Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Weight Research / 12.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_49741" align="alignleft" width="100"]Lead author: Yong-Moon (“Mark”) Park, MD, PhD Postdoctoral fellow Epidemiology Branch National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Dr. Park[/caption] Lead author: Yong-Moon (“Mark”) Park, MD, PhD Postdoctoral fellow Epidemiology Branch National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [caption id="attachment_49742" align="alignleft" width="150"]Senior author: Dale P. Sandler, PhD Chief, Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences National Institutes of Health Dr. Sandler[/caption]   Senior author: Dale P. Sandler, PhD Chief, Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences National Institutes of Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: A few studies had suggested that exposure to artificial light while sleeping was associated with obesity. However, the previous studies were cross-sectional, so we really do not know which came first - exposure to artificial light while sleeping or obesity. Another problem was that previous studies did not fully account for other characteristics that could affect this association, such as sleep duration and quality, calorie intake and dietary patterns, and physical activity. We studied nearly 44,000 women ages 35-74 from across the US who are enrolled in the Sister Study cohort. Women had body weight characteristics measured at baseline and provided self-reported information on weight at baseline and follow-up – on average 5.7 years later.
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Nutrition, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 04.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_49576" align="alignleft" width="200"]Joe F. Bozeman III, MS, CEM, Ph.D. Candidate Chair, Gordon Research Seminar (Industrial Ecology) University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Institute for Environmental Science and Policy Joe F. Bozeman III[/caption] Joe F. Bozeman III, MS, CEM, Ph.D. Candidate Chair, Gordon Research Seminar (Industrial Ecology) University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Institute for Environmental Science and Policy MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: This study is actually a part of my dissertation which explores how climate change, human health, and other socioecological factors can be used to manage food-energy-water impacts. After establishing environmental impact and climate change adaptation implications of food consumption across major U.S. demographic groups in a previous study, my colleagues and I decided it would be interesting to investigate how food spending and household income correlate with food-consumption environmental impacts. Our efforts led to the development of a novel quantitative metric (i.e., food-consumption impact per dollar spent [FCI$]) which encompasses land, water, and greenhouse gas emission impacts of basic foods; the amount spent on food; and socioeconomic status. All major food groups are included in this study.
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Environmental Risks, University Texas, Urology / 08.05.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_49064" align="alignleft" width="132"]Stephen B. Williams, MD, FACSChief, Division of UrologyAssociate Professor, Urology and RadiologyRobert Earl Cone ProfessorshipDirector of Urologic OncologyDirector of Urologic ResearchCo-Director Department of Surgery Clinical Outcomes Research ProgramUniversity of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston Dr. Williams[/caption] Stephen B. Williams, MD, FACS Chief, Division of Urology Associate Professor, Urology and Radiology Robert Earl Cone Professorship Director of Urologic Oncology Director of Urologic Research Co-Director Department of Surgery Clinical Outcomes Research Program University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Despite prior studies evaluating cancer in those living near and working in oil refineries, there remains a gap in knowledge regarding proximity to oil refineries and risk of bladder cancer. Aromatic amines have been associated with increased risk of various cancers including bladder cancer. Texas is a home to the largest numbers of oil refineries in the US. Our goal was to evaluate if there was a link between bladder cancer and living in close proximity to an oil refinery in Texas. Our data did suggest that living within 10 miles of an oil refinery was associated with a small increase in risk of bladder cancer. These data support further research to validate these findings.
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks, FDA, JAMA / 06.05.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48994" align="alignleft" width="191"]David Strauss, MD, PhDDirector, Division of Applied Regulatory ScienceU.S. Food and Drug AdministrationCenter for Drug Evaluation and Research Dr. Strauss[/caption] David Strauss, MD, PhD Director, Division of Applied Regulatory Science U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: It is unknown whether most active ingredients in sunscreens are absorbed. FDA has provided guidance that sunscreen active ingredients with systemic absorption greater than 0.5 ng/mL or with safety concerns should undergo nonclinical toxicology assessment including systemic carcinogenicity and additional developmental and reproductive studies. This randomized clinical trial demonstrated systemic exposure of 4 commonly used sunscreen active ingredients on application of sunscreen products under maximal use conditions consistent with current sunscreen labeling. All 4 sunscreen active ingredients tested resulted in exposures exceeding 0.5 ng/mL. 
