Blog – Medical Research News and Interviews

11 Feb

Posted at 20:57h in Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Karolinski Institute, Mental Health Research, PLoS
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: soccer; creative commons imageTorbjörn Vestberg Licensed Psychologist & Researcher Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The aim of our research is to study the importance of executive functions for successful behaviour. In our first study published in 2012 (Executive Functions Predict the Success of Top-Soccer Players) we showed that the level of elite soccer players’ higher executive functions was in general 2 standard deviations above the normal population. It was the same for both men and women. Moreover, we also found a strong correlation between the capacities of higher executive functions and the number of goals and assists the player made after two and a half year. In our new study we were interested in how the situation is at a younger age, from twelve to nineteen years of age. Because of the maturation of the brain, higher executive functions do not reach their full capacity before nineteen years of age. On basis of this, our question was whether there were other parts of the executive functions that correlated with success in soccer. In this new study, we focused on core executive functions like the working memory, as it reaches its full capacity in the early teens. We found that there was a moderate correlation with the accuracy of the working memory and the number of goals the junior elite players made during a period of two years. When we made a composite measurement of both the demanding working memory and the test for the capacity of the higher executive functions, we found a strong correlation between these results and the number of goals that the players made during the two years of time. When we measured IQ and physical features, like length, we found out that those did not influence the results.

11 Feb

Posted at 03:19h in Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Infections, Microbiome, Rheumatology, Science
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31926" align="alignleft" width="150"]Randy Longman, M.D. / Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine Jill Roberts Center and Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Weill Cornell Medicine Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Joan and Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine Department of Microbiology and Immunology New York, NY 10021 Dr. Randy Longman[/caption] Randy Longman, M.D. / Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine Jill Roberts Center and Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Weill Cornell Medicine Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Joan and Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine Department of Microbiology and Immunology New York, NY 10021  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Inflammatory bowel disease is not limited to intestinal inflammation.  Up to 1/3 of patients with active disease suffer from extra-intestinal manifestations. The most common extra-intestinal manifestations in IBD is joint inflammation or spondyloarthritis.  Peripheral joint spondyloarthritis  carries a prevalence of 20% in Crohn’s Disease and 10% in Ulcerative Colitis, predominantly affecting joints of the lower limbs.  It has long been suggested that gut bacteria can drive this systemic joint inflammation, but microbial targets have not been characterized.

11 Feb

Posted at 02:49h in Author Interviews, CDC, Fertility, OBGYNE
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Saswati Sunderam, PhD Division of Reproductive Health National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion CDC. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance – United States, 2014, the surveillance summary published this week in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), presents state-specific data on assisted reproductive technology (ART) use and outcomes. The report compares ART infant outcome data with outcomes for all infants born in the U.S. in 2014, and provides data on the contributions of  Assisted Reproductive Technology to total infants born, multiple birth infants, low birth weight infants, and preterm infants for each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

10 Feb

Posted at 19:34h in AACR, Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Mammograms
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31912" align="alignleft" width="174"]Mammogram showing small lesion - Wikipedia Mammogram showing small lesion
- Wikipedia[/caption] Firas Dabbous, PhD Manager, Patient Centered Outcomes Research Russell Institute for Research & Innovation Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Park Ridge, IL  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: When women are told that there is something abnormal on their screening mammogram that can cause stress and worry while undergoing additional testing, even when they are later told that there is nothing wrong. We wanted to know if receiving a false positive screening mammogram would cause women to think twice before getting their next screening mammogram, and maybe delay coming back for their next screen. This is important because patients who have a false positive experience may have higher chance to develop breast cancer at a later point in time. Therefore, it is important to understand their screening patterns to better educate and inform them about the importance of adhering to mammography guidelines and emphasize the importance of returning on schedule for their next screens.

