infection Preventionist
Helen DeVos Children's Hospital
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The setting of this study is a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with 106 beds.
In 2016, an increase in Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI) was noted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) caused by Staphylococcus aureus (SA) through diligent Infection Prevention Surveillance. When we reviewed the literature we found the SA is a common skin colonizer and can be a problem for neonates with immature skin and immune systems.
Staphylococcus aureus is easily transmitted through direct contact with skin, the contaminated hands of health care workers, the environment and equipment. We also found one study that listed skin to skin care as a risk factor for acquisition of SA. Before we saw the increase in infections some process changes occurred in our NICU that included increased skin to skin care, meaningful touch between neonates and parents, and two person staff care. We hypothesized that the process changes were exposing neonates to increased amounts of Staphylococcus aureus and contributing to the increase in infections.
15 Jun Midlife Hypertension Increases Risk of Dementia
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_38151" align="alignleft" width="166"]
Blood pressure monitor reading 120/80copyright American Heart Association[/caption] Professor Archana Singh-Manoux, PhD, HDR Epidemiology Research Director (DR1), INSERM Honorary Professor, University College London MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Although there have been previous studies that have linked raised blood pressure in midlife to an increased risk of dementia in later life, the term ‘midlife’ has been poorly defined and ranged from 35 to 68 years. New findings from the long-running Whitehall II study of over 10,000 civil servants has found 50-year-olds who had blood pressure that was higher than normal but still below the threshold commonly used when deciding to treat the condition, were at increased risk of developing dementia in later life.
15 Jun PDL1 Amplification Linked To Positive Response to Checkpoint Blockers
MedicalResearch.com Interview with [caption id="attachment_42338" align="alignleft" width="120"]
Dr. Goodman[/caption]
Aaron Goodman, MD
Hematologist/Medical Oncologist
Assistant Professor of Medicine
UC San Diego Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Response rates to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in solid tumors are reported at 10-20%. Remarkably, response rates of 65% to 87% have been reported in patients with refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma treated with checkpoint inhibitors.
In nodular sclerosing Hodgkin lymphoma, amplification of the chromosomal region 9p24.1, which contains the genes PD-L1 (CD274), PDCD1LG2 (PD-L2)and JAK2, is directly correlated with increased expression of these proteins on Reed–Sternberg cells.
Overall, 105 of 108 (97%) biopsies from patients with newly diagnosed classical Hodgkin lymphoma have increased PD-L1 and PDCD1LG2 copy numbers. The prevalence and utility of PD-L1amplification as a response biomarker to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade is unknown in other tumors.
We sought to determine the prevalence and utility of PD-L1 amplification as a response biomarker to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in solid tumors.
14 Jun Does Preloading With a Nicotine Patch Help Smokers Quit?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Paul Aveyard
Professor of Behavioural Medicine
Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
University of Oxford
Radcliffe Primary Care Building
Radcliffe Observatory Quarter
Oxford
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Tobacco addiction occurs because of repeated pairings of the act and sensation of smoking with binding of nicotine in the midbrain leading to release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. These repeated pairings create associative learning and, when brain nicotine concentrations fall, this produces a compulsion to keep using tobacco. In theory, blocking the actions of nicotine released while smoking ought to reverse this learning. One way to do this is to use a nicotine patch which provides a steady state high concentration of nicotine that desensitises the nicotinic receptors in the midbrain, making them unresponsive to nicotine from a smoked cigarette. This is the theory behind nicotine preloading.
The clinical trial evidence that preloading works is equivocal, with some trials suggesting a very large therapeutic effect and others no benefit at all. In the light of both the promise and the uncertainty, we aimed to complete the largest trial to date of nicotine preloading to examine its effectiveness, safety, and tolerability.
14 Jun Children With Amblyopia and Strabismus Take Longer To Complete Answer Forms
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Krista Kelly, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Crystal Charity Ball Pediatric Vision Evaluation Center
Retina Foundation of the Southwest
Dallas, TX 75231
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We were interested in seeing whether the fine motor deficits typically seen in amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (crossed eyes) translate to an academic setting. Namely, transferring answers to a multiple choice answer form widely used in standardized testing in schools.
