JAMA

17 Nov

Posted at 11:22h in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Dermatology, JAMA, McGill, Mental Health Research
Editor's note: This piece discusses suicide. If you have experienced suicidal thoughts or have lost someone to suicide and want to seek help, you can contact the Crisis Text Line by texting "START" to 741-741 or call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.  MedicalResearch.com Interview with: David-Dan Nguyen, MPH Research Fellow | Center for Surgery and Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital Medical Student | McGill University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There is ongoing concern about the side-effects of finasteride, a drug used for the management of alopecia and benign prostatic hyperplasia. These concerns have led to the coining of the “post-finasteride syndrome” which remains controversial. Indeed, there is conflicting evidence on the post-finasteride syndrome/adverse events associated with finasteride. We wanted to contribute to this conflicting body of evidence by examining suicidality, depression, and anxiety reports linked to finasteride use using the WHO’s pharmacovigilance database, VigiBase. Such pharmacovigilance databases are useful for the study of rare adverse events that are suspected to be associated with medication use.

13 Nov

Posted at 04:57h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, Prostate Cancer, Technology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55940" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dave Steiner MD PhD Clinical Research Scientist Google Health, Palo Alto, California Dr. Steiner[/caption] Dave Steiner MD PhD Clinical Research Scientist Google Health, Palo Alto, California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: For prostate cancer patients, the grading of cancer in prostate biopsies by pathologists is central to risk stratification and treatment decisions. However, the grading process can be subjective, often resulting in variability among pathologists. This variability can complicate diagnostic and treatment decisions. As an initial step towards addressing this problem, we and others in the field have recently developed artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that perform on-par with expert pathologists for prostate cancer grading. Such algorithms have the potential to improve the quality and efficiency of prostate biopsy grading, but the impact of these algorithms when used by pathologists has not been well studied. In the current study, we developed and evaluated an AI-based assistant tool for use by pathologists while reviewing prostate biopsies.

12 Nov

Posted at 17:34h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brunella Posteranno PhD Associate Professor of Microbiology Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences Rome, Italy MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: This study arises from an attempt to clarify some recent evidences of positive real-time PCR (RT-PCR) test results among patients who recovered from COVID-19 with prior negative results. Retesting positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, in the absence of any symptoms suggestive of new infection, poses questions regarding not only the SARS-CoV-2 infection course but also, most importantly, the infectivity status of recovered COVID-19 patients. In other words, it is unknown whether such patients are infectious and whether they should be quarantined. Detecting genetic sequences (i.e., RNA) of SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory samples (e.g., nasal/oropharyngeal swab samples) by RT-PCR assays enable us to identify persons suffering from COVID-19 along with those who have been exposed and able to transmit virus to others even if they are asymptomatic. It is not hyperbole to say that without RT-PCR testing an effective fight against the virus would be impossible. However, RT-PCR assays are not a viral culture and do not allow to determine whether the virus is viable and, consequently, transmissible. In this study, we investigated RT-PCR retested positive nasal/oropharyngeal swab (NOS) samples from recovered COVID-19 patients for the presence of replicative SARS-CoV-2 RNA to assess active virus replication. 

05 Nov

Posted at 18:55h in Author Interviews, Columbia, JAMA, OBGYNE, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55855" align="alignleft" width="139"]Dr-Marissa-N-Spann Dr. Spann[/caption] Marisa N. Spann, PhD, MPH Columbia University Irving Medical Center New York, New York MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Prior research has demonstrated that higher maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index is associated with adverse long-term outcomes for offspring including obesity, poorer cognitive and social abilities, and increased risk of psychiatric disorders.  MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: In this study, we investigated the association of maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index with fetal growth and neonatal functional connectivity and found that maternal pre-pregnancy BMI has a significant positive correlation with fetal weight and with greater thalamic connectivity of the brain. 

