Author Interviews, BMJ, Environmental Risks, Lung Cancer / 05.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sandrah P. Eckel PhD Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine USC Division of Biostatistics MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Lung cancer is the most common cancer and it is responsible for 1 in 5 cancer deaths. There is a growing body of evidence that ambient air pollution exposures are linked to lung cancer incidence and mortality, but the effect on survival of exposures after diagnosis are unclear. The International Agency for Research on Cancer recently classified ambient air pollution as carcinogenic. We reasoned that if air pollution drives lung cancer development, it could impact lung cancer progression—and shorten survival—through the same biological pathways. We used 20 years of data on more than 300,000 newly diagnosed lung cancer cases from the California Cancer Registry and calculated average air pollution exposures at each patient’s residence from the date of diagnosis through the end of follow-up. We found that patients living in areas with higher pollution levels had shorter survival, particularly for patients who were diagnosed at an early stage and for those diagnosed at an early stage with adenocarcinoma histology. Interestingly, adenocarcinoma is the most common histological subtype of lung cancer in non-smokers. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Lifestyle & Health, Ophthalmology / 05.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Paul Dinneen Loprinzi, PhD Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management University of Mississippi MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Previous research demonstrates that adults who have higher daily sedentary behavior tend to have worse cardiometabolic health profiles. The extent to which sedentary behavior is associated with diabetic retinopathy has yet to be evaluated in the literature before our study. Our findings provided some suggestive evidence that more sedentary behavior was associated with a higher odds of having diabetic retinopathy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dental Research, Infections / 05.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stephanie S. Momeni, MS, MBA Doctoral Candidate, Department of Biology DART Trainee, Department of Pediatric Dentistry & IOHR UAB School of Dentistry Birmingham, Alabama 35294-0007 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study was a small part of a large scale of S. mutans in a group of high-caries risk children and their household family members in Perry County, Alabama, USA. Overall dental caries is a dietary and infectious disease that we seek to understand better. We found only 34 rep-PCR genotypes for over 13,000 bacterial isolates from over 594 individual subjects. With so much commonality we wanted to determine if any conclusions could be made about transmission. The key findings are: • Children having multiple S. mutans genotypes were 2.3 times more likely to have dental caries. • Analysis for transmission performed from two perspectives (by child and by genotype) indicating 63% of children shared at least 1 genotype with their mother, but 72% of children had at least 1 genotype not shared with any household family members. • Child-to-child transmission of some genotypes is highly probable. • About 1/3 of isolates observed were transient, and may confound the search for strains associated with tooth decay. (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Science, Surgical Research / 05.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr David A MacIntyre MRC Career Development Fellow Lecturer in Reproductive Systems Medicine Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology Department of Surgery and Cancer Imperial College London UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Preterm birth is the leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age. One of the first things that can happen to a women before suffering a preterm birth is early opening of the cervix, which is the neck of the womb. This also puts her and the baby at risk of infection. One of the few preventative treatments available for these women is a cervical cerclage. This is when a surgeon uses one of two types of suture thread to stitch the cervix closed. This provides mechanical support to the pregnancy and is thought to help prevent infections from ascending from the vaginal into the uterus. One type of suture thread used is thin, monofilament nylon, which appears similar to fishing line. The other is a thicker thread - around 5mm thick - that is comprised of smaller threads woven together like a shoe lace. The thicker woven thread - called multifilament - is used in around 80 per cent of procedures as surgeons believe it to be stronger, and more efficient at holding the cervix closed. In this study, we first looked at 671 women who had the procedure at five UK hospitals over the last ten years. Around half had the thinner 'fishing line' thread, while the other half had the thicker 'shoe lace' thread. The results revealed the thicker thread was associated with increased rate of intrauterine death compared to the thinner thread (15 per cent compared 5 per cent). The rate of intrauterine death in a normal pregnancy is around 0.5%. The thicker tape was also associated with an increased preterm birth rate compared to the thinner tape - 28 per cent compared to 17 per cent. The rate of preterm birth among the general population is around 7 per cent, but the cervical stitch procedure is only performed on women already deemed at high risk of premature birth. We then conducted a second study with 50 women who were due to have the cervical stitch procedure. Half received the thinner thread, while half received the thicker thread. We monitored the women at 4, 8 and 16 weeks after the procedure through ultrasound scans and analysis of bacteria in their reproductive tract. The results suggested that women who received the thicker thread had increased inflammation around the cervix. There was also increased blood flow, which is associated with the cervix opening before labour. Crucially, we also found that women who received the thicker thread had more potentially harmful bacteria in the vagina and around the cervix. