Addiction, Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Opiods / 03.02.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joshua D. Madera, MD Department of Medical Education Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Scranton PA What is the background for this study? Response: The US population continues to be drastically impacted by the opioid epidemic, with opioid-related deaths significantly increased compared to European countries. While prescription opioid distribution has gradually declined since its peak in 2011 [1], the rate of opioid prescriptions remains increased compared to 2000. Furthermore, there is considerable interstate variability in opioid distribution across the US. Identifying patterns in this variability may guide public health efforts to reduce opioid-related harms. Therefore, the primary objective of this study [2] from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine was to explore variations in production quotas and state-level distribution of ten prescription opioids between 2010 and 2019. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research / 31.01.2024

The market for personal genetic-testing kits is experiencing significant growth, enabling individuals to explore their ancestry and health vulnerabilities for a few hundred dollars. Genetic testing, or DNA test, is a medical examination designed to detect mutations in genes, chromosomes, or proteins. These mutations serve as indicators for the presence or absence of genetic conditions. Moreover, DNA tests can reveal your susceptibility to particular health conditions or the likelihood of passing on a genetic disorder. Before you go to DNA testing in Gainesville, GA, know everything in detail. (more…)
Author Interviews, Respiratory, Social Issues, University of Michigan / 31.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Wilson N. Merrell Ph.D. Student Department of Psychology University of MichiganWilson N. Merrell Ph.D. Student Department of Psychology University of Michigan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: From the common cold to COVID-19, people get sick all the time. Because our social worlds don’t pause just because we are feeling ill, we often still need to navigate in-person events ranging from work and school to first dates and family dinners even while we’re feeling under the weather. In these kinds of social situations, do we always tell others when we’re feeling sick, or are there times when we may want to downplay our illness? After all, we tend to react negatively to, find less attractive, and steer clear of people who are sick with infectious illness. To the extent that we want to avoid these negative social outcomes while sick, it therefore makes sense that we may take steps to cover up our sickness in social situations. Given that this concealment could serve individual social goals (like allowing you to connect with others) at the cost of broader harms to public health (through the spread of infectious disease), we found this behavior both theoretically novel and practically timely. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Genetic Research, Hearing Loss, Lancet, Pediatrics / 29.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Zheng-Yi Chen, D.Phil. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surger Harvard Medical School Boston, MA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  Would you briefly explain the process and indication Response: This clinical trial is to use gene therapy to treat a type of genetic hearing loss. Genetic hearing loss mainly affects children. One in 600 newborns can have genetic hearing loss. There is no drug treatment for any type of hearing loss except for cochlear implants, which have limitations. This study focuses on a type of genetic hearing loss, DFNB9, due to a missing gene called Otoferlin. Without Otoferlin,  children are born with complete hearing loss and without the capacity to speak. The goal of the trial is to study if gene therapy is safe and efficacious in treating children so they can regain hearing and the ability to speak. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hearing Loss, JAMA, Pediatrics, USPSTF / 28.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Li Li, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H Walter M. Seward Professor Chair of Family Medicine Director of population health University of Virginia School of Medicine Editor-in-chief of The BMJ Family Medicine Dr. Li joined the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in January 2021   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Speech and language delays and disorders can be challenging for children and their families and can lead to difficulties with reading and writing as children grow up. The Task Force looked at the evidence on screening for speech and language delays and, unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to tell us whether or not it is helpful to screen all children 5 years old and younger for speech and language delays and disorders. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Aging, Author Interviews, Cannabis, JAMA / 19.