Author Interviews, Opiods, Pain Research / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Richard M. Mangano, PhD Chief Scientific Officer at Relmada Therapeutics Dr. Mangano has extensive experience leading global R&D programs in both large and small pharmaceutical companies including positions in discovery and clinical research at Hoffmann-La Roche, Lederle Laboratories, Wyeth Research and Adolor Corporation. He served as acting Therapeutic Area Director for Neuroscience at Wyeth before joining Adolor as Vice President of Clinical Research and Development. Dr. Mangano’s expertise includes multiple IND/CTC submissions and NDA/MAA approvals in psychiatry, neurology and gastrointestinal therapeutic areas. Dr. Mangano is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at the Drexel University School of Medicine. He lectures in the Drug Discovery and Development Program and in the Psychiatry Department’s Resident Training Program.  He has authored 30 peer reviewed publications and over 120 abstracts and presentations. Dr. Mangano holds a B.S degree in Chemistry from Iona College and a PhD degree in Biochemistry from Fordham University. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, he was a research faculty member of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Institute at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Mangano discusses the opioid addiction and the development of abuse-resistant medications. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for the development of abuse-resistant medications? How extensive is the problem of opioid addiction? Dr. Mangano: Recognizing the growing incidence of opioid abuse, misuse, and overdose in the United States, pharmaceutical companies, with the guidance of the FDA, are developing products that can mitigate abuse, while recognizing the importance of maintaining the availability of opioid analgesics for the millions of patients in this country who suffer from pain. Approximately two million people in the U.S. are addicted to opioids. The market for products that treat opioid dependence has grown significantly due to the rapidly escalating problem of prescription opioid misuse and abuse, a recent resurgence of heroin use, and the growing number of physicians treating opioid dependence. One of our product candidates, REL-1028 (BuTab), is a proprietary formulation of buprenorphine designed to treat both opioid addiction and moderate to severe chronic pain. Although there is the potential for addiction to buprenorphine, the risk is lower because it is a “partial agonist” of the mu opioid receptor compared with “full agonist” opioids like heroin, morphine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone. As a result, products containing buprenorphine, such as BuTab, should have reduced risk of abuse and physical dependence and would be controlled in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (as opposed to the more restrictive Schedule II). We are also considering a formulation that would include an opioid antagonist that would not interfere with analgesia when taken orally as prescribed but would block the action of buprenorphine if it were to be inhaled or injected. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Johns Hopkins, Nature, Technology / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Natalia Trayanova PhD, FHRS, FAHA Murray B. Sachs Endowed Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering Joint Appointment, Medicine Johns Hopkins University Institute for Computational Medicine Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Trayanova: The methodology for modeling cardiac electrical function has matured sufficiently that we can now create computational models of the electrical functioning of the entire heart. My research is focused on translating this methodology into the clinic. The goal is to create, if you will, "a virtual heart for every patient", that will enable the physician to play our scenarios that manifest the heart dysfunction in the given patient, and to enable physicians to make personalized decisions about patient treatment. The present paper is the first application of this overall vision. The motivation for this particular paper was that determining which patients are at risk for sudden cardiac death represents a major unmet clinical need. Patients at risk receive life-saving implantable defibrillators (ICDs), but because of the low sensitivity and specificity of current approach (based on low ejection fraction), risk assessment is inaccurate. Thus, many patients receive ICDs without needing them, while others die of sudden cardiac death because they are not targeted for ICD therapy under the current clinical recommendations. Our goal was to develop a non-invasive personalized virtual-heart risk assessment tool that has the potential to ultimately prevent sudden cardiac death and avoid unnecessary ICD implantations. (more…)
Author Interviews, MRI, Prostate Cancer, Urology / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Vikas Gulani MD, PhD Director, MRI, University Hospitals Case Medical Center Associate Professor, Radiology CWRU School of Medicine Cleveland, OH  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Dr. Gulani: For men that have a suspicion for prostate cancer either via the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test or a digital rectal exam, the current standard of care is to perform a transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided biopsy to detect cancer. The problem with TRUS biopsy is that most tumors are not visible on ultrasound and hence many significant cancers are missed. At the same time this strategy detects a high number of low risk, indolent cancers, and leads to overtreatment of disease that would be better left untreated. Diagnostic MRI and MRI-guided biopsy (cognitive, ultrasound-MR fusion, or in-gantry) have been shown to be effective in detecting clinically significant prostate cancer. However, despite these advantages there is reluctance to incorporate MRI into standard practice because it is perceived to be expensive. Our goal was to determine if this presumption is true, and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the MRI-guided techniques most commonly used. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Dr. Gulani: We found that every MRI strategy we evaluated was cost-effective compared to standard biopsy. Cognitive MRI guided biopsy – where the operator performs an ultrasound biopsy based on knowledge of lesion location from the MRI – was the most cost-effective strategy compared to standard biopsy. In-gantry MRI yielded the highest net health benefits as measured in quality adjusted life years. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, MD Anderson / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Han Liang PhD Associate Professor and Deputy Department Chair, Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Faculty Member, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Liang: An individual’s sex has been long recognized as a key factor affecting the risk of cancer development and management. However, previous studies on the sex effect have been limited to individual genes, single molecular data types, and single cancer lineages. We performed a comprehensive analysis of molecular differences between male and female patients in a diversity of cancer types and revealed two sex-effect groups. One group contains a small number of sex-affected genes, whereas the other shows much more extensive sex-biased molecular signatures. More than half of clinically actionable genes (e.g., therapeutic targets or biomarkers) show sex-biased signatures. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pain Research, Psychological Science / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dominik Mischkowski, co-author of the study Former Ph.D. student at Ohio State Now at the National Institutes of Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Mischkowski: We tested in two double blind experiments whether the popular physical painkiller acetaminophen reduces empathy for the pain of other people. In the first experiment (N=80), participants completed measures of empathy (i.e., perceived pain and personal distress) while reading hypothetical about the physical and social mishaps of other people. We found that acetaminophen reduced empathy for pain in these scenarios. In Study 2 (N=114), we replicated and extending these findings, showing that acetaminophen also decreased empathy (i.e., perceived pain, personal distress, and empathic concern) for another study participant experiencing ostracism or painful noise blasts. Furthermore, noise unpleasantness accounted for the effect of acetaminophen on empathy for noise pain. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cost of Health Care, Radiation Therapy / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jayant S Vaidya MBBS MS DNB FRCS PhD Professor of Surgery and Oncology, Scientific Director, Clinical Trials Group, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London Whittington Health - Clinical Lead for Breast Cancer Royal Free Hospital University College London HospitalJayant S Vaidya MBBS MS DNB FRCS PhD  Professor of Surgery and Oncology, Scientific Director, Clinical Trials Group, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London Whittington Health - Clinical Lead for Breast Cancer Royal Free Hospital University College London Hospital  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Prof. Vaidya: TARGIT-A randomised clinical trial (ISRCTN34086741) compared giving TARGIT IORT during lumpectomy vs. traditional EBRT given over several weeks after lumpectomy for breast cancer; local-recurrence-free-survival was similar in the two arms of the trial, particularly when TARGIT was given simultaneously with lumpectomy. Also, there were significantly fewer deaths from other causes with TARGIT IORT. This study calculated journeys made by patients with breast cancer to receive their radiotherapy, using the geographic and treatment data from a large randomised trial. The study then assessed the same outcomes (travel distances, travel time and CO2emissions) in two semi-rural breast cancers—the results of this assessment confirm and reinforce the original results: the benefit of the use of TARGIT for patients from two semi=rural breast centres was even larger (753 miles (1212 km), 30 h, 215 kg CO2 per patient). (more…)
Abuse and Neglect, Author Interviews, NYU, Pharmacology, Urology / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jed Kaminetsky MD Clinical Assistant Professor Department of Urology NYU Langone Medical Center  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Kaminetsky: Nocturia is a voiding disorder not well treated by available drugs for overactive bladder and benign prostatic hypertrophy. Desmopressin stimulates the kidneys to concentrate the urine which results in a greatly reduced volume of urine formation for a period of time. Serenity Pharmaceuticals has spent many years developing a low dose nasal spray version of desmopressin called Noctiva specifically for nocturia. The study reported now is a large, placebo controlled phase 3 trial to confirm the statistical efficacy and clinical benefit of this treatment for nocturia. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Education, JAMA / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. James Song-Jeng Yeh, MD Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston MA MedicalResearch.com: What is the purpose for this study? Dr. Yeh: A number of factors influence physicians’ prescribing behavior, including physician’s knowledge and understanding of the drugs.  Pharmaceutical detailing and financial incentives may affect such behavior.  My interest in evidence-based medicine and how medical knowledge is translated into practice lead me to think about how physicians’ financial relationships with the pharmaceutical industry may affect prescribing patterns. In our study, we linked the Massachusetts physicians open payment database with the Medicare drug prescription claims database to determine if financial relationships with the industry are associated with increased brand-name statin drug prescribing.  The open payment database reports payments that physicians receive from pharmaceutical and medical device industries.  The open payment database when linked to the drug prescription claims database allowed us to answer this question. We looked at year 2011, when two of the most commonly prescribed brand-name statin drugs (Lipitor and Crestor) were not yet available in generic formulation. The outcome measured was what percentage of all statin prescription claims (both generic and brand-name) were brand-names. