Author Interviews, Infections, Technology / 18.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: For the past 5 years or so, my collaborators and I have been working on several issues leading to the realization of the so-called “Windows to the Brain (WttB)” platform. WttB are transparent nanocrystalline yttria-stabilized-zirconia (nc-YSZ) cranial implants capable of replacing portions of the skull to allow non-invasive optical interrogation of the brain on an ongoing recurring basis. This new technological advancement could eventually afford for: a) advancing understanding of the brain, by facilitating the clinical translation of emerging optogenetic neurotechnologies; and b) facilitating the diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of brain pathologies and neurological disorders, such as traumatic brain injury, stroke, brain cancer, and others. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, Zika / 16.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Martin Cetron, MD Director of the CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: According to the Brazilian Tourism Board, approximately 350,000 – 500,000 international visitors and athletes from 207 countries are expected to travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This travel volume represents a very small fraction – less than 0.25% – of the total estimated 2015 travel volume to Zika-affected countries. CDC conducted a risk analysis to predict those countries at risk for Zika virus importation exclusively attributable to the Games. (more…)
Author Interviews, Fertility, HPV, OBGYNE, STD / 12.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dejan R. Nonato, MD, PhD Institute of Tropical Pathology and Public Health School of Medicine Federal University of Goiás Goiânia, GO, Brazil MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Human papillomavirus (HPV) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) share the same route of sexual transmission and possess similar risk factors, indicating that co-infection may act synergistically in the induction of epithelial cell abnormalities. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections / 12.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jenny A. K. Ekberg Eskitis Institute for Drug Discovery Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, School of Medical Science, Griffith University Queensland, Australia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Melioidosis is a tropical bacterial infection that causes around 90,000 deaths world-wide each year. It is caused by the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei which can cause pneumonia and a serious flu-like illness which can cause death, however if the brain is infected, which happens in particular with the Australian variant of the disease, the mortality is particularly high (~25 %). The route by which the bacteria invade and progress through the central nervous system is to date largely unknown. We have now shown in an animal model that the bacteria can penetrate the trigeminal nerve within the nasal cavity and then rapidly invade the brainstem and spinal cord only 24 hours after intranasal inoculation. By migrating along the trigeminal nerve, the bacteria bypasses the blood-brain barrier.This study constitutes the first characterization of the path by which B. pseudomallei bacteria migrate all the way from the nasal cavity into the spinal cord. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections / 11.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hemilä Harri Hemilä, MD, PhD Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Our meta-analysis of 3 randomized controlled trials on zinc acetate lozenges was motivated by an early trial which indicated that zinc lozenges might be more effective for patients with allergies. We found that allergy, sex, age, and ethnic bacground did not influence the effect of zinc acetate lozenges. Thus, the average effect of 3 day reduction in colds seems to be applicable for a wide range of common cold patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, CDC, HPV, Vaccine Studies / 09.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laura J. Viens, MD Division of cancer prevention and control CDC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We analyzed the most recent available data from 2008–2012 from CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program for HPV-associated cancers.
  • These data cover 99% of the US population.
  • These data represent the official federal statistics on cancer incidence (new cases).
  • Every year between 2008 and 2012, about 39,000 men and women were diagnosed with cancers associated with HPV, an overall increase when compared with the 33,000 cancers associated with HPV between 2004 and 2008.
  • 23,000 (13.5 per 100,000 population) among females and 15,793 (9.7 per 100,000 population) among males.
