Author Interviews, JAMA, Surgical Research / 22.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rustam Al-Shahi Salman Professor of clinical neurology and MRC senior clinical fellow, University of Edinburgh Honorary consultant neurologist, NHS Lothian upcoming JAMA publication:MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rustam Al-Shahi Salman Professor of clinical neurology and MRC senior clinical fellow University of Edinburgh Honorary consultant neurologist, NHS Lothian MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Al-Shahi Salman: Patients with arteriovenous malformations (abnormal connection between arteries and veins) in the brain that have not ruptured had a lower risk of stroke or death for up to 12 years if they received conservative management of the condition compared to an interventional  treatment. Interventional treatment for brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) with procedures such as neurosurgical excision, endovascular embolization, or stereotactic radiosurgery can be used alone or in combination to attempt to obliterate bAVMs. Because interventions may have complications and the untreated clinical course of unruptured bAVMs can be benign, some patients choose conservative management (no intervention). Guidelines have endorsed both intervention and conservative management for unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations. Whether conservative management is superior to interventional treatment for unruptured bAVMs is uncertain because of the lack of long-term experience, according to background information in the article. (more…)
Author Interviews, CHEST, Menopause, Obstructive Sleep Apnea / 20.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rodrigo Pinto Pedrosa, MD, PhD Sleep and Heart Laboratory, Pronto Socorro Cardiológico de Pernambuco Pernambuclo, Brazil MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Pedrosa: Perimenopause is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. This study evaluated the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and arterial stiffness and hypertension in perimenopausal women. OSA (apnea-hypopnea index: ≥5 events/hour) and moderate/severe OSA (apnea-hypopnea index: ≥15 events/h) were diagnosed in 111 (40.1%) and 31 (11.1%) of women, respectively.  Women with moderate/severe obstructive sleep apnea  had a higher prevalence of hypertension, were prescribed more medications for hypertension, had higher awake blood pressure,  nocturnal blood pressure,  diastolic blood pressure, as well as higher arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity: 11.5 [10.1 to 12.3] vs 9.5 [8.6 to 10.8] m/s, p<0.001) than women without obstructive sleep apnea, respectively. Oxygen desaturation index during the night was independently associated with 24h arterial blood pressure and with arterial stiffness. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, CHEST, Cleveland Clinic, Lung Cancer / 20.04.2014

Daniel I. Sessler, M.D. Michael Cudahy Professor and Chair, Department of Outcomes Research Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland,MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Daniel I. Sessler, M.D. Michael Cudahy Professor and Chair, Department of Outcomes Research Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Sessler: Free fatty acids, arachidonic acid and linoleic acid, and their metabolites hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (5-HETE, 11-HETE, 12-HETE, and 15-HETE) were 1.8 to 5.7-fold greater in 37 patients with adenocarcinoma versus 111 patients without cancer (all P<0.001). Areas under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve were significantly greater than 0.50 discriminating lung cancer patients and controls for all biomarkers and phospholipids, and ranged between 0.69 and 0.82 (all P<0.001) for lung cancer patients versus controls. Arachidonic acid, linoleic acid, and 15-HETE showed sensitivity and specificity >0.70 at the best cutpoint. Concentrations of free fatty acids and their metabolites were similar in 18 squamous-cell carcinoma patients and 54 non-cancer controls. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, Journal Clinical Oncology / 20.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Allison W. Kurian, M.D., M.Sc. Assistant Professor of Medicine and of Health Research and Policy Divisions of Oncology and Epidemiology Allison W. Kurian, M.D., M.Sc. Assistant Professor of Medicine and of Health Research and Policy Divisions of Oncology and Epidemiology and James M. Ford, MD Associate Professor of Medicine Pediatrics and Genetics, Division of Oncology, Stanford University School of MedicineJames M. Ford, MD Associate Professor of Medicine Pediatrics and Genetics, Division of Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found that 11% of women who met standard clinical criteria for BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) mutation testing, yet had tested negative, actually carried an actionable mutation in another cancer-related gene.  We found that patients were highly motivated to learn about their genetic test results and new recommendations for cancer risk reduction.  Over a short follow-up period, colonoscopy screening resulted in early detection of a tubular adenoma in a patient found to have a high-risk MLH1 mutation, and thus the multiple-gene testing in our study has likely prevented at least one cancer to date.  We conclude that multiple-gene sequencing can benefit appropriately selected patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Lancet, Mental Health Research / 20.04.2014

