BrainHQ Computerized Training Program Improved Cognitive Parameters after Mild TBI

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Mahncke

Dr. Henry W. Mahncke PhD
Research neuroscientist
CEO of Posit Science Corporation

MedicalResearch.com: What makes this study newsworthy?

Response: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) is a complex condition to treat. Patients can report many symptoms (e.g., cognitive deficits, depression, anxiety, stress, fatigue, pain, sleep difficulties, disorientation, emotional issues). Prior to this study, conducted at five military and veterans’ medical centers, there has been no highly-scalable intervention to treat the cognitive deficits associated with mTBI. This study showed that a plasticity-based, computerized, brain-training app can drive statistically and clinically significant gains in overall cognitive performance. Given the number of service members and vets with persistent cognitive deficits from TBIs, that’s a big deal. Continue reading →

Cholesterol Levels in American Youth Improving, But Only Half Have Ideal Lipid Levels

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Marma Perak

Amanda Marma Perak, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) and
Preventive Medicine

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Blood cholesterol is a critical initiator of atherosclerotic plaques in the arteries that can lead to heart attack in adulthood. It is well established that these changes in the blood vessels occur already in childhood. Thus, it is important to know the status of cholesterol levels in youth to inform public health efforts aimed at preventing cardiovascular disease in the population.

In the US there have been changes in childhood obesity prevalence (which may worsen cholesterol levels), the food supply (such as reduction of trans fats which may improve cholesterol levels), and other factors in recent years.

We therefore designed a study to examine trends in cholesterol levels among youth in recent years.

Continue reading →

Perception of Malpractice Risk is Contagious Among Colleagues

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dan Ly

Dan Ly, MD, MPP
Ph.D. Program in Health Policy
Harvard

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: There is some mixed evidence regarding whether state level tort reform reduces defensive medicine, or the practicing of medicine in such a way to reduce medical liability. This includes “positive” defensive medicine, or performing certain tests and procedures to reduce such liability. Other research finds that the perception of malpractice risk drives such defensive medicine, including the use of diagnostic imaging, such as CT scans and MRIs.

I was interested in exploring what influenced the perception of this risk, hypothesizing that, for a physician, a report of an injury against one’s colleague might increase the perception of this risk and lead to an increase the use of diagnostic imaging.

Continue reading →

Telemedicine Expansion to Rural Areas Limited by Lack of Broadband Infrastructure

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Drake

Coleman Drake, PhD
Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Management
Pitt Public Health
University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Telemedicine is frequently proposed as a solution to improve access to care in rural areas where driving to the nearest physician can take up to several hours. However, there needs to be sufficient broadband infrastructure for patients to actually use telemedicine. We found that broadband infrastructure is often insufficient to support telemedicine in the most rural areas, particularly in areas where there is inadequate access to primary care physicians and psychiatrists.

Continue reading →

More Younger People Getting Later Stage Colon Cancer

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Meester

Dr. Reinier G. S. Meester, PhD
Postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Medicine
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Stanford

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Incidence of colorectal cancer has increased for decades in adults under age 50 years in the United States. However, there is still uncertainty regarding the underlying causes of this increase.

We studied the patterns in the stage at diagnosis from cancer registry data to assess whether the increases may be due more common use of colonoscopy in the ages 40-49 years, which account for nearly 3 out of 4 young-onset cases. If the increase in incidence were the result of earlier detection from increased colonoscopy use, earlier stage at diagnosis would be expected, whereas if the increased incidence were the result of true rises in risk, relatively later stage at diagnosis would be expected.

Our results suggest that the incidence of late-stage (metastatic) colorectal cancer increased at almost twice the relative rate since 1995 (2.9% per year) compared to earlier stages (1.3-1.4% per year). Over 1 in 4 young-onset cases are now diagnosed at a late stage vs. approximately 1 in 5 cases in the 1990s.