(more…)
Author Interviews, Fertility, Herpes Viruses, Infections, PLoS / 09.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Roberta Rizzo PhD Department of Medical Sciences Section of Microbiology University of Ferrara Ferrara, Italy MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Infertility affects approximately 6% of 15-44 year old women or 1.5 million women in the US, according to the CDC. Approximately 25% of female infertility cases are unexplained, leaving women with few options other than expensive fertility treatments. Researchers are trying to identify factors and mechanisms at the basis of this condition. (more…)
Author Interviews, Flu - Influenza, JAMA, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies / 07.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marta C. Nunes, PhD DST/NRF:Vaccine Preventable Diseases Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit University of Witwatersrand Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital Soweto, South Africa MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Young infants are at increased risk for influenza infection and hospitalizations associated with influenza infection. While active annual influenza vaccination is the most efficient mode for the prevention of influenza infection, current vaccines are poorly immunogenic and not licensed for use in infants (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, Microbiome, Pulmonary Disease / 06.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Genevieve Marchand Ph.D., RMCCM SCCM(Env) Microbiologiste agréée & Biochimiste Chercheure, Prévention des risques chimiques et biologiques IRSST MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: It is well known that Health Care Workers (HCWs) are at risk of occupationally acquired infections. Some procedures, such as bronchoscopies, are recognized to be high-risk tasks. Most researches that have linked infectious risk to specific task in healthcare settings did not measure the real bioaerosol exposure. Those link where mostly made from epidemiology observations. The aim of this study was to qualify and quantify the real bioaerosol concentrations found during bronchoscopy procedures in order to estimate the true occupational risk. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Infections / 05.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Louise Bruun Østergaard MD. Ph.D student Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Engineering and Science Aalborg University Department of Cardiology, Gentofte Hospital Hellerup MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia strikes people of all ages resulting in devastating consequence even in young and healthy individuals. Animal studies have shown that the susceptibility to Staphylococcus aureus differs among different genetic strains in mice, suggesting that genetic differences could influence the susceptibility to Staphylococcus aureus in other spices. As a first step in determining whether genetics influence risk of Staphylococcus aureus infections we aimed to study whether a family history of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia in first-degree relatives was associated with risk of the disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, NEJM, Vaccine Studies / 29.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Philip Bejon, Ph.D. Professor of Tropical Medicine, Director of the Wellcome-KEMRI-Oxford Collaborative Research Programme, Group Head / PI, Consultant Physician and Unit Director Kilifi, Kenya MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: According to the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates more than 400,000 people died from malaria in 2015, with over 90% of these deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. The vast majority who die are children under 5, and almost all cases are caused by the P. falciparum strain of malaria transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes. RTS,S, which protects only against P. falciparum, was developed by GlaxoSmithKline with support from the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) and with grant funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to MVI. In July 2015, it received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency. Earlier this year, the WHO recommended further evaluation of the four-dose regimen of RTS,S in a pilot implementation programme in sub-Saharan Africa, to address several knowledge gaps before the vaccine might be rolled out more widely. (more…)
Author Interviews, Beth Israel Deaconess, Nature, Vaccine Studies, Zika / 28.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dan Barouch, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard Director, Center for Virology and Vaccine Research Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We showed that two vaccines, a DNA vaccine and a purified inactivated virus vaccine, both provided complete protection against Zika virus challenge in mice. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of Zika vaccine protection in any animal model. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, JAMA, Primary Care / 28.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jochen Gensichen, MD, MSc, MPH Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine Konrad Reinhart, MD Center of Sepsis Control and Care Jena University Hospital Friedrich-Schiller-University School of Medicine Jena, Germany MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: Sepsis survivors face multiple long-term sequelae which result in increased primary care needs as a basic support in medication, physiotherapy or mental health. Process of care after discharge from the intensive care unit often is fragmented. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, Infections, Sexual Health, STD / 28.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Andrew Amato-Gauci MD Head of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Programme on HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections and viral hepatitis MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Our surveillance data (http://bit.ly/1sXdbVv) show that between 2008 and 2014, the overall rate of officially reported gonorrhoea infections has more than doubled across Europe, going up from 8 per 100 000 population to 20 cases per 100 000 persons. In total, 66 413 gonorrhoea cases were reported in 27 countries of the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) in 2014 – which constitutes an increase of 25% compared with 2013. The majority of gonorrhoea infections were diagnosed among young adults aged 15–24 years who accounted for 38% of cases; followed by the 25–34-year-olds (34%). For the first time since 2010, the number of cases among women was higher than the number of cases among heterosexual men. Given the risk of reproductive tract complications, e.g. pelvic inflammatory disease or, if untreated, infertility, as well as possible transmission from mother to child, this trend among women is of particular concern. (more…)
Author Interviews, NEJM, OBGYNE, University Texas, Zika / 26.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Abigail R.A. Aiken, MD, MPH, PhD Assistant Professor LBJ School of Public Affairs University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX, 78713 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: As Zika began to emerge as an epidemic in Latin America and its links with microcephaly began to be realized, we were aware that women in the region who were already pregnant or who would become pregnant would have a very limited set of reproductive options. Research and media attention about the possible biological effects of Zika in pregnancy began to appear rapidly. But much less attention was been paid to the impacts of Zika on women. We followed the responses of governments and health organizations and when they began to issue advisories warning women to avoid pregnancy, we knew it would be important to investigate the impacts of those advisories. A country-wide policy that is impossible to follow if you are pregnant or cannot avoid pregnancy is an unusual and important public issue. Accurate data on abortion are very difficult to obtain in Latin America because in most countries, abortion is highly restricted. We wanted to provide a window on the issue of how women were responding to the risks of Zika and its associated advisories, so we worked with Women on Web (WoW), an online non-profit telemedicine initiative that provides safe medical abortion to women in countries where safe, legal abortion is not universally available. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, Pharmacology, Urinary Tract Infections / 25.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amanda Paschke, MD Director, Infectious Disease Clinical Research Merck Research Laboratories MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Relebactam is an investigational beta-lactamase inhibitor being developed as a fixed-dose combination with imipenem/cilastatin, which is a broad-spectrum antibiotic in the carbapenem class. In preclinical studies, this combination demonstrated antibacterial activity against a broad range of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens, including those producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamases such as Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing Enterobacteriaceae and AmpC-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Many of the most concerning infections caused by “superbugs” are caused by Gram-negative bacteria. These bacteria have evolved to be resistant to commonly used antibacterials, and even to antibacterials used as “last resort” treatment, which is why finding ways to treat them has become urgent. The addition of relebactam to imipenem is designed to restore activity of imipenem against certain imipenem-resistant strains of Gram-negative bacteria known to cause serious infections among people who often have other underlying medical conditions, which complicates treatment. This was a Phase 2, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, non-inferiority study. The study looked at the use of relebactam plus imipenem versus imipenem alone for the treatment of adult patients with complicated urinary tract infections. The primary endpoint for the trial was microbiological response at the completion of IV study therapy. The study met its primary endpoint, demonstrating that the combination of relebactam with imipenem was as at least as effective as imipenem alone for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections. The trial also demonstrated that the combination of relebactam plus imipenem is well-tolerated, with a safety profile similar to that of imipenem alone in this patient. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dengue, Infections, Inflammation, Zika / 22.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Clive McKimmie PhD Research Fellow, Virus Host Interaction Team (VHIT), University of Leeds St James’ University Hospital Leeds UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: With the rapid spread of Zika in the Americas, attention has been drawn to this group of neglected mosquito-borne viral infections. The Zika virus is not alone in causing problems, others such as dengue and chikungunya viruses are infecting millions of people each year. Yet there’s little doctors can do to help people who get sick. When mosquitoes bite you they can transmit these disease causing viruses. We don’t understand what happens during the early stages of infection very well. However, it is known that the mosquito bite itself somehow helps the virus to infect your body. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Infections / 21.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jonathan L. Silverberg MD PhD MPH Assistant Professor in Dermatology Medical Social Sciences and Preventive Medicine Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Psoriasis is associated with a number of potential risk factors for developing serious infections, including impaired skin-barrier function, immune dysregulation, use of systemic immunosuppressant and biologic treatments. We hypothesized that adults with psoriasis have higher rates of serious infections. We examined data from the 2002-2012 National Inpatient Sample, which contains a representative 20% sample of all hospitalizations in the United States. We found that psoriasis was associated with multiple serious infections, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, cellulitis, herpes simplex virus infection, infectious arthritis, osteomyelitis, meningitis, encephalitis and tuberculosis. Rates of serious infections increased over all time. Significant predictors of serious infections in patients with psoriasis included non-white race, lower estimated income quartile, and Medicaid, Medicare, or self-pay insurance status. These findings suggest that poor access to adequate dermatologic care may be associated with higher rates of infections. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, HIV, Sexual Health, Technology / 15.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. James M. Smith Ph.D Laboratory Branch, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, Georgia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Dr. Smith: Our laboratory has been developing a macaque model for testing drug release, safety and efficacy of intravaginal rings (IVR) for preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV for several years. The initial studies involved both matrix rings, where the drug is dispersed in the silicone matrix of the device, and reservoir rings, which are essentially a polymer tube filled with drug. In collaboration with the Oak Crest Institute of Science and Auritec Pharmaceuticals, Inc., we began testing a new type of intravaginal ring, the pod-IVR. In this innovative design the ring itself is a scaffold that contains compressed polymer-coated drug tablets, or pods, within the ring. Each pod is separate, allowing for a customizable release rate for each drug by varying the number and diameter of the drug release ports for each individual pod. The macaque pod-IVR can accommodate up to six pods whereas the human pod-IVR can accommodate up to 10 pods. The IVR design was developed to allow the delivery of drug combinations and for simple, cost-effective manufacturing. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hematology, HIV, Stem Cells, Transplantation / 15.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joseph Alvarnas, MD Associate clinical professor Department of hematology and Director of value-based analytics City of Hope National Medical Center Duarte, CA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Dr. Alvarnas: Patients with HIV infection have a significantly increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma. Prior to the availability of effective anti-retroviral therapy, HIV-infected patients with lymphoma had very poor treatment outcomes. Following the availability of effective anti-HIV therapy, patient outcomes for HIV-infected patients now parallel those of non-infected patients. Historically, however, HIV infection has been used as a criterion for not offering patients autologous blood stem cell transplantation outside of centers with unique expertise. The purpose of this trial was to evaluate outcomes, complication rates, and immunological reconstitution of HIV-infected patients following autologous blood stem cell transplantation. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research, Infections, Technology, University of Pittsburgh / 13.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Donald S. Burke, M.D. Dean of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Director of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Burke: At the University of Pittsburgh we developed a unique method for detecting antibodies in the blood of patients in a proof-of-principle study that opens the door to development of simple diagnostic tests for diseases for which no microbial cause is known, including auto-immune diseases, cancers and other conditions. We used a technique pioneered by co-author Thomas Kodadek, Ph.D., of the Scripps Research Institute, that synthesizes random molecular shapes called “peptoids” hooked onto microscopic plastic beads. The technique can produce millions of molecular shapes. The peptoids are not organic, but if they match to the corresponding shape on an antibody, that antibody will connect to them, allowing the scientist to pull out that bead and examine that peptoid and its corresponding antibody. My team chemically generated a huge library of random molecular shapes. Then, using blood from HIV-infected patients and from non-infected people, we screened a million of these random molecular shapes to find the ones that bound only to antibodies present in the blood of HIV-infected patients, but not the healthy controls. No HIV proteins or structures were used to construct or select the peptoids, but the approach, nonetheless, successfully led to selection of the best molecular shapes to use in screening for HIV antibodies. We then resynthesized that HIV-antibody-targeting peptoid in mass and tested it by screening hundreds of samples from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS), a confidential research study of the natural history of treated and untreated HIV/AIDS in men who have sex with men (supported by the National Institutes of Health). Study co-author Charles Rinaldo, Ph.D., chair of Pitt Public Health’s Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology and director of the Pittsburgh arm of the MACS, selected the samples, but blinded the testers to which samples were HIV-positive or -negative. The test distinguished between the samples of HIV-positive blood and HIV-negative blood with a high degree of accuracy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections / 10.