16 Nov Reduced Recurrence of Pilonidal Cysts with Addition of Laser Hair Removal
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_61061" align="alignleft" width="142"]
Dr. Minneci[/caption]
Peter C. Minneci, MD
Chair of Surgery at Nemours Children’s Health
Delaware Valley
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly explain the symptoms/course of pilonidal disease?
Response: Pilonidal disease is relatively common and affects up to 1% of the population starting in adolescence and up until young adulthood. Pilonidal disease occurs when cysts or sinuses form between the buttocks. It is believed to be an inflammatory reaction to hair or debris that gets caught in the crease of the buttocks. Risk factors for the condition include a sedentary lifestyle, hygiene and obesity.
[caption id="attachment_61062" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Pilonidal CystDermNet Image[/caption] Pilonidal disease can be intermittent or chronic and recurs about 33% of the time, with 80% of recurrences taking place within a year of initial treatment. These recurrences contribute to a high degree of psychosocial stress in patients, who often miss school or sports and may avoid social activities. Pilonidal cysts may become infected, in which case patients must take antibiotics or undergo surgery. Standard treatment for pilonidal disease involves removal of hair with razors or creams, as well as recommendations such as keeping the area clean. In recent years, some practitioners have begun using laser epilation as an additional strategy to prevent recurrence by providing more durable hair removal. However, it’s important to point out that this is not covered by insurance. In addition, as a provider, I have found that my patients that do have the means to pay often don’t comply with the number of sessions needed to fully remove the hair due to many different factors including pain and discomfort during the procedure.
Dr. Belloy[/caption]
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.
Dr. Harmer[/caption]
Peter A. Harmer, PhD, MPH, AT-Ret, FACSM
Senior Associate Research Scientist
Oregon Research Institute
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Decline in various aspects of cognitive function, such as memory, executive function, and multitasking ability is common as we age. The rate and extent of decline varies among older adults but approximately 20% of those aged 65+ will experience clinically relevant mild cognitive impairment, which places them at increased risk of progressing to Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias. It is also associated with decreased mobility, increased risk of falls and impaired capacity for complex activities of daily living.
Dr. Han[/caption]
Summer S Han, PhD
Associate Professor
Dr. Choi[/caption]
Dr. Eunji Choi PhD
Instructor, Neurosurgery
Department: Adult Neurosurgery
Stanford University School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Sood[/caption]
Neeraj Sood, PhD
Verna and Peter Dauterive Hall
University Park Campus
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We conducted this study to inform school COVID-19 policies.
The main findings are that the median duration of infectivity after a positive COVID-19 test in children is 3 days. The median duration of infectivity does not vary with vaccination. 
Dr. Jernigan[/caption]
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 
Prof. Guohua Li[/caption]
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.
Esa M. Davis, M.D., M.P.H , F.A.A.F.P
Professor of Medicine and Family and Community Medicine
Associate Vice President of Community Health and
Senior Associate Dean of pPopulation Health and Community Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Dr. Davis joined the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in January 2021
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and eclampsia, are among the leading causes of serious complications and death for pregnant people in the United States.
Pregnant women and pregnant people of all genders should have their blood pressure measured at each prenatal visit to help find and prevent serious health issues related to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. 
Dr. Stevermer [/caption]
James Stevermer, M.D., M.S.P.H.Vice chair for clinical affairs
Professor of family and community medicine
University of Missouri
Medical director of MU Health Care Family Medicine–Callaway Physicians,
Dr. Stevermer joined the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force in January 2021.
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: HIV continues to be a significant public health issue. The good news is that PrEP is a safe, highly effective way to help prevent HIV in people at increased risk. There are now two ways people can take PrEP – as a pill or as a shot. We encourage healthcare professionals to have a conversation with their patients about their individual risk for HIV and determine if they should consider taking whichever form of PrEP would work best for them.
Dr. Wallis[/caption]
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?
Dr. Wright[/caption]
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.
Dr. Nicholson[/caption]
Wanda K. Nicholson, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A.
Senior Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Professor of Prevention and Community Health
Milken Institute School of Public Health
George Washington University
Vice chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Neural tube defects are when a baby’s spinal cord or brain don’t develop properly during pregnancy, which can cause serious complications including disability and death. The good news is that taking folic acid supplements before and during early pregnancy is proven to help prevent this from happening.
Dr. McLoughlin Brady[/caption]
Tammy M. Brady, MD, PhD (she/her/hers)
Vice Chair for Clinical Research, Dept of Pediatrics
Associate Director, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Nephrology
Medical Director, Pediatric Hypertension Program
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD 21287
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Accurate BP measurement is key to identification and treatment of hypertension which serves ultimately to prevent cardiovascular disease. Our study describes substantial measurement error that can occur in a common office and home BP measurement scenario: use of a regular cuff size for all individuals regardless of arm size. Many office triage measurements occur without individualized cuff selection and most home BP devices come with one cuff size – and our study shows that using a regular cuff size for people who have larger arms – those who require a large adult cuff or an extra-large adult cuff – can lead to blood pressure readings that are almost 5 and 20 mmHg greater than their actual BP, respectively. Those require a small adult cuff can have BP readings that are almost 4 mmHg lower than their actual BP.
Mytien Nguyen[/caption]
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. 
Dr. Li Li[/caption]
Li Li, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H
Walter M. Seward Professor
Chair of Family Medicine
Director of population health
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Editor-in-chief of The BMJ Family Medicine
Dr. Li joined the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in January 2021
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The Task Force reviewed the latest available evidence to evaluate whether screening all children and adolescents who are 20 years old or younger for high cholesterol improves their heart health into adulthood.
At this time, there is not enough evidence to determine whether or not screening all kids is beneficial, so we are calling for additional research on the effectiveness of screening and treatment of high cholesterol in kids and teens. 
Dr. Davis[/caption]
Prof. Jonathan Davis, MD,
Chief of Newborn Medicine
Tufts Medical Center and
[caption id="attachment_60599" align="alignleft" width="125"]
Dr. Potnuru[/caption]
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
Dr. Fink[/caption]
Dorothy A. Fink, MD
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women's Health
Director, Office on Women's Health
US Department of Health & Human Services
Rockville, MD
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Delivery-related mortality in U.S. hospitals has decreased for all racial and ethnic groups, age groups, and modes of delivery while the prevalence of severe maternal mortality (SMM) increased for all patients, with higher rates for racial and ethnic minority patients of any age.
This study specifically looked at inpatient delivery-related outcomes and found a 57% decrease from 2008-2021. The decreasing mortality rates within the inpatient delivery setting demonstrated as statistically significant and a welcome finding for all women.
This study also looked with greater granularity at the impact of race, ethnicity, and age. Mortality for American Indian women decreased 92%, Asian women decreased 73%, Black women decreased 76%, Hispanic women decreased 60%, Pacific Islander women decreased 79%, and White women decreased 40% during the study period.
Dr. Ogedegbe[/caption]
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 
Dr. Miller[/caption]
Alex P. Miller, PhD
TranSTAR T32 Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Psychiatry
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, MO
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Adolescent cannabis use is increasing in the United States. Prior research suggests that people who start using cannabis earlier are more likely to engage in problematic use and also experience greater mental health challenges and socioeconomic disadvantages overall. For example, children who begin using cannabis early are more likely to have behavioral problems and disorders and are more less likely to complete school.
In our study, we used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, which is following nearly 12,000 kids across the nation to track behavior and brain development as well as health from middle childhood to young adulthood. We looked at what factors are associated with the initiation of cannabis use by age 12-14.
