Author Interviews, Diabetes, Genetic Research, Herpes Viruses / 12.05.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Annette Peters PhD Chair of Epidemiology Institute of Medical Information Sciences, Biometry and Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), München-Neuherberg, Germany MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  What are the main findings? Response: A large number of genetic, behavioural and environmental risk factors have been identified as contributing to the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, little is known about a potential link between virus infections and type 2 diabetes developments. We had the unique opportunity to use a multiplex assay to measure antibodies for herpes viruses by the Waterboer laboratory at the German Cancer Center in Heidelberg and set out to investigate the potential associations in the prospective KORA cohort. First of all, we detected that herpes virus antibodies were highly prevalent in the study population at baseline and increased with age. We found an association between Herpes simplex virus 2 and cytomegalovirus and type 2 diabetes during a seven year follow-up. These associations were robust against controlling for other known risk factors. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cleveland Clinic, Diabetes, JACC, Surgical Research, Weight Research / 14.04.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amgad Mentias, MD MS FACC FESC Assistant Professor, CCLCM Section of Clinical Cardiology, Heart and Vascular Institute. Cleveland, OH 44195Amgad Mentias, MD MS FACC FESC Assistant Professor, CCLCM Section of Clinical Cardiology, Heart and Vascular Institute. Cleveland, OH 44195  MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?    Response:  There is evidence that bariatric or weight loss surgery can decrease the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death in young and middle age patients with obesity and diabetes. However, the evidence is less clear for older patients and patients without diabetes. There is also no long-term data on outcomes of bariatric surgery in the Medicare beneficiaries. So, in our study, we aimed to report long-term outcomes of bariatric surgery from a contemporary nationwide cohort from the US, while also looking into outcomes in patients older than 65 years, and patients without type 2 diabetes specifically. (more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Diabetes / 17.03.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Wolfgang Rathmann MSPH Prof. of Epidemiology Deputy Director, Institute for Biometrics and Epidemiology, German Diabetes Center, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: Diabetes is associated with a poor prognosis of COVID-19. There have been raised concerns about a bidirectional relationship between diabetes and COVID-19. Recent studies raised the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 can cause diabetes. However, there is a lack of studies investigating the incidence of diabetes after recovery from COVID-19 in mild cases. To provide more evidence, we analyzed electronic health records from 1,171 general and internal medicine practices across Germany between March 2020 and January 2021. This included 35,865 patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19. The incidence of diabetes after COVID-19 was compared with patients, who were diagnosed with an acute upper respiratory tract infection (AURI), matched for sex, age, and comorbidities including obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, and stroke.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Diabetes / 22.02.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Chih-Shan Jason Chen, MD, PhD Director, Dermatologic and Mohs Micrographic Surgery Unit Memorial Sloan Kettering Skin Cancer Center at Hauppauge Attending Mohs Surgeon, Dermatology Service Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Chief, Dermatologic Surgery Northport VA Medical Center Associate Professor of Clinical Dermatology Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?    Response: Managing a surgical wound on the lower leg can be a challenge. Often, higher wound tension, atrophic skin, edema, and compromised circulation result in higher risks of wound dehiscence and infection, and significantly limit the capacity of wound closure post-surgically. Therefore, healing by secondary intention is a practical option for many lower leg Mohs defects. However, a secondary intention wound on the lower leg is expected to take a longer time to heal. Certain factors such as older age and health conditions of the host may adversely affect healing time. Timolol is a nonselective beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist that has FDA approval for the treatment of glaucoma. In addition to this FDA-approved indication, topical timolol has several off-label uses in dermatology, such as for the treatment of infantile hemangiomas, venous stasis ulcers, and refractory wounds. Although timolol solution has been used in chronic wounds, knowledges of the efficacy and utility of timolol in an acute post-surgical wound setting is lacking. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, NEJM, Pediatrics, Technology / 20.01.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Julia Ware (née Fuchs) Clinical Research Associate Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science-Metabolic Research Laboratories and Medical Research Council Metabolic Diseases Unit, University of Cambridge Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Management of type 1 diabetes is challenging in very young children, due to their high variability of insulin requirements and unpredictable eating and activity patterns. As a result, many young children do not meet the recommended glycemic targets, or only maintain recommended glycemic control with extensive caregiver input. This in turn leads to high management burden and reduced quality of life for the whole family. While the increasing use of continuous glucose-monitoring devices and insulin-pump therapy has led to reductions in the incidence of severe hypoglycaemia and diabetic ketoacidosis, and has been accompanied by modest improvements in glycemic control, the burden of management has remained high. Hybrid closed-loop systems (also called an artificial pancreas), in which an algorithm automatically adjusts insulin delivery on the basis of real-time sensor glucose levels, may address ongoing challenges in this age group. However, to date hybrid closed-loop studies involving very young children have been small and of short duration and the efficacy and safety of longer term use of a closed-loop system, as compared with standard therapy, was unclear.   