Author Interviews, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, JAMA, OBGYNE, Vaccine Studies / 16.05.2014

Flor M. Munoz, MD Department of Pediatrics Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Flor M. Munoz, MD Department of Pediatrics Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Munoz: 1. Tdap vaccine was safe and well tolerated during pregnancy 2. Women who are pregnant have adequate responses to the Tdap vaccine, similar to those of women who are not pregnant. 3. Antibodies to pertussis are efficiently transferred to the fetus through the placenta so that babies of mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy had significantly higher concentrations of antibody at birth and up to 2 months of age, when compared to infants of mothers who were vaccinated post-partum. 4. Higher antibody concentrations in the first two months of life are likely to provide protection against pertussis during this period of high vulnerability 5. Infants of mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy had adequate responses to their routine pertussis vaccines at 2, 4, and 6 months of age, and had expected and adequate responses to their 4th dose of vaccine at 1 year of age. The absolute concentration of antibodies to some of the pertussis antigens might be modestly lower after the primary series of vaccines in some infants of mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy, but this difference does not persist after the 4th dose. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Brain Injury, JAMA / 14.05.2014

Patrick S. F. Bellgowan, PhD Laureate Institute for Brain Research Faculty of Community Medicine, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OklahomaMedicalResearch Interview with: Patrick S. F. Bellgowan, PhD Laureate Institute for Brain Research Faculty of Community Medicine, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Bellgowan: These results demonstrate 14% and 24% smaller hippocampal volumes in collegiate football players with and without a history of concussion relative to education-, sex- and age-matched controls participants.  Further, the number of years of tackle football experience was correlated with smaller hippocampi and slower baseline reaction times.  The hippocampus plays a key role in memory and emotional regulation.  Volumetrics of other medial temporal lobe structures (I.e. The amygdala) did NOT show differences among groups suggesting that this effect is localized to the hippocampus. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Statins / 14.05.2014

Medidr_jennifer_robinsoncalResearch.com Interview with: Jennifer G. Robinson, MD, MPH Professor ,Departments of Epidemiology & Medicine Director, Prevention Intervention Center Department of Epidemiology College of Public Health University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242-2007 MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Robinson: The PCSK9 antibody, evolocumab, reduced LDL (or bad) cholesterol by about 65-70% regardless of the dose or type of statin used. This is a greater percentage reduction than ezetimibe, another drug used to lower LDL cholesterol in statin-treated patients, which lowered LDL cholesterol 15-20%. Side effects of evolocumab were similar to those for ezetimibe or placebo. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hospital Readmissions, JAMA, Mayo Clinic / 13.05.2014

Aaron L. Leppin, MD Knowledge and Evaluation Research Unit Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MinnesotaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Aaron L. Leppin, MD Knowledge and Evaluation Research Unit Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Leppin: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials assessing the effectiveness of hospital discharge interventions on reducing 30-day readmission rates. We identified 47 trials, 42 of which contributed to the primary meta-analysis. Overall, the interventions that have been tested to reduce early hospital readmissions reduce them by about 20%. The ones that are most effective, though, reduce them by almost 40% and use a consistent but complex approach. These interventions make a robust effort to fully understand the patient’s post-discharge context, often by visiting the patient’s home. They focus on identifying all the things the patient needs to do to be well—whether that’s organizing medications, getting a ride to the clinic, or paying the electric bill—and they determine whether the patient has the necessary resources and capacity to pull it all off. When limitations are found, these interventions have a strategy in place to support the patient through the post-discharge period. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics / 13.05.2014

Charbel El Bcheraoui, PhD, MSc Acting Assistant Professor, Global Health Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation University of Washington Seattle, WA 98121MedicalResearch Interview with: Charbel El Bcheraoui, PhD, MSc Acting Assistant Professor, Global Health Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation University of Washington Seattle, WA 98121 MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. El Bcheraoui: We found a low rate of adverse events associated with male circumcision from U.S. hospital settings, especially if the procedure is performed within the first year of life. The rate of adverse events increased about 10 - 20 times if the procedure was performed later in life. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, JAMA / 12.05.2014

