Author Interviews, Lung Cancer, Pharmacology / 12.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Glen Weiss, MD, MBA Director of Clinical Research & Medical Oncologist and Dr. Zoltan Lohinai MD National Koranyi Institute of Pulmonology Budapest, Hungary Western Regional Medical Center Cancer Treatment Centers of America Goodyear, Arizona MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: With nearly 1.4 million deaths each year, lung cancer is the world’s leading cause of cancer-related mortality. In the U.S., more than 162,000 die annually of this disease. One subtype of this cancer, small cell lung cancer (SCLC), is one of the most progressive tumor types. No new class of systemic treatment has been adopted as a new benchmark for standard therapy against SCLC for nearly three decades. Lung cancer researchers focus on SCLC not only because of its scientific challenge, but also because of their great desire to help patients suffering from this aggressive tumor. Drug repurposing bioinformatical analysis, a new research direction, has found that FDA-approved drugs in non-malignant diseases may have antitumor effects. Our study attempted to evaluate the recent laboratory findings in a clinical setting. Statins are a class of drugs primarily used to lower cholesterol in patients at risk for heart disease. They have been hypothesized by preclinical data to affect tumor cells through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, which regulates many cellular functions. Our study of 876 metastatic-stage  small cell lung cancer patients, published Jan. 6, 2015, in the peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS ONE, showed that statins appeared to provide an increase in overall survival for those cancer patients who were prescribed those medications. Patients prescribed other classes of drugs, including aspirin, antidepressants, and blood pressure-lowering agents, have reportedly shown anti-SCLC activity in previous preclinical studies. However, our study found no such survival benefits. All in all, our study is a good example of how to evaluate drug repurposing in oncology, and that statins might have clinical relevance in the treatment of SCLC. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Kidney Disease, Pharmacology / 08.11.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Frederic T. (Josh) Billings IV, MD, Msc Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine Vanderbilt University Medical Center  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Billings: Acute kidney injury (AKI) following cardiac surgery is common (affects 20-30% of patients), and even mild forms of AKI are independently associated with a five-fold increase in death. Statins, commonly prescribed to reduce cholesterol concentrations and cardiovascular disease, affect several mechanisms underlying surgical AKI. Observational studies comparing rates of AKI between statin users and non-users have yielded inconsistent results and don’t assess the effect of statin use during the surgical period. In a double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial of 653 cardiac surgery patients, we found that high-dose atorvastatin given prior to surgery, the day of surgery and daily postoperatively did not affect AKI. In fact, among statin-naïve patients with pre-existing kidney disease, rates of AKI were higher in those randomized to atorvastatin compared to those randomized to placebo. In patients who were using statins prior to the study, rates of AKI were similar between those randomized to atorvastatin and those randomized to placebo (short-term withdrawal), regardless of baseline kidney function. Safety markers of muscle and liver toxicity were not affected by statin treatment. (more…)
Author Interviews, Emory, Flu - Influenza, Vaccine Studies / 02.11.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Saad Omer MBBS MPH PhD Associate Professor Emory Vaccine Center Associate Professor Global Health and Epidemiology Rollins School of Public Health Emory University MedicalResearch: Can you give us a little background on this study? Dr. Omer: My background is in global health, epidemiology and pediatrics and I have been fortunate to conduct field and clinical vaccine trials in a number of countries and with multiple infectious diseases including influenza, polio, measles and pneumococcal vaccines. We were familiar with the data on investigating the potential effects of statins on other infections i.e. sepsis and community acquire pneumonia including Dr. Vandermeer’s study in 2012 suggesting that “statin use may be associated with reduced mortality in patients hospitalized with influenza”. Statins have lipid-lowering effects but they also exhibit anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. For lack of a better image, I think of statins as acting like a ‘big hammer made of Jell-O’: they have a broad, small dampening effect on immune response (as opposed to a narrow or deep effect). (more…)
Author Interviews, Geriatrics, JAMA, Statins / 24.08.2015

