Blog – Medical Research News and Interviews

09 Jun

Posted at 10:55h in Author Interviews, Brain Injury, NEJM
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Daniel Perl MD Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Professor of Pathology at USUHS and Director of the CNRM's Brain Tissue Repository Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Bethesda, Maryland MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a brain disorder that is predominantly seen in individuals who have suffered from repeated impact head trauma, such as occurs in former boxers or American football players.  CTE has very specific alterations in the brain and can only be diagnosed at autopsy.  Some have claimed that, in addition to former contact sport participants, individuals who served in the military and were repeatedly exposed to blast (explosions) are also at increased risk for developing CTE.  However, this claim has been based on a rather small number of anecdotal cases.  The DoD/USU Brain Tissue Repository is the only facility in the world that is exclusively dedicated to the collection and study of donated brain specimens derived from deceased active duty and retired service members.  We used the resources of this facility to examine 225 consecutively collected brain specimens for the presence of CTE.  This would to provide a view of how common CTE was in this setting and, when diagnosed, was the disease correlated with prior blast exposure, participation in contact sports and other forms of head trauma, and with certain forms of symptomatology such as development of PTSD, alcohol/substance abuse, death by suicide, etc.

08 Jun

Posted at 13:49h in ASCO, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, COVID -19 Coronavirus, NYU/NYMC
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Katherine Garcia MD NYU Langone Health MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: Studies on cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic have shown a decrease in new diagnoses, delays in care, and a shift to later stage disease presentations. Considering that NY has been an epicenter for COVID-19 in the U.S., we investigated its impact on new cancer diagnoses at the two campuses of NYU’s Perlmutter Cancer Center and hypothesized that there would be a decrease in presentations during the peak outbreaks in NY.

08 Jun

Posted at 12:24h in Author Interviews, Diabetes, Kidney Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59231" align="alignleft" width="150"]prof. dr. H.J. (Hiddo) Lambers Heerspink Clinical Pharmacologist Department Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology University Medical Center Groningen Groningen Prof. Heerspink[/caption] prof. dr. H.J. (Hiddo) Lambers Heerspink Clinical Pharmacologist Department Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology University Medical Center Groningen Groningen  MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?    Response: Tirzepatide is a novel GIP-GLP1 receptor agonist recently FDA approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The SURPASS_4 trial demonstrated that in patients with type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular risk tirzepatide compared to insulin glargine markedly reduces Hba1c and body weight. About 1 out of 3 patients with type 2 diabetes and CV disease has kidney disease and these patients are at high risk of kidney failure. The aim of this study was to assess whether tirzepatide could slow CKD progression in high risk individuals with type 2 diabetes participating in the SURPASS 4 trial. 

07 Jun

Posted at 20:35h in Addiction, Author Interviews, Opiods
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59228" align="alignleft" width="125"]Colleen G. Jordan, MBS Department of Medical Education Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Colleen Jordan[/caption] Colleen G. Jordan, MBS Department of Medical Education Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Opioid addiction and misuse remain a prevalent issue in the United States (U.S.). There have been more than one-million drug overdoses in the U.S. since 1999 [1], largely driven by opioids, which exacerbate the strain on resources in hospitals, treatment centers, first responders, patients, and their families. The existing pharmacotherapies for opioid use disorder (OUD) are not working. Naloxone is a competitive mu opioid receptor antagonist used to reverse respiratory and CNS depression in those experiencing an opioid overdose but requires further dosing to prevent subsequent overdose. Naltrexone is a competitive mu opioid receptor antagonist, and has extended-release formulations intended to reduce relapse and promote adherence, yet patient noncompliance and retention continue to be limiting factors. Methadone is commonly used to treat opioid addiction as a replacement for illicit opiates but is itself an addictive substance which can result in overdoses [2] and can lead to withdrawal if not closely monitored by a licensed professional. Buprenorphine is currently used to treat opioid use disorder (OUD), and while it reduces illicit drug use, it is less effective than methadone for retaining patients in treatment. For these reasons, there is an urgent need for new opioid misuse interventions. The objectives of this study [3] were to understand the implications of OUD and overdose treatments and determine the strengths and shortcomings of current treatments in comparison with the novel drug candidate methocinnamox (MCAM). These were completed through an extensive literature review into the history of the opioid epidemic in the United States, opioid receptors in the brain, current pharmacological treatments, and the pharmacological properties of MCAM.