Richard D. Semba, MD MPH W. Richard Green Professor of Ophthalmology The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, MD 21287MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Richard D. Semba, MD MPH W. Richard Green Professor of Ophthalmology The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, MD  21287 MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Semba: Resveratrol levels in older adults are not related to the risk of heart disease or cancer and are not related with lifespan. These findings were made in the InCHIANTI Study, a rigorously conducted study of human aging that is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, Surgical Research / 10.05.2014

Dr. Carlo Riccardo Rossi, MD Melanoma and Sarcoma Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology Surgery Branch, Department of Surgery Oncology, and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, Padova, ItalyMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Carlo Riccardo Rossi, MD Melanoma and Sarcoma Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology Surgery Branch, Department of Surgery Oncology, and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Rossi: A total of 90% patients undergone lymph node dissection for melanoma had 12, 7, 14, 6 and 13 excised lymph nodes (10th percentile of the distribution) after 3 level axillary, 3 level or less neck, 4 level or more neck, inguinal, or ilio-inguinal dissections, respectively. (more…)
Author Interviews, Frailty, Geriatrics, JAMA, Surgical Research / 10.05.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kwang-il Kim, MD, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul, Republic of KoreaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kwang-il Kim, MD, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: There are few tools of preoperative risk stratification for the older adults. We found that not only disease itself but also frailty can lead to post-operative complication and mortality. So we made a scoring model to predict post-operative mortality and morbidity based on comprehensive geriatric assessment and it worked exactly. MedicalResearch: Were any of the findings unexpected? Answer: Under our predictive model, there was inflection point of mortality slope at point 5. Post-operative mortality of someone who scores 4~5 is below 10%, but it of other who scores 6~7 is about 30%. It was unexpected drastic change, so we think that there is physiologic threshold point. MedicalResearch: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report? Answer: Because the elderly are different from adults, clinicians have to focus on functional capacity, co-morbidity, and frailty for their older surgical patients. Make operative decision base on comprehensive geriatric assessment or our scoring model. If you depend on your own feeling, some older patients will suffer from post-operative complication and someone will forfeit his chance of surgery. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, JAMA, Pediatrics / 06.05.2014

Dana Dabelea, MD, PhD Professor and Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs Colorado School of Public Health University of Colorado Denver Aurora, CO 80045MedicalResearch.com Interview with:  Dana Dabelea, MD, PhD Professor and Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs Colorado School of Public Health University of Colorado Denver Aurora, CO 80045 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Dabelea: We found that the proportion of US youth living with Type 1 Diabetes has increased by at least 21% over a period of only 8 years. This increase was seen in both boys and girls, most age-groups and race/ethnic groups.  While we do not completely understand the reasons for this increase, since the causes of Type 1 Diabetes are still unclear, it is likely that something has changed in our environment- both in the US and elsewhere in the world- causing more youth to develop the disease, maybe at increasingly younger ages. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Statins, Weight Research / 29.04.2014

Takehiro Sugiyama, MD, MSHS, PhD Project Director, Diabetes Policy Planning Office Management and Planning Bureau Fellow, Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism National Center for Global Health and Medicine Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo JapanMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Takehiro Sugiyama, MD, MSHS, PhD Project Director, Diabetes Policy Planning Office Management and Planning Bureau Fellow, Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism National Center for Global Health and Medicine Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Japan MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Sugiyama: In the US nationally representative sample from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2010, we found that statin users in 2009-2010 eat 9.6% more calories and 14.4% more fat than statin users in 1999-2000. These increases were not observed in statin non-users; the trends of caloric and fat intake were statistically different between statin users and non-users. In 1999-2000, caloric and fat intake was significantly less for statin users compared with non-users, but the difference between the groups because smaller as time went by and there was no statistical difference in 2009-2010. Body mass index increased more rapidly for statin users compared to non-users. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, JAMA / 28.04.2014

Tara Lagu MD PhD Assistant Professor of Medicine Tufts University School of MedicineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tara Lagu MD PhD Assistant Professor of Medicine Tufts University School of Medicine   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lagu: We found that use of mechanical ventilation in patients 65 and older is increasing rapidly. If current rates of increase continue, we expect that by 2020 there will be more than 600,000 hospitalizations per year that involve mechanical ventilation. This is a doubling in 20 years (2001-2020), and represents demand that could easily exceed the capacity of the US critical care system. We also found that increase in use among patients with dementia is 4 times faster than those without dementia. This is important because dementia is a terminal illness, and use of mechanical ventilation in patients with end-stage dementia is associated with poor 30-day and 1-year outcomes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Diabetes, JAMA / 28.04.2014

