@medresearchnews Tag

09 Mar

Posted at 12:28h in Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA, Statins
[caption id="attachment_60153" align="alignleft" width="150"]Myeong-Ki Hong, MD PhDProfessor of Cardiology Yonsei University College of Medicine Severance Cardiovascular Hospital Seoul, Korea Prof. Myeong-Ki Hong[/caption] MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Myeong-Ki Hong, MD PhD Professor of Cardiology Yonsei University College of Medicine Severance Cardiovascular Hospital Seoul, Korea MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The background of this study was to compare the long-term clinical outcomes between the two distinct strategies regarding statin intensity in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). One is to titrate statin intensity to meet a target low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level (treat-to-target strategy), the other is to maintain high-intensity statin without a target goal (high-intensity statin strategy).

08 Mar

Posted at 00:02h in Author Interviews, Infections, JAMA, OBGYNE, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60144" align="alignleft" width="150"]Anna Roca PhDMRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Fajara, The Gambia Dr. Roca[/caption] Anna Roca PhD MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Fajara, The Gambia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Context specific interventions are needed to decrease the high burden of severe neonatal morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Severe bacterial infections are a main cause of neonatal mortality in the continent. Oral intra-partum azithromycin is a cheap intervention easily scalable. Before embarking on this trial, we conducted a proof-of-concept trial that showed the intervention reduced maternal and neonatal bacterial carriage of the most prevalent bacteria causing neonatal sepsis in the continent.

07 Mar

Posted at 20:07h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Electronic Records, Health Care Systems, Race/Ethnic Diversity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60140" align="alignleft" width="112"]Dhruv Khullar, M.D., M.P.P.Director of Policy Dissemination Physicians Foundation Center for Physician Practice and Leadership Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Economics Weill Cornell Medicine, NYC Dr. Khullar[/caption] Dhruv Khullar, M.D., M.P.P. Director of Policy Dissemination Physicians Foundation Center for Physician Practice and Leadership Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Economics Weill Cornell Medicine, NYC   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: From prior research, we know that there are racial/ethnic differences in the acute impact of COVID-19, including higher rates of hospitalization and death among Black and Hispanic individuals compared to white individuals. Less is known about whether there are differences in the rates or types of long COVID by race and ethnicity.

05 Mar

Posted at 12:58h in Author Interviews, Depression
Editor's note: This piece discusses suicide. If you have experienced suicidal thoughts or have lost someone to suicide and want to seek help, you can contact the Crisis Text Line by texting "START" to 741-741 or call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60131" align="alignleft" width="125"]Alexia AguilarGeisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Scranton, PA Alexia Aguilar[/caption] Alexia Aguilar Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Scranton, PA     MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Traditional antidepressants like Zoloft and Lexapro have three major drawbacks.
  • First, they have a therapeutic lag and take at least a couple weeks to begin to improve mood.
  • Second, they do not work very well for many patients with only about one-third experiencing a remission.1
  • Third, they carry a Food and Drug Administration black box warning for increasing the risk of suicide in young-adults. There is tremendous enthusiasm for the anesthetic ketamine and esketamine because they overcome all three of these limitations. The brand name of esketamine is Spravato. Spravato received conditional approval from the FDA in March of 2019 as a nasal spray for treatment resistant depression or acute suicidality.  The goal of this study was to examine prescriptions for ketamine and esketamine in 2019 and 2020.

01 Mar

Posted at 22:01h in Aging, Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Supplements
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60115" align="alignleft" width="125"]Christopher R. Martens PhDAssistant Professor Director, Delaware Center for Cognitive Aging Research Department of Kinesiology & Applied Physiology University of Delaware Newark, DE Dr. Martens[/caption] Christopher R. Martens PhD Assistant Professor Director, Delaware Center for Cognitive Aging Research Department of Kinesiology & Applied Physiology University of Delaware Newark, DE MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: One of the main issues with Alzheimer's disease is an impaired ability to make energy in the brain. NAD+ is critically involved in the creation of energy within cells and there is strong evidence that nicotinamide riboside (NR), a precursor to NAD+, can restore brain function in mice that exhibit similar characteristics as people with Alzheimer's disease. We had previously studied the effects of NR in healthy older adults and wanted to see whether it is even capable of getting into brain tissue. We used remaining blood samples from our original study and measured the amount of NAD+ within tiny "vesicles" in the blood that we are quite confident originated from the brain and other neural tissue

