MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Elizabeth M. Widen, PhD, RD Postdoctoral Fellow in the Institute of Human Nutrition & Department of Epidemiology Columbia University Mailman School...
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: James Scheiman, M.D. Professor of Gastroenterology University of Michigan Medical School Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What...
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Prof. Moshe Szyf Ph.D.
James McGill Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics
McGill University
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Szyf: Humans exhibit a marked variation in traits both physical and behavioral and different susceptibilities for developing disease. What causes this inter-individual variation? The prevailing dogma has been that changes in the sequences of genes or heritable genetic differences are responsible for these differences. We tested here an alternative hypothesis that perhaps some of the reason for this natural variation in traits is not caused by differences in inherited genes but by “epigenetic” changes that alter the way genes work without changing the genes. The main difference between genetic and epigenetic changes is that epigenetic changes could be introduced by experience and exposure to environment. The experiences that can cause epigenetic changes include physical as well as social environments. Although we had known that epigenetic differences occur in humans and animals we didn’t have evidence that these changes are behind the natural variation in traits that is observed in humans and animals. Ants are an exciting biological paradigm that exhibits quantitative variations in size and therefore provided a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Matthew J. Bair, MD, MS
Research Service, Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development, Center for Health Information and Communication
Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center,
Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Health Services Research, Regenstrief Institute, Inc, Indianapolis, Indiana
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Bair: Despite the prevalence and functional, psychological, and economic impact of chronic pain, there have been few intervention studies to treat chronic pain in Veterans.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?
Dr. Bair: A stepped-care intervention that combined analgesics, self-management strategies, and brief cognitive behavioral therapy resulted in statistically significant reductions in pain-related disability, pain interference, and pain severity in Veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Prof. Amar Rangan
Clinical Professor, Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgery
School of Medicine & Health, Durham University & Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
The James Cook University Hospital Middlesbrough
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Prof. Rangan: The majority of fractures of the proximal humerus (broken shoulders) occur in people older than 65 years. Although surgical treatment is being increasingly used for the more serious (displaced) fractures, it has been unclear whether surgical intervention (fracture fixation or humeral head replacement) produces consistently better outcomes than non-surgical treatment (arm-sling); both followed by physiotherapy.
Our multicentre randomized controlled trial (ProFHER), funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research’s Health Technology Assessment Programme, recruited 250 patients aged 16 years or older (mean age, 66 years) who presented at the orthopedic departments of 32 acute UK National Health Service hospitals between September 2008 and April 2011 after sustaining the most common types of acute displaced fracture of the proximal humerus.
Data for 231 patients (92.4% of 250) included in the primary analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the two treatment groups over two years or at 6, 12 and 24 months follow-up in self-reported pain and function scores. Nor were there significant differences on measures of health-related quality of life, complications related to surgery or shoulder fracture, later surgery or treatment for these complications, and death.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Joost Besseling PhD-student
Academic Medical Center
Dept. of Vascular Medicine
Amsterdam
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Statins are associated with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The exact mechanism for this adverse event is largely unknown, although the upregulation of the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) has been suggested to play a role. In familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) the uptake of LDL-cholesterol via the LDLR is decreased due to a genetic defect. We found that the prevalence of type 2 DM is 50% lower in relative terms in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia. Moreover, there was a dose-response relationship: the more severe the genetic defect that causes familial hypercholesterolemia, the lower the prevalence of type 2 DM.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Elizabeth A. Lawson, M.D., M.M.Sc.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Director, Interdisciplinary Oxytocin Research Program
Neuroendocrine Unit Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA 02114
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Oxytocin is a hormone produced in the brain that has been shown to reduce food intake in animal studies. The role of oxytocin on appetite and food consumption in humans is not well understood. We therefore performed a randomized, placebo controlled cross-over study of single dose administration of intranasal oxytocin (Syntocinon, Novartis) in healthy men. Subjects presented fasting in the early morning and were randomized to receive 24 IU intranasal oxytocin or placebo. They selected breakfast from a menu and were offered double portions. The caloric content of the food they ate was calculated. They returned for a second visit, which was the same except for this time, they received the other treatment (placebo or oxytocin). There was no difference in how much food the men reported eating in the three days leading up to each of the study visits. On average, the men ate 122 fewer calories and about 9 grams less fat after receiving oxytocin compared to placebo. There was also evidence that oxytocin resulted in greater use of fat as a fuel for the body, and improved insulin sensitivity.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Borja Quiroga MD Ph.D.