Children with amblyopia and strabismus took about 28% longer than their peers transferring answers to a multiple choice answer form, even though they have good vision in one or both eyes.
14 Jun Tobacco Flavorings On Their Own May Cause Heart Disease
Posted at 14:47h
in AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Heart Disease, Smoking, Tobacco, Tobacco Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Jessica L. Fetterman, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Boston University School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: In our study, we studied endothelial cells, the cells that line the inside of the blood vessels. We collected endothelial cells from smokers both who use menthol and non-menthol cigarettes are impaired compared to non-smokers and we could make the non-smoker cells look like the endothelial cells of smokers by treating with menthol or eugenol (provides a clove spice-flavoring).
To test a wider variety of commonly used flavoring additives, we treated cultured (outside of the body in a dish) endothelial cells with some of the most commonly used flavoring additives in tobacco products and at different concentrations/doses. We then evaluated the effects of flavoring additives by looking at measures of cell death, oxidative stress, inflammation, and the ability of the cells to produce nitric oxide, a cardio-protective chemical made by endothelial cells that is lost when the cells become damaged.
We found that the flavoring additives used in tobacco products like e-cigarettes are toxic to the cells that line the blood vessels (endothelial cells). Our works suggests that the flavoring additives used in tobacco products may be harmful to the cardiovascular system.
14 Jun Driving Skills May Be Harder to Master with ASD
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Kristina Elise Patrick, Ph.D
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Columbus, OH 43205
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Many families of young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are concerned that they may have difficulty acquiring driver’s licenses and driving safely because of symptoms of ASD. However, the ability to drive opens the door to a variety of social, occupational, and educational experiences. We aimed to assess differences in simulated driving behaviors of young adults with ASD and those with typical development and to evaluate whether differences depended on level of driving experience and complexity of the driving task.
On average, young adults with ASD had more difficulty regulating their speed and position within their lane compared with typically developing individuals even on a very basic rural route. After completing the basic route, drivers were required to engage in more complex tasks such as changing the radio or engaging in conversation while driving, driving through a construction zone, and following behind a truck. On complex driving tasks, drivers with ASD who had acquired licensure drove similarly to typically developing drivers who had acquired licensure. However, novice drivers with ASD had more difficulty than typically developing drivers regulating their speed and position within the lane.
14 Jun Secret Relationship of Regulatory T cells, Tregs, on Basophils
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Jagadeesh BAYRY, DVM, PhD, HDR
Scientist CRCN/Associate Professor-INSERM
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Unité 1138
Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers
PARIS , FRANCE
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Basophils are rare granulocytes that are important for the protection against helminth parasites. In addition, basophils mediate T helper 2 responses, support B cell differentiation, and thus establish a vital link between innate and adaptive immunity. Although rare in number, basophils are implicated in various pathological conditions due to the fact that they undergo rapid activation in response to a wide range of stimuli they receive. These stimuli induce the release of diverse immune mediators including cytokines and mediators of hypersensitivity reactions histamine and leukotriene. Basophils are well known for their pathogenic role in allergic diseases. Recent data also advocate basophils in the pathogenesis of autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases. Therefore, considering the impact of dysregulated functions of basophils on the immune response in various diseases, we deliberated that it is essential to understand the regulatory mechanisms by which basophils are kept in check.
Among immunoregulatory cells, CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) have been widely studied for their role in immune tolerance and in the maintenance of immune homeostasis. Tregs modulate autoimmune and inflammatory responses by exerting direct suppressive effects on various immune cells including dendritic cells, T cells, macrophages, monocytes, B cells, neutrophils, natural killer cells, and mast cells. In view of emerging reports on the role of basophils in various pathological conditions, we investigated if Tregs are able to control the activation and functions of basophils.
In contrast to the central dogma on Tregs as immunosuppressors, we discovered that human basophils are refractory to Treg-mediated suppression. On the contrary, we found that Tregs stimulate resting basophils to induce the expression of activation markers CD69, CD203c, and CD13, and release cytokines IL-4, IL-8, and IL-13. Treg-induced activation of basophils involves IL-3 and STAT5 but was not contact-dependent. These results provide evidence of direct positive effects that human Tregs have on basophil activation and reveal a previously unrecognized feature of this cell subset well known for immunosuppressive functions.
