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Author Interviews, JAMA, Stem Cells / 25.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Paul J. Hauptman, MD Professor of Internal Medicine Division of Cardiology Assistant Dean, Clinical and Translational  Research Saint Louis University School of Medicine St. Louis MO 63110-0250  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: A publication in 2016 by Leigh Turner from the University of Minnesota in 2016 shed light on the proliferation of stem cell centers or "businesses" that offer non FDA approved treatments, described as "stem cell therapy" for a variety of conditions. We opted to evaluate sites that claimed to treat heart failure. We collected data on type of infusion, need for a medical evaluation, board certification status of the center physician, cost and other factors. Self reported patient volumes were very variable. Most centers/businesses claimed to use autologous stem cells; a number offered ancillary treatment (i.e. vitamin infusions and hyperbaric oxygen); only one appeared to have a board-certified cardiologist involved. The costs were high for single infusions (mean price of $7694, SD 2737 for autologous cells; slightly less for allogeneic cells). Efficacy claims made during telephone calls with the centers were highly positive. (more…)
Author Interviews, FDA, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 25.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sanket Dhruva, MD, MHS, FACC Cardiology, VA Connecticut Healthcare System Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar Yale University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In 2012, Congress passed the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Safety and Innovation Act, with the goal of increasing enrollment and availability of data in important patient groups such as the elderly, women, and racial and ethnic minorities. In 2014, as mandated by the legislation, the FDA released an Action Plan to address these issues. This Action Plan included the goal of increasing the transparency by posting demographic information of pivotal (or key) clinical trials used to support approval decisions. We examined how often these data were available in 2015 for all studies used to support approval of all original high-risk medical devices approved in the calendar year following the FDA Action Plan. Examples of these medical devices include stents, bone grafts, heart valves, and spinal cord stimulators. We wanted to understand if age, sex, and race and ethnicity data were available and if the results of clinical studies supporting these medical devices were analyzed to assess if there were differences in safety and effectiveness by these important demographic factors. Our main findings are that FDA Summaries publicly reported age for 65% of study populations, sex for 66%, and race and/or ethnicity for 51%. Analyses to assess if demographic factors may have impacted device safety and effectiveness were only conducted by age for 9%, by sex for 17%, and by race for 4% of clinical studies. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, AstraZeneca, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Heart Disease, Merck, Pharmacology / 25.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alexander Turchin, MD,MS Director of Quality in Diabetes Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston, MA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cardiovascular disease is the # 1 cause of death in the U.S. and worldwide. Statins are some of the most effective medications available for prevention of cardiovascular events. However, many patients stop statins, frequently because of adverse reactions. In our study we aimed to assess the risk-benefit balance of trying a statin again after experiencing an adverse reaction. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Dermatology, Ophthalmology / 24.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr.med.univ. Christoph Schwab Departement of Ophthalmology Medical University of Graz Graz, Austria  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Knowledge about risk factors and/or pathways involved in pathogenesis is from special importance in order of preventing diseases. The role of sunlight in several eye diseases is unclear. In our study we found a close relation between sun light exposure - evaluated by a full body skin examination and a personal questionnaire - and iris freckles. Therefore we suggest the presence of iris freckles as a novel biomarker indicating high ocular sun exposure. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Columbia, Nutrition / 24.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yian Gu, PhD Assistant Professor of Neuropsychology (in Neurology and Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain) Columbia University Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We have previously shown that elderly individuals who consume healthier diet (certain foods, nutrients, and dietary patterns) have larger brain volume, better cognition, and lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The current study aimed to examine the biological mechanisms for the relationship between diet and brain/cognitive health.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Chemotherapy, Lung Cancer, Science / 24.