Aging, Author Interviews, Case Western, Nursing / 17.04.2015

kathy-wrightMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kathy Wright, PhD, RN, GCNS-BC, PMHCNS-BC KL2 Postdoc, Clinical Instructor 2011-13 SAMHSA Scholar 2010-12 National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence Patricia G. Archbold Scholar Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Dr. Wright: This study was a secondary analysis of baseline data from the After Discharge Care Management of Low Income Frail Elderly (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality grant #1 R01 HS014539-01A1). The participants were aged 65 and older enrolled during an acute care hospitalization. Each participant had at least one deficit in activities of daily living (e.g., bathing, dressing) or two deficits in instrumental activities of daily living (e.g., transportation, paying bills). The purpose of the study was to test House’s Conceptual Framework for Understanding Social Inequalities in Health and Aging in Medicare-Medicaid enrollees in a group of low-income older adults to determine the relationships between socio-demographic factors (i.e., race, education, age, gender, income, and neighborhood poverty), health behaviors, and physical function and emotional well-being. As a part of the health behavior component, participants were interviewed and asked questions regarding the amount of physical activity they engaged in during the week. (more…)
ADHD, AHRQ, Author Interviews, CDC / 17.04.2015

Susanna N. Visser, DrPH Epidemiologist at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities CDCMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Susanna N. Visser, DrPH Epidemiologist at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities CDC   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Visser: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD is one of the most common chronic conditions of childhood. It often persists into adulthood. When children diagnosed with ADHD receive proper treatment, they have the best chance of thriving at home, doing well at school, and making and keeping friends. In 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated their guidelines for ADHD treatment. The new guidelines give this advice to healthcare providers, psychologists, educators, and parents of children with ADHD:
  • For preschoolers ages 4-5 with ADHD, use behavioral therapy before medication.
  • For older children and teens with ADHD, use behavioral therapy along with medication.
In order to learn more about ADHD treatment patterns, CDC researchers looked at data from a national sample of children with special health care needs, ages 4-17 years, collected in 2009-10 just before the release of the 2011 guidelines. We found that most children with ADHD received either medication treatment or behavioral therapy as well as some other form of ADHD therapy to help. However, we also found that many children were not receiving treatment in the way it was outlined in the 2011 best practice guidelines.
  • Less than 1 in 3 children with ADHD received both medication treatment and behavioral therapy, the preferred treatment approach for children ages 6 and older.
  • Only half of preschoolers (4-5 years of age) with ADHD received behavioral therapy, which is now the recommended first-line treatment for this group.
  • About half of preschoolers with ADHD were taking medication for ADHD, and about 1 in 4 were treated only with medication.
(more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition / 17.04.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Kylie Ball PhD Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University, Australia. Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Most Australians (95% of adults) do not eat enough fruits or vegetables for good health. This is concerning as low fruit and vegetable intakes are linked with increased risk for a range of adverse health outcomes, including hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke and certain cancers. One of the commonly cited barriers to fruit and vegetable consumption is the high cost of these foods. At Deakin University's Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research (C-PAN), we undertook a randomised controlled trial study in a supermarket setting to test whether addressing this barrier would help people to consume more fruits and vegetables. We found that a fairly small price reduction (20%) was effective in prompting people to buy more fruits and vegetables – about 2-3 more serves of fruit per week, and about 3 more serves of vegetables per week. These findings are exciting, as even small increases in fruit and vegetable consumption across the population can substantially improve the health of Australians. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Nutrition / 16.04.2015

