Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Mental Health Research / 29.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Jodie Ingles GradDipGenCouns MPH PhD Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow Conjoint Senior Lecturer, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney National Coordinator, Australian Genetic Heart Disease Registry Research Officer, Molecular Cardiology Centenary Institute Newtown Australia Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Ingles : Sudden cardiac death of a young relative is devastating for the family. Not only are they grieving, but must come to terms with the familial risk to other family members. The clinical and genetic aspects of family management are beginning to be better understood, but there has been a lack of research regarding the psychological impact to family members. We found 1 in 2 family members report significant symptoms of prolonged grief and posttraumatic stress warranting need for specialized intervention by a clinical psychologist. Furthermore, we found those family members who witnessed the death or discovered the decedents body were 3 to 4 times more likely to report these symptoms. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, PNAS / 28.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD and Director of Immunotherapy and professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology Benjamin Greenbaum, PhD Assistant Professor The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai   Medical Research: How did the discovery of the group of non-coding RNA molecules in cancer cells that sets off an immune response come about? Dr. Greenbaum: Our work is a collaboration between my lab, which is computational, and the Bhardwaj lab, focused on cancer immunology. I had previously made the observation that certain RNA viruses were avoiding certain motifs, such as CpG dinucleotide containing motifs, and the Bhardwaj lab tested whether those motifs could set off an immune response. Recent work had shown that tumors transcribe unusual RNA with immunological consequences, so we investigated whether the same sort of approaches we had used for viral RNA worked here. Dr. Bhardwaj: It has recently become clear that, due to epigenetic alterations, tumors transcribe non-coding RNAs that are typically silenced. Often such RNA emanates from the “dark matter” genome. Many of these regions consist of repetitive elements and endogenous retroelements that are rarely transcribed in normal tissue. At the same time, due to immunotherapy, understanding the role of the immune system and immune activation in tumors has become critically important. The activation of specific elements of the innate immune system in a tumor may have either beneficial or detrimental effects for patients. Moreover, recent work has suggested that endogenous element activation can lead to improved immunotherapy outcomes. Therefore, it is critically important to understand the nature of innate immune activation in tumors and what triggers are responsible for these responses. We have been developing methods to detect abnormal patterns in viral RNA that may indicate activation of the innate immune system. We have found that patterns of motif usage avoided in the evolution of viruses, such as influenza, indicate RNA features that provoke an innate immune response. The innate immune system is capable of sensing motifs in viruses. We tested directly whether these avoided patterns are immunostimulatory. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Bhardwaj: We used a novel quantitative approach, derived from methods in statistical physics, to characterize all of the non-coding RNA transcribed by normal tissue and compared them to the non-coding RNA found in tumors. We found that while the non-coding RNA transcribed in normal tissue displays patterns of motif usage consisting with that of coding RNA, the RNA transcribed in tumors, yet rarely found in normal tissue, can have motif usage more typically associated with viral and bacterial genomes. We predicted a handful of such RNA are immunostimulatory and validated this prediction in antigen presenting cells. We then showed that this sensing may come from a subset of the innate immune system associated with pathogen RNA sensing. We called these RNA “i-ncRNA”, for immunostimulatory non-coding RNA. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Columbia, Depression, Geriatrics / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stanford Chihuri MPH Center for Injury Epidemiology and Prevention Department of Anesthesiology Columbia University Medical Center New York City, New York  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: For many older adults, driving is instrumental to their daily living and is a strong indicator of self-control, personal freedom and independence. This study assesses and synthesizes evidence in the research literature on the impact of driving cessation on subsequent health and well-being of older adults. The main findings are that driving cessation in older adults appears to contribute to a variety of health problems, particularly depression. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brain Cancer - Brain Tumors, Dermatology, JAMA / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alexander Egeberg, MD PhD National Allergy Research Centre, Departments of Dermato-Allergology and Cardiology Herlev and Gentofte University Hospital University of Copenhagen Hellerup, Denmark   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Egeberg: There appears to be an overlap in the pathogenesis of rosacea and glioma, focused around matrix metalloproteinases. Rosacea may be associated with an increased risk of glioma, however, it is important to note that the absolute risk is still low. Whether this is a causal link is not known. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition / 27.01.2016

MEDICALRESEARCH.COM INTERVIEW WITH:

Jonathan Welburn PhD Student and Research Assistant Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering University of Wisconsin, Madison Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study addresses rising concerns associated with increasing levels of food imported into the United States.  We use data on FDA import violations to quantify risks to food safety.  Using this data, we provide insight on food safety risks that are not easy to obtain by other means.   Our results suggest that the risk level of imported food is higher for foods from low-GDP countries.  High-GDP countries, on the other hand, may be better able to reduce risks through standards and regulations.  Consequently, importers may wish to pay a little more for products from high-GDP countries or work closely with suppliers from low-GDP countries to ensure good safety practices. (more…)
Annals Thoracic Surgery, Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Outcomes & Safety, Surgical Research / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Christian McNeely, MD Resident Physician, Department of Medicine Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University Medical Center St. Louis, Missosuri  MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. McNeely : Since year 2000, 30-day mortality of aortic valve replacement (AVR) in Medicare beneficiaries has improved. Additionally, mechanical valve use in the elderly, which are often avoided in older patients largely because the risk of bleeding complications outweighs the risk of valve deterioration over time, has fallen significantly. Prior research has demonstrated worse outcomes in cardiac surgery for lower volume centers. Therefore, we sought to investigate the longitudinal relationship between institutional volume and outcomes in AVR using the Medicare database, looking at patients only > 65 years over a 10-year period. We found that, in general, mechanical valve use in the elderly decreased with increasing hospital volume. Lower volume hospitals exhibited increased adjusted operative mortality. Importantly, the discrepancy in operative mortality between low and high-volume hospitals diverged during the course of the study such that higher volume centers demonstrated significantly greater improvement over time compared to lower volume centers. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Melanoma / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: DeAnn Lazovich, Ph.D. Associate Professor Division of Epidemiology and Community Health University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55454 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Lazovich: In Minnesota, as well as nationally, melanoma rates have been increasing more steeply in women than men younger than age 50 years since about the mid-1990s.  Some have speculated that this could be due to women's indoor tanning use, as women use indoor tanning much more than men do.  We had data on indoor tanning for men and women according to their age from a case-control study on indoor tanning and melanoma that was published in 2010.  In that 2010 report, we examined the association for individuals regardless of sex, all ages combined.  In this analysis, we restricted the study to individuals under age 50 years, and looked at the association between indoor tanning and melanoma according to three age groups (less than 30 years, 30-39 years and 40-49 years) for men and women separately. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Smoking / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Timothy Baker, PhD Professor of Medicine University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Baker: Previous research showed that combination nicotine replacement (the nicotine patch plus the nicotine lozenge or gum) and varenicline are the most effective smoking cessation treatments available, yet they had never been directly compared with one another. This study set out to do that, and compare them with the nicotine patch. The present study shows that three medications which were combined with coaching to quit smoking—a pill called varenicline (Chantix), the nicotine patch alone, and a combination of nicotine-replacement medications—all produced about the same abstinence rates among participants at 6- and 12-months after the quit attempt. We were surprised that the patch by itself produced about the same level of success as the other two more intensive medications. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lauren Fiechtner MD MPH Director of Nutrition Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition Massachusetts General Hospital for Children MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Fiechtner: In previous studies, we investigated if distance to a supermarket was associated with a child’s BMI or weight status. These were cross-sectional studies measuring only one point in time. We wondered if distance to a supermarket modified how much children in a behavioral intervention improved their weight or dietary intake. In particular we examined 498 children participating in the Study of Technology to Accelerate Research, which was a randomized controlled trial to treat childhood obesity in Eastern Massachusetts. The intervention included computerized clinician decision support plus a family self-guided behavior change intervention or a health coach intervention, which included text messages to the family to promote behavior change. We found that children living closer to supermarkets were able to increase their fruit and vegetable intake and decrease their BMI z-score more during the intervention period than children living farther from supermarkets. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Colon Cancer, Kaiser Permanente / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Douglas A. Corley, MD, PhD Gastroenterologist and Research Scientist III Division of Research Kaiser Permanente Oakland, CA  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Corley: Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in the United States, so understanding how cancer screening tests for this cancer are used and if they are effective is extremely important. There are two commonly used tests for colorectal cancer screening in the United States: colonoscopy and fecal immunochemical tests (also known as "FIT"). Colonoscopy requires a bowel preparation to clean you out and is invasive but, if normal, it is done infrequently (every ten years). FIT is simple to do at home but, to be most effective, needs to be done every year. This has the advantage of potentially picking up cancers that grow between tests. There are few studies that have looked at how well FIT picks up cancers when used year after year. If a test picks up most cancers, it is said to be very "sensitive" for picking up cancer. Most studies only looked at 1 or 2 years of use for how well FITdetected cancers. It is possible that the first year of use may "clear out" most of the easily detectable cancers and that FIT might not work as well in subsequent years. This very large study over several years at Kaisier Permanente, where we use both colonoscopy and FIT for colorectal cancer screening, looked at whether FIT worked as well at detecting cancer in years 3 and 4 as it did the first time someone used it. We found that the sensitivity was highest in the first year, likely from clearing out cancers that were there for a while and easily detected, but that in subsequent years the sensitivity, though 5-10% lower, remained high. Also, most people who started with FIT continued doing it, suggesting that it is both feasible and effective for colorectal cancer screening. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Diabetes / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Erin L. Abner PhD Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Center College of Public Health, University of Kentucky Lexington, KY  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Abner: Diabetes is an important public health concern, and it has been linked to cognitive impairment and dementia, including dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease, in multiple studies of aging and cognition. Diabetes is considered by many to be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, and there are many good reasons for scientists to have come to this conclusion. But, there are many brain diseases other than Alzheimer’s that cause dementia, and correctly identifying Alzheimer’s in a clinical patient can be deceptively difficult. When we looked at a very large sample of autopsied research volunteers (>2000 persons), we found that brain infarcts were more common among people with diabetes compared to people without, but Alzheimer’s pathology was about the same in both groups. Others have made this observation before, but in much smaller samples. Replicating this finding in a large sample is strong evidence that it is in fact cerebrovascular disease and not Alzheimer’s pathology that should be the primary concern among people with diabetes. In addition, we found that having diabetes was predictive of worsened global cognition at the end of life. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, End of Life Care, JAMA / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joel Weissman, PhD, Deputy Director and Zara Cooper, MD, MSc Associate Surgeon Center for Surgery and Public Health Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, Massachusetts Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: A major priority for providers of end-of-life care is balancing the intensity of a patient’s treatment with quality of life. Previous studies have looked at the intensity of end-of-life care for the general population, but not whether physicians, the group most familiar with end-of-life care, receive more or less intense end-of-life care compared to non-physicians. Research from the Center for Surgery and Public Health (CSPH) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that for 3 of 5 end-of-life care intensity measures, physicians received significantly less intensive end-of-life care than the general population.  The findings are published in the January 19, 2016 issue of JAMA, in a special themed issue focusing on end-of-life care. The analysis included non-health maintenance organization Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older who died between 2004 and 2011 in Massachusetts, Michigan, Utah, and Vermont, and was based on availability of electronic death records and ability to link to Medicare. Researchers used data from these records to look at 5 validated measures of end-of-life care intensity during the last 6 months of life: surgery, hospice care, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, death in the hospital, and expenditures. They then compared these measures between physicians and the general population (excluding other health care workers and lawyers), physicians vs. lawyers, who are presumed to be socioeconomically and educationally similar, and lawyers vs. the general population. There were 2,396 deceased physicians, 2,081 lawyers, and 666,579 people included in the analysis. Overall, physicians were less likely to die in a hospital compared with the general population (27.9 percent vs. 32 percent, respectively), less likely to have surgery (25.1 percent vs. 27.4 percent), and less likely to be admitted to the ICU (25.8 percent vs. 27.6 percent). Physicians were less likely to die in a hospital compared to lawyers (27.9 percent vs. 32.7 percent, respectively), but did not differ significantly in other measures. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Infections / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yvonne Kapila, DDS, PhD Professor, Division of Periodontics Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine University of Michigan School of Dentistry Ann Arbor, MI   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Kapila: Our research showed that the preservative nisin induces cancer cell death. When tested on normal control cells to see if they were affected, the control cells were not affected. Thus, the most recent project began in order to find out more details as to why this occurred. We used a cancer mouse model (head and neck cancer) to show that nisin can retard tumor growth and extent the life of these mice. Another thing that we published about the preservative is nisin’s role on biofilms. Biofilms are communities of bacteria that can cause diseases. Nisin has been tested in bacterial biofilms that contain bacteria that cause gum disease and dental decay and nisin has been found to be effective in this setting as well. In laboratory settings, nisin is also cytotoxic to superbugs, including the most resistant bugs found in hospitals, and therefore nisin holds promise for several therapeutic applications. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Anne Burtey, PhD Department of Biosciences University of Oslo Oslo, Norway Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Burtey: At the site of tumors, cancer cells communicate with normal cells present in the microenvironment. This communication deeply modifies these cells that become “devoted” to tumors, helping the latter in growing, in becoming more invasive. Drugs blocking this communication - or taking advantage of it to spread better within tumors and towards “tumor-helper” cells - may represent a new generation of drugs with increased anti-cancer properties. To develop such drugs, we first need to understand the communication processes at stake between cancer and normal cells. Previous reports suggested that cells communicate by trading entire subsets of components by contact- or secretion-dependent mechanisms. Whereas the latter is rather well studied, the former remains largely unclear. In 2004, our group identified tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) as a cellular feature for contact-dependent communication (Rustom et al., Science 2004). They are thin membranous bridges established between cells that facilitate the cell-to-cell transport of ions, proteins, RNAs, mitochondria and even viruses. That TNTs were observed in a variety of cells including cancer cells suggests that they may represent a general route of communication and play a role in cancer. (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, JAMA, OBGYNE, Vitamin D / 27.01.2016

More on Asthma on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hans Bisgaard, MD, DMSc Professor of Pediatrics The Faculty of Health Sciences University of Copenhagen Head of the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood University  of Copenhagen and Naestved Hospital MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Bisgaard: Vitamin D deficiency has become a common health problem in westernized societies, possibly caused by a more sedentary indoor lifestyle and decreased intake of vitamin D containing foods. Vitamin D possesses a range of immune regulatory properties, and it has been speculated that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy may affect fetal immune programming and contribute to asthma pathogenesis. Asthma often begins in early childhood and is the most common chronic childhood disorder. Observational studies have suggested that increased dietary vitamin D intake during pregnancy may protect against wheezing in the offspring, but the preventive effect of vitamin D supplementation to pregnant women is unknown. In our double-blind, single-center, randomized clinical trial conducted within the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2010 cohort we supplemented 2800 IU/d of vitamin D3 during the third trimester of pregnancy compared with 400 IU/d in the control group. Although the maternal supplementation did not result in a statistically significant reduction of risk of persistent wheeze in the offspring through age 3 years, the interpretation of the study is limited by a wide confidence interval that includes a clinically important protective effect. (more…)
Author Interviews, HIV, PLoS / 26.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Julian Falutz, MD Director, HIV Metabolic Clinic MUHC, Coordinator of Chronic Viral Illness Service, HIV and Aging Clinic McGill University Health Center Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Falutz: The long-term use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV-infected patients is associated with body composition changes, including visceral adipose tissue (VAT) accumulation. HIV-infected patients with excess VAT may be at increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and mortality. Tesamorelin is a synthetic analog of human growth hormone-releasing factor, also known as growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), which is indicated for the treatment of excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected patients with lipodystrophy. The objectives of our paper were to 1) evaluate the utility of patient characteristics and validated disease-risk scores, including indicator variables for the metabolic syndrome and the Framingham Risk Score (FRS), as predictors of  visceral adipose tissue reduction during tesamorelin therapy, and 2) to explore the characteristics of patients who reached a threshold of VAT <140 cm2, a level associated with lower risk of adverse health outcomes, after 6 months of treatment with tesamorelin. The basis of the report was a pooled analysis of the two pivotal, randomized Phase 3 trials of tesamorelin in 806 HIV-infected patients with excess abdominal fat. Our results indicate that presence of metabolic syndrome, high triglycerides, and white race are associated with a greater likelihood of responding to 6 months of tesamorelin treatment. The most robust response appears to be in subjects with VAT above 140 cm2, as well as those in the overweight range for body mass index (BMI) measures. (more…)
Author Interviews, Emergency Care, Hepatitis - Liver Disease, NYU / 26.01.2016

Dr Waridibo Allison MD PhD Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology New York Langone University School of Medicine New York, NY 10016MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Waridibo Allison MD PhD Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology New York Langone University School of Medicine New York, NY 10016 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Allison: It was found that among 383 baby boomers presenting to a large urban emergency department in New York City the prevalence of HCV antibody reactivity was 7.3%. Only four patients were successfully linked to care and only one patient was started on HCV treatment. The study highlights the possibility that there may be problems in linking patients to care from the ED compared to other clinical settings such as primary care and inpatient settings. It was concluded that only with strategies to improve linkage to care could a screening program for baby boomers be recommended in the ED where the study was carried out. The study additionally had a qualitative component and, via structured interviews, evaluated knowledge about HCV infection amongst baby boomers presenting to the ED. Overall knowledge was good but some misconceptions about transmission persisted and many patients mistakenly believed that there is a vaccine for hepatitis C. (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, JAMA, Vitamin D / 26.