Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, JAMA, UC Davis / 25.03.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Charles DeCarli, MD, FAAN, FAHA Victor and Genevieve Orsi Chair in Alzheimer's Research Distinguished Professor of Neurology Director, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and Imaging of Dementia and Aging (IDeA) Laboratory Department of Neurology and Center for Neuroscience University of California at Davis Sacramento, CA  95817   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The overall health of the U.S. population has improved dramatically over the last 100 years, Individuals are also living longer resulting in an increasing percentage of the population at risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).  Recent data from the Framingham Heart study, however, finds that dementia incidence may be declining.  While many factors such as greater educational achievement and medical management of vascular risk factors may explain part of this effect, early life environmental differences also likely contribute. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Smoking, Tobacco, Tobacco Research, UC Davis / 05.08.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: John Pierce, PhD Professor Emeritus Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Moores Cancer Center Director for Population Sciences Co-leader of the Cancer Prevention program UC San Diego MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Graphic Warning Labels are to be implemented in the US in July 2022, depending on litigation. This will be about 10 years after they were first proposed.  Meanwhile, 120 other countries have implemented them already. The FDA states that their purpose for the warnings is to provide a constant reminder to smokers about the health consequences of smoking, not to force them to quit. In our study, 3 months of having cigarettes repackaged into graphic warning packs was associated with smokers thinking more about quitting and not getting as much pleasure out of their cigarettes.  However, thinking about quitting is only the first step to conquering a nicotine addiction. (more…)
ASCO, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Leukemia, UC Davis / 28.05.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brian A. Jonas, M.D., Ph.D. UC Davis Health System MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? At this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and European Hematology Association (EHA) virtual meetings, we presented data on the rapidity and likelihood of response to venetoclax treatments, and its associated characteristics, in older patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We evaluated data from two clinical trials of venetoclax in combination with azacitidine, or decitabine (M14-358), or low-dose cytarabine (LDAC) (M14-387) in this patient population. (more…)
Author Interviews, Education, Gender Differences, Neurology, UC Davis / 27.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Allison Brashear, M.D., M.B.A. Dean, UC Davis School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Why is the demand for neurology services and neurologists increasing?  Response: The American Academy of Neurology estimates that by 2025 the number of neurologists in practice will increase to 18,060 but some 3,400 more will be needed to meet the demand for their services. The 58% increase in the number of residency positions in the National Resident Matching Program since 2008 also reflects the growing demand. The higher prevalence of neurologic conditions, aging U.S. population and more patients having access to the health care coverage are the major driving forces. (Note: source of NRMP neurology trend data comes from a physician/resident forum posted May 2019 https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/growth-trends-in-neurology-residency-positions.1375918/) MedicalResearch.com: Why is neurology included among the less desirable fields of medicine (similar to nephrology, infectious disease, endocrinology etc.) for medical students and residents to pursue?  Why is burnout and dissatisfaction so high? Response: According to the American Academy of Neurology, a minority of medical students choose to train in neurology each year, with approximately 3.1% matching into a neurology residency in 2018. The newer generations of neurologists value lifestyle and time off work more than their predecessors. According to a recent American Medical Association survey, neurology tied with critical care as the medical specialty with the highest stress levels and burnout. Too many administrative tasks, too many hours at work, increased computerization of practice and insufficient compensation were among the top causes of burnout. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Health Care Systems, Hepatitis - Liver Disease, UC Davis / 04.12.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Barbara J Turner MD, MSED, MA, MACP Senior Advisor, Gehr Family Center for Health Systems Science Professor of Clinical Medicine Keck School of Medicine, USC  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection affects millions of persons in the United States but especially minorities and persons from low income communities. Current national guidelines recommend testing all baby boomers (born 1945 – 65) for HCV with the aim of ultimately curing those with chronic HCV infection with a short course of highly effective medication.  