Dr. Fredrik Jernerén PhD Postdoctoral Research Fellow Department of Pharmacology University of Oxford Oxford, United KingdomMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Fredrik Jernerén PhD Postdoctoral Research Fellow Department of Pharmacology University of Oxford Oxford, United Kingdom Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Jernerén: Development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is associated with an accelerated rate of brain shrinkage. Identifying ways to reduce the brain atrophy rate at an early stage may offer new strategies to prevent or delay the onset of dementia. In this study on elderly subjects diagnosed with Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), who are at increased risk of developing dementia, we investigated whether the effect of B vitamin supplementation on reducing the brain atrophy rate was influenced by circulating levels of omega-3 fatty acids. We have found that this indeed was the case. The higher the baseline concentration of the combined omega-3 fatty acids (DHA+EPA), the greater the protective effect of the B vitamin treatment. In subjects with high omega-3 concentrations who at the same time had elevated homocysteine levels (indicating a lack of B vitamins), B vitamin treatment reduced the brain atrophy rate by about 70% compared with the placebo group.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, Nature, NYU, Social Issues / 16.04.2015

Bianca Jones Marlin, PhD Froemke Laboratory New York University Langone School of MedicineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Bianca Jones Marlin, PhD Froemke Laboratory New York University Langone School of Medicine Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Marlin: Oxytocin is a hormone that plays an important role in the expression of social and parental behaviors, but little is know about how it works in the brain to produce these behaviors. Virgin mice will usually ignore, and sometimes cannibalize newborn mouse pups. Our study has shown that oxytocin works in the auditory cortex of virgin mice to change both their neural responses, and eventually their behaviors, to mirror the maternal response. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease / 16.04.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tomi Toukola Medical Research Center Oulu Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Finland Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Previously, only few large-scale autopsy studies has been performed of exercise-related sudden cardiac death victims in the general population. FinGesture study project was established in 1998. All consecutive victims of autopsy-verified sudden cardiac death in our study area in northern Finland were included, so microscopic studies and histological examinations were performed alongside forensic autopsies in all cases. In Oulu area there were 328 (mean age, 62 years) cases of exercise-related sudden cardiac death between the years 1998 and early 2007. Male gender, ischemic heart disease and myocardial scarring were findings more commonly associated with exercise-related sudden cardiac death. Another interesting finding was that skiing, cycling and snow shoveling were frequent triggers of sudden cardiac death. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pain Research / 16.04.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Geoff Durso PhD Candidate Department of Psychology The Ohio State University Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Recent research has shown that acetaminophen blunts negative emotions beyond those arising from physical pain (e.g., social rejection). We hypothesized that this was the case because acetaminophen was having a broader effect on individuals' evaluative and emotional processing, given past psychological theory (e.g., differential susceptibility, personality differences in emotionality, etc) and related neurological evidence (acetaminophen affects serotonin neurotransmission in the brain, reduces inflammatory signaling in the brain, and decreases activation in the brain areas responsible for emotion, for instance--any one or combination of these effects could be responsible for the psychological outcomes that we observe on individuals' blunted negative and positive evaluations). So we conducted two double-blind studies (neither participants nor experiments were aware of participants' assignment to condition). What we found was that participants taking an acute dose of acetaminophen (compared to those taking an inert placebo control) reported diminished negative evaluations of displeasing stimuli (photographs of starving children, wartorn city blocks, disgusting toilets) as well as diminished positive evaluations of pleasing stimuli (photographs of children playing with kittens, a large pile of money, a couple in bed together). Participants taking acetaminophen also reported experiencing diminished emotional responses to the photographs overall. These findings supported our predictions that acetaminophen works to reduce pain in part because it has a broader blunting effect on individuals' evaluations and emotional experience. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, NEJM, Ophthalmology, UCSF / 16.04.2015

