Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Gastrointestinal Disease, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Technology / 18.11.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Giovanni Traverso MD PhD Karl Van Tassel (1925) Career Development Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering Koch Institute of Integrative Cancer Research Division of Gastroenterology Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: I think its always important to acknowledge that this is a big team effort.  We have the teams from MIT, Celero Systems, West Virgnia University (WVU) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) all working together on this.   For this study, Celero prototyped the devices that we tested in pre-clinical (Swine) models and in a first-in-human study with the team at WVU. Our lab focuses on the development of ingestible devices for drug delivery and sensing and these have informed the development of these efforts as you can see. MedicalResearch.com: What types of vital signs are measurable in this fashion? Response: Heart rate and respiratory rate. (more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews, Dermatology, University of Michigan / 16.11.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Charles Schuler, MD Assistant Professor Allergy and Clinical Immunology & Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Center University of Michigan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that may include a skin rash, nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing, and shock. Food anaphylaxis sends 200,000 people to the emergency room annually in the United States. Oral food challenges are when a patient ingests increasing doses up to a full serving of the suspected food allergen under supervision of a medical provider, usually an allergist. These oral food challenges are the diagnostic standard for food allergy/anaphylaxis as skin and blood allergy tests have high false positive rates. Although a highly accurate test, patients often experience anaphylaxis during oral food challenges necessitating an epinephrine injection. (more…)
Alcohol, Author Interviews, Stanford / 13.11.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Timothy C. Durazzo, PhD Clinical Neuropsychologist and Research Scientist Mental Illness Research and Education Clinical Centers VA Palo Alto Health Care System Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Stanford University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? -There are a limited number of studies investigating changes in human brain structure, in individuals with an alcohol use disorder, with longer term abstinence after treatment. -Our study was the first to assess for change in cortical thickness over approximately 7 months of abstinence in those seeking treatment of alcohol use disorder. -Cortical thickness in humans is genetically and phenotypically distinct from other brain structural measures such as cortical volume and surface area. -Therefore, assessment of changes in cortical thickness with longer-term abstinence provides additional information on how human brain structure recovers with sobriety. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Genetic Research, JAMA, Stanford / 07.11.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael E. Belloy, PhD Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences Stanford University, Stanford, California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Apolipoprotein E (APOE)*2 and APOE*4 are, respectively, the strongest protective and risk-increasing, genetic variants for late-onset Alzheimer disease. As such, one’s APOE genotype is highly relevant towards clinical trial design and Alzheimer’s disease research. However, most insights so far are focused on the associations of these APOE genotypes with Alzheimer’s disease risk in non-Hispanic white individuals. One important aspect of our work is that we really increased sample sizes for non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and East Asian individuals, so that we now have better understanding of the associations of APOE genotypes with Alzheimer’s disease risk in these groups. In complement, we also did the largest investigation to date on the role of ancestry on the associations of APOE genotypes with Alzheimer’s disease risk. The scale of our study was thus a critical factor in generating novel insights. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, JAMA, McGill, Mental Health Research / 06.11.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Niki Hosseini-Kamkar PhD Postdoc, McGill University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Our primary question was: Do adults with a history of childhood trauma have altered brain responses to psychological challenges? Previous evidence indicated that this can occur in laboratory animals, but it has been unclear whether it occurs in humans. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, Lung Cancer, NIH, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Stanford / 01.11.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Summer S Han, PhD Associate Professor Quantitative Sciences Unit Stanford Center for Biomedical Informatics Research (BMIR) Department of Neurosurgery and Department of Medicine Department of Epidemiology & Population Health (by Courtesy) Stanford University School of Medicine Dr. Eunji Choi PhD Instructor, Neurosurgery Department: Adult Neurosurgery Stanford University School of Medicine   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
  • Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, killing about 127,000 people annually, but it can be treatable if detected early.
  • Low-dose computed tomography, or CT scan, has been shown to significantly reduce the number of lung cancer deaths. But because the radiation delivered by the scans can be harmful (they use on average about 10 times the radiation of standard X-rays), only those people at relatively high risk for lung cancer should be screened. The two biggest risk factors for lung cancer are exposure to tobacco smoke and age. Current national guidelines that rely on age and smoking exposure to recommend people for lung cancer screening are disproportionally failing minority populations including African Americans, according to a new study led by researchers at Stanford Medicine.
