Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Genetic Research, NIH / 10.04.2014

Prof. Dr. med. Piotr Lewczuk Head,Lab for Clinical Neurochemistry and Neurochemical Dementia Diagnostics, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Dr. med. Piotr Lewczuk Head,Lab for Clinical Neurochemistry and Neurochemical Dementia Diagnostics, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 91054 Erlangen, Germany MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Dr. med. Piotr Lewczuk: In our study, we investigated the concentrations of four isoforms of amyloid beta peptides in the blood of healthy young volunteers without memory complains. The participants were stratified into three groups according to their apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, which is the mostly investigated and generally accepted genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). It is known that the alterations of the amyloid beta metabolism are the earliest changes in the course of AD, occurring many years (or even decades) before the onset of the clinical symptoms, but it is actually not known how early these alterations start. Correspondingly, we wanted to investigate if healthy persons with genetic risk factor show changes in their amyloid beta metabolism already 30-40 years before the age when AD is usually diagnosed. We did not find any differences between the groups with and without APOE-driven risk, which might be carefully interpreted as no signs of Alzheimer’s Disease pathology in persons at risk at such an early life stage. Taken together, we think that the Alzheimer’s Disease pathology starts some 10-20 years before the beginning of the clinical symptoms, but not earlier. (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…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Eating Disorders, Weight Research / 09.04.2014

Ulla Räisänen Senior Researcher HERG Health Experiences Research Group Department of Primary Care Health Sciences University of Oxford Oxford OX1 2ETMedicalResearch.com  Interview with Ulla Räisänen Senior Researcher HERG Health Experiences Research Group Department of Primary Care Health Sciences University of Oxford Oxford OX1 2ET MedicalResearch.com : What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We conducted a qualitative interview study exploring how young men (aged 16-25) recognise eating disorder symptoms and decide to seek help, and to examine their experiences of initial contacts with primary care in the UK. Our data suggest that the widespread perception of eating disorders as uniquely or predominantly a female problem led to an initial failure by young men to recognise their behaviours as symptoms of an eating disorder. Many presented late in their illness trajectory when eating disorder behaviours and symptoms were entrenched, and some felt that opportunities to recognise their illness had been missed because of others’ lack of awareness of eating disorders in men. In addition, the men discussed the lack of gender-appropriate information and resources for men with eating disorders as an additional impediment to making sense of their experiences, and some felt that health and other professionals had been slow to recognise their symptoms because they were men. (more…)
Author Interviews, Eating Disorders, General Medicine, Social Issues / 09.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with Stephen M. Amrock, SM Department of Pediatrics New York University School of Medicine New York, NY 10016 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We analyzed data from a nationally representative survey on youth risk behaviors. After adjusting for other risk taking behaviors, we found that high school adolescents who indoor tan were much more likely to also engage in behaviors typically associated with eating disorders. We also noted that the link between indoor tanning and such harmful weight control behaviors was even stronger among males than females. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Coffee / 08.04.2014