Dr. George Patton Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, VIC, AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. George Patton Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Patton: Although there has been wide acceptance that the teens are a time when emotional problems are common, views have been polarized about their significance. Some have viewed these problems are usual for this phase of life with little significance for later life mental health; others have argued that early psychiatric intervention was essential given the risks of ongoing disorders. In this sample almost two thirds of girls and a third of boys had an episode of emotional troubles (anxiety and depression) at a level that would concern a family physician. For those where the episode were brief lasting weeks to months, recovery without further later life episodes was common. In contrast those with persistent (longer than 6 months) or recurrent emotional problems during the teens had a high likelihood of similar problems with depression and anxiety in their twenties. In general these emotional problems persisted more in females than in males. (more…)
Author Interviews, Bipolar Disorder, JAMA / 19.04.2014

John I. Nurnberger, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Psychiatry Joyce and Iver Small Professor of PsychiatryMedicalResearch.com Interview with: John I. Nurnberger, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Psychiatry Joyce and Iver Small Professor of Psychiatry Indiana University School of Medicine   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of this study? Dr. Nurnberger: The main findings of the study are the biological pathways identified to be associated with bipolar disorder, including those involved in hormonal regulation, calcium channels, second messenger systems, and glutamate signaling. Gene expression studies implicated neuronal development pathways as well. These findings highlight the role of certain neurobiological processes that have been considered in prior hypotheses of bipolar disorder. They underline a role for calcium signaling, which has only been clearly implicated in the genetics of bipolar disorder in recent years. They also feature hormonal processes such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which has been known to be involved in stress responses, but has not been prominent in many recent theories of the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Johns Hopkins, Prostate Cancer / 19.04.2014

Angelo M. De Marzo MD PhD Professor of Pathology Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Baltimore, MD 21231MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Angelo M. De Marzo MD PhD Professor of Pathology Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Baltimore, MD 21231 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. De Marzo: Working as a team with Dr. Elizabeth Platz and a group of other investigators we found that men with chronic inflammation in their benign areas of their prostate biopsies had a higher chance of prostate cancer,  and especially higher grade cancers, which are associated with disease aggressiveness. A key unique aspect of the study is that the samples were taken from man who were enrolled in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT), a trial in which all men entering the study had a relatively low PSA, and, all men at the end of study who did not already have a diagnosis of prostate cancer were offered a prostate biopsy regardless of their PSA. This study design, unlike a standard association study, allowed us to minimize the potential bias whereby inflammation is associated itself with elevations in PSA. In this standard design approach, when cancer is detected it could artifactually appear that inflammation is associated with cancer because the inflammation was in part driving the PSA elevation, which prompted the biopsy in which cancer was detected. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, MD Anderson, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 18.04.2014

Dr. Lorraine R. Reitzel Ph.D Associate Professor in the Health Program of the Department of Educational Psychology College of Education, University of Houston in Houston, Texas.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Lorraine R. Reitzel Ph.D Associate Professor in the Health Program of the Department of Educational Psychology College of Education, University of Houston in Houston, Texas. MedicalResearch.com: Please tell us about your study. Dr. Reitzel: The current study represented a secondary analysis of data that were collected by Dr. Lorna McNeill and colleagues at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The parent study was focused on better understanding factors associated with cancer risk among African American adults, and several faculty members including myself contributed ideas about the variables we thought might play a role. The current study represents one of several studies emerging from these data. The current study was led by Ms. Pragati S. Advani, a graduate student on my research team, who was interested in better understanding the associations between financial strain and modifiable behavioral risk factors for cancer among African American adults. Financial strain represents an unfavorable income to needs ratio and was assessed using a questionnaire that tapped into current difficulty affording things that represent pretty basic components of life, including suitable food, clothing, and housing for the respondent and their family. The modifiable behavioral risk factors for cancer examined included smoking cigarettes, at-risk alcohol use, being overweight/obese, getting insufficient physical activity, and having inadequate fruit and vegetable intake. We also included a tally of the total number of these factors (0 to 5) as an outcome variable of interest. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition / 18.04.2014