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, JAMA, Pediatrics / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Chris Adamopoulos MD and Angelo Livolsi MD Unit of Cardiopediatrics, Hautepierre University Hospital Strasbourg, France MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Apparent life-threatening events (ALTEs) predominantly affect children younger than one year. Fifty percent of these events remain unexplained, which causes great concern to parents and physicians. Yet, there is no easily detectable biomarker associated with these potentially serious, unexplained events. In our previous research we found a very high expression of muscarinic (parasympathetic) receptors in cardiac tissues of infants who died from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In the present study we investigated the expression of the same muscarinic receptors in the peripheral blood of infants who experienced explained and unexplained life-threatening events at the highest end of severity. Our results showed that the infants who experienced unexplained severe events had strikingly higher receptor’s levels (20 to 50 times higher) than the infants with severe events of known cause. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Mammograms, Outcomes & Safety, Radiology / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Sian Taylor-Phillips  PhD Assistant Professor of Screening and Test Evaluation Division of Health Sciences Warwick Medical School University of Warwick Coventry MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Dr Taylor-Phillips : Psychologists have been investigating a phenomenon of a drop in performance with time on a task called ‘the vigilance decrement’ since World War 2. In those days radar operators searched for enemy aircraft and submarines (appearing as little dots of light on a radar screen). People thought that the ability to spot the dots might go down  after too much time spent on the task. Many psychology experiments have found a vigilance decrement, but most of this research has not been in a real world setting. In this research we wanted to know whether there was a drop in performance with time on a task for breast screening readers looking at breast x-rays for signs of cancer. (Breast x-rays or mammograms show lots of overlapping tissue and cancers can be quite difficult to spot). This was a real-world randomised controlled study in UK clinical practice. In the UK NHS Breast Screening Programme two readers examine each woman’s breast x-rays separately for signs of cancer. They look at batches of around 35 women’s x-rays. At the moment  both readers look at the x-rays in the same order as each another, so if they both experience a drop in performance, it will happen at the same time. We tested a really simple idea of reversing the batch order for one of the readers, so that if they have a low ebb of performance it happens when they are looking at different women’s breast x-rays. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Stem Cells / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Timothy D. Henry, MD, MSCAI Director, Division of Cardiology Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Henry: Heart failure it the #1 cause of morbidity, mortality and cost in the United States today.  Patients with Class 3 heart failure, despite optimal medical therapy and device therapy have limited options beyond heart transplantation and left ventricular cyst device. Transplantation and LVAD are expensive and are challenged by both availability and complications.  Therefore, treatment for patients with ongoing symptoms despite medical therapy is an admiral goal.  Stem cell therapy appears to be an attractive choice for these patients, in particular patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy. The ATHENA trial was designed to treat patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and ongoing ischemia with autologous adipose-derived regenerative cells.  Patients would undergo liposuction with onsite processing of their stem cells in 1 ½ - 2 hours, followed by intramyocardial injection of adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADCRs) vs. placebo. (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Pharmacology, Science / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lynda Harris PhD Lecturer in Pharmaceutics University of Manchester Manchester Pharmacy School Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre Manchester MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Dr. Harris: Pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction remain a problem despite advances in antenatal care, and impact heavily on future health: small size at birth is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in later life. Drugs to improve pregnancy outcome are severely lacking, as pregnant women are considered a high risk cohort by drug companies, who fear expensive lawsuits associated with side effects and teratogenicity. The majority of pregnancy complications are caused by a poorly growing or poorly functioning placenta. A number of potential drugs have been identified that enhance placental function in vitro, and improve fetal growth in animal models; however, there is currently no means of restricting their actions to the placenta, and systemic administration of these drugs to pregnant women is not feasible due to the risk of adverse effects in other tissues. To address this issue, we have identified a series of placental “homing peptides” which we have used to create nanocarriers for targeted delivery of drugs to the placenta. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, University Texas, Weight Research / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sanghamitra Mohanty, MD MS FHRS Director, translational research, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute and Associate Professor (affiliate) Dell Medical School What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Mohanty:  In the last few years, several trials from a research group in Australia have generated tremendous interest in life-style modifications to manage AF more effectively. These studies reported significant decrease in arrhythmia burden and symptom severity and improvement in ablation outcome in patients with paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation. We investigated the impact of weight-loss on procedure outcome in terms of arrhythmia burden, quality of life and arrhythmia-free survival in long-standing persistent (LSPAF) patients undergoing catheter ablation. Our main findings were the following;
  1. In patients with long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation, weight loss improved quality of life but had no impact on symptom burden and long-term ablation outcome
  2. No change in AF type or status was detected after the weight loss
  3. Extensive ablation including pulmonary vein (PV) isolation plus ablation of posterior wall and non-PV triggers resulted in comparable outcome in both groups at 1-year follow-up, irrespective of weight-loss interventions (63.8% vs 59.3%, p=0.68).