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Gerhard Hamilton Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Medical University of Vienna MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive tumor (15 % of all lung cancers) mainly of patients with high tobacco consumption which shows an extremely poor survival (< 5% 2-year survival rate). Unfortunately the low survival rates of advanced SCLC cases has not improved significantly during the last decades, with platinum drugs/etoposide and topotecan employed for first- and second-line chemotherapy, respectively. All kinds of new chemotherapeutics, targeted drugs and immunotherapies either failed or resulted in prolongation of survival of several months at best. SCLC responds well to first-line therapy but relapses within a short time as chemoradioresistant tumor. The failure of hundreds of registered studies seem to be linked to the lack of knowledge of the mechanism of resistance of SCLCs and proper ways to reverse the refractoriness. Small cell lung cancer is distinguished by excessive numbers of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in advanced stages. CTCs contain the founder of metastasis and seem to constitute a highly chemoresistant cell population. Thus, we ware able to establish a panel of permanent CTC lines in vitro for the first time (8 SCLC lines so far from blood samples). Although CTCs were considered to be chemoresistant we detected that they are chemosensitive in vitro in form of single cell suspensions. However, all CTC lines developed spontaneously into large multicellular aggregates, termed tumorospheres, which grow up to 1-2 mm in size and exhibit high chemoradioresistance due to limited drug perfusion as well as content of quiescent and hypoxic cells. Resistance to irradiation seems to be caused by lack of oxygen, such limiting the generation of oxygen radicals. High resistance mediated by the occurrence of tumorospheres easily explains the failure of a large number of drugs - if one is not able to achieve a sufficient concentration of a drug in cancer cells and the cells are quiescent, the respective compounds will not be able to destroy the target cells, regardless of their chemical nature. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease / 24.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Abhishek Sharma MD and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine State University New York Downstate Medical Center Dr.Sahil Agarwal M.B.B.S., M.D. Division of Cardiology St. Luke's University Health Network Bethlehem, Pennsylvania MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  Response: Prior randomized control trials (RCTs) and meta-analysis of these trials which have attempted to compare differences in outcomes between strategies of short (S) (3-6 months) and longer (L) (12-30 months) durations of dual anti-platelet therapy (DAPT) after drug eluting stents (DES) implantation have reported conflicting results. In general, the events rates in these studies were small, affecting statistical power. To overcome this limitation, we conducted an updated meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and safety of strategies of S-DAPT versus L-DAPT strategy after DES implantation by restricting inclusion to randomized studies with follow-up durations of 24 months or longer. The current meta-analysis is the first to compare outcomes between S-DAPT and L-DAPT in a meta-analysis restricted to trials with patient follow-up of 24 months or longer. We found no significant difference in the rates of mortality or of stent thrombosis with S-DAPT or L-DAPT. S-DAPT was associated with significantly lower risk of major bleeding but slightly higher risk of future myocardial infarctions. (more…)
AHRQ, Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care / 22.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ruirui Sun, Service Fellow, Economist Center for Delivery, Organization and Markets Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Hospital inpatient care has experienced changes due to factors such as population growth, rising of prevalence of chronic disease and efforts to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations. We generated information from the National Hospital Utilization and Costs path on Fast Stats (https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/faststats/landing.jsp ), to present the trends on national hospitalization and costs from 2005 to 2014, as well as the most common diagnoses among inpatient stays over the 10-year period. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?
  • Between 2005 and 2014, the inflation-adjusted mean cost per inpatient stay increased by 12.7 percent, from $9,500 to $10,900.
  • Inflation-adjusted cost per stay for patients covered by private insurance or Medicaid increased 16-18 percent. Cost per stay for Medicare-covered patients and the uninsured changed minimally.
  • The rate of inpatient stays decreased the most among patients in the highest income quartiles (15-20 percent decrease).
  • The proportion of Medicaid-covered inpatient stays increased by 15.7 percent, whereas the proportion paid by private insurance and that were uninsured decreased by 12.5 and 13.0 percent, respectively.
  • Mental health/substance use accounted for nearly 6 percent of all inpatient stays in 2014, up 20.1 percent from 2005.
  • Between 2005 and 2014, septicemia and osteoarthritis became two of the five most common reasons for inpatient stays. Septicemia hospital stays almost tripled.
  • Nonspecific chest pain and coronary atherosclerosis decreased by more than 60 percent from 2005 to 2014, falling off the list of top 10 reasons for hospitalization. 