Catherine L. Chen M.D., M.P.H. UCSF Dept of AnesthesiaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Catherine L. Chen M.D., M.P.H. UCSF Dept of Anesthesia Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Chen: Cataract surgery is a very common and safe surgery that most older adults have in their 70's or 80's. It usually happens as a same-day surgery and most patients only need eye drops to numb the eye with little or no intravenous sedation for a procedure that on average is only 18 minutes long. Given their age, these patients typically have other concurrent medical problems, so even though multiple research studies and professional societies have concluded that routine preoperative testing is not necessary before cataract surgery, we found that this testing still frequently occurs in these patients. More than half of the patients in our study had at least one preoperative test performed in the month before their surgery. We hypothesized prior to undertaking this study that the older and sicker patients were the ones who were most likely to get preoperative testing. Instead, what we found was that the most important factor that determined whether or not a patient got tested was the ophthalmologist who operated on the patient. This is an important finding because it shows that most patients are not getting extra testing, but the few that do are getting testing because that's the way their ophthalmologist typically prepares his patients for surgery. Most of the time, this testing is not needed and will not affect how well the patient does during and after surgery. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Mayo Clinic / 15.04.2015

Michael B. Wallace, M.D., MPH, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, FL 32224MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael B. Wallace, M.D., MPH Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, FL 32224   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Wallace: Since its first consideration as an independent entity in 1996,1 intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) of the pancreas have been diagnosed with increasing frequency. Detection and resection of IPMN offer a unique opportunity to cure and prevent adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, an otherwise highly lethal disease. The main clinical concern related to intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms is its wide-ranging potential for malignancy from low-risk indolent lesions to those with high incidence of malignant degeneration. It is well-established that this malignant progression varies based on the morphological subtypes. The current methods of predicting malignant potential are limited to clinical, morphological, and cyst fluid cytology and biomarker data. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Wallace: Of 1126 patients, 84 were diagnosed with invasive carcinoma/high-grade dysplasia and were compared to the rest of the cohort. Multivariate logistic analysis showed no statistically significant association between cancer/high-grade dysplasia and gender, age or alcohol consumption. Smoking history and body mass index was significantly related with cancer/ high-grade dysplasia. Jaundice and steatorrhea were also associated with cancer/ high-grade dysplasia; however, weight loss was not. Univariate analysis showed no association between malignancy and the cyst number/location, although a strong association was shown for cyst size. The presence/size of nodules, and main duct involvement were strongly related with malignancy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer, Cancer Research / 15.04.2015

Josée Savard, Ph.D. School of Psychology, Laval University Cancer Research Center Quebec City, Quebec, CanadaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Josée Savard, Ph.D. School of Psychology, Laval University Cancer Research Center Quebec City, Quebec, Canada MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Savard: This paper reports on a secondary analysis of an 18-month longitudinal study initially conducted in 962 patients about to receive surgery for various types of cancer. The main results of this larger study indicated that insomnia is a significant problem in cancer patients. More precisely, it was found to affect up to 59% of patients at the peri-operative period. In addition, 32% of patients who were good sleepers developed insomnia symptoms at some point during the study (Savard et al., 2009; Savard et al., 2011). The goal of this particular analysis was to determine the role of cancer treatments and their side effects in triggering/aggravating insomnia symptoms during the 18-month follow-up. Study participants completed questionnaires assessing insomnia severity and somatic symptoms at baseline, as well as 2, 6, 10, 14 and 18 months later. This analysis was conducted separately in women treated for breast cancer (n=465) and men treated for prostate cancer (n=263). In breast cancer patients, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, but not hormone therapy, were found to be associated with increased insomnia severity. This deleterious effect appeared to be due to a number of side effects (e.g., nausea, night sweats, urinary symptoms). In prostate cancer patients, androgen-deprivation therapy was associated with aggravation of insomnia, an effect that was mainly due to the occurrence of night sweats. (more…)
Author Interviews, Duke, Heart Disease, JACC, Women's Heart Health / 15.04.2015

