Blog – Medical Research News and Interviews
19 Aug African Americans Have Highest Rates of Diabetic Macular Edema
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Rohit Varma, MD, MPH
Grace and Emery Beardsley Professor and Chair
USC Department of Ophthalmology
Director, USC Eye Institute
Associate Dean for Strategic Planning and Network Development
Keck School of Medicine of USC
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Varma: Our research demonstrates African-Americans bear a heavier burden of diabetic macular edema (DME), one of the leading causes of blindness in diabetic patients in the United States, compared to Non-Hispanic whites. The study points to a need for improved screening and greater attention to vision loss by clinicians and patients particularly those who are at high risk of developing diabetic macular edema.
19 Aug Fenofibrate Improves Cholesterol Profile in Diabetes
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Michael d’Emden Endocrine Research Unit Royal Brisbane Hospital, Brisbane, Australia Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. d’Emden: Our study is the largest trial of women having type 2 diabetes assessing the role of a fibric acid derivative, in this case fenofibrate, ever conducted. There were 3657 female subjects randomized to placebo or fenofibrate. The study demonstrated greater reductions in women of total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol and greater increases in HDL-cholesterol. In women, fenofibrate decreased total cardiovascular end-points by 30% compared with only 13% in men, although there was no-treatment-by-sex interaction. The majority of end points assessed revealed a consistent trend to increased benefit being seen in women.19 Aug Does Aspirin Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality ?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Mangesh Thorat
MBBS, MS(Surgery), DNB(Surgery), MNAMS
Centre for Cancer Prevention
Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine
Barts & The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London
Queen Mary University of Londonm Honorary Clinical Lecturer
Division of Surgery and Interventional Science Whittington Hospital, London
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Thorat : Accumulating evidence supports an effect of aspirin in reducing cancer incidence and mortality. Our analyses show that for average-risk individuals aged 50-65y taking aspirin for 10 years, there would be a relative reduction of between 7% (women) and 9% (men) in the number of cancer, myocardial infarction or stroke events over a 15 year period and an overall 4% relative reduction in all deaths over a 20 year period. The benefits of aspirin use would be most visible in the reduction in deaths due to cancer. If the findings of our study are applied to the UK general population aged 50-64 taking aspirin for next 10 years, on an average more than 6000 lives will be saved every year.
19 Aug More Intensive Colorectal Cancer Screening than Recommended Often Harmful for Medicare Beneficiaries
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Frank van Hees MSc
Erasmus University Medical Center
Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: Many U.S. elderly are screened for colorectal cancer more frequently than recommended: One in every five elderly with a negative screening colonoscopy result undergoes another screening colonoscopy within 5 years’ time instead of after the recommended 10 years. Moreover, one in every four elderly with a negative screening colonoscopy result at age 75 or older receives yet another screening colonoscopy at an even more advanced age. Our study shows that, in average risk individuals, these practices are not only a waste of scarce health care resources: often they are also associated with a balance among benefits, burden, and harms that is unfavorable for those being screened.
18 Aug Silent Heart Attack Common In Asymptomatic Resistant Hypertension
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Rodrigo Modolo
Department of Pharmacology
Faculty of Medical Sciences University of Campinas–UNICAMP
Campinas, SP, Brazil;
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Modolo: The main findings of this study are the encounter of a high prevalence of silent myocardial ischemia (assessed by myocardial perfusion scintigraphy) in resistant hypertension and the identification of predictors of this alteration in this population.
