Author Interviews, Lancet, Pulmonary Disease / 25.11.2013

Professor Clive Page Director, Sackler institute of Pulmonary Pharmacology Joint Head, Institute of Pharmaceutical Science King's College London 150 Stamford Street Waterloo Campus London SE1 9NHMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Clive Page Director, Sackler institute of Pulmonary Pharmacology Joint Head, Institute of Pharmaceutical Science King's College London 150 Stamford Street Waterloo Campus London SE1 9NH MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Page: RPL 554 was shown to cause bronchodilation and anti-inflammatory activity at the same dose. The drug showed benefit in both patients with COPD and asthma. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Erasmus, Statins / 25.11.2013

Prof Ype Elgersma PhD Professor, Neuroscience Neuroscience Institute, Erasmus University Rotterdam Rotterdam, NetherlandsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof Ype Elgersma PhD Professor, Neuroscience Neuroscience Institute, Erasmus University Rotterdam Rotterdam, Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Research in genetic mouse models suggested that inhibition of HMG-CoA-reductase by statins might ameliorate the cognitive and behavioral phenotype of children with Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), an autosomal dominant disorder. In a 12-month randomized placebo-controlled study including 84 children with NF1, we found that simvastatin, an inhibitor of the HMG-CoA-reductase pathway had no effect on full-scale intelligence, attention problems or internalizing behavioral problems, or on any of the secondary outcome measures. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Testosterone / 25.11.2013

Michael Ho, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology Cardiology 111B 1055 Clermont Street Denver CO 80220MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael Ho, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology Cardiology 111B  1055 Clermont Street Denver CO 80220 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Ho:  We found that testosterone use was associated with a 29% increased risk of death, MI and stroke over a follow-up period of 27 months. The risk was similar among patients with or without coronary artery disease on coronary angiography. (more…)
Author Interviews, Compliance, Connective Tissue Disease, UCSF / 25.11.2013

Dr. Jinoos Yazdany MD, MPH Assistant Professor in Residence UCSF School of MedicineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jinoos Yazdany MD, MPH Assistant Professor in Residence UCSF School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: For almost all of the drugs we examined, we found that less than half of patients adhered to treatment.  For some drugs, less than one-third of individuals were adherent. The average medication possession ratios were low across all drugs. We found that several factors played an important part in adherence.  Younger individuals were less likely to adhere to treatment for several drugs, and we also found racial/ethnic differences, with Black, Hispanic and Native populations having lower adherence.  We also found geographic variation in adherence, with individuals in the Northeast being the most likely to adhere to treatment. (more…)
Author Interviews, Toxin Research / 25.11.2013

Laura N. Vandenberg, PhD Assistant Professor University of Massachusetts – Amherst School of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health Science Amherst, MA 01003MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laura N. Vandenberg, PhD Assistant Professor University of Massachusetts – Amherst School of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health Science Amherst, MA  01003 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Vandenberg: Back in 2007, a group of 38 researchers wrote the Chapel Hill consensus statement about BPA (vom Saal et al. Reproductive Toxicology 2007). We also wrote 5 separate review articles summarizing what was known at the time about
  • 1) BPA and cancer;
  • 2) BPA and its effects on wildlife animals and in environmental matrices (air, water, soil, etc.);
  • 3) BPA and molecular mechanisms in cultured cells;
  • 4) BPA levels in humans and their exposure sources;
  • 5) BPA’s effects on laboratory animals. Several of these groups analyzed what effects BPA has at “low doses”, i.e. at doses below those tested in traditional toxicology studies. (These are doses that are thought to be “safe” for animals and humans.) (more…)
Author Interviews, Colon Cancer, Gastrointestinal Disease / 25.11.2013

Li-Shu Wang, PhD Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WisconsinMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Li-Shu Wang, PhD Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is frequently an intermediate step to colon cancer.  The interleukin-10 knock-out (KO) mouse is a genetic model of this progression.  We have now shown that KO mice fed 5% black raspberries (BRBs) had significantly less colonic ulceration as compared to KO mice that consumed the control diet.  Dysfunction of the Wnt signaling pathway is a key event in UC-associated colon carcinogenesis.  We investigated the effects of BRBs on the Wnt pathway and found that the BRB-fed KO mice exhibited significantly decreased promoter methylation of Wnt antagonists and a significantly lower level of β-catenin nuclear translocation.  Our results suggest that BRBs inhibit colonic ulceration partly through inhibiting aberrant epigenetic events that dysregulate Wnt signaling. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, General Medicine, PLoS / 25.11.2013