  • In 2021, the national guidelines by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued revised recommendation guidelines on lung cancer screening, lowering the start age from 55-year to 50-year and the smoking pack-year criterion from 30 to 20, compared to the 2013 USPSTF criteria. In comparison to the 2013 criteria, the new modifications have been shown to lessen racial disparities in screening eligibility between African Americans and Whites. However, potential disparities across other major racial groups in the U.S., such as Latinos, remains poorly examined.
  • Meanwhile, risk prediction model assesses a person’s risk score of developing an illness, such as lung cancer.
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Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Baylor College of Medicine Houston / 22.10.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: David B. Corry, M.D. Professor of Pathology & Immunology and Medicine Vice Chair for Immunology Department of Pathology & Immunology Biology of Inflammation Center Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center   Clarence and Irene H. Fulbright Chair in Pathology Baylor College of Medicine Michael E. Debakey VA Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Can candida species cross the blood brain barrier? Response: We showed earlier (2019) that the common fungus Candida albicans can enter the brain from the blood. That earlier study was in turn inspired by the finding of another research group that had found Candida in the brains of persons suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementing illnesses. (more…)
Author Interviews, Emory, Infections, JAMA, MRSA / 10.10.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. John Jernigan, MD MS Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases Emory University School of Medicine Branch Chief Epidemiology, Research and Innovations Branch CDC Center for Disease Control MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Staphylococcus aureus commonly causes infections in ICUs. One approach to preventing these infections is using nasal mupirocin plus chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) bathing for ICU patients. This practice is known to prevent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections and all-cause. bloodstream infections.  This practice has been broadly adopted in ICUs in the US, but adoption of mupirocin as a universal topical antibiotic has been slowed by concerns for engendering mupirocin resistance. This cluster-randomized trial in adult ICUs was conducted to assess whether universal nasal antiseptic povidone-iodine (iodophor), to which minimal S. aureus resistance is expected, was an acceptable alternative to universal nasal mupirocin for reducing S. aureus and MRSA clinical cultures in the setting of daily CHG bathing. Those who received chlorhexidine (CHG) bathing with mupirocin had an 18% reduction in risk of Staphylococcus aureus clinical cultures and a 15% reduction in risk of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) clinical cultures compared to patients who received CHG bathing with intranasal iodophor.  These results show that using mupirocin for nasal decolonization may be preferred over iodophor because it is more effective at preventing S. aureus infections. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, ADHD, Author Interviews, Columbia, JAMA / 04.10.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Guohua Li, MD, DrPH Finster Professor of Epidemiology and Anesthesiology Columbia University Irving Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? How was the ADHD diagnosis determined? Response: The reported prevalence of ADHD in children and young adults in the United States has more than doubled since the 1990s because of improved diagnosis.  Currently, ADHD affects about 13 percent of children under 18 years of age and eight percent of adults under 45 years of age.  Little is known about the prevalence of ADHD in older adults although it is estimated that ADHD symptoms may persist throughout the lifespan in about one-third of children diagnosed with the disorder.  Diagnostic criteria for adulthood ADHD include having five or more relevant symptoms, adverse impact on social, academic, and occupational activities,  and onset of symptoms before age 12. In this study, ADHD status is determined based on an affirmative response to the question of whether the participant had ever had ADHD or had ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that he or she had ADHD. (more…)
Author Interviews, Neurological Disorders, Science, UCLA / 29.09.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael Sofroniew, MD, PhD Professor UCLA School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? How did this study differ from your previous work on this topic? Response: After spinal cord injuries, nerve fibers that are damaged do not spontaneously regrow across injury sites. In previous studies, our group of collaborators identified a combination of interventions that could stimulate damaged nerve fibers to regrow for short distances across injuries, but we found that in spite of this short distance regrowth there was no recovery of functions. The present study examined what type of regrowth might be necessary to re-establish functions. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Education, Karolinski Institute / 15.09.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lotfi Khemiri Centre for Psychiatry Research Stockholm, SwedenLotfi Khemiri Centre for Psychiatry Research Stockholm, Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Our study used large-scale national register data in close to 2 million children, and found that parental abuse of both alcohol and drugs are associated with increased risk of intellectual disability in the offspring. Importantly, the risk increase was observed in both mothers and fathers which to the best of our knowledge is a novel finding, and may be explained by both genetic and environmental factors including toxic effects of substance intake on fetal development. (more…)

Author Interviews, Gender Differences, JAMA, Surgical Research, Vanderbilt / 30.08.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christopher Wallis, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Urology Department of Surgery University of Toronto and Urologic Oncologist Mount Sinai Hospital   MedicalResearch.com:  Could you give a little context - what was the question you were looking at?