To address this knowledge gap, we compared 16-week use of the Cambridge closed-loop algorithm with sensor-augmented pump therapy in children aged 1 to 7 years with type 1 diabetes in a multi-national randomised crossover study. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Global Health, Lancet / 12.01.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof Dianna J Magliano PhD Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute Melbourne Australia  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Mortality among people with diabetes, and how it changes over time, is an important indicator of quality of and access to health care. However, population level trends in mortality among people with diabetes are inadequately described. The establishment of national diabetes registers, health insurance data and administrative data has allowed the examination of mortality among those with diabetes at a granular level which has been previously not possible. This has allowed us to examine whether global efforts in regards to diabetes care over the last couple of decades have been effective. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity, University of Pennsylvania / 20.12.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lauren A. Eberly, MD, MPH Clinical Fellow, Cardiovascular Medicine Perelman School of Medicine Cardiovascular Division, Perelman School of Medicine Center for Cardiovascular Outcomes, Quality, and Evaluative Research, Cardiovascular Center for Health Equity and Social Justice, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Racial inequities are pervasive in our country, and cardiovascular therapeutics with proven benefit have been shown to be underutilized among Black and Latinx patients. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), a recommended treatment option for glycemic control in patients with diabetes, have recently emerged as a cardioprotective therapy as multiple large randomized clinical trials have shown they prevent cardiovascular events among patients with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), particularly patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Given this, they are now recommended therapy for patients with diabetes and established or high risk of ASCVD. Given the known inequitable utilization of other therapies, along with the known higher burden of diabetes and cardiovascular disease among Black patients, the aim of this study was to evaluate the uptake of GLP-1 RA as well as for inequities in utilization. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Circadian Rhythm, Diabetes, Occupational Health, Science, Weight Research / 06.12.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sarah L. Chellappa, MD PhD Medical Chronobiology Program Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders Departments of Medicine and Neurology Brigham and Women’s Hospital Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA Department of Nuclear Medicine Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. Frank A.J.L. Scheer, M.Sc., Ph.D. Professor of Medicine. Medical Chronobiology Program Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders Departments of Medicine and Neurology Brigham and Women’s Hospital Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you explain the difference between the central circadian ‘clock’ and endogenous circadian glucose rhythms?  Response: Night work increases diabetes risk. This increased risk is not fully explained by differences in lifestyle, family history, and/or socioeconomic status, thus other mechanisms are likely involved. Laboratory studies in humans have shown glucose intolerance in both non-shift workers and shift workers exposed to simulated night work. Animal experimental data suggests that this may be in part due to a misalignment between central and peripheral rhythms. Central circadian rhythms (e.g., body temperature) are primarily modulated by the central circadian “clock”, which is located in the brain’s suprachiasmatic nucleus and is responsible for synchronizing our physiology and behavior with the 24-hour cycle. Peripheral rhythms, including endogenous circadian glucose rhythms, are likely modulated by peripheral “clocks” across the body that play an integral role in modulating the circadian expression of physiology, including metabolic functions. These central and peripheral clocks share a common molecular mechanism underlying their circadian rhythm generating capacity, including transcription-translation feedback loops of circadian “clock” genes.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Statins / 04.10.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ishak Mansi, MD Staff Internist, VA North Texas Health System. Professor in Department of Medicine & Department of Data & Population Science, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Several scientific societies guidelines recommend Statins prescription to patients with diabetes aged 40 to 75 with LDL-cholesterol ≥70 mg/dL to prevent cardiovascular diseases from occurring. Statins have been shown to lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, prior research has shown statins to be associated with increased insulin resistance. But doctors do not routinely measure “insulin resistance” for their patients, rather, it is done on research and academic circles only but not in everyday life. Increased insulin resistance may result in less controlled diabetes and/or escalation of anti-diabetes medications. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Diabetes, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 13.09.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Megan B. Cole, PhD, MPH Assistant Professor | Dept. of Health Law, Policy, & Management Co-Director | BU Medicaid Policy Lab Boston University School of Public Health Boston, MA 02118 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Under the Affordable Care Act, states were given the option to expand Medicaid eligibility to nonelderly adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, where in January 2014, 25 states plus Washington, DC expanded eligibility, with 13 additional states expanding thereafter. State Medicaid expansion decisions were particularly consequential for federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), which serve nearly 30 million low-income, disproportionately uninsured patients across the US. We know from earlier work that in the shorter-term, Medicaid expansion was associated with improvements in quality of care process measures and FQHC service capacity. However, we conducted the first known nationally representative study to examine how Medicaid expansion impacted key chronic disease outcome measures at FQHCs over the longer-term by looking at changes five years after implementation, including changes by race/ethnicity.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, JAMA / 01.09.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Chien-Wen Tseng M.D., M.P.H., M.S.E.E. Professor,  Associate Research Director Department of Family Medicine and Community Health University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine Hawaii Medical Service Association Endowed Chair MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main recommendations? Response: Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and raises a person’s risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and even blindness and limb amputation. The Task Force recommends screening for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in adults who are 35 to 70 years old and have overweight or obesity, which is one of the leading risk factors for diabetes. By screening, we can detect prediabetes and type 2 diabetes early and prevent these conditions from getting worse and leading to serious health problems. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, JAMA, USPSTF / 24.08.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Chien-Wen Tseng. M.D., M.P.H., M.S.E.E. Professor,  Associate Research Director Department of Family Medicine and Community Health University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine Hawaii Medical Service Association Endowed Chair MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Gestational diabetes is becoming more common and can cause serious health problems for pregnant people and their babies. Fortunately, the Task Force found that screening at or after 24 weeks of pregnancy is safe and effective and can keep pregnant people and their babies healthy. Currently, there is not enough evidence on screening earlier in pregnancy, so the Task Force is calling for more research. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, Cocaine, Diabetes, Methamphetamine / 07.08.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joy M. Schmitz, Ph.D. Professor of Psychiatry Faillace Chair McGovern Medical School The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Director, Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addiction (CNRA)   Scott D. Lane Ph.D. McGovern Medical School Vice Chair For Research Director Of Neurobehavioral Laboratory Center For Neurobehavioral Research On Addiction Director Of Research University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Houston, TX  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Addiction science has made considerable progress in understanding how cocaine and other addictive drugs impair the brain. Over time, cocaine can disrupt brain regions that help us think, plan, solve problems, and exert self-control. These disruptions in brain structure can be seen in neuroimaging studies that reveal impairment in the nerve fibers or white matter (WM) tracts in the central and front parts of the brain. We conducted two systematic meta-analytic reviews of the literature to document the robustness of evidence showing alterations in WM integrity of chronic stimulant users relative to healthy control subjects who did not use cocaine or other drugs of abuse (Beard et al., 2019; Suchting et al., 2020). Importantly, WM impairments negatively predict treatment outcome, meaning individuals with greater levels of WM impairment are less likely to benefit from treatment and more likely to experience deficits in attention, working memory, and impulse control. We reasoned that pharmacological interventions shown to protect WM integrity may help improve cognition and treatment outcomes in patients recovering from cocaine addiction. Pioglitazone, an approved medication for type 2 diabetes, has been shown to reduce inflammation and mediate protection after traumatic brain injury. The therapeutic potential of pioglitazone has prompted investigation of its role in neurodegenerative conditions, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and stroke. Similar to these brain diseases and injuries, pioglitazone might effectively protect the brain from the inflammatory damage created by cocaine use.  (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, Diabetes, Social Issues / 30.06.