18 Aug Gender Linked To Health-Related Quality of Life in Young Adults with Heart Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sylvie S.L. Leung Yinko, RD MSc Epidemiology '14 Division of Clinical Epidemiology Research Institute of McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC) Montreal (QC) H3A 1A1 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Our study indicates that young female patients with premature acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have lower health-related quality of life (HRQL) than their male counterparts. Whereas “sex” refers to whether an individual is biologically male or female, “gender” is a more complex term that refers to social norms, roles, and expectations that are traditionally ascribed to males and females in a society. We found that gender, rather than sex, may larger explain the differences in health-related quality of life between men and women. Particularly, higher femininity score, lower social support and greater housework responsibilities appear to be important gender-related factors linked with poorer HRQL post-ACS.18 Aug Many U.S. Elderly Screened for Colon Cancer More Frequently Than Recommended
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Frank van Hees, MSc
Researcher, Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: Many U.S. elderly are screened for colorectal cancer more frequently than recommended: One in every five elderly with a negative screening colonoscopy result undergoes another screening colonoscopy within 5 years’ time instead of after the recommended 10 years. Moreover, one in every four elderly with a negative screening colonoscopy result at age 75 or older receives yet another screening colonoscopy at an even more advanced age. Our study shows that, in average risk individuals, these practices are not only a waste of scarce health care resources: often they are also associated with a balance among benefits, burden, and harms that is unfavorable for those being screened.
16 Aug Protein Blocks Effects of Cancer Fighting Vitamin A Drug
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Devanand Sarkar, M.B.B.S., Ph.D
Harrison Scholar at VCU Massey Cancer Center,
Blick Scholar and Associate Professor
Department of Human and Molecular Genetics
Member of the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine
Virginia Commonweath School of Medicine
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Sarkar: Retinoic acid (Vitamin A) is an anti-cancer drug for a number of cancers including liver cancer. However, all patients do not respond to retinoic acid. Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) is overexpressed in a large percentage of cancer patients and promotes development and progression of cancer. In this study we document that AEG-1 inhibits retinoic acid function. Combinatorial strategy involving AEG-1 inhibition and retinoic acid synergistically blocks growth of human liver cancer cells in animal models.
16 Aug Obesity May Raise Risk of Ten Common Cancers
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr Krishnan Bhaskaran MSc PhD.
Senior Lecturer in Statistical Epidemiology &
National Institute for Health Research Postdoctoral Fellow
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
London WC1E 7HT
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Bhaskaran: Body mass index was associated with the majority of cancer types studied, and for 10 cancers, including some of the most common like colon cancer and postmenopausal breast cancer, higher body mass index was clearly associated with higher risk.
The cancer type that was most strongly related to BMI was uterine cancer, the 4th most common cancer in women. For a woman of average height, each 2 stone (13kg) increase in weight increased risk by over 60%. Body mass index also had particularly large effects on risk of kidney and gallbladder cancers.
In total, we estimated that over 12,000 cases of the 10 affected cancers may be caused each year by excess weight, and that if average body mass index in the population continues to increase, there may be several thousand more cases of these cancers each year as a result.
16 Aug Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators and Reduction in Mortality, Readmissions
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Ryan T. Borne MD
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Division of Cardiology
Aurora, CO 80045
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Borne: Using the NCDR ICD Registry, we identified Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older with low left ventricular ejection fraction (≤ 35%) who underwent primary prevention implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation, including those receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator, between 2006 and 2010 who could be matched to Medicare claims. We found that while there were modest changes in the patient characteristics undergoing ICD implantation, there were significant improvements over time in mid-term outcomes including 6-month mortality, re-hospitalization, and device-related complications.
15 Aug Analyzing the Accuracy of Meta-Analysis Studies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Agnes Dechartres, MD, PhD Centre de Recherche Epidémiologie et Statistique Centre d’Épidémiologie Clinique, Hôpital Hôtel Dieu, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Dechartres: In this study, we aimed to compare treatment effect estimates obtained from the meta-analysis including all trials to several alternative strategies for analysis. These alternative strategies are:- 1) the single most precise trial;
- 2) a meta-analysis including only the largest trials;
- 3) a “limit meta-analysis” that is a type of meta-analysis model recently developed to take into account small-study-effect and
- 4) a meta-analysis restricted to trials at low risk of biases.