(more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology / 21.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Jean Fletcher Assistant Professor Schools of Medicine and Biochemistry & Immunology Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin Dublin, Ireland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an inflammatory skin disease which causes deep, painful lesions in areas such as the underarms and groin. 1-4% of people are thought to suffer from the disease, however as it is under recognised and often misdiagnosed these may be conservative estimates. The pain and distress associated with HS leads to a poor quality of life with many patients experiencing depression. Current interventions include combinations of antibiotics, surgery to remove lesions and more recently the use of the biologic therapies such as TNF inhibitors; however these are often ineffective and there is a pressing need for more effective treatments. The cause of Hidradenitis suppurativa is unknown, however there are known risk factors which include smoking and obesity, and there is an association with inflammatory bowel disease, which suggests that dysregulation of the immune system may play a role. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, CDC, Emory, Gender Differences, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 21.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: EmikoPetrosky MD M.P.H Science Officer, National Violent Death Reporting System at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Emory University Rollins School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Homicide is one of the leading causes of death for women aged 44 years and younger. In 2015, 3,519 girls and women died by homicide in the United States.  It is the 5th leading cause of death for women under 45 years age (defining women as 18-44 years of age). The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) links together data from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, and law enforcement reports, resulting in more information about the circumstances of death than what is available elsewhere. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Education / 21.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: E. Patchen Dellinger, M.D. Professor, Department of Surgery University of Washington, Box 356410 Seattle, Washington 98195-6410  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: As I passed the age of 70 myself and began considering when to slow down and/or retire I decided to examine the literature about age and physician competence.  I have had a wonderful, rewarding time in surgery but have always wanted to provide the best possible care for my patients.  On my review of an extensive literature on this topic I found examples of physicians who had become dangerous to their patients with age but persisted because of their eminence and also of physicians who continued to deliver high quality care well into old age. In medicine, unlike most other safety conscious industries, we have not really taken a systematic approach to the issue of policies related to the aging physician. (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 21.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Parvati Singh B. Tech, MBA, MPA PhD student, Department of Public Health, University of California, Irvine and Dr. Tim Bruckner, first author MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study builds upon earlier research by our group which showed that male fetal deaths rose and the number of liveborn males fell after the 9/11 attacks. Here we show that, in California, the number of live born males with birth defects fell after 9/11. This finding appears consistent with the notion that frail male gestations, such as those with defects, may have been lost in utero as a result of the stress induced by the 9/11 attacks. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Erectile Dysfunction / 21.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Damiano Pizzol  Operational Research Unit, Doctors with Africa Cuamm Beira, Mozambique MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Since the 1970s the association between diabetes and the development of erectile dysfunction has been documented both in animal models and humans Several studies have considered the prevalence of erectile dysfunction in diabetes and the majority agree that the incidence of erectile dysfunction in men with diabetes is two- to three-fold higher than in the general population. It is estimated that erectile dysfunction affects up to 75% of all men with diabetes, it is age correlated and occurs at a younger age in men with diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hearing Loss, Technology / 20.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview Provided on behalf of: Jan Janssen, Senior Vice President Research and Development Cochlear LimitedJan Janssen, Senior Vice President Research and Development Cochlear Limited MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this device? Response: Cochlear implants treat hearing loss by electrical stimulation of the hearing nerve, bypassing the damaged parts of the hearing pathway. Cochlear implants system consist out of an external sound processor that detects and processes the sounds and then sends them to the implant. The implant receives this information and turns it into electrical signals that are delivered to the hearing nerve and from there to the brain. The Nucleus® 7 Sound Processor is the world’s first and only Made for iPhone cochlear implant sound processor, allowing users to stream sound from their iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch® directly to their cochlear implant sound processor. It not only enhances the experience of talking on the phone, it also makes features like enjoying music or watching videos, as well as audio apps such as Maps or FaceTime, more easily accessible. The Nucleus 7 Sound Processor is also the smallest and lightest behind-the-ear sound processor on the market. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Lifestyle & Health / 20.