Blog – Medical Research News and Interviews
15 Jul More Meals At Home Linked To Reduced Risk of Obesity and Diabetes
Posted at 01:33h
in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Diabetes, Nutrition, PLoS, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Qi Sun Sc.D, M.D., M.M.S.
Dr. Geng Zong, Ph.D., a research fellow
Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Heath
Boston
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: There is growing trend of eating meal prepared out of home in many countries. For example, energy intake from out-of-home meals has increased from less than 10% in mid 60s to over 30% in 2005-2008 among Americans, and average time spent on cooking has decreased by one third. In the meantime, the prevalence of diabetes and obesity of this country keep on growing. In the current study, we followed nearly 100 thousands middle-aged men and women for 26 years. In 1986, we asked people how often their lunch and dinner were prepared at home per week, which will be 14 meals in maximum, and updated this information during follow-up.
We found men and women with 11-14 meals prepared at home per week had 14% lower risk of diabetes compared to those had 6 or less meals prepared at home. If we look at lunch and dinner separately, people with 5 or more lunch prepared at home per week had 9% lower risk of diabetes, and those with 5 or more dinner prepared at home had 15% lower risk of diabetes compared to the group who had 2 or less than lunch or dinner at home per week.
We further investigated whether people with more meals prepared at home had lower risk of obesity or weight gain in our study. In the first eight years of follow-up, participants with 11-14 meals prepared at home had 14% lower risk of developing obesity compared to people had 0-6 meals prepared at home. For men, these people had 1.2kg less weight gain, and for women they had 0.3 kg less weight gain. Furthermore, we found potential impact of having meals at home and risk of diabetes became weaker. This suggest that weight gain could be one gearwheel that links eating meals prepared at home and diabetes risk.
15 Jul After Inpatient Surgery, Over Half Adults Experience Some Loss of Independence
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26055" align="alignleft" width="120"]
Dr. Julia Berian,[/caption]
Julia Berian, MD, MS
ACS Clinical Research Scholar
American College of Surgeons
Chicago, IL 60611
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The US population is rapidly aging and older adults consume a disproportionate share of operations. Older adults experience a high rate of postoperative complications, which can affect quality of life. In this study, function, mobility and living situation are considered together as independent living. The study examined a large surgical database for the occurrence of loss of independence (defined as a decline in function or mobility, or increased care needs in one's living situation) and its relationship to traditional outcomes such as readmission and death after the time of discharge. Patients included in the study were age 65 or older and underwent an inpatient surgical operation. Loss of independence was assessed at the time of discharge. Readmission and death-after-discharge were assessed up to 30 days postoperatively.
15 Jul Tai Chi Studied For Muscular Neck Pain
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26123" align="alignleft" width="133"]
Dr. Romy Lauche[/caption]
Romy Lauche, PhD
Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine (ARCCIM)
Faculty of Health | University of Technology Sydney
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Many people are affected by persistent or recurrent neck pain. So far the only intervention with real benefit is exercise therapy, independent of the type of exercise used. Despite the fact that musculoskeletal disorders including back and neck pain have been found predictive of Tai Chi use, no study to date has investigated its potential in the treatment of chronic non-specific neck pain.
Our study found that 12 weeks of Tai Chi significantly reduced neck pain intensity, and improved quality of life, however no differences were found between Tai Chi and conventional neck exercises. Both interventions were well tolerated, and participants were satisfied with either intervention.
15 Jul Any Amount of Excess Body Weight Associated With Higher Risk of Premature Death
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26066" align="alignleft" width="103"]
Dr. Shilpa Bhupathiraju[/caption]
Dr. Shilpa Bhupathiraju, PhD
Harvard T.H. Chan
School of Public Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We wanted to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality across major global regions. In doing so, we wanted to take into account important methodological limitations which plagued prior reports of BMI and mortality. One such limitation is reverse causality where a low body weight is the result of an underlying illness rather than the cause. Another major problem is confounding due to smoking where smokers have lower body weights than non-smokers but have much higher mortality rates.
Therefore, to obtain an unbiased association between BMI and mortality, our primary pre-specified analysis was restricted to never smokers and those who had no existing chronic diseases at the start of the study.
