Author Interviews, Genetic Research, JAMA, Schizophrenia / 31.07.2014

Dr Angelica Ronald Genes Environment Lifespan (GEL) laboratory Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development Department of Psychological Sciences Birkbeck, University of London London WC1E 7HXMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Angelica Ronald Genes Environment Lifespan (GEL) laboratory Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development Department of Psychological Sciences Birkbeck, University of London London WC1E 7HX Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Ronald: Psychotic experiences, such as paranoia, hallucinations and disorganised thinking, are commonly reported by adolescents. Until now it has not been understood whether mild variations in psychotic experiences in the community are part of the same construct as more severe psychotic experiences in adolescence. Our findings suggest that they are. In our study, over 10,000 16-year-old adolescents in England and Wales were assessed on measures of psychotic experiences. The study identified a close link between normal, less frequent psychotic experiences and more severe and frequent experiences in the general population. A classic twin design was employed, which enabled us to conduct analyses investigating the role of genetic and environmental influences on psychotic experiences. The same genetic influences appeared to play a role across the spectrum of severity of psychotic experiences. The study found that psychotic experiences are moderately heritable in adolescence in the general population. This suggests it would be worth directing molecular genetic endeavours towards this area, which has so far received very little attention in terms of causal explanations. We also show that psychotic experiences have considerable environmental influence; in fact, environmental influence appears to play a larger role in causing psychotic experiences in adolescence than for diagnosed psychotic disorders in adults, such as schizophrenia. This result suggests a fruitful avenue will be to tackle what environmental risk factors influence adolescents to have psychotic experiences. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Kidney Disease, Mayo Clinic, Weight Research / 31.07.2014

Dr. John C. Lieske, MD Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MNMedicalResearch.com Interview with Dr. John C. Lieske, MD Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lieske: We followed 11 women before, 6 and 12 months after Roux en Y gastric bypass surgery.  The patients successfully lost weight as mean BMI fell from 46 kg/m2 preoperatively to 28 kg/m2 postoperatively.   Mean serum creatinine did not significantly change from baseline (0.8 mg/dl) to 12 months (0.7 mg/dl).  Hence mean GFR estimated by the CKD-EPI equation (eGFR) did not significantly change from 84 ml/min/1.73 m2 (baseline) to 90 ml/min/1.73 m2 (12 months).  However, GFR measured by iothalamate clearance (mGFR) significantly decreased from 108 ml/min/1.73m2 (121 ml/min) to 85 ml/min/1.73 m2 (90 ml/min). (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, JCEM, Weight Research / 31.07.2014