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Heart Disease, JAMA, Toxin Research / 29.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48834" align="alignleft" width="200"]Monica Lind, PhD, Professor, Environmental toxicologistOccupational and Environmental MedicineUppsala University HospitalVisiting adress: Dag Hammarskjölds väg 60Uppsala Sweden  Dr. Lind[/caption] Monica Lind, PhD, Professor, Environmental toxicologist Occupational and Environmental Medicine Uppsala University Hospital Visiting adress: Dag Hammarskjölds väg 60 Uppsala Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Previous studies in workers exposed to very high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have suggested hazardous health effects. However, circulating PCB levels are detected in almost all indivuduals in industrialized countries, but the health effects of moderately elevated levels as seen in the general population are not well established. We investigated levels of PCBs in around 1,000 individuals, all aged 70 years, randomly chosen from the City of Uppsala, Sweden.
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Pediatrics, Primary Care, Toxin Research, USPSTF / 23.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48777" align="alignleft" width="160"]Alex H. Krist, MD, MPHVice-Chairperson, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Professor of family medicine and population healt Virginia Commonwealth University Dr. Krist[/caption] Alex H. Krist, MD, MPH Vice-Chairperson, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Professor of family medicine and population healt Virginia Commonwealth University  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Exposure to lead can have serious lifelong effects on the health and wellbeing of children. There is no safe level of lead exposure, so finding and removing any source of lead exposure is essential. In its review of the evidence, the Task Force found that more research is needed to determine what primary care clinicians can do to help prevent and treat the health problems that can result from lead exposure in childhood and pregnancy.
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Lymphoma, Occupational Health, Toxin Research / 23.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com interview with: Sylvain Lamure, MD, Hematologist, Principal Investigator Pascale Fabbro-Peray, MD, PhD , Epidemiologist, Senior Investigator University of Montpellier, France MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Occupational exposure to pesticides is a well-documented associated factor for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The main biological mechanisms of both pesticides and chemotherapy are genotoxicity and reactive oxygen species generation. Cellular adaptation among patients exposed to low doses of genotoxic and oxidative compounds might hinder chemotherapy efficiency in lymphoma patients. T hus, we have investigated the association of occupational exposure with response to immunochemotherapy and survival in the subgroup of diffuse large B cell lymphoma, whose treatment is standardized.
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Global Health, Pediatrics, Toxin Research / 20.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48672" align="alignleft" width="149"]Madhav P. Bhatta, PhD, MPHAssociate Professor, Epidemiology & Global HealthCollege of Public HealthKent State UniversityKent, OH 44242 Dr. Bhatta[/caption] Madhav P. Bhatta, PhD, MPH Associate Professor, Epidemiology & Global Health College of Public Health Kent State University Kent, OH 44242 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Lead exposure, especially in children, in any amount is harmful. Lead poisoning is a growing global environmental health problem with increasing lead-related diseases, disabilities, and deaths.  While exposure to lead in US children, in general, has significantly declined in the last three to four decades certain sub-groups of US children such as African Americans, immigrants and resettled refugees, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are still vulnerable to environmental lead exposure. Previous studies among resettled refugee children in the United States had found 4- to 5-times higher prevalence of elevated blood lead level (EBLL) when compared to US-born children. However, most of the studies were conducted when EBLL was defined as blood lead level ≥ 10 µg/dL. In 2012, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed the reference value for EBLL to ≥ 5 µg/dL. Moreover, because the countries of origin for US resettled refugees change over time, it is important to have epidemiologic studies that provide the current information on EBLL among these vulnerable new US immigrant children. Using blood lead level data from the post-resettlement medical screening, our study examined the prevalence of elevated blood lead level at the time of resettlement among former refugee children who were settled in the state of Ohio from 2009-2016. We had a large and diverse sample (5,661 children from 46 countries of origin) of children for the study, which allowed us to assess EBLL in children from several countries of origin that had not been previously studied.
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Pediatrics, Toxin Research / 20.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48663" align="alignleft" width="200"]Lead paint can crack and form flakes, which can contaminate the surrounding environment. Source: Wikipedia Lead paint can crack and form flakes, which can contaminate the surrounding environment.
Source: Wikipedia[/caption] Ms. Jacqueline Chiofalo, MPA Director of Policy Research & Analysis The Institute for Family Health Astoria, New York  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Exposure to lead is dangerous and has been banned from use in residential dwellings. However, residual sources of lead still exist. Few studies have examined pediatric lead poisoning between public (NYCHA) and private housing units, and no recent studies performed in New York City. Our study used retrospective chart analysis of routine child lead testing to examine the difference in blood lead levels between the two housing types. Our data showed that children seen in our health centers who lived in New York City public housing had significantly lower mean blood lead levels and fewer children were found with levels over the CDC reference range of 5 μg/dL compared to children who lived in private housing. 