15 Aug Coercive Anal Sex Among Young Adults Rarely Discussed
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Cicely Marston Senior Lecturer in Social Science Department of Public Health and Policy London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine London WC1H 9SH Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Marston: Young people talked to us about an oppressive environment where some men compete with each other to have anal sex with women, even if they expect women to find it painful. Women also reported they were repeatedly asked for anal sex by their male partners and on some accounts, women enjoy it websites like https://bitchtopia.com/true-sex-stories/ go into detail about how the women asked for anal sex but we have found this is largely the minority among those we spoke too. Their accounts also raise the real possibility of coercion for young women – who were sometimes put in situations where they are penetrated anally without their explicit consent. Young people often suggested that pain for women was inevitable, or that it was the woman’s fault, ideas that may make them less likely to change their practices to reduce pain. Some young people said they thought STIs were less of a problem for anal sex compared with vaginal sex. Some young men put their own desire to have anal sex ahead of the desires and needs of their partners.15 Aug MRSA Also Common At Body Sites Other Than Nose
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Kyle J. Popovich, MD, MS
Rush University Medical Center
Stroger Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Popovich: Colonization with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at body sites outside the nares was common, with more than half of all colonized individuals having MRSA colonization in the rectal or groin areas. Resistance to mupirocin was uncommon and molecular testing showed no signs of resistance to chlorhexidine gluconate.
15 Aug Once-Only Flexible Sigmoidoscopy for Colon Cancer Mortality Reduction
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Øyvind Holme, MD Department of Medicine, Sorlandet Hospital Kristiansand, Kristiansand, Norway Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology Boston, Massachusetts Department of Transplantation Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Holme: In this population-based trial, we found that once-only flexible sigmoidoscopy screening in asymptomatic 50-64 year old individuals reduces colorectal cancer mortality by 27% and colorectal cancer incidence by 20% after 11 years of follow-up. We found that the incidence reduction is as great in 50-54 year old individuals as in 55-64 old individuals. Addition of a once-only fecal occult blood test to flexible sigmoidoscopy did not lead to a larger reduction in colorectal cancer incidence or mortality compared to flexible sigmoidoscopy screening alone.15 Aug Fluzone High-Dose Vaccine Found More Effective Than Standard-Dose Vaccine
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
David P. Greenberg, M.D.
Vice President, Scientific & Medical Affairs, and Chief Medical Officer
Sanofi Pasteur US.
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Greenberg: The New England Journal of Medicine published positive results from a randomized, double-blind, large-scale, multi-center efficacy trial, which found that Fluzone® High-Dose (Influenza Vaccine) was more efficacious in preventing influenza illness (“the flu”) in adults 65 years of age and older compared to standard-dose Fluzone vaccine. Fluzone High-Dose vaccine was found to be 24.2 percent (95% CI, 9.7 to 36.5) more effective in preventing influenza relative to standard-dose Fluzone vaccine for the primary endpoint (laboratory-confirmed influenza associated with typical clinical symptoms occurring at least 14 days post-vaccination caused by any viral type or subtype). In other words, investigators determined that participants in the Fluzone High-Dose vaccine group were less likely to get the flu than those in the standard-dose Fluzone vaccine group. The study safety data were consistent with previous Fluzone High-Dose vaccine studies.
15 Aug Smokers With Low Educational Level Have Greater Stroke Risk
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Helene Nordahl, MS, PhD Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark. Medical Research: What are the main findings of this study? Dr. Nordahl: The combined effect of low educational level and smoking on the risk of stroke is the most surprising finding of our paper. In other words, we found that...
13 Aug Systemic Inflammation Linked To Depression and Psychotic Disorders
MedicalResearch.com Interview with
Dr Golam Khandaker
Clinical Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry
University of Cambridge
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Khandaker: The study shows low grade systemic inflammation may have a role in the pathogenesis of depression and psychotic disorders. Low grade systemic inflammation may also be a common cause for chronic physical and psychiatric illnesses.
The study shows that higher serum levels of the circulating inflammatory marker, interleukin 6 (IL-6), in childhood is associated with nearly two-fold increased risk of developing depression and psychotic disorder in young adulthood. This association persisted after taking into account effects of age, sex, social class, ethnicity, body mass index, maternal depression, and past psychological and behavioural problem in the participant.
We studied a sample of 4,500 individuals from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children birth cohort, taking blood samples at age 9 and following up at age 18, to see if they had experienced episodes of depression or . We excluded children with an infection at the time of blood test at age 9 years.
