Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cognitive Issues, Sleep Disorders / 01.07.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_54758" align="alignleft" width="198"]Dr. Rebecca Robbins, PhD MS Fellow at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Dr. Robbins[/caption] Dr. Rebecca Robbins, PhD MS Fellow at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Sleep difficulties are common among older adults and are associated with cognitive decline. We used data collected over 10 years from a large, nationally representative longitudinal survey of adults over the age of 50 in the U.S. We examined the relationship between specific sleep difficulties and cognitive function over time. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?  Response: Our results show that early difficulty falling asleep and early morning awakenings, when experienced "most nights" of the week, were each associated with worse cognitive function. Conversely, reports of waking feeling rested was associated with better cognitive function, over time.  
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cognitive Issues, Heart Disease, JACC, Lipids / 23.05.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_54285" align="alignleft" width="133"]Robert P. Giugliano, MD, SM Senior Investigator, TIMI Study Group Cardiovascular Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School Boston, MA Dr. Giugliano[/caption] Robert P. Giugliano, MD, SM Senior Investigator, TIMI Study Group Cardiovascular Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School Boston, MA  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Some prior studies had suggested that lipid lowering therapies were associated with impaired cognition.  We sought to explore this question in a prospectively designed substudy of the large FOURIER randomized, double-blind clinical trial utilizing patient self-surveys administered the end of the study to determine whether patients themselves noticed any changes in cognition over the duration of the trial. The survey tool was a shortened version of the Everyday Cognition Questionnaire (see attached) that asks patients 23 questions that assess memory and executive function (including subdomains of planning, organization, and divided attention). The questions are in the format of "Compared to the beginning of the study, has there been any change in .....", and are graded as 1=better/no change, 2=questionable/occasionally worse, 3=consistently a little worse, 4=consistently much worse.
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Mediterranean Diet, NIH / 21.04.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48090" align="alignleft" width="150"]Emily Y. Chew, M.D.Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical ApplicationsDeputy Clinical Director at the National Eye Institute (NEI), National Institutes of Health Dr. Chew[/caption] Emily Y. Chew, M.D. Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications Deputy Clinical Director at the National Eye Institute (NEI), National Institutes of Health  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Dementia is a common disorder that was estimated to have a worldwide prevalence of 44 million in 2016 and is projected to hit 115 million by 2050. Many phase 3 trials of various therapies have failed and we have no treatment currently available for the prevention or reduction of the course of dementia. A slow neurocognitive decline throughout life is part of the normal process of aging. However, there is a subset of individuals who may have accelerated aging and is at high risk of development dementia. If the course of such accelerated decline could be altered in any way, it would be important to evaluate. The role of diet with biologic aging has been studied and diet has been also found to be associated with age-related conditions linked to dementia, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. We were interested in the cognitive function of our participants who had another neurodegenerative disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We had conducted two randomized controlled clinical trials designed to evaluate the role of oral supplements for the treatment of AMD. We also studied cognitive function in both clinical trials of nearly 8,000 participants who were followed for 10 years. We also evaluated the dietary habits of the participants with food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) at baseline. Cognitive function testing was conducted in the first study, the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) near the end of the clinical trial while the AREDS2, the second study, evaluated cognitive function testing at baseline and every 2 years until year 6. AREDS study evaluated cognitive function with in-clinic study visits while AREDS2 was conducted using telephone interviews. Our aim was to determine whether closer adherence to the alternative Mediterranean diet (aMED) was associated with impaired cognitive function these two studies. We were interested in the particular components of the Mediterranean diet that may be important. We also evaluated the interaction of genetics with the diet.   
