Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Nursing, Occupational Health / 07.01.2015

Eva Schernhammer, MD, DrPH Associate Professor of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Associate Professor of Epidemiology Harvard School of Public Health Channing Division of Network MedicineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eva Schernhammer, MD, DrPH Associate Professor of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Associate Professor of Epidemiology Harvard School of Public Health Channing Division of Network Medicine Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Prof. Schernhammer: The study is an observational cohort study of over 70,000 registered nurses from within the US who reported the total number of years they had worked rotating night work and were followed for several decades. We examined overall mortality in these women, and observed significantly higher overall mortality, as well as higher mortality from cardiovascular disease in women with several years of rotating night shift work, compared to nurses who had never worked night shifts. There was also some suggestion for modest and non-significant increases in mortality from a few cancers. The study is unique due to its size, the fact that all participants were nurses (eliminating potential biases arising from differing occupational exposures), the long follow-up, and the possibility to take into account most known risk factors for chronic diseases that we currently know of (all of this information has been collected regularly and repeatedly).  (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, JAMA, Nutrition / 05.01.2015

Qi Sun, MD ScD Assistant Professor of Medicine Channing Division of Network Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Qi Sun, MD ScD Assistant Professor of Medicine Channing Division of Network Medicine Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition Harvard School of Public Health Boston, MA 02115 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Sun: While we know whole grains are beneficial for reducing the risk of some major chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, evidence regarding whether whole grains are also able to lower mortality is sparse. We therefore want to answer this important research question in the current analysis. Using data collected from two prospective cohort studies consisted of more than 100 thousand US men and women, we found that whole grain intake was significantly associated with lower total mortality and lower cardiovascular mortality, but not cancer mortality. For every serving (28 grams) of whole grain intake per day, the total mortality is reduced by 5% and cardiovascular mortality by 9%. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Diabetes, JAMA / 02.01.2015

Seth A. Berkowitz, MD, MPH Division of General Internal Medicine Massachusetts General Hospital, BostonMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Seth A. Berkowitz, MD, MPH Division of General Internal Medicine Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Berkowitz: Prior studies had looked the association between single unmet basic material needs and diabetes control, but hadn't necessarily looked at multiple things people may not be able to afford, which more closely mirrors real-life. Also, prior studies had been done in a 'pre-Affordable Care Act' setting, while, by being in Massachusetts, our study was conducted in a setting of near-universal healthcare coverage that is similar to what the rest of the US is moving towards. We found that difficulties meeting basic material needs, such as difficulties affording food, known as food insecurity, and having financial barriers to taking medications, called cost-related medication underuse, are associated with worse diabetes control and increased use of costly health services in diabetes patients, despite near-universal health insurance coverage (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Exercise - Fitness, Weight Research / 26.12.2014

Rania Mekary, MS, Ph.D. Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Department Boston, Ma 02115MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rania Mekary, MS, Ph.D. Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Department Boston, Ma 02115   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Mekar: Findings on weight training and waist circumference (WC) change have been controversial.  Moreover, a lot of people focus on aerobic and only aerobic workout... They are not to be blamed because aerobic workout (e.g. jogging) relies mostly on fat as a source of energy while anaerobic workout (e.g. resistance) relies mostly on carbohydrates. Our study, however, showed that resistance training over the long-term was the most inversely associated with waistline change (aka abdominal fat), even more than aerobic exercise. We also justified physiologically why it is the case... It has to do with the greater Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) as compared with aerobic training and also to the muscle adaptation and its increase in mitochondria which leads to more lipid oxidation upon engaging in anaerobic workout over the long-term. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Psychological Science, Surgical Research / 20.12.2014

