Author Interviews, Hip Fractures, JAMA, Orthopedics / 31.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alison M. Cogan, PhD, OTR/L Polytrauma/TBI Advanced Fellow Washington DC VA Medical Center Washington DC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Medicare is shifting from a volume- to value-based payment for postacute care services, in which value is determined by patient characteristics and functional outcomes. Matching therapy time and length of stay (LOS) to patient needs is critical to optimize functional outcomes and manage costs. The objective of this study was to investigate the association among therapy time, LOS, and functional outcomes for patients following hip fracture surgery. This retrospective cohort study analyzed data on patients from 4 inpatient rehabilitation facilities and 7 skilled nursing facilities in the eastern and midwestern United States. Participants were patients aged 65 years or older who received inpatient rehabilitation services for hip fracture and had Medicare fee-for-service as their primary payer. We categorized patients into nine recovery groups based on low, medium, and high therapy minutes per day and low, medium, or high rate of functional gain per day. We measured the groups for functional mobility independence and self-care capabilities at the time each patient was discharged. (more…)
Author Interviews / 30.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Harri Hemilä, MD, PhD Department of Public Health University of Helsinki, Finland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Eight previous randomized trials reported that zinc lozenges can shorten and alleviate the common cold, when zinc doses were over 80 mg/day. There are also several negative findings from other trials, but those can be explained by low doses of zinc and by substances in lozenges that bind zinc so that free zinc is not released to the oro-pharyneal region. For example, citric acid binds zinc ions very strongly and has been a component of some previous lozenges. In our trial, common cold patients were instructed to use 6 commercially available zinc lozenges, 78 mg/day of zinc, for 5 days as sson as feasible after the start of the common cold. (more…)
Author Interviews, Global Health, Infections / 30.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Bin Cao, MD, PhD Professor, China-Japan Friendship Hospital Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Beijing 100029, China MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In December, 2019, recent cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China, was caused by a novel betacoronavirus, the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). We report the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics and treatment and clinical outcomes of the first 41 patients with laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection by Jan 2, 2020. (more…)
Author Interviews, Health Care Systems, JAMA / 30.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Coleman Drake, PhD Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Management Pitt Public Health Affiliate faculty member Medicaid Research Center and Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The religious directives of Catholic hospitals prohibit the provision of many forms of contraception. To examine how Catholic hospitals restrict access to reproductive health services, we examined the market share of Catholic hospitals in every county in the continental US. We found that nearly 40% of women of reproductive-aged women live in counties with high or dominant Catholic hospital market share. We also examined whether the networks of Health Insurance Marketplace (i.e., Obamacare) plans direct their enrollees toward or away from Catholic hospitals, and thus reproductive health services.  (more…)
Abuse and Neglect, Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics, Tobacco / 30.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hongying (Daisy) Dai, PhD Associate Professor Department of Biostatistics | College of Public Health University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, NE MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: E-cigarette use increased dramatically from 11.7% to 27.5% for high school students and from 3.3% to 10.5% for middle school students during the periods of 2017 - 2019. In September 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned that youth e-cigarette use is reaching an epidemic proportion. Exposure to secondhand aerosol (SHA) from e-cigarettes is not harmless as e-cigarettes aerosol contains nicotine and potentially harmful substances, including carbonyl compounds, TSNAs, heavy metals, and glycols. This study analyzed the 2015-2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) and the main findings are:
  • The prevalence of secondhand aerosol exposure significantly increased from 25.6% in 2017 to 33.2% in 2018 (p<.001) after being stable during 2015 and 2017 (25.2% vs. 25.6%, p>0.05). The increase of SHA exposure from 2017 to 2018 was observed across socio-demographic groups.
  • Among never tobacco users in 2018 NYTS, students who reported secondhand aerosol exposure (vs. no) had higher odds of susceptibility to use e-cigarettes (38.8% vs. 21.0%) and cigarettes (30.7% vs. 21.2%) and higher odds of reporting exposure to e-cigarette marketing.