Asthma, Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Lancet, Pediatrics / 12.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ploy Pattanun Achakulwisut, PhD Postdoctoral Scientist in Climate change, Air pollution, and Public Health Milken Institute School of Public Health (Anenberg Group The George Washington University, D.C  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Dozens of epidemiological studies have found positive and generally statistically significant associations between long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) and asthma development in children. The evidence is most robust for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a major component of and commonly used surrogate for the complex TRAP mixture. Recent reviews conducted by the US Environmental Protection Agency and Health Canada concluded that there is “likely a causal relationship” between long-term NO2 exposure and pediatric asthma development. Using NO2 as a proxy for TRAP, our study provides the first global estimate of the number of new asthma cases among children that are attributable to traffic pollution, using fine spatial-scale global datasets that can resolve within-city and near-roadway NO2 exposures.
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Environmental Risks, Pediatrics, Toxin Research / 12.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48515" align="alignleft" width="200"]Edson R. Severnini PhDAssistant Professor Of Economics And Public PolicyCarnegie Mellon University Dr. Severnini[/caption] Edson R. Severnini PhD Assistant Professor Of Economics And Public Policy Carnegie Mellon University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Although lead has been banned from gasoline, paint, and other substances in the United States and many other countries around the world, the legacy of lead use is a critical environmental and public health issue. Surface soil contamination, in particular, has been long recognized as an important pathway of human lead exposure, and is now a worldwide health concern. This study estimates the causal effects of exposure to lead in topsoil on cognitive ability among 5-year-old children. We draw on individual level data from the 2000 U.S. Census, and USGS data on lead in topsoil covering a broad set of counties across the United States. We find that higher lead in topsoil increases considerably the probability of 5-year-old boys experiencing cognitive difficulties such as learning, remembering, concentrating, or making decisions. Living in counties with topsoil lead concentration above the national median roughly doubles the probability of 5-year-old boys having cognitive difficulties. This harmful effect does not seem to extend to 5-year-old girls, potentially due to the natural protection of estrogen. 
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics / 28.03.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “air pollution, beijing” by 大杨 is licensed under CC BY 2.0Joanne B. Newbury, PhD ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow King’s College London Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience London, United Kingdom MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Urban living is one of the most well-established risk factors for adult psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. However, less is known about the role of the urban environment in subclinical psychotic experiences in childhood and adolescence, such as hearing voices and extreme paranoia. These early psychotic experiences are a developmental risk factor for adult psychotic disorders and a range of other serious mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. It is therefore important that we understand what factors might contribute to the development of early psychotic experiences so that we might be able to intervene and prevent their onset and progression. In a cohort of over 2000 UK-born children (The Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study), we have previously shown that subclinical psychotic experiences are also around twice as common among children and teenagers raised in urban versus rural settings. We have also shown that this appears to be partly explained by social features in urban neighbourhoods such as higher crime levels and lower levels of social cohesion. However, no studies have examined the potential link between air pollution and psychotic experiences. This is despite air pollution being a major health problem worldwide (particularly in cities), and despite emerging evidence linking air pollution to the brain. 
Author Interviews, Duke, Endocrinology, Environmental Risks, Thyroid Disease, Weight Research / 27.03.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48201" align="alignleft" width="128"]Christopher D. Kassotis, Ph.D.NRSA Postdoctoral Research ScholarStapleton LabDuke UniversityNicholas School of the EnvironmentDurham, NC 27708  Dr. Kassotis[/caption] Christopher D. Kassotis, Ph.D. NRSA Postdoctoral Research Scholar Stapleton Lab Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment Durham, NC 27708  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
  • So this was something that Heather Stapleton had been curious about for years, as she's been one of several researchers characterizing the hundreds of chemicals that have been measured in indoor house dust. Before I came to Duke, one of her PhD students had measured the ability of many common indoor contaminants to activate the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARg). The majority of these chemicals did, often quite well, which led to them testing indoor house dust extracts, also finding that the majority of dust extracts were also able to do so at very low levels. As PPARg is often considered the master regulator of fat cell development, the next obvious question was whether these common contaminants (and house dust) could promote fat cell development in cell models. My first work at Duke evaluated a suite of common indoor contaminants, finding that many of these chemicals could promote fat cell development, and that low levels of house dust extracts did as well.
  • We next explored this more systematically in a group of adults involved in a thyroid cancer cohort (this was just recently published in Science of the Total Environment: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719307715?dgcid=author
  • In this study we evaluated the extent to which house dust extracts could promote fat cell development in a common cell model, and associated this with the metabolic health of adults living in these homes. We found that the greater extent of fat cell development was associated with significantly greater thyroid stimulating hormone concentrations (control residents only, with no evidence of thyroid dysfunction) and lower free triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). We further found a significant and positive association between extent of fat cell development and the body mass index (BMI) of all adults in the study. So this suggested that the indoor environment might play a role in the BMI and metabolic health of residents, and we next wondered if this would be more pronounced in children, who may be exposed to these contaminants during a critical window of development.
