Tag Archives: medical research

Higher BMI Linked to Increased Risk of Younger Colon Cancer

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Stuart Po-Hong Liu, MD, MPH

Dr. Po-Hong Liu

Stuart Po-Hong Liu, MD, MPH
Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit Massachusetts General Hospital and
Harvard Medical School
Boston

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Although there were global decreases in overall colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence, CRC rates have increased dramatically in those aged 20 to 49 years in the United States, parts of Europe, and Asia. The etiology and early detection of young-onset becomes an emerging research and clinical priority. Another important fact that is that this emerging public health concern has resulted in updated guidelines from the American Cancer Society advising average-risk screening begin at age 45, rather than 50.

However, up to this point, the etiology of young onset CRC remains largely unknown. Elucidating the role of traditional CRC risk factors in the etiopathogenesis of young-onset CRC is one of the first research agenda. Continue reading →

Dysplastic Moles Not Necessarily Precursor to Melanoma But Indicate Increased Risk

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Caroline C. Kim, M.D. Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology Harvard Medical School Director, Pigmented Lesion Clinic Associate Director, Cutaneous Oncology Program Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA 02215

Dr. Kim

Caroline C. Kim, M.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology
Harvard Medical School
Director, Pigmented Lesion Clinic
Associate Director, Cutaneous Oncology Program
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, MA 02215

MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  What are the main findings?

Response: Atypical/dysplastic nevi have been identified as risk factors for melanoma, however the majority of melanomas arise as new lesions on the skin.

Unlike other models of dysplasia having a clear trajectory towards cancer as seen in cervical dysplasia, dysplastic nevi are not proven to be obligate precursors for melanoma.  However, there is little evidence to guide the management of biopsied dysplastic nevi with positive margins, with much clinical variation in the management of moderately dysplastic nevi in particular.

In this multi-center national study of 9 U.S. academic centers, we examined outcomes of 467 moderately dysplastic nevi excisionally biopsied without residual clinical pigmentation but with positive histologic margins with at least 3 years of clinical follow-up.  We found that no cases developed into a same-site melanoma with a mean follow-up time of 6.9 years. However, 22.8% of our patients went on to develop a future separate site melanoma.

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MidLife PSA Can Risk-Stratify Prostate Cancer in African American Men

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Mark Preston, MD, MPH Associate Surgeon, Brigham and Women's Hospital Assistant Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Surgery, Urology Boston, MA

Dr. Preston

Mark Preston, MD, MPH
Associate Surgeon, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Department of Surgery, Urology
Boston, MA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Black men are at significantly increased risk of developing and dying from prostate cancer. Unfortunately, there is limited research on screening strategies in this high-risk population. In this original investigation, we studied how baseline PSA levels measured in midlife predict later risk of aggressive prostate cancer in a population of black men. This study used stored blood samples and over a decade of follow-up in the Southern Community Cohort Study, an on-going cohort study with the highest representation of black men in the U.S.

We demonstrated that PSA levels in midlife very strongly predict future aggressive prostate cancer. Our data identify subgroups of black men who have widely divergent long-term risk of aggressive prostate cancer based on baseline PSA during midlife. We suggest that these groups could benefit from screening intervals tailored to their actual magnitude of disease risk.

These important findings build on our previous work on baseline PSA and subsequent risk of lethal prostate cancer in mainly white men, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in August 2016. 

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? 

Response: One strategy for improving PSA screening is to do an earlier measurement of PSA during midlife (aged 40-55). PSA levels during midlife have been shown by our group and others to strongly predict long-term risk of prostate cancer, particularly risk of aggressive disease, in now both black and white men.

This baseline PSA level during midlife can be used to risk-stratify PSA screening, targeting higher risk men for screening in order to diagnosis and treat them early while an opportunity exists for cure.  In addition, men at low risk could safely be screened less frequently. As a result, much of the benefit of PSA screening on prostate cancer mortality could be maintained, while overdiagnosis and overtreatment would be reduced.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: Prospective studies of a risk stratified screening program should be conducted.  We are also studying ways to further improve risk prediction and to explore biologic mechanisms why a midlife PSA is so predictive.

Disclosures. I have no disclosures. Disclosures for other authors are listed in the manuscript.

Citation:

Eur Urol. 2018 Sep 17. pii: S0302-2838(18)30627-4. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2018.08.032. [Epub ahead of print]

Baseline Prostate-specific Antigen Level in Midlife and Aggressive Prostate Cancer in Black Men.