Dr. Agatha van der Klaauw, PhD Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories Addenbrooke's Hospital Cambridge, United KingdomMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Agatha van der Klaauw, PhD Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories Addenbrooke's Hospital Cambridge, United Kingdom   Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. van der Klaauw: Obesity occurs when we eat more calories than we burn which is often easy to do as many foods are highly palatable and high in calories. Highly palatable foods such as chocolate trigger signals in the brain that give a feeling of pleasure and reward (sometimes called cravings) which can contribute to overeating. These signals are processed in the reward centres in the brain, where sets of neurons release chemicals such as dopamine. However, very little is known about whether the reward centres of the brain work differently in some people who are overweight. In this study, we were interested in studying overweight people who had a problem with the melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) gene. About 1% of obese people have a problem in this gene which contributes to weight gain from a young age. We compared three groups of people: people who were overweight due to a problem in the MC4R gene, people who were overweight but the gene was normal and some people who were normal weight. We performed functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans to look at how the reward centres in the brain were activated by pictures of appetizing food such as chocolate cake compared to bland food such as rice or broccoli and non-food items such as staplers. We found that in normal weight people, the reward centres are activated (light up) when they are shown pictures of cake or chocolate and the same was seen in overweight people with a problem in the MC4R gene. But we found that the reward centres were underactive in overweight volunteers (in whom the gene was normal). (more…)
Author Interviews, Hematology, NEJM, Sloan Kettering, Transplantation / 31.07.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Richard J. O'Reilly, MD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. O'Reilly: 1.       In a comparison of the results of HLA-matched sibling transplants with other established transplant approaches, including T-cell depleted half-matched parental marrow grafts, unmodified transplants from matched unrelated donors and cord blood transplants in the current era (2000-2009), transplants from donors other than HLA-matched siblings had 5 year survival outcomes similar to those of matched siblings when applied to young infants (≤ 3.5 months of age) or infants of any age that were not infected at the time of transplants. Thus any child born with SCID can now be successfully transplanted. 2.       Active infection at the time of transplant significantly reduced chances of long-term survival for all infants except those who received transplants from HLA-matched siblings. Thus, infection is a dominant determinant of transplant outcome.  Control of treatable infections prior to transplant should be a major clinical objective. 3.       Treatment with chemotherapy containing busulfan significantly enhances the likelihood of recovering a normal ability to make antibodies and fosters better recovery of T-cells that provide cell mediated immunity, and may be an acceptable risk in uninfected infants. However, use of any chemotherapy prior to transplant in an infant who is infected, greatly decreases chances of survival. In infected patients who lack a matched sibling, T-cell depleted transplants from half matched related donors had the best outcomes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Duke, General Medicine, Mental Health Research, Nature / 31.07.2014

Rainbo Hultman, PhD Postdoctoral Research Associate Laboratory for Psychiatric Neuroengineering, Principal Investigator Affective Cognitive and Addiction Disorders (ACAD) Research Group Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Center for Neuroengineering Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC 27710MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rainbo Hultman, PhD Postdoctoral Research Associate Laboratory for Psychiatric Neuroengineering, Principal Investigator Affective Cognitive and Addiction Disorders (ACAD) Research Group Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Center for Neuroengineering Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC 27710 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Hultman: Using a mouse model of stress-induced psychiatric dysfunction, we found that the brainwave patterns in two key brain regions (prefrontal cortex, PFC and amygdala, AMY) encode for susceptibility to such dysfunction. Furthermore, such susceptibility can be predicted from the brainwave patterns in these regions before the onset of stress. (more…)
Author Interviews, Insomnia, Mental Health Research / 31.07.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Pasquale K Alvaro School of Psychology University of Adelaide South Australia, Australia Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: In adolescents, insomnia is related to depression beyond chronotype (a classification system for circadian rhythms or body clock), anxiety and age. Insomnia is also related to Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) beyond chronotype, depression and age. Depression accounts for the relationship between insomnia and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and Social Phobia (SP). Furthermore, an evening chronotype  (delayed sleep phase, that is, preferring to go to bed in the early morning) predicts insomnia beyond depression, anxiety and age. Moreover, an evening chronotype predicts depression beyond insomnia, anxiety and age. Finally, insomnia and depression account for the relationships between an evening chronotype and panic disorder, OCD, SAD and SP. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dartmouth, Kidney Disease / 31.07.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jeremiah R. Brown, PhD MS Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Clinical Practic The Dartmouth Institute Lebanon, NHMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jeremiah R. Brown, PhD MS Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Clinical Practic The Dartmouth Institute Lebanon, NH   Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Brown: Using simple team-based quality improvement methods we prevented kidney injury in 20% of patients having a procedure in the cardiac catheterization lab.  Among patients with pre-existing kidney disease, we prevent kidney injury in 30% of patients. We believed that using a team-based approach and having teams at different medical centers in northern New England learn from one-another to provide the best care possible for their patients.  Some of the most innovative ideas came from these teams and identified simple solutions to protect patients from kidney injury from the contrast dye exposure; these included:
  • Getting patients to self-hydrate with water before the procedure (8 glasses of water before and after the procedure),
  • Allow patient to drink fluids up to 2-hours before the procedure (whereas before they were "NPO" for up to 12 hours and came in dehydrated),
  • Training the doctors to use less contrast in the procedure (which is good for the patient and saves the hospital money),
  • and creating stops in the system to delay a procedure if that patient had not received enough oral or IV fluids before the case (rather, they would delay the case until the patient received adequate fluids).Our success was really about hospital teams talking and innovating with one another instead of competing in the health care market, which resulted in simple, homegrown, easy to do solutions that improved patient safety.
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Author Interviews, Diabetologia, Weight Research / 31.07.2014