(more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, Technology / 29.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: John W. Ayers, PhD MA Vice Chief of Innovation | Assoc. Professor Div. Infectious Disease & Global Public Health University of California San Diego MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Already half of US adults use smart device enabled intelligent virtual assistants, like Amazon Alexa. Moreover, many of the makers of intelligent virtual assistants are poised to roll out health care advice, including personalized wellness strategies. We take a step back and ask do intelligent virtual assistants provide actionable health support now? To do so we focus on a specific case study. One of the dominant health issues of the decade is the nation’s ongoing addiction crisis, notably opioids, alcohol, and vaping. As a result, it is an ideal case to begin exploring the ability of intelligent virtual assistants to provide actionable answers for obvious health questions. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 29.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Carol Chelimo PhD Research Fellow Dept. of Paediatrics, School of Medicine University of Auckland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: New Zealand has the third highest prevalence of obesity among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Pediatric obesity is associated with development of cardiovascular risk factors in later life, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. Antibiotic exposures in early life may affect weight by altering the gut microbiota, potentially increasing the risk of childhood obesity. The overall aim of this research was to examine whether repeated antibiotic exposure by age 48 months is associated with higher body mass index (BMI) at age 54 months. Specifically, it evaluates whether the number, timing (age), and type of antibiotic exposures are associated with a higher body mass and an increased likelihood of overweight and obesity. This work incorporates antibiotic exposure during pregnancy (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, McGill, Neurology, Technology / 28.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yasser Iturria-Medina PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery Associate member of the Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health McConnell Brain Imaging Centre McGill University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: As background, two main points:
  • Almost all molecular (gene expression) analyses performed in neurodegeneration are based on snapshots data, taking at one or a few time points covering the disease's large evolution. Because neurodegenerative diseases take decades to develop, until now we didn't have a dynamical characterization of these diseases. Our study tries to overcome such limitation, proposing a data-driven methodology to study long term dynamical changes associated to disease.
Also, we still lacked robust minimally invasive and low-cost biomarkers of individual neuropathological progression. Our method is able to offer both in-vivo and post-mortem disease staging highly predictive of neuropathological and clinical alterations. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Gout / 28.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stephen P. Juraschek, MD, PhD Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Division of General Medicine, Section for Research Boston, MA  02215 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Gout is a common complication of blood pressure treatment. Furthermore, 75% of adults with gout have hypertension. There are several classes of medications uses to treat hypertension. While prior studies have reported that calcium channel blockers like amlodipine lower uric acid, its effects on gout risk compared to other common first-line antihypertensive agents are unknown.  (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Opiods, Pain Research / 28.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dave Stack Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Pacira BioSciences  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cesarean sections (C-sections) are one of the most common surgeries in the United States, and research shows many women experience moderate to severe pain after this procedure. When postsurgical pain is inadequately managed for new mothers, it can interfere with recovery, maternal-infant bonding and may even lead to postpartum depression. Additionally, prescribing data reveals that postsurgical opioid consumption poses a great risk to women. We recently completed a Phase 4 study of EXPAREL in C-section patients, and results revealed adding EXPAREL to bupivacaine transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks for C-section delivery provided significant reductions in opioids and pain scores. Results of that study provided the basis for the design of this next-generation study, which was created to be completely opioid-free in the EXPAREL arm. The study was a Phase 4 multicenter, active-controlled study conducted in 18 clinical sites in the United States, with 169 enrolled patients undergoing elective C-section. The enrolled C-section patients were randomized to receive either 150 mcg morphine spinal anesthesia plus a standard of care postoperative pain regimen, 50 mcg morphine spinal anesthesia plus EXPAREL TAP field block, or opioid-free spinal anesthesia plus EXPAREL TAP block. Patients in the EXPAREL arms received a protocol-defined non-opioid postsurgical pain management regimen including ketorolac, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Dartmouth, JAMA, Pharmaceutical Companies, Primary Care / 27.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Steven Woloshin, MD, MS Professor of Medicine and Community and Family Medicine Professor, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Industry spends more on detailing visits and free samples than any other form of prescription drug marketing.  There is good evidence that these activities can lead to more use of expensive new drugs over equally effective cheaper options.  Given these concerns there have been efforts by some hospitalls and practices to restrict these forms of marketing. We asked physicians in group practices delivering primary care about how often pharmaceutical reps visit their practice and whether they have a free sample closet.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Education, Gender Differences, Neurology, UC Davis / 27.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Allison Brashear, M.D., M.B.A. Dean, UC Davis School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Why is the demand for neurology services and neurologists increasing?  