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Patricia Di Ciano, PhD Scientist, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology University of Toronto Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute Collaborative Program in Neuroscience MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: It is now fairly well established that cannabis has a detrimental effect on driving. The most consistently reported effect of cannabis on driving is to increase ‘weaving’ on the road. We know that cannabis use is on the rise in people over 65 years of age. In fact, over the past few years cannabis use is increasing the most in this age group. Despite this, there are few studies of the effects of cannabis on people over 65; most studies have been conducted on younger adults. We know that there are important age-related changes in the way the body works that may alter the impact of cannabis on the body. Also, older adults may have more experience with cannabis and this can change the effects of cannabis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, NEJM / 18.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: John Sapp MD FRCPC FHRSHeart Rhythm, Division of Cardiology QEII Health Sciences Centre Dalhousie University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cardiac resynchronization is a robust therapy for heart failure in patients with ventricular dysfunction, left bundle branch block and left bundle branch block. It has been shown to improve heart failure status, symptoms, survival and reduce new onset ventricular arrhythmias for appropriate candidates. The RAFT study (NEJM 2010) enrolled patients with functional class II and III heart failure, wide QRS duration on ECG and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, and demonstrated a reduction in heart failure hospitalization and mortality during a mean follow-up of 44 months. The long-term outcomes are not known. (more…)
Author Interviews, Immunotherapy, Kidney Disease, NEJM / 15.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: VisterraMohit Mathur MD, FASN, FNKF, FRCP (Glasgow) Clinical fellow in Nephrology at UofT DM (Nephrology), MRCP.UK (SCE in Nephrology). Director, Clinical Development Visterra Waltham, MA 02451 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly describe the condition of IgA Nephropathy? Response: IgA Nephropathy is the commonest primary glomerular disease in the world. It is an autoimmune kidney disease that typically presents with urinary abnormalities, elevated blood pressure and reduced kidney function. Until recently IgAN was considered to be a benign disease, but recent studies have indicated that a majority of patients will progress to End stage kidney disease in their lifetime. Steroids have been the mainstay of treatment in IgAN, but they come at a very high burden of side effects. Thus, there is an urgent requirement to develop novel and safe treatment options for patients with IgAN. APRIL is considered to be a key cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of IgAN, hence we decided to target APRIL as a therapeutic modality in IgAN. (more…)
Author Interviews, Mental Health Research, Pharmaceutical Companies / 14.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lauren Davis Lauren C. Davis, MBS Department of Medical Education Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Scranton, PA 19409   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Financial conflicts of interest (COIs) resulting from ties between academia and industry have been under scrutiny for their potential to hinder the integrity of medical research. COIs can lead to implicit bias, compromise the research process, and erode public trust (1-6). The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), standardizes symptom criteria and codifies psychiatric disorders. This manual contributes to the approval of new drugs, extensions of patent exclusivity, and can influence payers and mental health professionals seeking third-party reimbursements. Given the implications of the DSM on public health, it is paramount that it is free of industry influence. Previous research has shown a high prevalence of industry ties among panel and task force members of the DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5, despite the implementation of a disclosure policy for the DSM-5 (7,8). This study (9) determined the extent and type of COIs received by panel and task-force members of the DSM-5-TR (2022) (10). As the DSM-5-TR did not disclose COI, we used the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Open Payments (OP) database (11) to quantify them. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brain Injury, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Inflammation / 14.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Samir Mitragotri Ph.D. Hiller Professor of Bioengineering Hansjorg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering Area Chair, Bioengineering Core Faculty Member, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering Harvard John A. Paulson School Of Engineering And Applied Sciences MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has a heavy burden on the world, affecting ~70 million people globally each year. Despite its prevalence, there are no clinically approved treatments beyond symptom management. There is an urgent need to develop effective therapies to alleviate the damage caused by TBI.   MedicalResearch.com:  What do macrophages typically do?  As part of the innate immune system, macrophages migrate to areas of injury to eat pathogens or debris and manage inflammation in response to injury or infection. However, in the majority of cases of TBI, there is no actual infection from a foreign pathogen, leading to excessive inflammation that spreads damage beyond the initial impact. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Nutrition, Sugar / 12.