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yu Chen, Ph.D. Prevention Effectiveness Fellow Division of Diabetes Translation CDC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Overall prevalence of diabetes has increased over the past two decades in the US, disproportionately affecting populations with low-income. The age-adjusted prevalence of diagnosed diabetes among adults aged 18 years or older increased from 6.4% in 1999−2002 to 9.4% in 2013−2016. Between 2011 and 2014, compared with persons with high income, the relative percentage increase in diabetes prevalence was 40.0%, 74.1%, and 100.4% for those classified as middle income, near poor and poor, respectively. However, recent changes in income-related inequalities in diabetes prevalence are unknown. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 29.06.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mary de Groot, Ph.D. Associate Professor Immediate Past President, Health Care and Education, American Diabetes Association Acting Director, Diabetes Translational Research Center Indianapolis, IN 46202  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The experience of quarantine in the context of epidemics has been shown to have significant emotional effects including depression, anxiety, shock, and trauma that not only effect people in the context of quarantine, but up to 2-3 years beyond the end of the quarantine period (Brooks et al., 2020).  The COVID-19 pandemic has had extraordinary impacts on health and mental health in the general population across the globe including increased rates of depression and anxiety compared to pre-pandemic levels (Xiong, 2020; Wilson, 2020; Luo, 2020). There is some early evidence that the pandemic adversely affected people with diabetes as well (Fisher, 2020; Alessi, 2020). It is important to explore the emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for people with diabetes given the particular risk factor that diabetes (along with other metabolic diseases) represents for mortality if the virus is acquired. We conducted a longitudinal web-based survey of N=2210 adults with and without diabetes to assess the emotional correlates of COVID-19 in terms of depression, diabetes distress, perceived stress and anxiety.  We present the baseline (measured in May/June of 2020) and 6-month follow up (measured in November/December 2020) findings. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes / 29.06.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, FASN Clinical Epidemiology Center Research and Development Service Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System St. Louis, MO MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: There are several randomized controlled trials of  Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors (SGLT2i) but none (not a single study) provided a head-to-head comparison with sulfonylureas -- the most commonly prescribed antihyperglycemics after metformin. We resolved to leverage advanced methodologies to undertake a head-to-head investigation of the comparative effectiveness of SGLT2I vs sulfonylureas on the risk of all-cause mortality. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Gastrointestinal Disease, Weight Research / 16.05.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Anna Carolina Hoff, MD Lead researcher on the study Founder and Clinical Director Angioskope Brazil São José dos Campos  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Obesity is a chronic disease that has become a global pandemic, and its prevalence continues to increase. Overweight (Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 27 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥ 30kg/m2) lead to numerous clinical comorbidities, including metabolic, cardiovascular, oncologic, and mental health disorders. It is challenging to achieve significant and sustained weight loss with diet and lifestyle modification alone. Additionally, a reversal of obesity-related co-morbidities and improvement in quality of life entails a percent total body weight loss (%TBWL) of between 5-10%, which is rarely achieved with medications alone. The Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG) results in a %TBWL between 14.6%-19.7% at 18-24 months,  and improvements in systolic blood pressure (SBP), HbA1c, and dyslipidemia at 12 months. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, FDA, JAMA / 07.03.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marie C. Bradley, PhD, MPharm, MScPH Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology Center for Drug Evaluation and Research US Food and Drug Administration Silver Spring, Maryland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Long-acting insulin analogs, insulin glargine (glargine) and insulin detemir (detemir) are increasingly used in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).  In recent years the price of long-acting insulin analogs has increased substantially2 Higher costs for these insulin analogs may limit patient access.1 Clinical trials showed the risk of severe hypoglycemia did not differ between long-acting insulin analogs and neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). An observational study examining severe hypoglycemia in T2DM patients found similar results. However, these previous studies did not focus on patients aged ≥65 years, who are at an increased risk for hypoglycemia, or did not include patients with concomitant prandial insulin use. Therefore, to investigate this further we used Medicare data to assess the risk of severe hypoglycemia among older T2DM patients who initiated a long acting analog ( glargine or detemir) compared to NPH in real-world settings. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Sugar, Weight Research / 24.02.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eric Crosbie, PhD, MA Assistant Professor School of Community Health Sciences Ozmen Institute for Global Studies University of Nevada Reno MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: My colleague Dr. Laura Schmidt and I established a framework for studying preemption (when a higher level of government limits the authority of lower levels to enact laws) by studying the history of state preemption of local tobacco control policies in the U.S., which we published last year (2020) in AJPH. We noticed the same strategies that the tobacco industry employed were now being used by the beverage industry to suppress local taxation policies on sugar sweetened beverages (e.g. soda, coffee drinks, energy drinks, etc). We used this preemption framework to publish a new study this year in AJPH that analyzed state preemption of local sugar sweetened beverage taxes in the U.S.