Preston MA1, Gerke T2, Carlsson SV3, Signorello L4, Sjoberg DD5, Markt SC6, Kibel AS7, Trinh QD7, Steinwandel M8, Blot W9, Vickers AJ5, Lilja H10, Mucci LA6, Wilson KM11.

Oct 14, 2018 @ 12:36 pm

The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.

 

Text Messages Improved Colonoscopy Adherence

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Nadim Mahmud, MD, MS, MPH Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Mahmud

Nadim Mahmud, MD, MS, MPH
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Colonoscopy is an effective screening technique for colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention, but many patients either do not show up or have poor bowel preparation for the procedure. There are many contributors to this issue, including challenges with colonoscopy bowel preparations and communication barriers between healthcare systems and their patients. To address this, we performed a pilot of 21 patients using automated text messages sent over the course of one week prior to scheduled colonoscopy. These messages included instructional, educational, and reminder messages regarding aspects of the colonoscopy preparation process.

We found significantly improved colonoscopy adherence among patients who received the text message program as compared to routine care controls (90% versus 62%). Furthermore, patient satisfaction and likelihood to recommend the text messaging program was high. Similar texting programs are simple to create and manage, and should be considered to improve outpatient colonoscopy adherence. 

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SMArT Work: Stand More AT Work Increased Work Engagement and Quality of Life

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
"Office Chair Jumble" by Gavin St. Ours is licensed under CC BY 2.0Dr Fehmidah Munir CPsychol, AFBPsS
Reader in Health Psychology
Athena SWAN School Champion
School of Sport, Exercise & Health Sciences
National Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine
Loughborough University 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Given the evidence of the harmful effects of high levels of sitting time on health and the high proportion of time the majority of adults spend in this behaviour, particularly in the workplace, methods to reduce overall and prolonged sitting were needed.

Our SMArT Work (Stand More AT Work) programme was delivered to NHS office workers and involved brief education about the impact of sitting on health and benefits of reducing sitting, feedback on sitting behaviour, providing staff with a height-adjustable desk to enable them to work either standing up or sitting down, motivational posters and brief chats with a researcher to see how they were getting on. They received this programme over 12 months.

We found that office workers in our study spent nearly 10 hours/day sitting down, which can be bad for health, but we’ve shown that those office workers who received our SMArT Work programme had lower sitting time by around 80mins per day after 12 months compared to those who didn’t receive our programme. Those who received SMArT Work also reported an increase in work engagement, job performance and quality of life and less musculoskeletal issues such as back and neck pain, they felt less tired after a day at work, had less feelings of anxiety and lower sickness presenteeism (working whilst sick). We didn’t find any differences in the number of days absent at work though. Continue reading →

Mandated Audit-and-Feedback Did Not Improve Hospital Hand Hygiene

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
"Hand Washing" by Anthony Albright is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0Dr. Daniel J. Livorsi, MD
Assistant Professor
INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST
University of Iowa

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: One of the Joint Commission’s standards is that hospitals audit and provide feedback on hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers. Audit-and-feedback is therefore commonly practiced in US hospitals, but the effective design and delivery of this intervention is poorly defined, particularly in relation to hand hygiene improvement.

We studied how 8 hospitals had implemented audit-and-feedback for hand hygiene improvement. We found that hospitals were encountering several barriers in their implementation of audit-and-feedback. Audit data on hand hygiene compliance was challenging to collect and was frequently questioned. The feedback of audit results did not motivate positive change. 

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Probiotic May Eliminate Staph Bacteria Colonizations

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
"staph aureus on blood agar" by Iqbal Osman is licensed under CC BY 2.0Pipat Piewngam
Postdoctorol fellow
Pathogen Molecular Genetics Section,
Laboratory of Bacteriology,
NIAID/NIH
Bethesda, MD, USA 20892 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Response: Our team at National Institutes of health, Mahidol University and Rajamangala University of Technology in Thailand has reported that the consumption of probiotic Bacillus bacteria comprehensively abolishes colonization with the dangerous pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus.

