Dr. Stevermer[/caption]
James Stevermer, M.D., M.S.P.H.
Vice chair for clinical affairs
Professor of family and community medicine
University of Missouri
Medical director of MU Health Care Family Medicine–Callaway Physicians,
Dr. Stevermer joined the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force in January 2021.
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Child abuse and neglect is a serious problem that affects too many kids and teens across the United States. This type of maltreatment can have a profound effect on their health, development, and well-being, both when they are young and into adulthood.
Dr. DeCarli[/caption]
Charles DeCarli, MD, FAAN, FAHA
Victor and Genevieve Orsi Chair in Alzheimer's Research
Distinguished Professor of Neurology
Director, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
and Imaging of Dementia and Aging (IDeA) Laboratory
Department of Neurology and Center for Neuroscience
University of California at Davis
Sacramento, CA 95817
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The overall health of the U.S. population has improved dramatically over the last 100 years, Individuals are also living longer resulting in an increasing percentage of the population at risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Recent data from the Framingham Heart study, however, finds that dementia incidence may be declining. While many factors such as greater educational achievement and medical management of vascular risk factors may explain part of this effect, early life environmental differences also likely contribute.
Dr. Raman[/caption]
Steven S. Raman, M.D., FASR, FSIR
Professor of Radiology, Urology and Surgery
David Geffen School of Medicine
UCLA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you describe the TULSA technique?
Response: Prostate cancer is the most common solid organ cancer in men. Currently whole gland ablation relies on surgery or radiation both of which have high rates of impotence and incontinence but also have up to a 30% rate of post therapy recurrence.
TULSA is a new minimally invasive technique to treat PCa under MRI guidance with both near continuous whole gland MRI imaging and MRI thermometry to make sure the extent of lethal heating over 55 degrees Celsius is known. 
Dr. Piper[/caption]
Brian J. Piper, PhD
Associate Professor of Neuroscience
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Scranton PA 18411
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Many cancer patients use marijuana to treat pain, nausea, or anxiety, often without communicating this with their health care providers. Two observational studies (1, 2) from a single institution in Israel purporting to find a dangerous drug interaction between medical cannabis and immunotherapy have been cited hundreds of times, including by clinical practice guidelines.
The cannabinoid CB2 receptor is found on immune tissues so it is biologically possible that marijuana could make immunotherapies like nivolumab less effective. However, there were anonymous reports on PubPeer (3-5) of many irregularities in the data-analysis. If there were unappreciated differences on other important variables at baseline besides subsequent cannabis use, this could change the interpretation of these influential reports (1, 2). This investigation involved attempting to repeat and verify the data-analysis.
Dr. DeBolt[/caption]
Chelsea A DeBolt, MD
Assistant Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science
Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Significant immunological shifts, systemically and at the maternal-fetal interface, are required for a successful pregnancy. Yet, there is a paucity of comprehensive data investigating the systemic immune changes within the same individual transitioning from the non-pregnant to pregnant state.
Dr. Cortese[/caption]
Marianna Cortese, MD, PhD
Senior Research ScientistDepartment of Nutrition
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthBoston, MA 02115
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In a study published in Science in 2022, we reported compelling evidence that infection with the Epstein-Barr virus is the leading cause of Multiple Sclerosis. This is a follow-up study to investigate more in depth whether the antibody response to EBV is distinct in individuals with MS compared to individuals without MS and whether there is a part of EBV that the immune response is particularly targeting. For this purpose we assessed the immune response to all protein parts (peptides) of EBV and their association with MS.
Previous studies could only look at parts of EBV and this is the first study looking at all EBV peptides. Antibodies to EBV (especially to a protein called EBNA1) are known to be overall higher in individuals with MS, so we also tested whether immune response overall or the immune response to specific EBV protein parts was more important. If the immune response to a specific EBV protein part (peptide) would be standing out or distinguishing individuals with MS, we hypothesized, it could point to a specific mechanism of how EBV may cause MS, i.e. it could point for example towards “molecular mimicry”, which is when antibodies targeting a pathogen start targeting a body-own structure (for example in the brain) which resembles the protein parts of the pathogen.