However implementation of these guidelines faces many hurdles in “safety net” practices serving vulnerable populations. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Geriatrics, Lancet, Nutrition, UC Davis, Weight Research / 15.01.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Valter Longo, PhD Edna M. Jones Professor of Gerontology Professor of Biological Sciences Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Director of the USC Longevity Institute USC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The use of a low calorie diet that mimics fasting for 4 days twice a month starting at middle age can extend lifespan and rejuvenate mice. In humans a similar diet once a month causes improvements in cholesterol, blood pressure , inflammation, fasting glucose etc consistent with rejuvenation (more…)
ADHD, Author Interviews, Autism, JAMA, Pediatrics, UC Davis / 10.12.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Meghan Miller, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences UC Davis MIND Institute Sacramento, CA 95817 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study evaluated within-diagnosis sibling recurrence and sibling cross-aggregation of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder among later-born siblings of diagnosed children. We specifically chose to include only families who had at least one subsequent child after the diagnosis of an older child because failing to do so could bias recurrence risk estimates. We found that, compared to later-born siblings of non-diagnosed children, later-born siblings of children with autism were more likely to be diagnosed with autism or with ADHD. Likewise, compared to later-born siblings of non-diagnosed children, later-born siblings of children with ADHD were more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD or with autism. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Blood Clots, Emergency Care, Kaiser Permanente, Pulmonary Disease, UC Davis / 13.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: David R. Vinson, MD Department of Emergency Medicine Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Medical Center Sacramento, CA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: At least one-third of emergency department (ED) patients with acute blood clots in the lung, or pulmonary embolism (PE), are eligible for expedited discharged to home, either directly from the ED or after a short (<24 hour) period of observation. Yet in in most hospitals in the U.S. and around the world nearly all ED patients with acute PE are hospitalized. These unnecessary hospitalizations are a poor use of health care resources, tie up inpatient beds, and expose patients to the cost, inconvenience, and risk of inpatient care. The better-performing medical centers have two characteristics in common: they help their physicians identify which PE patients are candidates for outpatient care and they facilitate timely post-discharge follow-up. At Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC), we have had the follow-up system in place for some time, but didn’t have a way to help our physicians sort out which patients with acute PE would benefit from home management. To correct this, we designed a secure, web-based clinical decision support system that was integrated with the electronic health record. When activated, it presented to the emergency physician the validated PE Severity Index, which uses patient demographics, vital signs, examination findings, and past medical history to classify patients into different risk strata, correlated with eligibility for home care. To make use of the PE Severity Index easier and more streamlined for the physician, the tool drew in information from the patient’s comprehensive medical records to accurately auto-populate the PE Severity Index. The tool then calculated for the physician the patient’s risk score and estimated 30-day mortality, and also offered a site-of-care recommendation, for example, “outpatient management is often possible.” The tool also reminded the physician of relative contraindications to outpatient management. At the time, only 10 EDs in KPNC had an on-site physician researcher, who for this study served as physician educator, study promotor, and enrollment auditor to provide physician-specific feedback. These 10 EDs functioned as the intervention sites, while the other 11 EDs within KPNC served as concurrent controls. Our primary outcome was the percentage of eligible ED patients with acute PE who had an expedited discharge to home, as defined above. During the 16-month study period (8-month pre-intervention and 8-months post-intervention), we cared for 1,703 eligible ED patients with acute PE. Adjusted home discharge increased at intervention sites from 17% to 28%, a greater than 60% relative increase. There were no changes in home discharge observed at the control sites (about 15% throughout the 16-month study). The increase in home discharge was not associated with an increase in short-term return visits or major complications.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Memory, Technology, UC Davis / 31.01.