Blog – Medical Research News and Interviews
16 Nov Many High Risk Patients Not Screened for Hepatitis B
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29693" align="alignleft" width="140"]
Dr. Robert Wong[/caption]
Robert Wong MD, MS
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Director of Research and Education
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Alameda Health System - Highland Hospital
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Hepatitis B Virus infection is a leading cause of chronic liver disease leading to hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis worldwide. Early detection of chronic HBV through implementation of effective screening programs can improve early treatment to reduce disease progression and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. Sub-optimal awareness of the importance of HBV screening among patients and providers and sub-optimal awareness of who constitutes as high risk may further contribute to low HBV screening rates. Our current study prospectively evaluated rates of HBV screening and awareness of HBV screening results among patients at high risk for chronic HBV among an ethnically diverse underserved safety-net hospital population.
Among nearly 900 patients that were evaluated, 62% were high risk and eligible for Hepatitis B screening. However, among this high risk population, less than 25% received HBV screening. Furthermore, among patients that have undergone previous HBV testing only 22% of patients were aware of those results.
16 Nov Increased Cardiovascular Risk in Rheumatoid Arthritis Comparable to Diabetes
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof.dr. M.T. Nurmohamed, MD, PhD and Rabia Agca MD Dept. of Rheumatology | VU University Medical Center Amsterdam Rheumatology & immunology Center EULAR center of excellence in rheumatology MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: About 20 years ago the increased mortality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was well known, but not the causes. In daily clinical practice it seemed that RA patients more frequently suffered from myocardial infarctions than general population persons. Therefore, we started this study more than 15 years ago as at that time there were only sparse data with respect to cardiovascular morbidity in rheumatoid arthritis.16 Nov Supermagnetized Crystals May Deliver Precision Drugs Directly To Medical Targets
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Kezheng Chen Lab of Functional and Biomedical Nanomaterials College of Materials Science and Engineering Qingdao University of Science and Technology Qingdao China MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: From a view point of practical applications, superparamagnetism is usually highly desirable, because it can prevent the magnetic particles from irreversible aggregation and ensure an excellent dispersity once the applied magnetic field is removed. Up to now, the largest size of reported superparamagnetic clusters is around several hundreds of nanometers, which are composed of numerous nanocrystals, and hence exhibiting polycrystalline nature. In this sense, how to realize well pronounced superparamagnetism in large-size single crystals is of great interest to the general public.16 Nov Costs of Generic Drugs for Heart Failure Can Vary Widely
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29573" align="alignleft" width="149"]
Dr. Paul Hauptman[/caption]
Paul J. Hauptman, MD
Professor Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology
Health Management & Policy, School of Public Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We decided to evaluate the cost of generic heart failure medications after an uninsured patient of ours reported that he could not fill a prescription for digoxin because of the cost for a one month's supply: $100. We called the pharmacy in question and confirmed the pricing. At that point we decided to explore this issue more closely.
We called 200 retail pharmacies in the bi-state, St. Louis metropolitan area, 175 of which provided us with drug prices for three generic heart failure medications: digoxin, carvedilol and lisinopril. We found significant variability in the cash price for these medications. Combined prices for the three drugs ranged from $12-$400 for 30 day supply and $30-$1,100 for 90 day supply.
The variability was completely random, not a function of pharmacy type, zip code, median annual income, region or state. In fact, pricing even varied among different retail stores of the same pharmacy chain.
15 Nov Early Weight Loss Predicts Who Will Successfully Lose Weight With Liraglutide
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29284" align="alignleft" width="133"]
Dr. Ken Fujioka[/caption]
Ken Fujioka M.D.
Director of the Center for Weight Management
Scripps Clinical Department of Endocrinology
La Jolla CA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Obesity is an odd disease that has many causes (overeating, underactivity, the patient being placed on a medication that drives up weight and a whole lot of other causes that result in a higher weight) so trying to find the right treatment, in this case a weight loss medication, for a particular patient is not an easy task. If there is a way to find out if you’ve picked the right medication (a weight loss of at least 5%) then this can help you decide whether you should keep the patient on the medication or stop the medication.
There are two huge benefits to this:
1. Is that you find your responders (patients) that will go on to lose weight and do well and 2. When you stop the medication in the non-responders you eliminate any potential adverse events from the weight loss medication.
Thus this study was designed to find out if early weight loss can predict who will go on to lose a significant amount of weight on Liraglutide.