Prof. Dr. Christa E. Müller University of Bonn Pharmaceutical Institute Pharmaceutical Chemistry I An der Immenburg 4 D-53121 Bonn (Endenich) Germany MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Dr. Christa E. Müller University of Bonn Pharmaceutical Institute Pharmaceutical Chemistry I An der Immenburg 4  D-53121 Bonn (Endenich) Germany MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Dr. Christa E. Müller: Genetically altered mice which show an aggregation of Tau protein and many symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease which progressively worsen with time was used. Caffeine was given to one group of mice at an early stage, when the symptoms were still moderate. The caffeine-treated mice showed better memory and less inflammation and brain damages in comparison to the non-treated control mice. This means that caffeine protected the mice to some extent. The side effects were moderate. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Medical Imaging, NIH / 07.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: dr_Aalex_d_leowAlex Leow, MD PhD Psychiatric Institute Chicago, IL 60612 and   Tony J. Simon, PhD University of California, Davis MIND Institute Sacramento, CA 95817Tony J. Simon, PhD University of California, Davis MIND Institute Sacramento, CA 95817 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disabilities and the most prevalent known single-gene cause of autism in males. The fragile X mental retardation 1 gene (FMR1) can be mutated with expanded numbers of CGG trinucleotide repeats in the 5’ untranslated region on the Xq27.3 site of the X chromosome. Normally, unaffected individuals have fewer than 45 CGG repeats in FMR1. When the size of the CGG repeat exceeds 200 FMR1 is silenced and the mutation is categorized as full, generating the FXS phenotype. If the expansion is between 55–200 repeats, then the individual is generally classified as a fragile X premutation carrier (fXPC). An estimated 40% of male and 8-16% of female premutation carriers later develop Fragile X-Associated Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome (FXTAS), which is a late-onset (usually 50-70 years old) neurodegenerative disorder. We recruited 46 neurologically symptomless young to middle aged carriers of the FMR1 gene mutation. They were age and gender matched with 42 unaffected control individuals without the gene mutation. Both groups were evaluated by cognitive testing as well as novel neuroimaging techniques termed “brain connectomics,” based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) whole-brain tractography.  A connectome is a comprehensive map, like a wiring diagram, of neural connections in the brain. Our study is the first-ever connectome study to compare fXPCs and controls. In short, brain connectomics enable scientists for the first time to study the global organizational properties of the human brain by applying cutting edge computational techniques, based on graph theory, to these comprehensive maps of neural connections (i.e., the brain graphs). Our main finding was that, in neurologically symptomless male carriers  we detected a correlation between brain graphs’ efficiency in processing information and the number of CGG repeats in the mutated region of FMR1 (we estimated that each additional CGG repeat that in these males represents an effective increase of ~1.5 years  of “brain aging”). The correlation may prove to be an effective marker of early brain aging in otherwise neurologically symptomless premutation carriers. The study also further confirmed previous findings of smaller brain stem volumes in male fXPCS than in male controls. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Exercise - Fitness, Neurology / 07.04.2014

David R. Jacobs Jr, PhD Divisions of Epidemiology School of Public Health University of Minnesota, MinneapolisMedicalResearch.com Interview with: David R. Jacobs Jr, PhD Divisions of Epidemiology School of Public Health University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of this study? Dr. Jacobs: Vigorous activity is what is well understood to improve cardiorespiratory fitness. People with high fitness are likely (based on this study) to a) Lose fitness more slowly as they age and b) To maintain sharper "thinking skills" into late middle age. I think the message of this study is primarily for the people in the low to mid range of fitness in young adulthood.  Thus, of more importance to the general population, if the people with low to moderate fitness simply do things, be engaged in family, job, community, move around, they would  be able to do better on a treadmill test such as we used.  Because those who lost less fitness over average age 25 to average age 45 had higher thinking skills at age 50, people who start moving around are likely to reap the benefit of less loss of thinking skills by average age 50. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Diabetes, Mental Health Research, NIH, University of Pittsburgh / 01.04.2014

