Author Interviews, Pulmonary Disease, Sleep Disorders / 21.05.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ankit Parekh, PhD Director of the Sleep And Circadian Analysis (SCAN) Group Assistant Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Sleep apnea is associated with incident cardiovascular disease, and is a common chronic condition affecting over a billion people worldwide. In diagnosing and treating sleep apnea, it is imperative to establish the type of sleep apnea—whether it is obstructive or central sleep apnea. The differential contribution of central vs. obstructive sleep apnea toward incidental cardiovascular disease in those with significant sleep apnea has not been well studied. Our group has developed an automated algorithm that deduces on a breath-by-breath level whether reductions in airflow are predominantly due to obstructive or central phenomena. Our algorithm uses several features that are known to be key in distinguishing the type of events and derives a probability of obstruction across each “small” (reduced amplitude) breath. The breath-by-breath probability is then used to determine whether a patient’s burden of sleep apnea is predominantly obstructive or central. In this work, we analyzed sleep study data from The Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) cohort (N=2793) consisting of elderly men, across two visits separated on average by 6.5 years, and derived the probability of obstruction on a breath-by-breath level. The median probability of obstruction for each subject was computed and analyzed against outcomes of cardiovascular disease. We also assessed the stability of the metric in those without any prevalent cardiovascular disease. We find that median probability of obstruction was stable across the two visits, and those with any incident cardiovascular disease had a lower median probability of obstruction: patients with incident cardiovascular outcomes had a significant burden of sleep apnea that was predominantly “central” in nature. (more…)
Author Interviews, Boehringer Ingelheim, NEJM, Pulmonary Disease / 15.05.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Luca Richeldi MD PhD Chair and Head, Division of Pulmonary Medicine Gemelli University Hospital - IRCCS Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Rome MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Would you briefly explain the condition of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis? Response: As you may know, Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive, irreversible lung disease with high mortality. IPF is one of the more common forms of progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases and its symptoms of IPF include breathlessness during activity, a dry and persistent cough, chest discomfort, fatigue and weakness. IPF is considered a “rare” disease, but it affects more than 3 million people worldwide. Currently, there are two approved antifibrotic drugs that slow, but do not stop, the progression of fibrosis. Therefore, there is a need for additional treatments that can be used alone or with existing antifibrotic therapies. Pre-clinical research indicated that phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibition is associated with anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects that may be beneficial in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In this Phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we investigated the efficacy and safety of BI 1015550, an oral preferential inhibitor of the PDE4B subtype, in patients with IPF. Patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive BI 1015550 at a dose of 18 mg twice daily or placebo. (more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Pulmonary Disease / 12.01.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Liam Townsend, PhD Department of Infectious Diseases St. James's Hospital and Department of Clinical Medicine Trinity Translational Medicine Institute Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Much is known about the clinical characteristics and pathological features of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, but there is relatively little known about post-COVID recovery. This has come under increasing scrutiny in light of reports that patients suffer persistent symptoms beyond resolution of initial infection, known as long COVID. We set out to assess patients in our post-COVID clinic for ongoing ill-health, with particular focus on fatigue and breathlessness. Given that COVID-19 primarily affects the respiratory system, we also evaluated respiratory recovery. Patients underwent chest radiography and six-minute-walk testing, as well as routine blood tests including inflammatory markers and D-dimers. We included both patients who were admitted during their acute infection as well as those managed in the community in order to capture the full spectrum of disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Infections, Pulmonary Disease / 08.05.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jehan Alladina MD Massachusetts General Hospital Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Boston, Massachusetts MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: During the pandemic, clinicians around the world have shared anecdotal experiences to help inform care of patients with COVID-19. However, these anecdotes and observations, without careful analysis, can bias clinicians; many clinicians have even recommended experimental therapies based on this information alone. To that end, the goal of our study was to rigorously examine the respiratory failure experienced by critically ill patients with COVID-19 and understand their response to the standards of care for respiratory failure. (more…)
Author Interviews, Beth Israel Deaconess, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 17.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: John Danziger, MD Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians, Nephrology Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Racial health disparities have long been described, extending even into the highest levels of medical care, namely the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Accordingly, we wanted to know whether improvements in ICU care seen over the last decade are equally observed in minority and non-minority serving hospitals. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Obstructive Sleep Apnea / 13.09.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mireia Dalmases Cleries, MD Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova and Santa Maria Group of Translational Research in Respiratory Medicine Lleida, Cataluña, Spain MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Obstructive sleep apnea has been associated with poor blood pressure control and resistant hypertension. Moreover, it has been described that its treatment with continuous positive pressure (CPAP) could be an effective means of controlling blood pressure in this population. Nevertheless, studies assessing OSA prevalence, characteristics and association with blood pressure control in resistant hypertensive patients are limited and that’s the reason why we decided to perform this study. (more…)