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Augusto A. Litonjua, MD, MPH Associate Professor Channing Division of Network Medicine and Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Department of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115 USA  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Vitamin D deficiency has been hypothesized to contribute to the asthma and allergy epidemic.  Vitamin D has been shown to affect lung development in utero. However, observational studies have shown mixed results when studying asthma development in young children. Since most asthma cases start out as wheezing illnesses in very young children, we hypothesized that vitamin D supplementation in pregnant mothers might prevent the development of asthma and wheezing illnesses in their offspring.  We randomly assigned 881 pregnant women at 10 to 18 weeks' gestation and at high risk of having children with asthma to receive daily 4,000 IU vitamin D plus a prenatal vitamin containing 400 IU vitamin D (n = 440), or a placebo plus a prenatal vitamin containing 400 IU vitamin D (n = 436). Eight hundred ten infants were born during the study period, and 806 were included in the analyses for the 3-year outcomes. The children born to mothers in the 4,400 IU group had a 20% reduction in the development of asthma or recurrent wheeze compared to the children born to mothers in the 400 IU group (24% vs 30%, respectively; an absolute reduction of 6%).  However, this reduction did not reach statistical significance (p=0.051). (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Memory / 26.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Brian K. Lebowitz, PhD ABPP-CN DIRECTOR OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGY TRAINING Clinical Neuropsychologist Clinical Assistant Professor, Neurology Stony Brook University Medical Center Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Lebowitz: As a lifespan neuropsychologist, my clinical work involves evaluating cognitive concerns in both children and adults.  We know that children with learning disorders, such as dyslexia, often demonstrate difficulties on neuropsychological tests that are seemingly unrelated to reading.  For example, children with dyslexia may have difficulty with auditory processing and short-term memory.  We also know that, for many individuals, learning disorders remain present throughout the lifespan.  Despite awareness of the relationship between reading disorder and other areas of cognitive weakness, many clinicians who work with older adults do not routinely ask about academic/neurodevelopmental history.  Further, little research has assessed the potential impact of lifelong learning disorder on later life neuropsychological test performance. Our study attempted to assess whether or not a history of possible reading disorder increased the likelihood that an individual's performance would fall at a level suggestive of possible Mild Cognitive Impairment MCI), a diagnosis associated with increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease.  Individuals with MCI continue to function normally in everyday life but experience subjective memory problems and identified weaknesses on neuropsychological tests.  Our study found a strong relationship between poor reading ability and low memory test scores on two tests commonly used to evaluate memory complaints in older adults.  Depending on the test, individuals with a suspected reading disorder were two to three-and-one-half times more likely than their peers to score at a level indicative of Mild Cognitive Impairment. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Multiple Sclerosis, Neurological Disorders, Stem Cells / 26.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Zhigang He, PhD, BM Professor of Neurology  and Michela Fagiolini, PhD Assistant Professor of Neurology F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Department of Neurology Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115, USA

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Drs. Fagiolini and He: Brain or spinal cord injury is still a major medical problem and there is no effective treatment of promoting functional recovery. A key issue is the nerve fibers, or axons, connecting different brain regions are damaged and cannot be repaired. For example, the axons in the optic nerve are the only channels transmitting visual signals from eye to brain. If damaged, our brain will not be able to receive visual signals and be blinded. Thus, a logical therapy should be to stimulate damaged axons to regrow to the targets and reconnect the eyes and brain. Studies in the past from us and others revealed several approaches of promoting the regrowth of injured axons, but it was unknown whether these regenerated axons could form functional connections and mediate functional recovery. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Drs. Fagiolini and He:  What we discovered in this study is that these regenerated axons could form functional connections, synapses, in the brain targets, but surprisingly fail to mediate behavioral visual function recovery. In mammals, many long projecting axons are insulated by lipid-enriched myelin sheets which could significantly speed up nerve conduction and facilitate the functional coordination of different brain regions during behavior. Interestingly, we found that different from intact optic nerves, these regenerated axons fail to be myelinated and thus possess poor conductance. When we treat these mice with compounds that can improve nerve conduction, we do observe partial yet significant functional recovery. Thus, there are at least two pieces of information from this study:
  • First, axon regrowth might not enough for functional recovery, nerve conduction could be another hurdle;
  • Second, the combination of these manipulations could serve a proof-of-principle example for achieving functional recovery.