  • We have been studying how the primary treating surgeons sociocultural characteristics impact the recovery of patients they are looking after.
  • Specifically, we have been studying the effect of surgeon sex on outcomes such as death, complications and readmission after common and complex surgeries. These are outcomes that are important to patients and the health system.
  • Previously, we showed that patients with a female surgeon had better short term (30 day) outcomes than similar patients having surgery with a man. This study asked the question of whether the sex of a patient’s surgeon affects patients’ longer term outcomes at 90 days and 1 year, after surgery.
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Author Interviews, Columbia, Gender Differences, JAMA, OBGYNE, Surgical Research / 24.08.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jason D. Wright, MD, FACOG, FACS Sol Goldman Associate Professor Chief, Division of Gynecologic Oncology Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons New York, New York 10032 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There is growing recognition that gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is safe and that the procedures are associated with favorable long term outcomes. Prior work has explored the use of inpatient procedures and shown that the rates of GAS have risen, but there is little contemporaneous data to examine more recent inpatient and outpatient use of GAS. This is particularly important as changes in insurance regulations may have increased access for these procedures. We examined temporal trends in performance of inpatient and outpatient GAS and examined age-specific trends in the types of procedures performed over time. (more…)
Author Interviews, Education, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Yale / 01.08.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mytien Nguyen, MS Department of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine New Haven, Connecticut MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Physician-scientists are critical for innovative translational research. Combined MD-PhD training programs are essential for developing physician-scientists. Although racial and ethnic diversity of MD-PhD matriculants has increased over the past decade, little is known about how attrition rates differ by race and ethnicity. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Endocrinology, Fertility, Lancet, OBGYNE / 25.07.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Raymond M. Anchan, MD, Ph.D. Director, Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Research Laboratory Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School Obstetrics/Gynecology Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery Brigham and Women's Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: As a reproductive endocrinologist, I have the privilege of caring for patients who unfortunately experience premature ovarian insufficiency- Some of these patients are as young as 17 yo. Additionally, a significant number of patients over the years have been reproductive age women who have breast cancer and ovarian failure from chemotherapy.  These patients have been my inspiration to try to find a treatment for them.  Since my earlier days as a neurobiologist and stem cell scientist, it was a natural course for me to seek cell-based therapies that are patient specific using autologous iPSCs. (more…)
Author Interviews, Mental Health Research, Microbiome, Nature, OBGYNE, UCLA / 25.07.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Bridget Callaghan Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Psychology UCLA Dr. Callahan studies interactions between mental and physical health across development.   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: A growing body of evidence links the gut microbiome to brain and immune functioning, and changes to that community of microorganisms is likely among the ways that hardship affects children’s socioemotional development. Limited evidence in humans has demonstrated the adversities experienced prenatally and during early life influence the composition of the gut microbiome, but no studies had examined whether stress experienced in a mother's own childhood could influence the microbiome of the next generation of children. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Kidney Disease, UCSF / 21.07.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:   Chi-yuan Hsu, MD, MSc (he/him/his) Professor and Division Chief Robert W. Schrier Distinguished Professor Division of Nephrology University of California, San Francisco     MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Acute kidney injury (AKI) had previously been considered a reversible short-term medical problem among hospitalized patients without long-term sequalae in that there is recovery of kidney function back to baseline should the patient survive the hospitalization. Then about 15 years ago, the concept began to shift as research by us and others showed that for patients with severe AKI (e.g. AKI severe enough to require acute dialysis in the hospital), there was more rapid subsequent loss of renal function.  Now based largely on additional observational studies in humans (and animal models), many nephrologists and opinion leaders think that even mild to moderate cases of AKI have long-term sequelae.  