Joshua Bell, MSc Department of Epidemiology & Public Health University College LondonMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joshua Bell, MSc Department of Epidemiology & Public Health University College London   Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found that physical activity and leisure time sitting interact to affect the long-term risk of becoming obese, with protective effects of high physical activity depending upon low levels of leisure time sitting. Adults engaging in both high physical activity and low leisure time sitting showed nearly 4-fold lower odds of becoming obese after 5 years, compared with those engaging in both low physical activity and high leisure time sitting. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Mental Health Research / 30.07.2014

dr_zachary_kaminskyMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Zachary A. Kaminsky, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry Baltimore, MD, 21205 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Kaminsky: A DNA methylation increase at the SKA2 gene was identified and observed across three post mortem brain tissue cohorts and was associated with suicide. The DNA methylation at the SKA2 gene was associated with lower gene expression of the gene. The same association was found in blood allowing us to attempt to predict suicidal behaviors in living individuals. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Diabetes Care, Kidney Disease / 30.07.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Petter Bjornstad, M.D. Children's Hospital Colorado University of Colorado Denver Aurora, CO 80045 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Bjornstad: Type 2 diabetes is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease in the Western world. It is therefore of paramount importance to develop a better understanding of the determinants of diabetic nephropathy risk and progression, to improve outcome in adolescents with type 2 diabetes. We report high rates of microalbuminuria and renal hyperfiltration in adolescents with type 2 diabetes, which forecast early renal morbidity and mortality. In our observational study, insulin sensitivity measured by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp studies, rather than adiposity, blood pressure, lipid and glycemic control was associated with markers of renal health (albumin-to-creatinine ratio and estimated glomerular filtration rate). (more…)
Author Interviews, Neurology, Parkinson's / 30.07.2014

Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-2676 Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center (PADRECC) Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Daniel Weintraub, M.D. Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-2676 Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center (PADRECC) Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Weintraub: That there is mixed evidence for the efficacy of naltrexone in the treatment of impulse control disorders in Parkinson’s disease, and the evidence is sufficient to support further study of this compound class for this indication.  In addition, the study demonstrates that it is possible to conduct a clinical trial in this area. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Mediterranean Diet, Nutrition / 30.07.2014

Dr Michelle Morris Research Fellow Nutritional Epidemiology Group School of Food Science & Nutrition University of LeedsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Michelle Morris Research Fellow Nutritional Epidemiology Group School of Food Science & Nutrition University of Leeds Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Morris: The healthiest diets consumed by UK Women are the most expensive. This study is UK centric, using dietary patterns consumed by UK women and scored for healthiness according to the UK Department of Health Eatwell Plate. Cost of diet was estimated using average prices taken from an evaluated UK food cost database. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Diabetes Care, Weight Research / 30.07.2014

Grant Brinkworth PhD Associate Professor Senior Research Scientist CSIRO Animal, Food and Health Sciences Adelaide BC, South AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Grant Brinkworth PhD Associate Professor Senior Research Scientist CSIRO Animal, Food and Health Sciences Adelaide BC, South Australia Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Brinkworth: Both a very low carbohydrate, high protein, high unsaturated fat diet and a high carbohydrate, low fat diet achieved similar weight loss, improvements in body composition and health risk markers. However, compared to the high carbohydrate, low fat diet, a very low carbohydrate high protein, high unsaturated fat diet had more favourable effects on blood lipid profile, glycemic control (indicated by greater reductions in glycosylated haemoglobin – primary clinical measure of blood glucose control and the requirements for blood glucose controlling drugs) and for reducing daily blood glucose fluctuations. The findings from this study suggests that a novel eating pattern that markedly limits carbohydrates, increases protein and unsaturated fat may have more favourable therapeutic potential for optimising the management of type 2 diabetes and reducing cardiovascular disease risk. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics / 29.07.2014

