Author Interviews, Duke, General Medicine, Mental Health Research, Nature / 31.07.2014

Rainbo Hultman, PhD Postdoctoral Research Associate Laboratory for Psychiatric Neuroengineering, Principal Investigator Affective Cognitive and Addiction Disorders (ACAD) Research Group Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Center for Neuroengineering Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC 27710MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rainbo Hultman, PhD Postdoctoral Research Associate Laboratory for Psychiatric Neuroengineering, Principal Investigator Affective Cognitive and Addiction Disorders (ACAD) Research Group Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Center for Neuroengineering Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC 27710 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Hultman: Using a mouse model of stress-induced psychiatric dysfunction, we found that the brainwave patterns in two key brain regions (prefrontal cortex, PFC and amygdala, AMY) encode for susceptibility to such dysfunction. Furthermore, such susceptibility can be predicted from the brainwave patterns in these regions before the onset of stress. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, General Medicine, Infections, Journal Clinical Oncology, Sloan Kettering / 23.07.2014

Allison Lipitz-Snyderman, PhD Assistant Attending Outcomes Research Scientist Center for Health Policy and Outcomes Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York, NY 10065MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Allison Lipitz-Snyderman, PhD Assistant Attending Outcomes Research Scientist Center for Health Policy and Outcomes Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York, NY  10065 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lipitz-Snyderman: Long-term central venous catheters are used to administer intravenous fluids and treatments such as chemotherapy.  These catheters can also be a source of bloodstream infections which can be harmful to cancer patients.  However, this risk is not well understood.  In our study, we found that the use of these catheters was associated with an increased risk of infections for patients with cancer.  We used a population-based dataset, SEER-Medicare, to study this issue in older adult cancer patients.  This dataset allowed us to study patients treated in different institutions and follow them over time. (more…)
General Medicine / 23.07.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with Dr Lim Weng Khong Research Fellow, National Cancer Centre Singapore. Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr...

Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, General Medicine, Heart Disease / 10.07.2014

Jeff Trost, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Johns Hopkins MedicineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jeff Trost, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Johns Hopkins Medicine Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Trost: In our study, we reported the use of two relatively simple tactics to significantly reduce the number of unnecessary blood tests to assess symptoms of heart attack and chest pain and to achieve a large decrease in patient charges. Specifically, we
  • 1) Provided information and education to physicians about proven testing guidelines and
  • 2) Made changes to the computerized provider order entry system at the medical center, part of the Johns Hopkins Health System. The guidelines call for more limited use of blood tests for so-called cardiac biomarkers. A year after implementation, our intervention led to an estimated $1.25 million reduction in laboratory charges.
(more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Cost of Health Care, General Medicine, Tobacco / 10.07.2014

Ms Qi Wu: Mental Health and Addiction Research Group, Department of Health Sciences University of York, Heslington York UKMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ms Qi Wu: Mental Health and Addiction Research Group, Department of Health Sciences University of York, Heslington York  UK Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Ms Qi Wu: At any time in the UK about one in six adults has a mental health problem, the prevalence of smoking in this group is over 33%, which is around 50% higher than in the general population. It is estimated that 3 million adults with mental disorders were smokers in 2009-10. Meanwhile, people with mental health disorders are also more likely to smoke heavily, this group accounts for as much as 42% of the total national tobacco consumption.  In this study, we calculated the avoidable economic burden of smoking in people with mental disorders. The main finding was that people with mental disorders who smoke cost the UK economy £2.34 billion a year. The total costs are more or less equally divided among losses sustained from premature death, lost productivity, and healthcare costs to treat smoking related diseases such as lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in this group.  An estimated £719 million (31% of the total cost) was spent on treating diseases caused by smoking. Productivity losses due to smoking-related diseases were about £823 million (35%) for work- related absenteeism and £797 million (34%) was associated with premature mortality. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, General Medicine, Hospital Readmissions / 04.06.2014