And yes those who lose weight go on to lose weight.
15 Nov PD-1 Blockers Improve Survival in Melanoma, With Lowest Risk of Side Effects
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29273" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. Feng Xie[/caption]
Feng Xie, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Faculty of Health Sciences
McMaster University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Cutaneous melanoma, an aggressive and deadly form of skin cancer, in early stages is often cured with surgery alone. Most patients presenting with advanced-stage disease, however, are not candidates for surgery and drug therapy is the main course of treatment. Around 40-60% of melanomas have a mutation in the BRAF protein. Multiple effective first-line treatment options are available for patients with advanced BRAF-mutated melanoma, which fall under two established classes of drug therapies: targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Presently, it remains uncertain which is the optimal first-line treatment.
In our network meta-analysis we evaluated 15 randomized controlled trials published between 2011 and 2015 assessing the benefits and harms of targeted or immune checkpoint inhibitors in 6662 treatment naïve patients with lymph node metastasis not amenable to surgery or distant metastatic melanoma.
We found that combined BRAF and MEK targeted therapy and PD-1 immunotherapy were both equally effective in improving overall survival. Combined BRAF and MEK inhibition was most effective in improving progression-free survival. PD-1 inhibition was associated with the lowest risk of serious adverse events.
15 Nov Bariatric Surgery in Women of Childbearing Age and Perinatal Complications
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brodie Parent, MD MS General Surgery R4 University of Washington MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We already knew that women with a history of bariatric surgery are a high risk group when it comes to childbirth. Our study has confirmed prior data which show that infants from these women are at a higher risk for being premature, low birth-weight, or requiring ICU admission. However, this is some of the first data which looks at their risk over time after recovery from the operation. Data from this study show that risks to the infant are highest in the first 3 years after an operation, and diminish over time. This suggests that women should wait a minimum of three years after an operation before attempting conception.15 Nov Prostate Biopsies and Prostatectomies Drop After PSA Recommendation Changes
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29302" align="alignleft" width="134"]
Dr. Jim Hu[/caption]
Jim C. Hu, M.D., M.P.H.
Ronald P. Lynch Professor of Urologic Oncology
Director of the LeFrak Center for Robotic Surgery
Weill Cornell Medicine
Urology
New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell
New York, NY 10065
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against PSA testing in men older than 75 years in 2008 and more recently in all US men regardless of age in 2012. This was largely based on a faulty study, the prostate, lung, colo-rectal and ovarian screening study. We demonstrated in May 2016 that this randomized trial did not compare screening to no screening or apples to oranges, as it set out to do. It compared screening to screening. Although controversial, the guidelines were well-intentioned, as recognize that there is over-diagnosis and over-treatment of men with prostate cancer. Given this background, the goal of our study was to explore the downstream consequences of the recommendation against PSA screening. As such, we explored 3 separate databases to characterize national procedure volumes for prostate needle biopsy and radical prostatectomy, or surgery to cure prostate cancer.
The main finding was that prostate biopsy numbers decreased by 29% and radical prostatectomy surgeries decreased by 16% when comparing before to after USPSTF recommendations against PSA screening. Therefore practice patterns followed policy. Prostate biopsies are usually performed due to an elevated, abnormal screening PSA. However, it is also performed to monitor low-risk, slow growing prostate cancers. We also found that while the overall number of prostate biopsies decreased, there was a 29% increase in the proportion or percentage of biopsies performed due to active surveillance, or monitoring of low risk prostate cancers which should be done periodically. Therefore we provide the first national study to demonstrate that there is less over-diagnosis and over-treatment of prostate cancer.
However, the concern is that we also recently demonstrated that there is more aggressive prostate cancer on surgical pathology for men who go on to radical prostatectomy. They have high grade, higher stage cancers, which have a lower chance of cure. The link is:
http://www.prostatecancerreports.org/fulltext/2016/_Hu_JC160708.pdf
15 Nov Heart Disease Patients Admitted To Critical Care Units in Teaching Hospitals May Fare Better
Posted at 12:36h
in Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Education, Heart Disease, Outcomes & Safety
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_29515" align="alignleft" width="143"]
Dr. Sean van Diepen[/caption]
Dr. Sean van Diepen, MD, FRCPC
Assistant Professor of Critical Care Medicine and Cardiology
Coronary Intensive Care Unit Co-Director
University of Alberta Hospital
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Studies have documented a wide variation in CCU admission rates for patients hospitalized with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) or heart failure (HF). The reasons underpinning these differences are incompletely understood and little is known about the associations between hospital type, resource utilization, and clinical outcomes among patients admitted to the CCU with an ACS or HF.