Matthew E. Dupre, PhD Associate Professor of Medicine Department of Community and Family Medicine Department of Sociology Duke Clinical Research InstituteMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Matthew E. Dupre, PhD Associate Professor of Medicine Department of Community and Family Medicine Department of Sociology Duke Clinical Research Institute MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Dupre: The negative health consequences of divorce have been known for some time. However, we showed that lifetime exposure to divorce can have a lasting impact on ones’ cardiovascular health, particularly in women. This is a good example of why people going through a divorce need a good divorce lawyer chicago in order to keep their stress levels down and help their cardiovascular health. Results from our study showed that risks for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were significantly higher in women who had one divorce, two or more divorces, and among the remarried compared with continuously married women after adjusting for multiple risk factors. Risks for AMI were elevated only in men with a history of two or more divorces relative to continuously married men. We were especially surprised to find that women who remarried had risks for AMI that were nearly equivalent to that of divorced women. Men who remarried had no significant risk for acute myocardial infarction. The results of this study provide strong evidence that cumulative exposure to divorce increases the risk of acute myocardial infarction in older adults. Also somewhat unexpected was that the associations remained largely unchanged after accounting for a variety socioeconomic, psychosocial, behavioral, and physiological factors. However, we lacked information on several factors that we suspect may have contributed to the risks related to divorce – such as elevated stress, anxiety, and the loss of social support; as well as possible changes is medication adherence or other prophylactic behaviors. MedicalResearch: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report? (more…)
Author Interviews, Emory, Neurological Disorders / 15.04.2015

Erwin G. Van Meir, PhD Professor, Departments of Neurosurgery and Hematology & Medical Oncology Leader, Winship Cancer Institute Cancer Cell Biology Program Founding Director, Graduate Program in Cancer Biology Director, Laboratory for Molecular Neuro-Oncology Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta GA 30322MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Erwin G. Van Meir, PhD Professor, Departments of Neurosurgery and Hematology & Medical Oncology Leader, Winship Cancer Institute Cancer Cell Biology Program Founding Director, Graduate Program in Cancer Biology Director, Laboratory for Molecular Neuro-Oncology Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta GA 30322 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Van Meir: In this study we queried the role of the BAI1 protein in normal physiology. To do this we generated a transgenic mouse, which lacks the expression of the Bai1 gene. The mice had no obvious anomalies and reproduced according to mendelian rules. Since BAI1 is strongly expressed in the brain, including in neurons, we wondered whether they might have some cognitive defect that would only be revealed under specific testing conditions. We had the mice perform in an experiment that tests their ability to orient themselves in space and memorize the location of a hidden platform in a water maze. This experiment clearly demonstrated that the Bai1 deficient mice had deficits in spatial learning and memory. We then further probed the electrophysiological, anatomical and biochemical basis of this abnormal physiologic behavior and showed that hippocampal neurons had abnormal synaptic plasticity, reduced thickness of the post synaptic density and that this was associated with an increased degradation of a key PSD protein called PSD-95. (more…)
Author Interviews, End of Life Care, JAMA, Outcomes & Safety / 15.04.2015

Mihaela S Stefan, MD FACP Research Scientist, Center for Quality of Care Research Director of Outpatient Perioperative Clinic and Medical Consultation Program Academic Hospitalist Baystate Medical Center Assistant Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine Springfield MA 01199MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mihaela S Stefan, MD FACP Research Scientist, Center for Quality of Care Research Director of Outpatient Perioperative Clinic and Medical Consultation Program Academic Hospitalist Baystate Medical Center Assistant Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine Springfield MA 01199 MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Dr. Stefan : Mortality rates for patients with pneumonia are publicly reported and are used to evaluate hospital performance. The rates are calculated using Medicare administrative claims data which provide limited insight into severity of illness and comorbidities that may be associated with death. The mortality measure does not take into consideration advance directives or changes in goals of care preferences during hospitalization. MedicalResearch: What are the main findings? Dr. Stefan : In this retrospective chart review of 202 adults who died with a principal diagnosis of pneumonia between January 2008 and December 2012 in 3 hospitals in MA, we assessed the proportion of patients for whom pneumonia was determined to play a major or a minor role in the patient death. Pneumonia was considered a minor cause if the patient had advanced life threatening illnesses and this was found in 82% of the deaths. More than half of the patients were DNR at admission to the hospital. The majority of patients who died were frail elderly with life-threatening conditions who decided to forgo aggressive care at some point during their admission. Only a small fraction of deaths in the pneumonia mortality measure were the direct result of pneumonia. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Salt-Sodium / 14.04.2015