14 Jun Statins Underused in Veterans with Severely Elevated Cholesterol
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_42382" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Rodriguez[/caption]
Fatima Rodriguez, MD, MPH
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-5406,
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Individuals with LDL-cholesterol levels above 190mg/dL are often underdiagnosed and undertreated, yet remain at high-risk of cardiovascular disease. In a national sample of veterans, we identified over 60,000 patients who met criteria for uncontrolled, severe hypercholesterolemia based on an index LDL-C value ≥190mg/dL. We found that only half of these high-risk patients are being treated with statins, and less than 10% are on high-intensity statin therapy as recommended by the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines. We also found that both older and younger patients were less likely to be treated with statins. Women were less likely to be treated with statins, whereas minority groups and those with a diagnosis of hypertension were more likely to be treated. Disparities in use of statins were also noted by geographic region and hospital teaching status.
14 Jun African Americans Less Likely To Be Treated With Statins
Posted at 11:16h
in Author Interviews, Duke, Heart Disease, JAMA, Lipids, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Statins
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_42369" align="alignleft" width="156"]
Dr. Nanna[/caption]
Michael G. Nanna, MD
Fellow, Division of Cardiology
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, NC
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: We know that African Americans are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease than white patients. We also know that African American individuals have been less likely to receive statin therapy compared to white individuals in the past. However, the reasons underlying these racial differences in statin treatment are poorly understood. We set out to determine if African American individuals in contemporary practice are treated less aggressively than whites and, if so, we wanted to investigate potential reasons why this might be the case.
13 Jun Many Men Believe It Is More Important to Be an Active Father Than Breadwinner
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Richard J. Petts PhD
Department of Sociology
Ball State University
North Quad 213
Muncie, IN 47306
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: This study looked at a national sample of over 2,000 fathers with children aged 2-18 to assess whether attitudes about traditional masculine norms and attitudes toward the new fatherhood ideal influence the degree to which fathers are involved in their children's lives.
Our research shows that fathers who adhere to more traditional forms of masculinity (acting tough, being independent, not expressing emotion), are less involved in their children's lives and have a greater likelihood of engaging in harsh punishment.
In contrast, fathers who identify more with the new fatherhood ideal (which emphasizes engaged, nurturing, supportive fathering) are involved more frequently in their children's lives. We know from a large body of research that father involvement is associated with numerous positive outcomes for children (e.g., fewer problem behaviors, higher psychological well-being, better academic outcomes).
13 Jun Neurobiology Links Aggressive Behavior and Addiction
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_42407" align="alignleft" width="130"]
Dr. Russo[/caption]
Scott J. Russo PhD
Fishberg Dept. of Neuroscience
Friedman Brain Institute, and Center for Affective Neuroscience
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, NY
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: There is increasing evidence that aggressive behavior might share key features with addiction. For example, aggressive mice develop positive associations with environmental cues associated with previous aggressive encounters (ie. they find aggression rewarding) and aggressive animals will work very hard to obtain access to a subordinate animal in order to attack them.
Some of the same brain regions that are activated in response to addictive drugs, like cocaine and morphine, are also activated by aggressive experience. Thus we hypothesized that there may be shared neurobiological mechanisms between addiction and aggression.
Our study showed that there is accumulation of the addiction-related transcription factor, ΔFosB, in the nucleus accumbens, a brain region well know to regulate the rewarding and addictive properties of drugs of abuse.
13 Jun Highly Empathetic People Perceive Music Differently
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Zachary Wallmark, Ph.D
Assistant Professor of Musicology Directo
MuSci Lab SMU Meadows School of the Art
Music Division Dallas, TX 75275
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Music making and listening is an intensely social behavior. Individual differences in trait empathy are associated with preferential engagement of social cognitive neural circuitry, including regions of the medial prefrontal cortex, cingulate, and insula, during the perception of socially relevant information.
In our study, we used fMRI to explore the degree to which differences in trait empathy modulate music processing in the brain.
We found that higher empathy people experience greater activation of social circuitry as well as the reward system while listening to familiar music, compared to lower empathy people.