Continue reading →

COPD: FASENRA™ (benralizumab) Did Not Reduce Moderate to Severe Exacerbations

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Criner

Gerard J. Criner, MD, FACP, FACCP
Chair and Professor, Thoracic Medicine and Surgery
Lewis Katz School of Medicine
Temple University

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: An earlier, Phase II trial of benralizumab found a non-statistically significant reduction in COPD exacerbation rate for patients with eosinophilic inflammation in the airways. In this Phase III trial, the researchers sought to discover whether benralizumab’s ability to deplete the airways of blood eosinophils in patients with eosinophilic inflammation would lead to a reduction in COPD exacerbations.

The Phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group clinical trials GALATHEA and TERRANOVA evaluated the efficacy and safety of benralizumab for the prevention of exacerbations in patients with moderate to very severe COPD, eosinophilic inflammation, and increased risk of exacerbations. Benralizumab is a type of drug called an interleukin-5 receptor alpha-directed cytolytic monoclonal antibody. It is approved by the FDA for the treatment of severe eosinophilic asthma.

Continue reading →

Some Emergency Departments See Drop in Heroin Overdoses

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Alana Vivolo-Kantor, PhD, MPH
Behavioral Scientist, Injury Center
CDC

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: This study analyzed emergency department (ED) data from 23 states funded by CDC’s Enhanced State Opioid Overdose Surveillance (ESOOS) program to understand changes in suspected heroin overdose from 2017 to 2018. Overall there was a significant yearly decrease of 21.5% in heroin overdose ED visits in the 23 ESOOS states.

Overall, the 23 ESOOS states saw a significant yearly decrease of 21.5% in heroin overdose emergency department visits.
Ten states witnessed significant yearly decreases ranging from 12.6% (Massachusetts) to 67.5% (District of Columbia).
Decreases occurred mostly in eastern states (District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Wisconsin).
Three states witnessed significant yearly increases (Indiana, Illinois, and Utah).

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Monitoring overdose fatalities is difficult as a result of time lags in reporting; however, emergency department (ED) data can be used to rapidly detect changes in overdose trends.
This study showcases the importance of using emergency department data as an early warning system for communities so that they can better monitor and respond to overdoses.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Public health agencies need support to develop rapid surveillance of local trends with a standardized national definition of suspected drug overdose, including heroin, that meets their needs
Real-time data on overdoses could be used to guide prevention initiatives, such as distributing naloxone, linking patients to peer navigators, and initiating medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?

The findings in this report demonstrate the local and dynamic nature of this epidemic, and highlights the need for timely regional, state, and local information.
No disclosures.

Citation:

American Journal of Public Health (AJPH)
Suspected Heroin Overdoses in US Emergency Departments, 2017–2018

Alana Marie Vivolo-Kantor PhD, MPH, Brooke Hoots PhD, MSPH, Felicita David MS, and R. Matthew Gladden PhDAuthor affiliations, information, and correspondence details
Accepted: February 23, 2019

Published Online: May 16, 2019

May 22, 2019 @ 12:08 am

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Few Teen Moms Protect Themselves with Condoms and Long Acting Contraceptives

Posted on May 21, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Lee Warner, PhD
Chief of the Women’s Health and Fertility Branch
Division of Reproductive Health
CDC

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Previous research has found lower prevalence of condom use combined with the most effective reversible contraceptive methods among teens, but this is the first study to our knowledge to confirm the finding among sexually active teen mothers in the postpartum period.

Our new paper finds that only 3 in 10 postpartum teen mothers report using condoms combined with a more effective contraceptive method (either long-acting reversible contraception or LARC or a non-LARC hormonal method). Dual use was 50 percent lower among LARC users compared with users of non-LARC hormonal methods.

Continue reading →

Sudden Infant Death Can Occur in Child Seats, esp When Not In Car and Adult Asleep

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Colvin

Jeffrey Colvin, MD, JD
Department of Pediatrics
Children’s Mercy Hospital
Kansas City, MO 64111

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Prior studies have found that infants spend an average of 5-6 hours a day in sitting devices. Sitting devices include car seats, swings, infant seats, and strollers.