13 Aug After Heart Attack: High Dose Aspirin Still Commonly Prescribed
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hurst M. Hall, MD and Sandeep Das, MD, MPH Division of Cardiology University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Most patients treated for a heart attack in the United States during this study period were discharged home on 325 mg of aspirin a day. This was true even among subgroups expected to be at high bleeding risk. In addition, there was tremendous variability in the proportional use of this higher dose aspirin across hospitals, suggesting a prominent local influence on prescribing patterns.13 Aug Acute Atrial Fibrillation: Embolism Complications Lowered By Avoiding Cardioversion Delay
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Juhani Airaksinen, MD, PhD
Heart Center, Turku University Hospital
Turku, Finland
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Airaksinen: The main result of our study is that the risk of thromboembolic complications in general was low (0.7%). However the risk rose to a 3.7-fold level when the delay to cardioversion exceeded 12 hours. The time-dependent increase in the risk of thromboembolic complications was more pronounced in female patients. In addition, as expected, old age, heart failure and diabetes were the other significant predictors of postcardioversion thromboembolic complications.
13 Aug Financial Incentive Improved Operating Room Efficiency
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Thomas M. Scalea, MD
R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, Program in Trauma
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore
Medical Research: What are the main findings of this study?
Dr. Scalea: The main findings of the study was that putting this financial incentive program in place had immediate and dramatic effects on first cases starting on time and turnaround times decreasing in our operating room.
13 Aug Cardiovascular Risks Remain Higher For Women, African Americans
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Susan Cheng MD
Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, MA 02115
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Cheng: We've known for some time that smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity all contribute to a person’s risk of being at risk for heart disease. The goal of our study was to look back over the last two decades and see how we've been doing in reducing the impact of these major cardiovascular risk factors on the actual risk for developing heart and vascular disease. We found that, not surprisingly, we've been doing generally better over time at lowering the overall impact of some risk factors such as smoking and high cholesterol. On the other hand, the impact of hypertension and diabetes has been high and has remained high over time.
13 Aug Even Modest Exercise May Decrease Breast Cancer Risk
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Sylvie Mesrine, Gynecologist, MD Inserm, CESP Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, U1018, Nutrition, Hormones and Women's Health Team, Villejuif, France. Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We wanted to disentangle the effect of recent physical activity (within the previous four years) from the effect of past physical activity (5-9 years earlier) on postmenopausal breast cancer risk. Our most important finding was that recreational/transport physical activity (including walking, cycling and engaging in other sports), even of modest intensity, seemed to have a rapid impact on breast cancer risk: it was quite rapidly associated with a decrease in breast cancer risk, which was however attenuated when activity stops. To our knowledge, our study is the first to independently assess the association between breast cancer risk and recreational physical activity both 5 to 9 years earlier and within the previous 4 years. Furthermore, the association of recent recreational physical activity and breast cancer risk decrease was observed whatever the recent levels of gardening or do-it yourself activities.13 Aug Most Heart Disease Patients May Not Have Angina
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Professeur Philippe Gabriel Steg
Département de Cardiologie
Hôpital Bichat, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
Université Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
Medical Research: What are the main findings of this study?
Prof. Philippe Steg:
- Due to increasing use of angiography and revascularization, as well as improved drug therapy, the prevalence of angina and ischemia has diminished.
- Most of the events (Cardiovascular death or Myocardial Infarction) occur in patients without angina or ischemia. This is very novel and important and stresses the importance of proper secondary prevention over "testing". We cannot be reassured by having a negative test for angina and ischemia.
- Additionally, angina appears associated with a consistently greater risk than ischemia alone (having both is worse), so we need to pay attention to angina as a dire prognostic marker.
- Findings should be no different in the US.
- Most studies of silent ischemia antedate the advent of modern effective therapies or used very liberal definitions for "silent ischemia". (see our discussion)
13 Aug Postoperative Outcomes Using Tranexamic acid
MedicalResearch.com Interview with
Stavros G. Memtsoudis, MD, PhD, FCCP
Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology and Public Health
Weill Cornell Medical College
Senior Scientist and Attending Anesthesiologist
Hospital for Special Surgery
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Memtsoudis: In this large population based study we found that perioperative tranexamic acid administration significantly reduced the need for blood transfusions in joint arthroplasty patients, while not increasing the risk of major complications, including thromboembolic, cardiac and renal events.