Edward "Ted" Weiss, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Nutrition and Dietetics Saint Louis University Saint Louis MO 63104MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Edward "Ted" Weiss, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Nutrition and Dietetics Saint Louis University Saint Louis MO 63104 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Weiss: Public health recommendations are to keep sodium consumption below 2300 mg/day to avoid adverse health effects. However, most people in the US consume over 4000 mg/day. Furthermore, endurance athletes are often advised to add sodium to their diets to replace the sodium that is lost in sweat and are often lead to believe that the additional sodium is important for exercise performance. Clearly these recommendations are at odds with each other. In a double-blind placebo-controlled trial, we evaluated the effect of salt capsule consumption (containing a 1800 mg sodium) on exercise performance and on thermoregulation during 2 - 2.5 hours of running or cycling. Exercise performance was not different between the salt and placebo conditions (i.e. it didn't provide benefit or harm for performance) nor did any of the markers of thermoregulation differ, suggesting that the salt didn't help (or hurt) the body's ability to cool itself. (more…)
Author Interviews, Mental Health Research, Probiotics / 14.04.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laura Steenbergen Leiden University, Institute for Psychological Research, Cognitive Psychology Leiden, The Netherlands Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Food supplements, among which probiotics, are becoming more and more popular. A lot is known about the effect of probiotics on the physical functioning, but even though there are some rat studies on the effects of probiotics on mental well-being, not much is known about the effect in humans. The few studies on humans that are available show beneficial effects on mood when people experience a bad mood, or psychological distress. Worldwide, millions of people are suffering from mood disorders like for instance depression, but not everyone receives treatment for this. Research on probiotics has shown that they are safe and easily available, and we therefore wanted to investigate if probiotics could perhaps be promising in serving as a preventive or adjuvant therapy for mood disorders of anxiety or depression. We therefore focused on cognitive reactivity to sad mood, which measures the degree to which people activate dysfunctional thought patterns when experiencing a sad mood. This measure is known to be predictive of the onset and development of depression. Compared to subjects who received a 4-week placebo intervention, participants who received a 4-week multispecies probiotics intervention showed significantly reduced aggressive and ruminative thoughts. Even if preliminary, these results provide the first evidence that the intake of probiotics may help reduce negative thoughts associated with sad mood. As such, our findings shed an interesting new light on the potential of probiotics to serve as adjuvant or preventive therapy for depression. So if you are interested in taking probiotics then you could check out something like these probiotics in india. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Cost of Health Care, HPV, Vaccine Studies / 14.04.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lillian Siu, MD, FRCPC Princess Margaret Cancer Centre University Health Network Toronto Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Siu: Our study is a collaboration between researchers at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and the Canadian Center for Applied Research in Cancer Control. The study involves a statistical model being applied to a hypothetical population of 192,940 Canadian boys who were 12 years old in 2012, to determine the cost effectiveness of HPV vaccination for the prevention of oropharyngeal cancer.  On the basis of this model, HPV vaccination for boys aged 12 years appears to be a cost-effective strategy for the prevention of oropharyngeal cancer in Canada. There are limitations to our study as it is based on statistical modelling with many assumptions. For instance, we could not easily address the impact of herd immunity which refers to the indirect protective effect offered by HPV vaccination in women. Based on our statistical model, despite its limitations, the vaccine can potentially save $8 to $28 million CAD for a theoretical group of 192,940 Canadian 12-year old boys in 2012 over their lifetime. As stated, this is based on a theoretical model and not a randomized study, the results are relevant especially that HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer is increasing in incidence and HPV is surpassing smoking as a risk factor for this cancer in many developed countries. Currently, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) of the Public Health Agency of Canada recommends HPV vaccination of females 9 through 26 years of age to prevent cervical, vulvar, vaginal and anal cancers, and for anogenital warts; and of males 9 through 26 years of age to prevent anal canal cancers and their precursors, and for anogenital warts. However, funding is also provided for HPV vaccination in young females and not in young males. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Emergency Care / 14.04.2015

