Author Interviews, Endocrinology, ENT, Surgical Research / 11.09.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Raymond L. Chai, MD Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Primary hyperparathyroidism is a common endocrine disorder affecting up to 1% of the general population. Surgical intervention is the only known durable cure for the disease. Untreated primary hyperparathyroidism can lead to number of health problems, including progressive osteoporosis and kidney stones. Although parathyroidectomy is a commonly performed surgical procedure by otolaryngologists, limited data exists regarding risk factors and rates of reoperation and readmission following surgery. (more…)
Author Interviews, ENT, Hearing Loss, JAMA, University of Michigan / 17.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Aileen Wertz, MD Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery University of Michigan  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The key finding of this study is: free, comprehensive audiologic care, including hearing aids and fitting, is feasible within a well-established free clinic model. We found that donated hearing aids and volunteer health care providers were able to run the clinic and that 20 patients have thus far been fit with hearing aids. (more…)
Author Interviews, ENT, JAMA, Johns Hopkins, Surgical Research / 16.03.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lisa E. Ishii, MD, MHS Associate Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery John Hopkins Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: There was a gap in our knowledge about what the average lay person thought about the impact of a facelift. We had information about what experts in the field like Dr. Swail thought, and some about what patients themselves thought, but nothing about lay people. Patients who choose to have a facelift are typically concerned about the opinions of: 1) Themselves when they look in the mirror, and 2) Laypeople they encounter socially in society. Our study showed for the first time that laypeople find people who have had a facelift to appear more attractive, more youthful, healthier and more successful than they were before their facelift. (more…)
Author Interviews, ENT, JAMA, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Sleep Disorders, UT Southwestern / 02.03.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ron B. Mitchell, MD Professor and Vice Chairman, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery William Beckner Distinguished Chair in Otolaryngology Chief of Pediatric Otolaryngology UT Southwestern and Children's Medical Center Dallas Dallas, TX 75207 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) has not been widely studies in adolescents. This is one of a few studies that was targeted at 12-17 year olds who were referred for a sleep study for possible OSA. The study included 224 adolescents (53% male). aged 12 to 17 years. The mean BMI was 33.4 and most were either Hispanic or African American (85.3%). A total of 148 (66.1%) were obese. Most adolescents referred for a sleep study (68%), had  Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Normal-weight adolescents were least likely to have OSA at 48%, while obese children were most likely at 77%. Severe OSA was most likely in obese males with tonsillar hypertrophy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research, ENT / 13.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jacek Majewski PhD Associate Professor Department of Human Genetics McGill University and Genome Quebec Innovation Centre Montreal, Canada  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Our lab, in collaboration with Dr. Nada Jabado, has been investigating the molecular genetics of pediatric glioblastoma – a deadly brain cancer. Several years ago, in the majority of our patients’ tumors we discovered mutations in genes that encode histone proteins. Those mutations disrupt the epigenome - that is the way the DNA is modified, silenced, or activated in the cancer cells. It appears that epigenome-modifying mutations are particularly important in pediatric cancers, and our hypothesis is that they act by diverting the normal developmental pathways into unrestrained proliferation. Many other studies have highlighted the significance of epigenome disruption in a number of cancers. (more…)
Anemia, Author Interviews, ENT, Hearing Loss, JAMA / 31.12.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kathleen Schieffer, BS, PhD Candidate Biomedical Sciences and Clinical and Translational Science Clinical and Translational Science Fellow Hershey, PA 17033 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Hearing loss is common in the United States, with its prevalence increasing with each decade of life. Iron deficiency anemia is a common, reversible condition, associated with negative health outcomes. The inner ear is highly sensitive to ischemic damage and previous animal studies have shown that iron deficiency anemia alters the inner ear physiology. Understanding the association between iron deficiency anemia and hearing loss may open new possibilities for treatment. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, ENT, Neurological Disorders / 30.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Daniel M. Merfeld, Ph.D. Professor of Otolaryngology Harvard Medical School Massachusetts Eye and Ear Director, Jenks Vestibular Physiology Laboratory Senior Scientist MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Nearly half of the population will see a clinician at some point in their lives with symptoms related to the vestibular system (e.g., dizziness, vertigo, imbalance and blurred vision). The vestibular system, made up of tiny fluid-filled membranes in the inner ear, is responsible for receiving information about motion, balance and spatial orientation. With the goal of determining whether age affected the function of the vestibular system, our research team administered balance and motion tests to 105 healthy people ranging from 18 to 80 years old and measured their vestibular thresholds (“threshold” refers to the smallest possible motion administered that the subject is able to perceive correctly). (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, ENT, JAMA, Radiation Therapy, Stanford / 15.