Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Pediatrics, Toxin Research, Weight Research / 08.03.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alison P. Sanders, PhD Pronouns:  She/Her Assistant Professor Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health Department of Pediatrics Director, Interdisciplinary Environmental Health Postdoctoral Fellowship MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: My research group is dedicated to understanding environmental and early life risk factors that contribute to kidney function decline. While some of the pathobiology leading to chronic kidney disease remains unclear, we understand that the process is complex and, like many chronic diseases, begins long before clinical diagnosis. My research investigates how the environment and mixtures of environmental chemicals/toxicants interact with traditional risk factors such as obesity, preterm birth, and nutritional status to hasten or prevent chronic kidney disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, JAMA, Pediatrics, Pulmonary Disease / 04.03.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dott.ssa Silvia Bloise MD Prof. Riccardo Lubrano MD PhD Pediatric and Neonatology Unit Maternal and Child Department Sapienza University of Rome Rome Italy MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Pending new evidence, the universal facial masking, with other preventive measures remain the only strategies to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The use of face mask is particularly debated in the children, especially in younger children. Therefore, we wanted to test whether their in children was associated with episodes of desaturation or respiratory distress. (more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Nature, Pediatrics / 19.02.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Melanie Neeland PhD Research Fellow Murdoch Children's Research Institute Royal Children's Hospital Flemington Road, Parkville Victoria Australia  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Children generally have mild COVID-19 disease compared to adults, however the immune mechanisms underpinning this response are unclear. Understanding the underlying age-related differences in the severity of COVID-19 will provide important insights and opportunities for prevention and treatment of COVID-19. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 18.02.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amanda Marma Perak, MD, MS Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) and Preventive Medicine (Epidemiology) Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Chicago Illinois 60611  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The American Heart Association has formally defined cardiovascular health (CVH) based on the combination of 7 key health metrics: body mass index (weight versus height), blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, diet, exercise, and smoking status. As we previously showed, the vast majority of pregnant women in the US have suboptimal CVH levels during pregnancy. We also showed that maternal CVH during pregnancy was associated with the risk for adverse newborn outcomes (such as high levels of body fat), but it was unknown what this might mean for longer-term offspring health. In the current study, the key finding was that mothers' CVH levels during pregnancy were associated with their offspring's CVH levels 10-14 years later, in early adolescence. For example, children born to mothers in the poorest category of CVH (representing 6% of mothers) had almost 8-times higher risk for the poorest CVH category in early adolescence, compared with children born to mothers who had ideal CVH in pregnancy. Even children born to mothers with any "intermediate" CVH metrics in pregnancy -- for example, being overweight but not obese -- had over 2-times higher risk for the poorest CVH category in early adolescence. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Pediatrics / 11.02.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jill Sommerville M.Sc Director of Medical at WaterWipes MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? How prevalent is diaper dermatitis? Is it more severe in some babies? Response: The Utah study is an independent clinical study conducted by the University of Utah Hospital NICU, Salt Lake City and recently published in Advances in Neonatal Care journal. It was a year-long study conducted between January 2018 – March 2019. The NICU staff were interested in exploring a new Perineal Skin Care Guideline in their unit, encompassing use of WaterWipes, to decrease the incidence of diaper dermatitis. Their stated aim was to reduce diaper dermatitis by 20% within a 1-year period.  The study involved 1,070 premature babies, 11% of which were born at less than 30 weeks of gestational age. The inclusion criteria for the study were all babies who stayed for more than 1 day in the NICU. Diaper dermatitis is known to cause discomfort and emotional distress in all babies and can be a possible source of infection among NICU babies.  Diaper dermatitis remains prevalent, especially in preterm babies. The reported incidence varies from 21% to 25% among newborn intensive care babies. 1 Diaper dermatitis in pre term babies can be multifactorial especially as babies born early have a less well developed stratum corneum, the outer most layer of skin. NICU babies are often exposed to antibiotics and fortified milk to help them catch up growth. Other medical complications in addition can lead to altered gut flora and altered stool composition resulting in more frequency of stool. The presence of urine and frequent stools necessitates regular cleaning which can result in excessive rubbing of the skin or the use of wipes containing harsh ingredients that can damage the skin. (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, JAMA, Karolinski Institute, Pediatrics / 08.02.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yun-Han Wang MSc PhD student, Karolinska Institute MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in children has increased substantially in recent years, concurrently with emerging concerns that these drugs may increase the risk of asthma. Whether PPI use in the broad pediatric population is associated with increased risk of asthma is not known.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Brain Injury, Exercise - Fitness, Gender Differences, Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania / 30.01.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christina L. Master, MD, FAAP, CAQSM, FACSM Professor of Clinical Pediatrics Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Co-Director, Minds Matter Concussion Program Pediatric and Adolescent Sports Medicine, Division of Pediatric Orthopedics Attending Physician, Care Network - Karabots Center The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA 19104 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There have been multiple studies investigating potential sex differences in outcomes from concussion which have sometimes had conflicting results with some studies indicating that females take longer to recover than males and some studies reporting no difference in recovery between females and males, with most of these studies being conducted either retrospectively or prospectively in smaller cohorts. This large-scale multi-center prospective study in collegiate athletes provided an opportunity to compare females and males across comparable sports to examine both potential intrinsic or biologic factors (sex differences) or extrinsic (environmental or gender differences) that contribute to outcomes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics, PLoS, Smoking, Tobacco Research / 29.12.