Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Environmental Risks / 01.11.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Takeshi Asai Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba Japan Faculty of Physical Education, International Pacific University Okayama, Japan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, contact and droplet transmission were considered the main routes of infection. However, it was later demonstrated that airborne transmission is an important route. Therefore, accumulating real-world data on airborne transmission was deemed crucial. (more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Vaccine Studies / 04.02.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Bianca V. Sanchez Department of Medical Education Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Scranton, Pennsylvania MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for the study? Response: Hispanic populations have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as evident by their increased rate of infection with the virus, hospitalizations, and mortality. Previous literature has indicated that many of these individuals demonstrate increased rates of vaccine hesitancy, subsequently increasing their risk for infection. This study aimed to characterize the reasoning behind vaccine hesitancy in Hispanic populations in the hopes of addressing their concerns through targeted educational interventions. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, COVID -19 Coronavirus / 17.03.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Benjamin E. Gewurz MD, PhD Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School Boston, MABenjamin E. Gewurz MD, PhD Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: When the Covid-19 virus infects cells, it takes over and redirects our cells resources towards the projection of virus building blocks and new viruses.  Building blocks include large amounts of RNAs that encode for the viral proteins, much as the mRNA vaccines direct our bodies to make the spike protein. We wondered how the virus changes cell metabolism in order to support the synthesis of vast amounts of viral RNAs within hours of infection. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Microbiome, Nature / 11.01.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Venkatakrishna R Jala, PhD Assistant Professor James Graham Brown Cancer Center Department of Microbiology and Immunology University of Louisville MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Humans evolved along with their gut microbiota and adapted their physiological activities to help each other. Along with consumption of healthy diets, humans must harbor the appropriate microbiota to convert the foods into available components called metabolites. These microbial metabolites play a critical role in preserving homeostasis, the development of immune systems and preventing adverse events both systemically and locally. Despite the availability of large metagenomics (bacterial sequence) data, and its associations with disease conditions, the functional dynamics of microbiota (good vs bad) in human health or diseases are yet to be defined. The host’s indigenous gut microbiota and its metabolites have emerged as key factors that greatly influence human health and disease, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). IBD patients suffer from leaky gut and increased inflammation. The current study demonstrates that a microbial metabolite derived from ellagitannin/ellagic acid rich diets (e.g., pomegranate, berries) called ‘urolithin A’ and its synthetic analogue significantly enhance gut barrier function in addition to blocking the unwarranted inflammation in IBD animal models.  (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews / 12.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Elena LeychenkoElena Leychenko is a senior research associate at PIBOC (G.B. Elyakov Pacific Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry which is the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences), assistant professor, and lecturer at the chair of bioorganic chemistry and biotechnology of the School of Natural Sciences Far Eastern Federal University  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Sea anemones are the main object for study in the laboratory for peptide chemistry of PIBOC. These marine dwellers are very interesting for scientists because of a wide range of biologically active compounds, which are the main components of their venom. The development of modern research methods allows us to receive both major and minor components of that poison, and to study their medical properties. Interestingly, inhibitors of Kunitz-type proteinases, which are also content in sea anemones, can be used as anti-inflammatory compounds. In particular, in complex therapy, it could be applied in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.  (more…)