Cindy Feltner, MD, MPH Assistant Professor, Division of General Medicine University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill RTI- UNC Evidence-based Practice CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Cindy Feltner, MD, MPH Assistant Professor, Division of General Medicine University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill RTI- UNC Evidence-based Practice Center MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Feltner: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy, comparative effectiveness, and harms of transitional care interventions to reduce readmission and mortality rates for adults hospitalized with heart failure. We included a broad range of intervention types applicable to adults transitioning from hospital to home that aimed to prevent readmissions. Although 30-day readmissions are the focus of quality measures, we also included readmissions measured over 3 to 6 months because these are common, costly, and potentially preventable. Forty-seven trials were included, most enrolled adults with moderate to severe heart failure and a mean age of 70 years. We found that interventions providing multiple home visits soon after hospital discharge can reduce 30-day readmission rates. Both home-visiting programs and multidisciplinary heart failure clinics visits can improve mortality and reduce all-cause readmission in the six months after hospitalization. Telephone support interventions do not appear to reduce all-cause readmission, but can improve survival and reduce readmission related to heart failure. Programs focused on telemonitoring or providing education only did not appear to reduce readmission or improve survival. (more…)
Author Interviews, General Medicine, JAMA / 01.06.2014

Dr David A Hanauer MD MS Department of Pediatrics University of Michigan Medical School Ann Arbor, MIMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr David A Hanauer MD MS Department of Pediatrics University of Michigan Medical School Ann Arbor, MI MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study Dr. Hanauer: The main findings of our study were that: (1) Awareness and usage of rating sites for physicians appears to be growing, (2) The public is using these sites to make decisions about selecting (or avoiding) a physician, and (3) The percentage of people leaving ratings is still low (about 5%) suggesting that the results may not be representative of the majority of patient experiences. (more…)
Author Interviews, General Medicine / 30.05.2014

Mark A D’Andrea, MD, FACRO University Cancer and Diagnostic Centers Houston, TexasMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mark A D’Andrea, MD, FACRO University Cancer and Diagnostic Centers Houston, Texas   MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. D’Andrea: Crude oil spills affect the human health through their exposure to the inherent hazardous chemicals such as para-phenols and volatile benzene. Human exposure to crude oil spills is associated with multiple adverse health effects including hematopoietic, hepatic, renal, and pulmonary abnormalities. In this study, we assessed the hematological and liver function indices among the subjects participated in the Gulf oil spill clean-up operations along the coast of Louisiana. The findings were compared with the standardized normal range reference values. We found that over 77% of subjects had WBC counts in the mid range (6 - 10X 103 per mL) while none of the subjects had upper limit of the normal range (11 X 103 per mL). Similar pattern was seen in the platelet counts and BUN levels among the oil spill exposed subjects. Conversely, over 70% of the subjects had creatinine levels toward upper limit of the normal and 23% of subjects had creatinine levels above the upper limit of the normal range (> 1.3 mg per dL). Similarly, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were toward the upper limit of the normal in more than two-third of the subjects. Aspartate amino transferase and alanine amino transferase levels above the upper limit of normal range (> 40 IU per L) were seen in 15% and 31% of subjects, respectively. Over 80% of subjects had urinary phenol levels more than detectable levels (2 mg per L). (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, General Medicine / 29.05.2014

Alai Tan, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Institute for Translational Science Dept. of Preventive Medicine & Community Health University of Texas Medical BranchMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alai Tan, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Institute for Translational Science Dept. of Preventive Medicine & Community Health University of Texas Medical Branch MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Tan: We found that substantial proportions of women with limited life expectancy receive screening mammography. The screening rates were higher among women who saw more than one generalist physician and who had more visits to generalist physicians. The screening rates were higher among U.S. hospital referral regions with more primary care physicians, mammography facilities and radiologists. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, General Medicine, JAMA, Rheumatology / 21.05.2014