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Halle Dimsdale-Zucker University of California, Davis Center for Neuroscience | Ph.D. Candidate Dynamic Memory Lab MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study sought to test competing models for how different types of retrieved contextual information (spatial, episodic - which is spatial AND temporal information) are supported by the hippocampus and its subfields. We only found differences between the subfields when people were spontaneously reactivating episodic, but not spatial information. This is surprising because a dominant view of the hippocampus is that it is specialized to represent spatial information. What this suggests is that when there is more than just spatial information that can be remembered that the hippocampus is able to flexibly represent whatever information is most task-relevant for remembering and distinguishing items from one another. Intriguingly, we found that different subfields represented shared episodic contextual information and item-unique contextual information. This highlights that our memories need to both link together common features of related events while retaining the event-specific details. (more…)
Author Interviews, Psychological Science, UC Davis / 19.10.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Karen L. Bales PhD Professor of Psychology University of California Davis, CA 95616 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:  Titi monkeys are a socially monogamous species in which adults form pair bonds.  In my laboratory we are studying the neurobiology of pair bonding, and understanding jealousy is important because it's one mechanism by which the pair bond is maintained.  In this study, male titi monkeys viewed their pair mate next to a stranger male, and we examined the neural, behavioral, and hormonal consequences.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, Environmental Risks, OBGYNE, Toxin Research, UC Davis / 12.09.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rebecca J. Schmidt, M.S., Ph.D.  Assistant Professor, Public Health Sciences UC Davis California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Maternal folic acid taken near conception has been linked to reduced risk for autism in the child in previous studies. Separate studies show that exposure to pesticides during pregnancy is associated with increased risk for autism. Animal studies demonstrate that folic acid and other B-vitamins can attenuate effects of certain environmental contaminants, including pesticides. This case-control study examined combined maternal folic acid and pesticide exposures in relation to autism in the child. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, JAMA, Ophthalmology, UC Davis / 30.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jeffrey R. Willis MD, PhD UC Davis Eye Center University of California, Davis Sacramento California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States.  Yet there is limited national level data on the impact of worsening DR on quality of life and visual function. Our study aimed to address this knowledge gap by evaluating the functional burden of DR across severity levels, utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We found that one-half of US adults with severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) or proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) had difficulty with ≥ 1 visual function task, possibly impacting their daily work/activities.  These patients reported a significantly greater vision-related functional burden relative to those with less severe forms of DR. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cannabis, JAMA, Pediatrics, UC Davis / 02.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Magdalena Cerda, DrPH, MPH Vice Chancellor's Chair in Violence Prevention Associate Director, Violence Prevention Research Program UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The potential effect of legalizing marijuana for recreational use has been a topic of considerable debate since Washington and Colorado first legalized its use for adults in 2012. Alaska, Oregon and Washington, D.C., followed suit in 2014, and voters in California, Massachusetts and Nevada approved recreational use this past November. In our study, we examined changes in perceived risk of marijuana use, and in use of marijuana among school-attending adolescents, in Washington and Colorado, following legalization of recreational marijuana use, and compared pre- to post-legalization changes in these two states to changes in the 45 contiguous US states that had not legalized recreational marijuana use. Marijuana use significantly increased and its perceived harm decreased among eighth- and 10th-graders in Washington state following enactment of recreational marijuana laws. There was no change in use or perceived harm among 12th graders or among similar grades in Colorado. In particular, the data showed that legalization of recreational marijuana use significantly reduced perceptions of marijuana’s harmfulness by 14 percent and 16 percent among eighth and 10th graders and increased their past-month marijuana use by 2 percent and 4 percent in Washington state but not in Colorado. Among states without legalized marijuana use, the perceived harmfulness also decreased by 5 percent and 7 percent for students in the two grades, but marijuana use decreased by 1.3 percent and .9 percent. Among older adolescents in Washington state and all adolescents surveyed in Colorado, there were no changes in perceived harmfulness or marijuana use in the month after legalization. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, JAMA, Mammograms, UC Davis / 21.10.