Nephrology Unit, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón
Madrid, Spain
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Quiroga: Chronic kidney disease patients are at high-risk for the development of cardiovascular events. Although several strategies have been tried for identifying those patients with poorer prognosis, no one has demonstrated by itself being the best one. This could be explained by the fact that several factors are implied in the cardiovascular profile of chronic kidney disease patients.
With this background, in our study we hypothesized if differences in the interarm systolic blood pressure could detect patients with enhanced cardiovascular risk early, and, consequently therapies could be initiated.
Our results provide interesting data on this regard, as we have concluded that an interarm systolic blood pressure difference higher that 10 mmHg is an independent prognosis factor for cardiovascular events. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Jennifer Lind PharmD, MPH
Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities,
CDC
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Lind: CDC and Florida investigators published a new report describing the characteristics of infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and their mothers. NAS is a group of signs exhibited by newborns exposed to addictive drugs taken by a mother during pregnancy. Infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome have prolonged hospital stays, experience serious medical complications, and are very costly to treat.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Dr. Lind: In this investigation, 242 infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome were identified in three Florida hospitals during a 2-year period (2010–2011). Nearly all of the infants with NAS were exposed to opioid painkillers during pregnancy (99.6%) and experienced serious medical complications, with more than 97% being admitted to an intensive care unit, where the average length of stay was 26 days. Despite a high prevalence of positive urine toxicology tests during the birth hospitalization, only a small proportion of mothers had documentation of referrals for drug counseling or rehabilitation.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Leslie Curry PhD, MPH
Senior Research Scientist in and Lecturer in Public Health (Health Policy)
Co-Director, Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program
Yale School of Public Health
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Curry: Quality of care for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has improved substantially in recent years due to important investments by clinicians and policymakers; however, survival rates across U.S. Hospitals still differ greatly. Evidence suggests links between hospital organizational culture and hospital performance in care of patients with AMI. Yet few studies have attempted to shift organizational culture in order to improve performance, fewer have focused on patient outcomes, and none have addressed mortality for patients with acute myocardial infarction. We sought to address this gap through a novel longitudinal intervention study, Leadership Saves Lives (LSL). We have a large team of people with backgrounds in nursing, medicine, health care administration and research working in 10 very diverse hospitals across the country in 10 states. All hospitals are members of the Mayo Clinic Care Network and are fully committed to saving lives of patients with heart attacks. Teams of 10-12 clinicians and administrators are devoting substantial energy, expertise and good will to this project.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Stephen Gallo, Ph.D.
Technical Operations Manager
American Institute of Biological Sciences Scientific Peer Advisory and Review Services
Reston, VA 20191
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Gallo: Peer review is an evaluation process widely used to help research funders identify the best projects to support. A cornerstone of the process is the independence and integrity of the review panel, which includes a fair and non-conflicted evaluation of the proposed research. Despite the importance of the process, there are few research studies investigating the frequency and type of conflicts that occur, particularly with regard to the independent peer review of basic science research proposals.
To improve our understanding of conflict of interest in the peer review process, the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) conducted a retrospective analysis of conflict of interest data from the independent peer review of 282 biomedical research applications.
The overall ‘conflicted-ness’ of these panels was significantly lower than that reported for regulatory review panels, which have been studied by others. This might be explained by the fact that no direct financial conflicts were identified; the majority of identified conflicts were institutional or collaborative in nature.
The analysis revealed that 35 percent of conflicts were self-reported by review panel members. Importantly, peer review panel managers identified 65 percent of conflicts. These results underscore the important role administrators who organize review panels play in identifying conflicts of interest.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Niclas Stephanson, PhD
Leg. Apotekare, Analytisk kemist
Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset
Stockholm
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Stephanson: Drug testing is most commonly performed using urine samples, which is based on a long and comprehensive experience. The methodology and regulations for reliable urine testing are well developed and can be considered the current gold standard for drug testing. However, one problem with urine testing is related to the sample collection, often perceived as inconvenient and privacy-overriding by those undergoing the test. To overcome this problem a group of researchers from the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have worked on developing a more donor-friendly alternative to urine testing for drugs by focusing on exhaled breath.
