Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Hip Fractures, Orthopedics / 28.11.2013

Ida C. Svege
 PhD student / Physical Therapist 
NAR Norwegian research centre for Active Rehabilitation
Department of Orthopaedics Oslo University Hospital / NIMI / Norwegian School of Sports Sciences
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ida C. Svege
 PhD student / Physical Therapist 
NAR Norwegian research centre for Active Rehabilitation
Department of Orthopaedics, Oslo University Hospital / NIMI / Norwegian School of Sports Sciences MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The main finding of the study was that exercise therapy in addition to patient education resulted in significantly higher 6-year cumulative survival of the native hip to total hip replacement compared with patient education only. Over the 6 year follow-up period the need for total hip replacement was reduced by 44% in the group who received both exercise therpay and patient education. Also, better self-reported physical function was demonstrated in the group who received exercise therapy and patient education, suggesting that the lower surgery rate in this group were due to better hip function, with or without the presence of pain. (more…)
Author Interviews, Orthopedics / 05.11.2013

Dr. Geoffrey S. Marecek, MD Department of Orthopaedic Surgery University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine Los Angeles, CAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Geoffrey S. Marecek, MD Department of Orthopaedic Surgery University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine Los Angeles, CA MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Marecek: There were several main findings: 1. It is not safe to drive while wearing a sling or splint on the upper extremities 2. It is not safe to drive while wearing a brace, cast, or boot on the lower extremities 3. Braking function does not return to normal for at least 4 weeks after knee arthroscopy, total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA), for 9 weeks after ankle fracture repair, and for 6 weeks after weight bearing begins for a fracture (up to 18 weeks for articular fractures). (more…)
Hip Fractures / 29.10.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stefano Volpato MD MPH Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara Ferrara, Italy MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Volpato: In this study we evaluated clinical value of handgrip strength  assessment in older patients admitted to the hospital for hip fracture. We observed 504 older patients admitted to 4 Italian hospitals for hip surgery, able of walking independently before fracture, and we found a strong, graded and independent association of grip strength, assessed before hip surgery, and the likelihood of functional recovery over the one-year follow-up. The findings reported in our manuscript can be summarized as: a. handgrip strength significantly correlated with several prognostic factors traditionally considered in clinical practice, such as age, gender, neuro-psychological and functional status, comorbidity level, vitamin D plasma levels, and time before the surgical procedure; b. logistic regression models showed that handgrip strength was directly associated with higher probability of walking recovery, both at any follow-up (incident walking recovery), and for at least 2 consecutive follow-ups (persistent walking recovery); b. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates showed that lower grip strength was related to increased mortality after hip surgery; c. the association between grip performance and walking recovery was clinically relevant and statistically independent of potential confounders. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hip Fractures, JAMA, Orthopedics / 25.09.2013

Sarah D. Berry MD MPH Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew Senior Life Boston, MassachusettsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sarah D. Berry MD MPH Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew Senior Life Boston, Massachusetts   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Berry: Repeating a bone mineral density (BMD) screening test in 4 years provided little additional value beyond baseline BMD when assessing fracture risk. Also, the second BMD measure resulted in little change in risk classification that is commonly used in clinical management of osteoporosis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Hip Fractures, Weight Research / 25.09.2013

Professor Tuan V. Nguyen Osteoporosis and Bone Biology Program Garvan Institute of Medical Research 384 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010 AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Tuan V. Nguyen Osteoporosis and Bone Biology Program Garvan Institute of Medical Research 384 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010 Australia MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Nguyen: We analyzed polymorphisms of the FTO (fat mass and obesity) gene in 934 elderly women of Caucasian background, and found that carriers of minor genotype (AA) of the SNP rs1121980 had a two-fold increase in the risk of hip fracture compared with carriers of major genotype (GG). Approximately 20% of women are carriers of the AA genotype. We estimate that about 17% of hip fracture cases could be attributed to the variation within the gene. (more…)
Author Interviews, CMAJ, Orthopedics, Pain Research, University of Michigan / 19.09.2013

Chad M. Brummett, M.D. Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Health System Department of Anesthesiology Division of Pain Medicine 1500 East Medical Center Drive, 1H247 UH, Box 5048 Ann Arbor, MI 48109MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Chad M. Brummett, M.D. Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Health System Department of Anesthesiology Division of Pain Medicine 1500 East Medical Center Drive, 1H247 UH, Box 5048 Ann Arbor, MI 48109 MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Brummett: The study found that 42% of new patients presenting to a tertiary care pain clinic with a primary spine pain diagnosis met the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) survey criteria for fibromyalgia, which is a measure of widespread body pain and comorbid symptoms (e.g. trouble thinking, fatigue, mood symptoms, etc.).  Patients categorized as fibromyalgia-positive using the survey measure were distinctly different from those not meeting criteria.  In a multivariate regression model, independent predictors of being categorized as fibromyalgia-positive were female sex, higher neuropathic pain scores, anxiety, and lower physical function. (more…)
CMAJ, Cost of Health Care, Duke, MRI, Orthopedics / 18.09.2013

Matthew P. Lungren, MD Duke University Medical CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Matthew P. Lungren, MD Duke University Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lungren: In the single center study, knee MRIs are more likely to be normal when the referring doctor has a financial stake in the imaging center or the equipment used; these data suggest that some of these examinations may be unnecessary. (more…)
Author Interviews, Orthopedics, PLoS / 04.09.2013