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Diana L. Miglioretti, PhD Dean's Professor in Biostatistics Department of Public Health Sciences UC Davis School of Medicine Davis, CA  95616 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Miglioretti: Screening mammography intervals remain under debate in the United States. The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends biennial (every other year) screening, whereas other organizations recommend annual screening. To help inform their updated screening guidelines, the American Cancer Society guideline development group requested that the US Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium conduct a study comparing cancer outcomes among women screened annually vs. biennially. Prior studies conducted by the consortium used wide intervals for defining annual and biennial mammograms. We wanted to evaluate cancer outcomes for women who more closely adhere to screening intervals. Our goal was to determine if women diagnosed with cancer following biennial screening have tumors with less favorable prognostic characteristics compared to women diagnosed after annual screening. We evaluated outcomes separately by age and by menopausal status because evidence suggests that younger women and premenopausal women may have more aggressive tumors and thus may benefit from more frequent screening. We found from this study that premenopausal women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer following biennial versus annual screening mammography were more likely to have tumors with less-favorable prognostic characteristics (e.g., later stage, larger size). For example, women with an invasive breast cancer diagnosed after a biennial screen had a 28% increased risk of a stage IIB or higher tumor, a 21% increased risk of being diagnosed with a tumor >15 mm, and an 11% higher risk of being diagnosed with a tumor with any less-favorable prognostic characteristic compared women diagnosed with breast cancer following an annual mammogram. In contrast, we found postmenopausal women not using hormone therapy and women 50 years of age or older had similar proportions of tumors with less-favorable prognostic characteristics regardless of screening interval. Relative risk estimates were close to one with no significant differences between biennial and annual screeners. Among postmenopausal women using hormone therapy at the time of the mammogram and women age 40-49, results were less clear. Relative risk estimates for biennial versus annual screeners were consistently above one, but were not as large as for premenopausal women and were not statistically significant. (more…)
Author Interviews, C. difficile, JAMA, UC Davis / 08.09.2015

Christopher R. Polage, M. D. Associate Professor of Pathology and Infectious Diseases University of California, Davis School of Medicine Medical Director, Microbiology Laboratory and SARC UC Davis Health System MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christopher R. Polage, M. D. Associate Professor of Pathology and Infectious Diseases University of California, Davis School of Medicine Medical Director, Microbiology Laboratory and SARC UC Davis Health System   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Polage: Clostridium difficile is a frequent cause of diarrhea and infection in U.S. hospitals but common diagnostic tests often disagree about which patients are infected or need treatment. We compared clinical symptoms and outcomes in hospitalized patients with different C. difficile test results to determine which type of test (molecular or PCR test versus toxin test) was the better predictor of need for treatment and disease. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Polage: Twice as many patients were positive by the molecular test versus the conventional toxin test. However, patients with a positive molecular test only had a shorter duration of symptoms than patients with toxins, and outcomes that were similar to patients withoutC. difficile by all test methods. Virtually all traditional complications of C. difficile infection occurred in patients with a positive toxin test; none occurred in patients with a positive molecular test only, despite little or no treatment. (more…)
Author Interviews, HIV, PLoS, UC Davis / 31.07.2015

Dr. Satya Dandekar PhD Professor and Chair Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology UC DavisMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Satya Dandekar PhD Professor and Chair Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology UC Davis Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Dandekar: Current anti-retroviral therapy is effective in suppressing HIV replication and enhancing immune functions in HIV infected individuals. However, it fails to eradicate the latent HIV reservoirs. Therapy interruption leads to a rapid viral rebound in these patients.  Eradication of latent HIV reservoirs is essential to achieve HIV cure. A “shock and kill” strategy for HIV cure has been proposed that involves reactivation of latent viral reservoirs using latency reversal agents (LRA) and eradication by the immune response. This highlights the need to identify potent LRAs to optimally activate latent HIV reservoirs so that immune surveillance and clearance mechanisms can be effectively engaged in the process of viral eradication. We have found that ingenol-3-angelate (PEP005), an anti-cancer drug can effectively reactivate latent HIV. It is a protein kinase C agonist that activates NF-kB and stimulates HIV expression. In combination with another compound, JQ1, a previously known p-TEFb agonist, the efficacy of PEP005 for HIV reactivation is markedly increased. In addition, ingenol-3-angelate decreases the expression of HIV co-receptors on immune cells, which potentially will help preventing further spread of the virus. The use of ingenol-3-angelate in combination with other latency reversal agents provides an excellent opportunity to optimally activate latent HIV reservoirs and target them for eradication. (more…)