Doctor Niclas Stephanson in the research group led by Professor Olof Beck, has developed the first fully validated and robust screening method for the routine measurement of drugs of abuse in exhaled breath. The procedure involves a simple method of sample collection and preparation, which is followed by a highly sensitive analytical technique known as LC-MS (Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry). The drug groups which are identified: amphetamine, methamphetamine, cannabis, cocaine and heroin.
The underlying mechanism in exhaled breath drug testing is believed to be the formation of aerosol particles from the airway lining fluid by the breathing process. These aerosol particles may contain drugs present in the body, which enables drugs to be analyzed. A simple collection device is currently available which selectively collects the micrometer aerosol particles on a filter and enables further laboratory investigation of possible drug content.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Marc Ellsworth, M.D
Neonatology fellow at the
Mayo Clinic Children’s Center
MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Ellsworth: Inhaled Nitric Oxide (iNO) is a drug that has FDA approval for use in neonates >34 weeks gestational age. It is used for severe respiratory failure secondary to pulmonary hypertension. However, it has been previously shown that neonatologists have been using this medication off-label and especially in the most premature neonates. Over the last 10 years there have been multiple large studies trying to determine a clinical use (ie long term benefit) for iNO in preterm neonates (patients where there is no FDA approval for iNO use currently). Despite evidence of short term benefit (improved clinical stability) use of this drug has not been shown to improve long-term outcomes (death and chronic lung disease) in premature neonates. As a result of these findings the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) released a consensus guideline in 2011 indicated that available evidence did not support the routine use of iNO in preterm neonates and discouraged this use of this expensive therapy in preterm neonates. Similarly, in 2014 the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a similar statement with similar recommendations.
In 2014 a group of NICUs (collectively called the Neonatal Research Network) associated with the NICHD published a report showing that the use of Inhaled Nitric Oxide in preterm infants (ie off-label) decreased following the report in 2011.
However, I did not feel that these NICUs were representative of the United States alone as the Neonatal Research Network consists of only a handful of NICUs (~15) and is directly associated with the NICHD. As a result I wanted to get a better idea of Inhaled Nitric Oxide use in a population based study to see if the trends were similar (ie use of iNO has been decreasing) on a much larger, more representative scale. (Editorial comment: My anecdotal experience was that rates of iNO use off-label have not decreased in preterm neonates since the 2011 report).
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Hallie Prescott, MD, MSc
Clinical Lecturer, Internal Medicine
Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
University of Michigan Health System
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2800
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Prescott: The post-hospital period has been widely recognized as a vulnerable time for patients. In particular, patients who survive sepsis are frequently readmitted to the hospital in the following three months.
In this study, we examined data from 2,600 survivors of sepsis, a severe infection that leads to organ failure. About 42% of the sepsis patients were readmitted in the next 90 days, similar to the rate seen for patients hospitalized for other acute conditions.
However, the reasons for hospital readmission after sepsis are different. A greater number of patients are re-hospitalized for “ambulatory-care sensitive conditions”, which are conditions that could potentially be prevented or treated early in the outpatient setting to avoid a hospital stay.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Professor Dr. Bernd Weber
Heisenberg Professor
Department of Epileptology
Head - NeuroCognition | Imaging
Life&Brain Center Board of Directors
Center for Economics and Neuroscience Bonn
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Professor Jane A. Mitchell
Head of Vascular Biology Section
Head of Cardiothoracic Pharmacology
National Heart and Lung Institute,
Institute of Cardiovascular Medicine & Science,
Imperial College, London
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: In 2006 a drug called TGN1412 was given to 6 healthy male volunteers as a final test for safety. The drug had passed all of the preclinical tests and showed no problem when it was given to laboratory animals. However when it was given to people it caused a catastrophic side effect known as a ‘cytokine storm response’. All 6 volunteers became sick very quickly and needed immediate hospital treatment, they nearly died and remain at risk of immune problems still. We found a way to mimic the effects of TGN1412 in the laboratory using stem cell technology to engineer two different types of cells from the same donor to be grown and mixed together in a dish. Our test is better than the current tests used because it mimics better the human body and uses cells from one individual donor.
