Author Interviews, General Medicine, Lancet, Lipids / 02.10.2014

Professor F. J. Raal FRCP, FRCPC, FCP(SA), Cert Endo, MMED, PhD Director, Carbohydrate & Lipid Metabolism Research Unit Professor & Head, Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg Hospital Johannesburg South AfricaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor F. J. Raal FRCP, FRCPC, FCP(SA), Cert Endo, MMED, PhD Director, Carbohydrate & Lipid Metabolism Research Unit Professor & Head, Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg Hospital Johannesburg South Africa Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Raal: Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH)  is one of the most common inherited disorder in man affects between 1:250 to 1:300 persons worldwide. Thus, there are likely more than 3 million patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia in the United States and Europe alone. The RUTHERFORD-2 study was a large world-wide multinational study  of the use of the PCSK9-inhibitor, evolocumab, in over 300 patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH). Evolocumab administered either 140 mg biweekly or 420 mg monthly as a subcutaneous injection, much like an insulin injection, was well tolerated with minimal side effects,  and markedly reduced levels of LDL cholesterol or “bad cholesterol”  by over 60% compared to placebo. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JNCI, Lung Cancer, UT Southwestern / 02.10.2014

Dr. David Gerber MD Associate Professor of Internal Medicine Division of Hematology and Oncology Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. David Gerber MD Associate Professor of Internal Medicine Division of Hematology and Oncology Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Gerber: Fewer than 3% of adult cancer patients in the United States are enrolled in clinical trials.  Increasingly numerous and stringent eligibility criteria are a major factor limiting participation in clinical trials.  We examined the longstanding and widespread practice of excluding patients with prior cancer from oncology clinical trials.  This policy presumably reflects concerns that a prior cancer would interfere with the conduct, outcomes, or interpretation of a clinical trial, although there is no clear evidence supporting that assumption. We examined more than 50 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored lung cancer clinical trials.  We found that 80% excluded patients with prior cancers.  This exclusion criterion was applied broadly, including to more than two-thirds of trials with non-survival endpoints.  We then examined national Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked data to estimate the proportion of patients who would be excluded from these trials due to prior cancer.  We found that up to 18% of potential patients are excluded for this reason alone.  In large phase 3 clinical trials, that corresponds to more than 200 patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA / 01.10.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joanna Chikwe MD Associate Professor Department of Cardiovascular Surgery Mount Sinai Medical Center and Natalia N. Egorova, PhD Department of Health Evidence and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, New York Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: This is one of the largest studies to date on the long-term outcomes of patients after aortic valve replacement. We found that bioprosthetic valves are as safe as mechanical valves in younger patients (age 50-69) - specifically, long-term death rates and stroke risk were very similar in patients who had either valve type. The main differences lay in the risk of other long-term complications: patients who had bioprosthetic valves were more likely to need repeat surgery in the long-term, whereas patients who had mechanical valves were more likely to experience a major bleeding event. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Diabetologia, Exercise - Fitness, Genetic Research / 01.10.2014

Dr. Yann C Klimentidis, PhD Assistant professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health University of Arizona Medical CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview Invitation with: Dr. Yann C Klimentidis, PhD Assistant professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health University of Arizona Medical Center   Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Klimentidis: The main finding is that the association of physical activity with type-2 diabetes risk is weakest among those who are at high genetic risk for type-2 diabetes. Furthermore, we find that this trend is stronger among women as compared to men, and that it appears to be driven mainly by genetic risk to insulin resistance, as opposed to genetic risk for reduced beta-cell function. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Vitamin D / 01.10.2014

Karin Amrein, MD, MSc Assistant Professor Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism Medical University of Graz 8036 Graz, AustriaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Karin Amrein, MD, MSc Assistant Professor Department of Internal Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism Medical University of Graz 8036 Graz, Austria Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Amrein: This is the first large clinical trial on vitamin D in critical care. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, a population of mixed adult ICU patients with vitamin D deficiency (defined as 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level ≤ 20ng/ml) was assigned to receive either vitamin D3 or placebo. We used a high loading dose of vitamin D3 followed by monthly maintenance doses of 90,000 IU for a total of 5 months. Because of a substantially increased risk for skeletal complications below 12ng/ml of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, we used this threshold for a predefined subgroup analysis. Overall, high-dose vitamin D3 compared with placebo did not reduce hospital length of stay (primary endpoint), intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay, hospital mortality, or 6 month-mortality (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Orthopedics, Pain Research / 01.10.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ben Metcalf BsC (co-author) on behalf or A/Prof Rana Hinman PhD Centre for Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Metcalf: This study investigated whether acupuncture is an effective treatment for people aged more than 50 years with chronic knee pain. Participants in our study were randomly assigned to one of four groups; needle acupuncture, laser acupuncture, sham laser acupuncture or no treatment. The people in the treatment groups received acupuncture treatment from a family physician for 12 weeks. Participants were assessed after treatment and again after one year. There were no significant differences in knee pain or physical function between active and sham laser acupuncture at 12 weeks or at one year. Both needle and laser acupuncture resulted in modest improvements in pain compared with no treatment at 12 weeks that were not maintained at one year. Needle acupuncture improved physical function at 12 weeks compared with no treatment but was not different from sham acupuncture and was not maintained at one year. (more…)
Author Interviews, Esophageal, JAMA, University of Michigan / 01.10.2014