In this group, we found that those with a BMI of 22.5-<25 kg/m2 (considered a healthy weight range) had the lowest mortality risk during the time they were followed. The risk of mortality increased significantly with excess body weight. A BMI of 25-<27.5 kg/m2 (in the overweight range) was associated with a 7% higher risk of premature death; BMI of 27.5-<30 kg/m2 (also in the overweight range) was associated with a 20% higher risk; a BMI of 30.0-<35.0 kg/m2 was associated with a 45% higher risk; a BMI of 35.0-<40.0 kg/m2 was associated with a 94% higher risk; and a BMI of 40.0-<60.0 kg/m2 was associated with a nearly 3-fold risk. In general, we found that the association of excess body weight with mortality was greater in younger than older people and in men than women. Most importantly, the associations were broadly consistent in the major global regions we examined, including Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, East Asia, and South Asia.
14 Jul Proove Biosciences Introduces Genetic Tests To Complement Pain and Thromboembolism Care
[caption id="attachment_26111" align="alignleft" width="125"]
Brian Meshkin[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Brian Meshkin
Founder and CEO of Proove Biosciences
Editor’s note: Proove Biosciences, Inc introduced three new evidence-based tests to support better clinical decision-making for difficult-to-treat conditions that are influenced by genetics. These conditions include substance abuse, fibromyalgia and venous thromboembolism. The tests are especially relevant in light of the House of Representatives passing the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act (CARA) bill on July 8, 2016 to combat the opioid epidemic.
MedicalResearch.com: Would you update our readers on the significance and implications of the CARA Act? What is the role of genetics in addiction? What is the background for the Proove Addiction™ Profile? How does it aid in addiction management?
Response: CARA is a national piece of legislation to expand access to treatment for drug overdoses and addiction. It also includes some other provisions meant to help address the opioid epidemic. However, there are some serious implications.
First, it does not contain any funding, so it is a bit of a “Potemkin Village”. It is also a bit of a façade because it does not address 50% of the equation. According to the definition of addiction from the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the National Institutes of Drug Abuse (NIDA), about half of substance abuse is due to genetic factors. If you are studying for a test and ignoring half of the material, chances are you are not going to do well on the test. As doctors are confronted with the challenges of objectively assessing pain and knowing which patients are at risk for abuse, they must consider genetics.
The Proove Opioid Risk test combines genetic markers and phenotypic variables into an algorithm to effectively identify patients at low, moderate and high risk for opioid abuse. By knowing this information, a physician can make better decisions about opioids. For low risk patients, a physician can safely prescribe and a patient does not need to fear the opioid prescription they are given – as this is about 50% of the population. For those at moderate risk, a physician can use a greater level of vigilance to monitor those patients with abuse-deterrent formulations, regular urine drug screens, opioid contracts, and other tools to monitor their use. For the small number of patients – less than 10% - that are at high risk, a physician can use alternative forms of pain relief such as interventional procedures or non-opioid analgesics to provide the needed relief to patients.
The Proove Addiction Profile builds on this commitment, by providing genetic data points related to other disorders, such as addictions to alcohol, heroin, cocaine and others. Unfortunately, many patients who screen positive for aberrant behavior, such as having an illicit drug in their urine, are often discharged from care by their doctor. This just gets them lost in the system. By running the Proove Addiction Profile in addition to a urine drug screen, a doctor can better understand the genetic factors associated with the aberrant behavior and refer the troubled patient to an addiction specialist for treatment.
13 Jul Transport System Opens Door To More Drugs Given Orally with Better Brain Penetration
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26107" align="alignleft" width="151"]
Dr. M. N. V. Ravi Kumar[/caption]
M. N. V. Ravi Kumar PhD
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Texas A&M Rangel College of Pharmacy
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The use of ligands for receptor-mediated drug delivery offers potential for improving both the safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals. Research to date, however, has yet to overcome some of the significant challenges of targeted drug delivery, one of which is competitive affinity with endogenous ligands. This competition for the receptor binding site can impair both natural cell processes and uptake of the drug complex across the cell wall.
This article presents a unique, non-competitive active transport strategy for crossing the intestinal barrier. Gambogic acid (GA), as a ligand, was coupled with a polymer called poly(lactic-co--glycolic acid) (PLGA) that in turn can encapsulate drugs forming nanosystems to bind to transferrin receptors within the intestinal wall, which facilitated active gut barrier crossing. The study results show peak plasma concentrations of Cyclosporine A (CsA) in orally dosed rodents at 6 hours with the GA-ladened nanosystems vs 24 hours without GA. Additionally, brain concentrations of CsA are twice as high dosing with PLGA-GA NS compared with PLGA-NS (without GA).