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Jonathan Pell, MD
Assistant Professor Hospital Medicine
University of Colorado Denver
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Pell: Back in 2001, the Institute of Medicine's charter document Crossing the Quality Chasm proposed that the health care system needs to do a better job of patient centered care. In order to provide true patient centered care, we must provide patients and their families with the knowledge and tools they need to make autonomous and informed decisions about their healthcare. A patient cannot make informed decisions about their healthcare without having easy access to their own health information. Almost 15 years later, we are still discussing whether or not patients should have immediate electronic access to information in their electronic health record. Studies have shown that giving outpatients direct electronic access to their test results and even doctors notes does not cause patients worry or confusion, and there is no undue burden on care providers explaining this newly accessible information to their patients - if they can deliver thinking of you flowers from Flowercard, there's no reason they can't deliver a simple print-out of relevant information. Despite this, many institutions still have a moratorium on release of patients' test results, and the duration of this moratorium is variable from institution to institution. The technology to deliver this type of information real-time to patients is readily available. We decided to explore the effect of giving hospitalized patients real-time access to their test results and hospital medication list/schedule.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Carla M. Pugh, M.D., Ph.D. FACS
Associate Professor, Vice Chair, Education and Patient Safety
Clinical Director, UW Health Clinical Simulation Program
Section of Trauma, Acute Care Surgery, Burn and Surgical Critical Care Division of General Surgery University of Wisconsin, School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Pugh: The clinical breast examination is routinely performed on millions of women each year. It is used for screening breast cancer and is also routinely performed on women presenting with symptomatic breast conditions.
In this study we assessed the performance of the clinical breast examination among a large sample of practicing physicians. There were two main goals to the study. The first goal was to identify current recommendations for performing the clinical breast examination and investigating how this relates to examination sensitivity or finding a mass. The second and more general goal was to develop a method for objective assessment of clinical skills.
Novel clinical breast examination simulators were used in this study; in addition to their ability to present different pathologies and multiple clinical scenarios, they were all integrated with advanced force sensors. These sensors include approximately 2000 discrete sensing elements, measuring force level and distribution thought the breast examination. These sensors provide information at a level of detail that is not possible with observation alone.
Four models were used in this study; two models presenting superficial soft masses and two models representing hard chest wall masses. The study was performed from 2013 to 2014 with 553 physicians performing the clinical breast examination on our models. The participants were recruited at three annual clinical meetings: 136 at the American Society of Breast Surgeons, 236 at the American Academy of Family Physicians, and 181 at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
The study found a significant relationship between the force used during palpation and the accuracy of the assessment of the deep-tissue lesions. More specifically, the study found that some physicians don’t apply enough force during the examination putting them at high risk of missing deep-tissue lesions. Since force can’t be measured by human observation this underscores the added value of integrating sensors into clinical simulators. (more…)
Elaine W. Yu, MD, MMSc
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Massachusetts General Hospital
MGH Endocrine Unit
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Yu: It is well known that cardiovascular disease is more common in men than in women. The exact reasons for this are unknown, but may be related to gender differences in levels of sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen. As compared to premenopausal women, men have higher testosterone and lower estrogen levels. It is currently unclear whether the actions of testosterone and/or estrogen affect cardiovascular risk factors.
In this study, we explored the regulation of cardiovascular risk factors by testosterone and estrogen in men. We found that higher levels of testosterone led to lower HDL levels (“good” cholesterol), whereas estrogen did not regulate HDL. In contrast, low levels of estrogen led to worsening insulin resistance and increased muscle fat, markers for developing diabetes. Importantly, LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol”) was not affected by either testosterone or estrogen in men. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Jean-Bosco Tagne Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Boston University School of Medicine; Pulmonary Center
Boston, MA
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The lung transcription factor Nkx2-1 is an important gene regulating lung formation, and normal respiratory functions after birth. Alteration in the expression of this transcription factor can lead to lung interstitial disease, postnatal respiratory distress and lung cancer. MicroRNAs repress gene expression, also controlling lung cell differentiation. In this study, we characterized miRNAs regulated by Nkx2-1 in lung cells by genome-wide analysis and confirm the expression patterns of highly regulated miRNAs in normal lung and in lungs lacking functional Nkx2-1. By in vitro studies in lung cell lines we found that down-regulation of Nkx2-1 de-represses miR-200c. Increased miR-200c, in turn, reduces the expression of its predicted targets Nfib and Myb. These findings add new components to the gene regulatory network controlled by Nkx2-1 in lung epithelial cells that may have implications in the various roles of Nkx2-1 in development and disease particularly in this case lung cancer where the levels are seriously altered.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Michael L. Eisenberg, M.D.