Megan A. Adams, MD Gastroenterology Fellow University of MichiganMedicalResearch.com Interview with Megan A. Adams, MD Gastroenterology Fellow University of Michigan   Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Adams: Surveys of doctors indicate that their fear of a malpractice lawsuit for missing a diagnosis of esophageal cancer might drive the overuse of tests called upper endoscopies in patients who are at low risk for the cancer. To examine whether this perception of medical liability risk accurately reflects the real likelihood of a malpractice claim, we looked at a national database of malpractice claims, and compared the rate of claims for delay in diagnosis of esophageal cancer in patients without alarm symptoms (weight loss, dysphagia, iron deficiency anemia), with the rate of claims alleging performance of an upper endoscopy without a good reason for performing the procedure. The database contained 278,220 claims filed against physicians in 1985-2012. The incidence of reported medical liability claims for failure to screen for esophageal cancer in patients without alarm features was quite low (19 claims in 11 years, 4 paid). In contrast, there were 17 claims in 28 years for complications of upper endoscopies with questionable indication (8 paid). (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA / 30.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marwan Badri MBChB, MRCP Cardiovascular disease fellow Lankenau Medical Center Wynnewood Pa Medical Research : What is the background for this study? Dr. Badri: Recent years witnessed increased emphasis of the role of clinical guidelines in cardiovascular care. Physicians are encouraged to practice within the framework of major society guidelines to deliver better, more cost-effective patient care. It is therefore vital that the recommendations in these guidelines are applicable to most of the patient population. Since some clinical trials have been shown in the past to unfavorably exclude women, racial minorities and elderly patients, we conducted this study to see if the clinical trials used to form the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association adequately represent these patient groups. (more…)
Author Interviews, Melanoma, NEJM / 30.09.2014

Georgina Long BSc PhD MBBS FRACP Associate Professor of Melanoma Biology and Translational Research Melanoma Institute Australia and the University of Sydney MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Georgina Long BSc PhD MBBS FRACP Associate Professor of Melanoma Biology and Translational Research Melanoma Institute Australia and the University of Sydney Medical Research: Could you provide some background on this project? Why did you decide to do this research project? What prior work led up to this latest paper? Dr. Long: Pre-clinically, we had data that showed that the combination of BRAF inhibitor + MEK inhibitor
  • Decreased skin proliferative toxicity seen with BRAF inhibitors alone (seen as hyperproliferative lesions in rats)
  • and delayed the emergence of resistance I.e. The tumours in the mice reduced in size more, and stayed reduced for longer.We then confirmed this concept in a randomised phase 2 study, although it was not powered for a definitive progression free survival (PFS_ difference like a phase 3 trial is, we saw a strong difference in response rate and in PFS, yet there were only 54 patients per arm.
(more…)
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Karolinski Institute / 29.09.2014

dr_iffat_rahmanMedicalResearch.com Interview Invitation with: Dr. Iffat Rahman Ph.D. Unit of Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Rahman: Our study suggests that moderate to high level of physical activity could protect against heart failure in women. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Breast Cancer, Weight Research / 29.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Usha Menon,  Evangelia-Ourania Fourkala PhD and Matthew Burrell PhD Gynaecological Cancer Research Centre, Women's Cancer, UCL EGA Institute for Women's Health, University College London, UK Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Response: Our study has shown that skirt size is a good proxy for central obesity. Each unit increase in UK skirt size every ten years between the age of 20 and 60 was associated with a 33% increase in postmenopausal breast cancer in our cohort. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, BMC / 29.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Dr. med. Alain Nordmann Innere Medizin FMH Basel, Switzerland Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Nordmann: Based on available randomised controlled trials, garlic preparations seem to lower blood pressure in individuals with hypertension in the short term. However, the quality of the studies and the lack of long-term data preclude the routine use of garlic preparations to lower blood pressure in individuals qualifying for antihypertensive drug therapy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JACC / 29.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Katharina Mayer MD Deutsches Herzzentrum München, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Mayer: Patients whose platelets do not respond well to aspirin carry a higher risk of death or stent thrombosis. Platelet response to aspirin is an independent predictor of ischemic events in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Mental Health Research, Weight Research / 27.09.2014