13 Jul Analysis of Multiple MRI and PET Images Detects Earliest Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26102" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Y. M. Medina[/caption]
Dr. Yasser Iturria Medina PhD
Post-doctoral fellow
Montreal Neurological Institute
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We used over 200 peripheral molecular biomarkers, five different neuroimaging modalities and cognitive/clinical measurements to detect spatiotemporal abnormalities in subjects with dementia or with mild signs of cognitive deterioration. By means of a mathematical framework, we reordered all the biomarkers/descriptors considered, according to how much they change during the disease process. The results suggested that, contrary as suggested by more traditional clinical analyses, there are multiple early signs of neurodegeneration, at the molecular level and at the brain’s macroscopic and cognitive state. In particular, we observed notable early signs of generalized vascular dysregulation, which may be supporting the vascular hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease. However, we still need to perform deeper analyzes, in order to clarify the complex causal mechanisms that trigger the disease.
13 Jul Estrogen Patch in Newly Postmenopausal Women May Reduce Alzheimer’s Risk
Posted at 20:46h
in Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Endocrinology, Hormone Therapy, Mayo Clinic, Menopause
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_26098" align="alignleft" width="125"]
Dr. Kejal Kantarci[/caption]
Kejal Kantarci, M.D. M.S.
Professor of Radiology
Division of Neuroradiology
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: A rapid decline in estrogen with menopause may be associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease risk in women. This study was conducted in newly postmenopausal women who received 17β-Estradiol via a skin patch or conjugated equine estrogen orally or placebo.
Those who received 17β-Estradiol patch had reduced β-amyloid deposits, the plaques found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, three years after the end of the hormone therapies.
In the study, women with APOE e4 — one form of the most common gene associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease — who received the 17β-Estradiol patch had lower levels of β-amyloid deposits than those who received placebo.
13 Jul Dietary Supplements Are A $36 Billion Business
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_24349" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Ms. Leigh Purvis[/caption]
Leigh Purvis, MPA
Director of Health Services Research
AARP Public Policy Institute
Editors’ note: In conjunction with the AARP’s new investigative piece, 'Supplement Pills That Promise Too Much', Leigh Purvis, Director of the AARP Health Services Research program discussed the issue of the proliferation of supplements, often with labels that make extraordinary health benefit claims.
MedicalResearch.com: How many Americans use nutritional supplements? How big is the business of supplements?
Response: Supplements are very popular in the United States. This is particularly true for older adults. A recent study found that the proportion of older adults using supplements increased from 52 percent in 2005 to 64 percent in 2011, and the share using multiple supplements grew by nearly 50 percent.
According to the National Institutes of Health, American spent an estimated $36.7 billion on dietary supplements in 2014.
13 Jul Pharmacist-Led Program Reduced Hospital Readmissions Through Improved Medication Adherence
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26091" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Jennifer Polinski[/caption]
Jennifer Polinski, Senior Director
Enterprise Evaluation and Population Health Analytics
CVS Health
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Unnecessary and often preventable hospital readmissions are a growing and costly issue. An estimated one in seven patients discharged from a hospital is readmitted within 30 days, and startlingly, readmissions are associated with more than $41 billion in additional health care costs per year. In addition, evidence suggests that approximately 66 percent of hospital readmissions are the result of adverse health events related to medication non-adherence.
13 Jul Promising Study Evaluates Chemotherapy for Parkinson’s and Lewy Body Dementia
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26087" align="alignleft" width="133"]
Dr. Charbel Moussa[/caption]
Charbel Moussa MD. PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Director- Laboratory for Dementia and Parkinsonism
Clinical Research Director- National Parkinson's Foundation Center for Excellence
Translational Neurotherapeutics Program
Department of Neurology
Georgetown University Medical Center
Washington DC.
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We conducted a pilot open label proof-of-concept study to evaluate the safety and tolerability of Nilotinib in participants with advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) with dementia (PDD) or dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Our primary objective is to demonstrate that low oral daily doses of 150mg or 300mg Nilotinib (compared to 600-800mg in cancer) are safe and tolerated.
Our secondary objectives are that Nilotinib will cross the blood brain barier and may inhibit cerebral spinal fluid Abl. Based on preclinical data we also hypothesized that Nilotinib will increase DA levels. Motor and cognitive functions were also measured as exploratory clinical outcomes. Other exploratory outcomes are that Nilotinib may alter PD-related CSF biomarkers DJ-1 and α-synuclein. As most participants in this study had dementia we also explored the effects of Nilotinib on Alzheimer's Disease-related CSF biomarkers, including Aβ40 and Aβ42, total tau and phosphorylated tau (p-tau).