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dongmei Li, Ph.D., Associate Professor Clinical and Translational Science Institute University of Rochester Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Previous animal and human studies have found that nicotine exposure could harm adolescents’ brain development and impact their cognitive functions. Electronic cigarettes, which have become very popular among youth in the US in recent years, usually contain nicotine at equivalent or possibly higher levels than traditional tobacco cigarettes. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that vaping might be associated with self-reported cognitive complaints. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?  Response: Main findings from our study are:
  1. Our cross-sectional youth and adult studies are the first to associate vaping with self-reported complaints of serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions.
  2. Our youth study also found that students who reported starting to vape early – between eight and 13 years of age – had higher odds of reporting difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions than those who started vaping at 14 or older.
  3. These studies add to a growing list of conditions and diseases (wheezing, COPD, cardiovascular disease, cancer) that have been associated with vaping/electronic cigarette use. 
(more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 22.12.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mia Stråvik PhD-student | Doktorand Department of Biology and Biological Engineering Division of Food and Nutrition Science Chalmers University of Technology MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There is a need of research investigating the role of maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation on the baby’s allergy risk. Allergy is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood, causing great suffering for the allergic child but also the entire family. Yet, the possibilities to cure and prevent this, in many cases life long, suffering are very limited. Previous research have indicated that maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation may affect the propensity of the child to develop an allergy, and diet is a factor you as a parent really can influence. (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Education, Pediatrics / 21.12.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andrey Vyshedskiy PhD Boston University, Boston MedicalResearch.com: What is the background of ImagiRation? https://imagiration.com/ Response: ImagiRation is a Boston-based startup with links to MIT, Harvard, and Boston University. ImagiRation has developed a highly innovative adaptive language therapy application for children with autism, Mental Imagery Therapy for Autism (MITA). MedicalResearch.com: How is the Mental Imagery Therapy for Autism program delivered? Response: MITA language therapy is administered by parents at home. MITA application works on all smartphones and tablet devices and is designed for children ages 2 to 12 years. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 18.12.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rebecca McAdams, MA, MPH Senior research associate Center for Injury Research and Policy Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus, OH MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Sledding is a popular winter activity in communities across the country, but it may not be as risk-free as many people think. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: We found that 220,488 patients were treated in U.S. emergency departments for injuries related to sledding from 2008 through 2017. Nearly 70% of these patients were children age 19 years and younger. Compared to adults, children were almost seven times as likely to be treated in an emergency department for a sledding-related injury. The majority of patients were injured as the result of a collision (63%). Collision injuries occurred when the patient made contact with an object in the environment (47%), when they hit the ground (16%), or when they ran into another person (10%) or sled (7%). Head injuries are a serious concern during sledding. The head was the most frequently injured body part for children. In fact, nearly 82% of those who sustained an injury to the head were children. The type of sled can also impact the risk of head injury. Children injured while riding snow tubes and disks had a greater risk of sustaining a concussion or CHI than children who were riding sleds or toboggans. Researchers recommend wearing a helmet while sledding to reduce the risk and severity of head injuries. While less frequent (3% of all cases), injuries occurring as a result of the sled being pulled by a motorized vehicle such as a car, ATV or snowmobile resulted in more serious injuries that required hospitalization (14%). This practice should be avoided.  (more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews, Immunotherapy, Pediatrics / 04.12.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lianne Soller, PhD Allergy Research Manager BC Children’s Hospital Allergy Clinic Vancouver, BC, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Peanut oral immunotherapy (also known as OIT) has been studied for many years in clinical trials and has been found to be safe and effective in preschoolers. However, we know that clinical trials do not always reflect what happens in the real world. We wanted to see study whether peanut OIT would work as well in the real world. This is a follow up of our preschool peanut OIT safety study published in April 2019 which noted only 0.4% severe reactions and 4% epinephrine use during build-up. (more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, JAMA, Pediatrics, Smoking, Stanford, Tobacco, Tobacco Research / 03.12.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, FSAHM (pronouns: she/her) Professor of Pediatrics Taube Endowed Research Faculty Scholar Professor (by courtesy), Epidemiology and Population Health Professor (by courtesy), Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Director of Fellows’ Scholarship, Department of Pediatrics Director of Research, Division of Adolescent Medicine Co-leader, Scholarly Concentrations, Pediatrics Residency Program MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: To examine adolescent and young adult e-cigarette use during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 4 main findings:
  • About 2/3 of adolescent and young adult ever-e-cigarette users reported either quitting or cutting back on e-cigarette use since COVID-19 began.