Haichang Xin, PhD Department of Health Care Organization and policy School of Public Health University of Alabama at BirminghamMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Haichang Xin, PhD Department of Health Care Organization and policy School of Public Health University of Alabama at Birmingham MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Dr. Xin: Since high cost-sharing policies can reduce both needed care and unneeded care use, it raises the concern whether these policies are a good strategy for controlling costs among chronically ill patients, especially whether utilization and costs in emergency department (ED) service and inpatient care will increase in response. Moreover, the costs saved by reduced physician care may be offset or even exceeded by the increased ED or inpatient care expenditures, causing a total cost increase for health plans. This study was the first to examine whether high cost-sharing policies for physician care are associated with a differential impact on total care costs between chronically ill individuals and healthy individuals. Total care includes physician care, ED service and inpatient care. MedicalResearch: What are the main findings? Dr. Xin:  Chronically ill individuals’ probability of reducing any overall care costs was significantly less than healthier individuals (β= 2.18, p = 0.04), while the integrated Difference-in-difference estimator from split results in the two-part model indicated that going from low cost-sharing to high cost-sharing significantly reduced costs by $12,853.23 more for sick people than for healthy people (95% CI: -$17,582.86, -$8,123.60). (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, BMJ, Cancer Research, Gastrointestinal Disease / 14.04.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Hossam Haick Ph.D Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute Haifa, Israel Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Haick: Our study is based on the hypothesis that timely detection of premalignant lesions (PMLs) may provide a tool to decrease either cancer mortality or incidence, thought, currently, there is no perfect non-invasive tool to screen for gastric cancer (GC) and the related premalignant lesions. Using 1002 samples collected from 501 volunteers, we show for the first time that premalignant lesions (PMLs) relevant to (gastric) cancer result in detectable differences in Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) signatures that can be detected and classified non-invasively through exhaled breath. We show additionally that these premalignant lesions can be well-discriminated from various stages of gastric cancer as well as other background stomach diseases. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Heart Disease / 12.04.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Salah Altarabsheh, MD,MRCSI Cardiac Surgery Senior Specialist Queen Alia Heart Institute Amman, Jordan Coronary artery bypass grafting is the most common surgical procedure performed by cardiac surgeons worldwide. With the increased life expectancy for the general population, and the added comorbidities among elderly population, we are seeing a good number of elderly populations who are referred for coronary artery bypass surgery. There are few reports which compare off-pump versus on-pump methods of revascularization among this subset of elderly people. We choose octogenarians in our meta-analysis to see whether off-pump revascularization method could be of benefit since there is increased chance to have ascending aortic calcifications among these patients, and off-pump coronary artery bypass in which there is lesser chance for aortic manipulations, can be beneficial. (more…)
Author Interviews, Weight Research / 12.04.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: May May Leung Ph.D. Hunter College School of Urban Public Health, City University of New York School of Public Health New York, NY MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Dr. Leung: Shanghai and New York City are two urban centers that play a key role in the global economy. However, both cities are facing elevated rates and inequitable distributions of childhood obesity. Given the role that obesity plays in the etiology of chronic diseases, this epidemic calls for interurban learning to better understand some of its diet-related determinants. In turn, this paper attempts to explore how culture, history and politics have influenced the rates and distributions of childhood obesity in Shanghai and New York City, to inform public health officials as to what approaches could be taken to address the epidemic in ‘world cities’. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity, University of Michigan / 11.04.2015