07 Jun

Posted at 16:50h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Mental Health Research, Rheumatology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59224" align="alignleft" width="150"]Kelly Gavigan, MPH Director, Data Management and Analytics Global Healthy Living Foundation Kelly Gavigan[/caption] Kelly Gavigan, MPH Director, Data Management and Analytics Global Healthy Living Foundation MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: COVID-19 is of particular concern for people living with autoimmune and rheumatic disease, not only because they have an increased risk of infection but also because of the heightened sense of isolation due to strict social distancing protocols that many patients continue to follow through today. As a result, we wanted to better understand if symptoms among the autoimmune and rheumatic disease patients in our ArthritisPower research registry were impacted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We previously conducted and reported on an analysis of patient reported outcome data from the ArthritisPower registry between the months of January 2020 to April 2021 at the American College of Rheumatology Convergence in 2021. We conducted a follow-up analysis between May and December 2021, which is our area of focus in this particular abstract.

07 Jun

Posted at 16:38h in Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Diabetes, Heart Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59221" align="alignleft" width="150"]HoJin Shin, BPharm, PhD Postdoctoral Research Fellow Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics Department of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts Dr. HoJin Shin[/caption] HoJin Shin, BPharm, PhD Postdoctoral Research Fellow Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics Department of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: The public health burden of cardiovascular disease has been increasing in people with diabetes along with the burden of diabetes itself.
  •  Cardiovascular disease affects approximately one-third of the population with type 2 diabetes and accounts for     50%–80% of their mortality
  • 1 in 10 people in the US has diabetes
Since 2008, the US FDA has recommended post-approval cardiovascular outcome trials to ensure the safety of new glucose-lowering drugs responding to this growing burden of cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes and the potential increase in cardiovascular risk with certain existing glucose-lowering drugs (e.g., rosiglitazone). Notably, SGLT-2i have demonstrated superiority to placebo in reducing the risk of cardiovascular events, including hospitalization for heart failure. Consequently, beginning in 2018, clinical guidelines in the US have recommended SGLT-2i as a preferred second-line treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. As the paradigm of second-line pharmacological treatment for type 2 diabetes has shifted to include the management of cardiovascular risk in addition to glycemic control, this further raised the question of whether SGLT-2i should be advanced to first-line treatment. Since 2019, SGLT-2i have been recommended as a first-line agent for patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease by the European guidelines (the European Society of Cardiology and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes). In the absence of head-to-head RCTs, non-randomized studies using real-world data could provide information on whether SGLT-2i may have greater cardiovascular benefits over metformin more timely than randomized clinical trials among both patients with and without existing CVD. Therefore, we evaluated the risk for cardiovascular events among adults with T2D who initiated treatment with first-line SGLT-2i versus metformin in clinical practice.

06 Jun

Posted at 17:34h in Nutrition, Vegetarians
Vegetarianism is one of the biggest dietary trends. Many people are switching to this lifestyle choice to better their health, reduce their carbon footprint, and do their part in animal welfare. What’s more, many people don’t commit fully; some choose to enjoy meat-free days during the week or month instead. Thus, going vegetarian is more flexible and easier than you might have previously believed. Naturally, there are many health benefits of eating less meat; here, they will be discussed.