Michael Johansen MD MS Assistant Professor - Clinical Dept of Family Medicine The Ohio State UniversityMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael Johansen MD MS Assistant Professor - Clinical Dept of Family Medicine The Ohio State University Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Johansen: -Over the last 15 years there has been increasing emphasis placed on the use of statins to decrease people's risk of heart attacks and strokes. Individuals with known heart disease are recommended to be on statins. However, there is no convincing evidence that elderly individuals (>79 years of age) without heart disease benefit from statins. Therefore, we investigated how use patterns of statins has changed over the last ~14 years. We identified a dramatic increase in statin use in the very elderly during the time of the study. As of 2012, around 1/3 of very elderly individuals without heart disease took a statin during that year. (more…)
Author Interviews, Beth Israel Deaconess, Diabetes, Heart Disease, University of Michigan / 18.07.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Venkatesh L. Murthy, MD, PhD, FACC, FASNC University of MichiganVenkatesh L. Murthy, MD, PhD, FACC, FASNC University of Michigan Dr. Ravi Shah MD Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centerand Dr. Ravi Shah MD Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center   MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Response: Recent changes recommend statin therapy for cardiovascular risk reduction in an increasingly large number of Americans. Conversely, a number of studies have identified an increased risk of diabetes with statin treatment. Thus, there is increasing need for tools to target statin therapy to those with a favorable risk-benefit profile. MedicalResearch: What are the main findings? Response: In our study, we analyzed data from 3,153 individuals from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis who underwent CT scanning at baseline for assessment of calcium score. The CT scans were analyzed to assess liver attenuation as a measure of the amount of liver fat. We demonstrated that high liver fat doubled the risk of diabetes over a median of 9 years of follow-up. Importantly, statin therapy also doubled the risk of diabetes. The two together had an additive effect, even after adjusting for BMI, age, gender, family history of diabetes, waist circumference, lipids, hsCRP and exercise habits. As in prior studies, the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events increased with increasing calcium score, as has previously been shown in MESA and in other studies. We then divided the cohort into six groups based on calcium score (0, 1-100 and >100) and liver fat (low/high). Using published data from meta-analyses of statin trials, we computed the number needed to treat to prevent one hard CVD event for statin therapy. Using data from our study, we computed the number needed to harm to cause one additional case of diabetes from statin therapy. The numbers needed to treat with ranged from 29-40 for calcium score of >100 to 218-252 for calcium score of 0. Conversely, the numbers needed to harm were approximately 63-68 for those with low liver fat versus 22-24 for those with high liver fat. Thus the combination of calcium score and liver fat assessment, from a single standard calcium score scan, allows for physicians to provide better assessment of risk and benefit of statins in discussion with their patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Heart Disease, JAMA, Statins / 14.07.2015

Dr. Ankur Pandya Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Health Decision Science Department of Health Policy and Management Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Boston, MA MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Ankur Pandya Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Health Decision Science Department of Health Policy and Management Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Boston, MA Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Pandya: The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association (ACC-AHA) cholesterol treatment guidelines were controversial when first released in November 2013, with some concerns that healthy adults would be over-treated with statins. We found that the current 10-year ASCVD risk threshold (≥7.5%) used in the ACC-AHA cholesterol treatment guidelines has an acceptable cost-effectiveness profile (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $37,000/QALY), but more lenient ASCVD thresholds would be optimal using cost-effectiveness thresholds of $100,000/QALY (≥4.0%) or $150,000/QALY (≥3.0%). (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Geriatrics, Lipids, Statins, Stroke / 19.05.2015

Christophe Tzourio, MD, PhD Professor of Epidemiology University of BordeauxMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christophe Tzourio, MD, PhD Professor of Epidemiology University of Bordeaux Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Tzourio: The efficacy of lipid-lowering drugs (LLD) - which include statins and fibrates - to reduce the risk of coronary events and stroke has already been demonstrated in randomized trials. However, these trials were performed on highly selected patients, usually of middle-age (50-70 yrs) and with a history of cardiovascular disease or a high vascular profile. There is therefore currently no indication on the benefit of these drugs in elderly individuals of the general population without a past-history of cardiovascular disease and guidelines do not recommend the use of lipid-lowering drugs in elderly individuals without clinical atherosclerotic disease. As there are not randomized trials in non-selected individuals in this age category, observational population-based cohorts are therefore the only alternative to study the impact of lipid-lowering drugs on the risk of cardiovascular diseases in the elderly. We analyzed data from the Three-City study, a community-based cohort in 7484 elderly individuals (mean age 74 years), followed-up during 9 years, without known history of vascular disease at baseline. We observed a one third decrease in the risk of stroke in lipid lowering drug users (hazard ratio 0.66, 0.49 to 0.90) compared with non-users. Reduction in stroke risk was similar for the statin and fibrate groups. No protective effect was seen on the risk of coronary heart disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, General Medicine, Statins, UT Southwestern / 08.05.2015