We hypothesized that the composition of the human gut microbiota affects intestinal colonization with S. aureus. We collected fecal samples from 200 healthy individuals from rural populations in Thailand and analyzed the composition of the gut microbiome by 16S rRNA sequencing. Surprisingly, we did not detect significant differences in the composition of the microbiome between S. aureus carriers and non-carriers. We then sampled the same 200 people for S. aureus in the gut (25 positive) and nose (26 positive). Strikingly, we found no S. aureus in any of the samples where Bacillus were present.

In mouse studies, we discovered S. aureus Agr quorum-sensing signaling system that must function for the bacteria to grow in the gut. Intriguingly, all of the more than 100 Bacillus isolates we had recovered from the human feces efficiently inhibited that system. Then, we discovered that the fengycin class of Bacillus lipopeptides achieves colonization resistance by inhibiting that system.

To further validate their findings, we colonized the gut of mice with S. aureus and fed them B. subtilis spores to mimic probiotic intake. Probiotic Bacillus given every two days eliminated S. aureus in the guts of the mice. The same test using Bacillus where fengycin production had been removed had no effect, and S. aureus grew as expected. This is one of the first study that provide human evidence supporting the biological significance of probiotic bacterial interference and show that such interference can be achieved by blocking a pathogen’s signaling system. Continue reading →

Fibromyalgia: Scan Reveals Increased Brain Activation in Pain, Emotion and Affect Areas

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Daniel S. Albrecht, Ph.D.
Research Fellow, Department of Radiology
Harvard Medical School

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Can you briefly describe what is meant by fibromyalgia?

Response: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a poorly understood chronic condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, unrefreshing sleep, memory deficits and attention difficulties, among other symptoms. FM affects an estimated 4 million adults in the U.S., but despite this prevalence, effective therapies for treating FM are lacking.

This combined MR/PET image highlights areas of the brain in which patients with fibromyalgia were found to have increased glial activation, compared with unaffected control volunteers. Credit: Marco Loggia, PhD, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital

This combined MR/PET image highlights areas of the brain in which patients with fibromyalgia were found to have increased glial activation, compared with unaffected control volunteers.
Credit: Marco Loggia, PhD, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital

Part of the reason for the paucity of effective therapeutics is insufficient knowledge of the underlying mechanisms contributing to FM. Previous work from co-senior author of the current manuscript, Eva Kosek, MD, PhD, and collaborators at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found elevated inflammatory molecules in the cerebrospinal fluid of FM patients, which could be reflective of brain neuroinflammation in these patients. However, no study had directly assessed the presence of neuroinflammation in the brain of FM patients.

Co-senior author of the study, Marco Loggia, PhD, and collaborators showed in a 2015 Brain publication that individuals with chronic low back pain (cLBP) exhibit evidence of brain neuroinflammation, specifically activation of glial cells. Our team utilized simultaneous MR/PET imaging to image brain levels of the 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO), which is widely used as a marker of glial activation due to vast upregulation of TSPO in glial cells, e.g. microglia and astrocytes, in preclinical models of inflammation and neurological disease. Dr. Loggia sought to extend these finding in cLBP to FM, hypothesizing that activation of glial cells may also be associated with FM pathology. To this end, we used the same TSPO PET tracer to image 20 FM patients and 16 healthy controls.

During a conference where I was presenting preliminary results of the fibromyalgia study, Dr. Loggia met with Dr. Kosek and discovered that, across the Atlantic, her group was performing a very similar study, imaging 11 FM patients and 11 controls with the same TSPO PET compound. They decided to form a collaboration, and logistic talks began to determine the best strategy to combine and analyze the separate datasets. In addition to PET imaging with the TSPO tracer, which is suggested to reflect activated microglia and astrocytes, Dr. Kosek’s group also collected PET scans using a tracer thought to bind specifically to astrocytes rather than microglia. This tracer was used in order to discern the relative contributions of microglia and astrocytes to any observed differences in TSPO PET signal.

Continue reading →

Psoriasis Patients Have Higher Risk of Sexual and Erectile Dysfunction

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Severe Psoriasis; penn medicine

Severe Psoriasis

Alejandro Molina-Leyva, MD PhD
Dermatología, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Psoriasis is a frequent  chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by the presence of erythematous papulosquamous lesions that can affect any part of the body. The modification of body image and the subjective symptoms associated like itch or even pain can produce an important impairment of quality of life.

Sexuality is a major aspect of life that can be impaired by chronic disease but it is usually an overlooked topic during medical consultations maybe because of lack of knowledge or embarrassment. There is a increasing scientific evidence supporting the relationship between psoriasis and sexual dysfunction.