06 Jun

Posted at 16:03h in Author Interviews, Gout, JAMA, Kidney Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_16840" align="alignleft" width="124"]Csaba P Kovesdy MD Fred Hatch Professor of Medicine Director, Clinical Outcomes and Clinical Trials Program Division of Nephrology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center Nephrology Section Chief, Memphis VA Medical Center Memphis TN, 38163 Dr. .Kovesdy[/caption] Csaba P Kovesdy MD FASN Fred Hatch Professor of Medicine Director, Clinical Outcomes and Clinical Trials Program Division of Nephrology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center Nephrology Section Chief, Memphis VA Medical Center Memphis TN, 38163 MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  What are the main findings?  Response: Hyperuricemia has unfavorable metabolic effects and has been associated with higher risk of progressive kidney disease and mortality. Despite this, earlier clinical trials have failed to prove a beneficial impact on kidney disease progression from uric acid lowering therapy in patients with preexisting CKD. The effect of uric acid lowering therapy on the development of new onset CKD in patients with normal kidney function has not been well studied. In our large observational study we did not find a beneficial association between newly initiated uric acid lowering therapy (the majority of which was in the form of allopurinol). On the contrary, uric acid lowering therapy was associated with a slightly higher risk of new onset low eGFR and new onset albuminuria, especially in patients with less elevated baseline serum acid levels.

03 Jun

Posted at 17:08h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Nature, Pancreatic, University of Michigan
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59198" align="alignleft" width="200"]Imad Shureiqi, MD, MS Professor, Division of Hematology and Oncology Department of Internal Medicine  Rogel Cancer Center Ann Arbor, MI, 48109 Prof. Shureiqi[/caption] Imad Shureiqi, MD, MS Professor, Division of Hematology and Oncology Department of Internal Medicine Rogel Cancer Center Ann Arbor, MI, 48109 MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?   Response: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a highly lethal form of cancer with rising occurrence, and strategies to prevent and treat the disease are urgently needed. Most cases of pancreatic cancer arise from pre-cancerous lesions called pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN); about 55-80% of adults over forty are estimated to have these low-grade pre-cancerous silent pancreatic lesions. But critical factors that promote the progression of pancreatic pre-cancerous lesions to pancreatic cancer remain poorly defined, especially those easy to target. Findings from this publication indicate that people who have silent PanIN pre-cancerous lesions, even those that are low-grade, could increase their risk of PanIN progression into pancreatic cancer by consuming activators of a nuclear lipid receptor called peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-delta (PPARδ). PPARδ activators can be natural substances, such certain fatty acids like palmitic and arachidonic acid in high-fat diets, or synthetic ones, like Cardarine (GW501516).

02 Jun

Posted at 22:19h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Ophthalmology, USPSTF
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59201" align="alignleft" width="200"]Katrina Donahue, M.D., M.P.H. Professor and vice chair of research Department of Family Medicine University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Dr. Donohue is a family physician and senior research fellow Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research Dr. Donahue[/caption] Katrina Donahue, M.D., M.P.H. Professor and vice chair of research Department of Family Medicine University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Dr. Donohue is a family physician and senior research fellow Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research Dr. Donahue joined the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in January 2020. MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  What are the main findings?  Response: Impaired vision and glaucoma are serious and common conditions facing millions of people nationwide that can affect a person’s independence and quality of life. These recommendations looked at how primary care clinicians can help people who have not noticed any problems with their vision. Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence available to make a recommendation for or against screening adults for glaucoma or older adults for impaired vision in the primary care setting.

24 May

Posted at 10:50h in Abuse and Neglect, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Melatonin, Sleep Disorders
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59191" align="alignleft" width="150"]Jeanne Duffy, MBA, PhD Associate Professor of Medicine Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders Harvard Medical School Dr. Duffy[/caption] Jeanne Duffy, MBA, PhD Associate Professor of Medicine Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders Harvard Medical School MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: Aging is associated with changes in sleep timing, quality and duration, and even older adults without chronic medical problems have shorter and more disrupted sleep than young adults. Many prescription sleep aids increase the risk of nighttime falls, have adverse effects on next‐day cognition, and are associated with increased mortality, and so are not recommended for long-term use in older adults. In previous studies, we and others have shown that melatonin, a hormone secreted at night, increases sleep duration in young adults but only when administered during the day when endogenous melatonin levels are low. We wanted to explore whether melatonin could improve the sleep of healthy adults and whether, like young adults, its impact depends on when during the day the person is trying to sleep.