Stewart Agras, M.D. Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus Stanford University School of MedicineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stewart Agras, M.D. Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus Stanford University School of Medicine MedicalResearch: What was the study about? Dr. Agras: Family-based treatment (FBT) has been shown to be more effective than individual psychotherapy for the treatment of adolescent anorexia nervosa. This treatment focuses on helping the family to re-feed their child. The question posed in this study was whether Family-based treatment would have any advantages over Systemic family therapy (SyFT) focusing on family interactions that may affect the maintenance of the disorder. The participants were 164 adolescents with anorexia nervosa and their families – one of the largest studies of its type. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, Pharmacology / 27.09.2014

Dr. Song Hee Hong PhD Associate Professor, Health Outcomes and Policy Research Dept. Clinical Pharmacy University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis, TN 38163MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Song Hee Hong PhD Associate Professor, Health Outcomes and Policy Research Dept. Clinical Pharmacy University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis, TN 38163 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Hong: Use of GDDP (generic drug discount programs) increased to 23.1% in 2010 from 3.6% of patients receiving any prescription drugs in 2007. Generic drug discount programs were more valued among the elderly, sicker and uninsured populations. The lower use of Generic drug discount programs among racial/ethnic minorities observed when the program was deployed no longer existed when the program matured. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Frailty, Lancet / 25.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. MichaelD. Keall PhD Otago University, Wellington, New Zealand Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Keall: We found that home injuries from falls could be reduced by 26% by making some simple modifications to people’s homes, consisting of handrails for steps and stairs, grab rails for bathrooms, outside lighting, edging for outside steps and slip-resistant surfacing for outside surfaces such as decks and porches. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Lancet / 25.09.2014

Prof Mika Kivimäki PhD Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK Hjelt Institute, Medical Faculty, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FinlandMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof Mika Kivimäki PhD Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK Hjelt Institute, Medical Faculty, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Kivimäki: In our study, we pooled published and unpublished data from 222 120 men and women from the USA, Europe, Japan, and Australia. Of them, 4963 individuals developed type 2 diabetes during the mean follow-up of 7.6 years. This is the largest study to date on this topic. In an analysis stratified by socioeconomic status, the association between long working hours and diabetes was evident in the low socioeconomic status group, but was null in the high socioeconomic status group. The association in the low socioeconomic status group did not change after taking into account age, sex, obesity, physical activity, and shift working. So, the association was very robust. In brief, the main finding of our meta-analysis is that the link between longer working hours and type 2 diabetes was apparent only in individuals in the low socioeconomic status groups. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JACC / 23.09.2014

Jerry D. Estep, M.D., FACC Assistant Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College Medical Director, Heart Transplant & LVAD Program Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center Houston Methodist HospitalMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jerry D. Estep, M.D., FACC Assistant Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College Medical Director, Heart Transplant & LVAD Program Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center Houston Methodist Hospital Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Estep: There were two major findings: 1-Non-invasive Doppler echocardiographic and invasive measures of mean right atrial pressure (RAP) (r = 0.863; p < 0.0001), systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) (r=0.880; p<0.0001), right ventricular outflow tract stroke volume (r=0.660; p < 0.0001), and pulmonary vascular resistance (r = 0.643; p= 0.001) correlated significantly. 2-An algorithm integrating mitral inflow velocities, RAP, sPAP, and left atrial volume index was 90% accurate in distinguishing normal from elevated left ventricular filling pressures. (more…)
Author Interviews, General Medicine, Heart Disease, JACC, Karolinski Institute / 23.09.2014

Agneta Åkesson Associate professor, senior lecturer Photo by Anna Persson Nutritional Epidemiology IMM Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, SwedMedicalResearch.com Interview with Agneta Åkesson Associate professor, senior lecturer                                                  Nutritional Epidemiology IMM Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, Sweden Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Åkesson: Our study indicates that a healthy diet together with low-risk lifestyle practices such as being physically active, not smoking and having a moderate alcohol consumption, and with the absence of abdominal adiposity may prevent the vast majority of myocardial infarctions in men. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, JAMA / 23.09.2014