Author Interviews, Probiotics, UC Davis / 20.07.2015

Maria L Marco, PhD Associate Professor Department of Food Science & Technology Davis, CA 95616MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Maria L Marco, PhD Associate Professor Department of Food Science & Technology Davis, CA  95616 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Marco: Probiotics encompass certain strains of bacteria and yeast that when administered alive and in sufficient amounts can confer specific health benefits. Probiotics are increasingly added to foods, beverages, and intestinal supplements for delivery to the digestive tract. (Fermented) dairy products are currently the most popular food carriers for probiotic strains in clinical studies and commercial products. Although microorganisms generally respond quickly and adapt to their surrounding environments (e.g. in foods), the importance of the carrier format on probiotic function in vivo has yet to be systematically and mechanistically investigated. To address this need, we performed a couple studies in rodents to (i) examine whether probiotic Lactobacillus casei produces different proteins during low temperature (refrigeration) incubation in milk and (ii) measure whether incubation in milk is required for L. casei protection against inflammation. We found by shot-gun proteomics that L. casei does adapt for growth and survival in milk by producing a variety of (extra)cellular proteins, even at low-temperatures used to store dairy products prior to consumption. Such exposure of L. casei to milk was also essential for reducing the severity of disease in a mouse model of Ulcerative Colitis (UC), an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by continuous inflammation in the large intestine. Consuming milk alone also provided some protection against weight loss and intestinal inflammation in the Ulcerative Colitis mouse model but was not as effective as L. casei and milk in combination. Lastly, the importance of dairy for L. casei in preventing Ulcerative Colitis was confirmed by our findings that L. casei mutants lacking the capacity to synthesize proteins which are selectively produced during low-temperature incubation in milk were also impaired in preventing inflammatory responses in the intestine. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, End of Life Care, Surgical Research, UC Davis / 04.05.2015

Robert J Canter MD Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery Division of Surgical Oncology University of California at DavisMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Robert J Canter MD Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery Division of Surgical Oncology University of California at Davis Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Canter: Our data suggest that surgeons are improving in their ability to select patients for surgical intervention in cancer patients near their end of life. Our research suggests that surgeons may be operating on healthier patients who are anticipated to have a better recover from a palliative operation. These are patients who can perform activities of daily living without assistance, for example. Our interest in the appropriate surgical care of people with late-stage cancer grew from observing terminally ill patients whose acute problems were addressed through surgery, and who then suffered complications resulting in lengthy stays in intensive care units, and even in death. Unfortunately, it is quite common that this group of disseminated malignancy patients end up dying in the intensive care unit instead of being managed with less invasive interventions with hopes of returning home with their families, including with hospice care. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, JAMA, OBGYNE, UC Davis / 05.02.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Eleanor B. Schwarz, M.D., M.S University of California, Davis Sacramento, CA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Schwarz: The background for this study is that… Women treated with Isotretinoin receive a lot of scary information about this medication’s risk of causing birth defects, but few receive clear information on the most effective ways to protect themselves from undesired pregnancy and the risks of medication-induced birth defects. Our main finding is that women who spent less than a minute reviewing a simple information sheet were significantly more likely to be aware that some contraceptives are considerably more effective than others. MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report? Dr. Schwarz: Clinicians who prescribe medications that can cause birth defects should make sure their patients are aware of the fact that women using a birth control pill are typically twenty times more likely to experience a contraceptive failure than those using a subdermal contraceptive implant (e.g. Nexplanon) or intrauterine contraceptive (e.g. Mirena, ParaGard). (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, JAMA, OBGYNE, UC Davis / 10.12.2014