Assistant Professor School of Biological & Population Health Sciences, Exercise & Sport Science Program College of Public Health and Human Sciences Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331Marc F. Norcross, PhD, ATC Assistant Professor School of Biological & Population Health Sciences, Exercise & Sport Science Program College of Public Health and Human Sciences Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Norcross: In the scientific community, there remains considerable disagreement over which direction of knee loading is most responsible for causing an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury event.  Many researchers tend to fall into one of three “camps” in which they believe quadriceps loading (sagittal plane), “knock-kneed” landing (frontal plane), or twisting (transverse plane) is the essential factor in the injury mechanism.  However, we know from cadaver studies that combined loading from all of these different planes puts the most strain on the ACL.  We found that men and women are equally likely to use a sagittal plane landing strategy that we believe increases the risk for ACL injury.  However, females were about 3.6 times more likely than males to use a higher risk frontal plane landing strategy.  This suggests that the increased likelihood of greater frontal plane loading in women coupled with the equal likelihood of using a high-risk sagittal plane strategy is likely at least partly responsible for women’s 2-6 times greater risk for ACL injury. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Orthopedics / 27.08.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Anna Eriksson MD, PhD Centre for Bone and Arthritis Research Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The main findings of the study are that low-grade inflammation as measured by high sensitive CRP (hsCRP) is a risk factor for fractures in men, and that this is mainly driven by an increased risk for vertebral fractures. Previous epidemiological research has shown that higher levels of hsCRP is associated with an increased risk for fractures in women but until now it has not been known whether this applies also to men. The associations between hsCRP and fracture risk remained also after controlling for a wide range of known risk factors for fractures. There were no associations between hsCRP and BMD in our study. This implies that low-grade inflammation is an independent risk factor for fractures. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hip Fractures, Orthopedics / 03.08.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Pim A de Jong Heidelberglaan 100, E01.1A32, 3508 GA Utrecht, the Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We observed that patients with a vertebral fracture on a routine clinical chest computed tomography exam had a tripled risk of future hip fracture after adjustment for age and gender. (more…)
Author Interviews, Coffee, Nutrition, Orthopedics, Osteoporosis / 25.07.2013

Helena Hallström Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgical Sciences, OrthopaedicsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Helena Hallström Ph.D., M.Sc. (Toxicology) Department of Surgical Sciences, Section of Orthopedics Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden and Risk and Benefit Assessment Department National Food Agency, Uppsala, Sweden.   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The aim of the study was to investigate whether high consumption of coffee is associated with osteoporosis and development of osteoporotic fractures, since results from previous fracture studies regarding potential associations between coffee drinking and fracture risk are inconsistent. The longitudinal population-based Swedish Mammography Cohort, including 61,433 women born between 1914 and 1948, was followed from 1987 through 2008. Coffee consumption was assessed with repeated food frequency questionnaires. During follow-up, 14,738 women experienced any type of fracture and of these 3,871 had a hip fracture. In a sub-cohort (n=5,022), bone density was measured and osteoporosis was determined (n=1,012). There was no evidence of a higher rate of any fracture or hip fracture with increasing coffee consumption. However, a high coffee intake (≥4 cups) in comparison with a low intake (<1 cup) was associated with a 2-4% reduction in bone mineral density (BMD), depending on site (p<0.001), but the odds ratio of osteoporosis was only 1.28 (95% confidence interval: 0.88, 1.87). Thus, high coffee consumption was associated with a small reduction in bone density that did not translate into an increased risk of fracture. (more…)
Author Interviews, Orthopedics / 12.07.2013

obesity and living kidney donationMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mark V. Paterno PT, PhD, MBA, SCS, ATC Coordinator of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy Associate Professor, Sports Medicine Biodynamics Center Acting Scientific Director, Division of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center 3333 Burnet Ave. MLC 10001 Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Paterno: Our study suggests that young patients (average age 16 y/o) who return to pivoting and cutting sports after Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction are 6 times more likely to suffer a second ACL injury than an individual with no prior history of ACL injury.  In addition, females after ACL reconstruction may be more likely to injury their opposite limb than actually re-injure the same limb they initially hurt.  Finally, when you look at the results of this 2 year outcome study in conjunction with the 1 year outcomes we published last year, it would appear that the greatest risk of suffering a second ACL injury is within the first several months after returning to sports. (more…)
Author Interviews, CT Scanning, Mayo Clinic, Medical Imaging, Orthopedics / 17.04.2013

MedicalResearch.com:  Katrina N. Glazebrook, MB, ChB Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905 MedicalResearch.com:  Why did you do the study? Dr. Glazebrook: We felt CT was being underutilized for evaluation of knee injuries. The utility of CT has been well documented in the assessment of fractures, but little attention has been made on soft tissue evaluation. CT now has high spatial resolution with very thin reconstructions in any desirable plane, and we have previously noted that this allowed injured soft tissue structures such as cruciate ligaments to be well visualized [presented at Society of Skeletal Radiology meeting March 2013]. We had determined in that prior study that the best reconstruction plane to evaluate both normal and torn anterior cruciate ligaments was the oblique sagittal plane parallel to the lateral femoral condyle as routinely used in MRI imaging of the knee The soft tissue window, single energy bone removal and Dual energy bone removal were the best reconstructions to determine the presence or absence of ACL disruption The bone removal techniques removed the distracting bone so the soft tissue structures were more apparent. (more…)