A001_C001_03160QMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Philippe Courtet MD PhD Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Montpellier, Institut National de la Santé et de la Récherche Médicale , Université Montpellier, Montpellier, France Fondation Fondamental, Créteil, France Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Courtet: Depressed outpatients who are beginning the treatment with a SSRI at higher dose than recommended present an increased risk (x2) of worsening of suicidal ideation during the first 6 weeks of treatment. This is consistent with the study by Miller et al published in the same journal few weeks ago, reporting a double risk of suicide attempt in young subjects (<24 yrs) who are begun an SSRI at higher dose than recommended. Our results showed that the increased suicide risk with the high dose of SSRI is not restricted to youngsters and is independent of the severity of the depression. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA / 23.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Todd C. Lee, MD, MPH Division of General Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases Department of Medicine, McGill University Health Centre McGill Centre for Quality Improvement, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lee: We found that in our cross-sectional study of six inpatient units in five hospitals that, in general, only 11% of patients were wearing lower body garments despite the fact that probably 55% of them could have been doing so.  The remainder were wearing open backed gowns.  When specifically asked, the majority of these patients would like to have been afforded the opportunity to wear more dignified attire and the patients were surprised that they were allowed to do so. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, General Medicine, JAMA, Kidney Disease / 22.09.2014

Dr. Csaba P. Kovesdy, MD Professor of Medicine University of Tennessee Health Science Center Chief of Nephrology Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical CentMedicalResearch.com: Interview Invitation Dr. Csaba P. Kovesdy, MD Professor of Medicine University of Tennessee Health Science Center Chief of Nephrology Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Kovesdy: We applied the structure of a clinical trial of hypertension management to our cohort of >600,000 patients with prevalent Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). We first identified patients with baseline uncontrolled hypertension (using the definition applied by the SPRINT trial), then isolated the ones who had a decline in their baseline systolic blood pressure to two different levels (<120 and 120-139 mmHg) in response to a concomitant increase in prescribed antihypertensives, similar to what would happen in a trial examining two different systolic blood pressure targets. We then matched patients in the two groups to end up with identical baseline characteristics, similar to a randomized trial. When we examined the all-cause mortality of these two groups, we found that the group with follow-up systolic blood pressure of <120 had a 70% higher mortality. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pulmonary Disease / 20.09.2014

Andrea Gershon MD, MSc, FRCP(C) Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences Respirologist, Division of Respirology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto ICES Central Bayview Avenue, Toronto, OntarioMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andrea Gershon MD, MSc, FRCP(C) Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences Respirologist, Division of Respirology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto ICES Central Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Gershon: Within a large real world population of people with COPD, those who initiated combination long-acting beta-agonists (LABA) and inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) were less likely to die or be hospitalized for COPD than those who initiated LABA alone. Further those who initiated LABA/ICS combination therapy did not appear to have more pneumonia or osteoporotic fractures – side effects that have been associated with ICS use—than those initiating LABA alone. A second interesting finding was that people with a co-diagnosis of asthma experienced a greater incremental benefit of LABA/ICS over LABA than people without a co-diagnosis of asthma. Finally, we found that people who were not also taking an inhaled long-acting anticholinergic medication experienced a greater incremental benefit of LABA/ICS over LABA than people who were. (more…)
Author Interviews, General Medicine, Heart Disease, JAMA / 20.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview  Dongyi (Tony) Du, MD, PhD Division of Epidemiology FDA/CDRH/OSB Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Du: The risk for death on the date of surgery was 60% higher for recipients of mechanical aortic valves than recipients of bioprosthetic aortic valves (OR, 1.61 [95%CI, 1.27-2.04; P < .001]; risk ratio [RR], 1.60). The risk difference decreased to 16% during the 30 days after the date of surgery (OR, 1.18 [95%CI, 1.09-1.28; P < .001]; RR, 1.16). The risk for operative mortality was 19% higher for recipients of mechanical compared with bioprosthetic valves (OR, 1.21 [95%CI, 1.13-1.30; P < .001]; RR, 1.19). The number needed to treat with mechanical valves to observe 1 additional death on the surgery date was 290; to observe 1 additional death within 30 days of surgery, 121. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, BMJ / 20.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Bindu Kalesan PhD MPH Department of Epidemiology Mailman School of Public Health Columbia University Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Kalesan: There were on average 84 gun deaths per day in the US between 2000 and 2010. The main message of the study is that the 11-year stable national firearm fatality rates mask the wide variation between states, racial and ethnic subgroups and intent of injury. Across 11 years, African-Americans had firearm fatality rates twice greater than Caucasians and 6-times greater than other minority races; the rates showing a decline only among other races. We found that the lowest rates are in HI while very high rates are observed in AK, LA and DC. Seven states (NY, IL, MD, NC, CA, AZ, NV) and DC showed declining rates while FL and MA had rising rates. The widely varying inter-state differences were driven by race specific differences within states. (more…)
JAMA, Ophthalmology / 20.09.2014