Alize J. Ferrari University of Queensland School of Population Health Herston, Queensland, AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alize J. Ferrari University of Queensland School of Population Health Herston, Queensland, Australia MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: In our paper recently published in PloS Medicine, we report findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 for depression. We found that depression (defined as major depressive disorder and dysthymia) accounted fr 8% of the non fatal burden in 2010, making it the second leading cause of disability worldwide. Burden due to depression increased by 35% between 1990 and 2010, although this increase was entirely driven by population growth and ageing. Burden occurred across the entire lifespan, was higher in females compared to males, and there were differences between world regions.When depression was considered a risk factor for other health outcomes it explained 46% of the burden allocated to suicide and 3% of the burden allocated ischemic heart disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Weight Research / 25.11.2013

Ira Tabas, M.D., Ph.D. Richard J. Stock Professor and Vice-Chair of Research Department of Medicine Professor of Anatomy & Cell Biology (in Physiology and Cellular Biophysics) Columbia University New York, NY 10032MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ira Tabas, M.D., Ph.D. Richard J. Stock Professor and Vice-Chair of Research Department of Medicine Professor of Anatomy & Cell Biology  (in Physiology and Cellular Biophysics) Columbia University New York, NY 10032 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?  Dr. Tabas: We discovered a new pathway in the liver, relevant to humans, that controls the two hallmarks of type 2 diabetes (T2D), namely, excessive glucose production and defective insulin signaling.  Thus, if drugs could be developed to inhibit this pathway, they could be very effective at treating or preventing T2D. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hepatitis - Liver Disease, Lancet / 24.11.2013

Prof Eric Lawitz MD Vice President of Scientific and Research Development at The Texas Liver Institute Clinical professor of Medicine San Antonio University of Texas Health Science Center.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof Eric Lawitz MD Vice President of Scientific and Research Development at The Texas Liver Institute Clinical professor of Medicine San Antonio University of Texas Health Science Center. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lawitz: Currently available treatments for HCV involve weekly injections of pegylated interferon and daily doses of oral antivirals that must be taken for up to a year.  These regimens are not only burdensome for patients, but are not always effective and can cause serious and debilitating side effects, including anemia. So there is a significant need for new tablet-based treatment regimens for HCV that eliminate interferon and ribavirin, are more effective, better tolerated and easier for patients to take. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Clots, Case Western, Cleveland Clinic, JAMA / 24.11.2013

Ilke Sipahi, MD Department of Cardiology Acibadem University Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute, University Hospitals Case Medical Cente Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OhioMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ilke Sipahi, MD Department of Cardiology Acibadem University Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute, University Hospitals Case Medical Cente, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio MedicalResearch.com: Were you surprised at the extreme difference between these 2 analyses? Answer: I was surprised. However, it is not unusual to find completely contradictory results in medical studies. I was more surprised at the fact that FDA paid more attention to it administrative observational dataset rather than the huge large randomized clinical trials, all showing excess GI bleeds with dabigatran (Pradaxa). Anyone who is even slightly familiar with the medical literature knows that randomized trials are the gold standard in medical studies. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Clots, Kidney Disease / 24.11.2013

Frits R. Rosendaal PhD Department of Clinical Epidemiology Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The NetherlandsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Frits R. Rosendaal PhD Department of Clinical Epidemiology Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: In our study, we  found that moderately to severely decreased kidney function was associated with a 2.6-fold (95%CI 2.0-3.5) increased risk of venous thrombosis as compared with normal kidney function. Several hemostatic factors showed a procoagulant shift with decreasing kidney function, most notably factor VIII and von Willebrand factor. We showed that the increased risk of venous thrombosis in chronic kidney disease could not be explained by confounding factors such as body mass index, diabetes, hospitalization, or corticosteroid use. However, we found that factor VIII and von Willebrand factor fully explained the increased risk of venous thrombosis associated with impaired kidney function. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Chemotherapy, Lancet, MD Anderson / 24.11.2013

