Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 21.05.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yanmin Zhu, M.S., Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Fellow Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Animal studies and case reports suggest a potential teratogenic effect associated with the use of high doses of fluconazole during pregnancy. The malformations reported in case reports have a distinct phenotype, including femoral bowing, thin ribs, cleft palate, and abnormal craniofacial ossification. A few controlled studies have examined the risk of congenital malformations associated with the use of fluconazole during the first trimester, but findings are inconsistent. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, CDC, Hospital Acquired, Infections / 02.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Snigdha Vallabhaneni, MD, MPH Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, GA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  Response: We are concerned about the fungus Candida auris (or C. auris) because it causes serious infections, is often resistant to medications, and continues to spread at alarming rates in U.S. healthcare settings. Candida. auris  primarily affects patients in who are hospitalized for a long time or are residents of nursing homes that take care of patients on ventilators. C. auris is still rare in the United States and most people are at low risk of getting infected. People who get C. auris or other Candida infections are often already sick from other medical conditions and often have invasive medical care, including ventilators for breathing support, feeding tubes, central venous catheters, and have received lots of antibiotics. Many patients infected and colonized with C. auris move frequently between post-acute care facilities and hospitals, which increases the risk of spreading C. auris between facilities. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, Nature / 16.12.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Alistair J P Brown  DSc FSB FAAM FRSE Aberdeen Fungal Group, MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, University of Aberdeen, Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill, Aberdeen UK  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Most of us harbor the yeast Candida albicans, and most of the time it does us no harm.  However, under certain circumstances it can break out to cause nasty infections of the mouth or genitalia (thrush), or potentially fatal infections in vulnerable intensive care patients.  Indeed, over half of women will suffer at least one episode of vulvovaginal candidiasis in their lifetime, and over 5% of women suffer recurrent episodes (four or more episodes per annum).  Also, it has been estimated that there are over 400,000 life-threatening systemic Candida infections worldwide per annum, of which over 40% are fatal (see Science Translational Medicine (2012) vol. 4, 165rv13).  A key to this is the potency of our immunological defenses: the weaker our defenses the more vulnerable we are to fungal infection.  Therefore, we in the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Medical Mycology – and other groups worldwide – are studying the mechanisms by which our immune cells recognize and kill invading Candida cells, thereby protecting us from infection. (more…)