02 Nov

Posted at 16:47h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55813" align="alignleft" width="200"]Darpun D. Sachdev, M.D. Case investigation and Contact tracing Branch Chief SFDPH Covid Command Center San Francisco Department of Public Health Dr. Sachdev[/caption] Darpun D. Sachdev, M.D. Case investigation and Contact tracing Branch Chief SFDPH Covid Command Center San Francisco Department of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The ultimate goal of contact tracing is to rapidly identify and isolate contacts who are COVID-19 positive before they have time to transmit to others. As mentioned in the published research letter by SFDPH, through JAMA, during early shelter-in-place (from April to June 2020), our contact tracing program successfully reached greater than 80% of cases and contacts within a median timeframe of 6 days from the onset of their case’s symptoms. Approximately 10% of named contacts were newly diagnosed with COVID-19 (compared to 2% positivity during this time period). Household contacts made up approximately 80% of all identified contacts, but 90% of contacts who tested positive lived in the same household as the case. Secondary cases (contacts who were found to be newly diagnosed with COVID-19) were traced and quarantined within 6 days of the case’s symptom onset. With that said, the 6-day time difference between symptom onset and contact notification raises concern regarding the overall effectiveness of tracing in preventing onward transmission by infected contacts. We are working with community-based organizations to scale up access to testing and culturally competent tracing and wraparound services. Currently, we have now decreased the time difference to 5 days. Moreover, given that the majority of contacts resided in the same household, transmission could have occurred presymptomatically such that by the time infected contacts were identified, they might have already transmitted the virus. Hence, why SFDPH, on May 5, 2020, implemented the recommendation of universal testing for COVID-19 contacts, regardless of symptoms. We recommend that testing should be offered to all contacts regardless of symptoms and encourage local health departments to adopt novel ways of increasing testing access for contacts.   

30 Oct

Posted at 20:31h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Dermatology, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Selin Tokez, PhD Student Department of Dermatology Erasmus MC, Rotterdam MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? [caption id="attachment_55804" align="alignleft" width="200"]MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Selin Tokez, PhD Student Department of Dermatology Erasmus MC, Rotterdam MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common skin cancer worldwide with still increasing incidence rates. Given these high incidence rates together with the associated health costs and possibility of fatal progression, it is extremely important to have accurate and complete data on the epidemiology of this disease. Nevertheless, national cancer registries in many countries do not routinely record cSCC cases and therefore currently known numbers are mainly based on incomplete data sources. Additionally, if cSCC cases are registered, this usually only concerns the first cSCC per patient while we know that, contrary to many other malignant neoplasms, patients may develop numerous cSCCs over time. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: In the present study, we analyzed Dutch nationwide data comprising about 145,000 patients with a first invasive cSCC diagnosis between the years 1989 and 2017. We found that the incidence rates of a first cSCC per patient almost tripled in male patients and increased about fivefold in female patients in this 30-year time period. Also, we had data on all cSCCs per patient for the year 2017 and could therefore compare this with the data on only the first cSCC per patient: incidence rates increased by 58% for men and 35% for women when multiple cSCCs were considered. In absolute numbers, this resulted in an increase of 45% in cSCC diagnoses in 2017. Lastly, we extended our analyses by predicting future cSCC incidence rates up to 2027. Given that no substantially effective measures are undertaken in the near future, current cSCC incidence rates will increase with 23% in males and 29% in females in the next decade. MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? Response: We could summarize our main message in two points: while people generally know that cSCC is a very common disease with increasing incidence rates, it is not taken into account that these numbers are often based on incomplete data registries and that the real numbers are even higher. In this paper, we provided these numbers for a period of 30 years based on highly accurate data from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. On top of that, as a second main finding, we showed that the real burden caused by cSCC is approximately 50% higher (taken males and females together) when all cSCC diagnoses in 1 year are registered instead of only the first tumor per patient. Together with our prediction analyses that showed an on average 26% further increase for the coming decade, this will have enormous implications for the dermato-oncological health care planning and cost management. Our results urgently call for revision of skin cancer health policies to be able to cope with this rising burden of cSCC management. Ultimately, primary prevention will remain the key strategy to halt the increasing trend in cSCC incidence and the occurrence of multiple cSCCs per patient, which we hope to further stimulate with our paper as well. MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work? Response: As we had data on multiple cSCCs for only one year, we would suggest to perform trend analyses for multiple cSCCs per patient as well when a longer follow-up duration has been reached. Furthermore, it would be very relevant to identify high-risk cSCCs or patients at risk for multiple cSCCs in order to be able to establish efficient follow-up regimens and take these high risk groups into account when revising skin cancer health policies. MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add? Response: The authors of this study have no conflicts of interest that are relevant to this article. Citation: Tokez S, Hollestein L, Louwman M, Nijsten T, Wakkee M. Incidence of Multiple vs First Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma on a Nationwide Scale and Estimation of Future Incidences of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma. JAMA Dermatol. Published online October 28, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2020.3677 [subscribe] Last Modified: [last-modified] The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website. Example of one type of squamous cell skin cancer: DermNetNZ image[/caption]Response: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common skin cancer worldwide with still increasing incidence rates. Given these high incidence rates together with the associated health costs and possibility of fatal progression, it is extremely important to have accurate and complete data on the epidemiology of this disease. Nevertheless, national cancer registries in many countries do not routinely record cSCC cases and therefore currently known numbers are mainly based on incomplete data sources. Additionally, if cSCC cases are registered, this usually only concerns the first cSCC per patient while we know that, contrary to many other malignant neoplasms, patients may develop numerous cSCCs over time. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response:  In the present study, we analyzed Dutch nationwide data comprising about 145,000 patients with a first invasive cSCC diagnosis between the years 1989 and 2017. We found that the incidence rates of a first cSCC per patient almost tripled in male patients and increased about fivefold in female patients in this 30-year time period. Also, we had data on all cSCCs per patient for the year 2017 and could therefore compare this with the data on only the first cSCC per patient: incidence rates increased by 58% for men and 35% for women when multiple cSCCs were considered. In absolute numbers, this resulted in an increase of 45% in cSCC diagnoses in 2017. Lastly, we extended our analyses by predicting future cSCC incidence rates up to 2027. Given that no substantially effective measures are undertaken in the near future, current cSCC incidence rates will increase with 23% in males and 29% in females in the next decade.