  • The next step, for our current work, was to substantiate these effects in a larger group of households, each with children.
  • Our major conclusions thus far have been that ~80% of house dust extracts promote significant fat cell development in a cell model - either via development from precursor cells into mature fat cells, measured via accumulation of lipids into the cells, or via the proliferation of those precursor fat cells. We also reported positive correlations of fat cell development with the concentrations of 70 different contaminants in the dust from these homes, suggesting that mixtures of contaminants are likely all acting weakly to produce these effects in combination. We’ve also begun to assess the other chemicals present in dust - chemistry can be either targeted (measuring concentrations of specific known chemicals in a sample), or non-targeted, where you try and determine the identity of the other chemicals in a sample. This has greater utility for identifying many more chemicals, though you will often not get chemical concentrations from this, nor absolute confirmed identification - just varying degrees of certainty based on evidence. Thus far we report approximately 35,000 chemicals in house dust samples across this study, and differential analyses have begun to pick out the few (less than 10 in each case) chemicals most differentially expressed between samples that exhibit high degrees of fat cell development in the lab vs inactive samples, for example, or which are differentially present in the homes of children categorized as obese or overweight. We are now working to confirm identity of these select contaminants that are more likely to be causative factors in the results we have observed.
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks, FDA / 21.03.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48076" align="alignleft" width="200"]Anna Benevente Anna Benevente[/caption] Anna Benevente Director of product, labeling, and ingredient review at Registrar Corp (registrarcorp.com), an FDA consulting firm that helps companies comply with FDA regulations. She has been assisting companies with U.S. FDA regulations since 2009. She and her team have researched thousands of products to determine whether they meet FDA requirements for compliance. In February 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a proposed rule to put into effect a final monograph for over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreen drug products.  If finalized, the rule will update conditions under which OTC sunscreen products may be marketed in the United States.  Given the effect this rule could have on the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, MedicalResearch.com sat down with Anna Benevente, Director of Product, Labeling, and Ingredient Review at FDA consulting firm Registrar Corp, to dig deeper into the article they recently published on the rule. MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this announcement? Response:  FDA issues monographs for specific types of over-the-counter (OTC) drug products, which establish conditions under which a drug may be marketed without FDA approval of a New Drug Application (NDA) or Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA). The conditions that are established by the monograph include the active ingredients that have been deemed generally recognized as safe and effective (GRASE) and statements that must appear on the labeling in the form of a Drug Facts panel. Sunscreens have never had an effective final monograph.  Instead, they have been largely regulated under enforcement discretion since 2001, when FDA issued a stay on a final monograph for OTC sunscreen drug products. The Sunscreen Innovation Act (SIA) of 2014 calls for FDA to establish a final monograph for OTC sunscreen by November 26, 2019. If finalized, the rule proposed in February would lift the stay on the final monograph and amend certain regulations for OTC sunscreen drug products. MedicalResearch.com:  What is enforcement discretion? Response: FDA rulemaking can take a considerable amount of time.  During this process, FDA may issue guidance or an enforcement policy that specifies stipulations under which the Agency permits the marketing of certain products in the absence of codified regulations.  While these documents are not legally-binding, they often outline provisions where FDA states that the Agency does not intend to take regulatory action.  These provisions are often incorporated into an FDA rule, as we are seeing in the case of this new rule for sunscreen. MedicalResearch.com:  Would you explain what GRASE ingredients are? Response: When FDA establishes a monograph for an OTC drug product, the Agency reviews scientific data on ingredients used for that product and classifies them into three categories: Category I: The ingredient is generally recognized as safe and effective for its intended use. Category II: The ingredient is not generally recognized as safe and effective for its intended use.  This ingredient may be not safe as a whole, may be not be safe for the specific intended use, or may not be effective for the specific intended use relative to its health risk. Category III: There is insufficient scientific data to determine whether the ingredient is safe and effective for its intended use. While a monograph is still in the rulemaking stage, FDA permits the marketing of products formulated with active ingredients that are deemed Category I or Category III. At this time, industry may submit data to support a Category I designation for a Category III ingredient. When the final monograph is published, FDA no longer uses the terms "Category I", "Category II", and "Category III."  Those ingredients that were deemed Category I become "monograph conditions," while Category II and III ingredients become "nonmonograph conditions" and may not be marketed after the compliance date identified in the final rule. Q: What are the main products that would require a label change? Response:The statement of identity for all sunscreen products would be required to list the sunscreen active ingredients in alphabetical order followed by “Sunscreen” and the product’s dosage form (e.g. “Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide Sunscreen Lotion”).  Additionally, the rule proposes formatting changes to sunscreen labels that would make SPF, broad spectrum, and water resistance statements more prominent. The rule would require all products over 15 SPF to satisfy broad spectrum testing requirements and the associated labeling requirements for broad spectrum products.  Products under 15 SPF that do not satisfy broad spectrum requirements would be required to include “*See Skin Cancer/Skin Aging Alert” next to the SPF value as a reference to the warning required under 21 CFR 201.327(d)(2).