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Heart Disease, JAMA, Weight Research / 04.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Peter Nordström PhD Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation Geriatrics, Umeå University Umeå, Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Numerous studies has shown an association between BMI, CVD and death. However, it is not known to what extent genetic factors influence this relationship. We used over 4000 monozygous twin pairs that had different BMI. This mean that the difference in BMI must be due to environmental factors since the genetic setup is similar in monozygous twins. Since the fatter twin did not have a higher risk of myocardial infarction (MI) or death, environmental factors that increase BMI is very unlikely to increase the risk of myocardial infarction or death. By inference the strong association between BMI, MI and death must be explained by the fact that the same genes control both obesity, MI and death. By contrast, the fatter twin had a higher risk of diabetes. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, Opiods, Primary Care / 04.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Richard A. Deyo MD, MPH Kaiser Permanente Professor of Evidence-Based Family Medicine Department of Family Medicine Department of Medicine Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences Oregon Health and Science University Portland, OR 97239 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Doctors and other prescribers often wonder how much and for how long they can prescribe opioids before inadvertently promoting long-term use. Unfortunately, few data are available to guide initial prescribing. Long-term opioid use is problematic because of substantial rates of dependence and misuse, and because the efficacy of long-term therapy remains unproven. Development of drug tolerance and increasing sensitivity to pain may limit long-term efficacy. Several factors may explain the emergence of inadvertent long-term use, including opioid dependence, recreational use, addiction, and illicit diversion to other users. We studied the risk of long-term use (defined as filling 6 or more opioid prescriptions in the subsequent year) with data from Oregon's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which captures all opioid prescriptions filled in Oregon pharmacies, regardless of who wrote the prescription or who paid for the prescription. We identified patients who had not received opioid medication in the previous year, but now received an initial prescription. There were over half a million such patients during the one-year study. Our most informative analysis was among people under age 45, which excluded most patients with a diagnosis of cancer, who were near the end of life, or who had chronic painful conditions such as arthritis. In this group, a patient who received just a three day supply of a moderate dose of opioids (For example, 10 mg. of hydrocodone plus acetaminophen 4 times daily for 3 days) had about a 2% risk of becoming a long term user. Someone who filled two prescriptions jumped to a 7% risk. Patients receiving a long-acting opioid as the first prescription had a higher risk of becoming long term users than those receiving short-acting opioids. Patients receiving a single prescription for such medications had almost a 16% likelihood of becoming long-term users compared to just 2% for those receiving short-term opioids. In some cases, long-term use may have been intended, but our exclusion of patients with cancer and end-of-life care made this less likely. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, OBGYNE, Zika / 04.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Charlan D. Kroelinger, PhD Division of Reproductive Health National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion CDC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects. Doctors have also found other problems in pregnancies and among infants infected with Zika virus before birth, such as absent or poorly developed brain structures, defects of the eye, hearing deficits, and impaired growth. Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended. Increased access to birth control may lead to reductions in unintended pregnancies, which may result in fewer adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes in the context of a Zika virus outbreak. A new report from CDC estimates that use of highly effective, reversible forms of birth control, called long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), which includes intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants, remains lower than use of moderate or less effective methods such as oral contraceptive pills and condoms, although contraception use varied across states and by age group and race/ethnicity. CDC scientists used data from four state-based surveillance systems to estimate contraception use for non-pregnant and postpartum women at risk for unintended pregnancy and sexually active female high school students who live in states with the potential for local Zika virus transmission. Less than one in four sexually active women of reproductive age and fewer than one in 10 sexually active female high school students reported using LARC. A higher percentage of postpartum women reported LARC use. Moderately effective and less effective contraceptive methods, including pills, patches, rings, injections, condoms and other barrier methods, were used more frequently than highly effective methods. These estimates are of concern because the most commonly used methods of contraception are not as effective at preventing unintended pregnancy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Pediatrics / 04.