Rosebud O Roberts, M.B., Ch.B. Professor of Epidemiology Professor of Neurology Mayo ClinicMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rosebud O Roberts, M.B., Ch.B. Professor of Epidemiology Professor of Neurology Mayo Clinic MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Roberts: We found that among persons 70 years and older, people with type 2 diabetes had a reduced glucose uptake (hypometabolism) in  brain cells.  We also found a similar association for people without type 2 diabetes but who had elevated hemoglobin A1c levels levels at the time of enrollment (HBA1c is a measure of glucose control, and represents the average blood glucose levels over a 3 month period). However, we did not find an association of diabetes with increased brain amyloid accumulation.  Our findings were based on an investigation of the association of type 2 diabetes with markers of brain pathology: brain hypometabolism was assessed by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography [PET] and amyloid accumulation was assessed by 11-C Pittsburgh Compound B PET imaging. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, JAMA, University of Pittsburgh, Wake Forest / 31.03.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview Invitation with: Timothy Hughes, PhD, MPH Roena B. Kulynych Center for Memory & Cognition Research Department of Internal Medicine Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine Wake Forest School of Medicine Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1207Timothy Hughes, PhD, MPH Roena B. Kulynych Center for Memory & Cognition Research Department of Internal Medicine Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine Wake Forest School of Medicine Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC  27157-1207 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Hughes: This study is a follow-up to our recent paper that showed a novel relationship between arterial stiffness (commonly measured by pulse wave velocity) and the presence and extent of amyloid deposition in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. For this study, we repeated brain amyloid imaging (using the Pittsburgh Compound B during PET imaging) in order to look for predictors of change in amyloid over two years in n=81 elderly adults aged 80+ and free from dementia. We observed that measures of systemic arterial stiffness (e.g. brachial ankle pulse wave velocity) was strongly associated with the extent of amyloid deposition in the brain at both baseline and follow-up. The change in brain amyloid accumulation over two years resulted in an increase in in the number of participants with Alzheimer’s-like (amyloid-positive) from 45% at baseline to a surprising 75% after just two years. This change in brain amyloid accumulation over two years was strongly related to having greater central stiffness (as measured by carotid femoral pulse wave velocity). These relationships between arterial stiffness and brain amyloid deposition were independent of the effects of age, gender, body mass index, antihypertensive medication use and even current blood pressure. (more…)
Diabetes, Diabetes Care, Mental Health Research / 31.03.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gao-Jun Teng, MD Chair and Professor, Dept of Radiology Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University Nanjing 210009, China MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: This current study demonstrates that the aberrant resting-state functional connectivity among default mode network (DMN) regions, especially the posterior cingulated cortex (PCC) to right middle temporal gyrus (MTG), is associated with insulin resistance and cognitive performance, which might be the key to understanding the cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes (T2DM). (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, Pediatrics, PLoS, Psychological Science / 29.03.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Prof. Natalia N. Kudryavtseva Head of Neurogenetics of Social Behavior Sector, Institute of Cytology and Genetics SD RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Hostile environment and social instability stress can have a significant impact on adolescents, causing the development of anxiety and depression. (more…)
Autism, Genetic Research, NEJM, UCSD / 26.03.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Erik Courchesne PhD Professor, Department of Neurosciences UC San Diego School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Courchesne: “Building a baby’s brain during pregnancy involves creating a cortex that contains six layers,” Courchesne said. “We discovered focal patches of disrupted development of these cortical layers in the majority of children with autism.” The authors created the first three-dimensional model visualizing brain locations where patches of cortex had failed to develop the normal cell-layering pattern. The study found that in the brains of children with autism key genetic markers were absent in brain cells in multiple layers. “This defect,” Courchesne said, “indicates that the crucial early developmental step of creating six distinct layers with specific types of brain cells – something that begins in prenatal life – had been disrupted.”  The study gives clear and direct new evidence that autism begins during pregnancy. (more…)
Alcohol, Cognitive Issues, Neurology / 25.03.2014

Osvaldo P. Almeida, MD, PhD, FRANZCP, FFPOA Professor & Winthrop Chair of Geriatric Psychiatry | School of Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences | University of Western Australia. Director of Research | Western Australian Centre for Health & Ageing | Centre for Medical Research | Western Australian Institute for Medical Research. Consultant | Department of Psychiatry | Royal Perth Hospital. Australia.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Osvaldo P. Almeida, MD, PhD, FRANZCP, FFPOA Professor & Winthrop Chair of Geriatric Psychiatry | School of Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences | University of Western Australia. Consultant | Department of Psychiatry | Royal Perth Hospital. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of this study? Prof. Almeida: This study used the principles of Mendelian randomisation to clarify whether alcohol use is a direct cause of cognitive impairment in later life. The rationale behind this approach is that the genetic variation associated with lower risk of alcohol abuse or dependence should also be associated with lower risk of cognitive impairment if alcohol misuse is a direct cause cognitive impairment. We found no evidence for such an association. (more…)
Author Interviews, Mental Health Research, Neurology, NIH / 22.03.2014