In a national cohort of 220,759 patients, we observed that CCU admission rates varied by hospital type: 41% in teaching hospitals, 29.9% in large teaching hospitals, 42.6% in medium community hospitals and13.7% in small community hospitals. The percentage of patients that did not receive critical care therapies within the first 2 days of admission were: 35.5%, 58.0%, 83.3% and 95.6%, respectively. Compared large community hospitals, community hospitals all had higher adjusted in hospital mortality rates.
15 Nov Requiring Pacemaker Within 30 Days of TAVR Linked To Worse Prognosis
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Opeyemi O. Fadahunsi, MBBS, MPH Department of Medicine Reading Health System West Reading, Pennsylvania MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a minimally invasive approach to managing symptomatic severe aortic stenosis in patients who have a high surgical risk or are deemed to be inoperable. One of the most frequent complications is development of conduction abnormalities requiring permanent pacemaker placement. We compared clinical outcomes in patients requiring permanent pacemaker placement post-TAVR to those not requiring a pacemaker using a large US database called the STS/ACC TVT RegistryTM . We used real-world data of patients undergoing TAVR in the US at 229 sites between November 2011 and September 2014. The frequency of pacemaker placement within 30 days post-TAVR was 6.7% (651 of 9,785 patients). Those who needed a pacemaker within 30 days post-TAVR had longer hospital and intensive care unit stays compared to those who did not. Furthermore, those who needed a pacemaker had a higher risk of death from any cause at one year compared to those who did not get a pacemaker.15 Nov Post-Op Radiotherapy Improved Survival In Oral Cavity and Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29579" align="alignleft" width="188"]
Dr. Michelle Chen[/caption]
Michelle M. Chen, MD/MHS
Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery
Stanford University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The benefit of post-operative radiotherapy (PORT) for patients with T1-T2 N1 oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer without adverse pathologic features is unclear. Starting in 2014, the national guidelines no longer recommended consideration of post-operative radiotherapy for N1 oropharyngeal cancer patients, but left it as a consideration for N1 oral cavity cancer patients. We found that post-operative radiotherapy was associated with improved survival in both oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers, particularly in patients younger than 70 years of age and those with T2 disease.
15 Nov OCT of Retinal Lesions in Infants with Congenital Zika Syndrome
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Camila Ventura MD Pediatric Retina Research Fellow at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (BPEI), USA PhD student at Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) Medical Retina, Ocular Oncology, and Uveitis Department at Altino Ventura Foundation Brazil MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The Brazilian outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) began in April 2015 and since then, we have not been able to stop its rapid spread throughout the Americas. Not only has ZIKV been disseminating very rapidly, patients affected by the ZIKV have also been presenting with some findings never before reported in the literature. Until recently, ZIKV infection was only associated with mild symptoms such as headache, rash, arthralgia, and conjunctivitis. However, in October 2015, a twenty-fold increase in the prevalence of newborns with microcephaly was reported that was later confirmed to be associated to ZIKV infection during pregnancy. Although microcephaly and other central nervous system findings were the first abnormalities reported, recent publications have described other malformations associated with ZIKV congenital infection including hearing loss, limb anomalies and ocular findings. Due to all of these systemic findings, this new clinical condition has been named Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS). In January 2016, our group published the first report on the ocular findings of infants with microcephaly and presumed congenital ZIKV infection, followed by another manuscript describing 10 additional cases. We have also contributed with an article published in JAMA Ophthalmology reporting the risk factors associated to the ocular findings in babies with CZS. Other authors such as De Paula Freitas et al and Miranda 2nd et al, have also contributed to the literature by describing similar ocular findings in these infants with CZS. In the present case series, we describe the Ocular Coherence Tomography (OCT) findings in ten eyes of eight infants with CZS.15 Nov Immunotherapy Tofacitinib Can Halt Alopecia Areata
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Morton Scheinberg, MD, PhD From Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein and Hospital AACD, São Paulo, and Clinica Dermatosineida, Maringa, Parana, Brazil. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: That universal hair loss associated with a localized autoimmune reaction on the cells involved with the hair follicles can be halted with tofacitinib.15 Nov Research Into Gun Violence Plunged Over 15 Year Period
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29665" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Ted Alcorn[/caption]
Ted Alcorn, MHS, MA
Everytown for Gun Safety
Brooklyn, New York
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Two decades ago, opponents of gun violence prevention recognized that they could curb the development and enactment of effective laws if they halted scientific research on which good policy would be grounded or justified. So they adopted a strategy of intimidation towards the leading federal agencies funding research on this topic and generating data on which analysis relied. Journalists that observed the pattern and scientists that lived through it often described the “chilling effect” this had on the field of gun violence prevention research.