  • Users least likely to quit or cut back e-cigarette use were those showing higher levels of nicotine dependence and those who had used e- cigarettes a large number of times.
  • Adolescent and young adult e-cigarette users found it harder to access e-cigarettes, but unlike studies before COVID-19, the dominant source of purchasing e-cigs was online instead of brick-and-mortar during COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Youth below 21 years were able to purchase e-cigarettes without any age verification, and those whose age was verified were asked to physically show ID or provided an email, which are less effective means to prevent underage youth use.
(more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Inflammation, JAMA, Pediatrics, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 30.11.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ellen H. Lee, MD Incident Command System Surveillance and Epidemiology Section New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Long Island City, New York  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Published reports of the COVID-19-associated multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) have described higher proportions of cases among Black and Hispanic children. However, case series are limited by the lack of population-level data, which could help provide context for the racial/ethnic distribution of cases described in these reports. The New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene required reporting of all possible cases of MIS-C among NYC residents, and for cases meeting MIS-C criteria, applied population denominators to calculate MIS-C incidence rates stratified by race/ethnicity. To help characterize the burden of severe COVID-19 disease in NYC, we also calculated COVID-19 hospitalization rates stratified by race/ethnicity. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 26.11.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jessica Miller PhD Postdoc Fellow Murdoch Childrens Research Institute  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cesarean section (CS) may be a lifesaving intervention for women and babies. However, the global proportion of CS births is rapidly increasing and may not be medically justified. As CS has implications for both mother and child, the increasing rates warrant population-level analyses of potential risks. Many suggested long-term outcomes in CS-born children relate to altered immune development. It is possible that differences in the newborn microbiome by mode of birth contribute to the development of early immune responses which may influence the risk of immune-related outcomes, including infection. CS has been associated with an increased risk for specific infection-related hospitalisations, mainly lower respiratory tract and gastrointestinal infections, but it remains unclear whether CS is associated with increased risk of overall infection-related hospitalisation or only certain infection types, and whether risk differs for emergency versus elective/pre-labour CS. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 26.11.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Monika K. Goyal, MD Associate Division Chief, Emergency Medicine Children’s National Hospital Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Health Sciences The George Washington University Washington, District of Columbia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There has been growing attention to the disproportionate use of police force in communities of color. Therefore, we sought to investigate whether Black and Hispanic teenagers have higher rates of death due to police shootings when compared to white youth. (more…)
Author Interviews, Education, Pediatrics / 26.11.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lukas D. Lopez Doctoral Candidate Psychological Sciences, Developmental Psychology University of California, Merced MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: "This study is unique because it uses LENA recording devices which are small recording devices that infants wear in the pocket of a vest that record all infant babbles and caregiver responses in the home. We then had trained listeners annotate infant-adult vocal exchanges within sections of those recordings focusing on the specific types of sounds infants made and specific types of adult responses to those sounds. Using this combination of methods is distinctive because it allowed us to capture a more natural picture of a family's language environment in the home context, whereas most research on this topic is conducted in the laboratory. We then related this information to caregivers' reports of their infant's vocabulary. Our study finds that the caregivers who scaffold and elaborate on their infant’s babbling report that their infants can say more words." (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA, Pediatrics, Surgical Research / 25.11.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael R. Flaherty, DO Attending, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Co-Director, Trauma and Injury Prevention Outreach Program, MGH Instructor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02114 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?   Response: This study was a joint collaboration between Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found an increasing incidence of rare earth magnet ingestions by children causing serious injury; Injuries are particularly serious when a child ingests two of these small magnets, or a magnet with another metal object – this can lead to bowel walls becoming attached and kinked, leading to catastrophic bowel injury and/or death. The Consumer Product Safety Commission initiated campaigns to limit sales in 2012 with voluntary recalls and safety standards, as well as public awareness campaigns, legislative advocacy, and lawsuits. In October 2014, the CPSC published their final rule, “Safety Standard for Magnet Sets,” which prohibited the sale of magnets based on a pre-specified size and power scale, essentially eliminating the ability to sell SREMs. This rule was appealed by largest manufacturer of these magnets, Zen Magnets, LLC., and in November 2016 this rule was legally reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit resulting in a resurgence of these magnets on the market. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Heart Disease, Pediatrics, USPSTF / 19.11.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Martha Kubik, Ph.D., R.N. Professor and director of the School of Nursing College of Health and Human Services at George Mason University USPSTF Task Force Member MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Has the recommendation changed over the last decade? Response: High blood pressure is becoming more common among children and teens in the United States and can have serious negative health effects in childhood and adulthood, such as kidney and heart disease. However, there is not enough research to know whether treating high blood pressure in young people improves cardiovascular health in adulthood. The Task Force continued to find that there is not enough evidence to recommend for or against screening for high blood pressure in children and teens who do not have signs or symptoms. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Kidney Disease, Pediatrics / 12.11.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Dr. Hans Pottel PhD Professeur Invité (titre honorifique) Faculté de Médecine Université de Liège KULeuven-KULAK, Kortrijk, Belgium  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Why do we need a new GFR? Response: The currently recommended equations have flaws, mainly because there is one equation (CKiD) recommended for children, and one recommended (CKD-EPI) for adults (by KDIGO). When transitioning from pediatric nephrology care to adult nephrology care, the switch from CKiD to CKD-EPI causes implausible jumps (of more than 50%), mainly because CKD-EPI largely overestimates GFR in young adults (18-30 years). The new equation overcomes this problem as it applies for all ages (for children and adults) and overcomes the known flaws of the currently most used equations. The new equation is less biased and more precise across the full age spectrum and for the full range of serum creatinine concentrations. The equation was developed in 11 251 participants from 7 cohorts (development and internal validation datasets) and validated in 8 378 participants from 6 cohorts (external validation dataset). Data were coming from European and American nephrology centers. No patients of African-American ancestry were included. Actually, the previously published FAS-equation served as the basic mathematical form for the equation, but we adjusted the power coefficients for serum creatinine (very much like it was done in the CKD-EPI equation). You could say that we used properties of both the FAS and CKD-EPI equation to come to an improved equation to estimate GFR. (more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Depression, Mental Health Research, Occupational Health, Pediatrics, UCSF / 11.11.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kyle T. Ganson, PhD, MSW Assistant Professor, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work University of Toronto Toronto, Canada   Jason Nagata, MD, MSc Assistant Professor of Pediatrics University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, California, USA     MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: A quarter of young adults in the US have reported being unemployed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Young adults may be especially affected by employment loss as they often work in industries most adversely affected by social distancing. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: Among a sample of nearly 5,000 young adults age 18 to 26 in the US, we found that since March 2020, young adults who lost their job or were part of a household that experienced employment loss were more likely than those with secure employment to experience four common symptoms of anxiety and depression. This was also true of young adults who expected an employment loss in the next four weeks. The study also found that symptoms of anxiety and depression were common among the sample of young adults. In the seven days prior to the survey, 75% reported being nervous, anxious or on edge, 68% reported not being able to stop or control worrying, 67% reported having little interest or pleasure in doing things, and 64% reported feeling down, depressed, or hopeless. (more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Nutrition, Pediatrics, UCSF / 11.11.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jason M Nagata M.D., M.Sc Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: During the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity is expected to rise given economic uncertainty and job losses. Vulnerable and marginalized populations are disproportionately affected by both COVID-19 and food insecurity.   (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, NYU, Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Technology / 26.10.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marie Bragg, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health on Health Choice NYU College of Global Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We know from previous research that children who see food advertisements eat significantly more calories than children who see non-food advertisements. Those studies led the World Health Organization and National Academy of Medicine to issue reports declaring that exposure to food advertising is a major driver of childhood obesity. What we don’t know is how frequently unhealthy food and beverage brands are appearing in YouTube videos posted by Kid Influencers. Kid influences are children whose parents film videos of the child playing with toys, unwrapping presents, eating food, or engaging in other family-friendly activities. The parents then post the videos to YouTube for other children and parents to view for entertainment.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Nature, Pediatrics / 23.10.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. John Boland AMBER The SFI Research Centre for Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research, CRANN, and Trinity’s School of Chemistry Prof. Liwen Xiao at TrinityHaus and Trinity’s School of Engineering Trinity College Dublin baby-bottle-infant-plasticsMedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There is growing evidence to suggest that micro and nano plastics are released into our food and water sources through the chemical and physical degradation of larger plastic items. Some studies have demonstrated the potential transfer of micro and nano plastics from oceans to humans via the food chain but little is known about the direct release of microplastics (MPs) from plastic products through everyday use – and this is what we wanted to investigate.  Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most commonly produced plastics in the world for food preparation and storage. It is used to make everyday items such as lunch boxes, kettles and infant-feeding bottles (IFBs). Despite its widespread use the capacity of PP to release microplastics was not appreciated until now. We analysed the potential for release of MPs from polypropylene infant-feeding bottles (PP-IFBs) during formula preparation by following international guidelines. We also estimated the exposure of 12-month-old infants to MPs in 48 countries and regions.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics, PNAS, Weight Research, Wistar / 15.10.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kristina M. Rapuano PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow BJ Casey, PhD, Professor of Psychology at Yale University Richard Watts PhD Technical Consultant Department of Psychology Yale University, New Haven, CT MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Around 35% of children and adolescents in the US are overweight or obese, dramatically increasing their likelihood of obesity as adults and the associated health risks. In our paper we use a novel MRI technique to investigate links between obesity and neurobiology in a large group of typically developing 9-10 year-olds. The data were acquired as part of the NIH-funded Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM (ABCD) study, which enrolled more than 11,000 children from across the US. We looked specifically at a reward-related region of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. Previous human studies have shown that healthy weight and obese children display different responses to food cues, for example adverts for unhealthy foods, in this region. Animal studies have also found that a high saturated fat (unhealthy) diet induces inflammation in the nucleus accumbens, and changes in behavior including sucrose-seeking. We wanted to investigate if we could use advanced MRI techniques to provide evidence of a similar effect in humans. (more…)
Author Interviews, Education, Memory, Pediatrics / 08.10.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Leonie Margarita Kausel, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher Development University Santiago, Chile  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: As a violin teacher, I observed the positive impact on many levels that musical training has on children and as a scientist (Biochemist), I was intrigued to be able to show this with data. I thought this was very important, because in my experience childhood music education can give you so much joy and important skills for life, but it is often not considered to be important in educational settings. After attending a seminar on education and neuroscience, I discovered that this discipline could allow me to investigate this in a scientific manner. This inspired me to enter the Neuroscience PhD program at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile where I was lucky to work with Dr. Francisco Aboitiz, who has vast experience in attention research (ADHD) and is an international expert in language and evolution. At that time Dr. Mary Elizabeth Sutherland was making her postdoc at the lab, and she had worked with Dr. Robert Zatorre, one of the leading researchers in music and the brain. Also, I was lucky to work with Dr. Francisco Zamorano, a pioneer of fMRI research in Chile. So together we designed the research. :)  Also, I am very grateful that I could make a research stay at the Lab of Dr. Gottfried Schalug, who is also a pioneer in the research of music and the brain, and who inspired me to do this research since he wrote the first papers that I read about this subject.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Tobacco Research / 08.10.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tsu-Shuan Wu University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? “Checking your phone and vaping as you do” by Alper Çuğun is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Response: The background for this study involves the associations of household rules and parental awareness with youth tobacco use using data from the Population Assessment Tobacco and Health Study. Health concerns regarding non-cigarette tobacco products, specifically e-cigarettes, have been on the rise. We wanted to explore whether parents are up to date with the trends of popular tobacco products today and what role they may play in youth tobacco cessation and prevention. The main findings of the study revealed that parents less often suspected their children’s tobacco use if their children reported using only e-cigarettes, and other non-cigarette tobacco products, when compared with cigarettes. Additionally, we found that youth who agreed with their parents that their home has strict rules for tobacco use were less likely to initiate of tobacco use compared to youth who had different understanding of the rules from their parents or youth from households with more permissive household rules.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Cannabis, Pediatrics / 02.10.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Heather Breeze Clayton, PhD, MPH Senior Scientist, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control CDC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia now have policies in place legalizing marijuana for medical or adult use. While the health effects of marijuana use continue to be studied, substantial evidence suggests that a number of health risks – including cognitive and mental health outcomes- are made worse by earlier initiation of marijuana, and heavier use patterns. Scientific knowledge about the association between marijuana use and other health and risk-taking behavior in youth is still evolving. Accordingly, we sought to use nationally representative data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey to assess what the relationship is between different patterns of marijuana use in youth (more established use vs. non-established use patterns) and a number of risk-taking and violence related behaviors. (more…)