Szilárd Kiss, MD Director of Clinical Research Director of Compliance Associate Professor of Ophthalmology Weill Cornell Medical College NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital New York, New York 10021MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Szilárd Kiss, MD Director of Clinical Research Director of Compliance  Associate Professor of Ophthalmology Weill Cornell Medical College NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital New York, New York 10021 Medical Research: What is the background for your study? Dr. Kiss: There has been a good deal of publicity about bevacizumab (Avastin; a Genetech/Roche antibody originally developed for treatment of cancer but now used widely to treat macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy) being prepared by (mostly unregulated) compounding pharmacies for injection into the eye, and being associated with pathogen contamination. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, JAMA, Metabolic Syndrome / 19.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview : Iben Marie Miller, MD Department of Dermatology Roskilde Hospital, Roskilde Department of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Miller: Using a cross-sectional design based on data from a Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) group recruited from the hospital (32 individuals), an HS group recruited from the general population (326 individuals) and 14,851 individuals without Hidradenitis Suppurativa, we investigated a possible association of Hidradenitis Suppurativa and the metabolic syndrome. We found that the HS groups had 2 to 4 times odds of having the metabolic syndrome when compared to individuals without HS leaving Hidradenitis Suppurativa patients at a high cardiovascular risk. Furthermore, we found that the odds were higher for the HS group from the hospital in comparison to the Hidradenitis Suppurativa group from the general population. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Nature, Prostate Cancer / 18.09.2014

Dr. Jyotsna Batra QUT Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation's Queensland University of Technology Queensland, AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jyotsna Batra QUT Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation's Queensland University of Technology Queensland, Australia   Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr Batra: Prostate cancer is a disease with upto 40% genetic component. Previous Genome-wide association studies have identified 77 risk loci associated with prostate cancer. This study is further extension of previous GWASs and also involved meta-analysis of multi-ethnic populations. Through this large study involving approximately 90,0000 individuals, 23 new susceptibility loci were identified to be associated with prostate cancer, 15 variants were identified among men of European ancestry, 7 were identified in multi-ancestry analyses and 1 was associated with early-onset prostate cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Lancet / 17.09.2014

Judith Trotman MBChB, FRACP, FRCPA Associate Professor Concord Hospital University of Sydney, AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Judith Trotman MBChB, FRACP, FRCPA Associate Professor Concord Hospital University of Sydney, Australia Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Trotman: That PET-CT (applying the cut-off of ≥4 on the now internationally recommended 5 Point Scale) is a more powerful predictor of both Progression Free and Overall Survival than conventional CT in patients responding to first line immunochemotherapy for advanced follicular lymphoma.  It is also a much stronger predictor than the pre-treatment prognostic indices FLIPI and FLIP2. Patients who achieve PET-negative status have a median PFS over 6 years compared to only 17 months in those who remain PET-positive. (more…)
Author Interviews, Kidney Stones, NEJM, Radiology, UCSF / 17.09.2014

Rebecca Smith-Bindman, MD Professor in the Departments of Radiology; Epidemiology and Biostatistics; and Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine UCSF San Francisco Calif.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rebecca Smith-Bindman, MD Professor in the Departments of Radiology; Epidemiology and Biostatistics; and Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine UCSF San Francisco Calif. Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Smith-Bindman: New technology is rapidly developed in medicine, and its important to understand how that technology should be used to improve patient health outcomes. Sometimes the technology is far better than existing technology and it should replace the earlier technology, and sometimes it is not and therefore should not be used. In this clinical scenario – I e. patients who present to an emergency department with abdomen or back pain thought to possibly reflect kidney stones, ultrasound is a simpler, less expensive , and more readily available test in the emergency department setting and therefore if it is equal to CT with respect to patient outcomes, it should be used as the first test in these patients. Currently, CT is the test widely used for patients with suspected kidney stones. We assessed a large number of patients with suspected kidney stones seen at one of 15 large academic emergency medicine departments across the country. Patients were assigned to point of care ultrasound performed by an ED physician, radiology ultrasound or radiology CT. We assessed a broad range of patient centered outcomes and found each of the three tests we studied were equivalent in terms of these outcomes including complications related to missed diagnoses, related serious adverse events, time spent in the emergency department and repeated ED visits and hospitalizations. However, the exposure to ionizing radiation was around half as high in patients who underwent ultrasound as their first test, and thus ultrasound should be used as the first imaging test in patients with suspected nephrolithiasis. (more…)