15 Nov Neighborhood Violence Associated With Biological Stress in Children
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29661" align="alignleft" width="175"]
Dr. Katherine P. Theall[/caption]
Katherine P. Theall, PhD
Associate Professor
Global Community Health and Behavioral Services
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
New Orleans, Louisiana
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: There are stark health disparities in the U.S. by socioeconomic position as well as between racial and ethnic groups. Many of these health disparities may have a root cause in childhood and be driven by social risk factors. The authors report each neighborhood stressor was associated with biological stress as measured by shortened telomere length and cortisol functioning. Many children are exposed to violence and a greater understanding of the effect on children’s health is critical because social environmental conditions likely contribute to health disparities. Socioeconomically disadvantaged communities have a higher exposure to violence. Limitations of the study include its lack of applicability to other demographic groups. The study also cannot establish causality.
15 Nov High Treatment Failure Rates Among Elderly With Purulent Skin Infections
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29656" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. John P. Haran[/caption]
John P. Haran, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Emergency Medicine
University of Massachusetts Medical School
UMass Memorial Medical Group
Worcester, MA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In 2014, the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) updated their guidelines for the management of skin and soft tissue infection in response to high MRSA infection rates as well as high treatment failure rates for skin and soft tissue infections. Greater than 1 in 5 patients treated for a skin abscess will fail initial treatment.
Historically antibiotics have been shown to be unnecessary in the treatment of uncomplicated purulent infections. This notion has been recently challenges when authors published a randomized control trial using trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazone in the NEJM that demonstrated a minimal increase in cure rates for outpatient treatment of uncomplicated skin purulent skin infections. In this study they did not follow IDSA-guidelines nor model or stratify their analysis. It is possible their findings may be due to at-risk patient groups that did not receive antibiotics. Many widely used clinical decision rules incorporate age into their decision algorithms, however the IDSA did not do this with their recent guidelines.
15 Nov Mitotic Rate Correlates With Sentinel Lymph Node Status and Outcome in Cutaneous Melanoma
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Mario Mandalà, MD Division of Oncology, Department of Oncology and Hematology Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital Bergamo, Italy. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The 7th edition of the TNM AJCC classification incorporated mitotic rate (MR) only for primary cutaneous melanoma with Breslow thickness ≤1 mm. We investigated whether and to what extent MR is able to predict sentinel lymph node (SLN) status and clinical outcome of primary cutaneous melanoma (PCM) patients with BT >1 mm.14 Nov Marijuana (Cannabis) Use is Independent Predictor of Broken Heart Syndrome in Younger Men
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29640" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Amitoj Singh[/caption]
Amitoj Singh MD
Chief Cardiology Fellow
St. Luke’s University Health
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Marijuana use in steadily increasing and it is the most commonly used illicit drug in the US and worldwide. There has been a recent increase in reports of heart and vascular complications associated with its use. These include Myocardial infarctions, stroke and takotsubo.
We had two questions that we wanted to answer with our study:
a) Is there an association between marijuana use and development of Transient Regional Ventricular Ballooning [TVRB] (aka Stress Cardiomyopathy /Broken Heart Syndrome/ Takotsubo)?
b) If the above is true, what are the differences between Marijuana users (MU) and Non Marijuana Users (NMU) who developed Stress Cardiomyopathy.