Sharon Levy, M.D., M.P.H. Director, Adolescent Substance Abuse Program Assistant Professor in Pediatrics Boston Children’s HospitaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sharon Levy, M.D., M.P.H. Director, Adolescent Substance Abuse Program Assistant Professor in Pediatrics Boston Children’s Hospital   Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Levy: We found that questions that asked about the frequency of alcohol, tobacco and drug use accurately triaged adolescents into "risk categories".  In other words, kids who reported using alcohol or marijuana "once or twice" last year were unlikely to have a substance use disorder, those who reported "monthly" use were very likely to meet diagnostic criteria for a "mild" or "moderate" substance use disorder while those who reported use weekly or more were very likely to meet diagnostic criteria for a "severe" substance use disorder. (more…)
Author Interviews, Urology / 29.07.2014

MedicDavid C. Johnson, MD, MPH Department of Urology University of North Carolina School of MedicinealResearch.com Interview with: David C. Johnson, MD, MPH Department of Urology University of North Carolina School of Medicine   Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Johnson: The first main finding from this study is that the likelihood of benign pathology after surgical removal of a renal mass suspected to be malignant based on pre-operative is inversely proportionate to size. This concept is well-established, however we systematically reviewed the literature for surgical series that published rates of benign pathology stratified by size and combined these rates to determine a single pooled estimate of benign pathology of pre-operatively suspicious renal masses for each size strata. Using benign pathology rates from US studies only, we found that 40.4% of masses < 1 cm, 20.9% of masses 1-2 cm, 19.6% of masses 2-3 cm, 17.2% of masses 3-4 cm, 9.2% of masses 4-7 cm, and 6.4% of masses >7 cm are benign. The more novel finding from this study was the quantification of a previously unmeasured burden of over treatment in kidney cancer. By combining the above mentioned rates of benign pathology with epidemiological data, we estimated that the overall burden of benign renal masses surgically removed in the US to approach 6,000 per year in 2009. This represented an 82% increase over the course of a decade. Most importantly, we found an overwhelmingly disproportionate rise in the surgical treatment of renal masses in the smallest size categories – those which were most likely to be benign. We found a 233%, 189% and 128% increase in surgically removed benign renal lesions < 1 cm, 1-2 cm, and 2-3 cm, respectively from 2000 – 2009 in the US. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Circadian Rhythm, Diabetes, Occupational Health / 28.07.2014

Professor Zuxun Lu School of Public Health Tongii Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhun, Hubei, China.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor  Zuxun Lu School of Public Health Tongii Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhun, Hubei, China. Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Lu: The main finding of this systematic review and meta-analysis was that shift work is associated with an increased risk of diabetes mellitus (DM). The association between shift work and DM appeared to be independent of physical activity, family of history of DM and body mass index. We found that the increased risk of diabetes mellitus was more pronounced in rotating shift group and male shift workers than in other shift group and female shift workers, respectively. (more…)
Author Interviews, Kidney Disease, Lancet, Transplantation / 28.07.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with Dr. Richard Haynes Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit Roosevelt Drive, Headington Oxford OX3 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Haynes: The main result from this analysis is that alemtuzumab-based induction therapy (ie, alemtuzumab followed by low-dose mycophenolate and tacrolimus with steroid avoidance) reduced biopsy-proven acute rejection by about half during the first 6 months after transplantation among a wide variety of different types of participant, compared to standard basiliximab-based induction therapy (basiliximab followed by standard dose mycophenolate, tacrolimus and steroids). This reduction was achieved despite the lower doses of tacrolimus used and there was no excess of infection observed. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, Emergency Care / 28.07.2014