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Heart Disease, Nutrition / 05.12.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46422" align="alignleft" width="133"]Dr. Lowell H. Steen, Jr., M.D. Interventional Cardiologist Loyola University Medical Center Dr. Steen[/caption] Dr. Lowell H. Steen, Jr., M.D. Interventional Cardiologist Loyola University Medical Center Dr. Steen discusses how holiday treats & stress can increase the risk of heart attack. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main factors that are linked to an increase in heart related adverse events during the Christmas holiday season? Who is most at risk?  Response: The increase in holiday season heart-related hospitalizations and deaths are due to a variety of behaviors such as putting off seeking medical help until after the holidays, overeating rich foods, strenuous travel, excessive alcohol consumption and stressful family interactions. These factors can all trigger heart issues. Factors such as age, diabetes, high cholesterol and smoking all increase heart risk. Additionally, those with high blood pressure, which is a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke, are exceptionally at risk and should celebrate the hectic holiday season with caution. 
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Melanoma / 24.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46151" align="alignleft" width="200"]One example of malignant melanoma, courtesy of skin cancer foundation One example of malignant melanoma, courtesy of Skin Cancer Foundation[/caption] Reza Ghiasvand, PhD Oslo Centre for Biostatistics and Epidemiology Faculty of Medicne University of Oslo Oslo, Norway  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer. It is estimated that about 288,000 individuals will be diagnosed and about 61,000 will die from it in 2018, with the majority of patients in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America. Ultraviolet (UV) exposure (from both the sun and tanning beds) is the most important preventable risk factor for melanoma. However, the association between UV exposure and melanoma is complex and does not accord with a simple model in which risk increases directly with exposure. An individual risk of melanoma also depends on personal characteristics such as skin color and skin sensitivity to the UV exposure, hair color, number of moles, and age. It has been hypothesized that the pattern of UV exposure may play a role in melanoma development in different body sites. For example, melanoma on the trunk (chest and back) has been linked to the recreational UV exposure such as sunbathing and frequent sunburns in people with high number of moles on their body. In contrast, melanomas on the head and neck have been linked to constant sun exposure such as occupational UV exposure, mainly in older people. Epidemiologic and molecular evidence in support of this hypothesis has been published based on analyses of small datasets. Also, melanoma on legs and arms is less studied under this hypothesis. In our study, we examined UV exposure (sunbathing, sunburn and sunbed use) and pigmentary factors (skin, eye, and hair color, freckling, and number of moles), and risk of melanoma on different body sites. We used information from the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study, a population-based cohort study that started in 1991, and includes more than 161,000 Norwegian women followed for an average of 18 years.
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks / 19.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46115" align="alignleft" width="133"]Dr. Gilbert Rochon, III PH.D., MPH Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Global Health Management & Policy Tulane University’s School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine Senior Consultant with MSF Global Solutions, LLC New Orleans Dr. Rochon[/caption] Dr. Gilbert Rochon, III PH.D., MPH Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Global Health Management & Policy Tulane University’s School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine Senior Consultant with MSF Global Solutions, LLC New Orleans MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Having observed the frequency with which President Donald Trump characterized changes in regulatory policies and funding levels with respect to public health and the environment as eliminating or curtailing "unnecesssary Obama-era regulations," I became curious as to the full extent and impact of such deregulation and under-funding of health and environmental safeguards. In the process, I found it necessary to review federal government contributions to public health and the environment under all previous presidents. 
Author Interviews, Autism, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Pediatrics / 16.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "Cairo Air Pollution with less smog - Pyramids1" by Nina Hale is licensed under CC BY 2.0Lief Pagalan, MSc Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University Research Trainee, Centre for Hip Health and Mobility Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Pregnant women more heavily exposed to air pollution had higher chances of having children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The causes of ASD are not fully understood, but this study adds to the growing evidence that environmental risk factors have a role to play. Our study found an association between autism spectrum disorder in the children of women more heavily exposed to air pollution. We observed these results using well-defined cases of ASD and in Vancouver, Canada, which typically has lower air pollution. These findings are consistent with studies done in the U.S., Israel, and Taiwan, which have also found an increased risk of ASD from exposure to air pollution. 