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Keith A. Wesnes BSc PhD FSS CPsychol FBPsS Head Honcho, Wesnes Cognition Ltd Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Medical School, University of Exeter, UK Visiting Professor, Department of Psychology Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK Adjunct Professor, Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia Visiting Professor, Medicinal Plant Research Group Newcastle University, UK Wesnes Cognition Ltd, Little Paddock, Streatley Hill, Streatley on Thames UK  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This data we reported were taken from the PROTECT study, a 10-year research programme being conducted jointly by Kings College London and the University of Exeter Medical School. It started in November 2015 and over 20,000 individuals aged 50 to 96 years have enrolled. A highly novel feature of the study is that it is run entirely remotely, the participants logging on via the internet at home and providing demographic and life style information, and also performing online cognitive tasks of key aspects of cognitive function. The tasks are from two well-validated systems, CogTrack and the PROTECT test system, and assess major aspects of cognitive function including focused and sustained attention, information processing, reasoning and a range of aspects of memory. One of the lifestyle questions was ‘How frequently do you engage in word puzzles, e.g. crosswords?’ and the 6 possible answers were: never; occasionally; monthly; weekly; daily; more than once per day. We analysed the cognitive data from 17,677 individuals who had answered the question, and found that the more often the participants reported engaging in such puzzles, the better their cognitive function on each of the 9 cognitive tasks they performed. The group who never performed such puzzles were poorest on all measures, and the improvements were mostly incremental as the frequency of use increased. The findings were highly statistically reliable, and we controlled for factors including age, gender and education. To evaluate the magnitudes of these benefits, we calculated the average decline over the age-range on the various tasks in the study population. The average difference between those who ‘never’ did puzzles to those who did so ‘more than once a day’ was equivalent to 11 years of ageing; and between those who never did puzzles and all those who did was 8 years. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Endocrinology, Menopause / 20.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eralda Asllanaj Department of Epidemiology Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdamthe Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: It is known that women with early onset of menopause (age below 45 years) have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and overall mortality. This increased risk is thought to be due to the adverse effects of menopause on cardiovascular risk factors. Type 2 diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but it remains unclear whether age at menopause affects the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Our study shows that women who experience menopause before the age of 40 were almost 4 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those experiencing menopause after 55 years old. Moreover, those who had menopause between 40 to 44 years were 2.4 times more likely to have diabetes later in life. The risk of having diabetes reduced by 4 % per year older the women experienced menopause. Adjustment for the various confounding factors and differences in genetic predisposition to early menopause did not affect the results. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Exercise - Fitness, OBGYNE, Weight Research / 20.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Shakila Thangaratinam Professor of Maternal and Perinatal Health Joint Director of BARC (Barts Research Centre for Women's Health) Women's Health Research Unit | Multidisciplinary Evidence Synthesis Hub (MESH) Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry R & D Director for Women's Health Queen Mary University of London  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Pregnant women who are overweight or obese, or who gain excess weight gain in pregnancy are at high risk of complications. We wanted to find
  1. If healthy diet and physical activity in pregnancy reduced weight gain, and improved outcomes for the mother and baby
  2. If the effects of the interventions differed according to the characteristics of the mother such as body mass index, parity, ethnicity, and underlying medical condition
We established a network (International Weight Management in Pregnancy i-WIP) of researchers from 16 countries, and 41 institutions to answer the above. We found that women who followed a healthy diet and moderate physical activity gained less weight in pregnancy than other women; this beneficial effect was observed irrespective of mother's body mass index, parity, ethnicity, and underlying medical condition. Diet and physical activity in pregnancy has a beneficial effect on weight gain in pregnancy, and lowers the odds of caesarean section, and gestational diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, Mental Health Research / 20.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Bastian Ravesteijn PhD Department of Health Care Policy Harvard Medical School  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We find that higher out-of-pocket costs for mental health care could have the unintended consequence of increasing the use of acute and involuntary mental health care among those suffering from the most debilitating disorders. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Heart Disease, JAMA, Pediatrics / 19.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Holly Gooding, MD, MSc Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics Harvard Medical School Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine Boston Children's Hospital Division of General Internal Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston, MA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Dr Stephanie Chiuve and colleagues at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health developed the Healthy Heart Score to predict the risk of heart disease in older adults based on lifestyle factors measured in middle age. We have known for some time that the precursor to heart disease – known as atherosclerosis – actually starts in childhood and adolescence. We calculated the Healthy Heart Score for young adults ages 18-30 years old and found it works in this age group as well. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, JAMA, Weight Research / 19.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yan Zheng Research Fellow, Department of Nutrition Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthYan Zheng Research Fellow, Department of Nutrition Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Most people gain weight cumulatively during young and middle adulthood. Because the amount of weight gain per year may be relatively small, it may go unnoticed by individuals and their doctors—but the cumulative weight gain during adulthood may eventually lead to obesity over time. Compared to studies of attained body weight or BMI, the investigation of weight change may better capture the effect of excess body fat because it factors in individual differences in frame size and lean mass. (more…)
Author Interviews, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Biomarkers, Brain Cancer - Brain Tumors, Cancer Research, PNAS / 19.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Chonghui Cheng, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Molecular & Human Genetics Lester & Sue Smith Breast Center Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX77030 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Understanding the mechanisms that give cancer cells the ability to survive and grow opens the possibility of developing improved treatments to control or cure disease. In the case of glioblastoma multiforme, the deadliest type of brain cancer, abnormal EGFR signaling is frequently observed. Treatment with the EGFR inhibitor erlotinib attempts to kill cancer cells. However, the clinical benefit of treatment with this and other EGFR inhibitors has been limited by the development of drug resistance. Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine discovered that the molecule CD44s seems to give cancer cells a survival advantage. Eliminating this advantage by reducing the amount of CD44s resulted in cancer cells being more sensitive to the deadly effects of the drug erlotinib. (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 19.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Francesca Volpe Psy.D and Prof. Vincenzo Zanardo Division of Perinatal Medicine, Policlinico Abano Terme Abano Terme, ItalyFrancesca Volpe Psy.D and Prof. Vincenzo Zanardo Division of Perinatal Medicine, Policlinico Abano Terme Abano Terme, Italy MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Newborn infants, placed skin-to-skin on their mother’s chest instinctively have the ability to crawl to their mother’s breast, exploring with their hands and massaging the breast to support the first feed.  Left undisturbed, the infant will make several attempts until it finds and latches onto the nipple and begins to nurse. What leads mammalian infants who are placed on their mothers’ chests to seek out, without any assistance, the nipple and to attach themselves to it to nurse is not fully understood. When we turned our attention to the thermal properties of the female’s nipple-areolar complex (NAC) in lactating mothers soon after birth, we found that it had a higher temperature and pH value and lower elasticity with respect to the surrounding breast skin. We hypothesised that the higher temperature could help the newborn infant to locate the nipple and to latch onto it, leading to the first sucking experience.  In addition, the diffusion of odorous molecules is presumably enhanced by the relatively high surface temperature of the areola in view of the rich supply of blood capillaries that irrigate the region. There is, in fact, some scientific evidence that show that infants respond to the odours released by the breasts of lactating women; breast odours, which are enhanced by the skin’s greater warmth, are another factor that facilitates breastfeeding by helping the infant to recognize its mother participating in the mother-to-infant bonding. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Radiology / 18.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Liana Apostolova, MD, MSc, FAAN Barbara and Peer Baekgaard Professor  in Alzheimer's Disease Research Professor in Neurology, Radiology. Medical and Molecular Genetics Indiana University School of Medicine Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Center Indianapolis, IN 46202 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: While many studies have evaluated the diagnostic or prognostic implications associated with amyloid PET, few have explored its effects on the patient or caregiver. Amyloid imaging does not only help clinicians with their diagnosis and management. It also affects patient and caregiver decisions related to lifestyle, financial and long-term care planning, and at times also employment. Few studies to date have explored patient and caregiver views on the clinical use of amyloid PET and the potential benefits they could derive from having more precise diagnosis. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Technology / 18.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Douglas W. Scharre MD Professor of Clinical Neurology and Psychiatry Director, Division of Cognitive Neurology Department of Neurology Director, Center for Cognitive and Memory Disorders Director, Memory Disorders Research Center Co-Director, Neuroscience Research Institute Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Columbus, OH   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE) is a pen-and paper, valid and reliable cognitive assessment tool for identifying individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or early dementia. We published age and education normative data on SAGE and determined that one point be added to the scores when age over 79 and one point be added when education level is 12 years or less. We evaluated the identical test questions in digital format (eSAGE) made for tablet use, adjusted with previously published age and education norms, and determined eSAGE’s association with gold standard clinical assessments. eSAGE is commercially known as BrainTest. (more…)