Response: The American Academy of Neurology estimates that by 2025 the number of neurologists in practice will increase to 18,060 but some 3,400 more will be needed to meet the demand for their services. The 58% increase in the number of residency positions in the National Resident Matching Program since 2008 also reflects the growing demand. The higher prevalence of neurologic conditions, aging U.S. population and more patients having access to the health care coverage are the major driving forces. (Note: source of NRMP neurology trend data comes from a physician/resident forum posted May 2019 https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/growth-trends-in-neurology-residency-positions.1375918/) MedicalResearch.com: Why is neurology included among the less desirable fields of medicine (similar to nephrology, infectious disease, endocrinology etc.) for medical students and residents to pursue?  Why is burnout and dissatisfaction so high? Response: According to the American Academy of Neurology, a minority of medical students choose to train in neurology each year, with approximately 3.1% matching into a neurology residency in 2018. The newer generations of neurologists value lifestyle and time off work more than their predecessors. According to a recent American Medical Association survey, neurology tied with critical care as the medical specialty with the highest stress levels and burnout. Too many administrative tasks, too many hours at work, increased computerization of practice and insufficient compensation were among the top causes of burnout. (more…)
Author Interviews, Kidney Disease, Stem Cells / 27.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Orit Harari-Steinberg Dr. Dorit Omer Dr. Oren Pleniceanu Prof. Benjamin Dekel The Pediatric Stem Cell Research Institute Sheba Medical Center Tel Hashomer, Israel MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The motivation behind this study is the rising epidemic of chronic kidney disease (CKD). With a prevalence in some reports of up to 17.3%  and very expensive treatments, especially in its advanced stages, CKD is more common than most people think, and it keeps growing at a very fast rate, due to the increasing number of patients suffering from diabetes and hypertension. At the same time, medicine doesn’t offer good solutions to these patients, with dialysis creating high morbidity and mortality. From the fact that 70,000 cells are shed in the urine each hour, we deduce that the kidney has the ability to form new cells to make up for this loss. In a previous work, we used a mouse model to show that cell clones form and proliferate in the adult kidney, so we know that cells of the adult kidney, or at least a portion thereof, have the ability to multiply in-vivo. It has been possible for quite a while to isolate proliferating cells from human kidneys and grow them in a dish. The problem, however, is that in order to achieve a large enough number of cells capable of regenerating the kidneys, massive expansion is needed ex-vivo, and that's the real obstacle. The reason is that following several passages, the cells lose their phenotype and become senescent, and therefore useless for regenerative purposes. In this study, we developed a unique 3D culturing method, growing the kidney cells in structures which we termed 'nephrospheres'. This culturing method rejuvenated the cells and allowed massive expansion for long periods of time. The positive effect on the cells was evident when we analyzed their transcriptome and found activation of molecular pathways associated with renal epithelial identity and renal tissue-forming capacity. What's even more striking, is that the same effect was seen when we used cells from the kidneys of CKD patients. We were then interested in determining whether these cells might also have a therapeutic effect. Indeed, when we injected these cells into mice with CKD (which was generated by resecting 5/6 of their kidneys), we saw a functional improvement in GFR. When we analyzed the treated kidneys, we found that the injected cell both formed renal tubule-like structures and integrated into existing host tubules, which resulted in a therapeutic effect. So, altogether, this study showed that our culturing method can serve as an effective means of establishing large numbers of autologous cells with regenerative capacity. (more…)
Author Interviews / 23.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Lindsay Sabik, Ph.D. Associate Professor Graduate School of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management University of Pittsburgh  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In 2006, Massachusetts passed a health insurance reform law with the aim of providing health care access to nearly all of its residents. My colleagues and I pulled data from the Massachusetts Cancer Registry on all colorectal and breast cancer cases in people ages 50- to 64-years-old from 2001 through 2013. We selected those two cancers for our study because both are common, have routine screening guidelines and have high survival rates when caught early. The age range captured people covered by the recommended screening guidelines but not old enough to qualify for Medicare. We also pulled similar data from several other states for comparison. (more…)
Author Interviews, Education / 23.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brian Piper PhD Department of Medical Education Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Center for Pharmacy Innovation & Outcomes Geisinger Precision Health Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Disclosure of funding sources is standard practice for journal articles and clinical practice guidelines in order to alert readers to potential conflicts of interest (CoI). However, CoI disclosure is uncommon for textbooks. A new edition of Goodman and Gilman’s Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics (GG-PBT) was recently published. This is affectionately known as “the blue bible of pharmacology” because it is widely used in the training of doctors, pharmacists, dentists, scientists, and nurses. This provided an opportunity to extend upon past research2,3 and determine whether the authors and editors had undisclosed CoIs. (more…)
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, NEJM, Thyroid Disease / 23.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Raymond S Douglas MD PhD Professor of Surgery, Division of Ophthalmology Director of the Orbital and Thyroid Eye Disease Program Cedars Sinai Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Thyroid eye disease (TED) is a debilitating disease that affects all aspects of a patients life. It is often associated with Graves' disease and thyroid abnormalities. TED causes profound bulging of the eyes impairing vision, causing eye pain and facial disfigurement. (more…)
