Author Interviews, Parkinson's / 25.07.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gus Alva, MD, DFAPA Medical Director, ATP Clinical Research Medical Director, Senior Brain Health, Hoag Hospital, Newport Beach, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience University of California, Riverside, CA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: This trial evaluated the effects of pimavanserin compared to placebo in frail older adults and elderly patients with neuropsychiatric symptoms related to Neurodegenerative disorder (NDD), such as hallucinations and delusions, to better understand the safety of pimavanserin in this population. The study was a phase 3b, 8-week treatment (study duration of up to 16 weeks) with the primary endpoint being safety and tolerability, measured by treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs). Secondary safety endpoints were change from baseline in motor and cognitive function; exploratory endpoints included suicidality, sleep quality, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. The reason for doing this study is that there is a high degree of interest in further understanding the safety of pimavanserin, as many antipsychotics used off label often have significant and serious adverse effects, including risk of falls, parkinsonism, and death. (more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies / 01.11.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Anna Rosemarie Yousaf MD CDC: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare but serious complication following SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 illness in children characterized by fever and multiple organ inflammation. This study looks at data from children with MIS-C reported to CDC’s national MIS-C surveillance system and compares the characteristics of children who died to children who survived. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Biomarkers, University of Pittsburgh / 31.05.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Bruna Bellaver PhD Postdoctoral associate Department of Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh Tharick Pascoal, MD, Ph.D. Neurologist and assistant professor of Neurology and Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition is considered one of the markers of Alzheimer’s disease pathology in the brain. The sequential order of this cascade includes the development of tau pathology and consequent cognitive decline. However, many people with Aβ deposition in the brain do not progress in the disease, suggesting that other biological processes are playing a role in these pathological events. In vitro evidence suggests that reactive astrocytes unleash Aβ effects in pathological tau phosphorylation. We found that, in cognitively healthy individuals, Aβ is associated with tau pathology only in individuals with increased astrocyte reactivity. (more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Diabetes / 10.04.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gian Paolo Fadini, MD PhD Associate Professor of Endocrinology Department of Medicine, University of Padova Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Since the very beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it was suggested that It has been initially suggested that diabetes mellitus is one of the most common comorbidities in infected people, but its exact prevalence is unclear. However, exact numbers were uncertain. We have addressed this issue in a study published as a letter in the Journal of Endocrinological Investigation. (more…)