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, JAMA, Johns Hopkins / 08.02.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mary R. Rooney, PhD, MPH Postdoctoral research fellow Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study? Response: Prediabetes is defined by elevated blood glucose levels below the threshold for diabetes diagnosis. Physicians screen for prediabetes to identify patients at high risk for diabetes. Prediabetes is common in middle-aged adults but has not been well-studied in older age. We undertook this study to examine the natural history of prediabetes in older adults. (more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Diabetes, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 16.01.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Anath Shalev, M.D. Professor of Medicine Nancy R. and Eugene C. Gwaltney Family Endowed Chair in Juvenile Diabetes Research Director, Comprehensive Diabetes Center University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  What is metformin normally prescribed for? Response: Diabetes has been recognized as one of the major comorbidities associated with higher mortality in the context of the spreading COVID-19 pandemic, but ways to improve outcome in this at-risk population are lacking. Metformin is the most common medication used for type 2 diabetes. In addition, it is sometimes prescribed to people with prediabetes or to women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, JAMA, Weight Research / 14.01.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Steven Heymsfield, MD Professor, Pennington Biomedical Research Center Baton Rouge, LA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Bimagurmab is a monoclonal antibody that blocks the activin type 2 receptor. This receptor is found mainly on skeletal muscles and when blocked acts to stimulate muscle growth. Bimagrumab was developed as a potential treatment for skeletal muscle disorders. However, the first-in-man studies revealed an unexpected response to the drug: not only did skeletal muscle mass increase, but marked lowering in body fat and improved insulin sensitivity were observed. The current study was launched to follow up on these initial observations.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Neurology, Pain Research / 10.12.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: William K. Schmidt, Ph.D. Senior VP Clinical Development Helixmith Co. Ltd.  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? How common is diabetic peripheral neuropathy and how does it affect patients? Response: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 34 million people in the United States have diabetes (about 10% of the U.S. population) and about one in four patients do not know that they have it (https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/diabetes-prediabetes.htm).  Diabetes can cause significant damage to nerves in the feet, hands, eyes, and other parts of the body. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is the most common form of nerve damage worldwide; it affects approximately half of the patients with diabetes (Iqbal et al., 2018).  In many individuals, severe burning, tingling, “pins and needles,” or cramping pain can occur simultaneously in both feet without external evidence of foot damage. Despite the pain, symptoms may be accompanied by numbness or loss of sensation in the feet. This is called painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (painful DPN or P-DPN) and may affect up to one-third of the general diabetic population (Yoo et al., 2013). P-DPN may cause increased anxiety and depression, sleep impairment, and difficulties with walking.  Up to one-third of P-DPN patients may require the use of a cane, walker, or even a wheelchair due to extreme foot pain.  Once P-DPN occurs, it may result in a lifetime of pain and disability. FDA-approved daily oral medications often used to treat P-DPN include Neurontin (gabapentin), Lyrica (pregabalin), Cymbalta (duloxetine), and Nucynta ER (tapentadol).  While these “neuropathic pain” medications may dull the pain for some subjects, they produce significant side effects that may be troubling for many patients. Indeed, many patients stop using these pain killers due to lack of effectiveness at doses that they can tolerate (van Nooten et al., 2017) There is also a topical 8% capsaicin patch, but again with limited efficacy. It is well known that the most severely affected patients may require opioid analgesics to control P-DPN (Pesa et al., 2013). None of the currently used medications have disease-modifying effects. However, our new injectable medication is now in advanced clinical development that has the potential disease-modifying effects lasting months after each treatment, with limited or no side effects for most patients aside from brief injection site discomfort. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMC, Breast Cancer, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cancer Research, Diabetes, Nutrition / 10.12.