Juliana C. N. Chan, MBChB MD FHKAM FRCP Professor Juliana Chan is Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics, Director, Hong Kong Institute of Diabetes and Obesity and International Diabetes Federation Centre of Education at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital and Chief Executive Officer of Asia Diabetes Foundation Hong Kong.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Juliana C. N. Chan, MBChB MD FHKAM FRCP Professor Juliana Chan is Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics, Director, Hong Kong Institute of Diabetes and Obesity and International Diabetes Federation Centre of Education at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital and Chief Executive Officer of Asia Diabetes Foundation Hong Kong. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Chan: In this 1-year randomized study, we asked the question whether type 2 diabetic patients receiving team-based integrated care augmented by information technology would further improve in their glycemic control if given additional peer support through the telephone. All patients underwent comprehensive risk assessment guided by the web-based JADE portal which generated personalized risk report with attained treatment targets and decision support. After 1 year, all patients improved significantly in all risk factors including A1c with improved treatment adherence, self efficacy and psychological wellbeing. Although the peer support group did not further improve in A1c, short-stay hospitalization rates were substantially reduced by 50% , especially amongst those with emotional distress. These patients accounted for 20% of the intervention group, in whom peer support further reduced psychological distress and treatment non-adherence. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA / 26.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview Invitation Karin J. H. Verweij, PhD Department of Developmental Psychology and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research,  VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Verweij: We performed a twin study using over 10,000 adult Australian twins to determine the relative importance of genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal ideation and their covariation. We found that individuals that report self-harm are approximately eight times more likely to also report suicidal ideation. Results from the bivariate genetic model indicated that the substantial correlation between non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation (r=0.49 for males and 0.61 for females) is largely explained by overlapping genetic factors: 62% and 76% for males and females, respectively. Overlapping residual influences, including nonshared environmental influences and measurement error, also explain part of the covariance between the two traits. These findings suggest that the two behaviors share similar biological underpinnings. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Ophthalmology / 25.04.2014

Michael Wall, MD Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 200 Hawkins D Iowa City, IA 52242-1091MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael Wall, MD Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 200 Hawkins D Iowa City, IA 52242-1091 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Wall: We studied patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (formerly called pseudotumor cerebri) with mild visual loss. We found that subjects taking acetazolamide, a type of diuretic, along with a low sodium weight loss program had significantly better visual outcomes than those taking placebo along with the diet. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Stroke, UCLA / 24.04.2014

Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow MD Director, Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center UCLA CHAMP - Cholesterol, Hypertension, and Atherosclerosis Management Program Professor, Department of Medicine Associate Chief, Cardiology David Geffen School of Medicine Los Angeles, CAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow MD Director, Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center Professor, Department of Medicine Associate Chief, Cardiology David Geffen School of Medicine Los Angeles, CA MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Fonarow: This study examined data from hospitals that have adopted the American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association’s national quality initiative, Target: Stroke, which aims to increase the number of stroke patients treated with clot-busting drugs for ischemic stroke within 60 minutes or less after hospital arrival.  Initiated nationwide in 2010, Target: Stroke provided 10 key strategies as well as tools to facilitate timely tPA administration, as well as additional approaches to improve stroke care and outcome. Data from 71,169 tPA-treated stroke patients at 1,030 hospitals participating in Target: Stroke were analyzed to compared the time to treatment and incidence of complications before implementation, from 2003 to 2009, to the post-implementation years, from 2010 to 2013. This study found that the percentage of patients treated within the recommended timeframe increased from less than one-third before Target: Stroke to more than half afterwards. The Target: Stroke program goal of 50 percent or more of patients having door-to-needle times within 60 minutes was successfully achieved. In addition, the average time to treatment dropped by 15 minutes, from 74 to 59 minutes. Faster treatment was associated with lower rates of complications, including death. Before Target: Stroke, 9.9% of stroke patients died in the hospital, compared to 8.3% of patients treated after the initiative started, a difference which was statistically significant. In addition, patients treated by Target: Stroke strategies were less likely to develop the complication of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage. (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, JAMA, Johns Hopkins / 22.04.2014