13 Jun Human Skin Microbiome Differs From Other Mammals
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Josh D. Neufeld PhD Professor; Department of Biology Ashley A. Ross MSc University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Given important implications for skin health and our relationship to the microbial world, we are curious about the microorganisms on human skin, how these microbial communities are formed and passed on from generation to generation, and how these communities differ between mammalian species. Our main finding is that human skin microbial communities are distinct from nearly all of the other animals that we sampled, in terms of both diversity and composition. We also found initial evidence that animals and their skin microbial communities have co-evolved over time.13 Jun 15 Metropolitan Areas Have Large Numbers of Unvaccinated Kindergarten Students
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Melissa S Nolan, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
Department of Epidemiology and Biostats
Arnold School of Public Health
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 2920
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: As the CDC says, “vaccines are one of the greatest success stories in public health”. In the US, fifteen different vaccines are currently available and recommendations are based on age group and medical indication. Estimates suggest that the US childhood vaccination program has prevented 381 million infections and avoided 855,000 deaths. Despite these astounding public health successes, a movement opposing childhood vaccinations has been growing. Medical contraindications do exist, and these children rely on others to be fully vaccinated to provide herd immunity for children that cannot get vaccinations for medical reasons. In contrast to this important vulnerable clinical population, other reasons for non-vaccination include religious and philosophical beliefs.
A major reason for philosophical belief-exemptions is based on the erroneous belief that vaccines cause autism. With philosophical-belief based non-vaccinated populations on the rise, our current study aimed to better understand why some parents seek exemptions for their children.
13 Jun Blackcurrant Extract Developed As New Natural Hair Dye
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_42392" align="alignleft" width="186"]
Dr. Blackburn[/caption]
Dr. Richard S. Blackburn
BSc (Leeds), PhD (Leeds), CCol FSDC
Associate Professor in Coloration Technology
Head of Sustainable Materials Research Group
University of Leeds
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: I’ve been working with my colleague Professor Chris Rayner at The University of Leeds for over 10 years in the field of anthocyanins, which are pigments that provide colour to most berries, flowers, and many other fruits and vegetables. We have developed techniques to isolate these compounds from food waste, characterise the chemistry of the extracts, and use these natural pigments in various applications. In this work, anthocyanins extracted from blackcurrant waste created during the manufacture of blackcurrant cordial (Ribena) have for the first time been used in an effective new hair dyeing technology.
Why hair dyeing? The global hair coloration industry is worth more than $10 billion a year, with the number of people colouring their hair in professional salons and at home on the increase, but some of the ingredients found in commonly-used synthetic hair dyes, are known irritants and can trigger severe allergic reactions. There is also much debate about whether these ingredients also cause cancer. Dyes that some may consider ‘natural’ – such as those including henna – usually escape scrutiny when it comes to health concerns, but the main natural colorant in henna is lawsone, which the EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety states is toxic. What is more, it is thought up to 95% of all dyes end up washed down the drain; their effect on the environment is unknown.
Because of issues and concerns around conventional dyes, we wanted to develop sustainable, biodegradable alternatives using green chemistry processes that minimise potential risks to health and offer consumers a different option.
13 Jun Radionuclide 177Lu-Dotatate Improves QoL in Patients with Neuroendocrine Tumors
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_42379" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. Strosberg[/caption]
Jonathan Strosberg MD
Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Neuroendocrine tumor (NET) progression is associated with deterioration in quality of life. We assessed the impact of 177Lu-Dotatate treatment on time to deterioration in health-related quality of life in patients with advanced midgut neuroendocrine tumors in the NETTER-1 study.
13 Jun Genetic Variants Help Identify Men At Highest Risk of Prostate Cancer
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_42385" align="alignleft" width="174"]
Dr. Schumacher[/caption]
Fredrick R. Schumacher, PhD, MPH.
Associate Professor, Department of Population & Quantitative Health Sciences
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Our study examines the genetic underpinnings of prostate cancer initiation using technology to test variants across the genome. Our study focused on men of European ancestry and included over 80,000 men with prostate cancer and 60,000 men without disease. We discovered 63 novel genetic variants associated with prostate cancer risk, which increases our knowledge of prostate cancer genetic risk factors by more than 60%.