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks / 15.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Audra Stinchcomb, PhD Principal Investigator Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences University of Maryland School of Pharmacy MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: We have been studying the heat effects and repeated dose effects on the absorption of drugs across the skin for more than 5 years.  We were curious to see if the effects we saw on gel, cream, and ointment pharmaceuticals also occurred with sunscreen. Sunscreens are typically used in the hot sun and with reapplication every 80 minutes or so, depending on the product and user.
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, NIH, Nutrition, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 14.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "Baby Bottle" by brokinhrt2 is licensed under CC BY 2.0Kristen Upson, PhD, MPH and Donna D. Baird, PhD Epidemiology Branch National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Research Triangle Park, NC 27709  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Menstrual pain is the most common menstrual complaint and can substantially affect the quality of women’s lives. A prior study in young adults who participated in feeding studies as infants reported an increased risk of greater menstrual pain severity in adulthood with soy formula feeding. Since that study, evidence from laboratory animal studies support the disruptive effects of a phytoestrogen present in soy formula, genistein, on reproductive system development, including aspects involved in menstrual pain. The laboratory animal studies also demonstrate that the developmental changes with genistein can persist into adulthood. Given these results, we were interested in further evaluating the association between infant soy formula feeding and menstrual pain in a cohort of young women. In our study of women ages 23-35 years old, we observed that soy formula feeding during infancy was associated with several indicators of severe menstrual pain in reproductive-age women. This included a 40% increased risk of ever using hormonal contraception for menstrual pain and 50% increased risk of moderate/severe menstrual discomfort with most periods during early adulthood. 
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Toxin Research / 09.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "Protect Coral Reefs" by NOAA's National Ocean Service is licensed under CC BY 2.0Ariel Kushmaro and Esti Kramarsky-Winter Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Ben Gurion University Beer Sheva, Israel The Republic of Palau, a South Pacific island nation, became the world's first country to ban sunscreen products containing environmentally harmful ingredients MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this announcement? What are the main findings?  Response: Coral reefs are important ecosystems that are under threat due to global human driven climate change. In addition to global changes, local hazards such as point pollution by eutrophication, dredging and chemical pollution are exacerbating and promoting reef destruction at local levels. This destruction affects not only island nations that depend on these reefs for protection and livelihood, they affect humanity as a whole as they are an important source for food and novel drugs and new materials. Our recent studies have shown that chemicals found in most commercial sunscreens and creams used to protect humans from deleterious effects of UV A and UVB wash off into the environment are persistent, have endocrine disruptive effects, and thus deleteriously affect marine organisms including corals. 
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Social Issues / 07.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "Cockroaches at night" by Sigurd Tao Lyngse is licensed under CC BY 2.0Changlu Wang, PhD The Urban Entomology lab Department of Entomology Rutgers University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Cockroaches are an important public health pest. They carry pathogens and produce allergens which causes asthma. Some residential communities always have chronic cockroach infestations. This study is designed to understand the environmental and behavioral factors associated with cockroaches in low-income homes occupied by senior citizens. We found 30% of the 388 surveyed homes had German cockroaches. Sanitation and residents’ tolerance are two factors significantly associated with the presence of cockroaches. A dirty apartment is 2.7 times more likely to have German cockroaches. Gender, ethnicity, and clutter level are not associated with presence of cockroaches. People would be bothered by cockroaches when more than 3 cockroaches are caught in sticky traps when 4 traps were placed per apartment over 2 weeks period. A high percentage (36%) of residents were unaware of cockroaches when they were caught in traps in their homes. These findings are important for property managers and policy makers in designing better intervention methods to reduce the cockroach infestations. 