Given how much time infants are spending in sitting devices, we wanted to know if sleep-related infant deaths (such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or “SIDS”) was occurring in those devices. We examined over 10,000 infant sleep-related deaths from 45 states. We found that 3% (or 348) of the deaths occurred in sitting devices. Two-thirds of the deaths in sitting devices were in car seats. What was most surprising was that less than 10% of the deaths in car seats occurred in cars. Instead, the great majority occurred in the child’s home or the home of a relative, friend, or babysitter. In 1/3 of the deaths in car seats, the supervising adult was asleep. Continue reading →

Do Hospitals Designated as Centers of Excellence Have Better Outcomes?

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Khatana

Sameed Khatana, MD
Fellow, Cardiovascular Medicine, Perleman School of Medicine
Associate Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
University of Pennsylvania

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: There has been a growing use of quality metrics and indices in the US healthcare system. Much attention has been paid to quality measurement programs used by public payors, however, the use of such programs by commercial payors is much less studied. “Centers of excellence” are one type of quality designation program that is growing in use by commercial payors where certain hospitals are determined to be “high quality” for a certain disease state or procedure based on meeting certain criteria. For some people, this is even impacting the choice of providers and hospitals they can use by payors.

We evaluated centers of excellence programs from three large commercial payors, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield, targeted at cardiovascular diseases and interventions and examined publicly reported outcomes for all hospitals performing percutaneous coronary interventions (cardiac stenting) in New York State.

Continue reading →

Early Life Maltreatment Linked to Increased Risk of Elder Abuse

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

XinQi Dong

XinQi Dong
Director, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Henry Rutgers Distinguished Professor of Population Health Sciences
Professor, Department of Medicine – Division of General Internal Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Interpersonal violence is a substantial public health issue across all socio-demographic and socioeconomic strata globally. A depth of prior studies have found that victims of childhood sexual abuse might have higher risks of re-experiencing sexual violence as adults. But the “re-victimization” phenomenon has been insufficiently examined among the rapidly growing aging populations. There lacks examinations about life-course violence experiences and the accumulative effect of which in older ages.

Our study examined three most common forms of interpersonal violence (child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and elder abuse) across the life span and found an interconnectedness among them. Individuals with a history of child maltreatment and/or intimate partner violence had two to six times higher risks of elder abuse compared to those without a past experience of the violence. Continue reading →

Teleretinal Imaging Improves Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy in Low Resource Setting

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Mr. Thulasiraj

Thulasiraj Ravilla
Executive Director – LAICO &
Director – Opeations
Aravind Eye Care System
Tamilnadu, India

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is a visual consequence of diabetes and various other studies have reported that in India, 10% to 30% of adults with diabetes have DR, with higher rates found in older people and urban areas. Undetected DR leads to vision loss and eventually blindness. Thus early identification of DR is critical to initiate appropriate treatment to reduce the rate of vision loss.

Conventional approaches of requesting diabetologists to refer patients with diabetes to an ophthalmologist has been ineffective due to compliance issues, both by the diabetologists and the patients. Similarly screening through outreach eye camps have not been found to be effective in India and other developing countries owing to inadequate eye care resources. Teleretinal screening for Diabetic Retinopathy is increasingly being used in India. Evidence from randomized clinical trials on the benefits of teleretinal screening is limited. Whatever evidence is there are from high income countries, which often have little relevance to developing countries.

Continue reading →

Intercourse Frequency – Who Compromises More in a Relationship?

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Prof. Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair
Department of Psychology
Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences
Norwegian University of Science and Technology

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Previous studies on intercourse frequency mainly focused on individual data, with no possibility to verify the perceived initiative or frequency. Couples data gave us that possibility. Previous studies had also mainly treated relationship quality as one measure. Therefore it was also interesting to distinguish between various aspects of relationship qualities to try to disentangle how these different aspects were related to frequency of intercourse.