Dr. Annette Dickinson PhD Consultant to the Council for Responsible Nutrition.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Annette Dickinson PhD Consultant to the Council for Responsible Nutrition.   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?   Dr. Dickinson: “A five-year series of consumer surveys (2007 to 2011) consistently found that about half of adult consumers use dietary supplements on a regular basis, and a higher percentage (about 2/3) report using dietary supplements when occasional as well as regular use is taken into account.  Over the five years, there was a shift in the pattern of supplement use, with the percentage of respondents who said they regularly used mostly a multivitamin declining, and the percentage who said they regularly used a variety of products increasing.  The top 7 products used were:  multivitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin C, B vitamins, and vitamin E.  The main reasons given for supplement use were for overall health and wellness (58% of users) and to fill nutrient gaps in the diet (42%).  Supplement users were more likely than nonusers to say they try to eat a balanced diet, visit their doctor regularly, get a good night's sleep, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy weight.  This indicates that supplement use is part of an overall approach to seeking a healthy lifestyle.” (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Weight Research / 18.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sneha Sridhar, MPH Kaiser Permanente, Division of Research 2000 Broadway, 3rd Floor Oakland, CA  94612 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?   Answer: We found that women whose weight gain during pregnancy exceeded the current Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations were 46% more likely to have an overweight or obese child at ages 2-5, compared to women who met the recommendations. The association was stronger among women who were of normal weight before pregnancy. These normal weight women were more likely to have an overweight or obese child if they gained either below or above the IOM recommendations. (more…)
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Thyroid Disease / 18.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Donald S. A. McLeod, FRACP, MPH Department of Population Health, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Queensland, Australia MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. McLeod: We examined the incidence of Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis by race/ethnicity among U.S. active duty service personnel aged 20-54 years over a 15-year period (more than 20,000,000 person years follow-up). Cases were identified by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes. In women, we found that Graves’ disease was almost twice as common among non-Hispanic black and Asian-Pacific Islander personnel compared with non-Hispanic white personnel.  While in men, non-Hispanic black and Asian-Pacific Islander personnel had over two-and-a-half times higher incidence compared with non-Hispanic white personnel. The opposite pattern existed for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, with non-Hispanic white personnel having the highest incidence, and non-Hispanic black and Asian-Pacific Islander personnel the lowest incidence. Hispanic personnel did not have significantly different incidence compared to white personnel for either disorder. (more…)
Author Interviews, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, BMJ, Outcomes & Safety / 17.04.2014

Dr Hardeep Singh MD MPH  Chief of the health policy, quality & informatics program at the Veterans Affairs Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, based at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas Associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine in HoustonMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Hardeep Singh MD MPH  Chief of the health policy, quality & informatics program at the Veterans Affairs Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, based at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas Associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr Singh: We built estimates of diagnostic error by compiling and analyzing data from three previous studies. These studies evaluated situations such as unexpected return visits and lack of timely follow up and provided researchers with an estimated frequency of diagnostic error. This frequency was then applied to the general adult population. Diagnostic errors, which we defined as missed opportunities to make a correct or timely diagnosis based on available evidence—occur in about 5 percent of adults in the United States. (more…)
Author Interviews, Surgical Research / 17.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Dr. Oliver Muensterer MD Ph.D Division of Pediatric Surgery New York Medical College Maria Fareri Children's Hospital of Westchester Medical Center Valhalla, NY 10595, USAOliver Muensterer MD Ph.D Division of Pediatric Surgery New York Medical College Maria Fareri Children's Hospital of Westchester Medical Center Valhalla, NY 10595, USA   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Muensterer: We looked at the functionality of Google Glass, a novel head-mounted mobile computer with integrated display, camera, microphone, and speaker, in the clinical environment. While the technology has a lot of promise to be useful for pediatric surgeons, in its current version, it also has significant limitations. The most obvious utilities are hands-free photo- and videodocumentation, looking up medical terminology on the internet, help with coding and billing activities, and hands-free telecommunication. (more…)
Author Interviews, Thromboembolism / 17.04.2014