Aging, Author Interviews, Mental Health Research / 08.04.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53829" align="alignleft" width="200"]Leeann Mahlo Registered Psychologist PhD (Clinical Psychology) Candidate College of Education, Psychology and Social Work Flinders University Leeann Mahlo[/caption] Leeann Mahlo Registered Psychologist PhD (Clinical Psychology) Candidate College of Education, Psychology and Social Work Flinders University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Mindfulness can be instrumental in reducing stress and promoting positive psychological outcomes. However, few studies have considered the positive effects of mindfulness on psychological functioning from a lifespan perspective. Our research aimed to examine the role of age in the relationships between specific aspects of mindfulness and psychological flexibility and well-being.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues / 28.03.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53684" align="alignleft" width="200"]Joanne Ryan, PhD Senior Research Fellow, ASPREE From the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Monash University Melbourne, Australia Dr. Ryan[/caption] Joanne Ryan, PhD Senior Research Fellow, ASPREE From the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Monash University Melbourne, Australia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Aspirin is a commonly used drug known to reduce inflammation, and prevent blood clotting (antiplatelet) - which is why it is commonly used in secondary prevention in individuals with established cardiovascular disease. Inflammation is thought to be a central mechanism in Alzheimer's disease, implicated in the neuropathological cascade leading to the development of dementia and other forms of dementia. Cardiovascular risk factors and stroke are both associated with cognitive decline and an increased risk of dementia. This formed the basis of the hypothesis that aspirin could be beneficial in helping to reduce cognitive decline and the occurrence of Alzheimer's Disease.
Author Interviews, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics / 26.03.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53647" align="alignleft" width="97"]Jillian Hardin, Ph.D. Developmental Psychophysiology Lab Florida Atlantic University Dr. Hardin[/caption] Jillian Hardin, Ph.D. Developmental Psychophysiology Lab Florida Atlantic University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Most Kangaroo Care (KC) research examines the procedure’s positive physiological and psychological developmental effects on preterm infants as these infants are separated from their mothers before the end of gestation. However, the aim of our study was to determine whether kangaroo care parent-training and implementation with non-vulnerable, full-term infants provided developmental neurophysiological benefits. 
Addiction, Author Interviews, JAMA, Mental Health Research / 20.03.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53588" align="alignleft" width="158"]Jiajin Yuan, Ph.D Professor of Psychology Director, The Laboratory for Affect Cognition and Regulation, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University,  Chongqing, China Dr. Jiajin Yuan[/caption] Jiajin Yuan, Ph.D Professor of Psychology Director, The Laboratory for Affect Cognition and Regulation, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Impulsivity is a critical symptom of methamphetamine addiction, and this symptom plays an important role in compulsive, unresistable drug-seeking behavioral and is thus detrimental to the rehabilitation. Impulsivity in drug addiction also contributes to disruption of people's goal pursuit/goal maintenance, and aggressive/violent behaviors after drug use. Also, lack of suitable intervention for addiction-related impulsivity is known to be a risky factor for the drug reuse after successful rehabilitation. Thus, rehabilitaton targeted at impulsivity in methamphetamine addicts is important to comprehensive rehabilitation of the drug addiction and also to successful return to social life after rehabilitation
Author Interviews, Brain Injury, Exercise - Fitness, Pediatrics / 05.03.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53400" align="alignleft" width="160"]Robert F. Heary, M.D. Co-Director, Reynolds Family Spine Laboratory Director, Spine Center of New Jersey Professor, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Newark, New Jersey Robert F. Heary, M.D.
Co-Director, Reynolds Family Spine Laboratory
Director, Spine Center of New Jersey
Professor, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Newark, New Jersey[/caption] Robert F. Heary, M.D. Co-Director, Reynolds Family Spine Laboratory Director, Spine Center of New Jersey Professor, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Newark, New Jersey MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: This article was written to assess the relative danger versus safety of youth football.  As this is a hot-button topic in the world of neurosurgery and neurology, we decided to look into this issue. In a suburban town, middle school football players were studied.  They wore helmets with accelerometers mounted inside the hemet to measure how many hits the player absorbs and the magnitude of the force behind the hits.  Also, soft “guardian caps” we worn over the outside of the helmets during practices. For all football activities (practices and games), the helmets were worn and data were accumulated.  In addition, specialized coaching related to safe tackling techniques was provided.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, USPSTF / 04.03.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53371" align="alignleft" width="133"]Chyke A. Doubeni, M.D., M.P.H. Director, the Mayo Clinic Center Health Equity and Community Engagement Research Department of Family Medicine Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN Dr. Doubeni[/caption] Chyke A. Doubeni, M.D., M.P.H. Director, the Mayo Clinic Center Health Equity and Community Engagement Research Department of Family Medicine Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cognitive impairment is a serious public health problem that affects millions of Americans as they age; it can lead to frustrating challenges that impact their everyday lives, such as trouble remembering, learning new things, or organizing their thoughts.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Hearing Loss / 28.02.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53358" align="alignleft" width="160"]Julia Sarant, PhD  Associate Professor Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Melbourne School of Health Sciences Dr. Sarant[/caption] Julia Sarant, PhD Associate Professor Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Melbourne School of Health Sciences MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Dementia is a rapidly growing global problem. Hearing loss has been identified by the Lancet Commissions as a modifiable risk factor for dementia. There is no treatment for dementia. This study investigated the effect of hearing aid use on cognition over time in older adults, objectively assessing hearing loss treatment, compliance and benefits while controlling for the effects of other known risk factors for dementia. 