Brian I. Labow, MD Director, Adolescent Breast Clinic Assistant in Surgery Assistant Professor of Surgery Harvard Medical School PrimaryMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brian I. Labow, MD Director, Adolescent Breast Clinic Assistant in Surgery Assistant Professor of Surgery Harvard Medical School Primary   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Labow:  This study is part of our larger Adolescent Breast Disorder Study, in which we examine the impact of several breast disorders on adolescent girls and boys and measure the effect of treatment. In this present study we have found breast asymmetry, defined as having at least 1 cup size difference between breasts, can have a significant impact on the psychological wellbeing of adolescent girls.  Validated surveys were given to adolescent girls with breast asymmetry, macromastia (enlarged breasts), and healthy unaffected girls between the ages of 12-21 to assess a wide array of health domains. Girls with breast asymmetry had noted deficits in psychological wellbeing and self-esteem when compared to healthy girls of the same age.  These impairments were similar to those of girls with macromastia, a condition known to have significant negative mental health effects. Interestingly, these negative psychological outcomes did not vary by patient’s age or severity of breast asymmetry. Older and younger adolescents were negatively impacted similarly, as were those with lesser and greater degrees of breast asymmetry. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, PLoS / 19.12.2014

Daniel Irimia, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor Division of Surgery, Science & Bioengineering Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School Associate Director, BioMEMS Resource Center Boston, MA 02129MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Daniel Irimia, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor Division of Surgery, Science & Bioengineering Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School Associate Director, BioMEMS Resource Center Boston, MA 02129 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Sepsis is affecting more than half of the patients with major burn injuries (20 percent of body surface) and is the leading cause of death among these patients.  Sepsis is also a significant complication for other critically ill patients. More than one million Americans are affected and it has been estimated that approximately 30% of these people die, despite significant advances in life support and antibiotics.  Early diagnosis is essential, and it has been calculated that every 6 hours of delay in a sepsis diagnosis decreases the chances of survival by 10 percent. We have found that the motility of the white blood cells called neutrophils, inside a microfluidic device, is significantly altered two to three days before sepsis develops. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, BMJ, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Mediterranean Diet / 05.12.2014

Immaculata De Vivo PhD Associate Professor Harvard Medical School Director, Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center High Throughput Genotyping Core Facility. Channing Division of Network Medicine Boston, MA 02115MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Immaculata De Vivo PhD Associate Professor Harvard Medical School Director, Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center High Throughput Genotyping Core Facility. Channing Division of Network Medicine Boston, MA 02115 MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. De Vivo: Our study found that greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with longer telomeres. Following a diet closer to the Mediterranean diet, can prevent accelerated telomere shortening. Our unique contribution to the literature is that we provide a potential molecular mechanism, preventing telomere shortening. Telomeres are bits of DNA that protect your chromosomes. MedicalResearch: Is telomere shortening reversible? Dr. De Vivo: Telomere shortening is a biological process, the shorten with age. However, lifestyle choices can help to prevent accelerated shortening. Fruits, vegetables, olive oil and nuts – key components of the Mediterranean diet have well known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that could balance out the “bad effects” of smoking and obesity. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMC, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Diabetes, Nutrition / 27.11.2014

Prof. Frank B Hu Department of Nutrition Department of Epidemiology Harvard School of Public HealthMedicalresearch.com with: Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology Harvard School of Public Health Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Hu: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) affects approximately 26 million people in the United States and 366 million people worldwide, and thus primary prevention of T2D has become a public health imperative. The relation between consumption of different types of dairy and risk of type 2 diabetes remains uncertain.  (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, OBGYNE / 24.11.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Karin B. Michels, ScD, PhD Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology Harvard Medical School Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Michels: We were interested in studying the long-term effects of oral contraceptive use on mortality. Given the widespread use of oral contraceptives, this is an important question pertaining to millions of women worldwide.  We explored this question in the large Nurses’ Health Study, a cohort of 121,700 women in the US, who have been followed for 38 years. We found that oral contraceptive use does not impact overall mortality. However, breast cancer mortality was slightly increased, especially with long-term use of oral contraceptives. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Diabetes, Nutrition / 23.11.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Wenjie Ma MS Doctoral Student Harvard School of Public Health Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: De novo lipogenesis (DNL) is the process whereby excess carbohydrate and protein are converted into saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs). Emerging animal and in vitro evidence suggests that DNL might play an important role in metabolic regulation and influence the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. We used circulating biomarkers SFAs and MUFAs to investigate the prospective associations with incident diabetes in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a community-based cohort of older US adults. We found that circulating palmitic acid and stearic acid were associated with higher risk of incident diabetes, whereas vaccenic acid was associated with lower risk. In contrast, dietary intakes of saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids were not associated with diabetes risk. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Karolinski Institute, Nutrition / 10.11.2014