20 May

Posted at 23:08h in Author Interviews, Education, Fertility, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kathryn S. Smith, BS M.D. Candidate, Class of 2023 Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Chicago, Illinois MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study  Response: There are studies that show women in medicine do not achieve promotion at the same rate as men and that only a minority of women are in the upper levels of leadership such as Department Chairs and Medical School Deans. Since peak fertility coincides with peak career building years, we wanted to explore themes related to career advancement, physician burnout and ultimately whether women were being held back from their potential by the burden of fertility, family building, childcare, and household responsibilities.

20 May

Posted at 11:52h in Author Interviews, BMJ, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Education, Health Care Systems, Sleep Disorders
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59185" align="alignleft" width="150"] Dr. Weaver[/caption] Dr Matthew D Weaver M.P.H., Ph.D. Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders Departments of Medicine and Neurology Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston, Massachusetts MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: The name “resident” stems from the historical practice of resident-physicians residing in hospitals as part of their training. Even after that practice abated, it was common for resident physicians to work 36 consecutive hours followed by 12 or fewer hours of rest. In 1989, the state of New York restricted resident physicians to work no more than 24 consecutive hours and no more than 80 hours per week as part of collective intervention to improve patient safety. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) then followed in 2003 by limiting work hours to an average of 80 per week over a month and no more than 30 consecutive hours of work. Evidence accumulated demonstrating an association between shifts lasting ≥24 hours and adverse resident and patient safety. As a result, the Institute of Medicine convened a review and report on the issue, ultimately concluding that no resident should work more than 16 consecutive hours without sleep. This recommendation, combined with evidence following the 2003 rules, led the ACGME to issue new rules in 2011 that limited first-year resident physicians to work no more than 16 consecutive hours. Our study compares resident-reported patient safety outcomes before and after this 2011 policy change.

20 May

Posted at 10:56h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Gastrointestinal Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59182" align="alignleft" width="150"]Bashar J. Qumseya, MD, MPH, FASGE Associate Professor of Medicine Chief of Endoscopy University of Florida, Gainesville  Dr. Qumseya[/caption] Bashar J. Qumseya, MD, MPH, FASGE Associate Professor of Medicine Chief of Endoscopy University of Florida, Gainesville  MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  What are the main findings? Response: Barrett’s esophagus (BE), is a premalignant condition that can lead to esophageal cancer (called esophageal adenocarcinoma). Both diseases have historically been thought of as diseases of elderly white males. While both diseases have been on the rise in the elderly population, we noted that some cancers are becoming more common at younger ages. We wanted to see if the prevalence of BE and EC are increasing at younger ages.  We aimed to assess the prevalence of BE in and EAC based on age group in a large database of over 5 million patients. 

20 May

Posted at 10:39h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Pharmaceutical Companies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59179" align="alignleft" width="150"]Robert Wild, Ph.D Chief Scientific Officer Dracen Pharmaceuticals Dr. Wild[/caption] Robert Wild, Ph.D Chief Scientific Officer Dracen Pharmaceuticals   MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for the development of sirpiglenastat, i.e., would you briefly explain what is meant by glutamine antagonist? Response: Cancer cells consume and use glutamine for both energy generation and as a source of carbon and nitrogen for biomass accumulation. Many oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes drive large-scale metabolic reprogramming of tumors into glutamine addiction. These highly proliferating tumors create a hostile and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), which is nutrient- depleted, acidic and hypoxic in nature. Sirpiglenastat (DRP-104), is a novel broad-acting glutamine antagonist that inhibits all 10 known glutamine metabolism enzymes. DRP-104 was designed to preferentially inhibit glutamine metabolism in tumors and associated TME and not in normal tissues, providing a large therapeutic window. DRP-104 demonstrates powerful direct apoptotic (cell death) properties and immune modulatory mechanisms through broad remodeling of the TME to infer DRP-104 impacts immune-metabolism. Inhibition of glutamine metabolism leads to:
  • Induction of apoptosis in glutamine-addicted tumor cells leading to substantial single-agent activity and tumor regressions
  • Rebalance of the TME that enhances immune cell infiltration and function
  • Differentiation and modulation of adaptive and innate immune cells toward a highly proliferative, activated and long-lived phenotype for a long-term durable response.