Wendy Macias Konstantopoulos, MD, MPH Department of Emergency Medicine Division of Global Health & Human Rights Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical SchoolMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Wendy Macias Konstantopoulos, MD, MPH Department of Emergency Medicine Division of Global Health & Human Rights Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Macias-Konstantopoulos: Nearly two-thirds (64%) of 3240 emergency department (ED) patients who endorsed using drugs in the last 30 days, met criteria for problematic drug use (DAST-10 score ≥3). Of patients who identified their primary drug of use as being a substance other than cannabis, approximately 91% met criteria for problematic drug use, including nearly 94% of those using illicit drugs and 76% of those using pharmaceuticals. Compared to those who used cannabis primarily, primary non-cannabis users had an almost 15 times higher odds of meeting criteria for problematic drug use. Finally, we know from previous studies that drug-using individuals are more likely to access medical care through the ED and more likely to require hospitalization than their non-drug using counterparts. Our study found that drug-using ED patients who met criteria for problematic drug use tended to have ED triage levels associated with higher levels of severity or resource utilization when compared to drug-using ED patients who did not meet criteria for a drug problem. (more…)
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Tobacco Research / 28.07.2014

Gabriel Arefalk Department of Medical Sciences Uppsala University Hospital Uppsala, SwedenMedicalResearch.com: Interview with: Gabriel Arefalk Department of Medical Sciences Uppsala University Hospital Uppsala, Sweden Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: In this prospective cohort study, we investigated mortality risk in 2474 smokeless tobacco users who had been hospitalized for a myocardial infarction between the years of 2005-2009 in Sweden. We used a nationwide quality register and database called SWEDEHEART and found that those who stopped using snus (the Swedish type of snuff) after their MI had half the risk of dying during follow up relative to those who continued to use snus. This association, which was of the same magnitude as for smoking cessation, seemed to be independent of age, gender and smoking habits, as well as of many other relevant covariates. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA / 27.07.2014

Dr. Danny Dvir MD St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver British Columbia, CanadaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Danny Dvir MD St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver British Columbia, Canada Medical Research: Who were the patients studied? Dr. Dvir: The VIVID registry included high-risk patients with failed aortic bioprostheses treated with valve-in-valve. These patients had many comorbidities and high risk scores for early mortality with conventional redo surgery. Medical Research: What are the treatment options for these patients? Dr. Dvir: Patients with failed bioprosthetic valves are conventionally treated with redo surgery. Transcatheter valve-in-valve is a less-invasive approach. (more…)
Author Interviews, NEJM, Prostate Cancer / 27.07.2014

Tomasz M. Beer, M.D. FACP OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University OR 97239MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tomasz M. Beer, M.D. FACP OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Oregon Health and Science University OR 97239 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Beer: In the study, we found that compared to placebo, enzalutamide improves overall survival, progression-free survival, quality of life, and delays the need for chemotherapy. Enzalutamide is superior to placebo with respect to all planned endpoints, across all subsets of the patient population in the study.  Enzalutamide treatment is associated with an excellent safety profile. (more…)
Alcohol, Author Interviews, PLoS / 26.07.2014