In addition we had some ideas about how a measure of sexual personality or sociosexuality—how interested in short-term sex one is—might be relevant for compromise within the relationship?

Continue reading →

Mortality Rate Increases With Each Sugary Drink

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Jean A. Welsh, RN, MPH, PhD
Departments of Epidemiology and Pediatrics
Emory University
Wellness Department, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: As the evidence has accumulated regarding the health risks associated with sugar-sweetened beverages, I’ve wondered about fruit juices. Though they have a kind of healthy halo, their main ingredients are the same as sugar-sweetened beverages, sugar and water. We know that young children drink a lot of fruit juice, and I’ve wondered if older children and adults might switch to drinking more as concern grows about soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages.

Continue reading →

Are Kids Who Own Tobacco Promotional Materials More Likely To Start Products Like Juul?

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, FSAHM

Professor of Pediatrics
Director of Fellowship Research
Department of Pediatrics
Director of Research, Division of Adolescent Medicine
Associate Director, Adolescent Medicine Fellowship Program
Co-leader, Scholarly Concentrations,
Pediatrics Residency Program
Stanford University

Hoda S. Abdel Magid, MHS, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Department of Health Research & Policy
Stanford University

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Dr. Hoda Magid, my former graduate student, and I wanted to examine whether owning promotional items for e-cigarettes and other non-cigarette products predicted youth use of those products. Other studies have examined whether ownership of coupons, samples, and other promotional materials influenced cigarette use, but no longitudinal study examined other tobacco products.

Our findings show that non-tobacco using youth who own items to promote e-cigarettes and other alternative tobacco products are twice as likely to use alternative tobacco products a year later.

Continue reading →

Laser Microscope Can See and Treat Skin Without Cutting Into It

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Haishan Zeng, PhD
Distinguished Scientist
Imaging Unit – Integrative Oncology Department
BC Cancer Research Centre
Professor of Dermatology, Pathology, and Physics, University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC, Canada

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: We developed a fast multiphoton microscope system that enables clinical imaging of the skin at the level of cellular resolution. With this system, we can see microstructures inside of the skin without cutting into it. We subsequently conceived the idea of directly treating the microstructures that are responsible for disease. We increased the laser power to generate intense localized heat to destroy the targeted structure. In this study, we demonstrated the feasibility of this new treatment by targeting and closing single blood vessels using our new microscope.

Continue reading →

Do Smokers Stick to Cancer Screening Guidelines?

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Sanford

Nina Niu Sanford, M.D.
Assistant Professor
UT Southwestern Department of Radiation Oncology
Dallas TX 75390

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: The background of this study is that smoking is associated with increased risk for multiple cancer types, although the most commonly noted association is between smoking and lung cancer – because of this, lung cancer screening guidelines have been established for current smokers and those who have recently quit.

What is less well known is whether patients who smoke are more or less likely to adhere to screening guidelines for other cancer types.

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: In this study, we found that current smokers were less likely to adhere to national screening guidelines for prostate, breast and colorectal cancer, as compared to never smokers.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: That smokers are less likely to undergo age appropriate cancer screening for several major cancer types. This is important because they are at baseline higher risk for these cancers thus without screening, would be more likely to present at advanced stage. We know that current smoking is a risk factor for worse cancer-specific outcomes, and delayed diagnosis could be one of the contributing factors.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: Further research is needed to identify the barriers to cancer screening among individuals who smoke, such that initiatives can be undertaken to increase uptake of cancer screening among this population.

