Author Interviews, Dermatology, Infections / 15.07.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Dilip Kachhawa, MD Department of Skin & Venereal Disease Dr Sampurnanand Medical College Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings? Response: Molluscum Contagiosum (MC) is an infection caused by molluscipoxvirus. It is difficult to study since the virus only survives in human skin, and therefore there isn’t an animal or cell model to study potential treatments. Molluscum lesions appear as raised, domed shaped skin-colored lesions and can occur anywhere on the body but are most common on the face, neck, arms, legs, and abdomen. Sometimes there are few lesions, but clusters of several lesions can appear. Children are the most likely to get molluscum, and the virus is highly contagious, transmitted by direct contact with infected skin or contaminated objects, like towels, linens and toys. Scratching can cause autoinoculation which is when a person reinfects themself. MC is very common, impacting an estimated 6 million adults and mostly children in the US each year. In 2010, there was an estimated 122 million cases worldwide. It occurs primarily in humid and warm climates, and transmission via swimming pools and bathtubs may be possible. Therefore, molluscum is often called “water warts.” Many physicians may take a “watch and wait” approach since the virus may clear on its own. However, it can take months to up to 5 years for some to experience complete clearance, In the meantime, the person is still highly contagious and may spread the virus to others, particularly children. Lesions can be bothersome, causing itching and sometimes a secondary infection. There is also a psychosocial component. In a recent study, 1 in 10 children with molluscum experienced a major quality of life issue. Berdazimer Gel, 10.3% is a potential first-in-class topical controlled-nitric oxide releasing medication containing Berdazimer (sodium), a new chemical entity, and the active ingredient in berdazimer gel 10.3%. The mechanism of action of berdazimer in the treatment of molluscum is unknown, but in vitro lab studies show that the nitric oxide, released when berdazimer is combined with a hydrogel, may impede viral replication and perhaps help body’s natural immune response against molluscum. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology / 14.05.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Naeem Bhojani, MD, FRCSC Division of Urology, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), University of Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada David-Dan Nguyen MPH Division of Urological Surgery and Center for Surgery and Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada  MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: In a recent study by our group published in JAMA Dermatology (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/2772818), finasteride use was found to be associated with increased reporting of suicidality and depression in young patients with androgenetic alopecia. This previous analysis suggested that the association between finasteride and depression might be mediated by sexual dysfunction. Building on this work, we conducted this second analysis to examine the association between finasteride use and reports of sexual dysfunction. (more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Dermatology, UCSF / 27.11.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Carina M. Woodruff, MD Department of Dermatolog University of California, San Francisco MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Rigorous hand hygiene has been an important component of the CDC's COVID-19 guidelines. With millions of Americans now using hand sanitizers regularly, we are seeing many more cases of hand dermatitis. Our study evaluated the key product features and most common allergens in the top-reviewed, commercial hand sanitizers sold by major US retailers. We found that the most common potential allergens were tocopherol, fragrance, propylene glycol and phenoxyethanol. Our study also showed that nearly 1 in 5 marketing claims on these products was misleading. For example, 70% of sanitizers with the marketing claim "hypoallergenic" included at least one common allergen in its formulation. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology / 13.05.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brian S. Kim, MD, MTR, FAAD Associate Professor of Medicine (Dermatology) Co-Director, Center for the Study of Itch and Sensory Disorders Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, MO  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Itch is the central and most debilitating symptom of atopic dermatitis. However, surprisingly, measuring itch or quality of life in clinical trials is not often a primary endpoint. Therefore, this study focuses in very detailed fashion on how ruxolitinib cream improves pruritus in a clinically meaningful way and its ultimate impact on quality of life. What patients want to know at the end of the day is how much will this drug change my life?  Not, whether it statistically beat out a placebo group. Indeed, what this study shows is that ruxolitinib cream has a major impact on itch in a meaningful way that is also tied to improvements in quality of life. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania / 08.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: John Barbieri, MD, MBA Hospital & Health Care University of Pennsylvania  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly describe the type of acne treated with Isotretinoin? Response: Isotretinoin is often used to treat moderate to severe acne or acne that has been unresponsive to other treatments. It is also used for patients with scarring acne. While highly effective for acne, due to concerns about medication related side-effects, patients are often monitoring with frequent blood tests, sometimes up to once per month. However, there have been several studies over the past two decades questioning the value of these frequent blood tests for patients on isotretinoin for acne. The purpose of this study was to examine whether blood test monitoring has been decreasing over time in response to these studies. We also evaluated the frequency of blood test abnormalities for patients being treated with isotretinoin. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, FDA / 06.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stephanie L. Kuschel, MD Indiana University School of Medicine Indianapolis, IN, 46202 Robert Dellavalle, MD, PhD, MSPH Professor of Dermatology and Public Health University of Colorado School of Medicine Colorado School of Public Health Chief, Dermatology Service US Department of Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System Denver, CO 80220  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Physicians can serve as external experts and voting members of FDA advisory committee panels, which help determine if a drug is acceptable for the US market. Considering that financial conflicts of interest (FCOI) have been shown to influence voting member habits, the FDA has regulations in place to minimize these FCOI. However, the FDA can grant waivers for some financially conflicted individuals if they meet certain requirements (like offering key insights that may out-weigh the risk of a possible FCOI). Additionally the FDA does not make stipulations regarding post-advisory role financial relationships. In fact, many former FDA committee advisors later engage in financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies. Some worry these post-hoc financial relationships could pose an ethical dilemma whereby future FDA advisory members are incentivized to alter their voting habits in expectation of future rewards. Others argue the situation may be more complex than expected. For example, the author of one study, found that while there was evidence for a pro-industry voting bias among committee members with exclusive financial relationships to the sponsoring manufacturer (of the drug under review), this was not the case for members with nonexclusive financial ties to both the sponsor and its competitors 1. Furthermore, the author found that advisors with many corporate ties were (on average) actually more likely than their peers without any financial ties to vote against the sponsor. The author argued that these advisors were more likely to be experienced researchers, and their voting habits may reflect their experience evaluating medical research. While this author and others have offered valuable insights into financial relationships of advisors during their advisory role, unfortunately little information is available regarding post-advisory role financial relationships and whether these relationship have any influence on the integrity of the voting process. The purpose of our study was to review Open Payment data on industry payments to former physician FDA dermatologic drug committee members.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Weight Research / 01.05.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Igor Snast, MD Department of Dermatology Rabin Medical Center–Beilinson Hospita Israel.  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Acne is the most common skin disorder among adolescents. Obesity has been suggested to promote acne, however various studies evaluating the relationship between obesity and acne have yielded contradictory outcomes. Our population-based study demonstrates that overweight, obese and severely obese youths have decreased odds of having acne (20%, 35% and 50% respectively) compared to normal-weight subjects. (more…)