Hannes Devos, PhD Assistant Professor Assistant Director Georgia Regents University Driving Simulator Lab Department of Physical Therapy College of Allied Health Sciences Georgia Regents University Augusta, GA 30912MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hannes Devos, PhD Assistant Professor Assistant Director Georgia Regents University Driving Simulator Lab Department of Physical Therapy College of Allied Health Sciences Georgia Regents University Augusta, GA 30912 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Devos: We compared on-road driving performance between 30 active drivers with Huntington disease and 30 age- and gender- matched control drivers. We found that Huntington disease affects all levels of driving skill due to motor and cognitive deficits and leads to unsafe driving, even in the early stages of the disease. Fourteen (47%) drivers with Huntington disease failed the road test compared with none of the controls. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, PTSD / 20.03.2014

Dr. Nancy Crum-Cianflone Deployment Health Research Department, Naval Health Research Center San Diego, CAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Nancy Crum-Cianflone MD Deployment Health Research Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Nancy Crum-Cianflone: There have been several studies examining the health outcomes of service members who recently deployed to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.  However, none of these studies to date had examined the potential role of military deployment experiences and PTSD on coronary heart disease (CHD) among young US service members.  We believed that this would be an important study to undertake since these data would not only be useful to the US military, but may also have implications regarding job-related stressors on the health of young adults in the general population. After studying over 60,000 current and former US military personnel, we found that those who deployed and experienced combat were at a 60%-90% increased risk of subsequently developing CHD.  This finding was noted when we examined both self-reported CHD and medical record validated coronary heart disease.  These data suggest that experiences of intense stress may increase the risk for coronary heart disease over a relatively short period among young, previously healthy adults. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, PNAS, University of Michigan / 19.03.2014

Yanzhuang Wang, PhD Associate professor Dept. of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and Dept. of Neurology University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yanzhuang Wang, PhD Associate professor Dept. of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and Dept. of Neurology University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048  MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Wang: We learned how to repair a cellular structure called the Golgi apparatus that is broken in Alzheimer’s disease. This helps us understand how to reduce the formation of the toxic plaques that kill cells in the brain of Alzheimer's patients. The formation of amyloid plaques is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease; but exactly how much the plaques contribute to the disease is still not known. Our study found that the broken Golgi in the disease may be a major source of the toxicity of amyloid plaques. We showed in this study that repairing the Golgi can reduce the formation of the toxic plaques and thus may delay the disease development. (more…)
Cognitive Issues, JAMA, Mayo Clinic, Medical Research Centers, Pulmonary Disease / 19.03.2014

Michelle M. Mielke, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Health Sciences Research, Division of Epidemiology Department of Neurology Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN 55905MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michelle M. Mielke, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Health Sciences Research, Division of Epidemiology Department of Neurology Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN 55905 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Mielke: Using a population-based sample of cognitively normal individuals, aged 70-89 at baseline, we found that a medical-record confirmed diagnosis of COPD was associated with an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment, specifically non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment.  The risk of mild cognitive impairment increased with a longer duration of COPD such that individuals who had COPD for more than 5 years had a 2.5-fold increased risk of developing non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment. (more…)
Cognitive Issues, General Medicine, PLoS, University of Pittsburgh / 15.03.2014

Dr Tobias Teichert Assistant Professor of Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15261MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Tobias Teichert Assistant Professor of Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15261 MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Teichert:  "Our study provided three main findings: First, we measured how long it takes subjects to allocate attention to a relevant target and how effectively they can block out the distractors. We found that after 120 msec selective attention is fully engaged and completely blocks out the distractor. Based on this finding, we predicted that subjects should be able to improve decision accuracy by delaying decision onset, and that this should be more effective than simply prolonging the whole decision process. Most importantly, we found that subjects indeed use this more effective way of improving decision onset: On average, subjects delayed decision onset by about 50 msec when we asked them be as accurate as possible. The good news is that people seem to use this more optimal mechanism automatically, without being told to do so and without being aware of what they do. The bad news is that we don’t seem to be using this skill quite as effectively as we could. In our case, subjects could have improved accuracy even further by delaying decision onset by an additional 50 ms. However, taken together, our findings show that decision onset is to some degree under cognitive control, and that we might be able to devise training strategies to harness its full potential” (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Brain Injury, JAMA / 14.03.2014