The aim of our study is to synthesize this scientific evidence in order to help dermatologists to understand the burden of the problem, to identify patients at higher risk and the available therapeutic options.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Patients with psoriasis present a higher risk of sexual and erectile dysfunction compared to general population. Approximately 50% of patients with psoriasis experience some degree of sexual dysfunction. Anxiety or depression, genital psoriasis or psoriasis arthritis increase the risk of sexual dysfunction among patients with psoriasis, special attention should be given to these patients. The improvement of psoriasis associated with biologic drugs have demonstrated to improve sexual dysfunction.

Psoriasis patients should be inquired about sexual problems during routine consultation, especially those that present risk factors. The presence of sexual or erectile dysfunction could be considered as an additional severity factor  for treatment decision.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: Future research should point towards to investigate the role of systemic inflammation and pro-inflammatory cytokines and psoriasis. We recommend researchers the use specific validated tool to assess sexual dysfunction. Upcoming clinical trials of new drugs for psoriasis should include specific analyses regarding sexual and erectile dysfunction. 

Citation:

Molina-Leyva A, Salvador-Rodriguez L, Martinez-Lopez A, Ruiz-Carrascosa JC, Arias-Santiago S. Association Between Psoriasis and Sexual and Erectile Dysfunction in Epidemiologic StudiesA Systematic Review. JAMA Dermatol. Published online October 10, 2018. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2018.3442

Oct 11, 2018 @ 1:29 pm

The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.

 

2 Million Never-Smokers Now Use E-Cigarettes

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
"Electronic Cigarette/E-Cigs/E-Cigarettes" by Chris F is licensed under CC BY 2.0Mohammadhassan (Hassan) Mirbolouk, MD
American Heart Association Tobacco Regulation Center (A-TRAC)
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, MD 21224.

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: E-cigarettes were introduced first in US market as a less harmful method of nicotine delivery which potentially would help smokers to have a less harmful option.

However, overtime e-cigarette found its niche of consumers in the younger/tobacco naïve population. Our study is amongst the first studies that describes those who use e-cigarette without any history of combustible-cigarette smoking.  Continue reading →

Critical Illness Linked To Brain Changes Associated with Cognitive Decline

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Keenan Walker, PhD Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine  Baltimore

Dr. Walker

Keenan Walker, PhD
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: This study was conducted in response to anecdotal accounts and scientific evidence which suggests that major medical conditions, such as critical illness and severe infections, can have a long-term neurological effect on some individuals.

There are quite a few studies to date which have found that critical illnesses, such as severe sepsis, are associated with long-term cognitive impairment. Based on this evidence, we wanted to figure out to what degree critical illness and major infection may affect later brain structure and to determine whether the structural changes associated with these events were similar to those observed in Alzheimer’s disease.

Our main finding was that individuals who had one or more critical illness or major infection major infection during the decades leading up to older adulthood were more likely to have smaller brain volumes in brain regions most vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease.

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Recreational Cannabis Linked to Acute Pancreatitis

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Tarek Alansari, MD Metropolitan HospitalTarek Alansari, MD
Metropolitan Hospital

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Cannabis is the most frequently consumed recreational drug in the world. The use of cannabis is becoming increasingly accepted by the general public in the United States. The estimates of the prevalence of cannabis use in the United States is about 9.5% in the adult population and the prevalence of dependence or abuse approaches 2.9%. Those under the age of 35 years are the most frequent consumers. According to Business Insider as of June 2018, recreational cannabis is legal in 9 states and medical cannabis is legal in 30 states. Recent surveys show that about 35 million Americans are frequent cannabis users.

Aiming for symptomatic relief, some patients with different gastrointestinal disorders have turned to cannabis without fully understanding the effect of its use for their individual condition.
Biliary tract disease, ethanol abuse, infections, autoimmunity, and genetics are well known causes of acute pancreatitis. However, medication-induced pancreatitis remains a less common etiology. In about 20% of cases of acute pancreatitis despite of the great improvement in genetic testing and imaging modalities, the workup still fails to reveal an etiology. These cases are labeled idiopathic.