Li-Ching Lee, PhD, ScM Associate Scientist, Departments of Epidemiology and Mental Health Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore MD 21205MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Li-Ching Lee, PhD, ScM Associate Scientist, Departments of Epidemiology and Mental Health Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore MD 21205 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Li-Ching Lee: This population-based case-control study in young children provides evidence that prenatal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) use may be a risk factor for autism and other developmental delays (DD). Among boys, prenatal SSRI exposure was nearly 3 times as likely in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) relative to children with typical development; the strongest association occurred with first-trimester exposure. Exposure was also elevated among boys with DD and was strongest in the third trimester. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Outcomes & Safety, Stroke / 22.04.2014

Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Dr. phil. Martin Ebinger Oberarzt der Klinik und Hochschulambulanz für Neurologie am Campus Charité Mitte Center for Stroke Research Berlin (CSB) Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin | CCM Charitéplatz 1 | 10117 Berlin | GermanyMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Dr. phil. Martin Ebinger Oberarzt der Klinik und Hochschulambulanz für Neurologie am Campus Charité Mitte Center for Stroke Research Berlin (CSB) Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin | CCM Charitéplatz 1 | 10117 Berlin | Germany MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Ebinger: The main findings of our study was a significant time reduction during randomized weeks with prehospital thrombolysis compared to control weeks with regular care. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Surgical Research / 22.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rustam Al-Shahi Salman Professor of clinical neurology and MRC senior clinical fellow, University of Edinburgh Honorary consultant neurologist, NHS Lothian upcoming JAMA publication:MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rustam Al-Shahi Salman Professor of clinical neurology and MRC senior clinical fellow University of Edinburgh Honorary consultant neurologist, NHS Lothian MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Al-Shahi Salman: Patients with arteriovenous malformations (abnormal connection between arteries and veins) in the brain that have not ruptured had a lower risk of stroke or death for up to 12 years if they received conservative management of the condition compared to an interventional  treatment. Interventional treatment for brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) with procedures such as neurosurgical excision, endovascular embolization, or stereotactic radiosurgery can be used alone or in combination to attempt to obliterate bAVMs. Because interventions may have complications and the untreated clinical course of unruptured bAVMs can be benign, some patients choose conservative management (no intervention). Guidelines have endorsed both intervention and conservative management for unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations. Whether conservative management is superior to interventional treatment for unruptured bAVMs is uncertain because of the lack of long-term experience, according to background information in the article. (more…)
Author Interviews, Bipolar Disorder, JAMA / 19.04.2014

John I. Nurnberger, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Psychiatry Joyce and Iver Small Professor of PsychiatryMedicalResearch.com Interview with: John I. Nurnberger, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Psychiatry Joyce and Iver Small Professor of Psychiatry Indiana University School of Medicine   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of this study? Dr. Nurnberger: The main findings of the study are the biological pathways identified to be associated with bipolar disorder, including those involved in hormonal regulation, calcium channels, second messenger systems, and glutamate signaling. Gene expression studies implicated neuronal development pathways as well. These findings highlight the role of certain neurobiological processes that have been considered in prior hypotheses of bipolar disorder. They underline a role for calcium signaling, which has only been clearly implicated in the genetics of bipolar disorder in recent years. They also feature hormonal processes such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which has been known to be involved in stress responses, but has not been prominent in many recent theories of the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder. (more…)
Author Interviews, Colon Cancer, JAMA, Surgical Research / 16.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview Invitation Dorna Jafari, M.D. and Michael J Stamos, MD Professor of Surgery John E. Connolly Chair, Department of Surgery University of California, Irvine Orange, CA 92868 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Surgeons are faced with an aging population and data regarding outcomes is rare given that many studies preclude the elderly from the study population. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately discuss risk of surgical resection given the lack of data. Therefore we aimed to report the national trends and outcomes of colorectal cancer treatment in the elderly population. We demonstrated that the majority of resections are performed in patients >65yeras old. There is a trend towards a decrease in incidence of colorectal resection and a decrease in rate of mortality during 2001-2010.  However, the unique physiological changes associated with aging contribute to increase morbidity and morality as demonstrated by our findings. In fact patients >85 years have a 472% increase in risk-adjusted mortality during a hospital admission compared to younger patients. However, despite the substantially higher mortality and morbidity associated with age, there has been a marked improvement in surgical outcomes in the elderly population. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Lung Cancer, Pulmonary Disease / 15.04.2014