Director, Male Reproductive Medicine and Surgery
Assistant Professor
Department of Urology
Stanford University School of Medicine
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Eisenberg: There has been growing data that a man's overall health may impact his fertility. As such, we wanted to explore this link using the NICHD LIFE Study which has the unique ability to account for both health and work exposure in men with both normal and abnormal fertility. We found that certain aspects of a man's work and health can impact his semen parameters.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Michael J. Orlich, MD, PhD
Program Director, Preventive Medicine Residency
Loma Linda University
Co-Investigator, Adventist Health Studies
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Orlich: Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. Screening efforts such as colonoscopies have helped save many lives by detecting pre-cancerous polyps and removing them. However, it is even better to prevent cancers from forming in the first place. We call this primary prevention. Diet is a potentially important approach to reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer. In this analysis, we compared those eating different categories of vegetarian dietary patterns to those eating a non-vegetarian diet. About half of our study population was classified as non-vegetarian, which we defined as eating meat at least weekly. The other half of our population we called vegetarian and further divided them into four different vegetarian groups: semi-vegetarians ate meat but less than once per week; pesco-vegetarians ate fish but avoided other meats; lacto-ovo-vegetarians avoided meat but ate eggs and/or dairy products; and vegans avoided all meats, eggs, and dairy. All vegetarians together had on average a 22% relative reduction in the risk of developing colorectal cancer, compared to non-vegetarians, after carefully adjusting for many other factors. Pesco-vegetarians in particular had a much lower risk compared to non-vegetarians. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Prof. Sigurdur Y Kristinsson
Professor of Hematology
University of Iceland
MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Prof. Kristinsson: Multiple myeloma is always preceded by a precursor condition called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). MGUS is characterized by a detectable monoclonal protein in persons without evidence for end-organ damage or other related plasma cell or lymphoproliferative disorders. MGUS is very common and is detected in approximately 5 percent of persons 70 years or older. However, only a small proportion of MGUS progresses to a malignant disorder, in fact the annual risk of progression to multiple myeloma or other related disorders is on average 1 percent, with varying risks according to risk groups. Current guidelines suggest, depending on the individual patient’s clinical risk score, life-long monitoring of MGUS individuals to detect progression to multiple myeloma or related disorders. At this time, the impact of annual monitoring on the outcome of patients who eventually develop multiple myeloma is unclear.
Using high-quality population-based data from Sweden, we estimated the impact of prior knowledge of MGUS diagnosis and comorbidities on multiple myeloma survival, by performing a large population-based study using data on more than 14,000 multiple myeloma patients diagnosed in Sweden 1976-2005, with follow-up through 2007. The hypothesis that detection and follow-up of MGUS may influence survival in multiple myeloma is unlikely to ever be tested in a prospective clinical study due to the large sample size required with long follow-up time, and consequent extreme costs.
We found that multiple myeloma patients with prior knowledge of MGUS had significantly 15% better survival, despite having significantly more comorbidities. Interestingly, low-risk MGUS (with very low M-protein) had highest risk of death. The observation that low M-protein concentration at MGUS diagnosis was associated with poorer multiple myeloma survival may reflect less frequent clinical follow-up. Our observations stress the importance of clinical follow-up in MGUS, regardless of risk stratification.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Pina Violano, RN, PhD
Trauma Department, Yale-New Haven Hospital,
Injury Free Coalition for Kids of New Haven
Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital
New Haven 06510, CT
MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Violano: In July of 2012, Connecticut became one of the first states to enact legislation to ensure the safety and appropriate evaluation and management of sports-related concussions (SRC) among High School students. SRCs are a common occurrence in high school sports with their diagnosis increasing over the last decade. While the exact reasons are not known, public health campaign efforts and education may have facilitated improvement in the evaluation and detection of sports-related concussions and may have contributed to increase awareness and treatment.
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings?
Dr. Violano: Evaluation of two emergency department records revealed a marked increase in the frequency of high school student athletes being treated for sports-related concussions after the implementation of Connecticut’s SRC law. This suggests that Connecticut’s legislation is effective in improving the evaluation and detection of sports-related concussions in high school students.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Grant Hansman
CHS Research Group at CellNetworks Heidelberg University and DKFZ
Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum
Heidelberg Germany
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Hansman: Human noroviruses are the major cause of outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis. There are several promising vaccine candidates. Vaccines may offer some protection, but the fact that the virus changes every other year produces a challenge. Therefore, my research group investigates the possibility to produce universal antivirals targeting conserved regions on the virus capsid.