Citation:

Sanford NN, Sher DJ, Butler S, et al. Cancer Screening Patterns Among Current, Former, and Never Smokers in the United States, 2010-2015. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(5):e193759. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.3759

May 19, 2019 @ 6:32 pm

Cancer Survivors: Insurance Patterns Before and After Affordable Care Act

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Sanford

Nina Niu Sanford, M.D.
Assistant Professor
UT Southwestern Department of Radiation Oncology
Dallas TX 75390

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: The background for this study is that we know cancer survivors are at risk for uninsurance or underinsurance and the most commonly cited reason for this is cost of insurance. However, there have been no prior studies assessing from the patient perspective the reasons for not having insurance.

In addition, there has been further recent controversy over the Affordable Care Act, including threats from the current administration to dismantle it. Thus assessing the impact of the ACA among at risk populations including cancer survivors is timely.

Continue reading →

Why Do Some People Get a Dog?

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Tove Fall PhD
Senior author of the study
Associate Professor in Epidemiology
Department of Medical Sciences and the Science for Life Laboratory
Uppsala University

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Dog ownership is common in the Western society but little is known about what actually makes people get a dog.

We conducted a twin study to understand whether the genetic make-up has an influence on this choice. We found that more than 50% of the differences in dog ownership is explained by genetic variants. Continue reading →

FDA Approves EYLEA (aflibercept) To Treat All Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy, With Two Dosing Options

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Blausen.com staff (2014). "Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014". WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 2002-4436. Illustration depicting diabetic retinopathy

Illustration depicting diabetic retinopathy

Robert L. Vitti, MD, MBA
Vice President and Head, Ophthalmology
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Dr. Vitti discusses the recent announcement that the FDA has approved EYLEA to treat all stages of diabetic retinopathy.

MedicalResearch.com: Can you provide additional background on this approval? Would you briefly explain diabetic retinopathy and it’s impact on patients?

Response: The FDA has approved EYLEA (aflibercept) Injection to treat all stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR). DR is the leading cause of blindness among working-aged American adults. Approximately 8 million people live with DR, a complication of diabetes characterized by damage to the blood vessels in the retina (per 2010 data).

The disease generally starts as non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and often has no warning signs or symptoms. Over time, NPDR often progresses to proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), a stage in which abnormal blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina and into the vitreous cavity, potentially causing severe vision loss.

Continue reading →

Why Do 700 US Women Die of Pregnancy-Related Causes Each Year?

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Peterson

Emily Petersen, MD.
Lead for the Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System
Division of Reproductive Health

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: About 700 women die of pregnancy-related causes each year in the United States. The new analysis provides much-needed perspective on the circumstances surrounding pregnancy-related deaths and summarizes potential strategies to prevent future deaths.

Continue reading →

Drivers with Diabetic Neuropathy May Need Assistance Controlling Accelerator Pedal

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Monica Perazzolo
Research Centre for Musculoskeletal Science and Sports Medicine
School of Healthcare Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering,
Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences
University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Our research on motor control in diabetes focussed on the effect of diabetic peripheral neuropathy on driving. Drivers with diabetic peripheral neuropathy showed a less well controlled use of the accelerator pedal and sometimes larger, faster steering corrections needed to stay in lane when driving a simulator compared to healthy drivers and people with diabetes but no neuropathy.

Despite these negative findings, an important result is that drivers with diabetic peripheral neuropathy demonstrated an improvement in their driving with practice.

Continue reading →

Neurology Residents Learn to Identify Physician Burnout Through Simulation

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Rebecca Stainman
Dr. Arielle Kurzweil MD
Adult Neurology Program Director
New York University School of Medicine
NYU Langone Health

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Physician burnout is prevalent. Neurologists have among the highest burnout rates, ranked third among specialties in a 2011 study, and over half of US Neurologists report at least 1 symptom of burnout in a 2016 survey. Efforts to address burnout in training programs have mostly been aimed at implementing wellness curricula and offering mental health resources.