We are concerned that the paradigm has swung too much in the opposite direction and we questioned the results of many published studies which did not fully account for differences in background kidney function among those who did and did not experience AKI. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Emergency Care, Health Care Systems, Johns Hopkins / 19.07.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: David E. Newman-Toker, MD PhD (he/him) Professor of Neurology, Ophthalmology, & Otolaryngology David Robinson Professor of Vestibular Neurology Director, Division of Neuro-Visual & Vestibular Disorders Director, Armstrong Institute Center for Diagnostic Excellence Johns Hopkins Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Diagnostic errors are believed to be a major public health issue, but valid, quantitative estimates of harm are lacking. In 2015, the National Academy of Medicine stated in their report Improving Diagnosis in Healthcare that improving diagnosis was a “moral, professional, and public health imperative” yet also noted that “the available research [is] not adequate to extrapolate a specific estimate or range of the incidence of diagnostic errors in clinical practice today.” We sought a scientifically robust answer to the question of how many patients in the US suffer serious harms as a result of medical misdiagnosis. (more…)
Anesthesiology, Author Interviews, Cannabis, JAMA, Opiods, Surgical Research, University Texas / 10.07.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Paul Potnuru, MD Assistant Professor Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine The John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Medical School The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston UTHealth MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The use of cannabis is on the rise in the United States, as it becomes increasingly legally accepted and is viewed as harmless. Furthermore, the potency of cannabis is steadily increasing over time. There is some evidence from previous studies that compared to non-users, cannabis users require more anesthetics, have higher pain after surgery that requires more opioids, and have an increased risk of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Given this context of increased usage and potential risks during surgery, we conducted a study to examine the impact of cannabis use on patients undergoing surgery. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, JAMA, Mental Health Research, NYU, USPSTF / 27.06.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gbenga Ogedegbe, MD, MPH Dr. Adolph & Margaret Berger Professor of Population Health Director, Division of Health & Behavior Director Center for Healthful Behavior Change Department of Population Health NYU Langone Health NYU School of Medicine Member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Depression and anxiety disorders are common mental health conditions affecting the lives of many adults in the U.S. The Task Force cares deeply about the health of people nationwide, so we reviewed the latest evidence on how best to support the mental health of adults in primary care. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response:  The evidence shows us that all adults should be screened for depression and those under 65 should also be screened for anxiety. These recommendations apply to everyone without signs or symptoms of depression or anxiety. We also strongly encourage anyone who has signs of depression or anxiety to talk with their clinician so that they can get the care they need. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Diabetes, Endocrinology / 26.06.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Bita Zahedi MD MA Endocrinologist Massachusetts General Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a measure of dietary advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) to investigate the role of dietary AGEs in diabetic disease processes.  AGEs are a group of highly reactive compounds involved in the pathophysiology of diabetic complications, such as microvascular disease, cardiomyopathy, and possibly bone health. AGEs form through a nonenzymatic reaction between reducing sugars and free amino groups of proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, also known as a Maillard or browning reaction. Endogenous AGE formation and accumulation is a normal part of metabolism and aging, however the process of glycation can be enhanced by hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and increased oxidative stress. Additionally, AGEs can be absorbed from exogenous sources via consumption of various food items. Prior studies demonstrate that skin AGEs are predictive of Dietary AGEs (dAGEs) which are naturally present in certain uncooked foods, mainly animal-derived products, furthermore the method of food preparation can result in significant AGE formation. Considering the ubiquitous intake of dAGEs, it is possible that the consumption of exogenous AGEs contribute to AGE-induced oxidative stress, inflammation, and its subsequent detrimental sequalae. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Diabetes, Ophthalmology / 16.06.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ali Hafezi-Moghadam, Ph.D., M.D Director, Molecular Biomarkers Nano-Imaging Laboratory (MBNI) Associate Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School Brigham and Women’s Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: “It is very easy to answer many fundamental biological questions” said Richard Feynman in his 1959 address, where he also offered his simple and ingenious solution: “you just look at the thing!”