Ishak Mansi, MD Staff Internist, VA North Texas Health System. Professor in Department of Medicine & Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Outcomes and Health services Research, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TXMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ishak Mansi, MD Staff Internist, VA North Texas Health System. Professor in Department of Medicine & Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Outcomes and Health services Research, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Mansi:  Statin use is associated with increased incidence of diabetes, and possibly increased body weight, and less exercise capacity. Data on the long-term effects of these associations in healthy adults are very limited. Additionally, the effects of these associations on diabetic complications have not been adequately studied. Dr. Mansi at VA North Texas Health System, Dallas and Professor of Medicine and Clinical Sciences at the University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX and his colleagues found that among generally healthy individuals, statin-users in comparison to non-users had a higher odds of being diagnosed with new onset diabetes, diabetes with complications, and overweight/obesity. The researchers examined the records of tens of thousands of Tricare beneficiaries, during the period from 10/1/2003 to 3/1/2012. After excluding patients who had at baseline a preexisting cardiovascular diseases or severe chronic diseases that may be life-limiting (including diabetes mellitus), they identified a cohort of 25,970 patients as “healthy cohort”. They, further, matched 3,351 statins-users and 3,351 nonusers on several baseline characteristics to ensure comparability. There are 3 main important findings for our study:
  1. Statin use was associated with significantly higher risk of new onset diabetes even in a very healthy population. Whereas the risk of diabetes with statins is known, it was thought that this may be due to the overall multiple risks of statin-users (that caused them to receive statins as a therapy).
  2. Statin use was associated with very high risk of diabetes complications in this healthy population: this was never shown before.
  3. Statin use is associated with higher risk of obesity: this also is widely unknown. However, few studies have noted this (one study using patient survey noted this, another study using Mendelian randomization showed it, and post-hoc analysis of a clinical trial showed that statin user gained more weight). Our study, which used a different methodology (retrospective cohort study) add another piece of evidence. Obesity is at endemic level in the US and treatment options are limited.
High-intensity statins was associated with greater risks of all outcomes. This article is published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine (JGIM). JGIM is the official journal of the Society of General Internal Medicine. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Heart Disease, JAMA, Lipids, Statins / 11.03.2015

Joost Besseling PhD-student Academic Medical Center Dept. of Vascular Medicine AmsterdamMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joost Besseling PhD-student Academic Medical Center Dept. of Vascular Medicine Amsterdam Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Statins are associated with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The exact mechanism for this adverse event is largely unknown, although the upregulation of the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) has been suggested to play a role. In familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) the uptake of LDL-cholesterol via the LDLR is decreased due to a genetic defect. We found that the prevalence of type 2 DM is 50% lower in relative terms in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia. Moreover, there was a dose-response relationship: the more severe the genetic defect that causes familial hypercholesterolemia, the lower the prevalence of type 2 DM. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, Heart Disease, Statins / 07.03.2015

Heidi May, Ph.D., M.S.P.H. Cardiovascular Epidemiologist Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute Salt Lake CityMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Heidi May, Ph.D., M.S.P.H. Cardiovascular Epidemiologist Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute Salt Lake City   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Heidi May: Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Statin therapy is known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease incidence through the reduction of blood cholesterol levels and through its pleiotropic cardioprotective properties. Depression is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It has been recommended that antidepressant medications should be considered first-line treatment for depression of any severity. We hypothesized that taking both statins and antidepressants would reduce cardiovascular risk more than either medication alone. However, we did not find this. Instead we found that the effectiveness of antidepressants and statin therapy to reduce death and incident cardiovascular disease at 3 years varied by the severity of depressive symptoms. Among those with none to mild depressive symptoms, statin use, with or without antidepressant therapy, was associated with a decrease in risk, but among those with moderate to severe depression, antidepressant use was associated with a decrease in risk. The combination of antidepressant and statin use did not result in a greater risk reduction in either depressive symptom category. (more…)
Author Interviews, PNAS, Statins / 04.03.2015