Training neurology residents to effectively identify, address, and help impaired colleagues is equally crucial in these efforts, yet there is a paucity of literature on this topic. We used simulation as a means of addressing this topic, via identifying and addressing an impaired colleague through an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Continue reading →

Addiction Risk: No One Opioid Safer Than Other After Surgery

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Heng

Marilyn M. Heng, MD, MPH, FRCSC
Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeon
Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
Harvard Medical School

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The ultimate background for this study does come from the larger context of the opioid epidemic that is seen worldwide but particularly in North America. Orthopaedic surgeons should take responsibility as being among the top prescribers of opioids.

The more specific background that led to this specific study was the observation that several colleagues would insist that a drug like hydromorphone was so dangerous that they would not prescribe it but seemed okay prescribing large amounts of oxycodone. It seemed like an urban myth that the type of opioid was what made it dangerous, so that led us to do the study to see if there was evidence for that. Continue reading →

Walking Pace Addresses Fit versus Fat Debate

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Francesco Zaccardi, MD, PhD
Clinical Epidemiologist
Assistant Director Leicester Real World Evidence Unit
Leicester Diabetes Centre
UK

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The role of excess body weight on mortality has been extensively investigated during the last decades. Studies from several countries have also shown, however, that the risk of death in persons who are overweight or obese is lower if their fitness, a parameter indicating cardio-pulmonary health, is higher.

Most of these studies reported the beneficial effect of fitness in terms of relative risk reduction, for example 20% reduction of risk of death. Relative estimates, though, are difficult to interpret. Continue reading →

Caffeine Cravers Really Do Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Stafford

Dr Lorenzo Stafford, PhD, CPsychol
Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology
University of Portsmouth
Portsmouth

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The background to this work was that I had been thinking for sometime on the role of our sense of smell in drug consumption and addiction. Most of the research in this area is dominated by visual processes, in particular showing how cues associated to drugs (e.g. packet of cigarettes, bottle of beer) become conditioned in such drug users. That work has been useful in explaining how in recovering addicts, long after the withdrawal symptoms have subsided, when exposed to such cues, they can nevertheless relapse to craving and consuming the drug; hence though a powerful driver, addiction is not just about reversing withdrawal symptoms.

However, most of our richer experiences are multisensory, so it seems likely that other senses must also play a role in the addictive process. Years ago, I completed a PhD on the topic of caffeine and with the general importance placed on the sensory (especially smell) aspects of coffee, all planted the seed for a possible study. We completed two experiments that examined the lowest concentration at which participants (high, moderate and non-coffee consumers) could detect (Threshold test) a coffee associated chemical (exp 1) and in a separate task, how fast they were at identifying (Recognition test) the odour of real coffee. In experiment 2, participants (coffee consumers and non-consumers) completed the same Threshold test for the coffee odour but also completed a Threshold test for a control odour.

Continue reading →

Doctor, My Close Friend Died and I am Still Grieving

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Prof. Wai-Man (Raymond) Liu, PhD
Associate Professor
Research School of Finance, Actuarial Studies & Statistics
College of Business & Economics Building
The Australian National University

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: In our study, we studied survey responses of over 26,000 people from the largest Australian household survey over a period of 14 years. The survey was funded by the government called “The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey”. The survey was conducted by the Melbourne Institute.

In the survey more than 9,500 of these respondents had experienced the death of a close friend.

Continue reading →

Father’s Age Linked To Pregnancy Problems and Childhood Disorders

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Phillips

Nancy Phillips, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Women’s Health Institute
New Brunswick, NJ

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: The background of this article was as an interest piece prompting a literature review. We both felt it represented an underserved clinical need.

The main findings are that the paternal age at conception does impact pregnancy outcomes, including pregnancy complications, fetal chromosomal anomalies and childhood cancers and psychological disorders. Continue reading →

Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Linked to More Hip Fractures

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Elaine Yu

Elaine W. Yu, MD, MMSc
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Director, Bone Density Center
Endocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is a popular surgical weight loss procedure. We have previously shown that gastric bypass leads to rapid high-turnover bone loss.