27 Oct

Posted at 21:44h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Health Care Systems, JAMA, Technology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55764" align="alignleft" width="129"]Shira H. Fischer, MD, PhD RAND Corporation Boston, Massachusetts Dr. Fischer[/caption] Shira H. Fischer, MD, PhD RAND Corporation Boston, Massachusetts MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Before the COVID-19 outbreak, telehealth was talked about a lot, but it wasn’t widely available and wasn’t used that often. We wanted to know who was using telehealth, what the barriers to use were, and whether people would be willing to do so if it were available to them. We conducted a survey of over 2,500 Americans across the country and asked them about these topics. 

26 Oct

Posted at 19:20h in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Heart Disease, JAMA, Lifestyle & Health, Nutrition
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55740" align="alignleft" width="113"]Samia Mora, MD MHS Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School Director, Center for Lipid Metabolomics Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, MA 02215 @SamiaMoraMD Dr. Mora[/caption] Samia Mora, MD MHS Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School Director, Center for Lipid Metabolomics Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, MA 02215 @SamiaMoraMD MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Couples, both married couples and domestic partners, are likely to share similar environmental exposures, adopt similar behavior patterns, and have similar characteristics. However, the degree to which couples share similar levels of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and behaviors is uncertain. If high levels of poor CV risk factor measures and behaviors are common in both members of a couple, programs that target improvement of these risk factors and behaviors may simultaneously benefit CV health in both members of the couple.