10 Feb

Posted at 16:32h in Allergies, Author Interviews, Dermatology, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31908" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr. Esther van Zuuren Dr. Esther van Zuuren[/caption] Esther van Zuuren MD on behalf of the authors Department of Dermatology Leiden University Medical Center Leiden, Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In view of the high prevalence of eczema and the exponential increase in number of clinical trials over recent years, the NIHR designated this clinical topic, emollients and moisturisers for eczema, as a high priority. Widely prescribed as the basis of eczema management the treatment strategy is often supported by a mixed array of reviews and guidelines. Evidence for the effectiveness of emollients and moisturisers is also of variable quality. Eczema is a chronic skin disorder, the main symptoms being dry skin and intense itching with a significant impact on quality of life. As dry skin is an important feature, moisturisers are a cornerstone of eczema treatment, but there was uncertainty about their efficacy and whether one moisturiser is preferable to another. The main finding of our review is that indeed moisturisers are effective.

10 Feb

Posted at 00:47h in Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31904" align="alignleft" width="142"]Bobbi Pineda, PhD Assistant professor of occupational therapy and of pediatrics Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis Dr. Bobbi Pineda[/caption] Bobbi Pineda, PhD Assistant professor of occupational therapy and of pediatrics Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We published findings in 2014 from a study in which we investigated differences in outcome among preterm infants hospitalized in an open ward NICU compared to those hospitalized in a NICU private room.  In this study, we found that infants who were in the open ward had differences in brain structure by the time they were discharged from the hospital, and by age 2 years they had significantly better language outcomes than those in private rooms.  The study NICU is located in an urban area and cares for families who have a high risk of social challenges, resulting in rates of parent engagement that were not optimal.  However, such findings made us question if the sensory exposure, specifically auditory stimulation, may be significantly reduced in the private room and could explain our findings.

10 Feb

Posted at 00:06h in Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Endocrinology, NIH
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mihail Zilbermint, M.D. Endocrinologist, Office of the Scientific Director Mihail Zilbermint, M.D. Endocrinologist, Office of the Scientific Director Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Diagnosing Cushing Syndrome is often difficult and challenging.  Diagnosing hypercortisolemia, could require the use of a combination of any of these tests: 24-hour free urine cortisol monitoring, an overnight dexamethasone suppression test, and measurement of late night salivary cortisol.  Cortisol levels may change daily, requiring that testing be repeated.  Undiagnosed and untreated Cushing Syndrome greatly increases morbidity and mortality risk. Cortisol levels can be detected in hair samples.  Much like hemoglobin A1C is a long-term indicator of blood glucose levels, efforts have been made to determine if hair cortisol could serve as a long-term measure of the body’s glucocorticoid levels.  We sought to compare the results of cortisol levels for Cushing Syndrome patients with data from data on cortisol in hair segments, to gain further information on the role of sampling hair cortisol as an initial or supportive method for diagnosing Cushing Syndrome.

09 Feb

Posted at 18:35h in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Genetic Research, Hearing Loss, Nature
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31894" align="alignleft" width="100"]Gwenaelle Geleoc, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Otolaryngology F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston, MA Dr. Gwenaelle Geleoc[/caption] Gwenaelle Geleoc, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Otolaryngology F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston, MA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We seek to develop gene therapy to restore auditory and balance function in a mouse model of Usher syndrome. Usher syndrome is a rare genetic disorder which causes deafness, progressive blindness and in some cases balance deficits. We used a novel viral vector developed by Luk Vandenberghe and package gene sequences encoding for Ush1c and applied it to young mice suffering from Usher syndrome. These mice mimic a mutation found in patients of Acadian descent. We assessed recovery of hearing and balance function in young adult mice which had received the treatment. Otherwise deaf and dizzy, we found that the treated mice had recovered hearing down to soft sounds equivalent to a whisper and normal balance function.