Author Interviews, JAMA, Mental Health Research / 28.02.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53338" align="alignleft" width="190"]Dr. Aristotle Voineskos MD, PhD, FRCPC Director, Slaight Family Centre for Youth in Transition and Head, Kimel Family Translational Imaging-Genetics Laboratory Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute CAMH University of Toronto Dr. Voineskos[/caption] Dr. Aristotle Voineskos MD, PhD, FRCPC Director, Slaight Family Centre for Youth in Transition and Head, Kimel Family Translational Imaging-Genetics Laboratory Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute CAMH University of Toronto MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Uncontrolled studies in humans have shown conflicting results regarding effects of antipsychotic medications on brain structure. Recent studies in animals (e.g. rats and non-human primates) show that these medications may be associated with brain volume loss. To date, our knowledge of the effects of antipsychotic medications on brain structure in humans have been limited by the lack of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with brain imaging. Ours is the first such study. It is considered unethical to do such a study in people with schizophrenia, because of the life-saving benefits of these medications in this illness. However, in people with depression also experiencing psychosis, it was possible to do such a study once people experienced remission from their illness.
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cognitive Issues, Social Issues / 27.02.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53305" align="alignleft" width="200"]Nancy J. Donovan, M.D. Chief, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry Brigham and Women’s Hospital Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115 Dr Donovan[/caption] Nancy J. Donovan, M.D. Chief, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry Brigham and Women’s Hospital Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Prior research has shown that widowed older adults are more likely to experience cognitive decline than those who are married. However, there have been no prior studies of widowhood as a risk factor for cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of severe cognitive impairment.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Heart Disease / 25.02.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53293" align="alignleft" width="200"]Prof. Konstantinos Stellos, MD, DM, MRCP, DSc, FAHA, FESC Professor of Medicine, Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine, Chair of Epitranscriptomics Lead, Vascular Biology & Medicine Theme Hon. Consultant Cardiologist, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Biosciences Institute Faculty of Medical Sciences Newcastle University Prof. Stellos[/caption] Prof. Konstantinos Stellos, MD, DM, MRCP, DSc, FAHA, FESC Professor of Medicine, Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine, Chair of Epitranscriptomics Lead, Vascular Biology & Medicine Theme Hon. Consultant Cardiologist, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Biosciences Institute Faculty of Medical Sciences Newcastle University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this seminar? Can you tell us a little about how amyloid is made and stored? Response: Patients are afraid that they may die due to a heart attack - a major cause of death worldwide- or if they live long they may get dementia compromising severely their quality of life in their last years of life. Many years ago we asked the question whether there is a link between these two ageing-associated diseases. For this reason we studied the clinical value of amyloid-beta peptides in patients with coronary heart disease. We chose to study the amyloid-beta peptides, which are the cleavage product of the beta- and gamma-secretases of the mother protein amyloid precursor protein, because amyloid-beta plaques in brain is the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Following amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene transcription, APP is cleaved in the nonamyloidogenic pathway (plasma membrane) by α- and γ- secretases or in the amyloidogenic pathway (endosomes) by β- and γ- secretases. The later pathway generates amyloid beta (Αβ) peptides that are released extracellularly. Αβ accumulation in blood or tissues may result from enhanced production/cleavage or by impaired degradation and/or clearance. The related mechanisms are depicted in Figure 2 of our publication in JACC: http://www.onlinejacc.org/content/75/8/952 
Author Interviews, Mental Health Research / 25.02.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53285" align="alignleft" width="200"]Leonardo Christov-Moore, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Scholar Brain and Creativity Institute University of Southern California Dr. Christov-Moore[/caption] Leonardo Christov-Moore, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Scholar Brain and Creativity Institute University of Southern California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We've known for some time that empathy has both bottom-up, affective, somatomotor components, that let us quickly feel and internally simulate other peoples' internal states, and more cognitive, top-down components through which we make conscious inferences about others' beliefs, intentions and internal states. And there is interesting work suggesting that in many cases, these components work together. In our work, we took this idea further to propose that they exist in constant interaction, with the bottom-up systems  providing information that informs the top-down processes (aiding in our inference), which in turn provide modulation and control to the bottom-up processes (modulating the extent to which we "resonate" with others based on context, affiliation, etc.). Specifically, we found that you could predict many aspects of prosocial decision-making ( a top-down task) from bottom-up and top-down systems' interaction during simple bottom-up empathy tasks (passively observing someone experience emotion or pain). This led us to hypothesize that peoples' levels of empathic concern for others are dictated by stable patterns of interaction between these systems. In the current study, we made a strong test of this hypothesis: if these empathy-predicting patterns of interaction are stable across task demands, we should be able to observe them (and predict empathic concern from them) even when the brain is not doing anything ostensibly related to empathy! So that's what we did.