Professor Kim Bennell ARC Future Fellow Department of Physiotherapy University of Melbourne Parkville, Vic 3010 AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview Professor Kim Bennell ARC Future Fellow Department of Physiotherapy University of Melbourne Parkville, Vic 3010 Australia MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Professor Bennell: In 102 people with painful hip osteoarthritis, we compared a 'real' physical therapy program involving exercise, manual therapy techniques,education and provision of a cane if appropriate to a sham physical therapy treatment that was made to look as though it was real but instead involved turned off ultrasound and gentle application of a hand crème to the hip region. Participants in both groups went to see a physical therapist on 10 occasions over 12 weeks and performed home exercises if in the 'real' physical therapy group or lightly applied the cream at home if in the sham group. Participants were followed for 9 months in total. We found that while both groups showed improvements in pain and physical function, the improvements were similar between the two groups. That is, the real physical therapy program did not show greater benefits over a sham treatment.  (more…)
Blood Clots, General Medicine, UCSD / 19.05.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview withTimothy Fernandes, M.D., M.P.H. University of California, San Diego - La Jolla, CA Timothy Fernandes, M.D., M.P.H. University of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of this study? Dr. Fernandes: The fibrinopeptides are cleaved off of fibrinogen by thrombin during the generation of a new clot. These small molecules are excreted into the urine and we have developed a urine assay to measure the level of FPB. We examined the performance of urine FPB as a screening test for acute pulmonary embolism, blood clots that travel to the lungs. The study group consisted of 344 patients: 61 (18%) with pulmonary embolism and 283 (83%) without. At a threshold of 2.5 ng/ml, urine FPB demonstrated sensitivity of 75.4% (95% CI: 62.4-85.2%), specificity of 28.9% (95% CI: 23.8-34.7%), and negative likelihood ratio of 0.18 (0.11-0.29), weighted by prevalence in the sample population. However, the thresholds of 5 ng/ml and 7.5 ng/ml had sensitivities of only 55.7% (95% CI: 42.5-68.2%), and 42.6% (30.3-55.9%), respectively. The urine fibrinopeptide B assay at a cut-off of 2.5 ng/ml had a sensitivity of 75.4% for detecting pulmonary embolism. For diagnosis of PE, this sensitivity is comparable to previously published values for the first generation plasma latex and whole blood D-dimer assays (not as well and the D dimer ELISA assay). (more…)
Author Interviews, General Medicine, Heart Disease, Statins / 14.05.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with Dr. Michael Johansen, MD, MS Department of Family Medicine The Ohio State University Columbus, OH 43201 MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Johansen: We found a surprisingly low number of people with coronary artery disease and diabetes (over age 40) were not reporting statin use. Of the people with coronary artery disease only 58% reported statin use while 52% of people with diabetes reported use. In addition, a reported diagnosis of hyperlipidemia was strongly correlated with statin use. In fact, individuals with hyperlipidemia and no coronary artery disease were more apt to be on a statin than people with coronary artery disease and no hyperlipidemia. Other high-risk conditions that have recently been included in the ACC/AHA high risk category were weakly or not associated with statin use including stroke and peripheral arterial disease. (more…)
Erasmus, General Medicine / 12.05.2014

Dr. Adriaan J van der Meer Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The NetherlandsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Adriaan J van der Meer Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. J van der Meer: The main finding of our study is that the prognosis of patients with compensated HCV-induced advanced liver disease can be adequately assessed by risk scores which merely include objective variables that are readily available in daily practice. Our analyses resulted in two separate prognostic scores by which the individual patient's risk of mortality or clinical disease progression (defined as occurence of Hepatitis C Cirrhosis (HCC), liver failure, liver transplantation or death) can be assessed. (more…)
General Medicine / 30.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com: Egle Avizienyte, PhD Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Cancer Sciences Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences The University of Manchester, Manchester M20 4BX MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Avizienyte: Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, has been validated as a target in ovarian cancer. However, the benefit from anti-angiogenic therapies, e.g. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) pathway inhibitors that are currently used in the clinic for the treatment of ovarian cancer has been modest, largely because of redundancy in angiogenic cytokines that regulate tumour angiogenesis. In this study we validated heparan sulphate 6-O-sulfotranferases 1 and 2 (HS6ST-1 and -2) as targets for developing new therapeutic anti-angiogenic agents for the treatment of ovarian cancer. The data generated in our laboratory show that HS6STs induce the angiogenic programme in ovarian cancer cells and has a major effect on tumour angiogenesis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Eating Disorders, General Medicine, Social Issues / 09.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with Stephen M. Amrock, SM Department of Pediatrics New York University School of Medicine New York, NY 10016 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We analyzed data from a nationally representative survey on youth risk behaviors. After adjusting for other risk taking behaviors, we found that high school adolescents who indoor tan were much more likely to also engage in behaviors typically associated with eating disorders. We also noted that the link between indoor tanning and such harmful weight control behaviors was even stronger among males than females. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, General Medicine, Lancet, Lifestyle & Health / 04.04.2014