Dr. Montminy[/caption]
Eric Montminy MD
Interventional Endoscopist
Cook County Health and Hospitals System
Chicago, Illinois
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: This study was performed in the backdrop of recent colorectal cancer screening guideline updates. Two national organizations are recommending screening initiation at two different ages: USPSTF recommends initiation at age 45 and the American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends initiation at age 50.
With now two national organizations recommending different ages to start screening, patients may become confused (particularly those between 45-50). Prior confusion has been documented when breast cancer screening recommendations were being changed as well. Our focus was to examine colorectal adenocarcinoma incidence rates with stage stratification of those who are between the ACP and USPSTF recommendations (ages 46-49). Our study utilized SEER17 data registries over 2000-2020 to collect incidence rates within the U.S.
Dr. Fangqun Yu[/caption]
Dr. Fangqun Yu PhD
Senior Research Faculty
Atmospheric Sciences Research Center University
Albany, State University of New York
https://www.albany.edu/~yfq
[caption id="attachment_61437" align="alignleft" width="125"]
Dr. Arshad Nair[/caption]
Dr. Arshad Arjunan Nair PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Atmospheric Sciences Research Center
University at Albany, State University of New York
https://www.albany.edu/~an688965
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Fangqun Yu: Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia with a fatality rate of 10-25% caused by inhaling or aspirating Legionella, bacteria that thrive in built environment water systems. Those most vulnerable to this disease are male, over 50 years of age, have a history of smoking, have chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, are immunocompromised, and/or minorities. The US observed a nearly nine-fold increase in Legionnaires’ disease between 2000 and 2018, with New York State having one of the highest increases in disease rates. The reasons for the increase in incidence were unclear prior to this study.
In our study, we found:
(1) Declining sulfur dioxide concentrations (SO2) are strongly correlated with the increase in legionellosis cases and a physical mechanism explaining this link is proposed,
(2) A geostatistical epidemiological analysis links the disease with exposure to cooling towers, and
(3) Climate and weather are ruled out as factors responsible for the long-term increase in case numbers (outside of seasonal trends).
Dr. Attur[/caption]
Mukundan G. Attur, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The study investigates the potential protective effects of a genetic variant of IL1RN against inflammation and severe outcomes, particularly in COVID-19. Previous research indicates that carriers of this genetic variant may experience less severe radiographic knee osteoarthritis and decreased inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Given the emergence of cytokine release syndrome in COVID-19 patients, the researchers sought to understand whether the same genetic variant could offer protection against inflammation and potential death in COVID-19 cases.
Dr. Lee[/caption]
Soomi Lee, PhD
Associate Professor | Department of Human Development and Family Studies | Center for Healthy Aging
Director of STEALTH Lab: https://sites.psu.edu/stealth/
The Pennsylvania State University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Sleep quantity and quality decline with advancing age; a risk of chronic conditions also increases with age.
While previous studies report that poor sleep is a significant risk for chronic conditions, many have focused solely on a single dimension of sleep, such as duration, thereby limiting the ability to assess multiple co-occurring dimensions and their associations with chronic conditions.
This study aimed to evaluate multiple dimensions of sleep health, including regularity, satisfaction, alertness, efficiency, and duration. By analyzing data from a national sample of adults (n=3,683) collected over two time points spanning a decade, the study identified four distinct sleep health phenotypes: good sleepers, insomnia sleepers, weekend catch-up sleepers, and nappers.
Skilled medical scribing entails meticulous transcription of patient encounters, procedures, or treatment plans from spoken word into written text, capturing every detail and nuance. Transcription is a pivotal tool for ensuring that the physician follows the proper procedure and that medical records, reports, and documentation have perfect levels of accuracy.
Medical scribing is a skilled profession that requires solid knowledge of the worker's chosen healthcare field. Any misinterpretation of patient information has the potential to lead to ill-informed future decisions regarding a patient's health.
Healthcare organisations must also adhere to strict guidelines regarding the documentation of patient care, billing processes, and confidentiality protocols. Skilled medical scribes with specialised knowledge and expertise in their industry can protect organisations from costly lawsuits and ensure that patients are treated with the correct level of integrity.