(more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Technology, University Texas / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sanghamitra Mohanty, MD MS FHRS Director, translational research, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute and Associate Professor (affiliate) Dell Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Dr. Mohanty: In patients with atrial fibrillation, Focal Impulse and Rotor Modulation (FIRM)-ablation alone or in combination with pulmonary vein (PV) isolation has been documented to possibly be a better alternative to PV isolation only. However, none of those trials had a randomized study design. The current study was the first attempt to compare 3 ablation strategies namely FIRM ablation alone (group 1), FIRM +PV isolation (group 2) and PV isolation combined with ablation of non-PV triggers (group 3) in a randomized controlled trial in persistent and long-standing persistent AF. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Dr. Mohanty: Our main findings were the following: 1)      Procedure time was significantly shorter in group 3 (no FIRM ablation) compared to group 1 and 2 (with FIRM ablation) 2)      FIRM-ablation alone had very poor outcome in terms of arrhythmia recurrence (86%) 3)      FIRM ablation plus PV isolation had significantly longer procedure time and lower efficacy than PV isolation + non-PV trigger-ablation (52.4% vs 76%, p=0.02). (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Prostate Cancer / 11.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Michael K. Brawer, MD Northwest Prostate Institute Northwest Hospital Seattle, Washington MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Brawer: Prolaris (Cell Cycle Progression Test) is a prostate-cancer prognostic genetic tests that determines how aggressive is a patient’s cancer.  The goal is to reduce the over treatment of tumors that are likely to be harmless while still spotting those that are lethal.  Our key study at AUA (American Urological Society) is a meta-analysis of 440 prostate cancer patients with a Gleason score less than or equal to 6 who were tested with Prolaris. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Kidney Stones, UCSF / 10.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Ryan Hsi MD Clinical Fellow, UCSF Medical School and Mathew Sorensen, MD, MS Residency Program Director Department of Urology University of Washington Director, Comprehensive Metabolic Stone Clinic Puget Sound VA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Kidney stones affect 1 in 11 people, and the incidence is rising.  When kidney stones pass, they can be very painful, and if they obstruct urinary flow as they pass, they can be a cause of kidney injury and sepsis.  It is well-known that kidney stones are associated with diseases such as coronary artery disease, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.  Less well established is the relationship with kidney stones and pre-clinical markers of these diseases.  That is, before a person has a heart attack, a person may develop atherosclerosis first - are kidney stones associated with these early warning signs of future disease? MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: This study evaluated the association of coronary artery calcium and kidney stones.  Coronary artery calcium is a measure of calcification of the blood vessels that supply the heart, and it is a predictor of future cardiovascular events.  Our study of the Muli-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis evaluated individuals who had coronary artery calcium measured and compared those who had a history of none, one, or multiple kidney stones.  We found that individuals who had a history of multiple kidney stones were associated with higher levels of coronary artery calcium. (more…)
Author Interviews, Kidney Disease, Urology / 10.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hiten D. Patel, MD, MPH Resident, Urological Surgery James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Baltimore, Maryland 21287  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Dr. Patel: The study reports results of a systematic review contracted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality based on input from stakeholders. Part of the motivation was due to the American Urological Association's desire to use the results as a basis to update relevant clinical guidelines. There are four major management options for clinically localized small renal masses diagnosed on imaging including active surveillance, thermal ablation, partial nephrectomy, and radical nephrectomy. The body of research evaluating these management options is broad, but many of the studies performing comparative analyses have limitations. Therefore, the systematic review aimed to evaluate a number of outcomes (e.g. overall survival, cancer specific survival, local recurrence, metastasis, renal function, complications, and perioperative outcomes) based on available comparative studies in the literature. (more…)