13 Jul Barefoot Running Changes Strike Pattern in Long Distance Runners
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Marcos Muñoz Jimenez University of Jaén MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Barefoot running has become very popular in recent years and remains a hotly debated topic among runners. The debate about the pros and cons of barefoot running is current. Many coaches consider barefoot training to have an effect on muscle strength and to be important for performance and for preventing injuries. The main objective of this study is to determine what changes in foot strike, inversion-eversion and foot rotation are produced after a 12-week programme of barefoot running with progressive volume at the end of the athletes daily training session. Our data support that a 12-week programme of barefoot running training, applied by progressively increasing the volume of barefoot running, causes significant changes to foot strike patterns with a tendency towards midfoot strike, regardless of running speed.13 Jul Younger Breast Cancer Patients With Radiation and Node Dissection More Likely To Have Post-Op Pain
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_25902" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. Jason Busse[/caption]
Jason Busse PhD
Department of Anesthesia
Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics
McMaster University
Hamilton, ON
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Persistent pain after breast cancer surgery affects up to 60% of patients. Early identification of those at higher risk could help inform optimal management. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies to explore factors associated with persistent pain among women who have undergone surgery for breast cancer. We found that development of persistent pain after breast cancer surgery was associated with younger age, radiotherapy, axillary lymph node dissection, greater acute postoperative pain and preoperative pain. Axillary lymph node dissection increases the absolute risk of persistent pain by 21%, and provides the only high yield target for a modifiable risk factor to prevent the development of persistent pain after breast cancer surgery.
13 Jul Coronary CT Able To Exclude Significant CAD in Patients Scheduled for Valve Surgery
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26076" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. Maksymilian Opolski[/caption]
Dr Maksymilian P. Opolski
Department of Interventional Cardiology and Angiology
Institute of Cardiology
Warsaw, Poland
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Valvular heart disease (VHD) that requires surgery is increasingly encountered in industrialized countries. Of particular interest, the presence of concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with VHD is related to worse clinical outcomes, and various clinical studies suggested that combined valve and bypass surgery reduces early and late mortality. Consequently, in the majority of such patients, pre-operative evaluation for coronary artery disease (CAD) with invasive coronary angiography is recommended. However, provided that most patients with valvular heart disease are found to have no significant coronary stenoses, coronary computed tomography angiography (coronary CTA) appears as an extremely appealing noninvasive alternative to invasive coronary angiography for exclusion of significant CAD. This is further justified when the risks of angiography outweigh its benefits (e.g. in cases of aortic dissection or aortic vegetation).
13 Jul People With Diabetes More Likely To Have Cancer Diagnosis
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26082" align="alignleft" width="159"]
Dr-Iliana-Lega[/caption]
Iliana Lega, MD, FRCPC
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine and a Clinician Scientist
University of Toronto
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Diabetes and cancer share a variety of risk factors that predispose individuals to both conditions. However the exact mechanism of this relationship is unclear. Our study examined differences in cancer diagnosis at different time points around a diagnosis of diabetes. We found two interesting trends.
First, people with diabetes have the highest risk for cancer in the first 3 months following a diagnosis of diabetes.
Second, we found that people with diabetes are also more likely to have had cancer even prior to being diagnosed with diabetes.
12 Jul Larger Wrist Size May Suggest Unhealthy Metabolic Syndrome
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ilaria Cavallari, MD Department of Cardiovascular Sciences University Campus Bio-Medico Roma, Italy MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Obesity is a well-known risk factor for metabolic and cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, more than the amount of adipose tissue, its function plays important roles in the development of CVD. Distribution of adiposity, evaluated by measuring body circumferences, is related to adipose dysfunction. Wrist circumference has been recently associated with insulin-resistance and diabetes. Therefore, body circumferences, wrist circumference in particular, are candidate easy and fast markers of cardiovascular risk, beyond the classical body mass index (BMI).12 Jul Co-infection with HPV and Chlamydia Can Be Asymptomatic and Lead to Infertility
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26136" align="alignleft" width="149"]
Dr. Dejan Nonato[/caption]
Dejan R. Nonato, MD, PhD
Institute of Tropical Pathology and Public Health
School of Medicine
Federal University of Goiás
Goiânia, GO, Brazil
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Human papillomavirus (HPV) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) share the same route of sexual transmission and possess similar risk factors, indicating that co-infection may act synergistically in the induction of epithelial cell abnormalities.