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Scott Kaplan PhD Assistant Professor of Economics United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD 21402 Scott Kaplan PhD Assistant Professor of Economics United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD 21402   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Sugar-sweetened beverages (colloquially known as SSBs), which include sodas, fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, and sweetened coffee drinks, are the leading source of added sugars in the American diet, according to the CDC. They are associated with serious negative health outcomes, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, kidney disease, non-alcoholic liver disease, gum disease, tooth decay, and other conditions. As a result, several cities across the US have implemented sugar-sweetened beverage excise (per ounce) taxes, generally ranging from 1-2 cents per ounce. Most existing studies evaluating the impact of SSB taxes on SSB volume purchased and prices focus on a single city; this study is among the first to provide a composite estimate of the impact of local SSB taxes on purchases and prices of SSBs using retail scanner data from five cities across the US that implemented SSB taxes between January 1, 2017 and January 1, 2018. The five taxed cities we examine are Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, Boulder, and Seattle.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, Kidney Disease, Medicare / 11.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kalli Koukounas, MPH Ph.D. Student, Health Services Research Brown University School of Public Health Providence, RI MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:  On Jan. 1st, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented the End-Stage Renal Disease Treatment Choices (ETC) Model, one of the largest randomized tests of pay-for-performance incentives ever conducted in the US. The goal of the model was to enhance the use of home dialysis and kidney transplant or waitlisting among kidney failure patients in traditional Medicare. The model randomly assigned approximately 30% of US dialysis facilities and nephrologists to receive financial incentives, ranging from bonuses of 4% to penalties of 5%, based on their patients’ use of home dialysis and kidney transplant/waitlisiting. The payment adjustments apply to all Medicare-based reimbursement for dialysis services. Prior research has demonstrated that dialysis facilities that disproportionately serve populations with high social risk have lower use of home dialysis and kidney transplant, raising concerns that these sites may fare poorly in the payment model. Using data released by CMS, we examined the first year of ETC model performance and financial penalties across dialysis facilities, stratified by the measured social risk of the facilities’ incident patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Neurological Disorders, NYU, Pediatrics / 09.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laura Gould, MSc, MA, PT Research Scientist SUDC Registry and Research Collaborative Comprehensive Epilepsy Center Department of Neurology NYU Langone Grossman School of Medicine     MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Sudden Unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) is the unexplained death of a child on or after their 1st birthday that remains unexplained after a comprehensive death investigation. About 400 SUDC occur annually between the ages of 1-18, but more than half occur in toddlers, aged 1-4 years. Since most deaths are sleep related and unwitnessed with unremarkable autopsies, mechanisms of deaths have eluded our understanding. Febrile seizures are common in young children; ~ 3% of US children 6 months to 5 years will experience one. SUDC however has been associated with a 10-fold increase in febrile seizures; our study is the first to implicate them at time of death. The SUDC Registry and Research Collaborative (www.sudcrrc.org) at NYU Langone Health has enrolled over 300 cases of unexplained child death; seven with audiovisual recordings from the child’s bedroom during their last sleep period. More than 80% of the cases enrolled in the registry were children 1-4 years at the time of death. The seven cases with videos were aged 13-27 months with normal development and no pathogenic disease-causing variants by whole exome sequencing. (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, JAMA, Pediatrics, Technology / 08.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Karen F. Heffler, MD Researcher, Autism Spectrum Disorder Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry Drexel University College of Medicine Philadelphia, PA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? children-watching-tv-pexels-photo-4740522 Response: Atypical sensory processing is common in neurodevelopmental disorders, affecting approximately 60% of children with ADHD and up to 90% of children with autism. Sensory symptoms are associated with hyperactivity, restricted/repetitive behavior, irritability, behavioral problems, and emotional dysregulation. Sensory-related meltdowns and symptoms can be very disruptive to family-life, interfere with family participation in community events and are associated with increased caregiver stress. Prior to this study there was little understanding of potential risk factors for atypical sensory processing. The researchers used data from the National Children’s Study to determine the association between early-life screen time and sensory processing outcomes among toddlers. (more…)