21 Oct

Posted at 02:24h in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Inflammation, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55695" align="alignleft" width="200"]David E. Leaf, MD, MMSc, FASN Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Director of Clinical and Translational Research in Acute Kidney Injury Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital Dr. Leaf[/caption] David E. Leaf, MD, MMSc, FASN Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Director of Clinical and Translational Research in Acute Kidney Injury Division of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The data for this study were derived from a multicenter cohort study of over 4,000 critically ill patients with COVID-19 admitted to ICUs at 68 sites across the US, as part of the Study of the Treatment and Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19 (STOP-COVID). STOP-COVID was initiated by David E. Leaf, MD, MMSc and Shruti Gupta, MD, MPH, from the Division of Renal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. It was initiated in March, 2020 as an unfunded, grassroots network, and now includes over 400 collaborators from 68 sites across the US. Using this data, we used a ‘target trial emulation’ approach to examine whether early administration of the monoclonal antibody, tocilizumab, reduces mortality in critically ill patients with COVID-19. Target trial emulation, a novel method of analyzing observational data, is the idea of simulating a randomized control trial to reduce bias. 

21 Oct

Posted at 01:32h in Author Interviews, Infections, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Liliana Sanchez-Gonzalez MD, MPH Medical Epidemiologist Dengue Branch – Division of Vector Borne Diseases Centers for Disease Control and Prevention San Juan, PR MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly explain the significance of prion disease? Response: Prion diseases are neurodegenerative diseases that occur in animals and humans. These diseases are caused by an infectious agent known as a prion. While the accuracy of diagnostic tests using cerebrospinal fluid or brain imaging from living patients has improved greatly in recent years, analysis of brain tissue is still necessary to confirm the diagnosis of these diseases. [caption id="attachment_55692" align="alignleft" width="300"]This tissue slide shows sponge-like lesions in the brain tissue of a classic CJD patient. This tissue slide shows sponge-like lesions in the brain tissue of a classic CJD patient.[/caption] Human prion disease cases are rare, but always fatal. There have been around 500 reported cases annually in the US in recent years. A very small percentage of human prion disease cases are acquired, meaning they are caused by an exposure to the infectious agent from an external source. The most well-known acquired human prion disease is variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), which was first described in the United Kingdom in 1996 and linked to consumption of contaminated beef from cattle with the animal prion disease bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or “mad cow” disease). The only US state where classic BSE has been reported is Washington, where an infected dairy cow was imported from Canada in 2003. Beef from the slaughtered cow was processed for human consumption, and beef from cattle slaughtered the same day at the involved slaughter plant was recalled. After this incident, the Washington State Department of Health, in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (NPDPSC), implemented enhanced human prion disease surveillance. All patients with positive results from tests conducted at the NPDPSC are investigated. We present the results of 12 years of human prion disease surveillance, from 2006 to 2017, plus results of surveillance for vCJD through July 2020.

20 Oct

Posted at 11:01h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Social Issues
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55663" align="alignleft" width="130"]Aaron Baum, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Health System Design & Global Health Economist, Arnhold Institute for Global Health Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System Dr. Baum[/caption] Aaron Baum, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Health System Design & Global Health Economist, Arnhold Institute for Global Health Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: To what degree are geographic health disparities in the leading risk factors for morbidity and mortality in the United States – including elevated blood pressure and blood sugar, obesity, and poor mental health – driven by the place where people live versus by characteristics of the people who live in different places? For example, male adults in Mississippi are 33% more likely to have uncontrolled blood pressure and 54% more likely to be obese than male adults in Colorado. One explanation is that male adults who live in Mississippi are different is many other ways from male adults in Colorado, some of which can't be directly measured and adjusted for, and that those unobserved differences cause the health disparity. Another possibility is that the place where a person lives actually contributes to the health disparity. Using national electronic health records from the Veterans Health Administration, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of 5 million adults, including 1 million who moved zip codes exactly once between 2008-2018. Our goal was to isolate how a movers' likelihood of uncontrolled blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, obesity and depression changed in response to changes in the prevalence of each outcome in his or her environment.