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michelle M. Chen, MD/MHS Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery Stanford University  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The benefit of post-operative radiotherapy (PORT) for patients with T1-T2 N1 oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer without adverse pathologic features is unclear. Starting in 2014, the national guidelines no longer recommended consideration of post-operative radiotherapy for N1 oropharyngeal cancer patients, but left it as a consideration for N1 oral cavity cancer patients. We found that post-operative radiotherapy was associated with improved survival in both oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers, particularly in patients younger than 70 years of age and those with T2 disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, ENT, HPV / 04.10.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eric M Genden, MD, FACS Isidore Friesner Professor and Chairman Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this report? How has the clinical picture of HPV infections of oral and throat cancers changed over the past two decades? Response: There has been no change however there has been a epidemic of viral induced throat cancer in men. The HPV virus has been established a the causative agent in cervical cancer in women. It has now been identified as a major causative agent in tonsillar and base of tongue cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research, ENT, HPV / 03.10.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Elizabeth Franzmann, M.D. Scientific Founder and Chief Scientific Officer Vigilant Biosciences MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Head and neck cancer involves cancers of the oral cavity, oropharynx and larynx. It is difficult to treat. Part of the challenge is that it is distinguishing the patients with tumors that are going to behave aggressively from those with less aggressive disease. As a result, many patients undergo treatment that may be more intensive and morbid than they need while others need more aggressive treatment. Tissue markers associated with prognosis may be able to help clinicians differentiate patients who need more aggressive treatment from those whose treatment can be less intensive. CD44 is a cell surface glycoprotein and tumor-initiating marker. CD44 and another surface protein, EGFR, are involved in tumor extension and are associated with poor prognosis. Certain forms of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) are known to cause oropharyngeal cancer and are associated with a good prognosis. P16 is a surrogate marker for the kind of HPV that causes cancer. Understanding the relationships between how these markers are expressed in cancer tissue may direct patient treatment in the future. (more…)
Author Interviews, ENT, Surgical Research / 22.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Mark Courey, MD Senior Faculty,Otolaryngology The Mount Sinai Hospital New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai MedicalResearch.com: Would you tell us a little about yourself? How did you become interested in voice disorders? Response: I became interested in voice disorders because during my residency in the late 1980’s there was little known about how to help patients with disorders of voice. The main instrument we use to evaluate vocal folds (the stroboscope) was just becoming clinically available. Only a handful of physicians had one available. We could not see vocal fold function and could only see the lesions on the vocal folds. We did not know how the lesions affected function. So many surgeons only treated patients with laryngeal cancer and told the others to be happy that they did not have cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, ENT, Surgical Research / 22.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eric E Smouha, MD Professor, Otolaryngology The Mount Sinai Hospital New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai MedicalResearch.com: Would you tell us a little about yourself? How did you become interested in ENT and specifically middle ear problems? Response: I am a neurotologist, i.e. , ENT physician specialized in disorders of the ear and skull base. Neurotologists treat problems of the middle ear and inner ear. Middle ear problems are interesting because they are prevalent, and surgery frequently results in restoration of function. (more…)
Author Interviews, ENT, Surgical Research, Technology / 22.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alfred Marc Calo Iloreta, MD Assistant Professor Skull Base Surgery and Rhinology Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, New York MedicalResearch.com: Would you tell us a little about yourself? How did you become interested in ENT and your subspecialty in particular? Response: I am a ENT/Head and Neck Surgeon practicing in Manhattan at the Mount Sinai Hospital. I trained here in New York City for residency and also completed a fellowship in Rhinology and Skull Base Surgery. I chose this field and sub-specialty because of the intricate and complex anatomy of the head and neck. In addition rhinology and skull base surgery utilizes multiple advanced technologies from high definition optics, to neuronavigation to allow us to work with this complex anatomy. (more…)
Author Interviews, ENT, Surgical Research / 21.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with electrolube-surgicalTim Reese, president of Eagle Surgical Products, LLC, Sales and distribution company for Electro Lube® MedicalResearch.com: What is the background of Electro Lube®? Response: Developed in 2004, Electro Lube® is an anti-stick solution for electrosurgery designed to keep instruments clean. The product is a mixture of natural, non-synthetic, non-flammable, non-allergenic biocompatible phospholipids without any known side effects associated with patient use. (more…)