Abuse and Neglect, Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Genetic Research, Science, University of Michigan / 05.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jianzhi "George" ZhangMarshall W. Nirenberg Collegiate ProfessorDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI 48109-1085 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: A few percent of humans perform same-sex sexual behavior (SSB), a trait that is partially heritable. Because SSB leads to fewer children, the stable maintenance of SSB-associated alleles in populations has been a long-standing Darwinian paradox. A number of hypotheses have been proposed to resolve this paradox, but most of them lack clear empirical evidence. One version of the antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis posits that SSB-associated alleles are subject to heterosexual advantage. Specifically, it was found that SSB-associated alleles are associated with more sexual partners when in heterosexuals (individuals of exclusive opposite-sex sexual behavior), which could lead to more offspring, potentially compensating the reduced reproduction of SSB individuals. While the above mechanism has likely worked in premodern societies, our recent study (PNAS 2023) found that it is no longer working in the modern United Kingdom, because the widespread use of contraception has decoupled the number of offspring from the number of sexual partners in heterosexuals. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Kidney Disease, Salt-Sodium / 03.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lu Qi, MD, PhD, FAHA Interim Chair, Department of Epidemiolog HCA Regents Distinguished Chair and Professor Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Director, Tulane University Obesity Research Center Director, Tulane Personalized Health Institute New Orleans, LA 70112 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Adding salt to foods is a behavior reflecting long-term preference to salty diets. High sodium intake is a major risk factor for chronic kidney disease. In our previous studies, we have found that adding salt to foods at the table is related to various disorders including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and mortality.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Gender Differences / 03.01.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christian Carbe, PhD Department of Medical Educatio Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Scranton, PA 18509   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Transgender patients often experience pronounced healthcare disparities compared to their cisgender counterparts. Disparities in the treatment of transgender patients resulting from deficiencies in cultural competency perpetuate poor health outcomes, such as suicide, substance misuse, depression, harassment, and victimization. Individuals within the transgender community often face systemic barriers within the medical field, including a lack of comprehensive access to health insurance, discrimination from providers, and incompetent provider training in transgender-specific health needs. This report evaluated the changes in knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of the psychosocial and medical needs of the transgender community among first-year undergraduate medical students that attended the Northeastern Pennsylvania Trans Health Conference. Our broader goal is to develop and refine longitudinal interventions to improve skills and sensitivity of future physicians to provide compassionate and competent gender diverse and transgender healthcare. (more…)
Author Interviews / 20.12.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amy Kennalley, MBS First Year Medical Student Department of Medical Education Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:   Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a major public health crisis in the United States. Despite the availability of effective treatments, including the medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with methadone, many individuals with OUD do not receive the care they need. Over the COVID-19 pandemic, there were several policy changes related to take-home doses of methadone, which may have impacted access to this lifesaving medication. The Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA)'s Automated Reports and Consolidated Ordering System (ARCOS) is a database that tracks the distribution of controlled substances, including methadone distributed to opioid treatment programs (OTPs). This data can be used to assess trends in methadone distribution over time. Additionally, the Medicaid State Drug Utilization Data (SDUD) database provides comprehensive information on methadone prescribing to Medicaid patients. By analyzing data from both ARCOS and SDUD, we aimed to provide a comprehensive picture of methadone distribution for OUD treatment in the United States. These findings1 are important because drug overdose deaths, primarily involving opioids, increased substantially (49%) from 2019 (70,980) to 2021 (~106,000).2 (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Dental Research, JAMA, Respiratory / 18.12.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael Klompas MD, MPH, FIDSA, FSHEA Hospital Epidemiologist Brigham and Women’s Hospital Professor of Medicine and Population Medicine Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Can teeth be safely brush in patients who are comatose, intubated or have NG tubes? Response: Pneumonia is thought to occur when secretions from the mouth get into the lungs.  