01 Mar

Posted at 18:33h in Author Interviews, Infections, NIH, OBGYNE
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
William A. Petri, MD PhDWilliam A. Petri, MD PhD Wade Hampton Frost Professor of Medicine and Vice Chair for Research of the Department of Medicine Professor of Medicine, Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, and Pathology, Medicine: Infectious Diseases and International Health, Medicine: Infectious Diseases and International Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? MedicalResearch.com We tested if prophylactic antibiotics could prevent sepsis and death in women in the late stages of normal vaginal labor and delivery. It was previously known that antibiotic were effective for this purpose in women undergoing C-section. The study was a randomized placebo-controlled trial at 8 international sites of nearly 30,000 women.

26 Feb

Posted at 13:25h in Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Heart Disease, JACC, Social Issues

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60090" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Leyba[/caption] Katarina Leyba, MBA, MD University of Colorado School of Medicine  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: This study looked at the relationship between relationship status and outcomes in patients with heart failure. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response:  The primary finding is that lifetime...

26 Feb

Posted at 11:25h in Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Heart Disease, JACC
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60080" align="alignleft" width="150"]Rishi K. Wadhera, MD, MPP, MPhilSection Head, Health Policy and Equity, Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Center for Outcomes Research Associate Program Director, Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Dr. Wadhera[/caption] Rishi K. Wadhera, MD, MPP, MPhil Section Head, Health Policy and Equity, Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Center for Outcomes Research Associate Program Director Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School @rkwadhera MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: High and rising prescription drug costs in the United States contribute to medication non-adherence and financial strain among adults with cardiovascular risk factors or disease. As a result, addressing prescription drug costs in patients with chronic conditions has become a national priority. In response to these growing concerns, federal policymakers passed the Inflation Reduction Act on August 16, 2022, which aims to address high out-of-pocket drug costs for adults enrolled in Medicare Part D, by placing a $2000 annual cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs and expanding eligibility for full low-income subsidies to individuals that reduce deductible costs and prescription copayments (among several other provisions). It is unclear how these provisions will affect Medicare beneficiaries with cardiovascular risk factors and/or conditions.

23 Feb

Posted at 22:25h in Author Interviews, Herpes Viruses, JAMA, STD, USPSTF
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59720" align="alignleft" width="133"]James Stevermer, M.D., M.S.P.H. Vice chair for clinical affairs Professor of family and community medicine University of Missouri Medical director of MU Health Care Family Medicine–Callaway Physicians Dr. Stevermer[/caption] James Stevermer, M.D., M.S.P.H. Vice chair for clinical affairs Professor of family and community medicine University of Missouri Medical director of MU Health Care Family Medicine–Callaway Physicians, Dr. Stevermer joined the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force in January 2021.     MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Genital herpes is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) that unfortunately has no cure and cannot accurately be detected in people who do not have signs of the condition. The current screening tests have limitations and there is a high chance that test results will say a person has the condition when they do not. In addition, the available treatments are focused on managing symptoms and preventing the condition from reoccurring. As a result, the Task Force concluded that the harms of screening outweigh the benefits.

23 Feb

Posted at 19:02h in Author Interviews, Endocrinology, Environmental Risks
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60068" align="alignleft" width="150"]Jesse Goodrich PhDAssistant Professor Department of Population and Public Health Sciences Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California Dr. Goodrich[/caption] Jesse Goodrich PhD Assistant Professor Department of Population and Public Health Sciences Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of persistent chemicals that are known to interfere with hormones and metabolism. In our previous research, we have found that PFAS exposure is associated several specific diseases, especially in children and adolescents. These include obesity, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, and even liver cancer. However, we are still only just starting to fully understand all of the health effects of the many different PFAS in existence. Previous studies have focused primarily on one or two main PFAS. However, there are over 9,000 known PFAS, and people are exposed not just to a single PFAS but to mixtures of many PFAS. Importantly, the combination of these chemical exposures may affect us differently than single exposures alone. To address this challenge, we used an innovative approach to study design to examine how exposure to PFAS impacts biological processes which may underly the development of many different diseases in adolescents and young adults. To do this, we first measured thousands of naturally occurring chemicals, known as metabolites, in people's blood. Then, using a new biostatistical method developed by our team, we identified how exposure to a mixture of several PFAS impacted each individual chemical. Finally, we used this information to determine which biological processes are changed by PFAS exposure.

