Anesthesiology, Author Interviews, Pain Research, Surgical Research / 30.08.2014

Ian Gilron, MD, MSc, FRCPC Director of Clinical Pain Research Professor of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, Biomedical & Molecular Sciences, and Center for Neuroscience Studies Queen's University Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, CanadaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ian Gilron, MD, MSc, FRCPC Director of Clinical Pain Research Professor of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, Biomedical & Molecular Sciences, and Center for Neuroscience Studies Queen's University Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Gilron: Pain is the most common symptom which prevents recovery from surgery. Even with the best available treatments today, many patients still suffer from moderate to severe pain after surgery. Antidepressants - drugs used to treat depression - are also proven effective for treating chronic pain due to nerve disease and fibromyalgia. However, there has been much less research on the effects of antidepressant drugs on pain after surgery. Our group conducted a systematic review of all published clinical trials of antidepressant for post surgical pain. Slightly more than half of these studies suggested some benefit of these drugs but the details of this review led us to conclude that there is not yet enough evidence to recommend these medications for post surgical pain treatment. Given the possibility that these medications could be useful treatments for pain after surgery, we believe that future studies of higher scientific quality and which involve larger numbers of patients should be carried out in the hopes of finding safer and more effective treatments for pain after surgery.
Anesthesiology, Fish, PLoS, Toxin Research / 20.08.2014

Prof. Peter B. Marko Department of Biology University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Honolulu, HawaiiMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Peter B. Marko Department of Biology University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study Prof. Marko: The main finding of the study was that species substitutions and fishery stock substitutions together obscure a complex pattern of mercury contamination in Chilean sea bass (or Patagonian toothfish) that can put consumers unknowingly at risk of ingesting greater levels of mercury than the labeling would suggest.  Although it is well appreciated that mercury levels vary dramatically among different species of fish, and that species substitutions have the potential to expose consumers to unwanted mercury, our study shows that for Chilean sea bass, fish mislabeled as to their country or region of origin (but labeled as the correct species) have a high potential to expose consumers to unexpectedly high levels of mercury.
Anesthesiology, Author Interviews, Karolinski Institute / 19.08.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jan G. Jakobsson Institution for Clinical Science Karolinska Institutet, Danderyds Hospital Stockholm, Sweden Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Jakobsson:  We found that anaesthesiologists and nurse anaesthetists were concerned about the risk for neurocognitive side effects, but there routines and practice for preoperative identification of patients at risk, intraoperative management to minimise risk and assessment and management of patients showing signs and/or symptoms of neurocognitive side effects after anaesthesia was rarely at place.
Anesthesiology, Author Interviews, Emergency Care / 01.08.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lindsay Cohen MD Department of Emergency Medicine University of British Columbia Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Cohen: In our systematic review of the literature, we sought to synthesize the available evidence on the effect of ketamine on clinical outcomes as compared to other sedative agents in intubated patients. Our outcomes of interest included intracranial and cerebral perfusion pressures, neurologic outcomes, ICU length of stay, and mortality. We included only randomized controlled trials and prospective controlled studies, and identified a total of ten studies that met our inclusion criteria. Due to the lack of homogeneity in the studies, data was analyzed in a qualitative manner. None of the studies reported significant differences between ketamine and other sedative agents for any of our outcomes of interest.
Anesthesiology, Author Interviews, Menopause / 04.11.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: David Walega, MD Chief of the Division of Pain Medicine Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.David Walega, MD Chief of the Division of Pain Medicine Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Walega: Patients who underwent a single stellate ganglion injection with a local anesthetic had a 50% decrease in moderate -to- very severe hot flashes and this effect appeared to last thru the 6 month duration of the study; the placebo or "sham control" group had injections of saline and they did not demonstrate long-term improvements in hot flash symptoms
Anesthesiology, Author Interviews, Duke, Pain Research / 21.07.2013

Ru-Rong Ji, PhD Professor, Chief of Pain Research Department of Anesthesiology and Neurobiology Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC 27710MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ru-Rong Ji, PhD Professor, Chief of Pain Research Department of Anesthesiology and Neurobiology Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC 27710 Neuroprotectin/Protectin D1 protects neuropathic pain in mice after nerve trauma MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found the pro-resolution lipid mediator protectin D1 (PD1), derived from the fish oil DHA, can effectively prevent nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain. This treatment can also prevent nerve injury-induced neuroinflammation in the spinal cord (such as glial activation and expression of cytokines and chemokines, e.g., IL-1b, CCL2). These cytokines and chemokines are known to elicit pain.