14 Nov Do Dysplastic Moles Need To Be Re-Excised?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Timothy Patton, DO Department of Dermatology Falk Medical Center University of Pittsburgh Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: As dermatologists we are confronted daily with how to manage lesions that are biopsied and diagnosed as dysplastic nevi. These lesions are considered by some to be potential melanoma precursors and by others as benign lesions with little to no malignant potential. Often, particularly for lesions with severe atypia these lesions are re excised. There are no prospective studies or consistent guidelines as to how to manage these lesions. We decided to retrospectively look at the outcome of 451 patients with dysplastic nevi with severe atypia, many of whom had not had their lesions re-excised, who had at least 5 years of follow up to determine if any developed melanoma at the site of the biopsied dysplastic nevus or distantly. We found no cases of metastatic melanoma in patients who did not already have a diagnosis of melanoma. We found two cases of thin melanoma in patients who had their lesions re-excised. Both of those patients were treated with reexcision and did not develop subsequent melanoma metastasis or recurrence.14 Nov Phase1 Trial Supports PCSK9-Inhibitor Inclisiran For Reducing LDL Cholesterol
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29622" align="alignleft" width="133"]
Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald[/caption]
Kevin Fitzgerald, Ph.D.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Cambridge, MA 02142
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Inclisiran (ALN-PCSsc) is a subcutaneously administered RNAi therapeutic targeting PCSK9 in development for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. The Phase 1 trial of inclisiran was conducted in the U.K. as a randomized, single-blind, placebo controlled, single ascending-and multi-dose, subcutaneous dose-escalation study in 69 volunteer subjects with elevated baseline LDL-C (≥ 100 mg/dL). The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the safety, side effect profile, and pharmacodynamics effects of inclisiran.
14 Nov Smoking Deaths Disproportionately Affect Poor and Black Americans
Posted at 17:50h
in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, CDC, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Tobacco Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jane Henley MSPH Epidemiologist Division of Cancer Prevention and Control MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The Surgeon General concluded that cigarette smoking causes at least 12 types of cancer: oral cavity and pharynx, esophagus, stomach, colon and rectum, liver, pancreas, larynx, lung, bronchus and trachea, bladder, kidney and...
14 Nov Asthma Medications in Schools Prevents Children From Being Sent Home or to the ED
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29610" align="alignleft" width="143"]
Dr. Manoj Warrier[/caption]
Manoj Warrier, M.D.
Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Care Center
Adjunct Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Saint Louis University and Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center
St. Louis, MO 63127
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: In 2012, Missouri House Bill 1188 was passed, which allowed trained employees in Missouri schools to administer asthma related rescue medications at their discretion to students experiencing an asthma exacerbation, even if the individual student did not have their own supply of the medication.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America St. Louis Chapter (AAFA-STL) was instrumental in facilitating passage of this bill and also created the RESCUE (Resources for Every School Confronting Unexpected Emergencies) program, which provides equipment and access to free medications to treat acute asthma symptoms, mainly supporting schools with lower income populations. AAFA-STL tracked how often RESCUE supplies were used and found that equipment was used 1357 individual times in 2013-2014 school year, with students going back to class 86.07%, sent home 10.83%, and sent to emergency department (ED) only 1.33% of the time. In the 2014-2015, they found similar results with equipment used 1720 individual times, with students going back to class 84.48%, sent home 10.81%, and sent to ED 3.14% of the time.
14 Nov Many Children With Asthma Still Not Receiving Flu Vaccine
Posted at 16:36h
in Allergies, Asthma, Author Interviews, Flu - Influenza, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_29605" align="alignleft" width="143"]
Dr. Deepa Patadia[/caption]
Deepa Patadia, MD
Wexner Medical Center
The Ohio State University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Influenza vaccination is recommended every autumn for all children 6 months of age and older. It is particularly important for children with asthma, who are at high risk of hospitalization or severe illness if they contract influenza infection. The rates of influenza vaccination in children with asthma have not previously been well studied, but Healthy People 2020 has set a target goal to vaccinate 70% of all children for influenza. We found that rates of vaccination in our large primary care population was much lower than the target rate, with less than 50% of all children receiving the vaccine each year over a 5 year period; however rates were higher in children with asthma, albeit still only at 55%.
14 Nov Bystander CPR Associated With Improved Outcomes in Pediatric Cardiac Arrest
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29595" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. Maryam Y. Naim[/caption]
Maryam Y. Naim, MD
Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Physician
The Cardiac Center
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Perelman School of Medicine
The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In adults bystander compression only CPR has similar outcomes to bystander conventional COR therefore the The American Heart Association recommends untrained lay rescuers perform compression only CPR in adults that have an out of hospital cardiac arrest. In children respiratory arrests are more common therefore conventional CPR with chest compressions and rescue breaths are recommended for out of hospital cardiac arrest.