Renda Soylemez Wiener, MD, MPH Assistant Professor of Medicine The Pulmonary Center Boston University School of Medicine Center for Healthcare Organization & Implementation Research Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA HospitalMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Renda Soylemez Wiener, MD, MPH Assistant Professor of Medicine The Pulmonary Center Boston University School of Medicine Center for Healthcare Organization & Implementation Research Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Soylemez Wiener: The main finding is that evaluation of pulmonary nodules to determine whether or not they are cancerous is inconsistent with clinical practice guideline recommendations in almost half of cases, suggesting there is room for improvement in clinical care of these patients. Patients with pulmonary nodules are sometimes evaluated more aggressively than they should be (18%), which can cause harms to patients from unnecessary invasive tests (biopsies or surgery) or unneeded radiation exposure from imaging studies. Still more patients (27%) are followed less aggressively than they should be, which in the worst case scenario could lead to delays in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. It is particularly important to improve care of these patients now, because new guidelines from the US Preventive Services Task Force recommend CT screening for lung cancer screening, which often finds pulmonary nodules that require evaluation. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, OBGYNE, Weight Research / 15.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dagfinn Aune MS Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics School of Public Health Imperial College London St. Mary's Campus Norfolk Place, Paddington, London W2 1PG, UK MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the association between maternal body mass index (BMI) and risk of fetal death, stillbirth, neonatal, perinatal and infant death. We found that the risk of all these outcomes increased with greater BMI in a dose-response fashion. For example even within the high end of what is considered the normal BMI range (BMI of 24-25) there was a 10-20% increase in the relative risk, but the strongest relations were seen for those who were obese and morbidly obese with 30-60% and 2-3 fold increases in the relative risk respectively (depending on the outcome examined). (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA, Mental Health Research / 15.04.2014

https://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1860496MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jeffery  C. Huffman, M.D. Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Huffman: Depression and anxiety in cardiac patients are associated with adverse cardiac outcomes.  We completed a very low-intensity care management intervention to identify depression and anxiety disorders during a cardiac admission and then to assist in the monitoring and management of the condition over the next 24 weeks. There have been other care management trials in cardiac patients, but ours was the first to co-manage depression and anxiety, the first to initiate treatment in the hospital, the first to take a broad population of cardiac patients rather than a single diagnosis, and the first to use such a low-resource strategy with only a single part-time social worker to coordinate care. We found that the care management intervention was associated with significant improvements in mental health treatment, mental health related quality of life, depression, and function at 24 weeks compared to enhanced treatment as usual.  We did not find differences in anxiety, adherence, or cardiac readmissions. (more…)
Addiction, Frailty, Geriatrics, JAMA, Pharmacology / 15.04.2014

Cara Tannenbaum, MD, MSc The Michel Saucier Endowed Chair in Geriatric Pharmacology, Health and Aging La Chaire pharmaceutique Michel-Saucier en santé et vieillissement Professor of Medicine and Pharmacy University of Montreal Centre de Recherche Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal Montreal, QC MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Cara Tannenbaum, MD, MSc The Michel Saucier Endowed Chair in Geriatric Pharmacology, Health and Aging,Professor of Medicine and Pharmacy University of Montreal Centre de Recherche Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal Montreal, QC MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Tannenbaum: The EMPOWER study showed that providing older patients with information about the harms of sleeping pill use led to discontinuation or dose reduction in 1-in-every 4 patients with longstanding use of benzodiazepines. Receipt of evidence-based information about drug harms resulted in a 8-fold higher likelihood of benzodiazepine cessation. Many physicians think that patients become too dependent on sedative-hypnotics to successfully discontinue. Regardless of age, sex, and duration of use, 27% of patients aged 65-95 in this study successfully completed the recommended 20-week tapering protocol during a 6-month time period and another 11% were in the process of tapering. EMPOWERing patients with evidence-based information therefore results in appropriate risk reduction. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA / 11.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Wei-ping Zhou, MD, PhD Department of Hepatic Surgery Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital Shanghai, China MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?  Answer:  The main finding is that Quantitative HBsAg can be used as a new prognostic factor of Hepatocellular Carcinoma recurrence after partial hepatectomy in patients with a low HBV-DNA level. (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, JAMA / 10.04.2014