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues / 24.02.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53278" align="alignleft" width="200"]Terese Sara Høj Jørgensen PhD Assistant Professor Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences University of Copenhagen Dr. Jørgense[/caption] Terese Sara Høj Jørgensen PhD Assistant Professor Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences University of Copenhagen MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Dementia may develop as a result of both genetics and environmental exposures operating throughout the life course, and the risk of dementia may already be established early in life. Body height has a strong genetic component and is at the same time influenced by environmental factors early in life. Body height is an expression of growth early in life and a taller body height could express that the body has had an optimal development. At the same time, a shorter body height could be an indicator of harmful exposures early in life. A few smaller studies have identified a link between body height and dementia. However, rather than being a risk factor of dementia in itself, body height is likely an indicator of harmful exposures early in life and hereby linked to dementia. Body growth could furthermore be linked to dementia as an indicator of brain and cognitive reserve. Thus, to understand the relationship between body height and dementia, large scale high-quality longitudinal studies exploring the impact of early environmental factors and genetics to explain the link between body height and dementia were needed prior to this study.
Author Interviews, Schizophrenia / 12.02.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53147" align="alignleft" width="200"]Andrew Satlin, M.D. Chief Medical Officer Intra-Cellular Therapies Dr. Satlin[/caption] Andrew Satlin, M.D. Chief Medical Officer Intra-Cellular Therapies MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this announcement? How does CAPLYTA (lumateperone) differ from other medications for schizophrenia? Response: Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness and complex disease that presents itself differently in various patients. Antipsychotics are associated with side effects such as weight gain and metabolic disturbances and movement disorders. Many patients often discontinue treatment as a result of these side effects. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved CAPLTA (lumateperone) for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults. We are excited to provide a new option for treating patients living with schizophrenia with an established efficacy and a favorable weight, metabolic and motor side effect profile.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, McGill, Neurology, Technology / 28.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52997" align="alignleft" width="160"]Yasser Iturria-Medina PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery Associate member of the Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health McConnell Brain Imaging Centre McGill University Dr. Iturria-Medina[/caption] Yasser Iturria-Medina PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery Associate member of the Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health McConnell Brain Imaging Centre McGill University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: As background, two main points:
  • Almost all molecular (gene expression) analyses performed in neurodegeneration are based on snapshots data, taking at one or a few time points covering the disease's large evolution. Because neurodegenerative diseases take decades to develop, until now we didn't have a dynamical characterization of these diseases. Our study tries to overcome such limitation, proposing a data-driven methodology to study long term dynamical changes associated to disease.
Also, we still lacked robust minimally invasive and low-cost biomarkers of individual neuropathological progression. Our method is able to offer both in-vivo and post-mortem disease staging highly predictive of neuropathological and clinical alterations.
Author Interviews, Depression, Dermatology, Pediatrics / 21.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_24142" align="alignleft" width="128"]Dr. Jonathan L. Silverberg MD PhD MPH Assistant Professor in Dermatology Medical Social Sciences and Preventive Medicine Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois Dr. Jonathan Silverberg[/caption] Dr. Jonathan L. Silverberg MD PhD MPH Director of Clinical Research and Contact Dermatitis Associate Professor of Dermatology George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Washington, DC  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We previously found that children from single parent families, and unsafe or unsupportive neighborhoods are more likely to have atopic dermatitis. Parents in these settings may experience greater psychosocial distress and higher rates of depression in the post-partum period and beyond. As such, we sought to understand the relationship of maternal depression with atopic dermatitis in their children.