Prof Guangwei Li MD Department of Endocrinology China-Japan Friendship Hospital Center of Endocrinology and Cardiovascular Disease, National Center of Cardiology & Fuwai Hospital, Beijing, ChinaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof Guangwei Li MD Department of Endocrinology China-Japan Friendship Hospital Center of Endocrinology and Cardiovascular Disease, National Center of Cardiology & Fuwai Hospital, Beijing, China MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Our study first shows that a six-year period of lifestyle intervention in Chinese people with IGT reduced the incidence of diabetes over a protracted time period and was ultimately associated with a significant reduction in total and cardio-vascular disease mortality. This reduction in mortality appears to be mediated in part by the delay in onset of diabetes resulting from the lifestyle interventions. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, General Medicine, Weight Research / 02.04.2014

Shanthi Srinivasan, M.D. Associate Professor of Medicine Division of Digestive Diseases Department of Medicine Emory University Atlanta, GA 30322MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Shanthi Srinivasan, M.D. Associate Professor of Medicine Division of Digestive Diseases Department of Medicine Emory University Atlanta, GA 30322   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Srinivasan: The main findings of this study are that the neurotrophic factor GDNF is was able to protect against the weight gain induced by mice on a high fat diet. The mice that had overexpression of GDNF showed less weight gain while eating the same high fat diet as the control mice. GDNF seems to have effects on the genes regulating fat metabolism and energy expenditure and this could be the mechanism of prevention of weight gain. (more…)
Dartmouth, General Medicine / 31.03.2014

dr_james_d_sargentMedicalResearch.com Interview with James D. Sargent, MD, Professor of Pediatrics Professor of Community and Family Medicine Professor of The Dartmouth Institute Co-Director, Cancer Control Research Program Norris Cotton Cancer Center Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Department of Pediatrics Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Lebanon, New Hampshire MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Sargent: We showed children aged 3-7 years depictions of healthy foods in McDonald’s and Burger King television advertisements that aired in 2010-11.  Children were asked what they saw in the images and not prompted to respond specifically to any aspect of the images.  All images contained the two healthy foods—apples and milk—the companies purported to be advertising through the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative.  Only 52% and 70% of children correctly identified McDonald’s and Burger King images of milk.  Whereas 80% correctly identified McDonald’s image of apples, only 10% identified the Burger King apples as apples.  Instead, 81% mistook them as french fries. Please see the video of children responding to the BK apples depiction at http://cancer.dartmouth.edu/about_us/newsdetail/66129/ (more…)
Author Interviews, General Medicine, Macular Degeneration, Ophthalmology / 19.03.2014

Chung-Jung Chiu DDS PhD Scientist II, JM USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging Assistant Professor, School of Medicine Tufts University Boston MA 02111MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Chung-Jung Chiu DDS PhD Scientist II, JM USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging Assistant Professor, School of Medicine Tufts University Boston MA 02111 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: In this study, we found that advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is predictable by using clinically readily available information. We devised a simple algorithm to summarize the clinical predictors and showed the validity of our prediction model in both clinic-based and community-based cohorts. We also develop an application (App) for the iPhone and iPad as a practical tool for our prediction model. (more…)
Cognitive Issues, General Medicine, PLoS, University of Pittsburgh / 15.03.2014