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lauren McGale Research Assistant & PhD Student University of Liverpool MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Food marketing has been highlighted as a key factor which contributes to childhood obesity, and food–packaging as a marketing tool is currently under-researched. Placing licensed-characters, which are those borrowed from movies and TV shows, have previously been shown to affect children’s food choices and taste preferences in favour of the product they appear on, and their use in TV advertising is regulated here in the UK. However, this is the first study to examine the influence of brand equity characters in this context, which are characters created solely to represent a particular product/brand (for example, Tony the Tiger for Kellogg’s Frosties), and these characters are currently exempt from UK TV advertising regulations. As these brand equity characters typically promote foods which are high in fat, salt and sugar, it is crucial that we understand their impact on children’s food choices and preferences. Our findings were consistent with the existing literature on various types of promotional characters, demonstrating that children displayed a preference for the taste of foods presented with the brand equity character on the packaging, compared to identical foods without the character, and were also more likely to choose these foods as snacks. This was true even when the characters were placed on foods they were not usually associated with. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Electronic Records, JAMA, Outcomes & Safety / 04.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stephanie Mueller, MD MPH FHM Division of General Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston, MA 02120 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  Response: Failures in communication among healthcare personnel are known threats to patient safety, and occur all too commonly during times of care transition, such as when patient care responsibility is transferred from one provider to another (i.e., handoff). Such failures in communication put patients at risk for adverse outcomes. (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, NEJM, Pediatrics / 04.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Donata Vercelli, MD Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Arizona Director, Arizona Center for the Biology of Complex Diseases Associate Director, Asthma and Airway Disease Research Center The BIO5 Institute Tucson, AZ 85721 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: By probing the differences between two farming communities—the Amish of Indiana and the Hutterites of South Dakota—our interdisciplinary team (which included, among others, Erika von Mutius from Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Carole Ober and Anne Sperling from the University of Chicago, and myself) found that substances in the house dust from Amish, but not Hutterite, homes shape the innate immune system in ways that may prevent the development of allergic asthma. Growing up in a microbe-rich farm environment has been known to protect against asthma. Our current study extends these findings by showing that in both humans and mice protection requires engagement of the innate immune system. The Amish and Hutterite farming communities in the United States, founded by immigrants from Central Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, provide textbook opportunities for comparative studies. The Amish and the Hutterites have similar genetic ancestry and share lifestyles (e.g., family size, diet, lack of exposure to indoor pets) known to affect asthma risk. However, their farming practices differ. The Amish have retained traditional methods, live on single-family dairy farms and rely on horses for fieldwork and transportation. In contrast, the Hutterites live on large communal farms and use modern, industrialized farm machinery. This distances young Hutterite children from the constant daily exposure to farm animals. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Weight Research / 03.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yanni Papanikolaou PhD Candidate, Masters in Public Health Nutrition Nutritional Strategies Inc. Paris, ON, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005–2010, which consisted of information from more than 14,000 U.S. adults 19 years old and older. We looked at dietary eating patterns and compared those individuals that consumed grain and grain-based foods (both in whole and enriched forms) and compared to those who omit main grain foods from their diet. We examined nutrient intakes, diet quality and various health measures, including body weight and waist circumference, within each grain group and compared to adults not eating grain foods. We found that people consuming certain grain foods had better overall diet quality, lower average body weight and a smaller waist circumference. Specifically, adults consuming pasta, cooked cereals and rice weighed 7.2 pounds less and had waist circumferences that were 1.2 inches smaller compared to adults who didn’t eat grains. Although the public is quick to demonize enriched grains, our findings show that enriched grains provide vital nutrients many Americans fall short on, such as fiber, folate, calcium, iron, and magnesium.  Eliminating grain-based foods can have negative effects on diet quality and intake of essential nutrients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Prostate Cancer, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Vitamin D / 02.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gerard (Gary) Hardiman, Ph.D Professor, Department of Medicine Professor Department of Public Health Sciences Bioinformatics Director Center for Genomic Medicine Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, SC 29425 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: There are significant racial disparities in prostate cancer outcomes. The disease disproportionately affects African American men in terms of incidence, morbidity, and mortality, even after adjustment for stage. African American men have a 2- to 3-times increased risk of developing prostate cancer and have a greater mortality rate compared to European American men. We carried out a prospective clinical study aimed at examining the effects of vitamin D3 supplementation at 4,000 IU per day for two months in male subjects who selected surgical removal of the prostate (prostatectomy) as a definitive treatment for their prostate cancer. The primary goal of this study was to examine molecular differences in gene expression patterns relevant to prostate cancer disparities between African American and European American men, and investigate the global effects of vitamin D3 supplementation on the prostate transcriptome. We carried out genome wide expression profiling experiments using high throughput (HT) RNA sequencing. Transcriptional profiles of each of the patient’s tissue samples were generated and systems level analyses were performed. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, MRI, PLoS / 02.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Barbara Bennani-Baiti, MD, MS and Pascal Andreas Baltzer MD Departement of Biomedical Imaging and Nuclear Medicine Medical University of Vienna Vienna, Austria MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Breast MRI ist the most sensitive method for detecting breast cancer. It is currently routinely used in the screening of high-risk patients and as an additional imaging technique in case of inconclusive conventional imaging (mammography and ultrasound). Besides its high sensitivity for detection of breast cancer, breast MRI further provides functional information about normal breast tissue perfusion. Background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) reflects the perfusion or vascularization of the breast and is generally higher in active breast tissue. High-risk patients harbor breast tissue that is at an elevated risk for breast cancer due to several factors (i.e. mutations such as BRCA1, high familial risk, previous radiation of the chest wall, etc.). After a connection between increased breast cancer odds and elevated BPE has been shown in high-risk patients, the community has since assumed that an elevated background enhancement at breast MRI equates an elevated risk for breast cancer for all women. We have shown that this not true for women that are not considered high-risk. In fact, the only risk factor for women undergoing breast MRI without additional risk factors is age. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, JAMA, Nutrition, Protein, Vegetarians / 02.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mingyang Song Sc.D, research fellow Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit and Division of Gastroenterology MGH and Department of Nutrition Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Previous studies have been focused on the amount of protein intake, while little is known regarding the health effect of different food sources for protein intake. In this study, we found that high animal protein intake was associated with higher mortality, whereas high plant-based protein was associated with lower mortality. Replacement of animal protein with plant protein was associated with lower mortality. Overall, the findings support the importance of food sources for protein intake for long-term health outcomes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brain Injury, JAMA, Pediatrics / 02.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Danny G. Thomas, MD, MPH Department of Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Corporate Center Milwaukee, WI MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This was a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of strict rest after concussion published last year. We wanted to find out how mental and physical activity levels related to symptom spikes or sudden increases in concussion symptoms. We found that one in three patients had symptoms spikes in recovery. Patients who had symptom spikes tended to have higher symptoms in the emergency department and throughout recovery. Most symptom spikes were not associated with an increase in physical and mental activity level the day prior. We did find that a sudden increase in activity like returning to school did increase the risk of having a symptom spike, but the good news is these symptom spikes seemed to resolve the following day and did not impact recovery by 10 days. (more…)
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Heart Disease, Omega-3 Fatty Acids / 02.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Raymond Y. Kwong, MD MPH Director of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Associate Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In the past several decades, Omega-3 fatty acids (O3FA) primarily from fish oil have been reported to have many beneficial effects, either directly on the heart or through other effects that indirectly help the heart. However, when it was tested on patients who suffered an acute heart attack by looking at whether patients can live longer by taking omega-3 fatty acids early after the heart attack, there has been some conflicting data in some of the large clinical trials. There are several major factors that inspired the designs of the current OMEGA-REMODEL study: a) Over recent years, many highly effective treatments to improve the survival of heart attack victims have become routine. b) The studies in the past used a relatively lower dose of  Omega-3 fatty acids (1g per day). c) Some have also raised the question whether just patient mortality should be the only/best way we should considered in assessing new treatments for heart attack patients. d) Cardiac remodeling: after a heart attack, heart muscle not damaged by the initial heart attack insult has to overwork to compensate for the damage from the heart attack. Over time scarring may form in the overworked heart muscle, in addition to weakened heart function, may lead to the heart to fail. e)New imaging method: a MRI of the heart, can precisely determine the heart function and the amount of scarring of the overworked heart muscle not damaged from the heart attack. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pharmacology / 01.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: PD Dr. Andreas Koeberle Lehrstuhl für Pharmazeutische/Medizinische Chemie Institut für Pharmazie Biologisch-Pharmazeutische Fakultät Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena Philosophenweg Jena MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Natural products from plants used in traditional medicine are valuable sources for identifying novel strategies as well as lead structures for drug development. The diterpenoids carnosol and carnosic acids from Salvia spp. (sage) represent such candidate compounds. They exert prominent anti-inflammatory activities though their molecular mechanisms are incompletely understood, which hampers their pharmacological use. Our study investigated the potential of carnosol and carnosic acid in inflammatory pain and addressed the cellular consequences and the molecular interactions with key targets. We demonstrate that the two diterpenoids have anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects in established mouse models of inflammation, and describe 5-lipoxygenase and microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase-1, two key enzymes of inflammation, as primary targets. Moreover, we characterized the functional consequences of enzyme inhibition in a cellular context and investigated structural aspects of ligand/target interactions. (more…)