In today's world, time is money. Successful medical scribes improve efficiency and take the burden off physicians having to personally record data, enabling them to see more patients and listen more attentively, ultimately contributing to reaching the healthcare company's overall productivity and financial aims.
One study found that medical scribes cut costs by $31.15 per hour, with no risk added risk to patient safety.
Dr. Wan[/caption]
Dr. Joy Wan M.D., M.S.C.E.
Assistant Professor of Dermatology
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: There has been a growing body of literature linking atopic dermatitis with diagnoses such as ADHD and learning disabilities, but studies focusing on symptoms of cognitive impairment (in contrast to relying on reported diagnoses as proxy measures of such) have been fewer and demonstrate inconsistent findings. Thus, we were interested in using data from this nationally representative sample of U.S. children to examine whether atopic dermatitis was associated with symptoms of learning or memory difficulties. Moreover, we wanted to examine how this relationship is influenced by known neurodevelopmental conditions to further characterize whether specific subgroups of children with atopic dermatitis are more susceptible to cognitive impairments.
Dr. Gunjur[/caption]
Dr Ashray Gunjur
MBBS (Hons), B. Med Sci, MPHTM FRACP
Clinical Research Training Fellow
Melbourne, Australia
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: As background, the last ~5 years have seen a surge of interest in the relationship between gut microbiota and cancer response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). We know that though a fraction of many different cancer types will respond to these therapies, it is currently very hard to predict who that will be- so ‘microbiome’ based biomarkers to select patients, or even strategies to change a patient’s microbiome to enhance their chance of responding, are very attractive.
A key challenge, however, has been a lack of consistency in the microbes associated with response or non-response across different studies from different regions. While geographic, methodological, and technical variation likely contribute to this, most studies examined the gut microbiome at a genus- or species- taxonomic rank level, while we know there is significant intra-species (strain-level) diversity. As such, one of our key research questions was whether we could improve the reproducibility of microbial ‘signatures’ of response across cohorts using higher resolution approaches- with our hypothesis being that strain-resolution signatures would outperform species- or lower resolution signatures.
We obtained our signature by analysing baseline faecal samples from the CA209-538 clinical trial, a wonderful investigator-initiated study sponsored by the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (Melbourne, Australia). I was fortunate enough to work on this trial as a clinical investigator while training to be a medical oncologist.
Prof. Hampshire[/caption]
Prof. Adam Hampshire Ph.D.
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Brain Sciences
Professor in Restorative Neurosciences
Imperial College London
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Cognitive symptoms after coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), are well-recognized. Whether objectively measurable cognitive deficits exist and how long they persist are unclear.
Dr. Hoshi[/caption]
Rosangela Akemi Hoshi, Ph.D.
Lemann Foundation Cardiovascular Research Postdoctoral Fellowship
Center for Lipid Metabolomics
Divisions of Preventive and Cardiovascular Medicine
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, MA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you describe the IgG N-glycan profile?
Response: Glycans are sugar coatings of proteins, made of monosaccharide building blocks, that are involved in a variety of biological pathways. Different sugar structures can dictate or modify the protein’s activity through specific interactions with cellular receptors. For example, proteins lacking glycans have a reduced level or a complete loss of function. Glycans are of such importance that the 2022 Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded for glycan-based science.
In this study, we examined glycans attached to Immunoglobulins G (IgG) and their link with incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to their impact on IgG inflammatory properties. Since inflammation is not only a cause, but also an aggravating factor and a mediator of a worse prognosis in cardiometabolic disorders and CVD, we investigated whether different glycan structures may characterize an at-risk phenotype for CVD development.
Determining glycan profiles involved in multiple conditions can serve prognostic and diagnostic purposes. Yet, unlike other types of macromolecules, glycans are still not as much explored, characterizing a promising but underappreciated class that should be further investigated.
Dr. Das[/caption]
Jishnu Das, Ph.D.
Center for Systems Immunology
Departments of Immunology and Computational & Systems Biology,
Assistant Professor School of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? How does this new AI model work? How is it different from other models?