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks / 15.10.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_40693" align="alignleft" width="164"]Dr. Janet Prystowsky, MD Dr. Prystowsky is a leading board-certified dermatologist in New York City.  In addition to her private practice, Dr. Prystowsky is a senior attending physician at Mount Sinai Roosevelt/St. Luke’s Medical Center. Dr. Prystowsky[/caption] Dr. Janet Prystowsky, MD Dr. Prystowsky is a leading board-certified dermatologist in New York City.   In addition to her private practice, Dr. Prystowsky is a senior attending physician at Mount Sinai Roosevelt/St. Luke’s Medical Center. http://www.janetprystowskymd.com/ MedicalResearch.com: When does sun damage to the skin start?  Is there such a thing as a 'safe tan'?  Who is most susceptible to photoaging?  What parts of the body are more likely to show signs of sun damage?  Response: Sun damage will increase a person’s risk of premature aging and skin cancer.  Although tanning does function to help protect your skin from excessive ultraviolet radiation tanning is still a form of sun damage.  Also, people with very fair skin may not tan at all; only burn.  They are the most susceptible to sun damage. Certain medical conditions (e.g., Lupus), medications, cosmetics, and food can make your more reactive (photosensitive) to sunlight. "Sunburn" by Kelly Sue DeConnick is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0Sunburns are caused by UV damage from sun rays, almost entirely due to UVB rays. UVA rays are weaker for burning but can contribute to blistering sunburns as well. For example, If you get lime peel rubbed on your skin while you are in the sun, you could get a bad burn.  UVA can also cause significant skin damage that can result in premature wrinkling, brown spots, and skin cancer. That's why you'll see dermatologists pushing for broad-spectrum sunscreens as opposed to sunscreens that just protect against UVB rays. 
Author Interviews, Columbia, Environmental Risks, Genetic Research, Ophthalmology, PLoS / 09.10.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andrei V. Tkatchenko, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor Columbia University Medical Center Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute New York, NY 10032 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Clear distance vision is rapidly becoming a rare privilege around the world, especially in Asia, due to increasing prevalence of myopia. Although much effort has been directed towards elucidating the mechanisms underlying refractive eye development and myopia, treatment options for myopia are mostly limited to optical correction, which does not prevent progression of myopia or pathological blinding complications often associated with the disease. During early childhood development, the axial length of the eye normally grows to match its optical power in a process called emmetropization, producing focused images on the retina. However, very often environmental and genetic factors lead to a mismatch between the optical power of the eye and its axial length resulting in the development of myopia if eyes grow too long for their optical power. Experimental studies in many animal species suggest that emmetropization is regulated by optical defocus. The eye can compensate for imposed negative and positive optical defocus by increasing or decreasing its growth rate, respectively. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying emmetropization are poorly understood which prevents development of anti-myopia drugs.
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Microbiome, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 20.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_44695" align="alignleft" width="149"] Dr. Kozyrskyj[/caption] Anita Kozyrskyj PhD Professor in Pediatrics Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry School of Public Health University of Alberta MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Data for this study were collected in the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) cohort of over 3,500 full-term infants born between 2009 and 2012. When infants were 3-4 months of age, parents provided a sample of their poop. At that time, parents checked-off responses to questions about their home, including type and frequency of cleaning product use. The infant poop was initially frozen, then thawed later to extract DNA from the sample and identify microbes on the basis of their DNA sequence. 
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Pediatrics, Thyroid Disease / 17.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_44492" align="alignleft" width="150"]Carrie Breton ScD Associate Professor and Director of the MADRES Center  Division of Environmental Health Los Angeles, CA 90032 Dr. Breton[/caption] Carrie Breton ScD Associate Professor and Director of the MADRES Center Division of Environmental Health Los Angeles, CA 90032 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: I am interested in how the environment can influence our very early development, starting in the womb. I have studied the health effects of air pollutants on children for several years and wanted to focus now on the earliest windows of susceptibility.  Thyroid hormones play a critical role in fetal growth and development. We knew we could get information on newborn thyroid levels from the California Department of Public Health’s newborn screening program therefore look at this question in our study population. We found that exposure to high levels of PM2.5 and PM10 throughout most of pregnancy affected TT4 levels in newborns.
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Melanoma / 15.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_44531" align="alignleft" width="133"]Lori A. Crane, PhD Department of Community and Behavioral Health Colorado School of Public Health University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora CO Dr. Crane[/caption] Lori A. Crane, PhD Department of Community and Behavioral Health Colorado School of Public Health University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora CO  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Nevi, which are commonly called “moles”, are brown or black spots on the skin that are usually raised.  Moles are the number one risk factor for malignant melanoma, the most dangerous kind of skin cancer.  About 9,000 people die of melanoma each year in the U.S. The more moles a person has, the higher their risk for melanoma.  Sun exposure is a major factor in the development of moles, and in order to prevent melanoma, it is important to better understand how moles are formed on the skin. Most moles are formed during childhood and adolescence.  We studied non-Hispanic and Hispanic white children age 3-16 and found that non-Hispanic children developed many more moles than Hispanic children.  Overall, boys developed more moles than girls, but there were some important differences.  For parts of the skin that are often covered by clothing but sometimes exposed to the sun, such as the chest and back, upper arms and upper legs, girls developed more moles than boys, especially among Hispanic children.  In contrast, for parts of the skin that are usually exposed to the sun, such as the face, boys developed many more moles than girls.  The development of moles leveled off by age 16 for parts of the skin usually exposed to the sun, while for the less often exposed skin, children continued to develop moles to age 16.