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jesper Smit, MD Department of Clinical Microbiology Aalborg University Hospital Aalborg, Denmark MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Smit: Use of glucocorticoids have been suggested to be associated with increased risk of blood infections by Staphylococcus aureus, but the existing evidence is sparse. Therefore, we conducted a large case-control study to investigate this topic in detail. We found that the risk of staphylococcal blood infections was more than doubled in users of systemic glucocorticoids compared with non-users and that the risk of infection escalated with increasing dose. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, Zika / 08.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andrea M. Bingham, PhD Vector-Borne Disease Surveillance Coordinator Florida Department of Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Bingham: Since its introduction to Brazil in 2015, Zika virus has spread throughout the Caribbean and South and Central America. We are constantly learning new things about Zika virus, including its potential for sexual transmission and its ability to cause certain birth defects such as microcephaly. Because many states, including Florida, have mosquito vectors that can potentially be infected with Zika virus, being able to identify infected people is important to ensure proper response and control measures are put in place to prevent local introductions. Improving testing capacity helps ensure that we have the ability to rapidly detect local Zika virus introductions if they occur. On the basis of previous small Zika fever case studies that reported positive testing of patient urine and/or saliva samples, the Florida Department of Health made the decision to collect multiple specimen types from persons with suspected acute travel-related Zika fever in order to determine the most sensitive and efficient testing algorithm. Testing performed at our state public health laboratories in Tampa and Jacksonville suggested that urine was the most useful specimen for identifying acute Zika fever infections. Zika virus real time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing conducted on urine and serum samples collected the same day from 66 travel-associated Zika fever patients, detected Zika virus in nearly twice as many urine samples (61) as serum samples (31). Viral RNA was also detectable in urine longer than in serum. Although a high percentage of saliva samples also tested positive, no additional cases were identified through saliva testing alone. Based on these results and those of the small case studies, CDC updated their guidance to include urine as a recommended specimen type for testing of patients with suspected acute Zika fever. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Infections, Surgical Research / 04.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Mary Forhan OT Reg (Alberta), PhD, Assistant Professor ad Dr. Tasuku Terada, post-doctoral research fellow Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine University of Alberta MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The prevalence of obesity has increased. Notably, a proportion of severe obesity (body mass index: body weight [kg] divided by height squared [m2]: >40kg/m2) has shown the most significant increase. Greater body mass increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and referrals for coronary artery graft surgery (CABG) have increased in patients with severe obesity. Interestingly, while obesity is often considered to increase the risk of complications and associated health care costs, many studies have reported better prognosis in patients with obesity compared to patients with normal weight, a phenomenon referred to as the obesity paradox. Therefore, it was not clear if patients with severe obesity were at higher risk of complications and contributed to greater resource use. A better understanding of the relationship between obesity and post-surgical adverse outcomes was needed to provide quality and efficient care. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hospital Acquired, NEJM, Urinary Tract Infections / 02.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sanjay Saint, MD, MPH Chief of Medicine VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System George Dock Professor of Internal Medicine & Senior Associate Chair - Department of Internal Medicine University of Michigan Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Saint: Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is a common, costly, and morbid complication of hospitalization. Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common device-related infections in the United States. CAUTI rates rose nationally between 2009 and 2013. We put in place a national program to reduce CAUTI. Specifically, we enrolled 926 intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU hospital units in 603 hospitals spread over 32 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico between March 2011 and November 2013. By the end of the 18-month program, UTI rates among hospital patients in general wards had dropped by a third. Specifically: • The rate of CAUTIs dropped from 2.40 per 1000 days of catheter use to 2.05 (a ~14 percent overall drop). • Nearly all of the decrease in CAUTI rates was due to changes in infection rates in non-ICUs, which went from 2.28 to 1.54 infections per 1,000 catheter-days – a drop of 32 percent. In non-ICUs, the overall use of catheters decreased by 7%. • ICUs didn’t see a substantial change in either CAUTI or catheter use, likely because the nature of patients treated in ICUs means more frequent urine output monitoring and culturing of urine, so UTIs are more likely to be spotted. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Infections, Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 01.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Markus Juonala, MD, PhD Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Parkville Victoria, Australia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Juonala: This is an epidemiological follow-up study investigating whether childhood infections and socieconomic status are associated with cardiovasular risk factor and early chances in vasculature. The main finding was that childhood infections were associated with obesity and impaired vascular function in adulthood among those individuals with low socioeconomic status. (more…)
Abuse and Neglect, Author Interviews, Heart Disease, HIV, JAMA / 31.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Steven Grinspoon, MD Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School MGH Endowed Chair in Neuroendocrinology and Metabolism Director, MGH Program in Nutritional Metabolism and Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard MGH Boston, MA 02114 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Grinspoon: Numerous epidemiologic studies have shown that people living with HIV face a 1.5 to 2-fold increased risk of heart attack, or myocardial infarction, as compared to individuals without the virus. Mechanisms underlying the increased risk of myocardial infarction in HIV are incompletely understood. It is possible that among people living with HIV, increased systemic immune activation fuels arterial inflammation. Arterial inflammation may, in turn, promote the development of high-risk morphology coronary atherosclerotic plaque, which is liable to rupture and result in myocardial infarction. For people diagnosed with HIV, the overall health benefits of immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART) are clear. However, the effects of newly-initiated antiretroviral therapy on arterial inflammation have not previously been studied. In this study, we set out to assess among a cohort of treatment-naive HIV-infected subjects, the effects of newly-initiated ART with a contemporary regimen on both immune function and arterial inflammation. We found that among treatment-naive HIV-infected individuals without clinical cardiovascular disease, newly initiated combined antiretroviral therapy has discordant effects to restore immune function without reducing the degree of arterial inflammation. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Infections, Microbiome / 28.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jennifer Mahony, PhD and  Prof Douwe Van Sinderen Dept of Microbiology University College Cork Cork, Ireland MedicalResearch.com Editor's note: Dr Jennifer Mahony & Prof Douwe van Sinderen, of the APC (Alimentary Pharmbiotic Center) Microbiome Institute, University College Cork, Ireland, have received a Grand Challenges Explorations Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study the microbiota (bacteria and viruses) of infants in developing countries. This study seeks to improve the gut health of infants which could potentially prevent/reduce the estimated 0.8 million infants who die annually in developing countries. Dr. Mahony & Prof. van Sinderen answered several questions about the upcoming study for the MedicalResearch.com audience. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly explain what is meant by a microbiome? Response: The World Health Organisation promotes exclusive breast-feeding in infants until they are at least 6 months old. Early weaning in developing countries where sanitary conditions may be poor may lead to the introduction of microorganisms such as Shigella, which can cause intestinal infections and in extreme cases may be fatal. 0.8 million infant deaths in developing countries could be avoided annually according to UNICEF if exclusive breast-feeding is continued to the sixth month of life. Our intestinal tracts naturally contain many bacteria, called our microbiota, and the composition of this microbiota may have implications for our health and well-being. Just in the same way that drinking a probiotic drink every day is reported to promote a healthy gut microbiota, we will investigate how bacterial viruses (that specifically infect bacteria and not humans!) can change the gut bacterial population. (more…)
Author Interviews, C. difficile, Probiotics / 24.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Nicole Shen New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical College MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Dr. Shen: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a persistent, healthcare associated infection with significant morbidity and mortality that costs the US billions of dollars annually. Prevention is imperative, particularly for patients at high risk for infection – hospitalized adults taking antibiotics. Trials have suggested probiotics may be useful in preventing CDI. We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis in this high-risk population, hospitalized adults receiving antibiotics, to evaluate the current evidence for probiotic use for prevention of CDI. (more…)