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Cognitive Issues / 20.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52873" align="alignleft" width="200"]Annelise Madison Lead author of the study Graduate Student in Clinical Psychology Ohio State Annelise Madison[/caption] Annelise Madison Lead author of the study Graduate Student in Clinical Psychology Ohio State MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Recently, there have been some reports of cognitive problems among those using proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Some breast cancer survivors use PPIs during and after treatment to manage gastrointestinal side effects of cancer treatment or to prevent damage to the gut lining. We were interested in whether PPI use among breast cancer survivors related to cognitive problems. We conducted secondary analyses on data from three studies with breast cancer survivors. We found that breast cancer survivors taking PPIs reported cognitive problems that were between 20-29% worse than those reported by non-users.
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Genetic Research / 15.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52807" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr. Matthew Gentry, Haining Zhu and Lisha Kuang UK researchers
Dr. Matthew Gentry, Haining Zhu and Lisha Kuang
December 9, 2019. Photo by Mark Cornelison | UK photo[/caption] Haining Zhu, PhD Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Frontotemporal dementia is the most common type of early onset dementia impacting people between ages 40 and 65. It affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which leads to behavior and personality changes, difficulty speaking and writing, and eventual memory deterioration. A subgroup of patients with frontotemporal dementia have a specific genetic mutation that prevents brain cells from making a protein called progranulin. Although progranulin is not well understood, its absence is linked to the disease.
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics / 15.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52797" align="alignleft" width="123"]Lucia Diaz, M.D.           Dr. Diaz[/caption] Lucia Diaz, M.D., is chief of pediatric dermatology, dermatology residency associate program director and assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at Dell Medical School. She is also co-director of the dermatology-rheumatology combined clinic at Dell Children’s Medical Center. [caption id="attachment_52796" align="alignleft" width="150"]Sasha Jaquez,           Dr. Jaquez[/caption] Sasha Jaquez, Ph.D. is a pediatric psychologist at Dell Children's Medical School/Dell Children's Medical Center and specializes in seeing children with chronic medical illness, including skin disorders.     [caption id="attachment_52791" align="alignleft" width="294"]DermNet-NZ-trichotillomania DermNet-NZ Image Trichotillomania[/caption] MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Trichotillomania (TTM) can be an extremely disabling chronic condition that impacts the psychosocial development of children. It is classified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) as an obsessive-compulsive disorder, where a person recurrently pulls out hair from any region of their body resulting in hair loss. Recognizing this disorder and being informed of treatment options allows medical providers to correctly diagnose and intervene early in the disease course. We reviewed the psychosocial impacts of pediatric trichotillomania and the current evidence-based interventions used in the population. 
Author Interviews, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, JAMA, Schizophrenia, Weight Research / 08.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52731" align="alignleft" width="150"]Shahram Bahrami, PhD NORMENT Centre, Institute of Clinical Medicine Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital Oslo, Norway Dr. Bahrami[/caption] Shahram Bahrami, PhD NORMENT Centre, Institute of Clinical Medicine Division of Mental Health and Addiction Oslo University Hospital Oslo, Norway  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We know that patients with severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression have shorter life span than the rest of the population, largely due to comorbid cardiovascular diseases. The increased risk seems related to lifestyle including diet and physical activity and medicines, while the mechanisms are not fully understood. Different studies have shown increased weight (high body mass index) in many people with mental disorders. Yet very little is known about genetic variants jointly in influencing major psychiatric disorders and body mass index. Thus, we investigated if there are overlapping genetic risk variants between body mass index and the mental disorders schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and major depression. 