Author Interviews, Boehringer Ingelheim, Heart Disease, JAMA / 18.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Javed Butler, MD, PhD Chief of the Cardiology Division Dr. Vincent Yang, Simons Chair in Internal Medicine Stony Brook University  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Persistent congestion is associated with worse outcomes in acute heart failure (AHF). Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists at high doses may relieve congestion, overcome diuretic resistance, and mitigate the effects of adverse neurohormonal activation in AHF. We therefore studies high dose spironolactone in patients with AHF. Unfortunately all of our primary and secondary endpoints were not different between spironolactone and placebo arms. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, JAMA, Pediatrics, Respiratory, Vitamin D / 18.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jonathon Maguire MD MSc FRCPC Scientist, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute Staff Pediatrician, Department of Pediatrics, St. Michael’s Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Vitamin D has been hypothesized as being protective of seasonal viral upper respiratory tract infections.  In this randomized clinical trial, high dose wintertime vitamin D supplementation (2000 IU/day) was compared with standard-dose vitamin D supplementation (400 IU/day) among 703 children.  The number of laboratory confirmed viral upper respiratory tract infections was not statistically different between groups. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Lancet, Ophthalmology / 17.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stephen R. Russell, MD Dina J Schrage Professor of Macular Degeneration Research Service Director, Vitreoretinal Diseases and Surgery Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences The University of Iowa MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study examines the efficacy (and safety) of treating children and adults with a form of retinitis pigmentosa known as RPE65-associated Lebers congenital amaurosis, with an adeno-associated viral vector(AAV) delivered RPE65 construct.  Building on successful phase 1/2b trials from multiple centers, the AAV-hRPE65v2 agent now designated as voretigene neparvovec, contains a highly optimized enhancing sequence and promoter. The main findings were an improvement on a multiple light level mobility test (MLMT) and multiple additional supportive secondary endpoints which included improvements in full-field light sensitivity, Goldmann visual field, and others. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Geriatrics, JAMA / 17.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Donal J. Sexton, BSc, MD The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing Trinity College Dublin Health Research Board Clinical Research Facility Galway National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland Trinity Health Kidney Centre, Tallaght Hospital Department of Nephrology, Beaumont Hospital, Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland Dublin, Ireland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In this study we used the inclusion criteria for SPRINT to identify those community dwelling elders who would meet criteria for the trial in clinical practice. Our data are based on a prospective cohort study composed of participants chosen by a national stratified random sampling mechanism. If SPRINT participants were truly representative of the population, then the participants in the standard care arm of the trial should resemble the population to some extent. If this were true then the injurious falls rate might be similar between the two samples also. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Opiods, Pain Research, Primary Care / 17.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jane M. Liebschutz, MD, MPH Associate Professor of Medicine Section of General Internal Medicine Boston University School of Medicine Boston, Massachusetts MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The number of patients receiving opioids for chronic pain has risen over the past 2 decades in the US, in parallel with an increase in opioid use disorder. The CDC and professional medical societies have created clinical guidelines to improve the safety of opioid prescribing, yet individual prescribers can find them onerous to implement. We developed an intervention to change clinical practice to support primary care physicians who prescribe the majority of opioids for chronic pain. The intervention included 4 elements- a nurse care manager to help assess, educate and monitor patients, an electronic registry to keep track of patient data and produce physician level reports, an individualized educational session for the physician by an opioid prescribing expert based on the physician-specific practice information and online resources to help with decision-making for opioid prescribing (www.mytopcare.org). We tested whether the intervention would improve adherence to guidelines, decrease opioid doses and decrease early refills, as a marker of potential prescription opioid misuse among 985 patients of 53 primary care clinicians in four primary care practices. (more…)
Addiction, Alcohol, Author Interviews, NIH / 17.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lorenzo Leggio, M.D., Ph.D. Chief of the Section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology, a NIAAA intramural laboratory MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Aldosterone is an important hormone involved in the control of blood pressure and electrolytes via its mineralcorticoid receptor (MR). In addition to its roles in the periphery in our body, aldosterone also acts on the brain where the MR is particularly present in regions like the amygdala. The amygdala plays an important role in stress, anxiety and excessive alcohol drinking. Back in 2008, we conducted a small pilot study where we found that alcohol-dependent patients with higher blood aldosterone concentrations have higher alcohol craving. (more…)