Cannabis use is emerging as a rare, possibly overlooked cause of acute pancreatitis with few cases reported in the literature. In the United States, only 5 cases of cannabis – induced acute pancreatitis (AP) have been reported till September 2017. The review of literature revealed that only 26 cases of cannabis-induced AP have been reported worldwide. Continue reading →

Breast Cancer: Gene Expression of Receptors on a Chip Can Enhance Precision Diagnosis

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
"JFK Plaza/ Breast Cancer Awareness" by nakashi is licensed under CC BY 2.0Univ.- Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schreiner
Section Biosimulation and Bioinformatics
Center for Medical Statistics, Informatics, and Intelligent Systems
Medical University of Vienna
General Hospital
WIEN / AUSTRIA

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: The choice of correct individualized therapy for breast cancer depends on correct diagnosis: receptors for estrogen, progesterone and HER2 are determined routinely. However 5-10% of these routine diagnostics are inaccurate and may entail suboptimal therapy.

We have paved the way for additional diagnostics from gene expression data so as to increase precision of diagnostics. Continue reading →

More Patients With Bariatric Surgery Admitted for Gallstone-Related Biliary Disease

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Violeta Popov, MD PhD FACG Assistant Professor of Medicine Director of Bariatric Endoscopy, NY VA Harbor Healthcare(Manhattan) Division of Gastroenterology NYU Langone Medical Center 

Dr. Popov

Violeta Popov, MD PhD FACG
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director of Bariatric Endoscopy, NY VA Harbor Healthcare(Manhattan)
Division of Gastroenterology
NYU Langone Medical Center 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Response: Bariatric surgery is the most effective method currently available for durable weight loss. In the first few months after surgery, patients typically experience significant weight loss. Rapid weight reduction though can lead to the development of gallstones and biliary disease, described in up to 40% of post-bariatric patients. To avoid these complications, the gallbladder was removed during open bariatric procedures in the past. However, with the advent of laparoscopic surgery, concomitant cholecystectomy with bariatric surgery is no longer performed for many reasons.  The aim of is study is to assess if biliary diseases such as acute pancreatitis, acute cholecystitis, acute cholangitis, and cholecystectomy have increased with this change in practice. This is a retrospective cohort analysis of the National Inpatient Sample (NIS), the largest publicly available inpatient database in the United States of nonfederal institutions, with approximately 1000 hospitals participating and information on over 7 million inpatient admissions.

We found that from 2006 to 2014 there has been an approximately 10-fold increase in hospital admissions for biliary diseases, as well as similar increase in cholecystectomies, in patients who have a history of bariatric surgery. There was no significant change in admissions in patients without bariatric surgery between 2006 and 2014 admitted for the same biliary diseases.  Continue reading →

Real World Treatment of Serious Infections with Ceftolozane/Tazobactam

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Thomas P. Lodise Jr., PharmD, PhD Clinical Pharmacist at the Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany, NY Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Albany, NY

Dr. Lodise

Thomas P. Lodise Jr., PharmD, PhD
Clinical Pharmacist at the Stratton
VA Medical Center in Albany, NY
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Albany, NY

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? How does Ceftolozane/Tazobactam differ from other antibiotics for serious Gram-negative infections including Pseudomonas aeruginosa?

Response: Treatment of patients with Gram-negative infections is increasingly difficult due to rising resistance to commonly used agents. Ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T) is a potent anti-pseudomonal agent with broad Gram-negative coverage that is indicated for complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI) and complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) and is currently being studied for ventilated nosocomial pneumonia. C/T differs from other antibiotics in terms of its potency against multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one of the most concerning and difficult-to-treat Gram-negative pathogens. This study evaluates C/T in a large database of US hospitals to better understand treatment patterns and associated outcomes.

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Obesity Linked to Alarming Risk in Gastric and Colon Cancers in Young Adults

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Hisham Hussan, M.D. Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine Director, Obesity and Bariatric Endoscopy Section Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition Department of Internal Medicine The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Columbus, OH 43210

Dr. Hussan

Hisham Hussan, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine
Director, Obesity and Bariatric Endoscopy Section
Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition
Department of Internal Medicine
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Columbus, OH 43210

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Obesity, a major healthcare burden, is an established risk factor for many gastrointestinal cancers. With obesity being on the rise, we inspected whether obesity related gastrointestinal cancers are increasing in different age groups, and relation to obesity.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? 

Response: We identify an alarming increase in incidence of gastric and colorectal cancers in young adults (less than 50 years of age) between 2002-2013.