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Brain Injury, JAMA, Pediatrics, UCSF / 08.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52671" align="alignleft" width="179"]Benjamin N. Breyer MD, MAS, FACS Associate Professor Departments of Urology and Epidemiology and Biostatistics University of California, San Francisco Dr. Breyer[/caption] Benjamin N. Breyer MD, MAS, FACS Associate Professor Departments of Urology and Epidemiology and Biostatistics University of California, San Francisco Vice-Chair of Urology Chief of Urology, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center Director, UCSF Male Genitourinary Reconstruction and Trauma Surgery Fellowship MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There has been a large increase in upright scooter usage among adults as a mode of transportation. It's convenient for commuters and may encourage greater use of public transit leading to less car traffic in cities.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Technology / 08.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52700" align="alignleft" width="200"]Ao.Univ.-Prof. Priv.-Doz. Dr.med.univ. Roland Beisteiner. Department of Neurology Laboratory for Functional Brain Diagnostics and Therapy High Field MR Center, Medical University of Vienna Vienna, Austria Dr. Beisteiner[/caption] Dr.med.univ. Roland Beisteiner Department of Neurology Laboratory for Functional Brain Diagnostics and Therapy High Field MR Center, Medical University of Vienna Vienna, Austria MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The background is the development of a new brain therapy which allows to support brain regeneration by activation of neurons with pulsed ultrasound. Main findings are that Alzheimer's patients improve their memory up to 3 months.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Brain Injury, Medical Imaging, UCSF / 06.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52640" align="alignleft" width="180"]William G. Mantyh, MD Clinical Fellow, UCSF Memory and Aging Center Weill Institute for Neurosciences UCSF Dr. Mantyh[/caption] William G. Mantyh, MD Clinical Fellow, UCSF Memory and Aging Center Weill Institute for Neurosciences UCSF MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Similar to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementing illnesses, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition associated with abnormally folded tau protein in the brain. CTE is thought to be caused by exposure to repetitive head trauma, and recently has been the subject of intense media coverage given the frequency of CTE found in brains of deceased former American professional football players. CTE is almost impossible to confidently diagnose during life as the symptoms are diverse and vary from patient-to-patient. Symptoms can include impairments in memory, multi-tasking, behavioral/mood regulation, and movement. As there are no blood, imaging, or other tests for this disease, one active area of research is developing a test to help doctors diagnose this condition. As tau tangles in CTE are similar in many respects to those in Alzheimer’s disease, there was hope that PET tracers that detect tau in AD might also work in CTE. Flortaucipir (FTP) is probably the most widely used tau tracer in AD. Recent work has reported some signal from FTP-PET in symptomatic former NFL players and other patients at risk for CTE (Stern et al. New Engl Jour Med 2019; Lesman-Segev et al. Neuroimage Clinical 2019). The overall signal was lower than that observed in Alzheimer’s disease, and, in lieu of correlations with post-mortem findings, it was unclear how well FTP binds to tau pathology in CTE.
Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Mental Health Research, Opiods, Pediatrics / 23.12.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Megan Land, MD, PGY 6 Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Emory University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
  • Much of the research on the opioid crisis has focused on the impact to adults; however, children and adolescents in the US are also negatively affected by the opioid epidemic.
  • The percentage of children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit increased over the study period as the clinical effects of the opioid ingestions increased in severity.
  • The primary intent of opioid ingestions was suspected suicide attempts in adolescents resulting in increasing admissions to a psychiatric hospital.
  • Opioids associated with the highest odds of needing an intervention in an intensive care unit were methadone, fentanyl, and heroin. 
Abuse and Neglect, Alzheimer's - Dementia, Autism, Medical Imaging, Mental Health Research, MRI, Multiple Sclerosis, Neurology, Technology / 23.12.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52575" align="alignleft" width="156"]Sebastian Magda, Ph.D Director of Science & Engineering CorTechs Labs, Inc Dr. Sebastian Magda[/caption] Sebastian Magda, Ph.D Director of Science & Engineering CorTechs Labs, Inc MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Previous studies have shown that the changes of brain structure volume and/or metabolic activity are associated with various neurological diseases. We have created an artificial intelligence clinical decision support tool based on brain volumetric and PET metabolic activity measurements as well as other clinical measurements.
Aging, Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, MRI, Technology / 23.12.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52568" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr. Weidong Luo Principal Scientist CorTechs Labs Dr. Weidong Luo[/caption] Dr. Weidong Luo Principal Scientist CorTechs Labs  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We were interested in whether or not we can predict the age of the brain accurately from T1 weighted MRI and/or fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET scans using the brain volumetric and the relative metabolic activity. The uptake of FDG is a clinical marker used to measure the uptake of glucose and therefore metabolism. Also, we were interested in the patterns of the predicted ages for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and minor cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects when using their brain measurements for age prediction in the normal brain age model.