University of Pennsylvania

07 Jun

Posted at 12:01h in Author Interviews, Sleep Disorders, University of Pennsylvania
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Frederick M. Brown, Ph.D. Associate Professor The Pennsylvania State University Department of Psychology, Cognitive and Wellness Director, Human Performance Rhythms Laboratory MedicalResearch.com:  What was the primary finding of your study? Dr. Brown: Time of day of an occupation, as well as a regular versus irregular routine, may influence whether a person wants to go into it or not. Most educational research has focused on academic major selection motivated by job aptitude, personality, and sociocultural factors. Our findings suggest that a person’s genetically determined built-in morning versus evening (M/E) preference for best time of day to work or sleep may influence career choice in two important ways: This M/E preference for work and sleep is related to 1) personality and to 2) the time of day the job is executed. These may interact with how much sleep a person thinks they need. In addition to the personality traits associated with M/E, such as morning people being more introverted and evening people more extroverted, an individual’s choice of major may be influenced by their preference for the typical work hours of a profession, such as a routine 9-to-5 schedule versus irregular evening and weekend work.

18 May

Posted at 02:18h in Author Interviews, Mental Health Research, Sleep Disorders, University of Pennsylvania
MedicalResearch.com eInterview with: Linden Oliver, MA, Clinical Research Coordinator University of Pennsylvania Behavioral Sleep Medicine Research Program Philadelphia, Pa MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found that less sleep is associated with greater suicide risk in those with insomnia. Specifically, we looked at suicide risk in people with insomnia, and also asked how much sleep they got in the past month. In those with some suicide risk, the likelihood of being high risk (versus low risk) decreased by 72% for every hour of sleep that person reported getting at night.

01 Apr

Posted at 23:41h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Smoking, University of Pennsylvania
MedicalResearch.com Author Interview: Dr. Steven A. Branstetter, PhD The Pennsylvania State University, 315 E. HHD, University Park, PA 16810.Dr. Steven A. Branstetter, PhD The Pennsylvania State University, 315 E. HHD, University Park, PA 16810. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Branstetter: This study demonstrated that the time to the first cigarette of the day after waking is associated with increased levels of a NNAL, a metabolite of a powerful tobacco-specific carcinogen, NNK -- even after controlling for the total number of cigarettes smoked per day. For years, the time to the first cigarette of the day after waking was one of several questions assessing nicotine dependence on the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), the gold standard questionnaire int he field. Over time, it was found that much of the predictive validity of the FTND was due to the time to first cigarette item. Researchers have found that single time to first cigarette item was highly correlated with other measures of nicotine dependence, and was predictive of more difficulty quitting smoking and increased intake of nicotine. Our current study demonstrates that this behavioral measure, is predictive of exposure to the cancer-causing components of cigarettes, regardless of the total number of cigarettes smoked per day. The results suggest that researchers, clinicians and smokers can assess the level of nicotine dependence and potential cancer risk by looking at the time to the first cigarette of the day after waking.

28 Mar

Posted at 02:15h in Author Interviews, Prostate Cancer, University of Pennsylvania
MEDICALRESEARCH.COM INTERVIEW WITH Charnita Zeigler-Johnson, Ph.D., M.P.H. Research Assistant Professor CCEB University of Pennsylvania MEDICALRESEARCH.COM: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Zeigler-Johnson: The main findings of the study are:
  • Younger African-American men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer at an early age (under the age of 60) are more likely to have had a personal history of early-onset baldness (baldness by age 30.)
  • For older patients, this is not necessarily the case, and future studies will need to focus on which factors place men in this age group at risk for prostate cancer.

11 Jul

Posted at 21:18h in Alzheimer's - Dementia, Duke, Mental Health Research, University of Pennsylvania

Alzheimer's plaques in PET brain scans identify future cognitive decline DURHAM, N.C. – Among patients with mild or no cognitive impairment, brain scans using a new radioactive dye can detect early evidence of Alzheimer's disease that may predict future decline, according to a multi-center study led by researchers at Duke University...

24 Jul

Posted at 23:01h in Cancer Research, Nature, Sloan Kettering, University of Pennsylvania

A genome-wide association study published in the August issue of Nature Medicine has found two tiny genetic variations that can predict which patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma are most likely to develop radiation-induced second cancers years after treatment. Knowing in advance who is at risk could help physicians tailor treatment to...