11 Aug Breast Cancer Incidence Lower Among Physically Active Women
MedicalResearch.com Interview with
Lynn Rosenberg, ScD
Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University
1010 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Response: With prospective data from the Black Women’s Health Study, we assessed vigorous exercise and walking in relation to incidence of invasive breast cancer . We found that the overall incidence of breast cancer was lower among women who exercised vigorously or walked briskly than among women who were sedentary. The reduction was most apparent among women who exercised at least 5 hours per week. The association of exercise with breast cancer risk did not differ by estrogen receptor status of the breast tumor, but further study is needed to firmly establish this. Sitting for long periods at work or watching television was not significantly associated with breast cancer incidence.
11 Aug Children May Be Inundated With Television Food Ads
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Professor Clodagh O'Gorman
MB BCh BAO MSc MD FRCPI FPAEDS
Foundation Chair & Professor of Paediatrics,
Graduate Entry Medical School,
University of Limerick, Ireland.
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Professor O'Gorman: 1155 cues for food and beverages (BBC=450; RTE=705), were recorded over 82.5 hours; thus, on average one cue was recorded every 4.2 minutes. The total recorded time for food and beverage cues was 3.94 hours, equating to 4.8% of the total recording time, and averaging 13.2 seconds per cue.
If these results are representative of all children’s television broadcast on RTE and BBC, then if your child watches 82.5 hours of television, your child will see 3.94 hours of food and beverages during this time. Unhealthy foods account for 47.5% of specified food cues, and sugar-sweetened beverages for 25% of specified beverage cues, with an average time of 13.8 s for healthy cues and 11.4 s for unhealthy cues (p=0.17).
88.2% of all food and beverage cues involved a major character and 95.3% involved a character ‘goodie’. Male characters were more common than female (45.3% vs 14.0%), adults more common than teens or children (46.3% vs 23.8% and 14.2%). Overweight characters were depicted in 4.7%. The most common ethnic group was white Caucasian (88.5%).
The commonest motivating factor for consuming/depiction of food and beverage was celebratory/social (25.2%), followed by hunger/thirst (25.0%), reward (4.5%), health-related (2.2%) and punishment (1.2%). Motivating factors were positive (30.5%), negative (1.5%) and health-related (25.8%). Cue outcomes were positive (32.6%), negative (19.8%) and neutral (47.5%).
11 Aug How Many Patients Sent Home From ER With Gallbladder Pain Eventually Need Surgery?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Juliane Bingener-Casey, M.D.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Bingener-Casey: “About half of patients seeking emergency care for gallbladder problems were immediately admitted and underwent urgent cholecystectomy, the other half went home. The half that went home was younger and had lower WBC counts, lower neutrophils and less people with elevated temperature than the patients immediately admitted. Of the half that went home, 31% returned at least once to the ED within 30 days and 20% were admitted to undergo urgent cholecystectomy after the return visit, 55% percent of those within 7 days of the initial ED visit. Patients who failed the elective treatment plan had similar WBC counts but were more likely to have an ASA >3, slightly higher creatinine and higher average maximum VAS pain score. Patients who were less than 40 years old or older than 60 years were more likely to fail the elective pathway.”
11 Aug Retinopathy of Prematurity: Bevacizumab vs Laser Treatment
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Helen A. Mintz-Hittner, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Alfred W. Lasher, III, Professor of Ophthalmology
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
The University of Texas Health Science Center
at Houston-Medical School
Cizik Eye Clinic
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Mintz-Hittner:
- For retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), at age 2 ½ years, intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) injections cause less myopia (nearsightedness) in diopters (D) compared to conventional laser therapy (CLT):f
- or Zone I: -1.51 D versus -8.44 D (7 diopters difference: p = 0.001. for Posterior Zone II: -0.58 D versus -5.83 D (5 diopters difference: p = 0.001.