21 Feb

Posted at 19:26h in Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Stanford
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60059" align="alignleft" width="125"]Yann Le Guen, Ph.D.Assistant Director, Computational Biology Quantitative Sciences Unit Stanford Medicine Dr. Yann Le Guen[/caption] Yann Le Guen, Ph.D. Assistant Director, Computational Biology Quantitative Sciences Unit Stanford Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Apart from aging, the strongest contributing factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease is a specific allele of the APOE gene, which has three common alleles E2, E3, and E4. While E3 is the most common and considered as the reference, E2 is associated with decreased Alzheimer’s disease risk and E4 is associated with increased Alzheimer’s disease risk. Notably the prevalence of E4 among Alzheimer’s patient is high with about 60% of these carrying at least one E4 allele, while solely about 30% Americans carry one E4 allele. It’s worth emphasizing that individuals with an E4/E4 genotype have an exponential increased in their risk to develop AD (10 times as likely than the reference E3/E3 genotype), and individuals with an E3/E4 genotype have an intermediate risk. Though, most studies of Alzheimer’s disease genetic have been focused on European ancestry, this is beginning to change thanks to NIH’s efforts to fund more studies in non-European ancestry individuals. Our study built on these recent efforts to assess the Alzheimer disease risk associated with an APOE variant (R145C) present in about ~4% African Americans, but extremely rare in Europeans.

21 Feb

Posted at 11:09h in Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JACC, Kidney Disease, Transplantation
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60034" align="alignleft" width="130"]Shinobu Itagaki, MD, MScAssistant Professor Cardiovascular Surgery Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY Dr. Itagaki[/caption] Shinobu Itagaki, MD, MSc Assistant Professor Cardiovascular Surgery Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Were the transplants from a single donor? Response: The heart transplantation is the gold standard therapy for end-stage heart failure patients. As the kidney is affected by the heart function, it is common that the heart transplant candidates have some degree of kidney dysfunction as well. In these cases, the candidates are considered for simultaneous heart and kidney transplantation from a same donor. Unlike isolated heart transplantation, where the indication and benefits have been well established, simultaneous heart and kidney transplantation has less clear indication and benefits. This uncertainty is also complicated by the competing interest with isolated kidney transplantation candidates who in general wait longer on the waiting list.

20 Feb

Posted at 11:32h in Author Interviews, Genetic Research, NIH, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60043" align="alignleft" width="100"]Natalie Shaw, M.D., MMSc.Principal Investigator Head of the Pediatric Neuroendocrinology Group Dr. Shaw holds a secondary appointment in NIEHS  Reproductive and Developmental Biology Laboratory. Dr. Shaw[/caption] Natalie Shaw, M.D., MMSc. Principal Investigator Head of the Pediatric Neuroendocrinology Group Dr. Shaw holds a secondary appointment in NIEHS Reproductive and Developmental Biology Laboratory.   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly describe the two affected conditions? Dr. Shaw: Congenital arhinia is a rare congenital malformation characterized by the complete absence of an external nose and internal olfactory (smell) structures.  It is frequently associated with eye and reproductive defects.  Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) type 2 is a form of muscular dystrophy that presents in young adulthood.  Both conditions are caused by mutations in the gene SMCHD1.  In FSHD type 2, we know that loss of SMCHD1 activity leads to expression of a toxic protein called DUX4 in muscle.  The cause of arhinia was unknown.

16 Feb

Posted at 16:21h in Author Interviews, Health Care Systems, Sleep Disorders
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60038" align="alignleft" width="200"]Michael R. Schutz, Ph.D.Professor of Music Cognition/Percussion at McMaster University Founding director of the MAPLE Lab and Core member of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind. Dr. Schutz[/caption] Michael R. Schutz, Ph.D. Professor of Music Cognition/Percussion at McMaster University Founding director of the MAPLE Lab and Core member of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind. Prof. Schutz is also a professional musician and directs McMaster’s percussion ensemble.   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Hospitals around the world are filled with devices generating aconstant stream of tones conveying information to medical staff.overburdened healthcare professionals, and contributes to burnout inmedical staff.  The Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI) regularlyincludes problems with auditory alarms in their list of "Top 10 HealthTechnology Hazards" and they  are so problematic an FDA surveyimplicated them in hundreds of patient deaths.While there is currently a lot of interest in how to improve alarmmanagement protocols, this study is different in that it looks atimproving the quality of the alarm sounds themselves.  For historicalreasons many default to simplistic "beeps" which are generallyannoying.  While annoying is useful for critical alarms requiringimmediate action, the vast majority of these messages are merelyintended to update medical staff of changes (i.e. blood pressure isrising) or indicate other situations that do not require immediateaction. Unfortunately, many machines use the same simplistic andannoying "beeps" regardless of whether the messages are urgent ornon-urgent.  This constant flood of annoying beeps negatively affectsboth patients (extending recovery time due to interrupted rest) andstaff (who can develop "alarm fatigue" from the constant cacophony).