Dr. Kelly K. Hunt, M.D., F.A.C.S. Professor, Department of Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery Chief, Breast Surgical Oncology Section, Department of Surgical Oncology The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TXMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Kelly K. Hunt, M.D., F.A.C.S. Professor, Department of Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery Chief, Breast Surgical Oncology Section, Department of Surgical Oncology The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Hunt: The primary endpoint of the Z1041 trial was the proportion of patients who had pathological complete response in the breast, defined as the percentage of women who started the neoadjuvant treatment with no histological evidence of disease in the breast at surgery.  We found that high pathologic response rates were observed in both treatment groups with similar cardiac safety profiles in both arms of the trial.  Specifically, 56.5% of patients in the sequential group (fluorouracil, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide on day one of a 21-day cycle for four cycles followed by paclitaxel plus trastuzumab weekly for 12 weeks) had a complete pathological response versus 54.2% of the patients who received the concurrent regimen (paclitaxel and trastuzumab weekly for 12 weeks followed by fluorouracil, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide on day one of a 21-day cycle with trastuzumab on days one, eight and 15 of the 21-day cycle for four cycles).  The difference in pathologic complete response rates between the treatment arms was not statistically significant.  Cardiac safety was a secondary endpoint of the trial and we found that both regimens had acceptable cardiac safety profiles. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Clots, BMJ / 24.11.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alyshah Abdul Sultan, doctorate student Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Nottingham, Clinical Sciences Building Phase 2, City Hospital, Nottingham NG5 1PB, UK MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Overall, we found that hospitalisation during pregnancy was associated with an excess risk of 16.6 cases per 1,000 person-years compared with time outside hospital (17.5-fold increase in risk). There was also an excess risk of 5.8 cases per 1,000 person years in the 28 days after discharge with VTE events more likely to occur in the third trimester of pregnancy and in women aged 35 years and over. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues / 24.11.2013

Dr. Soo Borson, M.D. Professor Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of MedicineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Soo Borson, M.D. Professor Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Borson:  We developed a new short screen to help clinicians and health care systems identify dementia patients and their caregivers who have unmet needs for dementia care services - extra help from primary care providers or clinical specialists skilled in understanding and managing problems related to dementia, working with caregivers to alleviate stress and burden, and locating community-based support services. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Nature, Thyroid / 24.11.2013

Yuri E. Nikiforov, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Pathology Vice Chair for Molecular Pathology Director, Division of Molecular & Genomic Pathology Department of Pathology University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15213MedicalResearch.com Interview Yuri E. Nikiforov, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Pathology, Vice Chair for Molecular Pathology Director, Division of Molecular & Genomic Pathology Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Nikiforov: This is examined temporal changes in mutational profiles and standardized histopathologic features of thyroid cancer in the U.S. over the last four decades. It showed a significant change in molecular profiles of thyroid cancer during the past 40 years as it determined two major trends in changing the mutational make-up of thyroid cancer: a rapid increase in the prevalence of RAS mutations, particularly for the last 10 years, and continuous decrease in frequency of RET/PTC rearrangement. The rising incidence of RAS mutations points to new and more recent etiologic factors, probably of a chemical or dietary nature. The decreasing incidence of RET/PTC rearrangements, a known marker of high-dose environmental and medical radiation, suggest that the impact of ionizing radiation, at least as related to high-dose environmental exposures and historical patterns of radiation treatment for benign conditions, is diminishing. (more…)
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, JCEM, Testosterone / 23.11.2013