[1]. As a biologist, I am familiar with the challenges surrounding looking at things in the context of life. There is no single device or technology that lets me simply see the answers to my questions. How does diabetes harm the tissues in the body? When exactly does the pathology start and which molecules and cells are involved? Trying to answer these questions, I have spent the past two decades innovating new ways of quantifying expression of molecules in the living organism [2]. At the same time to study diabetes, we needed a realistic rodent model that mirrors the human disease. In collaboration with KC Hayes[3], we first introduced the Nile grass rat (NGR, Arvicanthis niloticus), a gerbil that recapitulates the main features of the human type 2 diabetes [4]. For visualization of early changes, the eye offers a unique site. Much of my lab’s work focused on the first effects of diabetes in the retina, the site of the neurons that perceive light in the back of the eye [5], [6], [7]. In recent studies, we focused on how diabetes affects the lens in the eye of our animals [8], [9]. Diabetes is a major risk factor for cataract formation, a condition during which the lens loses its original transparency to visible light. How diabetic cataracts are formed is not well understood. A popular and prevailing theory, termed “sugar cataracts”, has been around for over half a century. According to the sugar hypothesis of cataracts, the excess levels of the sugar molecule, glucose, in the lens are transformed through the polyol pathway into the sugar-alcohol sorbitol. The resulting osmotic dysbalance leads to swelling of the fiber cells and opacity of the lens. Even though the sugar hypothesis has never been proven, it was generally accepted and remained unchallenged for a very long time. That is where our latest experimental results became relevant. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Nature, Prostate Cancer, UCSF / 12.06.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rebecca E. Graff, ScD Assistant Professor University of California, San Francisco Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics Mission Hall: Global Health & Clinical Sciences Building San Francisco, CA 94158 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: PSA screening for prostate cancer has long been controversial. While it does seem to reduce mortality attributable to prostate cancer, it also results in the diagnosis of many cancers that never otherwise would have presented symptomatically. In addition, PSA levels are affected by factors other than prostate tumors (e.g., age, prostatic inflammation, and genetics), such that men with high PSA values are often referred for biopsy but do not end up having cancer. We hypothesized that accounting for the genetic component of PSA could yield adjusted values that better distinguish who should get a prostate biopsy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Columbia, Rheumatology / 06.06.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: W. Benjamin Nowell PhD Director of Patient-Centered Research at Global Healthy Living Foundation Columbia University in the City of New York New York, New York MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Given that lab tests are an important part of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) diagnosis and monitoring, people living with the condition want and need to understand their lab results –also known as blood work – for patient-centered shared decision making about treatment. The presentation titled, “Patient Perceptions of Rheumatoid Arthritis Blood Work and Utility of a Test Predicting Response to New Medication: A Cross-sectional Survey in the ArthritisPower,” presented at the 76th EULAR European Congress of Rheumatology (June 2, 2023 in Milan, Italy) includes results from a recent ArthritisPower survey (n=405) that asked patients to share their perceptions about RA bloodwork, reasons their doctor orders these tests, and how results are used. (more…)
ASCO, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Stanford / 06.06.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Allison W. Kurian, M.D., M.Sc. Professor of Medicine and of Epidemiology and Population Health Associate Chief, Division of Oncology Co-Leader, Population Sciences Program, Stanford Cancer Institute Director, Women’s Clinical Cancer Genetics Program Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford, CA 94305-5405 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What types of cancers were in the study? Response: Genetic testing for cancer risk is increasingly important after a cancer diagnosis, to inform use of targeted therapies, secondary cancer prevention approaches and cascade genetic testing of family members. However, very little is known about how genetic testing is used after a cancer diagnosis at the population level. We leveraged a very large population-based data resource, the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) cancer registries of the states of California and Georgia, and linked data from these registries to clinical genetic testing results provided by the four major laboratories that provide such testing. We used this linked registry-genetic testing dataset to study adults (age >=20 years) diagnosed with all types of cancer in the states of Georgia and California from 2013-2019. (more…)