09 Feb

Posted at 15:04h in Author Interviews, Infections, Pharmacology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Fernanda Buzzola IMPaM, UBA-CONICET MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Staphylococcus aureus represents a serious problem to public health due to methicillin-resistance and the bacterial persistence over a long period of time in the host. Approximately the 20% of the human population is at risk to acquire an endogenous infection by S. aureus as a consequence of its asymptomatic nasal colonization. Aspirin, the main source of salicylic acid in the human host, is currently taken by millions of human beings worldwide without medical prescription and widely indicated for defined purposes, including prevention of coronary thrombosis. Salicylic acid is a plant hormone known too for its use as a key ingredient in anti-acne preparations and medications for skin conditions. We also consume mild doses of salicylic acid when we eat fruits and vegetables. Iron is an important trace element for the human body and plays an essential role in blood formation. The metabolism of many bacteria, including S. aureus, also depends on the availability of iron molecules. Salicylic acid forms complexes with iron ions in the blood and so deprives not only us but also the staphylococcal bacteria of this element. S. aureus modifies its metabolism if the iron content is insufficient. The microorganism reacts to the changed – from its perspective, negative – conditions through the intensified formation of a biofilm, a sort of layer of slime formed by the aggregation of individual bacteria. The enhanced biofilm production allows the bacteria to survive for an even longer period under unfavourable living conditions.

09 Feb

Posted at 14:53h in Author Interviews, Psychological Science, Technology
[caption id="attachment_31888" align="alignleft" width="300"]Dr-Lazaros-Gonidis.jpg Dr Dinkar Sharma and Dr. Lazaros Gonidis[/caption] MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lazaros Gonidis PhD candidate Postgraduate Researcher University of Kent MedicalResearch.com: In general, why do we tend to underestimate time when we are distracted versus when we are doing something boring? Is the adage that “time flies when you’re having fun” true? Response:  In order to be accurate at time “keeping” we need to attend to it. Anything that distracts us makes us less accurate, and to be more specific, it makes us underestimate the duration of events. In simple terms when we experience an event that last 10 minutes a distraction could make it feel like 5 minutes. On the other hand when we are bored, let’s say during a non-interesting event, we tend to focus more on time keeping looking forward for the event to finish. In this case we would overestimate the event and 10 minutes could feel like 15 minutes.

09 Feb

Posted at 13:56h in Author Interviews, Hip Fractures, NYU/NYMC, Orthopedics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31877" align="alignleft" width="96"]Afshin E. Razi MD</strong> Clinical Assistant Professor NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases Department of Orthopaedic Surgery New York, N.Y. 1001 Dr. Afshin Razi[/caption] Afshin E. Razi MD Clinical Assistant Professor NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases Department of Orthopaedic Surgery New York, N.Y. 10016 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We did an extensive literature search and through our two previous seminars on this topic we were able to gather information to aid our colleagues on best ways of differentiating causes of hip and back pain. As an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in spine surgery I encounter many patients who present with concomitant back and hip pain. Many of these patients are also referred to me by surgeons who solely take care of hip problems such as total hip replacement or sport medicine specialist who treat younger patients with hip pain. It can be very difficult to properly diagnose the main issue and as such some patients go on to have unnecessary treatments, including surgery, because of their persistent symptoms. It was our goal to try to educate physicians, including orthopaedic surgeons, on the common differential diagnoses, appropriate clinical history and physical examination, diagnostic tools and their evaluations appropriately, as well as treatment options and priorities of which one to be treated first. More recently, it has been noted that some patients who have undergone total hip replacement with significant curvature of the spine had postoperative dislocation of the hip after reconstruction of the spinal malalignment. This article also talks about this newly seen problem.

09 Feb

Posted at 04:47h in Author Interviews, CDC, Gender Differences, HIV, Race/Ethnic Diversity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Donna Hubbard McCree, PhD MPH, RPh Association Director for Health Equity/Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: HIV diagnosis rates among women declined 40% between 2005 and 2014 with the largest decline, 42%, occurring in black women. However, in 2015 black women represented 61% of HIV diagnoses among women. Our goal in this analysis was to determine whether the decline resulted in a decrease in the disparities among African American, Hispanic and white women between 2010 and 2014. There is currently not a standard method for measuring HIV-related disparity. However, for this analysis we used three different measures – the absolute rate difference (the difference between the group with the lowest rate and the group with the highest rate); 2) the diagnosis disparity ratio (the ratio of the difference between the group rate and the overall population rate to the overall rate); and 3) the Index of Disparity (the average of the differences between rates for specific groups and the total rate divided by the total rate, expressed as a percentage). The absolute rate difference between black women and white women decreased annually, from 36.9 in 2010 to 28.3 in 2014. The diagnosis disparity ratio for black women compared to the total population decreased from 1.7 in 2010 to 1.2 in 2014. The Index of Disparity increased during 2010–2011, and then decreased each year during 2012–2014. Although disparities still exist, these findings indicate improvement.