Author Interviews, NEJM, Stroke / 10.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Craig Anderson Professor of Stroke Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney Institute of Neurosciences of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Prof. Anderson: Intravenous use of the clot-busting drug, alteplase (or rtPA), at a dose of 0.9 mg/kg body weight is the only proven medical treatment of acute ischemic stroke.  However, a  major drawback to the treatment is an increased risk of major bleeding in the brain, or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), that occurs in about 5% of cases, and can be fatal.  This balance of effectiveness (recovery from disability) and risks (ICH, and bleeding elsewhere and uncommon drug allergic reactions) has led to much of the controversy over the net benefit of the drug.  The optimal dose of the drug has never been established, but the Japanese drug safety regulatory authority, has approved a lower dose (0.6mg/kg) on the basis of a small, non-randomized, open study which showed comparable outcomes and lower risk of ICH than historical controls.  This ‘east-west’ divide over the approved dose of alteplase has led to much variation in the dose of alteplase used in clinical practice in Asia – according to a doctor’s perceived risk of ICH in individual patients and the affordability of this relatively expensive treatment in low resource settings.  Data from the Get-with-the Guidelines Quality Registry in the United States suggests Asian patients are at higher risk of ICH after standard-dose alteplase than non-Asians. Our research aimed to resolve this uncertainty over the optimal dose of alteplase, as an international, active-comparator, open-label, blinded outcome assessed, clinical trial of low-dose (0.6 mg/kg) versus standard-dose (0.9mg/kg) in 3310 patients recruited from over 100 hospitals in 13 countries between 2012 and 2015. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Cancer, Cancer Research / 10.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Corinne Leach, MPH, MS, PHD Strategic Director, Cancer and Aging Research American Cancer Society, Inc. Atlanta, GA 30303 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Leach: Using linked data from cancer registries and the Medicare Health Outcomes Survey, we prospectively examined the short-term impact of cancer on the functioning, development of and worsening of age-related health conditions among 921 older adults who developed cancer compared to 4,605 propensity score matched controls. We found that cancer groups demonstrated greater declines in activities of daily living and physical functioning compared to controls with the greatest change for lung cancer patients. Having a cancer diagnosis increased risk for depression but did not increase the odds of developing arthritis in the hand/hip, incontinence (except for prostate cancer), or vision/hearing problems. Having a cancer diagnosis also did not exacerbate the severity of arthritis or foot neuropathy. (more…)
Author Interviews, CMAJ, Pediatrics, Surgical Research, Weight Research / 10.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Atul Sharma MD, MSc(Statistics), FRCPC Researcher, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba; Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba; Senior Consultant, Biostatistics Group, George and Fay Yee Center for Healthcare Innovation MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Sharma: Between 1978 and 2004, a previous comparison of directly measured heights and weights demonstrated an alarming increase in the prevalence of overweight or obesity in Canadian children aged 2-17y, from 23.3% (95% CI = 20.5-26.0) to 34.7% (33.0-36.4) based on the new 2007 WHO criteria. In Canada, the definitions of overweight and obesity changed with the introduction of the new '2010 WHO Growth Charts for Canada’, Previous definitions were based on Body Mass Index (BMI) percentiles from the 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth chart’s. In addition to revising the percentile thresholds for diagnosing overweight or obesity, the WHO charts were based on a very different reference population. As a result, the proportion of Canadian children being classified as overweight or obese increased with the introduction of the new WHO charts. Our current study applied current Canadian definitions of overweight and obesity to a contemporary sample of Canadian children age 3-19y to assess recent trends in the rates of overweight and obesity. By pooling data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS, cycle 2.2) and the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS, cycles 2 and 3), we were able to study a representative sample of more than 14000 Canadian children from the period 2004-2013.  The sample was evenly split between boys and girls and approximately 80% white. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Nature / 10.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Serena Nik-Zainal MD PhD Wellcome Beit Fellow & Honorary Consultant in Clinical Genetics CDF Group Leader Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute United Kingdom  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Nik-Zainal: We have used the massive improvement in speed of "sequencing" (reading the human genetic material) in order to obtain comprehensive whole genome maps of 560 human breast cancer patients. This is the largest whole genome sequencing study of a single cancer type in the world. We wanted to forensically search these cancers, find all the important genes that drive breast cancer, find all the important mutation patterns that tell us something about why breast cells turn into cancer cells and then to pull it altogether for each patient. We wanted to be able to "profile" each cancer patient, to see if we could further our understanding of personal cancer genomes. In all, we had 556 female and four male patients, and they were sought from all over the world – USA, Europe and Asia. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JACC, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 09.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alan S. Go, MD, chief of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Conditions Research at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research Jamal S. Rana, MD, PhD, cardiologist at Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center and adjunct investigator with the Division of Research MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In 2013, the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association published the Pooled Cohort risk equation for estimating the likelihood of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease events. However, the equation was developed from several groups of enrolled volunteers primarily conducted in the 1990s with limited ethnic diversity and age range, so its accuracy may vary in current community-based populations. To determine whether the risk equation might be improved by being recalibrated in “real world” clinical care, we examined a large, multi-ethnic, community-based population of Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California whose cholesterol levels and other clinical measures could theoretically trigger a discussion about whether to consider starting cholesterol-lowering therapy based on estimated risk using the ACC/AHA Pooled Cohort tool. The study followed a population of 307,591 men and women aged 40 to 75 years old, including non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, Asian, Pacific Islanders and Hispanics, from 2008 through 2013 and had complete five-year follow-up. The study population did not include patients with diabetes, prior atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or prior use of lipid-lowering therapy such as statins, as the application of this risk tool is meant for primary prevention of heart disease and stroke. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, OBGYNE / 09.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Robert H. Keefe PhD, LMSW, ACSW School of Social Work, University at Buffalo State University of New York, Buffalo, New York  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Keefe: The study focuses on recommendations mothers of color, who have histories of postpartum depression, would make to service providers that they believe would improve service effectiveness.  The study is timely inasmuch as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandates ongoing research to better understand and address differences in treatment needs among mothers from racial and ethnic groups and to develop culturally competent, evidence-based treatment approaches. We were concerned that the research on postpartum depression relies heavily on White mothers, who have access to care, ongoing relationships with service providers, are married or otherwise coupled, and from middle-class backgrounds.  While the limited research on mothers of color notes their rates of postpartum depression are markedly higher than White mothers, it does little to address how their treatment needs differ from White mothers. We undertook this study to get recommendations from the mothers and discovered that many of the issues that inhibit the mothers from accessing services are the very issues that lead mothers to have postpartum depression.  For example, many of the mothers report because they have poor-paying jobs, no health benefits, and limited transportation, they are unable to keep appointments despite wanting to do what is best for their newborn babies.  Furthermore, because they missed appointments, the service provider would terminate the mother from a service the mother needs, or worse contact Child Protective Services to report the mother for neglect.  The mothers were not at all neglectful.  They were all invested in their child’s wellbeing; but various life problems kept mounting up so that they and their babies were not receiving ongoing care. Consequently, the recommendations these mothers make have little to do with psychotherapy.  In fact, most of the mothers reported they had no time to be depressed and that psychotherapy was a luxury they could not afford. Instead, the mothers wanted service systems in place that would allow them to receive the care they need so that they and their new-born babies could live happy and health lives. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Gender Differences, Heart Disease, PLoS, Women's Heart Health / 09.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alexander Turchin, MD, MS Associate Physician, Brigham and Women's Hospital Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Medicine Endocrinology Boston, MA 02115  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Turchin: It is known that fewer women than men at high risk for cardiovascular disease are treated with statins. However, the reasons for this sex disparity are not fully understood. Our study identified 4 factors that accounted for over 90% of the difference in statin therapy between women and men with coronary artery disease:
  • Age (women were older than men),
  • Amoking (men were more likely to smoke),
  • Evaluation by a cardiologist (men were more likely to have been seen by a cardiologist) and
  • History of adverse reactions to statins (women were more likely to have experienced an adverse reaction). This is the first time that a near-complete explanation for the sex disparities in statin therapy was found.