15 Feb

Posted at 20:08h in Author Interviews, Coffee, Genetic Research, JAMA, Kidney Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60028" align="alignleft" width="133"]Dr. Sara Mahdavi Dr. Mahdavi[/caption] Dr. Sara Mahdavi, PhD Clinical Scientist and Clinical Instructor Research Appointment in the Faculty of Medicine University of Toronto Toronto, ON MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: This was a long-term study spanning 16 years and began with a population of young adults who were medically assessed on a regular basis. It was remarkable to see just how striking the effects of coffee were in the group that had the susceptible genetic variant, what we termed “slow caffeine metabolizers” yet no effect whatsoever in those who did not were termed “fast metabolizers”.

14 Feb

Posted at 23:29h in Author Interviews, Fertility, Nature
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60020" align="alignleft" width="150"]Melanie Balbach PhDPostdoctoral Associate in Pharmacology Weill Cornell Medicine Dr. Balbach[/caption] Melanie Balbach PhD Postdoctoral Associate in Pharmacology Weill Cornell Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: For men, the only two options for birth control currently available are condoms and vasectomy. Additional contraceptive methods are required to more equally distribute the burden of contraception between men and women. We aim to develop an on-demand contraceptive pill for men where sperm motility and thereby fertility is only blocked for multiple hours. The idea is that men take our contraceptive shortly before intercourse and regain fertility about 24 hours later.

13 Feb

Posted at 21:58h in Author Interviews, Case Western, Stroke
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60014" align="alignleft" width="142"]Amrou Sarraj, MD FAHAProfessor of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine George M. Humphrey II Endowed Chair, University Hospitals Neurological Institute Director, Comprehensive Stroke Center and Stroke Systems, University Hospitals Dr. Sarraj[/caption] Amrou Sarraj, MD FAHAProfessor of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of MedicineGeorge M. Humphrey II Endowed Chair, University Hospitals Neurological Institute Director, Comprehensive Stroke Center and Stroke Systems, University Hospitals MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Endovascular thrombectomy was proven safe and effective in patients with acute ischemic, stroke, neurologist, occlusion presenting up to 24 hours from last known well in multiple clinical trials. Patients with large ischemic changes were largely excluded from those trials, and thus limited randomized evidence of thrombectomy in this patient population exists. Our study found that thrombectomy improved the odds of achieving better functional outcomes by 1.5 times in patients with large ischemic changes on non-contrast CT or perfusion imaging. Proportion of patients achieving functional independence (mRS 0-2) and Independent ambulation (mRS 0-3) were also significantly higher with thrombectomy. Symptomatic hemorrhage occurred in very few patients and was not higher with thrombectomy. Results from analyses of subgroup based on clinical and imaging characteristics were also largely similar to those of primary analysis.

13 Feb

Posted at 19:10h in Author Interviews, Health Care Systems, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60011" align="alignleft" width="150"]David A. Hyman, JD, MDThe Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Health Law & Policy Georgetown University Law Center Washington, DC David A. Hyman, JD, MD[/caption] David A. Hyman, JD, MD The Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Health Law & Policy Georgetown University Law Center Washington, DC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Many doctors believe medical malpractice claiming is effectively random — meaning good doctors are equally likely as bad doctors to end up being the target of a malpractice claim.  Past research has studied whether physicians with 2 paid claims are likely to have another claim than doctors with 1 paid claim. We study whether physicians with 1 paid claim are more likely to have another paid claim, compared to physicians with zero paid claims.  We also compare the pattern of observed claims with what we would expect to find if claiming were truly random (by running a simulation).