07 Oct

Posted at 00:21h in Author Interviews, Cannabis, JAMA, Tobacco Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55574" align="alignleft" width="180"]Isabella Lanza, PhD   Associate Professor of Human Development   California State University, Long Beach  Dr. Lanza[/caption] Isabella Lanza, PhD Associate Professor of Human Development California State University, Long Beach   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This is the first study to examine both nicotine vaping and cannabis vaping trajectories across adolescence and young adulthood, which allowed us to assess whether poly-substance vaping is common among adolescents and young adults. Poly-substance vaping (nicotine and cannabis vaping) was reported among a significant proportion of participants in the study (25% were identified as poly-substance vapers). For those that either escalated to frequent nicotine vaping use in adolescence or initiated frequent nicotine vaping use in young adulthood, the probability of engaging in cannabis vaping was very high (85%+).   

01 Oct

Posted at 23:23h in Author Interviews, Dermatology, JAMA, Parkinson's
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55549" align="alignleft" width="150"]Wenquan Zou, MD/PhD, Professor Department of Pathology Associate Director National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Cleveland, Ohio 44106 Dr. Wenquan Zou[/caption] Wenquan Zou, MD/PhD, Professor Department of Pathology Associate Director National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Cleveland, Ohio 44106 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder. It is characterized by the accumulation of pathologically misfolded α-synuclein (αSynP) aggregates in the brain. Currently, a definite diagnosis relies on the detection of αSynP-containing Lewy bodies in the brain of PD patients. Development of a reliable and sensitive assay for αSynP in easily accessible peripheral tissue specimens is critical for early or differential diagnosis, determination of disease severity, and evaluation of therapeutic efficacy in clinical trials. Previous studies have revealed that the pathologically phosphorylated α-synuclein is detectable with traditional immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy but the sensitivity with IHC/IF is highly variable and inconsistent. Also the prion-like aggregation seeding activity of αSynP is detected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Parkinson’s disease patients with highly sensitive real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) and protein misfolding cyclic amplification assays (PMCA). But the lumbar puncture to collect CSF is more invasive compared to skin punch biopsy.

01 Oct

Posted at 20:47h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, JAMA, Social Issues
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55544" align="alignleft" width="150"]Dr. Madhur Garg, MD MBA Clinical director, Radiation Oncology Montefiore Health System and Professor Departments of Otorhinolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery - and Urology Albert Einstein College of Medicine Dr. Garg[/caption] Dr. Madhur Garg, MD MBA Clinical director, Radiation Oncology Montefiore Health System and Professor Departments of Otorhinolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery - and Urology Albert Einstein College of Medicine  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: ​The Bronx was hit particularly hard with Covid-19 - making up one of the highest per capita cases and deaths in the country. Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, care for a large population of ethnic minorities (non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic individuals make up 65% of our patient population).

30 Sep

Posted at 11:51h in Alcohol, Author Interviews, Gender Differences, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55510" align="alignleft" width="209"]Michael S. Pollard, Ph.D. Professor, Pardee RAND Graduate School Senior Sociologist RAND Corporation Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 Dr. Pollard[/caption] Michael S. Pollard, Ph.D. Professor, Pardee RAND Graduate School Senior Sociologist RAND Corporation Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: There are ample anecdotal jokes and stories about increased alcohol use during COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders. Our study provides robust longitudinal evidence that people drank more frequently, and for women in particular, more heavily, and with more negative consequences, during the initial stages of COVID-19 compared to their own behaviors from a year earlier (May/June 2020 compared to May/June 2019). Women’s alcohol consumption was most significantly changed, with a 17% increase in number of days drinking, and a 41% increase in days of binge drinking (when they had four or more drinks in a couple of hours). This means that, nationally, one in five women drank heavily one more day a month than the same time in 2019, on average. Women also reported a 39% increase in alcohol-related problems, such as “I took foolish risks” or “I failed to do what was expected of me” because of drinking alcohol.