Since there are many microbes in the mouth, there’s a risk that secretions from the mouth that get into the lungs will lead to pneumonia.  Toothbrushing may lower this risk by decreasing the quantity of microbes in the mouth. It is indeed safe and appropriate to brush the teeth of someone who is comatose, intubated, or who has an NG tube.  Indeed, our study found that the benefits of toothbrushing were clearest for patients receiving mechanical ventilation. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, NYU / 14.12.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Angélica Cifuentes Kottkamp, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine NYU Grossman School of Medicine Associate Program Director Infectious Diseases & Immunology Fellowship Associate Director for Research & Diversity NYU Langone Vaccine Center & VTEU Attending Physician H+H Bellevue Virology Clinic Division of Infectious Diseases & Immunology NYU Grossman School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? How does the JYNNEOS vaccine differ from the smallpox vaccine? Response: JYNNEOS vaccine is a smallpox vaccine that was repurposed for Mpox given the similarities between the two viruses (smallpox and mpox). The vaccine (JYNNEOS) had been studied in people without HIV therefore there was a gap in knowledge in how this vaccine, especially the small dose (intradermal dose), would work in patients with HIV. These patients resulted to be the most affected by the mpox outbreak suffering the worse outcomes of the disease with the highest death rates. (more…)
Author Interviews, Moderna, NEJM, Pharmaceutical Companies, Respiratory, Vaccine Studies / 13.12.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eleanor Wilson, M.D Moderna, 200 Technology Sq. Cambridge, MA 02139 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings and side effects (if any)? Response: The ConquerRSV trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of approximately 37,000 adults 60 years or older in 22 countries. The primary efficacy endpoints were based on two definitions of RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease (RSV-LRTD) defined as either two or more symptoms, or three or more symptoms of disease. Vaccine efficacy was 83.7% (95.88% confidence interval [CI], 66.0 to 92.2) against RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease with at least two signs or symptoms and 82.4% (96.36% CI, 34.8 to 95.3) against the disease with at least three signs or symptoms. Most adverse reactions were mild to moderate in severity and included injection site pain, fatigue, headache, myalgia, and arthralgia. (more…)
Author Interviews, Technology / 13.12.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Enomoto, Masaru Department of Hepatology Graduate School of Medicine Osaka Metropolitan University Osaka, Japan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: This research was conceived out of the use of generative AI drawing upon past experience in selecting a large amount of literature over an extended amount of time. In recent years, generative AI, such as ChatGPT, has gained attention and is being used in various fields, including information gathering and idea generation. In the medical field in particular, it is challenging to gather pertinent data as the volume of information proliferates on a daily basis, so there is a need to improve the efficiency of information collection. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hematology, Pain Research, Pediatrics / 10.12.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: David Brousseau, MD, MS Chair of Pediatrics Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware and the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited red blood cell disorder – the most common genetic disorder in the United States, affecting about 100,000 Americans (1 of every 365 Black births and 1 of every 16,3000 Hispanic-American births) (source: CDC). Pain is its most common symptom. Patients may experience acute or chronic pain or both. Acute episodes of pain, or pain crises, can vary in duration and severity. Many are treated at home; however when the pain is excruciating and cannot be treated at home, they lead to Emergency Department (ED) visits and even hospitalization. Reducing pain through prompt administration of pain medication in the ED is a core principle of national guidelines for SCD care. However, little data exists on how pain scores and changes in pain scores in the ED are associated with the patient’s disposition and the odds of a return visit. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cannabis, Medical Imaging, Pulmonary Disease / 10.12.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jessie Kang, MD, FRCPC Assistant professor Department of Diagnostic Radiology Faculty of Medicine Dalhousie University   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
  • Marijuana is the most widely used illicit psychoactive substance in the world.
  • Use has increased in Canada since legalization of non-medical marijuana in 2018.
  • It is commonly believed that smoking marijuana is not harmful to the lungs. There is an abundance of established research that identifies the harms of cigarette smoking. In contrast, very little is known about the effects of marijuana smoking, and even less research has been done on the combined effects of smoking marijuana and cigarettes.