Dr Bu Beng Yeap MBBS, FRACP, PhD Professor, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia Endocrinologist, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Fremantle Hospital. School of Medicine and Pharmacology
Level 2, T Block, Fremantle Hospital, Alma Street, Fremantle, Western Australia 6160, AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Bu Beng Yeap   MBBS, FRACP, PhD Professor, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia Endocrinologist, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Fremantle Hospital. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found that older men with testosterone levels in the middle of the range had the lowest mortality risk. Having a low testosterone level predicted higher mortality, and there was no benefit of having a high-normal testosterone level. Men with optimal rather than high testosterone levels lived longest. The other important finding was that men with higher dihydrotestosterone levels had lower mortality from ischaemic heart disease, suggesting that androgens may protect against heart disease in older men. (more…)
Author Interviews / 23.11.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mahyar Etminan Assistant Professor University of British Columbia Therapeutic Evaluation Unit, Provincial Health Services Authority University of British Columbia, Vancouver MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Tamsulosin resulted in a roughly doubled risk for hypotension needing hospital admission during the first eight weeks after tamsulosin initiation and first eight weeks after restarting tamsulosin treatment. (more…)
Author Interviews, Stroke / 23.11.2013

Andrew D. Barreto, M.D. Assistant Professor of Neurology University of Texas, HoustonMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andrew D. Barreto, M.D. Assistant Professor of Neurology University of Texas, Houston   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Barreto: Applying a novel, operator-independent device used to produce ultrasound energy through the skull of stroke patients receiving IV-tPA (intravenous clot-busting medication that is the standard treatment for stroke patients) was safe – no signal of increased risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (brain bleeding). Rates of recanalization (clot dissolution) were consistent with prior work that suggest aiming transcranial Doppler ultrasound energy at the clot amplifies the clot-busting effect of tPA alone. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension / 23.11.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dan Nation Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology at University of Southern California Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer:   The main study findings indicate that high blood pressure, specifically pulse pressure (systolic - diastolic pressure), is associated with increased markers of Alzheimer's disease in the cerebral spinal fluid of healthy middle-aged adults.  These results suggest a connection between blood pressure and Alzheimer's disease prior to the onset of any symptoms of the disease. (more…)
Antioxidants, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Medical Research Centers, Nature, Nutrition, Pancreatic / 23.11.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: dr_ying_baoYing Bao, MD, ScD Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston, MA. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Bao: Frequent nut consumption is inversely associated with risk of pancreatic cancer in women, independent of other potential risk factors for pancreatic cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brain Injury / 23.11.2013

Dr. Andrew R. Mayer, PhD The Mind Research Network Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research InstituteMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Andrew R.  Mayer, PhD The Mind Research Network Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Mayer: a)     Just because mTBI patients self-report reduced and/or no post-concussive symptoms does not mean that they have completed the healing process. b)     Current gold-standards in the clinical world (CT scans and self-report) may not be accurately capturing brain health after injury. c)     Diffusion imaging shows promise for being a more sensitive biomarker for measuring recovery than currently used techniques. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 22.11.2013

Dr.. Melissa HoltMedicalResearch.com Melissa K. Holt, PhD School of Education, Boston University Boston, Massachusetts   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Dr. Holt: Results from this study indicated that among the sample of adolescents surveyed, bullies and bully-victims (i.e., youth who are both perpetrators and targets of bullying) engaged in more sexual risk taking behaviors than their peers.  Specifically, they were more likely to report casual sex and sex under the influence of alcohol or drugs. For instance, 33.8% of bullies and 23% of bully-victims reported sex under the influence of alcohol or drugs in contrast to 14% of youth not involved in bullying.  Notably, findings suggested that bullying involvement might be a more salient predictor of sexual risk taking for heterosexual than GLBTQ adolescents. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Lymphoma, NEJM / 22.11.2013

Kieron M. Dunleavy, M.D. Metabolism Branch Lymphoma Therapeutics Section Staff Clinician Center for Cancer Research National Cancer Institute Bethesda, MD 20892MedicalResearch.com Interview with Kieron M. Dunleavy, M.D. Metabolism Branch Lymphoma Therapeutics Section Center for Cancer Research National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Dunleavy: We found that low-intensity therapy was highly effective in Burkitt's lymphoma and cured over 95% of patients with the disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, Coffee, Heart Disease / 22.11.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Masato Tsutsui, MD, PhD, FAHA Professor and Chairman Department of Pharmacology Graduate School of Medicine University of the Ryukyus Okinawa 903-0215, Japan MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Tsutsui: A recent large prospective study reported that coffee consumption is associated with reduced mortality for cardiovascular disease (NEJM 2012).  However, its precise mechanisms remain to be clarified.  Our double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study demonstrated, for the first time, that caffeine contained in a cup of coffee ameliorates microvascular endothelial function in healthy individuals.  These findings may explain, at least in part, the association of coffee consumption with reduced mortality for cardiovascular disease. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, Cannabis, Stroke / 22.11.2013