Author Interviews, ENT, Environmental Risks, Occupational Health / 06.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_44250" align="alignleft" width="173"]Beatrice Golomb, MD, PhD Director of the Golomb Research Group Professor of Medicine University of California, San Diego Dr. Golomb[/caption] Beatrice Golomb, MD, PhD Director of the Golomb Research Group Professor of Medicine University of California, San DiegoResponse: MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? How was the radiation emitted? Response: Possibilities include surveillance devices (or things to jam them), electronic weapons, or, less likely, “innocent” communications devices. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: That all key features of diplomats’ experiences comport with pulsed radiofrequency/ microwave (RF/MW) radiation.
  1. The nature of the “sounds” heard – chirping, clicking, ringing, grinding/buzzing – are known “sounds” produced via the “microwave auditory effect” aka Frey effect.  Different sounds are heard by different people, because the character of the sound heard depends on head dimensions (as well as pulse characteristics). Sounds were primarily heard at night: consistent with the microwave auditory effect, which requires low ambient noise. Some diplomats reported that sounds were spatially localized with “laserlike” specificity – said to defy known physics. This defies the physics of sound, but not radiation. The “sound” was reported to follow a diplomat as he walked, within the territory in which it was heard. Sound from a fixed source does not seem to follow people – but the microwave auditory affect does, often perceived as being located just behind (or in some cases just above, or inside) the head of the person, irrespective of the person’s orientation relative to the radiation source.
  2. The symptoms reported following these experiences also fit. Rates of reported symptoms in diplomats – headache, cognitive and sleep problems dominating, then dizziness, tinnitus, anxiety, nausea at lesser but still high rates – match closely with rates of the same symptoms reported in a 2012 Japanese study of people who report health effects from radiation, typically including pulsed RF/MW. Hearing loss is a relatively distinctive and prominent symptom in both diplomats, and RF/MW affected civilians. In both groups, some reportedly experience speech problems, balance problems, nosebleed, and strange sensations of vibration and pressure.
Reports of symptoms with RF/MW exposures date at least to the 1920s, affecting radio amateurs and shipboard radio operators as well as others working with radar or microwaves in occupational settings. By 1971/72, a Naval report with over 2300 citations (many from Russia and Eastern Europe), assessing effects of low intensity RF radiation, had whole sections devoted to each of a number of the symptoms diplomats report.
  1. Hundreds (if not thousands) of studies have illuminated mechanisms by which these effects may arise, centered on oxidative stress (the kind of injury that antioxidants help to defend against) – and many downstream effects of oxidative stress (membrane damage, blood brain barrier impairment with potential for brain swelling, inflammation, voltage gated calcium (and other) channel effects (which can also lead to oxidative stress), mitochondrial impairment, autoimmune activation, etc.)
Affected persons are a minority (in both settings), and in the nondiplomat setting, vulnerability has been tied to genetic variants less adept at defending against oxidative stress; and low concentrations of a critical antioxidant. In both groups, brain imaging studies resemble traumatic brain injury; and in both, at least some of those affected had prior head injury. Head injury may be a predisposing factor, as well as possible consequence. Reprising findings also shown for research on other lucrative products with potential to cause harm in some, there is a powerful tie between study results and financial conflict of interest (e.g. source of study funding or conflicts by authors).
  1. There is precedent for use of microwaves in the diplomat setting. It is known that the US embassy in Moscow was microwaved for several decades beginning in the early 1950s (with some embassy staff citing – disputed - health problems). A 1976 NY Times story (“Moscow rays linked to U.S. bugging”) referenced speculation these were for surveillance; the Soviets claimed their purpose was to thwart U.S. listening devices on the roof of the embassy.
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Pediatrics, Toxin Research / 29.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_44119" align="alignleft" width="135"]Joseph M. Braun, MSPH, PhD  Associate Professor of Epidemiology Epidemiology Master's Program Director  Brown University School of Public Health Dr. Braun[/caption] Joseph M. Braun, MSPH, PhD Associate Professor of Epidemiology Epidemiology Master's Program Director Brown University School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Childhood lead poisoning continues to be a problem in the United States and residential lead hazards are the major source of Pb exposure in young children. However, no studies have attempted to prevent exposure to lead hazards through primary prevention. Thus, we randomized 355 pregnant women to a comprehensive residential intervention and followed their children for up to 8 years to determine if childhood lead poisoning and associated cognitive deficits and behavior problems can be prevented.