Michael A. Collins PhD Professor of Molecular Pharmacology Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine Maywood IL 60153MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael A. Collins PhD Professor of Molecular Pharmacology Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine Maywood IL 60153 Medical Research: What are the main findings of your study? Dr. Collins: There were several:
  • First, we found that a cadre of neuroinflammatory proteins which promote or are stimulated by increased oxidative stress were significantly altered in a brain neurodegeneration model involving high alcohol binges in adult (male) rats. Most surprising was that the alterations were selectively evident in the three brain regions that contain a lot of dying neurons, and not in regions lacking neurodamage.
  • Additionally, in an alcohol-binged adult rat brain cultures, the same neuroinflammatory protein alterations, along with the neuronal damage, were replicated.
  • We further observed that binging the cultures depleted a key omega-3 fatty acid, termed DHA, in brain membranes. When these binged brain cultures were then supplemented with DHA, the neuroinflammatory protein changes and the neurodegeneration were largely or completely inhibited.
  • The results link specific oxidative stress-associated neuroinflammatory routes to the brain neuronal demise arising from high binge alcohol exposures.
  • They also reveal that supplementation with an omega-3 fatty acid reported to be neuroprotective with respect to other insults may be effective as well in suppressing the brain-damaging effects of excessive alcohol binges.
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Author Interviews, JCEM, Social Issues, Weight Research / 26.07.2014

Qi Zhang, Ph.D. Associate Professor School of Community and Environmental Health Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Qi Zhang, Ph.D. Associate Professor School of Community and Environmental Health Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Zhang: This study found the child-parent resemblance in body weight status varied by socio-demographics in the U.S. In short, the resemblance in BMI is weaker in minorities, older children and lower socioeconomic groups. (more…)
Author Interviews, JNCI, Weight Research / 25.07.2014

Sean Davies PhD Department of Pharmacology Vanderbilt UniversityMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sean Davies PhD Department of Pharmacology Vanderbilt University Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Davies: N-acyl phosphatidylethanolamine (NAPE) is a fat-like molecule normally produced by small intestine of mammals in response to eating high fat foods that helps signal a feeling of fullness to the brain.  This sensation of fullness is what normally helps us decide to stop eating, but in obese people it appears that not enough NAPE is produced so that not enough of that signal gets sent to the brain.  So we wanted to find a way to increase the amount of NAPE made in the intestinal tract, with the hope that this would help protect against obesity. Our approach was to engineer a probiotic bacteria that normally colonizes the gut of humans and other mammals so that it would make NAPE.  Our hope was that when this gut bacteria made the NAPE, it would be absorbed by the intestine and help supplement the NAPE already being made by the intestine so that a more complete sensation of fullness would be send to the brain. What we found was that our engineered bacteria made a significant amount of NAPE and that when fed to mice, the bacteria would colonize the gut like normal and that the intestinal cells could absorb this NAPE.  Most importantly, we found that mice that received this bacteria ate less of the high fat diet than mice that were not treated or that received bacteria that did not make NAPE. Because the mice ate less of the high fat diet, and also because they burned the fat they had more effectively, the mice receiving the bacteria producing NAPE had only 50% of  the body fat of the control mice.  While the control mice showed the early signs of developing diabetes, the mice that received the NAPE producing bacteria showed almost no signs of developing diabetes. So the presence of these NAPE producing bacteria protected the mice from the harmful effects of the high fat diet. Another key findings was that because the bacteria live in the GI tract and keep producing the NAPE for many weeks, we didn’t have to keep administering the bacteria to the mice to keep up the protective effect.  Even a month after we stopped giving the bacteria producing NAPE, the mice were still protected from the effects of the high fat diet.  Eventually after about six weeks, the bacteria died out and the mice started eating the same amount of food as the control mice, but even for at least another six weeks after this, they still weighed less than the control mice. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Neurology / 25.07.2014

Joe Verghese, MBBS, MS Professor of Neurology and Medicine, Chief, Integrated Divisions of Cognitive & Motor Aging (Neurology) and Geriatrics (Medicine), Director, Resnick Gerontology Center, Murray D Gross Memorial Faculty Scholar in Gerontology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx, NY 10461MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joe Verghese, MBBS, MS Professor of Neurology and Medicine, Chief, Integrated Divisions of Cognitive & Motor Aging (Neurology) and Geriatrics (Medicine),  Director, Resnick Gerontology Center, Murray D Gross Memorial Faculty Scholar in Gerontology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome (MCR) is a newly described pre-dementia syndrome that is characterized by presence of slow gait and cognitive complaints in older adults without dementia or mobility disability. In this study, we report that the prevalence of Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome was 9.7% in 26,802 adults aged 60 and older from 22 cohort studies based in 17 countries. Presence of Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome was also associated with an almost two-fold risk of developing dementia. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Circadian Rhythm / 25.07.2014

