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Author Interviews, Duke, Genetic Research, Leukemia, MD Anderson, UT Southwestern / 23.03.2013

MedicalResearch.com Author Interview: Jun J. Yang, Ph.D. Assistant Member Dept. of Pharm. Sci. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Pl., MS313 Memphis, TN 38105 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Yang: We performed a comprehensive survey of inherited genetic variations for their contribution to the susceptibility of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common cancer in children. This is by far the largest study of its kind (in terms of the number of subjects involved), and also the first one to include multi-ethnic populations. We identified 4 genomic loci related to the predisposition to ALL, 2 of which contributed to racial differences in the incidence of ALL.  This study provided unequivocal evidence for inherited susceptibility of childhood ALL and pointed to novel biology of the pathogenesis of this disease. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Depression, Mental Health Research / 22.03.2013

Laura B. Zahodne, PhD Postdoctoral fellow in the cognitive neuroscience division in the Department of Neurology and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain Columbia University Medical Center.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laura B. Zahodne, PhD Postdoctoral fellow in the cognitive neuroscience division in the Department of Neurology and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain Columbia University Medical Center. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Zahodne: Having more depressive symptoms early on in Alzheimer’s disease was associated with more rapid declines in the ability to handle tasks of everyday living, and this relationship was independent of cognitive decline. MedicalResearch.com: Were any of the findings unexpected? Dr. Zahodne: Previous studies have shown that depressive symptoms are associated with more difficulties with thinking and daily activities. This study additionally shows that depressive symptoms herald not only more rapid declines in thinking, but also daily functioning, over time. (more…)
Author Interviews, Metabolic Syndrome, Stem Cells, Transplantation / 20.03.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with Dr. Boelens Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Boelens: For children with Hurler’s syndrome, the receipt of a hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) early in life with the best available human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched donor offers the best event free survival (EFS). Also, HCT with a well matched unrelated cord blood unit is particularly attractive as the unit is readily available. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research / 20.03.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with :Stig E. Bojesen Staff specialist, MD, PhD, DMSci Dept. of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev Hospital DK-2730 Herlev DenmarMedicalResearch.com Interview with Stig E. Bojesen Staff specialist, MD, PhD, DMSci Dept. of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev Hospital  DK-2730 Herlev  Denmark MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?

Dr. Bojesen: The most interesting findings were the increased risk of early death after cancer by decreasing telomere length – measured even before the cancer disease surfaced in the individual. This association was present even after adjusting for all known markers of adverse prognosis. We did not expect this, but it has important implications for how we might apply this marker in the management of cancer patients. The second - and also important and unexpected finding - was the overall lack of association with risk of cancer, after adjustment for the most common ordinary risk factors like age, gender, smoking and so on. This was in contrast to former meta-analyses and many other smaller studies suggesting increased cancer risk with decreasing telomere length. We could reject this hypothesis with considerable statistical power. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, JAMA, Stroke / 19.03.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with Carron D. Gordon, PhD Section of Physical Therapy, University of the West Indies, Mona, Box 126, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Gordon: The walking group showed a 17.6% improvement in distance walked in six minutes (measure of endurance) compared to 4% in the control group and 16.7% improvement in SF36-Physical Component (health-related quality of life) compared to 2.6% in the control group. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition / 18.03.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yoshihiro Kokubo, MD, PhD, FACC, FAHA, FESC Department of Preventive Cardiology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, 5-7-1, Fujishiro-dai, Suita, Osaka, MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Kokubo:  In this study, higher green tea (2 or more cups/day) and coffee (3 to 6 times/week, 1 or more cups/day) consumption were found to be inversely associated with the incidences of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Higher green tea (2 or more cups/day) or coffee (1 or more cups/day) consumption reduced the risks of cardiovascular disease, strokes, and its subtypes, especially in intracerebral hemorrhage (P for interaction between green tea and coffee=0.04). (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 17.03.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with : Verena Sengpiel, researcher Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Response: 1. Coffee, but not caffeine, consumption was associated with marginally increased gestational length but not with the risk of spontaneous preterm delivery. 2. Caffeine intake was consistently associated with decreased birth weight and increased odds of SGA (small for gestational age). This might have clinical implications as even caffeine consumption below the recommended maximum (200 mg/d in the Nordic countries and USA, 300 mg/d according to WHO) was associated with increased risk for SGA. (more…)
BMJ, Brain Injury, Mental Health Research / 15.03.2013

