Author Interviews, Cannabis, Medical Imaging, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 10.04.2025
Columbia Study Finds Prenatal Cannabis Exposure Linked to Long Lasting Brain Alterations in Children
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
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Dr. Payabvash[/caption]
Sam (Seyedmehdi) Payabvash, MD
Associate Professor of Radiology
Columbia University Medical Center
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Prenatal marijuana use is on the rise, largely due to increasing legalization and shifting public perception of its safety during pregnancy. Although prior studies have linked prenatal marijuana exposure to adverse neonatal and behavioral outcomes, the long-term neurodevelopmental effects, especially as assessed through advanced neuroimaging techniques, remain underexplored.
Dr. Payabvash[/caption]
Sam (Seyedmehdi) Payabvash, MD
Associate Professor of Radiology
Columbia University Medical Center
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Prenatal marijuana use is on the rise, largely due to increasing legalization and shifting public perception of its safety during pregnancy. Although prior studies have linked prenatal marijuana exposure to adverse neonatal and behavioral outcomes, the long-term neurodevelopmental effects, especially as assessed through advanced neuroimaging techniques, remain underexplored.
Dr. Wright[/caption]
Jason D. Wright, MD, FACOG, FACS
Sol Goldman Associate Professor
Chief, Division of Gynecologic Oncology
Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
New York, New York 10032
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: There is growing recognition that gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is safe and that the procedures are associated with favorable long term outcomes. Prior work has explored the use of inpatient procedures and shown that the rates of GAS have risen, but there is little contemporaneous data to examine more recent inpatient and outpatient use of GAS. This is particularly important as changes in insurance regulations may have increased access for these procedures. We examined temporal trends in performance of inpatient and outpatient GAS and examined age-specific trends in the types of procedures performed over time.
Dr. Mapara[/caption]
Markus Y Mapara, MD
Professor of Medicine
Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Columbia University Medical Center
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Sickle cell disease is caused by a point mutation in the beta-globin gene of hemoglobin resulting in the production of abnormal hemoglobin which leads to formation of sickle-shaped RBC under conditions of low oxygen. Sickle cell disease affects about 100,000 patients in the US which are predominantly African American. The only curative approach is to perform an allogeneic bone marrow transplant which is however fraught with significant treatment-related risks if a matched sibling donor is not available.
The current study describes the successful application of a novel gene therapy to treat patients with sickle cell disease. The strategy is based on a gene-addition approach to introduce the genetic information for a Hemoglobin F-like molecule termed HgAT87Q into hematopoietic stem cells. The expression of this novel hemoglobin prevents polymerization of HgbS and has now been demonstrated to prevent the occurrence of vaso-occlusive pain crises in sickle cell disease patients.
Jennifer Woo Baidal, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Director of Pediatric Weight Management,
Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition,
Columbia University Medical Center &
New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Childhood obesity prevalence is historically high, with most incident obesity among children occurring before age 5 years. Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in childhood obesity are already apparent by the first years of life. Latino/Hispanic children in low-income families are at-risk for obesity. Thus, understanding potentially effective ways to prevent childhood obesity, particularly in vulnerable populations, should focus on early life.
Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is a modifiable risk factor for obesity and is linked to other adverse health outcomes. Maternal SSB consumption in pregnancy and infant sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in the first year of life are linked to later childhood obesity.
We sought to describe beverage consumption in a modern cross-sectional cohort of 394 low-income, Latino families, and to examine the relationship of parental attitudes toward sugar-sweetened beverages with parental and infant SSB consumption.