Dr Tobias Teichert Assistant Professor of Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15261MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Tobias Teichert Assistant Professor of Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15261 MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Teichert:  "Our study provided three main findings: First, we measured how long it takes subjects to allocate attention to a relevant target and how effectively they can block out the distractors. We found that after 120 msec selective attention is fully engaged and completely blocks out the distractor. Based on this finding, we predicted that subjects should be able to improve decision accuracy by delaying decision onset, and that this should be more effective than simply prolonging the whole decision process. Most importantly, we found that subjects indeed use this more effective way of improving decision onset: On average, subjects delayed decision onset by about 50 msec when we asked them be as accurate as possible. The good news is that people seem to use this more optimal mechanism automatically, without being told to do so and without being aware of what they do. The bad news is that we don’t seem to be using this skill quite as effectively as we could. In our case, subjects could have improved accuracy even further by delaying decision onset by an additional 50 ms. However, taken together, our findings show that decision onset is to some degree under cognitive control, and that we might be able to devise training strategies to harness its full potential” (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, General Medicine, Outcomes & Safety / 06.03.2014

Karen Yeung Professor of Law Centre for Technology, Ethics Law & Society King's College London London WC2R 2LSMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Karen Yeung Professor of Law Centre for Technology, Ethics Law & Society King's College London London WC2R 2LS MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Professor Yeung: This study found a gap in existing legal regulation of healthcare quality in the UK.  While patients receiving treatment under mental health legislation are protected by the criminal law against wilful neglect or ill treatment, other patients are not subject to the same level of protection, although many such patients are just as vulnerable as those who are mentally incapacitated.  Hence we argue that a new criminal offence of 'wilful neglect or ill treatment' of patients in the healthcare sector is needed. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Diabetes Care, General Medicine, Kidney Disease / 25.02.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eiji Ishimura, MD, PhD, FASN, FACP Osaka City University Hospital Professor,Department of Nephrology Osaka, JAPAN MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Ishimura: Poor glycemic control is a major factor in the overestimation of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in diabetic patients. We found this simple conclusion by directly measuring GFR by use of inulin clearance. We have created new formulae to accurately assess the GFR in diabetic patients, with the correction of hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) or glycated albumin (GA) as followings; 1)      eGFRcr corrected by HbA1c=eGFRcr / (0.428 + 0.085 × HbA1c) 2)      eGFRcr corrected by GA=eGFRcr / (0.525 + 0.028 × GA) (more…)
General Medicine, JAMA, University of Michigan / 19.02.2014

Dr. David Hanauer, MD Associate Professor, University of Michigan Medical School 1500 East Medical Center Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5940MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. David Hanauer, MD Associate Professor, University of Michigan Medical School 1500 East Medical Center Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5940 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study Dr. Hanauer: From my perspective, the primary findings were that 65% of the general public is now aware of physician rating web sites and among those who are aware, about 36% had used them in the prior year.  Awareness and usage seems to be rapidly increasing compared to what has been reported in prior studies from just a few years ago.  We also found that patients consider word of mouth recommendations (from family/friends) to be almost twice as important as ratings sites are. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, General Medicine, Heart Disease / 18.02.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Caroline A. Kim, MD, MS; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA 02215. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Kim: We conducted a systematic review of 62 studies that examined functional status and quality of life in patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (AVR) for their symptomatic severe aortic valve stenosis.  In 11,205 patients who underwent TAVR, a clinically meaningful improvement was seen in physical functional measures and disease-specific quality of life measures, whereas improvement in psychological measures or more general health measures were modest and inconsistent.  Given the dismal prognosis of severe aortic stenosis treated conservatively, it was clear that transcatheter AVR improved functional status and quality of life.  However, there was insufficient evidence that compares these patient-centered outcomes between transcatheter AVR and surgical AVR. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Endocrinology, General Medicine / 14.02.2014