A genetic risk score created from the combination of 163 new and known prostate cancer risk variants revealed men with the highest genetic risk score are nearly seven times more likely to develop disease compared to the average man. Additionally, men with the lowest genetic risk score have a 85% risk reduction of developing prostate cancer compared to the average. Lastly, these new discoveries uncover several biological mechanisms involved in the initiation of prostate cancer.
13 Jun Developing a Pill That Mimics Effects of Gastric Bypass Surgery
Posted at 12:36h
in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Diabetes, Gastrointestinal Disease, Technology, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_42357" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Prof. Karp[/caption]
Jeff Karp B.Eng. PhD.
Professor of Medicine
Center for Nanomedicine and Division of Engineering in Medicine
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Boston MA
MedicalResearch.com: How would you briefly explain the most important findings and conclusions of this study to a non-expert?
- The type-2 diabetes (T2D) epidemic will affect over 642 million people worldwide by 2040. As a result, diabetes costs the US healthcare over $174 billion dollars annually and is the leading cause of blindness, amputations, renal failure, and poor cardiovascular outcomes. Recently, bariatric surgery, bypassing stomach and intestine from the food stream, has shown promising results and shown to be superior to pharmaceuticals in managing T2D. However, the risks of surgery along with permanent changes to gastrointestinal anatomy deters many suitable patients from surgery, with less than 1-2% of Americans who qualify for weight loss surgery actually undergoing the procedure. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a safe, non-invasive and effective treatment for wider diabetic patient population.
- We envisioned a pill that a patient can take before a meal that transiently coats the gut to replicate the effects of surgery. During the past 8 years, we’ve been working on this idea and have developed a safe gut-coating material that can potentially mimic the beneficial effects of gastric bypass procedures in the form a pill.
- LuCI can be activated in any part of gastrointestinal tract (e.g. stomach, duodenum, intestine, colon) to form a temporary physical barrier that isolates that part of gastrointestinal tract. In our pre-clinical models, LuCI coated the duodenum to modulate glucose responses in oral glucose tolerance tests.
- These beneficial effect are observed without any evidence of systemic absorption of the drug.
- We believe that LuCI could be a new therapeutic approach for T2D that is based on Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, but is safer, associated with significantly less complications, and thus can potentially help a wide T2D patient population.
- In a separate set of studies, we also showed that luCi allows delivery of certain proteins and drugs, which would normally be degraded by the gastric acid, to the GI tract, protecting it from gastric acid digestion and prolonging their luminal exposure.
13 Jun Why So Many New HIV Infections in US, Despite PrEP Availability?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_42366" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Pinto[/caption]
Rogério M. Pinto, LCSW, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Associate Dean for Research
School of Social Work
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, USA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: This integrative review, published in the journal AIDS and Behavior, includes content from 47 peer-reviewed scholarly articles reporting multiple barriers to high-risk individuals trying to access pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the HIV drugs that reduce subsequent risk of infection. We found 31 potential solutions to 30 barriers at the patient, provider and health-system levels. In synthesizing this research from a multi-level perspective, based upon a socioecological model, our report contributes much-needed analysis to the rapidly expanding field of PrEP implementation research.
At this stage in the scale-up of U.S. PrEP programs, it is important to systematically and comprehensively analyze and integrate knowledge about the successes of and the barriers to PrEP implementation. Our review provides a comprehensive analysis and informs the direction of PrEP implementation across a variety of settings.
13 Jun What Causes Failures in Personal Protective Equipment Use in Hospitals?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Sarah L. Krein, PhD, RN
Research Career Scientist
VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
Ann Arbor, MI
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: We conducted this study to better understand the challenges faced by health care personnel when trying to follow transmission based precaution practices while providing care for hospitalized patients. We already know from other studies that there are breaches in practice but our team was interested in better understanding why and how those breaches (or failures) occur so we can develop better strategies to ensure the safety of patients and health care personnel.
12 Jun Study Compares Hospitals Enrolled in Medicare’s Voluntary vs Mandatory Bundled Payment Programs
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_42352" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Navathe[/caption]
Amol Navathe, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Medicine
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Bundled payment is a key Medicare Alternative Payment Model (APM) developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to increase health care value by holding health care organizations accountable for spending across an episode of care. The model provides financial incentives to maintain quality and contain spending below a predefined benchmark.