To determine the effects of marijuana and cigarette smoking, we examined the chest CT images of four patient groups: non-smokers, cigarette smokers, marijuana smokers, and combined marijuana and cigarette smokers. Marijuana smokers included in the study had smoked marijuana at least four times a month for two years. Patients who ingested marijuana via edibles or oral drops were excluded from the study. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Pharmacology / 09.12.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joseph T. DiPiro, Pharm.D Associate Vice President, Faculty Affairs Virginia Commonwealth University Dr. DiPiro is an editor for Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The ASHP/ASHP Foundation Pharmacy Forecast Report is constructed from a survey of health-system pharmacy leaders who were asked to rate the likelihood of events, scenarios, and trends occurring in the next five years. The purpose is for health-system pharmacists and pharmacy leaders to inform their strategic planning efforts. The Pharmacy Forecast is not intended to predict future events. Rather, the report is intended to be a provocative stimulant for the thinking, discussion, and planning that must take place in every health system. Leaders must be informed of potential developments to help position their organizations to care for patients, enhance population health, and improve medication outcomes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Case Western, Colon Cancer, JAMA / 07.12.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nathan A. Berger, M.D. Distinguished University ProfessorHanna-Payne Professor of Experimental MedicineProfessor of Medicine, Biochemistry, Oncology and GeneticsDirector, Center for Science, Health and SocietyCase Western Reserve University School of Medicine   Rong Xu, PhD Professor, Biomedical Informatics Director, Center for Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine     MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: 75% of the US Population has overweight or obesity and 15% has Type 2 Diabetes. Both overweight/obesity and diabetes promote increased incidence and worse prognosis of colorectal cancer. The new GLP1RA drug class are rapidly becoming the most effective treatment for both diabetes and overweight/obesity. By controlling diabetes and overweight/obesity, we hypothesized that the GLP1RAs might be effective at reducing incidence of colorectal cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Lancet, Pediatrics, Vitamin D / 05.12.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Ganmaa Davaasambuu MD PhD Associate Professor Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The crucial role of vitamin D in facilitating calcium absorption from the diet and promoting calcium deposition in bones (known as 'mineralization') has been a long-established understanding. Furthermore, some observational studies have reported an association between low vitamin D levels and a heightened risk of bone fractures in children. This raised the possibility that vitamin D supplements could potentially play a role in decreasing fracture risk in children with initially low baseline levels. However, clinical trials assessing the causal link between low vitamin D status and reduced fracture risk were necessary, and such trials had not been conducted before. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Weight Research / 28.11.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Mahsa Dolatshahi, M.D., M.P.H. Post-doctoral research fellow Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Obesity at midlife is recognized as a risk factor for developing Alzheimer disease decades afterwards. However, body mass index on its own does not adequately represent the risks associated with obesity. In this study, we went beyond BMI and considered anatomical distribution of body fat, including the metabolically active visceral fat in the belly, and showed its association with Alzheimer pathology in the form of amyloid proteins. In addition, visceral fat along with obesity and insulin resistance were associated with thinning of brain cortex, as early as midlife. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Frailty, Infections / 18.11.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hira Mohyuddin, PGY-2 Psychiatry Residency Training Program The George Washington University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Frailty has become increasingly significant as the global population grows older, as this syndrome is linked with a higher mortality and morbidity in aging. Causes contributing to frailty are poorly understood, but it seems that the role of inflammation is very likely. While other chronic infections were shown to precipitate and perpetuate inflammation that contributes to the development of frailty, no prior study has previously focused on possible links between Toxoplasma gondii and geriatric frailty. Benefiting from a collaboration with Spanish and Portuguese researchers, we have now tested, for the first time to our knowledge, this possible association. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Gastrointestinal Disease, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Technology / 18.11.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Giovanni Traverso MD PhD Karl Van Tassel (1925) Career Development Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering Koch Institute of Integrative Cancer Research Division of Gastroenterology Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: I think its always important to acknowledge that this is a big team effort.  We have the teams from MIT, Celero Systems, West Virgnia University (WVU) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) all working together on this.   For this study, Celero prototyped the devices that we tested in pre-clinical (Swine) models and in a first-in-human study with the team at WVU. Our lab focuses on the development of ingestible devices for drug delivery and sensing and these have informed the development of these efforts as you can see. MedicalResearch.com: What types of vital signs are measurable in this fashion? Response: Heart rate and respiratory rate. (more…)