Susanne Rautiainen, PhD From the Department of Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Divisions of Preventive Medicine Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Susanne Rautiainen, PhD From the Department of Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Divisions of Preventive Medicine  Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Rautiainen: Multivitamins are the most commonly used dietary supplement in the US and other developed countries and it has been shown that many take them with the goal of maintaining or improving their health. Multivitamins typically provide low-doses of essential vitamins and minerals to prevent deficiency. Yet many people who take multivitamins are not deficient. Despite the widespread use, limited number of studies have investigated how multivitamins are associated with major chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease. We therefore examined how self-reported multivitamin use was associated with both short- and long-term risk of cardiovascular diseases in the Women’s Health Study which is a prospective cohort of 37,193 women aged ≥45 years and free of CVD and cancer at baseline. In this study of middle-aged and elderly women who were apparently healthy at baseline and followed for an average of 16.2 years, we observed that multivitamin use was not associated with neither short- nor long-term risk risk of major CVD events, including MI, stroke, or CVD death. Moreover, there was no significant association observed for women who had taken multivitamins for ≥10 years at baseline. There were some important indications that the association between multivitamin use and long-term risk of major CVD events may be modified by age and fruit and vegetable intake, suggesting that women who were older and had low fruit and vegetable intake may benefit more from multivitamin supplement use. However, these results should be interpreted with caution. Moreover, relying on self-reports of multivitamin use may be subject to misclassification, plus other unmeasured factors may have biased the results despite our best effort to account for everything. (more…)
Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Infections, Surgical Research / 11.10.2014

Michael S. Calderwood, MD MPH Department of Population Medicine Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute Boston, MAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael S. Calderwood, MD MPH Division of Infectious Diseases Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston, MA Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Calderwood: "In our study, we found that the risk of surgical site infection (SSI) following total hip arthroplasty and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is higher for Medicare patients undergoing surgery in U.S. hospitals with lower surgical volume. This suggests that volume leads to experience, and experience leads to improved outcomes." "We found a significantly higher risk of surgical site infection in U.S. hospitals performing <100 total hip arthroplasty procedures and <50 CABG procedures per year on Medicare patients. In the lowest volume hospitals, 1 out of 3 infections following total hip arthroplasty and 1 out of 4 infections following CABG were in excess of expected outcomes based on experience in the highest volume hospitals." (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Nature / 15.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: MichDr. Michael Super, Ph.D.ael Super M.Sc., PhD Senior Staff Scientist Advanced Technology Team Wyss Institute at Harvard Center for Life Science, 2nd Floor Boston MA 02115 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? How big a problem is sepsis? Dr. Super:
  • Sepsis is a major problem and is the primary cause of death from infection. The incidence of sepsis is rising.
  • Sepsis affects more than 18 M people each year and at least 1/3 ( 6 million) die every year of sepsis.
  • Sepsis is a disease that affects the very young and old and it is estimated that 60-80% of childhood deaths in the developing world are due to sepsis.
(more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard / 28.08.2014

Christopher D. Anderson, MD, MMSc Neurocritical Care | Acute Stroke Center for Human Genetic Research Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School Broad Institute of Harvard and MITMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christopher D. Anderson, MD, MMSc Neurocritical Care | Acute Stroke Center for Human Genetic Research Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Anderson: Previous studies have linked Apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon variants with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) particularly in the lobar (cortical and subcortical) regions of the brain, but it was not known whether this association would extend to warfarin-related ICH, or whether the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage on warfarin would be multiplicatively compounded by APOE epsilon allele status.  Our results demonstrate that APOE e2 and e4 variants are associated with more than a two-fold risk of lobar ICH for patients on warfarin, in comparison to warfarin-exposed individuals without ICH.  This observed association was strongest when analyzing subjects with definite or probable Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA), as defined by the Boston Criteria.  No association between APOE e2 or e4 and non-lobar ICH was identified following our replication phase.  Furthermore, we did not detect an interaction between APOE status and warfarin status in ICH subjects using a case-only design. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Compliance, Kidney Disease, Primary Care / 20.08.2014