12 Jul MRI Images Demonstrate Why Drinking Water Sometimes Curbs Appetite
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26058" align="alignleft" width="160"]
Guido Camps[/caption]
Guido Camps, MSc PhD candidate
Wageningen University and Research Centre
The Netherlands
Editor's note: The researcher would like readers to be aware that this work is preliminary and has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The background was that we wanted to study gastric distension with actual food. Because using different foods would also change the caloric content, we added water. We wanted to see if we could measure both the stomach and the brain, and what the added distension would feel like to the subjects and what brain effects we could see.
12 Jul US Screening Guidelines Fail To Detect Disproportionate Number of Minorities With Diabetes or Pre-Diabetes
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26052" align="alignleft" width="128"]
Dr. Matthew James O'Brien[/caption]
Matthew James O'Brien MD
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In October 2015, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released new diabetes screening guidelines. This government-supported expert group recommended screening asymptomatic adults who are 40-70 years old and overweight or obese for diabetes. Recent population trends show that racial/ethnic minorities develop diabetes at younger ages and lower weights than whites. Therefore, we sought to determine whether these screening criteria may fail to identify racial/ethnic minorities or other high-risk population subgroups. Our study population was 50,515 patients from federally-funded community health centers, which serve large numbers of minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals.
12 Jul Recurrent Diabetic Ketoacidosis Signals High Mortality Risk
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr Fraser W Gibb MBChB PhD FRCP Edin
Consultant Physician / Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer
Edinburgh Centre for Endocrinology & Diabetes
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We know that diabetic ketoacidosis is associated with a low risk of death in those admitted to hospital but we did not know what the risk of death was in the months and years following discharge from hospital.
We have found that recurrent DKA admissions (more than 5 in a lifetime) are associated with a greater than 1 in 5 risk of death in the following three years compared to a 1 in 20 risk for those with only a single DKA. Recurrent DKA is more common in younger, more socially disadvantaged people.
12 Jul Prediction of Cancer Outcomes Can Be Improved By Genetic Analysis of Tumor
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26042" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. Ana I. Vazquez[/caption]
Ana I. Vazquez PhD
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Precise predictions of whether a tumor is likely to spread would help clinicians and patients choose the best course of treatment. But current methods fall short of the precision needed. We tested whether breast cancer survival predictions could be improved by profiling primary tumor samples with genomic technologies. We found that predictions based on clinical information, such as cancer stage and subtype, improve when they incorporate comprehensive data on which genes are active in tumor samples compared to non-cancerous tissues from the same patient. This is also true for genome-wide methylation data, which maps the parts of the DNA that carry molecular "tags" that influence gene activation. If developed for use in the clinic, our approach could spare some patients from unneeded chemotherapy.
12 Jul Black Heart Failure Patients Have More Readmissions and Lower Mortality Than Whites
Posted at 11:39h
in Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Hospital Readmissions, JACC, NYU/NYMC, Race/Ethnic Diversity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Matthew Durstenfeld MD
Department of Medicine
Saul Blecker, MD, MHS
Department of Population Health and Department of Medicine
New York University School of Medicine
NYU Langone Medical Center
New York, New York
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Racial and ethnic disparities continue to be a problem in cardiovascular disease outcomes. In heart failure, minority patients have more readmissions despite lower mortality after hospitalization for heart failure. Some authors have attributed these racial differences to differences in access to care, although this has never been proven.
Our study examined patients hospitalized within the municipal hospital system in New York City to see whether racial and ethnic disparities in readmissions and mortality were present among a diverse population with similar access to care. We found that black and Asian patients had lower one-year mortality than white patients; concurrently black and Hispanic patients had higher rates of readmission. These disparities persisted even after accounting for demographic and clinical differences among racial and ethnic groups.
12 Jul Does Eating More Often Important Improve Cardiovascular Health?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26078" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Hsin-Jen Chen[/caption]
Hsin-Jen Chen, PhD MS
Assistant Professor
Institute of Public Health
National Yang-Ming University
Taipei City
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The number of eating occasions may affect health. Laboratory experiments have been showing that splitting daily food consumption into more eating occasions could improve metabolic profiles, such as healthier blood glucose and lipids levels. However, such kinds of experiments usually design a highly controlled diet for the participants in the lab. It is questionable whether such metabolic benefits remain in our daily life (namely, no controlled diets) where we can eat at anytime when we want to eat.