09 Feb

Posted at 04:16h in Author Interviews, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics, Technology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31868" align="alignleft" width="150"]Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson PhD Professor of Psychology Stetson University Dr. Christopher Ferguson[/caption] Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson PhD Professor of Psychology Stetson University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The degree to which screen time influences youth across a variety of behavioral outcomes has been a source of debate and contention for decades. For many years the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended to parents that they allow older children no more than 2 hours of screen time per day. However, this number was never clearly based on good data. And in 2014 one study (Przybylski, 2014 in Pediatrics) suggested that ties between screen time and behavioral outcomes were very weak, and only seen for the most extreme screen users. So I was curious to see if these results would replicate for a large sample of US youth.

09 Feb

Posted at 02:35h in Author Interviews, Lung Cancer, PLoS
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kevin ten Haaf MSc Scientific researcher, Public Health Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Lung cancer screening is currently recommended in the United States, for persons aged 55 through 80 who smoked at least 30 pack-years (the average number of cigarettes smoked per day multiplied by the number of years the person has smoked) and who currently smoke or have quit within the last 15 years. Other countries, such as Canada, are investigating the feasibility of implementing lung cancer screening policies. However, the cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screening in a population-based setting is uncertain. Concerns have been raised on the feasibility of implementing lung cancer screening policies, especially with regards to the potential costs. In this study, the benefits, harms and costs of implementing lung cancer screening in the province of Ontario, Canada were assessed.

09 Feb

Posted at 02:21h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Heart Disease, PNAS, UT Southwestern
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31860" align="alignleft" width="70"]Lawrence Lum, Ph.D. Associate Professor Virginia Murchison Linthicum Scholar in Medical Research UT Southwestern Medical Center Dr. Lum[/caption] Lawrence Lum, Ph.D. Associate Professor Virginia Murchison Linthicum Scholar in Medical Research UT Southwestern Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Scarring of the adult heart due to excessive fibrotic responses is common after a heart attack, or following radiation therapy for the treatment of certain cancers. We have identified an anti-cancer agent currently in clinical development called WNT-974 that decreases fibrotic responses and improves heart function following myocardial infarction in mice. This unexpected observation was the outcome of a study focused on identifying unwanted adult tissue toxicities associated with this class of chemicals.

09 Feb

Posted at 01:56h in Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Gender Differences, Hip Fractures, Orthopedics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31853" align="alignleft" width="180"]Ann L. Gruber-Baldini, Ph.D. Professor, Division of Gerontology Director, Program in Epidemiology and Human Genetics Department of Epidemiology & Public Health University of Maryland School of Medicine Dr. Ann Gruber-Baldini[/caption] Ann L. Gruber-Baldini, Ph.D. Professor, Division of Gerontology Director, Program in Epidemiology and Human Genetics Department of Epidemiology & Public Health University of Maryland School of Medicine  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: While men make up only about 25% of all hip fractures, the number of men who fracture their hip is increasing and we know men are more likely to die than women after a hip fracture. It is also known that those with cognitive impairments, typically due to delirium and Alzheimer's disease and related dementia, are more likely to do more poorly after the fracture. The impact of both sex and cognition on outcomes after hip fracture has not been fully explored.