Abbvie, Author Interviews, NEJM, OBGYNE / 23.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: William D Schlaff  MD Chair, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Jefferson University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Symptomatic uterine fibroids are the most common indication for hysterectomy in the US.  Heavy bleeding is the most common and troublesome symptom.  The primary treatment for this problem is surgery—either hysterectomy or (less commonly) myomectomy.  Medical treatment which reduces the bleeding related to fibroids without surgery is a valuable treatment for many women.  Existing medications include, most commonly GnRH agonists.  These are injectable medications that are given every 1 or 3 months (depending on the formulation) and have been shown to reduce bleeding related to fibroids.  They work by initially stimulating the ovaries to increase estrogen levels for 10-14 days before suppressing estrogen and thereby reducing bleeding.  Even though the medication is given every 1 or 3 months, the effect of the medication can last quite a bit longer; in cases of adverse response, the medication cannot be immediately stopped.  The medication reported in this trial, Elagolix, is a GnRH antagonist given by mouth twice daily and resulting in suppression of estrogen secretion within a matter of hours.  The effect of this medication wears off much more rapidly than the depot formulations described and can be stopped in the uncommon cases of adverse side effects.  (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Primary Care / 22.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Leah Marcotte, MD Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine University of Washington
Joshua M. Liao, MD, MSc, FACP Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine Director, UW Medicine Value and Systems Science Lab Medical Director of Payment Strategy, UW Medicine University of Washington
  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In the last 7 years, Medicare has implemented payment reforms to encourage primary care and other ambulatory providers for dedicated care coordination activities. One such reform, Transitional Care Management (TCM) billing codes, was introduced in 2013 and emphasized coordination during care transitions from hospital to home – a particularly vulnerable period in which patients may be at risk for adverse outcomes. TCM services include patient contact (e.g., phone call) within two business days of discharge, a visit (e.g., office or home-based) within 14 days of discharge with at least moderate complexity medical decision making, and medication reconciliation. TCM services may be delivered after inpatient hospitalization, observation stay, skilled nursing facility admission or acute rehab admission. There have been few studies that have looked at early data in Transitional Care Management, and none that have described national use of and payment for these codes over an extended period of time. We analyzed a national Medicare dataset looking at 100% of submitted and paid TCM claims from 2013-2018.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Duke, Pediatrics / 22.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yuichiro Yano MD Assistant Professor in Family Medicine and Community Health Duke University  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The blood pressure (BP) guideline in the US recommend using an “average” of multiple BP measurements over time for screening for and management of high BP in young adults. While it is well known that BP varies across visits, that “variability” (i.e., visit-to-visit blood pressure variability) is dismissed as a random fluctuation in the clinical setting. Little is known regarding the clinical relevance of visit-to-visit blood pressure variability over time in young adults. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks, JAMA / 22.01.2020

Comments from the FDA on this JAMA Dermatology study: Effect of Sunscreen Application on Plasma Concentration of Sunscreen Active Ingredients: A Randomized Clinical Trial  Sunscreen CDC Phil imageMedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: A prior pilot study published in JAMA in May 2019 demonstrated the systemic absorption of 4 sunscreen active ingredients; additional studies are needed to determine the systemic absorption of additional active ingredients, and how quickly absorption occurs.  This study assessed the systemic absorption of the 6 active ingredients (avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene, homosalate, octisalate and octinoxate) in 4 sunscreen products under single and maximal-use conditions.  (more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews / 22.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Dianne Campbell, MBBS, FRACP, PhD VP, Global Medical Affairs DBV Technologies   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The PEOPLE study is an open-label extension of the Phase III PEPITES trial designed to evaluate the long-term safety, tolerability and efficacy of Viaskin Peanut 250 μg (NCT03013517) in peanut-allergic children ages 4 to 11 years . Participants who completed the 12-month study period of PEPITES were eligible to enroll in PEOPLE. Patients who were randomized to active treatment in PEPITES are eligible to receive up to four additional years of treatment, and those previously receiving placebo are eligible to receive up to five years of treatment. The current study reports on the 3 year outcomes of children who were initially randomized to receive active treatment in the PEPITES study and completed an additional 2 years of treatment during the PEOPLE study. The study evaluated the eliciting dose (ED) after three years (Month 36) of active treatment using a double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC). The starting dose of each challenge was 1 mg of peanut protein and escalated to the highest dose of 2,000 mg peanut protein; possibly repeated once to reach a maximum total cumulative dose of 5,444 mg peanut protein. All participants who reached an ED ≥ 1,000 mg at Month 36 were eligible to continue the study for two additional months without treatment while maintaining a peanut-free diet. A further double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge to determine ED was administered at the end of this period (Month 38). Additional analyses include exploratory assessments of safety parameters, immune biomarkers such as immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) and immunoglobulin E (IgE). (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, JAMA, Nutrition / 22.