Craig M. Lilly, M.D. Professor of Medicine Departments of Medicine, Anesthesiology, and Surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Clinical and Population Health Research Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Worcester, MAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Craig M. Lilly, M.D. Professor of Medicine Departments of Medicine, Anesthesiology, and Surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Clinical and Population Health Research Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Worcester, MA MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lilly: Critically ill adults with clinicians that chose to manage them with prophylactic anticoagulation were more likely to survive their hospitalization than patients that received venous thrombosis prophylaxis with mechanical devices or were not treated with venous thrombosis prophylaxis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Lancet, OBGYNE / 17.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nestor E. Vain M.D. Professor of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires Vice-President, FUNDASAMIN (Foundation for Maternal Infant Health), Argentina Director, Neonatology, Hospital Sanatorio de la Trinidad Palermo and San Isidro, Buenos Aires MedicalResearch.com: What is the background of this study? Prof. Vain: Delayed umbilical cord clamping (DCC) is currently recommended by many professional associations. The main reason is that it decreases the incidence of iron deficiency in infancy, a very serious public health problem in developing countries, but also prevalent in the USA and in western Europe. Besides it has other advantages in premature infants such as better adaptation of the cardiovascular system to extra-uterine life. How does Delayed umbilical cord clamping work?. Approximately 30% of the fetal blood volume is in the placenta at the time of delivery. Waiting for a couple of minutes before clamping the cord allows for a large part of that blood volume to return to the infant. (this process is known as placental transfusion) Despite of these well known facts, and the absence of serious complications, the compliance with the recommendation of delayed umbilical cord clamping is low. Why is that? There may be a variety of reasons but we are certain that one very important one is that the majority of obstetricians and neonatologists believe that to achieve an efficient placental transfusion and to avoid a negative effect from gravity, it is necessary to hold the infant at or below the level of the vagina during those 2 minutes. In that way the procedure is cumbersome and it prolongs unwillingly a separation between the infant and the mother. The believe that the infant needs to be at that low level is based on small studies performed more than 35 years ago. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hepatitis - Liver Disease / 17.04.2014

Jordan Feld MD MPH Toronto Western Hospital Liver Center University Health Network Sandra Rotman Centre for Global HealthMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jordan Feld MD MPH Toronto Western Hospital Liver Center University Health Network Sandra Rotman Centre for Global Health MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Feld: The SAPPHIRE 1 study was an international, large (631 patients) Phase 3 study of 3 direct acting antivirals combined with ribavirin for 12 weeks for the treatment of patients with genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection without cirrhosis.  The antivirals used were ABT-450, which is a protease inhibitor that is boosted with ritonovir to allow for once daily dosing along with ombitasvir (formally ABT 267), a potent NS5A inhibitor and dasabuvir (formerly known as ABT 333), a non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor.  The ABT-450, ritonovir and ombitasvir were all co-formulated into a single tablet and dasabuvir was taken twice daily, as was ribavirin. The results of the study showed that the treatment is highly effective with 96% of patients achieving a sustained virological response (SVR) at 12 weeks after completing treatment.  SVR is a cure of HCV infection.  Importantly, patients with genotypes 1a and 1b had similar results with a rate of SVR12 of 95% in genotype 1a and 98% in genotype 1b.  These results were clearly superior to a historical control treatment with telaprevir combined with peginterferon and ribavirin.  Baseline factors were not predictive of outcome, including factors associated with non-response to interferon such as the IL28B genotype, baseline HCV viral load and older age. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Weight Research / 16.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jeffrey R. Parker Assistant Professor of Marketing Robinson College of Business - Georgia State University MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Mr. Parker: Recently, there has been quite a bit of debate about the effectiveness of providing dish-specific calorie information (a practice called “calorie posting”) on restaurant menus in terms of the healthiness of consumers’ food choices. Some results suggest that such labels lead to lower-calorie choices, while other research shows that there is no effect. We examined one factor that might impact the effectiveness of calorie posting: the practice of grouping low-calorie options on a menu and labeling this category accordingly (i.e., incorporating a low-calorie menu/category in the menu)—which we call “calorie organizing”—as opposed to simply allowing them to appear in their natural categories with the caloric content appearing in the dish descriptions (e.g., Sandwiches, Salads, Pastas, etc.). On the surface it seems obvious that making low-calorie options easier to find—by giving them their own labeled category on the menu—would bolster the positive effects of calorie posting. However, we found the opposite: additionally calorie organizing an already calorie-posted menu regularly eliminates the benefits that calorie posting can have. We argued and found evidence indicating that the underlying cause of this effect stems from how consumers make decisions. Restaurant menus are often too large for a consumer to seriously consider all of the dishes. Some consumers typically eliminate large portions of the menu on the basis of simple criteria (e.g., “I don’t like seafood.”, “It’s too early to eat pasta.”, etc. ). Since consumers generally make negative inferences about low-calorie dishes (e.g., “They don’t taste good.”, “They are small dishes.”, etc.) they are likely to summarily dismiss all of the low-calorie options early in the decision process when the menu is calorie-organized (i.e., has grouped the low-calorie dished and labeled the new category accordingly). Thus, they are likely to choose as poorly as they would were they given no calorie information. In contrast, when the menu is just calorie-posted, and the low-calorie dishes appear in their natural categories, these dishes are unlikely to be dismissed in the early choice-simplification stages. Thus, low-calorie dishes are likely to be seriously considered in the final decision process, during which the pros and cons of dishes can be more comprehensively traded off, and are therefore more likely to be chosen. (more…)
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, JCEM / 16.04.2014