W. Scott Burgin, MD Professor and Chief Cerebrovascular Division Director, Comprehensive Stroke Center Department of Neurology USF College of Medicine Tampa General Hospital Stroke CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: W. Scott Burgin, MD Professor and Chief, Cerebrovascular Division Director, Comprehensive Stroke Center Department of Neurology USF College of Medicine Tampa General Hospital Stroke Center. MedicalResearch.com What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Burgin: Two cases of stroke, of embolic appearance, shortly after smoking synthetic marijuana. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Mediterranean Diet / 22.11.2013

samantha_gardenerMedicalResearch.com: Samantha Gardener PhD Student Senior Research Assistant for DIAN and AIBL Studies McCusker Alzheimer's Research Foundation 2/142 Stirling Hwy 
NEDLANDS 6009
Western Australia MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of your study? Answer: Our research indicates that consuming larger quantities of foods included in a western dietary pattern is associated with greater cognitive decline in visuospatial functioning after 36 months. Foods included in the western dietary pattern are red and processed meats, high fat dairy products, chips, refined grains, potatoes, sweets and condiments. Visuospatial functioning is an area which includes distance and depth perception, reproducing drawings and using components to construct objects or shapes. In contrast, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, a healthy eating pattern is associated with less decline in executive function. Foods included in the Mediterranean diet are vegetables, fruits and fish. Examples of executive function include planning and organising, problem solving and time management. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Diabetes Care, Johns Hopkins / 21.11.2013

Caleb Alexander, MD, MS Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, MarylandMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Caleb Alexander, MD, MS Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Alexander:
  • There have been large shifts in the types of treatments used to treat Type 2 diabetes during the past decade in the United States.
  • We document large declines in the use of glitazones and sulfonylureas and important increases in the use of the newer DPP-4 inhibitors and GLP-1 agonists.
  • We also found large shifts in the types of insulins used, with substantial reductions in the use of regular and intermediate insulins, and large increases in the use of long-acting and ultra short-acting  therapies.
  • Costs have increased significantly over the past 5 years, driven primarily by insulin and DPP-4 inhibitors
  • All of these changes notwithstanding, biguanides continue to remain a mainstay of therapy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Heart Disease, JCEM, Weight Research / 21.11.2013

Carlos Lorenzo, MD Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center 7703 Floyd Curl Drive San Antonio, Texas 78229MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Carlos Lorenzo, MD Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center 7703 Floyd Curl Drive San Antonio, Texas 78229 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lorenzo: Metabolically healthy obese individuals are at increased risk of developing of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. These findings were demonstrated in men and women and in Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites. Management of excess weight and any metabolic abnormality appears to be important for all individuals. Our study is also in agreement with previous studies that indicate that metabolically unhealthy normal weight individuals are at increased risk of developing of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Hospital Readmissions / 21.11.2013

Kumar Dharmarajan MD MBA Fellow in Cardiovascular Medicine Columbia University Medical CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kumar Dharmarajan MD MBA Fellow in Cardiovascular Medicine Columbia University Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What were the main findings of the study Dr. Dharmarajan: In the United States, 1 in 5 older patients is readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of hospital discharge. However, there is great variation in rates of 30-day readmission across hospitals, and we do not know why some hospitals are able to achieve much lower readmission rates than others. We therefore wondered whether top performing hospitals with low 30-day readmission rates are systematically better at preventing readmissions from particular conditions or time periods after discharge. For example, are hospitals with low 30-day readmission rates after hospitalization for heart failure especially good at preventing readmissions due to recurrent heart failure or possible complications of treatment? Similarly, are top performing hospitals especially good at preventing readmissions that occur very soon after discharge, which may signify poor transitional care as the patient moves form the hospital back home? (more…)