10 Feb

Posted at 19:33h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Vaccine Studies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60007" align="alignleft" width="125"]Kenya Colvin, MBSDepartment of Medical Education Scranton, PA Kenya Colvin[/caption] Kenya Colvin, MBS Department of Medical Education Scranton, PA MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: Vaccine hesitancy is a major driver of COVID-19 vaccination disparities between minority and non-Hispanic White communities. Our goal was to understand what factors influenced vaccine hesitancy among individuals in Eastern Pennsylvania to identify more effective ways to promote vaccine uptake within minority communities.

08 Feb

Posted at 18:27h in Author Interviews, Autism, JAMA, Pediatrics, UCSD
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59999" align="alignleft" width="150"]Karen Pierce, Ph.D.Professor, Department of Neurosciences, UCSD Co-Director, Autism Center of Excellence, UCSD Dr. Pierce[/caption] Karen Pierce, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Neurosciences, UCSD Co-Director, Autism Center of Excellence, UCSD MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The mean age of ASD diagnosis and eventual treatment remains at ~52 months in the United States1 - years beyond the disorder’s prenatal origins2, and beyond the age when it can be reliably diagnosed in many cases3. Currently the only way to determine if a child has autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is to receive a developmental evaluation from an experienced clinician (usually a licensed clinical psychologist). There are often long waiting lists, and only a small number of clinicians have the experience required to make early-age (i.e., between 12-36 months) diagnoses of ASD. Thus, there are many places in the country as well as world wide wherein children wait months or years to receive a formal diagnosis due to a lack of available expertise. Moreover, diagnostic evaluations are expensive and usually cost the parent and/or insurance approximately ~$2,000 or more per evaluation.  Finally, clinical evaluations usually take between 2-3 hours to complete and result in fatigue for both the parent and toddler. Eye-tracking, which generates biologically-relevant, objective, and quantifiable metrics of both visual and auditory preference profiles in babies and toddlers in just minutes, is a technology that can dramatically change how ASD is diagnosed.

08 Feb

Posted at 18:12h in Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Mental Health Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59989" align="alignleft" width="144"]Yuan, Zhongshang Dr. Zhongshang Yuan[/caption] Yuan, Zhongshang PhD Department of Biostatistics School of Public Health Shandong University Jinan, Shandong, China What is the background for this study? Response: Comorbidities and genetic correlations between gastrointestinal tract diseases and psychiatric disorders have been widely reported, with the gut-brain axis (GBA) hypothesized as a potential biological basis. However, it is unclear the degree to which the shared genetic determinants contribute to these associations underlying GBA.

07 Feb

Posted at 18:27h in Addiction, Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Opiods
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_56276" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr-Brian-Piper Dr. Piper[/caption] Brian Piper, PhD MS Assistant Professor of Neuroscience Center for Pharmacy Innovation & Outcomes Geisinger School of Graduate Education MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Methadone is an evidence-based treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) and pain. However, this Schedule II opioid can also cause respiratory depression, which can result in lethality. The need for supervised administration is a long-standing source of frustration in the U.S. for many opioid use disorder (OUD) methadone patients. However, there was an accommodation in early 2020 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. This involved extending the take-home supply to up to 28-days for stable patients and 14 days for less stable patients. Prior research found that the implementation of supervised administration in England greatly reduced methadone overdoses [1]. The primary objective of this study [2] from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine was to determine if the relaxation of the take-home rules resulted in more methadone overdoses.

03 Feb

Posted at 15:05h in Author Interviews
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tom Arild TorstensenTom Arild Torstensen Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden and Holten Institute, Stockholm, Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: People suffering from pain due to knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a major and increasing problem. There there is today good scientific evidence for different forms of exercise therapy, but there is no agreement regarding what type of exercises and what dose of exercise therapy is best. Thus, we wanted to investigate if high dose medical exercise therapy is superior to low dose.

31 Jan

Posted at 19:52h in Author Interviews, Genetic Research, JAMA, Karolinski Institute, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59970" align="alignleft" width="200"]Lisa Dinkler, Ph.D. | Postdoctoral researcherCenter for Eating Disorders Innovation (CEDI) Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm Dr. Dinkler[/caption] Lisa Dinkler, Ph.D. | Postdoctoral researcher Center for Eating Disorders Innovation (CEDI) Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a relatively recently defined eating disorder. Affected people severely restrict their food intake in terms of total amount or variety. This leads to serious physical, psychological, and social consequences such as weight loss, nutritional deficiencies, and social isolation. Compared to people with other eating disorders – such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder – food restriction in people with ARFID is not driven by body dissatisfaction or the desire to lose weight. Despite how serious ARFID is, we still know very little about what causes it – making it difficult to develop effective treatments. We do know that genetic factors contribute significantly to the development of other eating disorders (so-called heritability), but we did not yet know to which degree genetic factors play a role in the development of ARFID. We therefore conducted the first twin study of ARFID, using a sample of ~34,000 Swedish twins including ~700 children with ARFID.