Response: Modern multi-omic technologies generate an enormous amount of data across scales of organization, and with differing resolution. While recent machine learning methods have harnessed these to predict clinical/physiological outcomes, they are often black boxes that do not provide meaningful inference beyond prediction. Differences in data generation modalities, redundancy in the data, as well as large numbers of irrelevant features make inference of biological mechanisms from high-dimensional omic datasets challenging.
To address these challenges, we developed a machine learning technique called SLIDE (Significant Latent Factor Interaction Discovery and Exploration). We reasoned that features that are directly measured by current technologies are constrained by strengths and weaknesses of current platforms. So, while some observed features may be excellent correlates of outcomes of interest, inferring biological mechanisms from these multi-omic datasets requires us to delve beyond the observable into the hidden states, i.e., latent factors. These hidden states encapsulate the true drivers of underlying biological processes and capture a complex multi-scale interplay between entities measured by these datasets. Our method moves beyond simple biomarkers/correlates (“the what”) to hidden states that actually explain clinical/physiological outcomes (“the how” and “the why”).
Dr. Frank Wang[/caption]
Frank Wang MD
William B. Taylor Endowed Professor of Clinical Dermatology
Associate Professor, Dermatology
Associate Chair for Education
Assistant Program Director, Dermatology Residency Program
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? How is the cross-linked hyaluronic acid obtained? Where was it injected?
Response: As the skin undergoes photoaging due to chronic exposure to ultraviolet light, it loses dermal collagen, which in turn leads to wrinkling, lines, and loss of support. The loss of collagen is, in large part, due to reduced function of the skin’s collagen-producing cells, dermal fibroblasts.
We wanted to investigate whether it was possible to reverse the decreased function of fibroblasts in photodamaged skin, by introducing a space-filling material into the dermis, injected CL-HA dermal filler. The CL-HA filler we used was donated to us for research purposes.
We performed injections of CL-HA into the mid-dermis (as is normally done when injected into the face) of severely photoaged forearm skin of human participants over the age of 60. We then examined skin samples at various time points, including 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-injection.
Dr. Magruder[/caption]
Matthew Magruder, MD PGY3
Orthopaedic Residency Program
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation
Maimonides Medical Center
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The prevalence of obesity and diabetes mellitus has reached epidemic proportions. Approximately 37.3 million people in the United States, accounting for 11.3% of the total population, have diabetes, and 100.1 million, or 41.9%, of all US citizens are obese. Furthermore, these numbers are only projected to increase in the coming decades. This is an issue for orthopaedic surgeons because diabetes and obesity have consistently been demonstrated to be risk factors for complications following total joint replacements, especially total hip replacements. Therefore, we are in desperate need of new and more effective tools in mitigating the risk of poor outcomes in our joint replacement patients.
Semaglutide, and other GLP-1 agonists, are potentially a new tool that can be used to help decrease the risks following joint replacement surgery. Initially a medication to treat diabetes, semaglutide has recently been approved by the FDA to treat obesity as well, as randomized controlled trials have consistently demonstrated significant weight loss with minimal side effects. The purpose of our study was to see what effect the use of semaglutide had on total hip arthroplasty patient outcomes.
Prof. Meunier[/caption]
Prof. Frederic Meunier PhD
Professor and Academic Senior Group/Unit Leader/Supervisor
Queensland Brain Institute and
[caption id="attachment_61329" align="alignleft" width="125"]
Dr. Akefe[/caption]
Isaac O Akefe DVM, PhD
Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research
Queensland Brain Institute
The University of Queensland St Lucia
Academy for Medical Education, Medical School
Brisbane QLD Australia
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The brain is the body’s fattiest organ, with fatty compounds called lipids making up 60% of its weight. Fatty acids are the building blocks of a class of lipids called phospholipids.
In our study, we first showed that levels of saturated fatty acids increase in the brain during neuronal communication and long-term memory formation, but we didn’t know what was causing these changes.