In 2013, CMS launched the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative to expand bundled payment nationwide. BPCI’s bundled payment design formed the basis for CMS’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) Model beginning in 2016. While the programs are similar in design, BPCI is voluntary while CJR is mandatory for hospitals in selected markets. Moreover, CJR is narrower in scope, focusing only on lower extremity joint replacement (LEJR) and limiting participation to hospitals.
12 Jun Study Finds No Link Between Fluconazole During Pregnancy and Stillbirth or Neonatal Death
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_42348" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. Pasternak[/caption]
Björn Pasternak, MD, PhD
Associate Professor,Clinical Epidemiology Division
Department of Medicine Solna
Karolinska Institutet
Stockholm, Sweden
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: To summarize the background for this study, there have been animal studies suggesting that oral fluconazole may give rise to fetal death. Given this background and the paucity of controlled human studies, we previously conducted a nationwide register-based study in Denmark, which was published in JAMA in 2016. In that study, we observed an increased risk of spontaneous abortion associated with fluconazole use in pregnancy. This prompted the European Medicines Agency to update the European label of fluconazole, warning about this potential adverse event. Further, findings in that study indicated that there could be an increased risk of stillbirth. We wanted to investigate this outcome further, in an independent data material, and also to investigate the outcome of neonatal death.
Here, we report the results of a bi-national study conducted on the basis of nationwide health care registers in Sweden and Norway. From a background cohort of close to 1.5 million deliveries, we identified more than 10,000 pregnancies exposed to oral fluconazole and matched these to more than 100,000 unexposed pregnancies.
12 Jun Mathematical Model Investigates Spread of Cholera In Limited Resource Setting
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Daihai He
Assistant Professor
Department of Applied Mathematics
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: A large-scale cholera outbreak hit Yemen in 2017-2018 and caused an estimated 1,100,720 suspected cases and 2291 associated deaths between 27 April 2017 and 20 May 2018, thus a case fatality ratio 0.21%.
12 Jun Protein Functions of DISC1 Gene Linked to Schizophrenia Identified
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marcelo Pablo Coba PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute Keck School of Medicine of USC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia (SCZ) are complex brain disorders where a multitude or risk factors have been implicated in contributing to the disease, with a low number of genes that have been strongly implicated in a very low number of cases. One of these genes is Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1), which was first described in 2000 as a balanced translocation that segregates with schizophrenia and related psychiatric disorders in a large Scottish family. Because DISC1 does not have an identified protein function such as enzymatic, channel, transporter, etc… the field moved to try to understand what proteins are associated (physically connected) to DISC1 and to try to explain DISC1 function through the function of its protein interactors. This means that if DISC1 binds proteins X, Y and Z, then mutations in the DISC1 gene should affect the functions of these proteins. Therefore, there has been much effort in trying to identify DISC1 protein interactors. However this task has not been straightforward.12 Jun New Test Can Identify Asthma With Nasal Brush Biomarker
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Supinda Bunyavanich MD Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Physician and researcher at the Icahn School of Medicine. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In this study, we report on an accurate asthma biomarker we have developed based on a simple nasal brush.
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that affects 10% of children and adults in the U.S. Mild to moderate asthma can be difficult to diagnose because symptoms change over time and can be complicated by other respiratory conditions. Given the high prevalence of asthma, there is high potential impact of improved diagnostic tools on reducing morbidity and mortality from asthma.
Current diagnostic tools for asthma, including spirometry and bronchoscopy, require specialized equipment and expertise to operate properly. Many individuals, particularly young children, have difficulty with pulmonary function testing because it requires, coordinated, forced breaths into a device. Spirometry results are unreliable when done with poor technique. Bronchoscopy is not practical for mild to moderate symptoms. For these reasons, asthma is often diagnosed and managed based on self-reporting of symptoms This can be unreliable, resulting in repeated doctor visits and even trips to the ER. Thus, a biomarker test for asthma that is easy to implement and interpret is highly desirable for the diagnosis and management of asthma.