This was paralleled by an uptrend in obese patients undergoing surgeries for these cancers during the same period. 

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Our results suggest, for the first time, a contributing role of obesity in the etiology as well as the increasing incidence of gastric and colorectal cancers in young adults. 

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: More studies are needed to investigate the interplay of epigenetics factors such as young-onset obesity and western diet in relation to risk of adults developing colorectal and gastric cancers at an earlier age. Also public policies are needed to counter obesity and the rising incidence of gastric and colorectal cancer in this young high risk group.

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Response: My main career focus is translational and clinical research at the interface of energy balance, the microbiome and gastrointestinal cancer.

We have no financial disclosers or conflict of interest.

Citation:

 ACG18 abstract:

Rising, Age‐Specific, Trends of Obesity‐Related Gastrointestinal Cancers Correspond With Increasing Cancer Resections in Obese Patients: A 2002‐2013 National Analysis Using the SEER and NIS Databases

Oct 9, 2018 @ 11:58 am

The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.

 

Study Finds Vitamin D Supplements Have No Effect On Musculoskeletal Health

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
"MaxMedica D-vitamin" by Midsona Sverige AB is licensed under CC BY 2.0Dr Mark J Bolland PhD
Bone and Joint Research Group
Department of Medicine
University of Auckland
New Zealand

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Vitamin D supplements have long been recommended for older people to treat or prevent osteoporosis.

Early evidence suggested vitamin D supplements might have benefits for musculoskeletal health, but more recent systematic reviews have reported no effect of vitamin D supplementation on fractures, falls or bone mineral density. Some authors have suggested that inadequate vitamin D doses might explain these null results.

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Strong Link Between HPV and HIV Infection in MSM

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Brandon Brown, MPH, PhD Associate Professor Center for Healthy Communities Department of Social Medicine, Population and Public Health UCR School of Medicine Riverside, CA 

Dr. Brown

Brandon Brown, MPH, PhD
Associate Professor
Center for Healthy Communities
Department of Social Medicine, Population and Public Health
UCR School of Medicine
Riverside, CA

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Response: The authors have been working in Lima, Peru on HIV-related projects for over 17 years. This particular study arose out of interest from our main community collaborator and the only gay men’s health NGO in Lima, Epicentro Salud (http://epicentro.org.pe/index.php/en/). The NGO noticed that one of the main health issues among their clients was genital warts. When we learned this, we applied for funding through the Merck Investigator Initiated Studies Program to conduct a study examining the link between genital warts and incident HIV infection.

The relationship between anogenital HPV types and incident HIV infection among men who have sex with men and transgender women in Lima, Peru

The relationship between anogenital HPV types and incident HIV infection among men who have sex with men and transgender women in Lima, Peru

Although most studies have shown a general link between HPV and HIV co-infection, our findings illustrate the strong relationship between individual HPV types and HIV infection. Specifically, individuals in our study with any HPV type, more than one HPV type, or high-risk HPV were more likely to acquire HIV.

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Bacterial Appendage Offers New Target To Combat Antibiotic Resistance

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

David G. Thanassi, Ph.D. Professor and Interim Chair Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology Center for Infectious Diseases Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY 11794-5222

Dr. Thanassi

David G. Thanassi, Ph.D.
Professor and Interim Chair
Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Center for Infectious Diseases
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY 11794-5222

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli use hair-like surface appendages termed pili to colonize tissues within the host and initiate infection.  Together with our collaborators – the group of Huilin Li at the Van Andel Research Institute – we used an advanced imaging technique termed cryo-electron microscopy to determine snapshots of bacterial pili as they are being assembled.  The pili we studied are critical for uropathogenic strains of E. coli to colonize the urinary tract and cause urinary tract infections.  Our work revealed a new stage in the pilus assembly process and new details about how these structures are built on the bacterial surface.   Continue reading →

Abbott’s ID NOW Can Confirm Flu Infection in 13 Minutes or Less

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Abbott’s molecular point-of-care flu test, ID NOW

Abbott’s molecular point-of-care flu test, ID NOW

Dr. Norman Moore PhD
Abbott’s Director of Scientific Affairs for Infectious Diseases 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this test? How does ID NOW differ from other tests for influenza?

Response: This test was developed to give providers – and their patients – lab-accurate results more quickly than ever, right at the point of care. It was designed for ease of use, as well as to be portable and small enough that it can be used in a broad range of healthcare settings, including walk-in clinics, urgent care centers, doctors’ offices and emergency rooms.