(more…)
Author Interviews, Hand Washing, Hospital Acquired, Nursing / 26.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Donna Powers, DNP, RN Kransoff Quality Management Institute North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System New York, NY  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Powers: Despite widely published, accessible guidelines on infection control and negative health consequences of noncompliance with the guidelines, significant issues remain around the use of Standard Precautions to protect nurses  from bloodborne infectious diseases. Only 17.4% of ambulatory nurses reported compliance with all nine standards. The nurses represented medicine, cardiology, dialysis, oncology, pre - surgical testing, radiation and urology practices. Compliance rates varied considerably and were highest for wearing gloves (92%) when exposure of hands to bodily fluids was anticipated, however only 63% reported washing hands after glove removal.  68% provided nursing care considering all patients as potentially contagious. Overall, the ambulatory care nurses chose to implement some behaviors and not others, and this behavior puts them at risk for acquiring a bloodborne infection.” The study also found knowledge of HCV was variable. Although HCV is not efficiently transmitted by sexual activity, more than one in four nurses (26 %) believed that sexual transmission is a common way that HCV is spread.  14 percent believed incorrectly that most people with HCV will die prematurely because of the infection, 12 percent did not know that HCV antibodies can be present without an infection, and 11 percent did not know there are multiple HCV genotypes. A statistically significant relationship was found between compliance and perception of susceptibility to HCV illness (P = .05) and between compliance and perception of barriers to use of Standard precautions (P=.005). (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 25.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jonathan Muraskas M.D. Professor of Pediatrics and OB/Gyne Neonatal and Maternal Fetal Medicine Director Neonatal-Perinatal Research Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine Loyola University Medical Center Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Dr. Muraskas: Multiple studies over the years have demonstrated that only 15% of cerebral palsy is due to the birthing process. In other words, a normal pregnancy is 7000 hours and lawyers frequently only focus on the last 2 hours. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hip Fractures, Medical Imaging, Osteoporosis / 25.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Margaret L. Gourlay, MD, MPH Assistant Professor UNC Department of Family Medicine Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7595 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Gourlay: While clinical practice guidelines universally recommend bone density screening for fracture prevention in women aged 65 years and older, minimal data exist to guide bone density screening in older men. We studied how often bone density screening tests should be ordered in men, using data from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study. MrOS is the largest and longest-running (since 2000) US study of bone density and fracture in men aged 65 and older. After peak bone mass is reached in young adulthood, both men and women lose bone density as they get older. Based on our earlier findings in older women, we expected that men aged 65 and older with higher bone density T-score measurements (T-score >-1.50) on a first (baseline) bone density test would have a substantially longer estimated time to develop the lowest level of bone density (osteoporosis) than men with better baseline measurements. Clinicians want to know the time to osteoporosis because they prescribe osteoporosis treatments to prevent future fractures in elderly patients. As expected, we found that the men with higher baseline bone density had a much slower transition to osteoporosis compared to men with lower bone density. In fact, only nine out of 4203 (0.2%) of men with higher baseline bone density developed osteoporosis after an average of 8.7 years of bone density follow-up. That was much lower than we expected and is good news for men who have favorable scores on their first bone density test. Men who had lower baseline bone density measurements developed osteoporosis faster. Unfortunately, maintaining bone density above the osteoporosis range did not guarantee that men remained fracture-free.   Most of the major osteoporotic fractures (broken hip, spine, wrist or upper arm/shoulder) occurred in men who did not have osteoporosis. This might be because they had accidents or injuries that broke their bones despite their bone density being above the thinnest range. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Autism, Mental Health Research, PLoS, Schizophrenia / 25.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Richard Deth PhD Professor of Pharmacology Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences Nova Southeastern University Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Deth: Vitamin B12 plays a crucial role in regulating and promoting methylation reactions (the attachment of a carbon atom to molecules), including DNA methylation. Recent research has identified methylation of DNA and consequential changes in gene expression as crucial factors in brain development, as well as in memory formation and maintenance of brain function during aging. More specifically, the cause(s) of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism remain obscure, although numerous studies have demonstrated oxidative stress and low plasma levels of the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) in autism.  Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Deth: We found that brain levels of vitamin B12, especially the methylation-regulating form known as methylB12, decrease significantly with age, even though blood levels don’t show a similar decrease. Importantly, much lower levels of methylB12 were found in subjects with autism and schizophrenia compared to normal subjects of a similar age. Animal studies showed that impaired GSH formation is associated with decreased brain B12 levels. (more…)