Mallika L. Mendu, M.D. Division of Renal Medicine Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, MA 02115.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mallika L. Mendu, M.D. Division of Renal Medicine Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, MA 02115. Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Mendu: Our study found that implementation of a chronic kidney disease (CKD) checklist, a tool that succinctly and clearly outlines CKD management guidelines, in a primary care clinic improved adherence to a number of significant management guidelines. We conducted a prospective study during a one year period among 13 primary care providers, four of whom were assigned to use a CKD checklist incorporated into the electronic medical record during visits with patients with CKD. Patients whose providers utilized a CKD checklist had higher rates of adherence to annual albuminuria testing, parathyroid hormone testing, phosphate testing, achieving a hemoglobin A1c target<7, documentation of avoidance of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, use of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin-receptor blocker and vaccination for annual influenza and 5-year pneumococcus. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Rheumatology, Weight Research / 01.08.2014

Dr. Bing Lu, M.D., Dr.P.H. Division of Rheumatology Immunology & Allergy Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Bing Lu, M.D., Dr.P.H. Division of Rheumatology Immunology & Allergy Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lu: In two large cohorts of women, we observed that being obese increased the risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women by 40–70% depending on age and serologic status. The highest risk for rheumatoid arthritis was among women who were overweight or obese at age 18 years, emphasizing the public health importance of combating the obesity epidemic at all ages. Our study implicates being overweight or obese throughout adult life as a risk factor in the development of seropositive and seronegative RA for women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age 55 years or younger. The attenuated association between BMI and rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed at older ages may reflect differences in the pathophysiology of RA diagnosed at earlier ages compared with that diagnosed at older ages, or may be a result of the limitations of BMI as a measure of total fat mass as women age. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, HIV, JAMA, Weight Research / 21.07.2014

Steven Grinspoon, MD Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Director, MGH Program in Nutritional Metabolism Co-Director, Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA 02114MedicalResearch.com Interview with Steven Grinspoon, MD Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Director, MGH Program in Nutritional Metabolism Co-Director, Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA 02114 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Grinspoon: The primary finding is that tesamorelin, a hypothalamic peptide that increases the endogenous pulsatile secretion of growth hormone, reduced liver fat in HIV-infected patients with increased visceral (abdominal) fat.  Increased visceral fat is very closely linked with increased liver fat in HIV patients, but the effects on liver fat were not known.  Our data show that tesamorelin reduces liver fat in conjunction with decreasing visceral fat, which may be clinically important for patients with HIV-infection who have both increased abdominal fat and fatty liver disease. In addition the study demonstrated that this treatment strategy was neutral to glucose by the end of the 6 month study. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Nutrition, Vitamin C / 14.07.2014

MedicalResearch Interview with: Dr. Lu Wang MD PhD Associate Epidemiologist, Brigham and Women's Hospital Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Medicine Preventive Medicine Boston, MA 02115 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Wang: We found that vitamin E supplement 400 IU every other day and vitamin C supplement 500 mg daily had no effect on total cancers, the incidence of prostate cancer and other site-specific cancers during periods of intervention, post-trial observation, or overall. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Breast Cancer, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Nutrition / 11.06.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with Dr. Maryam Farvid MSc, Ph.D. Takemi fellow, and Associate ArofessorMedicalResearch.com Interview with Dr. Maryam Farvid MSc, Ph.D. Takemi fellow, and Associate Arofessor Senior author: Prof Walter Willett Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Farvid: Compared to women who had one serving per week red meat, those who consumed 1.5 serving per day red meat had a 22 percent higher risk of breast cancer. Red meat intake is associated with breast cancer risk in a dose-response manner. Each additional serving/day increase in total red meat was associated with a 13% increase in risk of breast cancer. Furthermore, each additional serving/day of poultry was associated with a 25% lower risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Substituting one serving/day of legumes for one serving/day of red meat was associated with a 15% lower risk of breast cancer, substituting one serving/day of poultry for one serving/day of red meat was associated with a 17% lower risk of breast cancer overall, and substituting one serving/day of combined legumes, nuts, poultry, and fish for one serving/day of red meat was associated with a 14% lower risk of breast cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Calcium, Heart Disease / 13.05.2014