Bradley S. Peterson, MD Director of the Center for Developmental Neuropsychiatry Director of the Center for Developmental Neuropsychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute Suzanne Crosby Murphy Professor in Pediatric Neuropsychiatry, Columbia University, NYMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Bradley S. Peterson, MD Director of the Center for Developmental Neuropsychiatry Director of the Center for Developmental Neuropsychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute Suzanne Crosby Murphy Professor in Pediatric Neuropsychiatry, Columbia University, NY MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Peterson: We detected the presence of lactate in the brains of 13% of 75 participants who had ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), compared with 1% of the brains of 96 typically developing control participants. The presence of lactate was especially more common in adults who have ASD. Lactate is a product of anaerobic metabolism, which generally should not occur in healthy, living brains under normal circumstances. The presence of lactate in the brains of persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder therefore suggests the presence of deficient production of energy stores by a component of brain cells called “mitochondria”. We detected lactate most commonly in the cingulate gyrus, a region that supports the higher-order control of thought, emotion, and behavior, and that has been implicated previously in Autism Spectrum Disorder. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics / 07.04.2014

Dr. Marie Claude Ouimet, Ph.D. Assistant Professor/ Professeure adjointe University of Sherbrooke/ Université de Sherbrooke Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences/ Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé Longueuil, QC, Canada, J4K 0A8MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Marie Claude Ouimet, Ph.D. Assistant Professor/ Professeure adjointe University of Sherbrooke/ Université de Sherbrooke Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences/ Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé Longueuil, QC, Canada, J4K 0A8 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Ouimet :The goal of our study was to examine if teenagers’ driving risk was associated with a neurobiological factor. Driving was continuously observed with cameras and sensors installed in the vehicles of teenagers during their first 18 months of licensure. Cortisol response was measured within the first weeks of licensing. Our study showed two main findings: 1) Higher cortisol response to a stressful event was associated with lower crash and near crash rates over the study period; 2) Higher cortisol response was also linked to a sharper decrease in crash and near crash rates over time.   (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA / 07.04.2014

dr_sandra_l_deckerMedicalResearch.com Interview Sandra L. Decker, Ph.D. Distinguished Consultant Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics Hyattsville, MD 20782   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Decker: One of the main findings is that the percent of the low income population that is uninsured is higher in states not expanding Medicaid than those expanding.  The low income uninsured in non-expansion states are more likely to report having or having had certain health conditions such as hypertension, cancer, stroke, emphysema, or a heart condition than those in expansion states.  (more…)
Breast Cancer, JAMA, Outcomes & Safety / 03.04.2014

Dr. Lydia Pace, MD, MPH Division of Women’s Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, MassachusettsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Lydia  Pace, MD, MPH Division of Women’s Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, Massachusetts MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Pace: We reviewed the existing literature about the benefits and harms of mammography, focusing on the reduction of breast cancer deaths associated with mammography, as well as the two most often-discussed harms: false positive results and overdiagnosis. We also reviewed the literature about interventions to help patients make informed decisions. We found that the literature suggests that routine screening mammography does reduce mortality associated with breast cancer, across all age groups. However, it is also associated with high rates of false positive results, and considerable rates of overdiagnosis. Overdiagnosis is the most concerning potential risk of mammography screening. Overdiagnosis is the detection of a tumor through screening that would never have caused problems for a patient. It occurs either because of a very slow-growing tumor, or because a woman has medical problems (or is old enough) such that she will likely die of another cause before the cancer became apparent. Overdiagnosis is concerning because we cannot know when a cancer is overdiagnosed, and thus a patient who is overdiagnosed will receive unnecessary treatment for cancer. The scientific literature on mammography is complex, and there are important limitations to the studies both of mammography’s benefits and harms. However, we feel that the best available data suggest that among 10,000 50 year old women undergoing annual mammography for 10 years, 5 deaths will be averted through screening mammography, while about 6130 women will experience at least one positive result. Furthermore, there is about a 19% chance that, if that woman is diagnosed with cancer detected by a mammogram, that cancer is one that would never have caused her problems. Lastly, our review showed that we need more studies to guide us in how an individual woman’s risk should dictate her mammography decisions, and how to support women in making those decisions. However, we know that most women with higher risk for breast cancer will experience higher benefit from mammography screening. (more…)