28 Jan

Posted at 13:59h in Author Interviews, Diabetes, JCEM, Pharmacology
This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Contact a qualified medical professional before engaging in any physical activity, or making any changes to your diet, medication or lifestyle, MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tingting Geng PhD Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health State Key Laboratory of Environment Health (Incubating) School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan, China MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Previous studies have suggested that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may lead to an increase in cardiovascular events due to the drug-drug interactions between PPIs and clopidogrel and gut microbiota dysbiosis. Patients with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) are at more than three times higher prevalence of using PPIs, and two- to fourfold higher risk of developing cardiovascular complications and premature death than general populations. However, evidence regarding the influence of PPI use on subsequent risks of cardiovascular disease and mortality among patients with T2D is scarce. We conducted a prospective study using the UK Biobank study to examine the association of PPI use with risks of coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke and mortality among patients with T2D. Using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models and a propensity score-matched cohort, researchers found robust results that PPIs use was associated with a higher risk of coronary artery disease (adjusted HR=1.27), myocardial infarction (adjusted HR=1.34), heart failure (adjusted HR=1.35), and mortality (adjusted HR=1.30).

26 Jan

Posted at 20:19h in Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Gender Differences, Kidney Disease, NEJM, Race/Ethnic Diversity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59955" align="alignleft" width="150"]Prof. dr. Hans Pottel Prof. dr. Pottel[/caption] Prof. dr. Hans Pottel KU Leuven Kulak Department of Public Health and Primary Care Belgium MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:  The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is used to diagnose patients with chronic kidney disease and is also used to adjust the dose of drugs that are eliminated by the kidneys. An accurate estimation of GFR is considered of importance in the management of kidney health in patients. In 2021 we published a new serum creatinine based equation, called the European Kidney Function Consortium (EKFC) equation (Pottel H. et al, Development and Validation of a Modified Full Age Spectrum Creatinine-Based Equation to Estimate Glomerular Filtration Rate : A Cross-sectional Analysis of Pooled Data. Ann Intern Med (2021) 174: 183-191): EKFC-eGFR = 107.3 / [Biomarker/Q]a x [0.990(Age – 40) if age > 40 years] With a = 0.322 if Biomarker/Q is less than 1, and a = 1.132 if Biomarker/Q is 1 or more. The equation can easily be interpreted: the leading coefficient equals the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 107.3 mL/min/1.73m², which is the average GFR in healthy children (aged > 2 years), adolescents and young adults. The average healthy GFR remains constant until the age of 40 years, and starts decreasing beyond that age. The GFR is inversely related to the ‘rescaled’ biomarker. The rescaling factor (Q) is the average biomarker value for healthy people of a specific population (e.g. children, adult men, adult women, white people, black people, …). Biomarker/Q equals ‘1’ for the average healthy person, corresponding with eGFR = 107.3 mL/min/1.73m² (up to 40 years of age). It should be noted that for serum creatinine, the Q-value depends on sex and race. Our hypothesis was that the above equation is valid for any renal biomarker, on the condition that the biomarker is appropriately scaled. We showed that the same equation was able to estimate GFR from 2 years to oldest ages. In the current study we tested and validated our hypothesis by applying the above formula for appropriately ‘rescaled’ cystatin C.

22 Jan

Posted at 19:54h in Author Interviews, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59951" align="alignleft" width="128"]Maria Grandahl, Associate Professor, PhD, Senior lecturerDirector of Education in Nursing and Midwifery programs Uppsala University Department of Women’s and Children’s Health Dr. Grandahl[/caption] Maria Grandahl, Associate Professor, PhD, Senior lecturer Director of Education in Nursing and Midwifery programs Uppsala University Department of Women’s and Children’s Health on behalf of authors: Dr Jenny Stern, Dr Eva-Lotta Funkquist and Dr Maria Grandahl MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Conflicting advice and non-evidence-based recommendations have a negative effect on breastfeeding. Since 2011, the National Food Agency in Sweden has informed parents that they can introduce tiny tastings (1 mL of solid food, i.e. other sources of nutrition than breastmilk/formula) to infants from four months of age. It is unknown how national recommendations, which differ from the Word Health Organization’s recommendation, affect breastfeeding.