Cheryl K. Walker, MD Associate Professor Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty, The MIND Institute School of Medicine, University of California, Davis MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Cheryl K. Walker, MD Associate Professor Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty, The MIND Institute School of Medicine, University of California, Davis Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Walker: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurobehavioral condition identified in 1 in 68 U.S. children and is part of a broader group of developmental disabilities that affects 1 in 6 children.  Growing evidence suggests that Autism spectrum disorder and developmental delay originate during fetal life.  Preeclampsia is a complicated and frequently dangerous pregnancy condition that appears to arise from a shallow placental connection and may increase the risk of abnormal neurodevelopment through several pathways. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Walker: Children with Autism spectrum disorder were more than twice as likely to have been exposed to preeclampsia compared with children with typical development.  Risk for ASD was increased further in children born to mothers with more severe presentations of preeclampsia.  Mothers of children with developmental delay were more than 5 times more likely to have had severe forms preeclampsia – often with evidence of reduced placental function – compared with mothers of children with typical development. (more…)
Author Interviews, Multiple Sclerosis, Sleep Disorders, UC Davis / 14.09.2014

Steven D. Brass, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A. PI and Lead Author on the study Director of Neurology Sleep Clinical Program Co-Medical Director of Sleep Medicine Laboratory Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Neurology UC Davis Health System 4860 Y Street — Suite 3700 Sacramento, CA 95817 MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Steven D. Brass, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A. PI and Lead Author on the study Director of Neurology Sleep Clinical Program Co-Medical Director of Sleep Medicine Laboratory Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Neurology UC Davis Health System 4860 Y Street — Suite 3700 Sacramento, CA 95817 Medical Research: What was the primary finding of your study? Dr. Brass : Among the 11,400 surveys mailed out to all members of the Northern California Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 2,810 (24.6%) were returned. Of these, 2,375 (84.5%) met the inclusion criteria. Among the completed surveys, 898 (37.8%) screened positive for obstructive sleep apnea, 746 (31.6%) for moderate to severe insomnia, and 866 (36.8%) for restless legs syndrome.  In contrast, only 4%, 11%, and 12% of the cohort reported being diagnosed by a health care provider with obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, and restless legs syndrome, respectively. Excessive daytime sleepiness was noted in 30% of respondents based on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. More than 60% of the respondents reported an abnormal level of fatigue based on the Fatigue Severity Scale.  There was also an increased risk between complaints of Fatigue based on screening positive for the Fatigue Severity Scale  and screening positive for Obstructive Sleep Apnea  (1.850, with a 95% p-value < 0.001). (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, JAMA, UC Davis / 28.08.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gayatri Patel, MD, MPH Division of General Medicine UC Davis Medical CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gayatri Patel, MD, MPH Division of General Medicine UC Davis Medical Center Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Patel: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we sought to determine the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the treatment of actinic keratoses relative to other common treatments. We included only randomized controlled trials and preformed a meta-analysis on homogenous studies. The primary finding of the study was that PDT has a better chance of removing actinic keratoses on the face or scalp than treatment with cryotherapy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Education, JAMA, Surgical Research, UC Davis / 23.07.2014

  Erin Brown, MD General Surgery PGY6 UC Davis Medical CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Erin Brown, MD General Surgery PGY6 UC Davis Medical Center Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Brown: This study sought to determine with childrearing during training put residents at increased risk of quiting.  We looked at both male and female surgical residents who chose to have children during residency and found that residents having children during training were not more likely to quit than those who did not have children.  We also found that there childrearing had no negative impact on surgical training based on total surgical case numbers, board pass rates, and annual exam scores.  Main findings of the study were that neither female gender nor childrearing during training were associated with residents quitting. (more…)