We found that a Nanobody was able to bind with a high affinity, and broad reactivity to diverse norovirus types. The Nanobody binding on the virus capsid caused the virus particles to disassemble. The disassembly of the particles may render the virus non-infectious and block viral infections.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. David M.G. Lewis, PhD
Assistant Professor Department of Psychology
Bilkent Üniversitesi Ankara, Turkey
Research Affiliate,
Individual Differences and Evolutionary Psychology Area
Department of Psychology
The University of Texas at Austin
MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Lewis: My motivations to conduct this study were a combination of several things. Men would often mention to me the features that they found attractive in women. They would often mention the butt, but not the *size* of the butt...it was something else, but they couldn't seem to put their finger on exactly what...
I then began reading more deeply into the different muscular, ligamentous, skeletal, etc. structures that could influence the appearance of the buttocks. I moved beyond just buttock tissue and buttock size. What I began to discover is that while the size of the buttocks does indeed influence the buttocks' appearance, so too does other morphology that is not part of the buttocks themselves. These readings indicated that certain spinal structures can help women shift their center of mass back over the hips during pregnancy and reduce hip torque by roughly 700%. To the extent that women who possess these spinal structures would thereby be better able to carry a pregnancy (or multiple pregnancies) to term without suffering spinal injuries, selection would have favored the evolution of psychological mechanisms in men to prefer women exhibiting cues to these spinal structures. Men could not directly observed women's vertebrae, but lumbar curvature is an externally visible cue to the relevant spinal structures.
At this point, we had a hypothesis that was both anchored in evolutionary theory and grounded in medical orthopedic literature. It was time we tested our idea that men possess a previously undiscovered, evolved preference for a beneficial intermediate angles of lumbar curvature in women.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Pedram Gerami MD
Associate Professor of Dermatology and Pathology
Northwestern University
MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Gerami: The outcomes for patients with cutaneous melanoma are highly variable and there are limitations to the conventional staging system for melanoma. For example while the status of the sentinel lymph node biopsy is considered the strongest prognosticator, approximately 2/3 of cutaneous melanoma patients that ultimately die from their melanoma will have a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy result. In this study we showed that using a technique known as mRNA expression profiling to determine which genes are highly active and which are not that a molecular prognostic assay with accuracy could be developed. This assay can accurately classify patients based on their gene signature as having a high or low risk for metastasis and death from their melanoma. In an independent validation cohort, patients with a class I or low risk signature had a 5 year disease free survival rate of 97% while those with a class II or high risk signature had a 5 year disease free survival rate of only 31%.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Margaret C. Campbell, Phd | Professor | Marketing
Chair, Doctoral Curriculum Program Committee
437 Leeds School of Business
University of Colorado at Boulder
Boulder, CO 80309-0419
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Campbell: People try to maintain healthy body weights, attain academic and career success, save money for a car, a house, or retirement, and achieve a host of other goals that require repeated, goal-consistent behaviors. Unfortunately, consumers’ efforts often fall short. For example, 68% of Americans are overweight (Weight Control Information Network 2010), 46% who begin college do not graduate within six years (Associated Press 2006), and although 93% say that saving for retirement is important, only about 60% are actually saving (TIAA-CREF 2010) and approximately 50% have accumulated less than $25,000 (Helman, VanDehrei and Copeland 2007). Understanding goal pursuit and consumers’ choices to continue effort toward a goal that requires repeated goal-consistent behaviors is thus important. People need to be able to make progress on important goals that substantially impact their quality of life.
Monitoring the influence of behavior on distance from a focal goal has been identified as important for successful goal pursuit - such as weight loss. In seven experiments, we find that people tend to have a “progress bias” such that they perceive that goal-consistent behaviors (such as avoiding eating a piece of cake) help progress more than equivalent-sized goal-inconsistent behaviors (such as eating a piece of cake) hurt progress. An experiment on exercise and eating shows that the progress bias can lead to poor understanding of progress and thus, premature release of the goal. In this study, the progress bias resulted in people with a goal of expending more calories than they consumed ended up consuming more than they expended.
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