Dr. Anna Nordström MD Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation Medicine, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, SwedenMedical Research.com Interview with Dr. Anna Nordström MD Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation Medicine, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden Medical Research.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Nordström: We have found that low cognitive function and factors related to low socioeconomic status and intoxications are strong independent risk factors for mild traumatic brain injury in men. Medical Research.com: Were any of the findings unexpected? Dr. Nordström:  Our knowledge of risk factors that predispose people to sustaining such injury is limited. Previous research has inferred that mild traumatic brain injuries have important long-term consequences on cognitive function. However, we found similar deficits in cognitive function in subjects that sustained a mild traumatic brain injury before and after cognitive testing. Thus our data suggest that the injury itself may not reduce cognitive function. (more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews / 15.03.2013

MedicalResearch.com Matthieu Picard, MD, FRCPC Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Université de Montréal Montréal, Qc, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Picard: We found that patients reporting a history of penicillin allergy were often treated with penicillins despite their history of allergic reaction to that drug. In this study, which took place in a large tertiary-care academic hospital without allergists on staff, more than half of patients with a presumed penicillin allergy and a need for antibiotics were treated with beta-lactams, a class of antibiotics that includes penicillins and drugs that can cause allergic reactions in penicillin allergic individuals because of cross-reactivity. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Cost of Health Care, JNCI / 15.03.2013

Gabriel Brooks MD Fellow, Medical Oncology Dana-Farber Cancer InstituteMedicalResearch.com Interview with Gabriel Brooks MD Fellow, Medical Oncology Dana-Farber Cancer Institute MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Brooks: First, we found that there is substantial regional variation in Medicare spending for patients with advanced cancer.  For patients with a new diagnosis of advanced stage cancer, spending in the six months following diagnosis varied by 32% between regions in the highest and lowest quintiles of spending.  And for patients who died from cancer, spending in the last six months of life varied by 41% between the highest and lowest spending regions. Second, we tested the association between area-level spending and survival from the time of advanced cancer diagnosis.  We found that there was no consistent association between increasing spending and survival for any of the five cancer sites included in our study (non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreas cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer). (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, PLoS / 11.03.2013

MedicalResearch.com Author Interview: Dr. Donald K. Milton, MD, Dr.P.H dr_donalk_k_miltonDr. Donald K. Milton, MD, Dr.P.H Professor and Director Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health University of Maryland MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Milton: We found that total viral copies detected by molecular methods were 8.8 times more numerous in fine (≤5 µm) than in coarse (>5 µm) aerosol particles and that the fine particles from cases with the highest total number of viral RNA copies contained infectious virus. Surgical masks reduced the overall number of RNA copies by 3.4 fold. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JNCI, Lung Cancer, NEJM / 08.03.2013

Dr. Martin C. Tammemägi Professor (Epidemiology) Brock University Department of Community Health Sciences Walker Complex – Academic South, Room 306 St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1Medical Research.com Author Interview: Dr. Martin C. Tammemägi Professor (Epidemiology) Brock University Department of Community Health Sciences St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1 Medical Research.com What are the main findings of the study?  Dr. Tammemägi: Our study accomplished three things: 1. We presented an updated Lung Cancer Risk Prediction Model, which compared to our previously JNCI-published model, incorporates more predictors but is simpler to use because we changed the way we modeled nonlinear effects. 2. We demonstrated that using the Lung Cancer Risk Prediction Model to select individuals for lung cancer screening was much more effective than using the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) enrolment criteria.  41.3% fewer lung cancers were missed.  Sensitivity and positive predictive value of identifying individuals who develop lung cancer were significantly improved.  Shortly after our NEJM paper was published, Ma et al published in CANCER their findings that 8.6 million Americans are NLST-criteria positive and if they were CT screened under ideal conditions 12,000 lung cancer deaths would be averted.  Our NEJM article findings indicate that an additional 2,764 lives would be saved if the selection criteria had enrolled 8.6 million individuals for screening based on highest risk by our Lung Cancer Risk Prediction Model. 3. Importantly, using NLST data we demonstrated that the beneficial effect of CT screening did not vary by model predicted lung cancer risk. (more…)
Author Interviews, Clots - Coagulation, NEJM / 08.03.2013

Author Interview: Sam Schulman M.D., FRCPC(C) Professor, Division of Hematology and Thromboembolism, Department of Medicine Associate Professor, Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden Director, Clinical Thromboembolism Program Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton General Hospital, Hamilton, OntarioMedicalResearch.com  Author Interview: Sam Schulman M.D., FRCPC(C) Professor, Division of Hematology and Thromboembolism, Department of Medicine Associate Professor, Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden Director, Clinical Thromboembolism Program Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton General Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Response: Similar effect of dabigatran  as warfarin, 92% risk reduction compared to placebo. The risk of bleeding is reduced by almost 50% compared to warfarin but in comparison with placebo there is an increased risk of minor bleeding. No routine coagulation monitoring or dose adjustments are required, making the treatment convenient for patients and physicians. (more…)