Kai-Jen Tien, MD Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Chi Mei Medical Center Assistant Professor, Center of General Education Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science Tainan, TaiwanMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kai-Jen Tien, MD Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine,  Chi Mei Medical Center Assistant Professor, Center of General Education Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science Tainan, Taiwan MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer:  We conducted the first and largest population-based cohort study to evaluate the association of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and osteoporosis in a 6-year follow-up investigation of an Asian population. OSA is characterized by repetitive episodes of apnea/hypopnea and hypoxia in tissue, which might impact the bone metabolism. The results of the study showed that patients with obstructive sleep apnea had 2.74 times the risk of osteoporosis than patents without obstructive sleep apnea after adjustment for the patient`s characteristics and comorbidities. Across all age groups and sex groups, individuals with OSA had higher incidence rate of osteoporosis than individuals without obstructive sleep apnea. Subgroup analysis showed that older patients and female patients had a higher risk for osteoporosis than their younger and male counterparts. (more…)
Author Interviews, Colon Cancer, JAMA, Surgical Research / 16.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview Invitation Dorna Jafari, M.D. and Michael J Stamos, MD Professor of Surgery John E. Connolly Chair, Department of Surgery University of California, Irvine Orange, CA 92868 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Surgeons are faced with an aging population and data regarding outcomes is rare given that many studies preclude the elderly from the study population. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately discuss risk of surgical resection given the lack of data. Therefore we aimed to report the national trends and outcomes of colorectal cancer treatment in the elderly population. We demonstrated that the majority of resections are performed in patients >65yeras old. There is a trend towards a decrease in incidence of colorectal resection and a decrease in rate of mortality during 2001-2010.  However, the unique physiological changes associated with aging contribute to increase morbidity and morality as demonstrated by our findings. In fact patients >85 years have a 472% increase in risk-adjusted mortality during a hospital admission compared to younger patients. However, despite the substantially higher mortality and morbidity associated with age, there has been a marked improvement in surgical outcomes in the elderly population. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, McGill, Pediatrics / 16.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ethan K Gough, PhD candidate Department of Epidemiology Biostatistics and Occupational Health McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Antibiotic use produces significant gains toward expected growth in children, for their age and sex, from low- and middle-income countries. Children included in our study were generally smaller in height and weight than adequately nourished children of the same age, reflecting the spectrum of stunting and wasting malnutrition seen in low- and middle-income countries. Antibiotic use had a larger impact on weight than height, and the effect on weight was larger in populations who may be at greater risk of infections and early mortality, such as populations with a high prevalence of HIV infection or exposure, and a high prevalence of severe acute malnutrition. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Lung Cancer, Pulmonary Disease / 15.04.2014

Renda Soylemez Wiener, MD, MPH Assistant Professor of Medicine The Pulmonary Center Boston University School of Medicine Center for Healthcare Organization & Implementation Research Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA HospitalMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Renda Soylemez Wiener, MD, MPH Assistant Professor of Medicine The Pulmonary Center Boston University School of Medicine Center for Healthcare Organization & Implementation Research Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Soylemez Wiener: The main finding is that evaluation of pulmonary nodules to determine whether or not they are cancerous is inconsistent with clinical practice guideline recommendations in almost half of cases, suggesting there is room for improvement in clinical care of these patients. Patients with pulmonary nodules are sometimes evaluated more aggressively than they should be (18%), which can cause harms to patients from unnecessary invasive tests (biopsies or surgery) or unneeded radiation exposure from imaging studies. Still more patients (27%) are followed less aggressively than they should be, which in the worst case scenario could lead to delays in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. It is particularly important to improve care of these patients now, because new guidelines from the US Preventive Services Task Force recommend CT screening for lung cancer screening, which often finds pulmonary nodules that require evaluation. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Rheumatology / 15.04.2014