Dr. Ooi[/caption]
A/Prof. Joshua Ooi, PhD
Head, Regulatory T-cell Therapies
Translational Research Facility
Clinical Sciences at Monash Health,
Monash University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In 2017, we published a landmark Nature paper showing that people who are protected from autoimmune disease have specialized molecules on immune cells. These specific molecules are missing in patients that develop autoimmune disease.
It is your lifestyle that determines your blood pressure levels. Your nutritional intake and the level of activity have a significant part as well.
First, monitor what you eat. Try to have your daily intake equally distributed among fruits, vegetables, whole grain and lean proteins. Cutting back on salty food can also do great magic.
In terms of physical activity, even minor adjustments can yield significant results. Moreover, a consistent practice of physical activity, such as brisk walking or swimming, may lower your blood pressure over a period of time. Remember, you don’t have to run a marathon – being dedicated is what you should focus on doing.
With these modifications, you are moving proactively towards normalized blood pressure levels.
Prof. Tanaka[/caption]
Takemi Tanaka, Ph. D.
Professor, Stephenson Cancer Center
Department of Pathology, School of Medicine
University of Oklahoma Health Science Center
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Our previous cohort study has shown that breast cancer progresses 60 days after diagnostic biopsy in early-stage ER+ breast cancer. Others have also reported increased breast cancer mortality due to surgery delay. These observations raised the question of how slow-growing ER+ breast cancer progresses so quickly in just 60 days following diagnosis, prompting us to hypothesize whether needle biopsy of breast tumors accelerates pro-metastatic changes.
Dr. Madera[/caption]
Joshua D. Madera, MD
Department of Medical Education
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Scranton PA
What is the background for this study?
Response: The US population continues to be drastically impacted by the opioid epidemic, with opioid-related deaths significantly increased compared to European countries. While prescription opioid distribution has gradually declined since its peak in 2011 [1], the rate of opioid prescriptions remains increased compared to 2000.
Furthermore, there is considerable interstate variability in opioid distribution across the US. Identifying patterns in this variability may guide public health efforts to reduce opioid-related harms. Therefore, the primary objective of this study [2] from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine was to explore variations in production quotas and state-level distribution of ten prescription opioids between 2010 and 2019.
Wilson N. Merrell
Ph.D. Student
Department of Psychology
University of Michigan
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: From the common cold to COVID-19, people get sick all the time. Because our social worlds don’t pause just because we are feeling ill, we often still need to navigate in-person events ranging from work and school to first dates and family dinners even while we’re feeling under the weather. In these kinds of social situations, do we always tell others when we’re feeling sick, or are there times when we may want to downplay our illness? After all, we tend to react negatively to, find less attractive, and steer clear of people who are sick with infectious illness. To the extent that we want to avoid these negative social outcomes while sick, it therefore makes sense that we may take steps to cover up our sickness in social situations. Given that this concealment could serve individual social goals (like allowing you to connect with others) at the cost of broader harms to public health (through the spread of infectious disease), we found this behavior both theoretically novel and practically timely.
Dr. Zheng-Yi Chen[/caption]
Zheng-Yi Chen, D.Phil.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surger
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly explain the process and indication
Response: This clinical trial is to use gene therapy to treat a type of genetic hearing loss. Genetic hearing loss mainly affects children. One in 600 newborns can have genetic hearing loss. There is no drug treatment for any type of hearing loss except for cochlear implants, which have limitations. This study focuses on a type of genetic hearing loss, DFNB9, due to a missing gene called Otoferlin. Without Otoferlin, children are born with complete hearing loss and without the capacity to speak. The goal of the trial is to study if gene therapy is safe and efficacious in treating children so they can regain hearing and the ability to speak.
Dr. Li Li[/caption]
Li Li, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H
Walter M. Seward Professor
Chair of Family Medicine
Director of population health
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Editor-in-chief of The BMJ Family Medicine
Dr. Li joined the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in January 2021
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Speech and language delays and disorders can be challenging for children and their families and can lead to difficulties with reading and writing as children grow up.
The Task Force looked at the evidence on screening for speech and language delays and, unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to tell us whether or not it is helpful to screen all children 5 years old and younger for speech and language delays and disorders.