(more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Sleep Disorders / 09.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Anna Pease Senior Research Associate University of Bristol MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Pease:  We tried to gather evidence of whether there was an association between swaddling for sleep and SIDS. This was a review, not a new original study, but it is the first time these data have been brought together to try to quantify any risk between swaddling and SIDS. We only found 4 studies and they were quite different making it difficult to pool the results. We did find, however, that the risk of SIDS when placing infants on their side or front for sleep increased when infants were swaddled. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Sleep Disorders / 09.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jean-Philippe Chaput, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa Research Scientist, Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute Ontario, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Chaput: Folklore has associated behaviors of animals and humans, and even werewolves, to moon phases of the lunar cycle. However, the empirical evidence that the moon exerts an influence on behaviors is weak and very limited. In order to verify if the full moon is associated with sleep and physical activity of children (and possibly debunk this myth), we used a 12-country study involving 5,812 participants and providing 33,710 24-hour accelerometer recordings of sleep and activity behaviors. Overall, we observed that sleep duration was 5 minutes (1%) shorter at full moon compared to new moon, while activity behaviors were not significantly associated with the lunar cycle in this global sample of children drawn from all inhabited continents. However, the magnitude of this effect on sleep duration is unlikely to be clinically significant from a public health standpoint and people should stop worrying about the full moon. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Fertility, OBGYNE / 09.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Scott Sills MD, PhD Medical Director at the Center for Advanced Genetics an IVF program based in Carlsbad, California  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Sills: Often regarded as a miracle procedure by many infertile couples, in vitro fertilization (IVF) can be financially difficult for those without insurance coverage for the treatment. This prohibitive cost leads many would-be parents who pursue IVF to transfer multiple embryos at once, to increase their chances of getting a baby and minimize the need for additional attempts. This new study now reports that the economic impact of IVF deserves a closer look. As corresponding author E. Scott Sills, MD PhD noted, rates of cesarean-section deliveries, premature births, and low birth weight of babies are all greater with two or more embryos transferred to the mother at once, compared to a lower risk, single-embryo pregnancy. The data derived from a comprehensive analysis of all IVF cases in Vermont (UVM) and was recently published in the journal Applied Health Economics & Health Policy. It is believed to be the first effort to calculate the difference in infant hospital costs based on the number of embryos transferred. Sills and his team had access to UVM Medical Center records of patients who conceived through IVF and delivered at least 20 weeks into their pregnancies between 2007 and 2011. (more…)
Author Interviews, Flu - Influenza, OBGYNE, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies / 09.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Julie H. Shakib, DO, MS, MPH Assistant Professor of Pediatrics | University of Utah Medical Director | Well Baby and Intermediate Nursery Salt Lake City  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Shakib: Immunization against influenza in the first six months of life is ineffective  due to an immature immune response. Passive protection via maternal immunization offers an alternative but only a few studies have evaluated the efficacy of this immunization strategy. We found that in infants born to women immunized against influenza during pregnancy, the risk of laboratory-confirmed influenza and influenza-related hospitalization were reduced by 70% and 81% in their first 6 months of life, respectively.This large study provides more evidence that when women are immunized against influenza during pregnancy, their infants are much less likely to be diagnosed with influenza in their first 6 months. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Diabetes, Genetic Research / 08.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Wenpeng You, PhD student Biological Anthropology and Comparative Anatomy Research Unit University of Adelaide | School of Medicine Adelaide, Australia  Maciej Henneberg, PhD, DSc, FAIBiol Wood Jones Professor of Anthropological and Comparative Anatomy University of Adelaide School of Medicine; Institute for Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich Editor in Chief, Journal of Comparative Human Biology HOMO MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Type 1 diabetes disease has very strong genetic background. Prevalence of type 1 diabetes has been increasing globally. Previous studies focusing on regional genetics and environmental factors cannot fully explain this phenomenon. Due to insufficient medical knowledge up until early 20th century, people with type 1 diabetes disease would most commonly die during their teens or early 20s. Therefore, they did not have the opportunity to pass on their genes providing background for the development of type 1 diabetes to their next generations. Since discovery and introduction of insulin to modern medicine in early 1920s, more and more type 1 diabetes patients have been able to survive their reproduction cycle (up until and past 50 years of age). This has made more and more genes related to type 1 diabetes to accumulate in human populations. We applied the Biological State Index which measures a probability to pass genes on to the next generation at population level.  We found that the rapid increase in type 1 diabetes over the last few decades was correlated with increases of the Biological State Index and its proxy, human life expectancy, especially in more developed world in which natural selection has been relaxed most. This correlation was found after statistically excluding differences in countries income, levels of urbanization, sugar consumption and obesity prevalence. (more…)