Pashtun Shahim, MD Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology Department of Neurochemistry Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal SwedenMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Pashtun Shahim, MD Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology Department of Neurochemistry Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Shahim: Sports-related concussion in professional ice hockey players is associated with acute axonal and astroglial injury. Plasma total tau, which is a highly central nervous system-specific protein, is a promising biomarker to be used both in the diagnosis of concussion and in the decision-making when an athlete can be declared fit to return to play. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Mayo Clinic, Mental Health Research, Nature / 12.03.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Dr. Sven Cichon, PhD Director, Division of Medical Genetics University Hospital Basel Human Genomics Research Group Department of Biomedicine University of Basel Basel, Switzerland MedicalResearch.com: What were the main findings of the study? Answer: We have identified two new gene regions that represent pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of genetic and non-genetic factors that lead to the development of bipolar disorder. One is the gene ADCY2 (Adenylate Cyclase 2) which is involved in signal transmission within nerve cells. The other region comprises two genes, both presumably playing a role in neurodevelopmental processes (MIR2113 and POU3F2). Importantly, these results come out of the largest of these kinds of studies so far, involving altogether more than 24,000 people. (more…)
Author Interviews, Inflammation, JAMA, Mental Health Research, PTSD / 12.03.2014

Dr. Dewleen Baker MD Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Dewleen Baker MD Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Baker: The main finding of this study is that a marker of peripheral inflammation, plasma CRP may be prospectively associated with PTSD symptom emergence, suggesting that inflammation may predispose to PTSD. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, Hearing Loss, JAMA / 12.03.2014

Dr. Chuan-Ming Li MD, PhD Statistician (Health/Medicine) Division of Scientific Programs The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication DisordersMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Chuan-Ming Li MD, PhD Statistician (Health/Medicine) Division of Scientific Programs The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Chuan-Ming Li: We used data on adults 18 years or older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for the study and found that prevalence of moderate to severe depression was 4.9 percent for individuals who reported excellent hearing, 7.1 percent for those with good hearing and 11.4 percent for participants who reported having a little hearing trouble or greater hearing impairment (HI). Depression rates were higher in women than in men. The prevalence of depression increased as hearing impairment became worse, except among participants who were deaf. There was no association between self-reported HI and depression among people ages 70 years and older; however, an association between moderate HI measured by pure-tone threshold hearing exams and depression was found in women aged 70 years and older but not in men. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics, Psychological Science / 11.03.2014

Mitch van Geel, PhD Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University Leiden, the NetherlandsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mitch van Geel, PhD Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University Leiden, the Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr.van Geel: We performed a meta-analysis, which is a way to statistically summarize effect sizes from earlier studies. Individual studies often provide varying effect sizes, which makes it difficult to judge whether and how strong variables are related. Furthermore, study characteristics (sampling methods, response rates, controlling for certain confounders) might influence study results. By using a meta-analysis it can be analyzed to what extent study characteristics are related to results; if a particular result only tends to be established in studies with certain designs (for example a convenience sample), we might wonder whether such an effect really exists; but if we find that a particular outcome is unrelated to study characteristics or found in studies with relatively stronger designs, we might feel more certain in concluding that a relation between variables (bullying-suicide thoughts or attempts) exists. By using a meta-analysis we established a significant relation between bullying and thoughts about suicide, and bullying and suicide attempts, and we found that these results were unrelated to study characteristics. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Mental Health Research / 27.02.2014

Brian D'Onofrio, PhD Associate Professor Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences Indiana University Bloomington, IN MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brian D'Onofrio, PhD Associate Professor Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences Indiana University Bloomington, IN MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of your study? Dr. D'Onofrio: The main finding from our study is that the specific associations between advancing paternal age at childbearing and offspring psychiatric and academic problems were much larger than in previous studies. In fact, we found that advancing paternal age was associated with greater risk for several problems, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, suicide attempts and substance use problems, whereas traditional research designs suggested advancing paternal age may have diminished the rate at which these problems occur. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, Diabetes, Diabetes Care / 26.02.2014