Author Interviews, Tobacco / 25.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Terry Gordon, PhD Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and at New York University's College of Global Public Health  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Gordon:I t is well established that the intentional inhalation of tobacco combustion products causes severe respiratory and cardiovascular health effects and, in fact, active smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the US and worldwide.  Importantly, secondhand smoke exposure also causes a range of serious health problems in adults, adolescents, and children exposed in the home or at work. Secondhand smoke exposure can be as harmful as active smoking and is a major cause of both cancer and cardiovascular disease itself, as well as having countless other harmful effects. It was the scientific findings of these effects that led to many clean air regulations across the nation and enabled the FDA to regulate a number of tobacco products.  A growing number of studies in the U.S. and abroad have demonstrated poor indoor air quality in hookah bars, but none have looked at the effect of this on those who work in such establishments. We, therefore, studied whether workplace exposure to secondhand hookah smoke affects the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems.  One of our main findings was that occupational exposure to secondhand hookah smoke produces systemic effects as seen by increases in inflammatory cytokines in the blood after a 10 to 12 hour work shift. This is very worrisome as more and more diseases are being linked to chronic inflammation.  Changes in heart rate suggested that the cardiovascular system was also altered during a single work shift.  The most dramatic effect, however, appeared to be an increase in exhaled carbon monoxide after the work shift.  The low temperature burning of charcoal used to heat the shisha in a water pipe produces large amounts of carbon monoxide, and we observed exhaled carbon monoxide levels as high as 90 ppm, which suggests significant exposure of workers to secondhand hookah smoke and the potential for impairment of hemoglobin to efficiently carry oxygen to the tissues. (more…)
AACR, Author Interviews, Melanoma, NYU, Personalized Medicine / 25.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tomas Kirchhoff, PhD Assistant Professor, Departments of Population Health and Environmental Medicine NYU Langone Medical Center Member, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center NYU Langone  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Kirchhoff: Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, and the cause of approximately 80% of all skin cancer patients annually. One factor that can help reverse this negative trend is efficient prediction of which patients at early melanoma stage will likely progress to more advanced metastatic disease. Current clinical predictors of patient survival, based on tumor characteristics, are important, but are relatively non-specific to inform melanoma prognosis to an individual patient level. It is critical to identify other factors that can serve as more personalized markers of predicting the course of melanoma. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Kirchhoff: In our study, we found that inherited genetic markers that impact activity of certain immune genes correlate with melanoma survival. More specifically, our findings show that patients with more frequent forms of these genetic markers (genotypes) have, on average, a five-year shorter survival than patients with less common genotypes. We suggest that these genetic markers are independent of the current tumor surrogates and, as such, can serve as novel personalized markers of melanoma prognosis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Menopause, Pain Research / 25.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Vincent Martin, MD Professor of Internal Medicine University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Cincinnati OH Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Martin: Past studies have found that the perimenopause is associated with an increased prevalence of migraine headache, but there have been no studies to determine if the frequency of migraine attacks is increased during this time period.  In our study we reported that high frequency headache (≥10 days per month with headache) was increased by 62% during perimenopause (irregular menstrual cycles) as compared to premenopause (regular menstrual cycles).  We later divided the perimenopause into early and late stages.  During the early perimenopause women experience irregular menstrual bleeding while during the late perimenopause women begin skipping menstrual periods for 2-11 months.  