12 Jul Malignant Bacteria Infects Brain and Spinal Cord Through Nasal Inhalation
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jenny A. K. Ekberg Eskitis Institute for Drug Discovery Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, School of Medical Science, Griffith University Queensland, Australia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Melioidosis is a tropical bacterial infection that causes around 90,000 deaths world-wide each year. It is caused by the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei which can cause pneumonia and a serious flu-like illness which can cause death, however if the brain is infected, which happens in particular with the Australian variant of the disease, the mortality is particularly high (~25 %). The route by which the bacteria invade and progress through the central nervous system is to date largely unknown. We have now shown in an animal model that the bacteria can penetrate the trigeminal nerve within the nasal cavity and then rapidly invade the brainstem and spinal cord only 24 hours after intranasal inoculation. By migrating along the trigeminal nerve, the bacteria bypasses the blood-brain barrier.This study constitutes the first characterization of the path by which B. pseudomallei bacteria migrate all the way from the nasal cavity into the spinal cord.11 Jul Specific Type of Brain Neurons Control Excessive Alcohol Intake
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:, [caption id="attachment_26029" align="alignleft" width="159"]
Dr. Jun Wang[/caption]
Jun Wang, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics
Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience (TAMU/TAMHSC)
TAMHSC COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
Bryan, TX 77807
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Alcohol use disorder is a big problem for our society and only a limited number of medicine is available. We hope to find more treatment in animal models of alcoholism.
A group of neurons containing dopamine D2 receptors in the brain prevent us from drinking alcohol heavily.
11 Jul Spending on Cancer Center Advertising Tripled Over 10 Years
Posted at 19:00h
in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Cost of Health Care, Health Care Systems, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_25955" align="alignleft" width="160"]
Laura Vater[/caption]
Laura B. Vater, MPH
MD Candidate 2017
Indiana University School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In the United States, cancer center advertisements are common. Previous research has shown that these ads use emotion-based techniques to influence viewers and omit information about benefits, risks, and costs of cancer treatment. There is a concern that cancer center advertising may increase demand for unnecessary tests and treatments, increase healthcare costs, and provide unrealistic expectations about the benefits of cancer treatment.
In this study, we examined cancer center advertising spending from 2005 to 2014, with particular attention to trends within media (television networks, magazines, newspapers, radio stations, billboards, and the Internet) and by target audience (national versus local).
11 Jul Statins Reduces But Don’t Eliminate Risk of CAD In Familial Hypercholesterolemia
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joost Besseling, PhD-student Academic Medical Center Dept. of Vascular Medicine Amsterdam MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: It was unkown to what extent statin therapy reduces the risk for coronary artery disease and mortality in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). One previous study found that the relative risk reduction was 76%, but the study population in this study consisted of with a very severe FH phenotype. This result is therefore an overestimation of the risk reduction in the general heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia population.11 Jul Single Head Injury Linked To Parkinson’s but Not Alzheimer’s Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_25913" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. Paul Crane[/caption]
Paul K. Crane, MD MPH Professor
Department of Medicine Adjunct Professor
Department of Health Services
University of Washington
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The background is that the most common experience of head injury with loss of consciousness is an apparent recovery. Sometimes this is very fast, sometimes it takes somewhat longer, but typically people return to their prior baseline. Nevertheless there is concern that the head injury may have set in motion processes that would lead to late life neurodegenerative conditions. This is bad enough for someone to deal with but it's made even worse if the head injury isn't even the victim's fault. Previous research has focused especially on Alzheimer's disease. A more limited research has focused on Parkinson's disease.
We used data from three prospective cohort studies that included more than 7,000 people to study the relationship between head injury with loss of consciousness and subsequent risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. We collected head injury exposure data at study enrollment, at a time when we administered cognitive tests and knew they did not have dementia, so our exposure data are not biased. Each of these studies also performed brain autopsies on people who died, and we evaluated data from more than 1500 autopsies.
11 Jul Dramatic Increase in the Number of US Adults Living With Congenital Heart Defects
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_25748" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Suzanne Gilboa[/caption]
Suzanne Meredith Gilboa, PhD
Epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Because of advancements in care, there has been a decline in mortality from congenital heart defects (CHD) over the last several decades. However, there are no current empirical data documenting the number of people living with CHD in the United States (US).
The purpose of this study was to estimate the congenital heart defects prevalence across all age groups in the US for the year 2010. Using prevalence data from Québec, Canada in the year 2010 as a foundation for a mathematical model, we estimated that approximately 2.4 million people (1.4 million adults, 1 million children) were living with CHD in the US in the year 2010. Nearly 300,000 subjects had severe CHD. Overall, there was a slight predominance of females compared to males.