29 Sep

Posted at 12:03h in Author Interviews, Gender Differences, JAMA, Pain Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55488" align="alignleft" width="150"]Jason Nagata, MD, MSc Assistant Professor of Pediatrics University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, California  Dr. Nagata, MD[/caption] Jason Nagata, MD, MSc Assistant Professor of Pediatrics University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, California  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Although prior research has identified disparities in migraine by race and sex, little was previously known about disparities in migraine by sexual orientation.  MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?  Response: In a national sample of nearly 10,000 adults in the USA, we found that nearly one third of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals have experienced a migraine. Overall, we found that lesbian, gay, or bisexual individuals had 58% higher odds of experiencing a migraine compared to heterosexual individuals. We also found that individuals who identified as mostly heterosexual but with some same-sex attractions were more likely to experience a migraine compared to those who identified as exclusively heterosexual.

29 Sep

Posted at 11:28h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Sugar, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kimber L. Stanhope PhD RD Department of Molecular Biosciences School of Veterinary Medicine University of California Dr. Bettina Hieronimus PhD Institute of Child Nutrition Max Rubner-Institut, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food Karlsruhe MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Sugar consumption is associated with increased body weight and other metabolic diseases. Fructose in particular seems to be detrimental to health as it causes higher increases in blood lipids compared to glucose. Our study assessed the effects of sugar consumption on cardiometabolic risk factors. We compared the effects of consuming glucose, two different doses of fructose or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) with a non-caloric sweetener. Our subjects were healthy young individuals who drank three sweetened beverages per day over the course of two weeks.

25 Sep

Posted at 10:40h in Author Interviews, Cannabis, JAMA, OBGYNE, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sarah E. Paul, BA , Graduate Student and Ryan Bogdan, PhD, Associate Professor BRAIN Lab Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO 63130 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Sarah Paul: This study was motivated by several trends in cannabis use, its legal landscape, and people's perception of risk. As more states legalize recreational cannabis use, cannabis has become more accessible as well as more potent. Over the past couple of decades, the percentage of adolescents and adults who think that cannabis use is risky or harmful has fallen substantially. Cannabis dispensaries have been reported to actually recommend cannabis to pregnant women for the treatment of pregnancy-related nausea. And finally, between 2002/2003 and 2016/2017, the percentage of women reporting cannabis use during their pregnancies rose 106%. Given these trends and the mixed literature regarding the potential consequences associated with prenatal cannabis exposure, we aimed to comprehensively examine a range of outcomes in a large, representative sample while accounting for a host of important potentially confounding covariates.

25 Sep

Posted at 10:18h in Author Interviews, Brain Injury, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55471" align="alignleft" width="150"]Dr-Maria Gabriela Figueiro Longo Dr. Figueiro LongoTBI[/caption] Maria Gabriela Figueiro Longo, MD, MSc Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Transcranial low-level light therapy (3LT) has been shown to be effective in animal models of traumatic brain injury. Our goal was to assess the 3LT in humans with acute TBI. We tested (1) safety, and (2) any effect in the brain in a measurable way. We found positive results for both - there was no event adverse during the trial related to the 3LT; and we found some differences in the brain MRI diffusivity parameters in the patients who received light therapy compared to the sham group. The study was not powered for clinical evaluation, although there was a trend towards lower symptom burden in the treated group.

21 Sep

Posted at 20:44h in Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, JAMA, Sleep Disorders
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Wuxiang Xie, PhD Peking University Clinical Research Institute Peking University First Hospital Beijing, China MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Dementia is one of the most common and serious disorders in later life. A strong relationship between sleep and cognitive function had been previously reported, while the relationship between sleep duration and the trajectory of cognitive decline remains unclear. 

21 Sep

Posted at 20:00h in Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Emory, Heart Disease, JAMA, Surgical Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55443" align="alignleft" width="200"]David H. Howard, PhD Professor, Health Policy and Management Rollins School of Public Health Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia Dr. Howard[/caption] David H. Howard, PhD Professor, Health Policy and Management Rollins School of Public Health Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Application of the False Claims Act (FCA) to medically unnecessary care is controversial, both in the courts and in the Department of Justice. Although there haven’t been many FCA suits against hospitals and physicians for performing unnecessary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs), the suits that have occurred have been against some of the highest-volume hospitals and physicians. Some cardiologists have been sentenced to prison.