Simon D. Brandt, PhD Reader in Bioactive Drug Chemistry School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK Associate Editor "Drug Testing and Analysis" (Wiley)MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Simon D. Brandt, PhD Reader in Bioactive Drug Chemistry School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences Liverpool John Moores University Associate Editor "Drug Testing and Analysis" (Wiley) Author's background comment: This type of work represents one of our areas of activity related to multi-disciplinary approaches to harm reduction which combines public health work with research on various properties of bioactive substances. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: As part of our work related to so-called lifestyle and image-enhancing drugs and legal highs/bath salts, we became interested in a particular "food/dietary supplement" called "Esto Suppress" because it was discussed on some Internet forums dedicated to the topic of bodybuilding. Some forum members were speculating that might be present in this particular product. The reason for this speculation came from the chemical name that was written on the label which pointed in that direction. This particular product was also widely available from a number of online retailers and while some indications existed that the same chemical name was mentioned, others were seen to list a modified version of that name which did not always make much chemical sense. We test purchased four "Esto Suppress" samples in a local fitness store and confirmed that three of them contained the breast cancer drug tamoxifen. (more…)
General Medicine, Vanderbilt / 10.02.2014

Dr. Scott L. Zuckerman, MD Department of Neurological Surgery Vanderbilt Sports Concussion CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Scott L. Zuckerman, MD Department of Neurological Surgery Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Zuckerman: Our study evaluated 244 athletes who suffered sports-related concussion (SRC), 122 males and 122 females, and assessed for gender differences in number, severity, and resolution of post-concussive symptoms using reliable change index (RCI) methodology applied to days to return to symptom baseline. Both groups were matched on number of prior concussions, age, and days to first post-concussion assessment, which consisted of the 22 symptom Post Concussion Symptom Checklist  from the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) evaluation tool. (more…)
Author Interviews, Colon Cancer, General Medicine, PLoS, University of Michigan, Weight Research / 09.02.2014

Jenifer I Fenton Assistant Professor Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jenifer I Fenton Assistant Professor Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Fenton: This was a cross-sectional study, and thus, a snapshot in time. Although it cannot infer cause or temporality of obesity and colon polyp risk in men, it does show that obese men were more likely to have a polyp than their lean counterpart. In addition, there were serum biomarkers also associated with this risk. This could eventually lead to future blood tests to identify individuals at greater risk for polyps and inform screening recommendations. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, General Medicine, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics / 22.01.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Kathryn M Abel Professor of Psychiatry & Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist University of Manchester and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, London. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The main study findings were that exposure of a mother to a severe psychological stress of losing a close family member up to either 6 months before conception or at any time during pregnancy did not increase risk of subsequent psychotic illness in the offspring. Secondly, we found during childhood, if a close family member died then, especially a sibling of the child or one of their parents, these children were at slightly increased risk of developing a psychotic illness later in life. This was most likely to happen following a sudden death especially suicide and in particular following suicide a psychotic mood disorder was more likely than other kinds of psychosis such as schizophrenia (although the risk of schizophrenia was also increased following suicide). This effect was not accounted for by having  a family history of a psychotic illness or suicide. (more…)
Alcohol, Author Interviews, General Medicine, Karolinski Institute / 17.01.2014

Andrea Bellavia MSc Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, SwedenMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andrea Bellavia MSc Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, Sweden Dr. Montgomery: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We evaluated for 15 years a cohort of Swedish men and women and observed, after taking into account various socio-demographic, dietary, and lifestyle factors, that a low daily consumption of alcoholic beverages is tied with longer survival. (more…)
General Medicine / 16.01.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Weiya Zhang, BPH, MEpi, PhD Associate Professor & Reader Division of Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Dermatology The University of Nottingham Clinical Sciences Building City Hospital Nottingham NG5 1PB MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Zhang: We found the prevalence and incidence of gout keep rising from 1997 to 2012, but the management (percentage of patients treated with the recommended effective drugs) remains poor. (more…)