19 May

Posted at 12:37h in Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Transplantation
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59172" align="alignleft" width="150"]Karn Wijarnpreecha, MD, MPH Lead researcher of the study Transplant Hepatology Fellow University of Michigan Dr. Wijarnpreecha[/caption] Karn Wijarnpreecha, MD, MPH Lead researcher of the study Transplant Hepatology Fellow University of Michigan MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can develop in persons who are not overweight or obese (“lean person with NAFLD”) and approximately 10-20% of NAFLD were lean. NAFLD is a multisystem diseases that associated with cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia), or chronic kidney disease. Whether lean persons with NAFLD have lower prevalence of cirrhosis, CVD, CKD than non-lean persons with NAFLD remains inconclusive.

18 May

Posted at 16:27h in Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research, Hepatitis - Liver Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59163" align="alignleft" width="70"]Yujin Hoshida Dr. Hoshida[/caption] Yujin Hoshida, MD, PhD Director, Liver Tumor Translational Research Program CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center Professor of Internal Medicine Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: Liver cancer is the fastest rising cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. with the sharply growing epidemic of obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Late diagnosis at advanced stage is the main reason for the poor survival of liver cancer patients. Therefore, professional societies recommend semi-annual liver cancer screening for early diagnosis. However, it's practically infeasible due to the vast size of patient population (estimated to affect one-fourth of population). Thus, we urgently need tools to identify a small subset of patients with elevated liver cancer risk, on which we can concentrate our effort of screening.

18 May

Posted at 16:16h in Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, JACC, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59166" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr. Amy Kirkham, PhD Assistant Professor of Clinical Cardiovascular Health Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education University of Toronto Affiliate Scientist at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Dr. Kirkham[/caption] Dr. Amy Kirkham, PhD Assistant Professor of Clinical Cardiovascular Health Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education University of Toronto Affiliate Scientist at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: Women who have had a breast cancer diagnosis are at least two-fold and often higher risk of cardiovascular or heart disease compared to women without a history of breast cancer. Older age, higher body mass index, and receipt of chemotherapy treatment that can injure the heart are risk factors for cardiovascular death after a breast cancer diagnosis. Time-restricted eating is a type of intermittent fasting that appears to be easy to follow and to improve some measures of metabolic health but has not been studied in populations with a cancer history. Time-restricted eating simply involves consuming all calorie intake within a specific time window, commonly 8 hours, like between 12 and 8 pm, and then only consuming water or black coffee outside of those hours. We enrolled breast cancer survivors who were aged 60 or older, had an overweight or obese mass index, and were finished chemotherapy treatment in a single-arm trial of time-restricted eating for 8 weeks. We asked participants to restrict their calorie intake between 12 and 8 pm from Monday to Friday with no restrictions on weekend and no further instructions on what to eat.

18 May

Posted at 11:08h in Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research, Colon Cancer
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59158" align="alignleft" width="150"]https://guardanthealth.com/ Dr. Talasaz[/caption] AmirAli Talasaz Ph.D. co-CEO, Guardant Health MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this announcement? Response: On May 2, Guardant Health announced the availability of Shield™, our first blood-based test for the detection of early-stage colorectal cancer (CRC). Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., so this announcement represents a tremendous public health opportunity. Here’s why: This new test will help people identify more CRC at its earliest stages, when it is most treatable. It offers an accurate, easy-to-complete, blood-based approach to CRC screening. It can be completed with a convenient blood draw during any healthcare provider visit. 