16 Sep

Posted at 14:21h in Author Interviews, Brain Injury, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55382" align="alignleft" width="200"]Susan Rowell MD, MBA, MCR Associate Professor, Department of Surgery Division of Trauma, Acute & Critical Care Surgery Duke University School of Medicine Durham, NC 27710 Dr. Rowell[/caption] Susan Rowell MD, MBA, MCR Associate Professor, Department of Surgery Division of Trauma, Acute & Critical Care Surgery Duke University School of Medicine Durham, NC 27710 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Tranexamic acid (TXA) has been increasingly used in trauma patients since publication of the CRASH-2 trial in 2010 demonstrated a survival benefit for patients at risk for traumatic hemorrhage. Subsequently, it was shown that the earlier TXA was administered, the better the outcome. There had been several small studies suggesting that TXA may also be beneficial in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), however, an adequate prospective randomized trial was needed. In this trial we randomized over 1000 patients with moderate and severe TBI as early as possible after injury (by paramedics in the prehospital setting an average of 42 minutes after injury) to either a 1-gram TXA bolus followed by a 1-gram 8-hour TXA infusion (the dose typically used for trauma patients), a 2-gram TXA bolus only (a logistically easier route of administration requiring no maintenance infusion), or placebo only.

14 Sep

Posted at 10:43h in Author Interviews, CDC, HIV, JAMA, Sexual Health
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gordon Mansergh, PhD Senior Behavioral Scientist CDC Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention MedicalResearch.com: What would you say is the take home message from the study? Response: A small but notable subgroup of gay and bisexual men are sharing their PrEP medication with others. As PrEP continues to be more commonly used, it is important to better understand and address the context of PrEP sharing, and to emphasize messaging about provider monitoring of medication use over time for health and safety reasons.

10 Sep

Posted at 10:41h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Hospital Acquired, Infections, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55346" align="alignleft" width="160"]Chanu Rhee Associate Hospital Epidemiologist Attending Physician, Infectious Diseases and Critical Care Medicine Assistant Professor of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Dr. Rhee[/caption] Chanu Rhee MD MPH Associate Hospital Epidemiologist Attending Physician, Infectious Diseases and Critical Care Medicine Assistant Professor of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Many patients have been avoiding essential care during the COVID-19 pandemic due to fear of contracting SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare settings. Little is known, however about the adequacy of infection control practices in preventing nosocomial COVID-19 in U.S. acute care hospitals. We therefore conducted this observational study to determine the incidence of nosocomial COVID-19 in patients hospitalized at a large academic medical center in Boston (Brigham and Women’s Hospital) during the first 12 weeks of the surge in Massachusetts.   

10 Sep

Posted at 10:37h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Johns Hopkins, Tobacco Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55319" align="alignleft" width="200"]Funmi (Abiru) Obisesan, MD, MPH Postdoctoral Fellow Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Postdoctoral Fellow Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Dr. Obisesan[/caption] Funmi (Abiru) Obisesan, MD, MPH Postdoctoral Fellow Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Postdoctoral Fellow Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: E-cigarettes are conceived by many individuals to be less harmful than combustible cigarettes, resulting in their use among young individuals and other vulnerable subpopulations. The recent outbreak of EVALI (e-cigarette, or vaping, product-use associated lung injuries) which was directly associated with e-cigarette use, and the rapidly evolving e-cigarette market, as well as regulations concerning them necessitates the need for up-to-date analyses of e-cigarette use trends. 