22 Jan

Posted at 14:42h in Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, Pharmaceutical Companies, Yale
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59948" align="alignleft" width="150"]Neeraj PatelMedical Student (MS-2), Yale School of Medicine New Haven, CT Neeraj Patel[/caption] Neeraj Patel Medical Student (MS-2), Yale School of Medicine New Haven, CT MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising has been increasing in popularity for the past two decades or so, particularly via television. But it’s highly controversial. Only two high-income countries (the U.S. and New Zealand) widely permit this type of advertising for prescription drugs. Critics have pointed to a growing body of literature that suggests that direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs can be misleading, lead to inappropriate prescribing, and inflate healthcare costs. Proponents have argued that it improves public health by promoting clinically beneficial prescribing.

20 Jan

Posted at 17:08h in Author Interviews, Hip Fractures, Lipids
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59929" align="alignleft" width="133"]Dr Monira HussainSenior Research Fellow &  ECF Clinical Research Australian Fellow  Public Health and Preventive Medicine Monash University Melbourne VIC Dr. Hussain[/caption] Dr Monira Hussain Senior Research Fellow & ECF Clinical Research Australian Fellow Public Health and Preventive Medicine Monash University Melbourne VIC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:  25% of males and 44% of females aged 60 years or over experience minimal trauma fractures. Minimal trauma fractures are a clinical outcome of osteoporosis and may occur following little or no trauma i.e. fractures following a fall from standing height or less. Minimal trauma fractures are silent, people may not notice that they are at high risk of the disease until a bone is broken. I was aware of previous studies reporting that high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was elevated in patients with osteoporosis. Two animal studies showing that HDL-C reduces bone mineral density by reducing osteoblast number and function provide a plausible explanation for why high HDL-C may increase the risk of fractures. Our study, the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE), and the ASPREE fracture substudy provide unique data that could determine whether these findings might apply to fracture risk in healthy older adults. The study collected data including HDL-C levels and fractures from more than 16,000 community-dwelling older adults. These participants were followed-up for a median of 4 years.

18 Jan

Posted at 17:11h in Author Interviews, Lancet, MRSA, NIH
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael Otto PhD Senior Investigator Laboratory of Bacteriology Chief of the Pathogen Molecular Genetics Section NIAID, NIH Bethesda, MD 20814 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:  Staphylococcus aureus is one the of the most important causes of infectious diseases worldwide. It is known mostly for causing skin infections in the community and as a hospital-associated pathogen. It is in fact the most frequent cause of infections patients acquire in the hospital when they are weakened by underlying diseases or immune-suppressing therapy. The type of infections Staph can cause in these situations are diverse – comprising bone, lung, and blood infections (sepsis) - and can be quite severe and often fatal. Except for moderately severe skin infections that may not require antibiotic treatment, treatment of Staph infections is by antibiotics. S. aureus has naturally been very responsive to penicillin-type antibiotics, but already in the mid of the last century, resistance to penicillin spread worldwide. Then, methicillin was invented to overcome this resistance, but nowadays there also is considerable spread of methicillin-resistant strains (MRSA). The current situation is difficult for two reasons:
  • First, S. aureus has become increasingly resistant to many antibiotics, and
  • Second, the alternatives to methicillin are often by far not as efficient as penicillin/methicillin against Staph.
Researchers have therefore been searching for alternatives to antibiotics to treat Staph infections. Unfortunately, vaccines that work against Staph have not yet been produced despite intensive efforts for decades. Other modern approaches of treatment, like virulence-targeted drugs or phages are still only at the early investigational level. As with many diseases, an alternative to treatment is prevention. In the case of S. aureus, a type of preventative strategy that has often been proposed and tested is decolonization. This is based on the fact that ~ 1/3 of the population is naturally colonized with S. aureus (asymptomatically), and these colonized people have an increased risk of being infected. In other words, Staph infections stem from the Staph you carry on your body and which only under certain conditions causes infection. Thus, eliminating the colonizing Staph would reduce the risk for infection, which is the basis for Staph decolonization-based infection prevention strategies.