08 Feb

Posted at 15:51h in Addiction, Author Interviews, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31849" align="alignleft" width="133"]Kristi Roberts, M.S., M.P.H. Research Project Coordinator Center for Injury Research and Policy Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus, Ohio Kristi Roberts[/caption] Kristi Roberts, M.S., M.P.H. Research Project Coordinator Center for Injury Research and Policy Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus, Ohio  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
  • We know that 74.1 million US households own at least one pet and one-half of households have a child age 19 years or younger living in the home so there is a potential for unintentional pediatric exposure to pet medication.
  • We realize that pets are common and an important part of families, especially those with young children. However, pets often require medications to keep them healthy and these medications could be dangerous to a child if the child is exposed (gets a hold of or swallows the medicine).
  • We looked at 15 years’ worth of data and found that over 1,400 children were exposed to a veterinary pharmaceutical product. That is about 95 each year or 2 children every week that are being exposure to medications intended for pets.
  • Children under 5 years old are the age group most frequently exposed to medications intended for pets. These young children typically ate or swallowed the medication after they found it when climbing on the counter or while the parent was trying to give the medication to a pet. Most of the calls were for medications intended for dogs.
  • Teenagers were also exposed to medications intended for pets but for different reasons. Many teens mistakenly took pet medication instead of human medication.
  • The majority of exposures occurred at home (96%) and were not expected to result in long-term or long-lasting health effects (97%).
  • While many people don’t think of their pet’s medication as harmful some medications, both human and veterinary, could be highly dangerous even at low dosages, especially for small children.

08 Feb

Posted at 15:40h in Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Brain Injury
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31844" align="alignleft" width="142"]Julianne Schmidt, PhD, ATC Assistant Professor Department of Kinesiology The University of Georgia Athens GA Dr. Julianne Schmidt[/caption] Julianne Schmidt, PhD, ATC Assistant Professor Department of Kinesiology The University of Georgia Athens GA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Less than half of all people with a concussion intend to reduce their driving at any point. Current recommendations surrounding concussion focus on when it is safe to return to sport or return to the classroom, but return to driving is usually ignored and has not been studied.

08 Feb

Posted at 15:31h in Author Interviews, BMJ, Orthopedics, Pain Research, Surgical Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31841" align="alignleft" width="109"]Jonas Bloch Thorlund Associate Professor (MSc, PhD) Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics Research Unit for Musculoskeletal Function and Physiotherapy University of Southern Denmark Dr. Jonas Thorlund[/caption] Jonas Bloch Thorlund Associate Professor (MSc, PhD) Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics Research Unit for Musculoskeletal Function and Physiotherapy University of Southern Denmark MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy is a very common knee surgery. Research evidence has seriously questioned the effect of this type of surgery for degenerative meniscal tears in middle-aged and older patients. Most young patients with traumatic meniscal injury (from sports or similar) also undergo this type of surgery. There is a general understanding that young patients with traumatic tears experience larger improvements in patient reported pain, function and quality of life. However, evidence for this presumption is sparse.

08 Feb

Posted at 02:39h in Author Interviews, Endocrinology, JCEM, Pediatrics, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alfonso Abizaid PhD Department of Neuroscience Carleton University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Bisphenol A (BPA) is a compound considered to be a potential environmental hazard and an endocrine disruptor. We have found an association between exposure to BPA at levels that are considered safe by Health Canada and the EPA early in life, and the development of obesity. In addition, we found that this propensity to develop obesity is due to under development of the hypothalamic projection field of POMC neurons, a set of neurons that regulate satiety and stimulate metabolic rate. In this paper we replicate those findings and also show that this abnormal development is due to BPA altering the secretion of the hormone leptin at critical times where this hormone is important for the post-natal development of these POMC neurons.

08 Feb

Posted at 02:08h in Asthma, Author Interviews, Race/Ethnic Diversity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31828" align="alignleft" width="120"]Elina Jerschow, M.D., M.Sc., FAAAAI, FACAAI Associate Professor of Medicine, Allergy/ Immunology Division Director, Drug Allergy Center Montefiore Medical Center The University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx, New York 10461 Dr. Elina Jerschow[/caption] Elina Jerschow, M.D., M.Sc., FAAAAI, FACAAI Associate Professor of Medicine, Allergy/ Immunology Division Director, Drug Allergy Center Montefiore Medical Center The University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx, New York 10461 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Asthma prevalence varies across and within countries, and markedly increased rates of asthma have been observed in recent decades. Recent time-trends may be attributed to increased urbanization and dissemination of a Western lifestyle. In the US, asthma disproportionally affects African-Americans and Hispanics/Latinos living in urban areas. Among Hispanics/Latinos, asthma prevalence varies from 5.7 % for Mexicans/Mexican-Americans to 16.5% for Puerto Ricans. Besides national background, US nativity, longer duration of US residence, and having one or two parents born in the US have been previously reported as acculturation-related risk factors for asthma in foreign born children. Asthma prevalence was also higher in foreign-born Latinos who relocated to the US as children.