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Zhilei Shan PhD Postdoctoral fellow on Nutritional Epidemiology Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Long-standing controversies have focused on the health consequences of dietary fat and carbohydrate. Previous evidence has shown that different types of carbohydrates and fats have varying effects on disease risk and health. For example, carbohydrates from refined grains and added sugars may contribute to insulin resistance and other metabolic problems while carbohydrates from whole grains and whole fruits appear to be beneficial. Likewise, replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat was associated with lower risk of heart disease and mortality. Therefore, it is crucial to incorporate quality and types of carbohydrate and fat when investigating the associations of low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets with mortality. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, Dermatology, Pediatrics / 21.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jonathan L. Silverberg MD PhD MPH Director of Clinical Research and Contact Dermatitis Associate Professor of Dermatology George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Washington, DC  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We previously found that children from single parent families, and unsafe or unsupportive neighborhoods are more likely to have atopic dermatitis. Parents in these settings may experience greater psychosocial distress and higher rates of depression in the post-partum period and beyond. As such, we sought to understand the relationship of maternal depression with atopic dermatitis in their children. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Gender Differences, Genetic Research / 21.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alejandro Cáceres PhD Juan R. González, PhD Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) Barcelona, Spain. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Men have more risk and worse prognosis to cancer than women. There are many environmental factors but also biological differences. We find that the loss of function of six genes (DDX3Y, EIF1AY, KDM5D, RPS4Y1, UTY and ZFY) in chromosome Y is one of the biological factors for the differences between sexes in relation to cancer risk and prognosis.  (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, Nutrition, Sugar / 21.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael Winterdahl PhD Associate Professor in Neuroimaging, Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center Aarhus University, Denmark  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Opioids and dopamine mediate the rewarding effects of drugs. We aimed to determine whether the intake of palatable food could lead to changes in the brain similar to those triggered by addictive substances, so we studied the effects of repeated intermittent access to sugar on opioid and dopamine receptors in porcine brain using neuroimaging. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cannabis, Columbia, Heart Disease, JACC / 21.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ersilia DeFilippis, MD Second-year cardiology fellow Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Marijuana use has been increasing significantly and is the most commonly illicit drug used in the United States. In recent years, more states have been legalizing its use for both recreational and medicinal purposes. We have all seen news reports regarding the rise of vaping-related health hazards. Yet, data are limited regarding the cardiovascular effects of marijuana which is what drove us to explore this topic. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Global Health / 20.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Andrea On Yan LUK (陸安欣) Associate Professor, Department of Medicine & Therapeutics Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Specialist in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Honorary Associate Consultant, Hospital Authority MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The overall mortality in people with diabetes has declined in many developed countries but little is known about the mortality trend in Asia. In this study, we examined the trend in mortality rates using a territory-wide database of 770,000 people with diabetes in Hong Kong. (more…)
Author Interviews, Education, Genetic Research, PNAS / 20.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Per Engzell PhD Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow Nuffield College, University of Oxford
Felix C. Tropf, PhD Assistant Professor in Social Science Genetics, CREST-ENSAE, Paris
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We know that parents and offspring often resemble each other in their socio-economic outcomes: higher-educated parents tend to have children who reach a similar level of education while children of disadvantaged families struggle in school. To the extent that this compromises equality of opportunity – that is, some children end up better educated only because of their social background – social policies aim to compensate for it and promote social mobility. At the same time, not all similarity between parents and offspring can be seen as equally troubling. A society that blocked entry to university for any child born to academics would achieve high mobility, but few of us would see it as a model of equal opportunity. So some channels of transmission then, it seems, are more fair than others. Although we may disagree where to draw the line, things like parents’ ability to pay for good neighborhoods, schools, or access to college appear clearly more troubling than the inheritance of traits that make for educational success. In this study, we ask whether societies that have achieved a high degree of intergenerational mobility have done so by limiting the reach of "nature" (inherited traits), "nurture" (other family advantages), or both. We do so by combining the rich literatures of social mobility research and behavior genetics, comparing variation across several cohorts of men and women in 10 countries.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Cognitive Issues / 20.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Annelise Madison Lead author of the study Graduate Student in Clinical Psychology Ohio State MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Recently, there have been some reports of cognitive problems among those using proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Some breast cancer survivors use PPIs during and after treatment to manage gastrointestinal side effects of cancer treatment or to prevent damage to the gut lining. We were interested in whether PPI use among breast cancer survivors related to cognitive problems. We conducted secondary analyses on data from three studies with breast cancer survivors. We found that breast cancer survivors taking PPIs reported cognitive problems that were between 20-29% worse than those reported by non-users. (more…)