ASCO, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Lung Cancer, University of Pennsylvania / 05.06.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lova L. Sun, MD, MSCE Medical Oncology Assistant Professor of Medicine Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: An common clinical question for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with long-term response to immunotherapy-based treatment is how long to continue treatment. The major clinical trials stopped immunotherapy at a maximum of 2 years, but in clinical practice many patients and clinicians continue treatment beyond this time point. We conducted a retrospective study of lung cancer patients across the US with long-term response to immunotherapy, to compare survival between those who stopped treatment at 2 years vs those who continued beyond 2 years. We found that there was no statistically significant difference in survival between the two groups. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Biomarkers, University of Pittsburgh / 31.05.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Bruna Bellaver PhD Postdoctoral associate Department of Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh Tharick Pascoal, MD, Ph.D. Neurologist and assistant professor of Neurology and Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition is considered one of the markers of Alzheimer’s disease pathology in the brain. The sequential order of this cascade includes the development of tau pathology and consequent cognitive decline. However, many people with Aβ deposition in the brain do not progress in the disease, suggesting that other biological processes are playing a role in these pathological events. In vitro evidence suggests that reactive astrocytes unleash Aβ effects in pathological tau phosphorylation. We found that, in cognitively healthy individuals, Aβ is associated with tau pathology only in individuals with increased astrocyte reactivity. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, UCLA / 20.05.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Julia Cave Arbanas Project Manager and     John N. Mafi, MD, MPH Associate Professor of Medicine General Internal Medicine & Health Services Research David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLAJohn N. Mafi, MD, MPH Associate Professor of Medicine General Internal Medicine & Health Services Research David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What is lecanemab used for and how well does it work? Response: Lecanemab is a treatment for mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia that was approved in January 2023 as part of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) accelerated approval program. The results from a recent phase 3 clinical trial show a modest clinical benefit: the rate of cognitive decline by 27% in an 18-month study involving participants experiencing the early stage of Alzheimer’s, with an 0.45-point absolute difference in cognitive testing scores. However, due to the risk of brain swelling and bleeding (also known as amyloid-related imaging abnormalities), treatment with lecanemab involves frequent MRIs and neurology or geriatrics appointments to monitor for these abnormalities, which can be life threatening. So far, three patient deaths have potentially been tied to lecanemab. It is likely that the FDA will grant is lecanemab traditional approval later this year, prompting Medicare to reconsider its current coverage restrictions and potentially enabling widespread use. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, JAMA, NYU, USPSTF / 09.05.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gbenga Ogedegbe, MD, MPH Dr. Adolph & Margaret Berger Professor of Population Health Director, Division of Health & Behavior Director Center for Healthful Behavior Change Department of Population Health NYU Langone Health NYU School of Medicine Member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection that is spread through the air from one person to another and usually affects the lungs. It’s a significant public health concern in the U.S. People can be infected with TB bacteria but not have any symptoms or be contagious, which is known as a latent TB infection or LTBI. If LTBI is left untreated, it can progress to active TB, which can cause serious health problems and become contagious. (more…)
Author Interviews, Health Care Systems, JAMA, Technology, UCSD / 01.05.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Zechariah Zhu, B.S. Affiliate Scientist with the Qualcomm Institute at UC San Diego and study co-author First author: John W. Ayers, PhD, MA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In today’s day and age (especially after the COVID-19 pandemic), an increasing number of people are turning to virtual options for healthcare. Most notably, there was a 1.6-fold increase in electronic patient messages, which significantly increased the burden on physicians, with a record-high proportion of physicians (62%) reporting burnout symptoms. On the other hand, we also see the rise of AI technologies like ChatGPT—an AI chatbot assistant that has taken the world by storm recently with its ability to provide lengthy response essays to many questions it is asked. Our objective for this study, then, was to evaluate the ability of ChatGPT to provide quality and empathetic responses to patient questions. (more…)