08 Feb

Posted at 01:41h in Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Smoking, Tobacco, Tobacco Research, Toxin Research

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Lion Shahab MA (Oxon) MSc MSc PhD CPsychol AFBPsS PGCLTHE Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology Department of Behavioural Science and Health University College London London  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: To date most studies on e-cigs have either looked at the product itself, i.e. analysed...

08 Feb

Posted at 01:17h in Asthma, Author Interviews, Infections, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hiroyuki Mochizuki, M.D., Ph.D. Professor & Chairman Department of Pediatrics Tokai University School of Medicine Japan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: My major is allergy and respiratory health of children. By this examination, we wanted to know the true influence of respiratory syncytial virus infection on childhood atopic asthma. We have confirmed that infantile asthma is heterogenic, and at least two kinds of phenotypes are present.

08 Feb

Posted at 00:57h in Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Smoking, Tobacco Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31818" align="alignleft" width="159"]Professor Richard Miech Institute for Social Research University of Michigan Prof. Richard Miech[/caption] Professor Richard Miech Institute for Social Research University of Michigan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The main finding of this study is that teen vaping predicts future smoking.  We surveyed a nationally-representative sample of 12th graders in 2014 and then re-surveyed them a year later.  We found:
  • Among teens who had never smoked at baseline, those who vaped were more than four times more likely to have smoked a year later than those who didn't vape
  • Among teens who were former smokers at baseline, those who vaped were more than twice as likely to have smoked a year later than those who didn't vape
  • Among teens who were current smokers at baseline, smoking levels a the one-year followup were the same for vapers and non-vapers.

08 Feb

Posted at 00:48h in Author Interviews, End of Life Care, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31813" align="alignleft" width="156"]Nathan A. Gray, M.D. Duke Palliative Care Durham, NC 27710 Dr. Nathan Gray[/caption] Nathan A. Gray, M.D. Duke Palliative Care Durham, NC 27710 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The estimated number of undocumented immigrants living in the United States has been stable in recent years, but lengths of residence in the country are rising. This aging population of undocumented immigrants can expect to face an increasing burden of chronic disease and end-of-life needs, but may experience challenges in obtaining hospice care in the last months of life as many are uninsured and none are eligible for the Medicare Hospice Benefit. While hospice agencies do provide charity care, little is known about hospice agency approaches to caring for undocumented immigrants. We surveyed a national sample of hospice agencies and found that many hospice agencies do not enroll undocumented immigrants or place restrictions on the number enrolled. More than half of agencies sampled had received requests for enrollment of undocumented immigrants in the past year. Offering unrestricted enrollment was more common among larger, not-for-profit hospices in our sample.

07 Feb

Posted at 18:27h in Author Interviews, Global Health, Nutrition, Pediatrics, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31779" align="alignleft" width="135"]Lara Dugas, PhD, MPH, FTOS Public Health Sciences Loyola University Chica Dr. Lara Dugas[/caption] Lara Dugas, PhD, MPH, FTOS Public Health Sciences Loyola University Chicago MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Our NIH-funded study is led by Dr. Amy Luke, Public Health Sciences, Loyola University Chicago, and is titled “Modeling the Epidemiologic Transition study” or METS. It was initiated in 2010, and 2,500 young African-origin adults were recruited from 5 countries, spanning the Human Development Index (HDI), a WHO index used to rank countries according to 4 tiers of development. The 5 countries include the US, Seychelles, Jamaica, South Africa, and Ghana. Within each country 500 young adults, 25-45 yrs., and 50% male, were recruited and followed prospectively for 3 years. Each year, contactable participants completed a health screening, body composition, wore an activity monitor for 7 days, and told researchers everything they had eaten in the preceding 24hrs. Our main research questions we were trying to answer were to understand the impact of diet and physical activity on the development of obesity, and cardiovascular disease in young adults. It was important to have countries spanning the HDI, with differences in both country-level dietary intake and physical activity levels.