Prior to ID NOW, traditional molecular tests offered great performance, but took too long to impact treatment decisions. ID NOW is able to deliver the performance and accuracy of lab-based tests in a timeframe that offers the best chance of improving treatment decisions.  Continue reading →

Most Health Care Costs Associated With Osteoporotic Fractures Occur in First Year

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Kandice A. Kapinos, Ph.D. Economist Professor RAND Corporation Pardee RAND Graduate School 

Dr. Kapinos

Kandice A. Kapinos, Ph.D.
Economist
Professor
RAND Corporation
Pardee RAND Graduate School 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Response: The economic burden of osteoporotic fractures is substantial with studies estimating the annual healthcare cost burden between $10 to 17 billion. Although estimates from individual studies vary, most studies assessing costs after a fracture only explore up to twelve months following a fracture. There is little investigation of how fracture patients’ costs evolve over a longer post-fracture period.

As osteoporotic fractures are one of the most common causes of disability among older adults and can translate into greater medical costs, we focused on studying Medicare beneficiaries. In fact, previous research has suggested that most of the increase in Medicare spending over time can be explained from costs associated with treating higher risk Medicare beneficiaries.

Our objective in this study was to compare health care costs over a 3-year period of those who experienced a fracture to those who did not among a sample of Medicare beneficiaries who were at an increased risk of having a fracture.

Consistent with previous studies, we found a significant increase in expenditures in the year immediately following a fracture relative to controls: almost $14,000 higher for fractures relative to controls. However, at 2 and 3-years post-fracture, there were no significant differences in the change in expenditures between fracture cases and controls. We note that these findings may be different for beneficiaries living in skilled nursing facilities or other non-community-based settings.

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Modest Post-Menopausal Weight Loss Linked To Lower Breast Cancer Risk

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Rowan Chlebowski, MD, PhD Research Professor Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research City of Hope National Medical Center Duarte, California

Dr. Chlebowski

Rowan Chlebowski, MD, PhD
Research Professor
Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research
City of Hope National Medical Center
Duarte, California

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Regarding study background while obesity has been for several decades been well established respect cancer incidence, it has been difficult to provide evidence that weight loss in postmenopausal women would reduce their breast cancer risk.

We address this question by examining short-term, three year weight loss of 5% or more in most menopausal women participating in the Women’s Health Initiative observational study.

Women who lost this moderate amount of weight regardless of their baseline weight experience as statistically significant lower breast cancer incidence.

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New Antibiotic Combination IMI/REL Can Treat Resistant Infection With Less Kidney Toxicity

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Michelle Hoffman Brown Associate Principal Scientist at Merck Merck

Michelle Brown

Michelle Hoffman Brown
Associate Principal Scientist
Merck

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the kidney risks of using colistin to treat carbapenem-resistant bacterial infections?

Response: Gram-negative pathogens are responsible for half of all healthcare-associated infections and their ability to resist traditional antibiotics makes them more dangerous for seriously ill patients in a healthcare setting. The need for new approaches to treat these pathogens is essential and this trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of imipenem/relebactam (IMI/REL) for the treatment of these challenging infections.

Nephrotoxicity is a common complication of colistin-based therapy and is the potential adverse experience of greatest concern to prescribing clinicians, limiting its use to treat carbapenem-resistant bacterial infections. Relebactam is a novel β-lactamase inhibitor that restores imipenem activity against many imipenem-non-susceptible strains of Gram-negative pathogens. In the Phase 3 RESTORE-IMI 1 study (NCT02452047), IMI/REL was shown to be as effective as, but better tolerated than, colistin plus imipenem, including as demonstrated by a lower incidence of treatment-emergent nephrotoxicity (prespecified secondary endpoint). This analysis looked at additional renal safety data from the RESTORE-IMI 1 trial.  Continue reading →