Addie Weaver PhD Research Investigator and LEO Adjunct Lecturer School of Social Work University of MichiganMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Addie Weaver PhD Research Investigator and LEO Adjunct Lecturer School of Social Work University of Michigan Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Weaver: The mental health of both African Americans and rural Americans has been understudied. Though depression is one of the most common, debilitating mental illnesses among women, very little is known about depression among African American women living in rural areas of the United States. In fact, much of what we know about rural women's depression in general is based on research conducted with community samples, as limited epidemiolgical research includes large enough samples of both African American respondents and rural respondents to assess potentially important subgroup differences by urbanicity (e.g., urban, suburban, rural) and race. Our study used the National Survey of American Life, the first and only nationally representative survey of African Americans, to examine the interaction of urbanicity and race/ethnicity on Major Depressive Disorder and mood disorder prevalence among African American and non-Hispanic white women residing in the South. We found that rural residence has a differential effect on depression and mood disorder for African American women and non-Hispanic white women. Overall, African American women living in rural areas experienced significantly lower odds of meeting criteria for lifetime and 12-month Major Depressive Disorder and lifetime and 12-month mood disorder than urban African American women. Conversely, non-Hispanic white women residing in rural areas had significantly higher odds of meeting criteria for lifetime and 12-month Major Depressive and lifetime and 12-month mood disorder when compared to rural African American women, and had significantly higher prevalence rates of 12-month Major Depressive Disorder and 12-month mood disorder than urban non-Hispanic white women. All analyses controlled for age, education level, household income, and marital status, suggesting that the urbanicity differences were not due to resource disparities often experienced by individuals residing in rural communities. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Hepatitis - Liver Disease / 10.04.2015

Brian Montague, DO MS MPH Assistant Professor of Medicine and of Health Services, Policy and Practice Division of Infectious Diseases Brown University / The Miriam HospitalMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brian Montague, DO MS MPH Assistant Professor of Medicine and of Health Services, Policy and Practice Division of Infectious Diseases Brown University / The Miriam Hospital Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Montague: Hepatitis C is in an important public health problem affecting 4-5 million persons in the US alone.  Given the risk of infection associated with drug use, the prevalence of hepatitis C in corrections has been significantly higher than in the general population. Prior to 2013, the available treatment options were both expensive and of significant toxicity and limited efficacy.  Uptake to these therapies were low.  Starting in 2013, new therapeutics options offering shorter course treatments and efficacies greater than 90% became available.  These therapies offer new possibilities to increase uptake to treatment, however the cost of the therapies has made rapid scale up of treatment impossible.  Given the risk of serious harms to patients with advanced liver disease if not treated, insurance has begun to approve these new therapies for patients with more advanced disease. Departments of corrections are obliged to provide the same standard of care to persons in corrections as they would receive in the community.  Unlike Medicaid and community insurance providers, correctional systems worker under a fixed budget. Large increases in expenditures for treatment of hepatitis C without establishing mechanisms to offset these costs risks compromising other essential programs and functions in the correctional health system. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Montague: In a cross-sectional analysis we estimated the burden of hepatitis C within the department of corrections.  At the time of the study, an estimated 836 persons have chronic hepatitis C.  Among these an estimated 119 have advanced liver disease, stage 3 or 4 fibrosis, and would meet criteria for treatment under most insurance programs.  Even a conservative approach of restricting treatment in corrections to those with stage 3 or 4 fibrosis would incur costs of over $15 million, which is greater than 6 times the current correctional health budget for pharmaceuticals and 76% of the overall correctional health budget. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Cost of Health Care, JAMA / 10.04.2015

Gabriel Brooks, MD Gastrointestinal Cancer Center Dana-Farber Cancer Institute MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gabriel Brooks, MD Gastrointestinal Cancer Center Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Brooks: The background for our study is that hospitalizations in patients with cancer are common, costly, and distressing to patients.  Acute hospital care is the single largest expenditure category in cancer care, accounting for substantially greater costs than even chemotherapy. However, patients generally wish to avoid hospitalization, and they certainly want to avoid complications of treatment that can lead to hospitalization. For these reasons, we sought to identify the extent to which hospitalizations are perceived as potentially avoidable by clinicians who are directly involved in patient care. We interviewed three physicians for each of 103 patients with cancer who experienced a hospitalization. For 24 patients (23%) two or more of the three physicians agreed that hospitalization had been potentially avoidable. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Nature, Pancreatic, UT Southwestern / 10.04.2015