Zhang, Xuan MD Professor of Medicine Dept. of Rheumatology Peking Union Medical College Hospital Beijing,China,100730MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Zhang, Xuan MD Professor of Medicine Dept. of Rheumatology Peking Union Medical College Hospital Beijing,China,100730 and Dr. Peter E. Lipsky, MD Formerly National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Zhang & Lipsky--The results of this study indicate that TwHF is effective for the treatment of active rhematoid arthritis (RA). Importantly, these are the first data indicating that TwHF is effective in DMARD-naïve patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. At week 24, TwHF monotherapy resulted in significant improvement of disease activity, including pain assessment, the patient’s and physician’s global assessment, tender joint counts, swollen joint counts, ESR, CRP, and HAQ and SF-36 scores. MTX monotherapy and TwHF monotherapy had similar efficacy as shown by ACR20, ACR50 and ACR70 response criteria, EULAR and cDAI good response criteria, as well as DAS28 remission criteria and low disease activity(LDA) rate. The efficacy of TwHF was not inferior to that of MTX, and MTX +TwHF combination therapy was more effective than monotherapy in treating active rhematoid arthritis. A safety evaluation of the study demonstrated that the frequency of total adverse events and severe adverse events of TwHF monotherapy was not significantly higher than that of MTX monotherapy, except for a slightly increased frequency of irregular menstruation. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, OBGYNE, Weight Research / 15.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dagfinn Aune MS Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics School of Public Health Imperial College London St. Mary's Campus Norfolk Place, Paddington, London W2 1PG, UK MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the association between maternal body mass index (BMI) and risk of fetal death, stillbirth, neonatal, perinatal and infant death. We found that the risk of all these outcomes increased with greater BMI in a dose-response fashion. For example even within the high end of what is considered the normal BMI range (BMI of 24-25) there was a 10-20% increase in the relative risk, but the strongest relations were seen for those who were obese and morbidly obese with 30-60% and 2-3 fold increases in the relative risk respectively (depending on the outcome examined). (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, BMJ, Salt-Sodium / 15.04.2014

Dr. Feng He Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry Queen Mary University of London, London, UKMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Feng He Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. He:
  • The UK salt reduction program has led to a fall in population blood pressure and thereby contributed to the reduction in stroke and heart disease deaths.
  •  In 2003, the UK Food Standards Agency and CASH (Consensus Action on Salt & Health) developed a salt reduction program. As approximately 80% of the salt in the diet is added to food by the food industry i.e. in processed foods, fast foods, canteen and restaurant foods etc, the public have no choice about eating it. Therefore progressive incremental targets to limit the amount of salt for each food category were set, which the industry had to achieve in a specified time. Reductions first started in 2003 and are continuing to this day.
  • The salt reduction program has been very successful and led to a 15% reduction in the average salt intake of the population, from 9.5g per day in 2003 to 8.1g per day in 2011 (P<0.05).
  • Over the same time period, blood pressure fell in the adult population by 3 mm Hg systolic and 1.4 mm Hg diastolic (P<0.0001). Stroke and heart disease deaths fell by 42% (P<0.0001) and 40% (P<0.0001) respectively.
  • It is possible that these falls in blood pressure and deaths from stroke and heart disease were attributable to various factors such as changes in diet, lifestyles and the improvement in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors. Our further analysis showed that the reduction in salt intake played an important role, particularly in the falls in blood pressure.
  •  In a further analysis, we looked at individuals who were not on any drug treatment for blood pressure and a correction was made for all other variables that could have influenced blood pressure, apart from salt. There was still a fall in adult population blood pressure of 2.7mm Hg systolic/ 1.1mm Hg diastolic, (P <0.0001). This reduction in blood pressure could therefore be largely attributed to the fall in salt intake.
  •  It is well established that raised blood pressure throughout its range is a major cause of stroke and heart disease. The reduction in salt intake that led to a fall in blood pressure would have played an important role in both stroke and heart disease deaths.
  • Despite considerable progress being made on salt reduction, the average salt intake in England is still high. In 2011, it was 8.1 g/day which is over a third more salt than the recommended level of 6g/day. Therefore continuing and much greater efforts are needed to achieve further reductions in salt intake to prevent the maximum number of stroke and heart disease deaths. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA, Mental Health Research / 15.04.2014