MSteven M. Hill, Ph.D. Professor, Structural & Cellular Biology Edmond & Lily Safra Chair for Breast Cancer Research Co-Director, Molecular Signaling Program, Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium Director, Tulane Circadian Biology CenteredicalResearch.com Interview with Steven M. Hill, Ph.D. Professor, Structural & Cellular Biology Edmond & Lily Safra Chair for Breast Cancer Research Co-Director, Molecular Signaling Program, Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium Director, Tulane Circadian Biology Center Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Hill: The main findings of our study are that exposure to even dim light at night can drive human breast tumors to a hyper metabolic state, activating key tumor cell signaling pathways involved in tumor cell survival and proliferation, leading to increased tumor growth, all resulting in a tumor which is completely resistant to therapy. Our work shows that this effect is due to the repression of nighttime melatonin by dim light at night. When nighttime melatonin is replace the tumors become sensitive to tamoxifen resulting in cell death and tumor regression. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Psychological Science, University of Pittsburgh / 25.07.2014

John Blosnich, Ph.D., M.P.H., Post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System. MedicalResearch.com Interview with: John Blosnich, Ph.D., M.P.H., Post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System. Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Blosnich: I think there are two main findings from our study: First, since the beginning of the All-Volunteer U.S. military in 1973, there has been a shift in childhood experiences among men who have served in the military. Second, the childhood experiences of women who have served in the military have been largely similar across the Draft and All-Volunteer Eras. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer / 25.07.2014

Rajkumar Lakshmanaswamy, PhD Research Director of the Center of Excellence in Cancer Research The Paul L. Foster School of Medicine Texas Tech University Health Sciences CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rajkumar Lakshmanaswamy, PhD Basic Science Research Director of the Center of Excellence in Cancer Research. The Paul L. Foster School of Medicine Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lakshmanaswamy: Our study supports a growing body of research suggesting a safe and effective role for natural steroid hormones in treating postmenopausal breast cancer, with fewer detrimental side effects and an improved health profile than with standard anti-hormone therapies. Using a mouse model mimicking human breast cancer after menopause, we found that treatment with estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone was associated with greater physical activity, improved cognition, and better cardiovascular and bone health, which demonstrates the potential significance of hormone treatment in postmenopausal women. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Heart Disease, JACC, Transplantation / 25.07.2014

Dr. Eileen Hsich MD Director of the Women’s Heart Failure Clinic Associate Medical Director for the Heart Transplant Program Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OhioMedicalResearch.com Interview Invitation  Dr. Eileen Hsich MD Director of the Women’s Heart Failure Clinic Associate Medical Director for the Heart Transplant Program Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Hsich: Women are dying on the heart transplant waiting list at a faster rate than men for almost a decade (see Figure 1) and few studies have even addressed this problem. The occurrence is largely driven by gender differences in survival at the most urgent status (UNOS Status 1A) but the cause remains unclear. Although data is limited our findings raise concern that women are not successfully bridged to transplantation while they remain at high status and are inactivated due to worsening condition. Figure 1. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients: Mortality on Waiting List For Heart Transplantation Heart waiting list by gender 2000-2009   Figure derived from table in Scientific registry of transplant recipients: Heart waiting list by gender 2000-2009. Available at: Http://srtr.Transplant.Hrsa.Gov/annual_reports/2010/1103_can-gender_hr.Htm accessed january 9, 2014. (more…)