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tengteng Wang, PhD, MSPH, MBBS Postdoctoral Research Fellow Department of Epidemiology Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Channing Division of Network Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been associated with poor progression of breast cancer. Moreover, having a breast cancer diagnosis may also increase the risk of developing T2D. Therefore, identifying strategies for T2D prevention among breast cancer survivors may play a key role in improving their survival outcomes. One approach may be through a diabetes risk reduction diet (DRRD), a dietary pattern comprised of 9 components that has been associated with 40% lower T2D risk in a previous Nurses’ Health Study publication.1 However, no studies to date have evaluated the association between adherence to the DRRD (as measured by the DRRD score) and survival outcomes following breast cancer. In this prospective cohort study among 8,320 breast cancer survivors, we found that greater adherence to the diabetes risk reduction diet after diagnosis was associated with a statistically significant 31% lower risk of overall mortality. Reduced breast cancer-specific mortality was also observed, which was more pronounced (20% lower risk) among those who improved adherence after diagnosis compared to women with consistently low DRRD adherence before and after diagnosis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Coffee, Diabetes / 26.10.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yuji Komorita, MD, PhD Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University Maidashi 3-1-1, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Both green tea and coffee have been reported to confer health benefits, and reduce all-cause mortality in general population, respectively. However, no study has investigated the combined impact of them on health or mortality. We followed 4,923 Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes registered at the Fukuoka Diabetes Registry (median, 5.3 years; follow-up rate, 99.5%).  MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?  Response: Drinking 4 or more daily cups of green tea was associated with 40% lower risk of death, and 2 or more cups of coffee was associated with 41% lower risk. Furthermore, the combination of 4 or more cups of green tea and 2 or more cups of coffee every day was associated with 63% lower risk of death. We have shown that higher consumption of green tea and coffee was associated with reduced all-cause mortality, and their combined effect appeared to be additive in people with type 2 diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, NEJM / 24.09.2020

Remarks from: Julio Rosenstock, M.D Director, Dallas Diabetes and Endocrine Center Clinical Professor of Medicine University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX MedicalResearch.com: Why was the study initiated / What is the background of the study? Response: Most people with type 2 diabetes, would prefer simplicity, with fewer injections than currently provided by once-daily basal insulin treatment regimens. Therefore, there is a need to continue to offer innovative treatment options to support people living with type 2 diabetes and hopefully improve their glycemic outcomes. As a once-weekly basal insulin, insulin icodec has the potential to offer a simpler, efficacious and well-tolerated treatment option thereby reducing the potential burden on people living with type 2 diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Surgical Research, Weight Research / 03.07.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Carlos KH Wong, PhD, MPhil, BSc Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care LKS Faculty of Medicine The University of Hong Kong MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The background is that bariatric surgery has been widely indicated for the management of obesity and related comorbidities. However, there are uncertainties pertaining to the risks of post-bariatric severe hypoglycaemia (SH), cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), end-stage kidney diseases (ESKDs) and all-cause mortality in obese patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), especially among Asian populations.  (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, Diabetes, Gender Differences, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 29.06.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Giuseppina Imperatore, MD, PHD CDC, Atlanta MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The lifetime risk of diabetes (LRD), a probability of developing diabetes during a person’s lifespan, is a measure of future disease burden that reflects the impact of incidence (occurrence of new cases per year) and mortality. The years of potential life lost to diabetes (YPLLD) is the number of life-years lost due to diabetes, calculated as the difference between the life expectancy of a person without diabetes and a person with diabetes at the age of diagnosis. For example, the number of life-years lost for a person diagnosed at age 20 years is the difference in life expectancy of a person who died without developing diabetes and a person who was diagnosed with diabetes at 20 years of age.  Both incidence and mortality of diabetes have been decreasing for more than a decade. The effects of those changes on lifetime risk of diabetes and years of potential life lost to diabetes are not known. In this study, we used nationally representative diabetes surveillance data to provide updated estimates for the lifetime probability of development of diabetes, and to assess changes in incidence and mortality on lifetime risk and life-years lost due to diabetes in the USA. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Nutrition / 23.06.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ana M Valdes MA PhD Associate Professor and Reader in Musculoskeletal Genetics Professor in Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology from 1 August 2020 Deputy Head of Division, Rheumatology Orthopaedics and Dermatology NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre - Research Area Lead School of Medicine University of Nottingham  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Given the relevance of blood sugar and blood lipid levels, we wanted to be able to quantify how much meal content, time of day, sleep, gut microbiome, other individual characteristics contribute to glucose and to develop models to describe how the interactions between individual characteristics, meal composition, other sources of variation on postprandial glycemia. We also wished to compare glucose data to other postrpandial metabolic responses, specifically c-peptide and triglyceride levels. (more…)