https://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1860496MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jeffery  C. Huffman, M.D. Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Huffman: Depression and anxiety in cardiac patients are associated with adverse cardiac outcomes.  We completed a very low-intensity care management intervention to identify depression and anxiety disorders during a cardiac admission and then to assist in the monitoring and management of the condition over the next 24 weeks. There have been other care management trials in cardiac patients, but ours was the first to co-manage depression and anxiety, the first to initiate treatment in the hospital, the first to take a broad population of cardiac patients rather than a single diagnosis, and the first to use such a low-resource strategy with only a single part-time social worker to coordinate care. We found that the care management intervention was associated with significant improvements in mental health treatment, mental health related quality of life, depression, and function at 24 weeks compared to enhanced treatment as usual.  We did not find differences in anxiety, adherence, or cardiac readmissions. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews / 14.04.2014

Sharon K. Inouye, MD, MPH Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Director, Aging Brain Center, Institute for Aging Research Hebrew SeniorLife both in Boston, MAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sharon K. Inouye, MD, MPH Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Director, Aging Brain Center, Institute for Aging Research Hebrew SeniorLife both in Boston, MA Study Co- Authors Cyrus Kosar, Douglas Tommet, Eva Schmitt, Margaret Puelle, Jane Saczynski, Edward Marcantonio and Richard Jones.  MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?  Dr. Inouye: In this study, we developed and validated a new scoring system for delirium severity.  Delirium (acute confusional state) is a common and morbid complication of hospitalization for older persons, which often goes undetected.  Our new scoring system indicates that the severity of delirium is directly related to hospital outcomes, such as length of stay, nursing home placement, death, and healthcare costs. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Nature, Social Issues / 14.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof Dr Isabelle Mansuy Lab of Neuroepigenetics University/ETH Zürich Brain Research Institute Zürich SwitzerlandProf Dr Isabelle Mansuy Lab of Neuroepigenetics University/ETH Zürich Brain Research Institute Zürich Switzerland MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Mansuy: The mains findings are that the transmission of the effects of traumatic stress in early life involves small non-coding RNAs in sperm. The study shows that some microRNAs are in excess in the sperm of adult males subjected to trauma during early postnatal life, but are also altered in the brain and in blood, and that these alterations are associated with behavioral and metabolic symptoms including depressive behaviors, reduced risk assessment and altered glucose/insulin metabolism. Injecting sperm RNA in fertilized oocytes reproduces these symptoms and confirm that RNA are the responsible factors. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, CMAJ, McGill, Stroke / 14.04.2014

Finlay A McAlister MD Division of General Internal Medicine Patient Health Outcomes Research and Clinical Effectiveness Unit Epidemiology Coordinating and Research (EPICORE) Centre McGill University, Montréal, QuebecMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Finlay A McAlister MD University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. McAlister: We tested 2 systems of case management on top of usual care (note that at baseline more than 3/4 of our study patients were already taking medications to lower blood pressure (BP) and/or cholesterol but none were at guideline-recommended targets). The first (our "control" group) was a nurse seeing patients monthly x 6 months, measuring their blood pressure and LDL cholesterol, counseling them about risk factor reduction strategies (including lifestyle and medication adherence), and faxing results of BP/cholesterol to their primary care physicians with advice to patients who had blood pressure or cholesterol above guideline-recommended targets to see their primary care physician. The second (our "intervention" group) was a pharmacist seeing patients monthly x 6 months, measuring their blood pressure and LDL cholesterol, counseling them about risk factor reduction strategies (including lifestyle and medication adherence), and faxing results of BP/cholesterol to their primary care physicians.  However, if patients had blood pressure or cholesterol above guideline-recommended targets instead of just recommending that the patient see their primary care physician the pharmacist provided them with a prescription for medication (or up-titration of their current medications) to address the uncontrolled risk factor. Both groups improved substantially over usual care, but the intervention group improved even more (13% absolute improvement in control of BP/cholesterol levels compared to the nurse-led control arm) . (more…)