Bariatric procedures are being increasingly performed in older adults, and the clinical consequences of gastric bypass-associated skeletal changes in this vulnerable population have been unclear to date. Thus, we used Medicare claims data to investigate fracture risk among older adults after gastric bypass, and in comparison to adults who received another bariatric procedure called adjustable gastric banding (AGB), which is thought to have fewer negative bone effects.

In our analysis, we found that patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass were 73% more likely to fracture than those undergoing AGB. Importantly, we found that hip fracture risk increased nearly 180% after RYGB, and that fracture rates in patients aged 65 or older were similar to the overall group. Continue reading →

T2Bacteria Panel Can Detect Blood Stream Infections in Hours, not Days

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr, Minh-Hong Nguyen

Minh-Hong Nguyen, MD
Infectious Diseases
Professor of Medicine
Director, Transplant Infectious Diseases
Director, Antimicrobial Management Program
Department of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Blood cultures, the gold standard for diagnosing blood stream infections, are insensitive and limited by prolonged time to results. Early institution of appropriate antibiotics is a crucial determinant of improved outcomes in patients with sepsis and blood stream infections (BSI). For these reasons, development of rapid non-culture diagnostic tests for blood stream infections is a top priority.

The T2Bacteria panel is the first direct from blood, non-culture test cleared by FDA for diagnosis of blood stream infections . It detects within 4-6 hours the 5 most common ESKAPE bacteria that are frequent causes of hospital infection, and which are often multi-drug resistant. This study shows that the T2Bacteria panel rapidly and accurately diagnosed and identified ESKAPE bacterial BSIs, and identified probable and possible BSIs that were missed by blood cultures (in particular among patients who were already receiving antibiotics).

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MedicalResearch.com

Medical Research News and Exclusive Interviews. Medical Research, Health and Science News in the Authors' Own Words

Category Archives: Author Interviews

BrainHQ Computerized Training Program Improved Cognitive Parameters after Mild TBI

Cholesterol Levels in American Youth Improving, But Only Half Have Ideal Lipid Levels

Perception of Malpractice Risk is Contagious Among Colleagues

Telemedicine Expansion to Rural Areas Limited by Lack of Broadband Infrastructure

More Younger People Getting Later Stage Colon Cancer

COPD: FASENRA™ (benralizumab) Did Not Reduce Moderate to Severe Exacerbations

Some Emergency Departments See Drop in Heroin Overdoses

Few Teen Moms Protect Themselves with Condoms and Long Acting Contraceptives

Sudden Infant Death Can Occur in Child Seats, esp When Not In Car and Adult Asleep

Do Hospitals Designated as Centers of Excellence Have Better Outcomes?

Early Life Maltreatment Linked to Increased Risk of Elder Abuse

Teleretinal Imaging Improves Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy in Low Resource Setting

Intercourse Frequency – Who Compromises More in a Relationship?

Mortality Rate Increases With Each Sugary Drink

Are Kids Who Own Tobacco Promotional Materials More Likely To Start Products Like Juul?

Laser Microscope Can See and Treat Skin Without Cutting Into It

Do Smokers Stick to Cancer Screening Guidelines?

Cancer Survivors: Insurance Patterns Before and After Affordable Care Act

Why Do Some People Get a Dog?

FDA Approves EYLEA (aflibercept) To Treat All Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy, With Two Dosing Options

Why Do 700 US Women Die of Pregnancy-Related Causes Each Year?

Drivers with Diabetic Neuropathy May Need Assistance Controlling Accelerator Pedal

Neurology Residents Learn to Identify Physician Burnout Through Simulation

Addiction Risk: No One Opioid Safer Than Other After Surgery

Walking Pace Addresses Fit versus Fat Debate

Caffeine Cravers Really Do Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Doctor, My Close Friend Died and I am Still Grieving

Father’s Age Linked To Pregnancy Problems and Childhood Disorders

Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Linked to More Hip Fractures

T2Bacteria Panel Can Detect Blood Stream Infections in Hours, not Days