Hospital Sinks a Trap For Bad Bacteria

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gili Regev-Yochay, MD, Lead author Director of the Infection Prevention & Control Unit Sheba Medical Center Tel HaShomer, Israel.  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: CPE (Carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae) is endemic in Israel. In our ICU we had a prolonged CPE outbreak with one particular bacteria, which is not that common (OXA-48 producing-Serratia marcescens).  Enhancing our regular control measures (hand hygiene, increased cleaning etc..) did not contain the outbreak. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?  Response: The outbreak source were the sink-traps in nearly all the patient rooms, which were contaminated with this same bacteria. Once we understood that this was the source we took two measures: 1) Sink decontamination efforts, including intensive chlorine washes of the drainage and water system, replacement of all sink-traps, acetic acid treatment and more, all these efforts were only partially and only temporarily successful. So that even today, after a year of such efforts and a period in which we didn't have any patients with this infection, the drainage system is still contaminated with these bugs and they grow in the sink-traps and can be found in the sink outlets. 2) The second measure we took was an educational intervention, where we engaged the ICU team through workshops to the issue of the contaminated sinks and together enforced strict "sink-use guidelines" (sinks are to be used ONLY for hand washing, prohibiting placement of any materials near the sinks, etc.). Using these two measure the outbreak was fully contained. To date, nearly 1.5 years since the last outbreak case, we did not have any further infections in our ICU patients with this bug. MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? Response: Sink-traps and drainage systems can be a major source of CPE transmission. While traditionally CPE outbreaks were attributed to patient-to patient transmission, the environment and particularly water and drainage system appears to play a major role. MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?  Response: There is urgent need to find a technological solution for drainage system contaminations. While some have suggested to get rid of sinks in ICU this is probably not realistic in the era of emerging Clostridium infections (where washing hands, and not only alcohol rubs are needed).  Citation: Gili Regev-Yochay, Gill Smollan, Ilana Tal, Nani Pinas Zade, Yael Haviv, Valery Nudelman, Ohad Gal-Mor, Hanaa Jaber, Eyal Zimlichman, Nati Keller, Galia Rahav. Sink traps as the source of transmission of OXA-48–producing Serratia marcescens in an intensive care unit. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2018; 1 DOI: 1017/ice.2018.235 <span class="last-modified-timestamp">Oct 6, 2018 @ 7:25 pm</span>     The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.  Gili Regev-Yochay, MD, Lead author
Director of the Infection Prevention & Control Unit
Sheba Medical Center
Tel HaShomer, Israel. 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: CPE (Carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae) is endemic in Israel. In our ICU we had a prolonged CPE outbreak with one particular bacteria, which is not that common (OXA-48 producing-Serratia marcescens).  Enhancing our regular control measures (hand hygiene, increased cleaning etc..) did not contain the outbreak.

Continue reading →

AI Screening for Diabetic Eye Disease May Save Time and Money

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Prof. Yogesan Kanagasingam, PhD Australian of the Year 2015 (WA Finalist) Research Director, Australian e-Health Research Centre Visiting Scholar,  Harvard University Adjunct Professor, School of Medicine University of Notre Dame

Prof. Kanagasingam

Prof. Yogesan Kanagasingam, PhD
Australian of the Year 2015 (WA Finalist)
Research Director, Australian e-Health Research Centre
Visiting Scholar,  Harvard University
Adjunct Professor, School of Medicine
University of Notre Dame

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: We wanted to evaluate how an artificial intelligence (AI)–based grading system for diabetic retinopathy will perform in a real-world clinical setting, at a primary care clinic. 

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Sensitivity and specificity of the AI system compared with the gold standard of ophthalmologist evaluation is provided.

The results demonstrate both the potential and the challenges of using AI systems to identify diabetic retinopathy in clinical practice. Key challenges include the low incidence rate of disease and the related high false-positive rate as well as poor image quality.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: Low incidence rate of disease is an issue. May be a controlled environment, e.g. endocrinology clinic, may overcome this low incidence rate of diseases and high number of patients with diabetes.

Another research direction is how to improve image quality when capturing retinal images from a fundus camera.

How to overcome the issues related to sheen reflection is another research direction.  

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Response: At present, ophthalmologists or optometrists read all images.

If AI is introduced for image reading then, based the results from this study, ophthalmologists have to check only 8% of the images. This is a huge cost savings to the health system and save lot of time.

The accuracy rate (sensitivity and specificity) from this study is better than human graders.

Citation: 

Kanagasingam Y, Xiao D, Vignarajan J, Preetham A, Tay-Kearney M, Mehrotra A. Evaluation of Artificial Intelligence–Based Grading of Diabetic Retinopathy in Primary Care. JAMA Network Open. 2018;1(5):e182665. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.2665

Oct 6, 2018 @ 12:17 pm

The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.