Dr. Julie Paik, MD MPH Instructor, Harvard Medical School Brigham and Women's Massachusetts GeneralMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Julie Paik, MD MPH MSc Instructor, Harvard Medical School Brigham and Women's Hospital MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Paik: Many women in the United States take calcium supplements. One study found that over 60% of women aged 60 and over in the United States were taking calcium supplements. However, the medical community is still not certain of the effects of calcium supplements in women, particularly on cardiovascular disease risk. For this reason, we studied 74,245 women participating in the Nurses' Health Study over a 24-year follow-up period for their risk of developing cardiovascular disease (heart disease or stroke). We found that there was no increased risk of heart disease or stroke among women taking calcium supplements during the 24-year follow-up period. Our paper has several distinct strengths compared to prior studies including the large sample size, long follow-up period, cases of cardiovascular disease that were confirmed by medical record review, detailed and repeated assessment of calcium supplement use, and detailed information about other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Genetic Research, Medical Research Centers, Nutrition, Weight Research / 19.03.2014

Prof. Lu Qi, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition Harvard School of Public Health and Channing Division of Network Medicine Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Lu Qi, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition Harvard School of Public Health and Channing Division of Network Medicine Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lu Qi: In this study, we for the first time provide reproducible evidence from three large cohort studies to show that the association between regular consumption of fried foods and higher BMI was particularly pronounced among people with a greater genetic predisposition to obesity. On the other hand, the adverse genetic effects on BMI were also amplified by consuming more fried foods, the effects among those who ate fried foods more than four times a week was about twice as large compared with those who ate them less than once a week. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cancer Research, Medical Research Centers, Outcomes & Safety / 18.03.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Atul Shinagare MD Department of Radiology and Center for Evidence-Based Imaging, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St, Boston, MA 02115Dr. Atul Shinagare MD Department of Radiology and Center for Evidence-Based Imaging, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St, Boston, MA 02115 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We evaluated 100 randomly selected patients from a cohort of 1771 patients evaluated for asymptomatic hematuria in 2004 at our institution in order to assess physician adherence to the 2001 American Urological Association (AUA) guidelines for evaluating patients and its impact on the diagnosis of urologic cancer. We found that most (64%) patients were not evaluated according to the guidelines, that there was substantial variation in the evaluation, and that the evaluation depended largely on the type of hematuria and physician specialty. Only 5% of patients were found to have urologic cancer, and all of them were evaluated according to the guidelines. No additional urologic cancers were diagnosed in patients in whom guidelines were not followed; however, since not all patients were tested thoroughly, occult malignancies may have been present. (more…)
Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Duke, Medical Research Centers, Stroke, UCLA / 18.02.2014

Gregg C Fonarow, UCLA Medical Ctr, Los Angeles, CA; Director, Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center Professor, Department of Medicine Associate Chief, Cardiology David Geffen School of MedicineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gregg C Fonarow, UCLA Medical Ctr, Los Angeles, CA; Director, Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center Professor, Department of Medicine Associate Chief, Cardiology David Geffen School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Fonarow: The study examined data from hospitals that have adopted the American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association’s national quality initiative, Target: Stroke. The primary aim of Target: Stroke is to increase the number of stroke patients treated with tPA for acute ischemic stroke within 60 minutes or less after hospital arrival. The study demonstrated that patients received stroke therapy significantly faster in hospitals that participated in Target: Stroke. Between 2010 and 2013, the time between hospital arrival and use of tPA (door-to-needle time) dropped by 15 minutes, from 74 to 59 minutes, in hospitals that participated in Target: Stroke. This study found that the percentage of patients treated within the recommended timeframe increased from less than one-third before Target: Stroke to more than half afterwards. The Target: Stroke program goal of 50 percent or more of patients having door-to-needle times within 60 minutes was successfully achieved. Faster treatment was associated with improved patient outcomes and fewer complications, including death. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Health Care Systems, JAMA, Medical Research Centers, Outcomes & Safety / 17.01.2014