17 May

Posted at 19:28h in Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JACC, Statins
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59155" align="alignleft" width="150"]Dr. Raffaele Bugiardini, UNIBO Professor & MD Clinical cardiologist Full Professor of Cardiology at the University of Bologna Prof. Bugiardini[/caption] Dr. Raffaele Bugiardini, UNIBO Professor & MD Clinical cardiologist Full Professor of Cardiology at the University of Bologna MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: Questions about the evidence base for primary prevention with statins continue to emerge from many quarters. It has been argued that prior estimates of statin effects were mainly based on information from both individuals with and without pre-existing cardiovascular disease, which may overestimate the true benefits of statins. Some investigators attempted to quantify the impact of statins on outcomes of women versus men and reported significantly different effect estimates. Others have questioned the benefits of statins in adults 76 years and older as this age group was poorly represented in the randomized trials for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. There is little or no information on concomitant preventive medications in prior work. Thus, how large is the incremental benefit of statin, added to other standard preventive interventions? and is cholesterol a reliable surrogate endpoint to guide prevention of cardiovascular disease?

16 May

Posted at 19:51h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59148" align="alignleft" width="133"]Susannah G. Rowe, MD, MPH Office of Equity, Vitality and Inclusion Boston University Medical Group Boston Medical Center Boston University School of Medicine Boston, Massachusetts Dr. Rowe[/caption] Susannah G. Rowe, MD, MPH Office of Equity, Vitality and Inclusion Boston University Medical Group Boston Medical Center Boston University School of Medicine Boston, Massachusetts MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: We wanted to learn how frequently mistreatment occurs for clinicians at work and how it impacts their occupational well-being. We began to see more anecdotal reports of workplace mistreatment of clinicians even before the pandemic. In the extraordinarily stressful environment we are currently experiencing, with people feeling exhausted and emotionally threadbare on some level, the problem appears to be growing. We also predicted that the burden of mistreatment would not borne be equally. It has often been said that we are all in the same storm but in different boats – some of us are riding out the storm in comfortable ocean liners, while others are paddling in canoes without life jackets. What we are learning, though, is that we are not in fact experiencing the same storm. For example, the increasing intolerance and erosion of public civility we have seen in recent years might show up as minor annoyances for some of us, and actual threats of violence for others depending in large part on our gender and racialized identities. Our relationship to privilege and oppression affects our experiences, creating protections or additional burdens, so when studying clinician occupational well-being, it seemed important to consider how these disparities play out in the workplace. 

15 May

Posted at 17:02h in Author Interviews, Boehringer Ingelheim, NEJM, Pulmonary Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59143" align="alignleft" width="160"]Professor Luca Richeldi MD PhD Chair and Head, Division of Pulmonary Medicine Gemelli University Hospital - IRCCS Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Rome Prof. Richeldi[/caption] Professor Luca Richeldi MD PhD Chair and Head, Division of Pulmonary Medicine Gemelli University Hospital - IRCCS Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Rome MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Would you briefly explain the condition of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis? Response: As you may know, Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive, irreversible lung disease with high mortality. IPF is one of the more common forms of progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases and its symptoms of IPF include breathlessness during activity, a dry and persistent cough, chest discomfort, fatigue and weakness. IPF is considered a “rare” disease, but it affects more than 3 million people worldwide. Currently, there are two approved antifibrotic drugs that slow, but do not stop, the progression of fibrosis. Therefore, there is a need for additional treatments that can be used alone or with existing antifibrotic therapies. Pre-clinical research indicated that phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibition is associated with anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects that may be beneficial in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In this Phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we investigated the efficacy and safety of BI 1015550, an oral preferential inhibitor of the PDE4B subtype, in patients with IPF. Patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive BI 1015550 at a dose of 18 mg twice daily or placebo.

14 May

Posted at 18:05h in Author Interviews, Dermatology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Naeem Bhojani, MD, FRCSC Division of Urology, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), University of Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada David-Dan Nguyen MPH Division of Urological Surgery and Center for Surgery and Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada  MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: In a recent study by our group published in JAMA Dermatology (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/2772818), finasteride use was found to be associated with increased reporting of suicidality and depression in young patients with androgenetic alopecia. This previous analysis suggested that the association between finasteride and depression might be mediated by sexual dysfunction. Building on this work, we conducted this second analysis to examine the association between finasteride use and reports of sexual dysfunction.