13 Nov Increased Aortic Stiffness May Explain Elevated Hypertension Risk in African Americans
Posted at 14:22h
in Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Heart Disease, JACC, Race/Ethnic Diversity, UT Southwestern
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_29589" align="alignleft" width="140"]
Dr. Wanpen Vongpatanasin[/caption]
Wanpen Vongpatanasin, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Norman & Audrey Kaplan Chair in Hypertension
Fredric L. Coe Professorship in Nephrolithiasis and Mineral Metabolism Research
Director, Hypertension Section,
Cardiology Division,
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX 75390-8586
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Aortic stiffness is known to be associated with cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure, possibly related to increase afterload to the left ventricle. Previous studies have not directly assessed proximal aortic function among ethnic minorities in the United States. We evaluated the multiethnic, population-based Dallas Heart Study participants (N=2544, 54.2% women, 49.7% Black) who underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) at 1.5 Tesla. Aortic stiffness and characteristic impedance (Zc) were determined from aortic arch PWV and lumen area measurements. Linear regression was used to evaluate ethnic differences in proximal aortic wall stiffness using aortic arch PWV and Zc as dependent variables with and without adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors.
12 Nov Menopause Has Variable Effect on Memory Decline in Women
Posted at 16:38h
in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Gender Differences, Memory, Menopause
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Jill M. Goldstein, Ph.D.
Director of Research for the Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology
Brigham and Women's Hospital and
Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine at Harvard Medical School
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Maintaining intact memory function as we age is one of the primary public health challenges of our time. In fact, women are at almost twice the risk for Alzheimer's disease and it is not only because women live longer. Thus, it is incumbent upon us to understand this sex difference and incorporate the knowledge into the development of sex-dependent therapeutics.
Our study focused on beginning this investigation by understanding how memory circuitry and memory function change over the menopausal transition, when we believe that sex differences in memory aging emerge. By understanding healthy aging, we will better understand how the brain goes awry with age differently in men and women and who might be at highest risk for Alzheimer's disease later in life.
11 Nov Cancer Drugs, Survival and Ethics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29575" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Peter Wise[/caption]
Peter Wise MD
Charing Cross Hospital and
Imperial College School of Medicine
London, UK
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this analysis?
Response: As a medical ethicist, I wished to know how much patients with advanced – metastatic – cancer knew about the drugs that were being used to treat it. What were their perceptions of likely treatment success and how did that tally with our knowledge of what drugs could actually achieve – and at what cost to the body and to the pocket. Did patients actually have a choice – and how did the drugs get approved for use in the first place?
11 Nov Action Video Games Improved Amblyopia In Two Weeks
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? Response: Amblyopia is one of the most common causes of monocular impairment in children, affecting 1 or 2 children in every US classroom. Patching of the fellow eye has been used for decades to improve visual acuity in the amblyopic eye. But patching does not always restore normal vision and does not teach the two eyes to work together. A novel technique originally designed by Drs Robert Hess and Ben Thompson at McGill University that works to reduce interocular suppression by rebalancing the contrast between the eyes has shown promising results in amblyopic adults. Dr Eileen Birch at the Retina Foundation of the Southwest worked with Dr Hess to adapt this contrast re-balancing approach to an iPad game platform suitable for children. Her research showed that the games were successful in improving visual acuity in amblyopic children as well. However, these initial games were rudimentary and resulted in low compliance.11 Nov Successful Expansion and Characterization of Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes from Non-melanoma Tumors
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29564" align="alignleft" width="75"]
Dr. Lotze[/caption]
Dr. Michael Lotze, MD
Chief Scientific Officer, Lion Biotechnologies
San Carlos, CA 94070
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) with Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocytes (TIL) has shown promise in mediating cancer regression which rely on activation in vivo compared to other immunotherapies that utilize genetically modified T-cells. In TIL therapy, autologous administration of TIL expanded outside the body elicits a highly individualized, specific and potent attack against the tumor. Clinical trials conducted at the National Cancer Institute evaluating TIL therapy for the treatment of metastatic melanoma reported overall response rates of up to 56%. The durable responses observed in these metastatic melanoma patients as well as other patients with cervical cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, and head and neck cancer signal the potential for broader application of TIL therapy to treat patients with other solid tumors, currently an area of substantial unmet clinical need. Lion’s study, recently presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, sought to demonstrate the feasibility of culturing and expanding TIL isolated from non-melanoma tumors. We were successful in culturing TIL from tumors obtained from bladder, cervical, head and neck, lung and triple negative breast cancer.