Author Interviews, Kidney Disease, Kidney Stones, Nutrition, Protein, Red Meat / 01.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Pietro Manuel Ferraro, MD MSc PhD Assistant Professor Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Senior Collaborator in the Nurses' Health Study Brigham and Women's Hospital Channing Division of Network Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In our study, we looked at the association between dietary intake of different sources of protein (vegetable, dairy and non-dairy animal), potassium (a marker of fruits and vegetables) and their interaction and the risk of forming kidney stones. We looked at their interaction because some protein is a source of acid, whereas fruits and vegetables are a source of alkali, thus their relationship could potentially impact acid-base status and in turn the risk of stones by modifying the metabolism of calcium and other elements such as urine citrate and uric acid. We found that the risk of forming stones depends not only on the amount of protein but also on the source, with no risk associated with intake of vegetable and dairy protein, and a modestly higher risk for excessive non-dairy animal protein; on the other hand, intake of potassium was associated with a markedly lower risk. Interestingly, the interaction between intake of protein and potassium, the so called net acid load, was also associated with higher risk of forming kidney stones, suggesting that the effect of acid intake is modulated by that of alkali and vice versa. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Addiction, ADHD, Author Interviews / 29.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Anna Chorniy PhD Postdoctoral Research Associate Center for Health and Wellbeing Princeton University Princeton NJ 08544 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the common chronic mental conditions affecting children. In the U.S., 11% of children ages 4–17 (6.4 million) are estimated to have an ADHD diagnosis and almost 70% of them report taking medication for the condition (e.g. Visser et al., 2014). However, little evidence exists on the effects of ADHD treatment on children’s outcomes. We use a panel data set of South Carolina Medicaid claims paid out in 2003–2013 to investigate the effects of ADHD medication treatment on a seldom studied set of outcomes associated with this condition: adolescent risky behaviors and the incidence of injuries. The occurrence of injuries allows us to evaluate short-term effects of ADHD treatment, while substance abuse and risky sexual behavior outcomes speak for the long-term effects of medication. Second, we use Medicaid spending on treatment of these negative events to evaluate the impact of ADHD drugs on the severity of ADHD, and compare the cost of ADHD treatment with the costs of negative health events. (more…)
Author Interviews, Memory / 29.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Flavio Frohlich PhD Assistant Professor Departments of Psychiatry, Cell Biology and Physiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Neurology Neuroscience Center School of Medicine University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Although we do not understand why we sleep, it is clear that sleep is very important for overall well being and health. One of many likely functions of sleep is memory consolidation, the process of stabilizing previously acquired memories. In particular, a brief electric brain activity pattern called the sleep spindle has been shown to correlate with memory consolidation and learning in general. We asked if this brain rhythm causes memory consolidation by using non-invasive feedback brain stimulation to selectively enhance sleep spindles. We applied a weak electric current in the shape of a sleep spindle to the scalp each time our algorithm detected a sleep spindle in the EEG. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Toxin Research / 29.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Courtney Carignan PhD Research Fellow Department of Environmental Health Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We collected urine samples from a team of 11 collegiate gymnasts before and after a gymnastics practice. There were higher levels of flame retardants in samples collected after practice compared to before, indicating that the gymnastics training environment is a source of exposure to these chemicals. We previously measured elevated levels of flame retardants in the air and dust of the gym. Foam equipment appears to be the primary source of flame retardants to the gym, especially foam in the loose foam pit, which is used by gymnasts to learn new skills safely. Over the past several decades, flame retardant chemical have been used in foam, such as in upholstered furniture, and electronics. They easily escape these products and enter the air, dust and our bodies. Most Americans have flame retardant chemicals in their bodies. There is growing concern about the harmful effects of many of these chemicals such that some have been phased out of use. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Columbia, Mental Health Research / 29.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: J. John Mann MD Paul Janssen Professor of Translational Neuroscience Director, Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology Division Department of Psychiatry Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In 2014 there were 21,000 firearm suicides in the USA. Overseas, programs that have resulted in major reductions in firearm availability have reduced firearm suicide rates which have also been shown in the USA to be closely correlated with risk of firearm suicide. Reducing access to firearms to those at risk for suicide would help reduce firearm suicide rates in the USA. Most such suicides involve a firearm purchased many years earlier. We recommend methods for reducing such access including improved gun safety and smart gun technology. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Diabetes, Diabetologia / 29.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Stephanie Read, PhD University of Edinburgh, UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The number of people living with type 2 diabetes in Scotland is increasing. We wanted to identify to what extent this trend was due to people living longer with type 2 diabetes or due to increasing numbers of new cases each year. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Lancet, Lifestyle & Health / 29.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ulf Ekelund, PhD FACSM Professor Department of Sports Medicine Norwegian School of Sport Sciences  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: It is known that long sitting hours may be detrimental to health and previous studies have suggested associations between sitting time and all-cause mortality.However, it is not known whether physical activity can eliminate the increased risk of death associated with long sitting time. We found that at least one hour of physical activity every day appear to offset the increased risk associated with more than eight hours of sitting. We also found that those who were physically inactive and sat for less than 4 hours every day were at greater risk compared with those who were physically active and sat for more than 8 hours providing further evidence on the benefits of physical activity. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Global Health, Lancet, Lifestyle & Health / 29.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ding Ding (Melody), Ph.D., MPH NHMRC Early Career Senior Research Fellow Sydney University Postdoctoral Research Fellow Prevention Research Collaboration Sydney School of Public Health The University of Sydney MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Understanding the true burden of a pandemic is indispensable for informed decision making. After decades of research, we now have established knowledge about how physical inactivity contributes to pre-mature deaths and chronic diseases, but the economic burden of physical inactivity remains unquantified at the global level. Through estimating the economic burden of physical inactivity for the first time, we hope to create a business case for investing in cost-effective actions to promote physical activity at the global levels. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Genetic Research, JAMA / 29.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amitabh Chak, MD University Hospitals Case Medical Ctr Cleveland, OH, 44106 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: About 20 years ago we discovered that Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer aggregate in a small proportion of families suggesting there might be a genetic basis to these complex diseases. As we started looking at these families, we identified a rare family with multiple members who had Barrett's esophagus and multiple members who had passed away from esophageal cancer at a young age. Advances in exome sequencing have now allowed us to identify a mutation in a gene whose function is not known that predisposes this family to develop Barrett's esophagus. Functional studies suggest that this gene, VSIG10L, is involved in maturation of normal squamous esophagus. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, Medical Imaging, Mental Health Research, Radiology / 29.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Maria A. Oquendo, M.D. Professor of Psychiatry Vice Chair for Education Columbia University Medical Center American Psychiatric Association, President International Academy of Suicide Research, President MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Our team has worked for years on identifying the biological underpinnings of both risk for suicidal behavior (SB) and for predicting the lethality or medical consequences of suicidal behavior. We have shown that if you compare those who are depressed and have had SB to those who are depressed but do not have suicidal behavior, you can see clear differences in the serotonin system using Positron Emission Tomography and a molecule tagged with radioactivity. We predicted that if you could see these differences cross-sectionally, then their presence might also predict suicidal behavior and its lethality in the future. Our study showed that those with higher serotonin 1a binding in the raphe nuclei, which likely indicates low serotonin functioning, made more medically damaging suicide attempts in the two years that followed. They also suffered from more pronounced suicidal ideation in the subsequent year. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Heart Disease / 29.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Per Ladenvall Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Aerobic capacity has been shown in other studies with shorter duration to be of importance for mortality. In the 1963 a population based study including every third man living in Gothenburg started. These men have since been followed up repeatedly until 100 years. For the present analysis men were invited to do a bicycle exercise test in 1967 and were followed up to 99 years. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, Lancet, Lymphoma / 29.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jin-Xin BEI, Ph.D. Principal Investigator State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center Guangzhou China MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Natural killer T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) is a rare and aggressive malignancy with remarkable prevalence in Asian and Latin populations, suggesting that the heritable components contribute to the disease risk. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection has been thought to be major factor associated with NKTCL, and EBV DNA load in plasma has been applied in clinical managements, including diagnosis, treatment response and prognosis. However, the genetic component leading to NKTCL predisposition has not been identified. (more…)