Steven A. Safren, Ph.D., ABPP Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School Director, Behavioral Medicine, Department of Psychiatry Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Steven A. Safren, Ph.D., ABPP Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School Director, Behavioral Medicine, Department of Psychiatry Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Safren:  The main findings of the study are that, in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes and depression, a type of psychological treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that addressed both self-care and depression, resulted in improvements in both depressed mood, self-care, and glucose control.  This was a randomized controlled trial, and this cognitive-behavioral treatment worked better than lifestyle adherence and nutrition counseling alone; and the effects were sustained over 8 months. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia / 25.02.2014

Dr. Erin Abner Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Epidemiology University of Kentucky College of Public Health Lexington, KentuckyMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Erin Abner Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Epidemiology University of Kentucky College of Public Health Lexington, Kentucky MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Abner:  The findings from this study are preliminary results from The Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease with Vitamin E and Selenium Study. This early look at the data indicates that very simple measures of memory change, in this case asking older men with no cognitive impairment about changes in their memory over the past year, and whether they believe those changes are a problem, can be used to predict cognitive impairment years later. Men who said at study baseline that the changes in their memory represented problems to them were over twice as likely as men who did not complain to develop clinically detectable cognitive impairment during follow-up. This is exciting because the field of Alzheimer’s research is moving toward earlier intervention in the disease process. As of now, our best methods for identifying individuals without cognitive impairment who are likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease in the future are procedures that many people find intimidating, like lumbar puncture and PET scanning. Identifying older adults at high risk for future cognitive impairment with low-cost, non-invasive screening techniques would help researchers to target potential therapies to the people who stand to benefit the most. (more…)
ADHD, Author Interviews, JAMA / 25.02.2014

Jørn Olsen, M.D., Ph.D. Professor Institute of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology UCLA Aarhus University Aarhus,DenmarkMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jørn Olsen, M.D., Ph.D.  Professor Institute of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology UCLA Aarhus University Aarhus,Denmark MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Olsen: Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is drug being used by many, including pregnant women. In our data about half of all pregnant women in 1995 to 2002 had used the drug all least once during their pregnancy. The drug has shown hormonal disruptor properties in animal studies. We found that women who used this drug during pregnancy gave birth to children who 5 – 10 years later slightly more often had behavioral problems or were treated for ADHD. The risk was highest for those who took the medication late in pregnancy and/or had taken the drug several times. The increased risk was about 10-30%. (more…)
Author Interviews, Bipolar Disorder, Flu - Influenza / 23.02.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alan S. Brown, M.D., M.P.H. Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Clinical Epidemiology College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University Director Unit in Birth Cohort Studies Division of Epidemiology New York State Psychiatric Institute New York, NY 10032Alan S. Brown, M.D., M.P.H. Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Clinical Epidemiology College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University Director Unit in Birth Cohort Studies Division of Epidemiology New York State Psychiatric Institute New York, NY MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Brown: We found that a mother's exposure to influenza during pregnancy, documented by antibodies in her serum, increased the risk of bipolar disorder with psychotic symptoms in her offspring.  We did not show a relationship between influenza and bipolar disorder not accompanied by psychosis. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, JAMA, Mental Health Research / 19.02.2014

Anton P. Porsteinsson M.D. William B. and Sheila Konar Professor of Psychiatry Director, Alzheimer's Disease Care, Research and Education Program (AD-CARE) University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Rochester, N.Y. 14620MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Anton P. Porsteinsson M.D. William B. and Sheila Konar Professor of Psychiatry Director, Alzheimer's Disease Care, Research and Education Program (AD-CARE) University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Rochester, N.Y. 14620 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Porsteinsson: Identifying drugs outside the antipsychotic class with targeted anti-agitation effects that provide greater benefit or lower risk among patients with Alzheimer’s disease is a research priority.  Citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), is frequently used in older individualsand has been suggested as an alternative to antipsychotic drugs for agitation and aggression in dementia.  Among 186 patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease and agitation receiving psychosocial intervention, the addition of citalopram compared with placebo robustly and significantly reduced agitation and caregiver distress, but modest cognitive and cardiac adverse effects of citalopram may limit its practical application at the 30 mg/d dose studied in this trial. There are insufficient data on efficacy for agitation at lower doses of citalopram. (more…)