12 May

Posted at 17:36h in Author Interviews, Diabetes, Genetic Research, Herpes Viruses
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59137" align="alignleft" width="150"]Prof. Annette Peters PhD Chair of Epidemiology Institute of Medical Information Sciences, Biometry and Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), München-Neuherberg, Germany Prof. Peters[/caption] Prof. Annette Peters PhD Chair of Epidemiology Institute of Medical Information Sciences, Biometry and Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), München-Neuherberg, Germany MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  What are the main findings? Response: A large number of genetic, behavioural and environmental risk factors have been identified as contributing to the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, little is known about a potential link between virus infections and type 2 diabetes developments. We had the unique opportunity to use a multiplex assay to measure antibodies for herpes viruses by the Waterboer laboratory at the German Cancer Center in Heidelberg and set out to investigate the potential associations in the prospective KORA cohort. First of all, we detected that herpes virus antibodies were highly prevalent in the study population at baseline and increased with age. We found an association between Herpes simplex virus 2 and cytomegalovirus and type 2 diabetes during a seven year follow-up. These associations were robust against controlling for other known risk factors.

12 May

Posted at 10:00h in Pain Research

So many people are interested in finding alternatives to pain relief. Chiropractic treatment is just one of the many treatment options out there and this is especially the case if you are dealing with any kind of back or neck pain. If you want to find out some of the...

05 May

Posted at 22:00h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, NIH, Race/Ethnic Diversity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59128" align="alignleft" width="125"]Megan Clarke, Ph.D., M.H.S., Earl Stadtman Investigator Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics National Cancer Institute Dr. Clarke[/caption] Megan Clarke, Ph.D., M.H.S., Earl Stadtman Investigator Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics National Cancer Institute MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study? 
  • Through our prior work, we have demonstrated that uterine cancer incidence rates have been significantly increasing in the U.S. from 2003 to 2015 and that these increases were primarily driven by rising rates of aggressive (non-endometrioid) subtypes of this cancer. We observed that rates of these aggressive cancers increased among all women and were more than twice as high among Non-Hispanic Black women compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Factors explaining these trends, as well as the disproportionately higher rates of these aggressive subtypes among non-Hispanic Black women, remain unclear, in part because risk factors are poorly understood.
  • In addition to differences in incidence rates by race and ethnicity, we have also observed strong disparities in our prior studies, with Non-Hispanic Black women having substantially lower 5-year survival, regardless of subtype or stage at diagnosis, compared to other racial and ethnic populations.
  • The next logical step, and the focus of the current study, was to evaluate how increases in the incidence of aggressive, non-endometrioid uterine cancer affects racial disparities and rates of death from uterine cancer.

05 May

Posted at 19:33h in Author Interviews, Nature, Neurology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59125" align="alignleft" width="200"]Juan Piantino, M.D., MCR Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Division of Neurology, School of Medicine Director, Inpatient Child Neurology Oregon Health Sciences University Dr. Piantino[/caption] Juan Piantino, M.D., MCR Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Division of Neurology, School of Medicine Director, Inpatient Child Neurology Oregon Health Sciences University  MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?    Response: Astronauts are exposed to several stressors during spaceflight, including radiation, lack of gravity, and sleep deprivation. The effects of those stressors on the brain remain unknown. Is it safe to travel to space? For how long can humans survive in space? What are the effects of spending months under zero gravity? With more extended missions, and an increased number of civilians traveling to space, there is increased interest in understanding what happens to our brains when we leave earth.

04 May

Posted at 16:06h in Author Interviews
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Louis Aronne, MD Co-Founder and Chief Medical Advisor at Intellihealth The Sanford I. Weill Professor of Metabolic Research Weill Cornell Medicine Medical Director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center MedicalResearch.com:  What is the mission of Intellihealth?  Response: The mission of Intellihealth is transforming healthcare to help millions of people live healthier, happier lives through the medical treatment of obesity. Almost half of the US population has obesity but less than 2% are able to get treatment. The lack of available treatment and the stigmatized perception of obesity is what we aim to eliminate.