Elliot Wakeam MD Center for Surgery and Public Health Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston MA 02115MedicalResearch.com Interview with Elliot Wakeam MD Center for Surgery and Public Health Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston MA 02115 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Wakeam: Our study examined failure to rescue (FTR), or death after postoperative complications, in safety net hospitals. Prior work has shown that hospital clinical resources can improve rescue rates, however, despite having higher levels of technology and other clinical resources that should lead to better rates of patient rescue, safety net hospitals still had greater rates of death after major complications. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Hospital Readmissions, Medical Research Centers / 31.12.2013

Dr. Jacques Donzé MD PhD Research Associate Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USADivision of General Internal Medicine, Bern University Hospital, 3010 Bern, SwitzerlandMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jacques Donzé MD PhD Research Associate Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Donzé: In a large retrospective cohort study, we identified the primary diagnoses of 30-day potentially avoidable readmissions in medical patients according to the most common comorbidities. Interestingly, almost all of the top five diagnoses of potentially avoidable readmissions for each comorbidity were possible direct or indirect complications of that comorbidity. Patients with cancer, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease had a significantly higher risk of potentially avoidable readmission than those without those comorbidities. Also, when readmitted, patients with chronic kidney disease had a 20% higher risk of having the readmission be potentially avoidable. (more…)
Antioxidants, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Medical Research Centers, Nature, Nutrition, Pancreatic / 23.11.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: dr_ying_baoYing Bao, MD, ScD Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston, MA. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Bao: Frequent nut consumption is inversely associated with risk of pancreatic cancer in women, independent of other potential risk factors for pancreatic cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Hearing Loss, Medical Research Centers, Vitamin D, Weight Research / 22.10.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sharon Curhan, MD, ScM Channing Division of Network Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Curhan: The main findings of our study are that higher body mass index and larger waist circumference are associated with an increased risk of acquired hearing loss, and higher level of physical activity is associated with a decreased risk of acquired hearing loss in women. Specifically, after adjusting for potential confounders, compared with women with BMI <25 kg/m2, the relative risk for hearing loss was 25% higher for women with BMI >40. Compared with women with waist circumference <71 cm, the relative risk for hearing loss was 27% higher for women with waist circumference >88 cm. Higher physical activity was inversely related to risk; compared with women in the lowest quintile of physical activity, women in the highest quintile of physical activity had a 17% lower risk of hearing loss. Walking, the most common form of physical activity among these women, was associated with a lower risk; women who walked 2 hours per week or more had a 15% lower risk of hearing loss than women who walked less than one hour per week. These findings provide evidence that maintaining healthy weight and staying physically active, potentially modifiable lifestyle factors, may help reduce the risk of hearing loss. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, JAMA, Kidney Disease, Medical Research Centers / 05.09.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gearoid M. McMahon, MB, BCh Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts Framingham Heart Study, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and Center for Population Studies, Framingham, Massachusetts MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: This study examined the incidence, causes and outcomes of rhabdomyolysis in two large University Teaching hospitals. Rhabdomyolysis is a characterized by an increase in serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and results from muscle damage from a variety of causes. The most important complication of rhabdomyolysis is acute kidney injury which can result in a need for dialysis. Using a series of laboratory and clinical variables that are readily available on admission, we constructed a risk score that can predict with some accuracy the likelihood that a patient with rhabdomyolysis might die or need dialysis during an admission. The final variables included in the model were age, gender, the cause of rhabdomyolysis and the admission CPK, creatinine, phosphate, bicarbonate and calcium. One of the advantages of this study was, because we had access to data from two institutions, we were able to derive the risk score in one hospital and confirm its accuracy in the second institution. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Medical Research Centers, PLoS, Social Issues / 05.09.2013

Bert Uchino PhD Department of Psychology and Health Psychology Program University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UtahMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Bert Uchino PhD Department of Psychology and Health Psychology Program University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Uchino: The main findings from our paper is that independent of one’s own social network quality, the quality of a spouse’s social network was related to daily life ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) levels.  More specifically, the more supportive (positive) ties, and the less aversive (negative) or ambivalent (both positive and negative) ties in a spouse’s social network, the lower was one’s own  ABP.  In addition, looking at the social networks of couples as a whole showed that couples who combined had more supportive ties and less aversive or ambivalent ties showed lower ABP. (more…)