Dr. Agnieszka Witkiewicz MD Associate Professor of Pathology Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center UT SouthwesternMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Agnieszka Witkiewicz MD Associate Professor of Pathology Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center UT Southwestern MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Dr. Witkiewicz: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) has a dismal prognosis, with a five year survival rate of approximately 6%. This poor outcome is related to multiple factors, including the relatively late stage of diagnosis, many patients presenting with unresectable disease, and therapy recalcitrance resulting in disease recurrence in spite of operable disease and systemic therapy. Thus far, insights into how to target the treatment of Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma have remained unclear in spite of prior sequencing efforts. MedicalResearch: What are the main findings? Dr. Witkiewicz: The underlying critical finding of the study was that Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is genetically diverse and that, in principle, this diversity could be exploited for the treatment of disease.   Specifically, many cases harbored deregulation in pathways that are the target for drug development.   For example, we identified cases that were driven by BRAF V600E and that were sensitive to the FDA approved drug Vemurafenib.   Similarly, multiple cases harbored defects in DNA repair processes that impart sensitivity to select chemotherapeutic agents and PARP inhibitors.  Common pathway deregulation was observed in reference to beta-catenin, notch, hedgehog, chromatin remodeling, and cell cycle regulatory pathways that are all targets for therapeutic intervention. (more…)
Author Interviews, Microbiome, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 10.04.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lisa J. Martin PhD Professor Division of Human Genetics Jessica G. Woo PhD Associate Professor Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Cincinnati, OH MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Response: Obesity is a major public health concern. In the past 30 years, more and more children are being considered obese. Because treatment is challenging, researchers are looking toward prevention. The health benefits of breastfeeding over infant formula feeding are well recognized, including evidence that breastfeeding may protect against obesity. But, how much protection it provides and the reasons for protection are unclear. Thus, the purpose of this paper was to examine the relationship between breastfeeding and reduced risk of obesity later in life, with special emphasis on potential mechanisms. MedicalResearch: What are the main findings? Response: After reviewing more than 80 studies conducted over a period of 20 years, the authors showed that breastfeeding is associated with a 10 to 20 percent reduction in obesity prevalence in childhood. Mechanisms that connect human milk and infant physiology include maternal obesity, development of a healthy gut environment (microbiome) in the infant, and the development of taste preference and diet quality. Importantly, each of these mechanisms can be influenced by biologic and social factors which may directly and indirectly affect the child’s obesity risk. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, JAMA, Melanoma / 10.04.2015

Nancy E. Thomas, MD, PhD Department of Dermatology University of North CarolinaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nancy E. Thomas, MD, PhD Department of Dermatology University of North Carolina MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Dr. Thomas: BRAF and NRAS mutations found in melanomas are important for tumor initiation and maintenance. There are drugs that target BRAF mutations or the pathway that are approved for BRAF-mutant metastatic melanoma and help improve survival. However, it remains unknown whether these mutations in primary melanoma are markers for melanomas with a worse prognosis. MedicalResearch: What are the main findings? Dr. Thomas:
  • In a large international population-based study, we found that of primary melanomas, 30% harbor BRAF mutations, 13% have NRAS mutations and the other 57% do not have these mutations (wildtype).
  • In higher primary tumor stage melanomas, BRAF or NRAS mutations were associated with an approximately 3-fold increased rate of death from melanoma compared to wildtype melanoma adjusted for other prognostic factors.
  • Primary melanomas with NRAS mutations were less likely to have tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in the tumor microenvironment. (more…)