07 Feb

Posted at 18:17h in Author Interviews, Diabetes, Genetic Research, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mary E. Lacy, MPH Department of Epidemiology Brown University School of Public Health Providence, RI MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Hemoglobin A1c (A1C) is a blood test that is used to screen for and monitor diabetes. It measures average blood sugar control over the past 2-3 months. A person with sickle cell trait is a carrier for sickle cell disease but often doesn’t have any clinical symptoms. African Americans are more likely than Whites to have diabetes and are more likely to have sickle cell trait. In this article we examined if A1C can be interpreted in the same way in people with and without sickle cell trait. We found that, despite similar results on other measures of blood sugar control, people with sickle cell trait had lower A1C results than people without sickle cell trait. This means that A1C may underestimate diabetes risk in people with sickle cell trait. We also found that, when using standard A1C cutoffs to screen for disease prevalence, we identified 40% fewer cases of prediabetes and 48% fewer cases of diabetes in individuals with sickle cell trait than in those without sickle cell trait. To me, this finding really underscores the potential clinical impact that the observed underestimation of A1C in those with sickle cell trait could have.

07 Feb

Posted at 12:51h in Author Interviews, BMJ, Pain Research, Pharmacology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31800" align="alignleft" width="180"]Dr. Gustavo Machado BPhty (Hons) Cert.MDT The George Institute for Global Health Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Dr. Gustavo Machado[/caption] Dr. Gustavo Machado BPhty (Hons) Cert.MDT The George Institute for Global Health Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney Sydney, New South Wales, Australia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: People with back pain are usually told by their health care practitioners to take analgesic medications to relieve their pain. But our previous research published in the BMJ showed that paracetamol does not have a measurable impact on patient’s symptoms. This resulted in recent changes in guidelines' recommendations. The 2017 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines/UK no longer recommend paracetamol as a stand-alone intervention for back pain. So now non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are recommended as the analgesic of first choice. However, our results show that compared to placebo, commonly used NSAIDs, such as Ibuprofen (e.g. Nurofen) and Diclofenac (e.g. Voltaren), provide only small benefits for people with back pain while increasing the risk of gastrointestinal adverse effects by 2.5 times.

07 Feb

Posted at 12:43h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Journal Clinical Oncology, Weight Research

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31782" align="alignleft" width="133"] Dr. Juhua Luo[/caption] Juhua Luo, PhD Associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics Indiana University School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We already know obesity increases risk of endometrial cancer. However, information on whether weight loss reduces risk of endometrial cancer is limited. MedicalResearch.com:...

07 Feb

Posted at 12:38h in Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Emergency Care, Infections
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_31808" align="alignleft" width="200"]Anish Agarwal, MD, MPH The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Department of Emergency Medicine Philadelphia, PA Dr. Anish Agarwal[/caption] Anish Agarwal, MD, MPH The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Department of Emergency Medicine Philadelphia, PA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The morbidity and mortality of severe sepsis has been well studied and documented. An aggressive approach to protocolized care for patients suffering from severe sepsis and septic shock has been shown to improve mortality and should be started as early in the time course of a patient's presentation. Emergency departments (ED) are designed to deliver time-sensitive therapies, however, they also may suffer from crowding due to multiple factors. This study aimed to assess the impact of ED crowding upon critical interventions in the treatment of severe sepsis including time to intravenous fluids, antibiotics, and overall delivery of a protocolized bundle of care. The study found that as ED crowding increased, time to critical therapies significantly increased and the overall implementation of procotolized care decreased. More specifically as ED occupancy and total patient hours within the ED increased, time to intravenous fluids decreased and time to antibiotics increased as occupancy, hours, and boarding increased.