09 Sep

Posted at 13:38h in Author Interviews, ENT, JAMA, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Sleep Disorders, Surgical Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55334" align="alignleft" width="136"]Prof Stuart MacKay BSc (Med) MB BS (Hons) FRACS Honorary Clinical Professor Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Clinical Professor at University of Wollongong Graduate School of Medicine Adjunct Professor Faculty of Health Sciences University of Adelaide Prof. MacKay[/caption]   Prof Stuart MacKay BSc (Med) MB BS (Hons) FRACS Honorary Clinical Professor Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Clinical Professor at University of Wollongong Graduate School of Medicine Adjunct Professor Faculty of Health Sciences   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
  1. Sleep Apnea is common and impairs daytime function and carries health risk.
  2. Many patients have difficulty with CPAP, the main treatment.
  3. Surgery offers an alternative, and we tested this at a very high level in this clinical study.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? 
  1. Surgery creates marked improvement in stoppages (apnea) and droppages (hypopnea) in airflow.
  2. Surgery significantly improves patient reports of daytime sleepiness.
  3. Many other outcomes related to quality of life, snoring and general well being improve with surgery.

09 Sep

Posted at 10:50h in Author Interviews, Health Care Systems, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55315" align="alignleft" width="116"]Kenton J. Johnston, PhD Associate Professor Dept of Health Management & Policy Dept of Health & Clinical Outcomes Research Saint Louis University Dr. Johnston[/caption] Kenton J. Johnston, PhD Associate Professor Dept of Health Management & Policy Dept of Health & Clinical Outcomes Research Saint Louis University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Consolidation of physician practices into larger health systems comprised of hospitals and other group practices has been occurring rapidly in the U.S. market over the past 10 years. During this same period, Medicare has been gradually increasing the use of “pay for performance,” or “value-based payment” programs. 2019 was the first year that nearly all physicians in the U.S. were paid under Medicare’s new mandatory Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). We conducted a study to see whether physicians who were affiliated with health systems performed better under the MIPS than those not affiliated with health systems.

08 Sep

Posted at 17:29h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, JAMA, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Xiaoyan Song, PhD, MBBS, CIC Director, Office of Infection Control/Epidemiology Children's National Hospital Professor of Pediatrics George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Science Washington, D.C. 20010 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: As soon as SARS-COV-2 virus began spreading in early January and raising concerns for a potential pandemic, both the public and healthcare providers have wondered how this new virus is compared to influenza, a virus that human has known for a century and has become much more familiar with its spread pattern, disease characteristics, and treatment. In contrast, we have very little knowledge about SARS-COV-2 and are still getting to know it little by little.  At Children’s National, we always maintain high vigilance on emerging infectious diseases and have excellent surveillance programs for influenza and other respiratory viral diseases.  Therefore, driven by 1) Our curiosity to know if SARS-COV-2 is indeed similar or different from influenza, and 2) Availability of both SARS-COV-2 and influenza data, we conducted this retrospective study.

08 Sep

Posted at 16:47h in Author Interviews, Infections, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yaa-Hui Dong PhD Faculty of Pharmacy National Yang-Ming University Taipei, Taiwan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Previous observational studies found that fluoroquinolones may be associated with more than 2-fold increased risk of aortic aneurysm or aortic dissection (AA/AD). However, these studies might not well address the influence of concurrent infection, which is also a suggested risk factor for AA. Moreover, most of these studies compared fluoroquinolone use versus no fluoroquinolone use, which might overestimate the risk with fluoroquinolones as patients on fluoroquinolones may have more severe infection versus those not on fluoroquinolones.

01 Sep

Posted at 18:52h in Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Emergency Care, JAMA, Surgical Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55282" align="alignleft" width="200"]Sarabeth Spitzer, MD Co-Chair of Board, Scrubs Addressing the Firearm Epidemic (SAFE) Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Dr. Spitzer[/caption] Sarabeth Spitzer, MD Co-Chair of Board, Scrubs Addressing the Firearm Epidemic (SAFE) Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Firearm injury is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, resulting in almost 40,000 deaths annually in the United States, but very little is known about the epidemiology of nonfatal firearm injuries. Nonfatal firearm injuries can have significant long-term morbidity and are associated with significant cost. We found that there were over 81,000 nonfatal firearm injuries in California over the study period. Over the period, there was a decrease in nonfatal firearm injuries by 38.1%, driven primarily by a decrease in assault injuries.