Of the two stages the late perimenopause in particular had the greatest likelihood for high frequency headache increasing its risk by 86%.  This could suggest that low estrogen and progesterone levels, which occur when menstrual periods are skipped, might account for the increased probability of headache attacks in women with migraine. The common belief in the medical field is that migraine attacks improve in women during menopause.  To the contrary we found that high frequency migraine increased by 76% during menopause compared to premenopause.  This indicates that a subgroup of women with frequent headaches tend to worsen with menopause.  The increased probability of high frequency headache appeared to be secondary to an increased intake of pain medications occurring during this time period, which could result in “rebound headaches”.  Rebound headaches occur from overuse of pain medications. (more…)
Author Interviews, Duke, Genetic Research, Infections / 24.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ephraim L. Tsalik, MD MHS PhD Assistant Professor of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases Center for Applied Genomics & Precision Medicine Duke University Medical Center Emergency Department Service Line Durham VA Medical Center  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Tsalik: This study was motivated by the convergence of two research interests.  The first was spearheaded by Dr. Sack, leading our collaboration at Johns Hopkins.  Dr. Sack and his colleagues have a long history and expertise in studying enteric infections such as E. coli.  The second is our group here at Duke’s Center for Applied Genomics & Precision Medicine as well as the Durham VA Medical Center.  Specifically, we have an interest in studying the host response to infectious disease.  One of the ways we’ve done that historically is through challenge studies where healthy volunteers are exposed to a pathogen in a controlled setting.  Despite everyone getting the same exposure, not everyone gets sick.  That observation gives us a unique opportunity to study the host biology of symptomatic individuals, asymptomatic individuals, and what distinguishes the two from each other.  That is precisely what we did here. Volunteers ingested Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), which is a common cause of traveler’s diarrhea.  Some subjects became ill with diarrhea while others remained well.  In this study, we focused on gene expression patterns, which is a snapshot of how genes in the body are being used in response to this infection.  Some genes are more active, some are less.  The pattern of those changes that occur in response to infection is what we call a “signature”. This approach allowed us to generate some key findings.  First of all, we were able to define the genes involved in the body’s response to this type of E. coli infection.  Second, we discovered genes that were differentially expressed at baseline that could distinguish people who would go on to become ill from those that would remain healthy.  Although this study was not designed to identify the mechanism for that resilience to infection, it does focus our attention on where to look.  We suspect the genes we identified are likely to play a role in infectious disease resilience and susceptibility based on their known immune function roles.  We also have data, which wasn’t published in this study, that implicates some of these genes in the resilience to other infections such as influenza. The last major finding was something called Drug Repositioning Analysis.  This is a tool that allowed us to identify drugs and drug classes that could be used to mitigate infections caused by ETEC.  That analysis highlighted some compounds already known to be effective such as Zinc.  But it also identified several other drug classes that have not previously been investigated and could be important tools to combat such infections especially as antibiotic resistance looms. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Cancer Research, Heart Disease, Pharmacology / 24.01.2016

More on Heart Disease on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Ian C K Wong Fellow of Royal Pharmaceutical Society Fellow of Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (Honorary) Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Chair in Pharmacy Practice Head of Research Department of Practice and Policy UCL School of Pharmacy London  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Wong: Previous studies had showed an increased cardiovascular risk associated with clarithromycin (a widely used antibiotic) but the duration of effect remained unclear. Therefore, we conducted this study to investigate the duration of cardiovascular adverse effect provided that the risk exists after patients receiving clarithromycin in Hong Kong. We used three study designs to examine the  association (temporal relationship) between clarithromycin and cardiovascular adverse outcomes such as myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, stroke, cardiac mortality at different time points.

We found that there was an increased short-term risk of myocardial infarction, arrhythmia and cardiac mortality associated with clarithromycin in all study designs. However, no long-term risk was observed. In every 1000 patients, there was 1.90 extra myocardial infarction events in current use of CLARITHROMYCIN when compared with the use of amoxicillin.

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