Professor Andrew W. Munro FRSC FSB Professor of Molecular Enzymology Manchester Institute of Biotechnology Faculty of Life Sciences University of Manchester Manchester UKMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Andrew W. Munro FRSC FSB Professor of Molecular Enzymology Manchester Institute of Biotechnology Faculty of Life Sciences University of Manchester Manchester UK MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Munro: Statins are blockbuster drugs that inhibit the key enzyme in cholesterol synthesis: 3-beta-hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of cholesterol. As a consequence, statin drugs reduce levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL-) cholesterol, are effective against hypercholesterolemia and reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and heart attack. One of the major statin drugs is pravastatin, which is derived from a fungal natural product called compactin. The process of conversion of compactin into pravastatin involves the use of an oxygen-inserting enzyme called a cytochrome P450 (or P450), which catalyzes the hydroxylation of compactin to form pravastatin. In order to produce a more cost-efficient and streamlined route to pravastatin production, our teams from the University of Manchester (UK) and DSM (Delft, The Netherlands) developed a single-step process for pravastatin production. This process involved harnessing the productive efficiency of an industrial strain of the beta-lactam (penicillin-type) antibiotic producing fungus Penicillium chrysogenum. The beta-lactam antibiotic genes were deleted from this organism, and replaced by those encoding for compactin biosynthesis (transferred from a different Penicillium species). This led to high level production of compactin, but also to substantial formation of a partially degraded (deacylated) form. To get around this problem and in order to further improve compactin production, the enzyme responsible for the deacylation (an esterase) was identified and the gene encoding this activity was deleted from the production strain. The final stages of development of the novel, one-step pravastatin production process involved the identification of a suitable P450 enzyme that could catalyze the required hydroxylation of compactin. A bacterial P450 was identified that catalyzed hydroxylation at the correct position on the compactin molecule. However, the stereoselectivity of the reaction was in favour of the incorrect isomer – forming predominantly epi-pravastatin over the desired pravastatin. This was addressed by mutagenesis of the P450 – ultimately leading to a variant (named P450Prava) that hydroxylated compactin with the required stereoselectivity to make pravastatin in large amounts. Determination of the structure of P450Prava in both the substrate-free and compactin-bound forms revealed the conformational changes that underpinned the conversion of the P450 enzyme to a pravastatin synthase. The expression of P450Prava in a compactin-producing strain of P. chrysogenum enabled pravastatin production at over 6 g/L in a fed-batch fermentation process, facilitating an efficient, single-step route to high yield generation of pravastatin. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JACC, Statins / 20.01.2015

Dr. Robert S. Rosenson, MD Professor, Cardiology Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Cardiovascular Institute New York, New York 10029MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Robert S. Rosenson, MD Professor, Cardiology Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Cardiovascular Institute New York, New York 10029 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Rosenson: High intensity statin therapy is evidence-based and guideline directed for patients with acute coronary syndromes.  In a 5 percent random sample of Medicare patients, we investigated the utilization of high vs low-moderate dosage statin in older adjusts who were admitted with an acute myocardial infarction of severe myocardial ischemia requiring hospitalization for a revascularization procedure (PCI or CABG). We report that only 27 percent of hospitalized patients received high-intensity statin therapy based on their first outpatient fill for a statin medication.  The most important determinant for the utilization of statin therapy is the dosage of the statin previously prescribed as an outpatient.  When patients were started on a high-intensity statin, the continued use diminished in the ensuing year (more…)
Author Interviews, Rheumatology, Statins / 12.01.2015

Dr Geeske Peeters Postdoctoral Research Fellow School of Public Health The University of Queensland AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Geeske Peeters Postdoctoral Research Fellow School of Public Health The University of Queensland Australia Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Peeters: The hypothesis we set out to investigate was that statin use is associated with reduced joint pain/stiffness and consequently improved physical functioning and quality of life. This hypothesis was based on findings from previous studies suggesting that statin use may prevent the development of radiographic osteoarthritis. However, in contrast with this hypothesis, results from this large study did not demonstrate an association between statin use and reduced onset of joint pain or stiffness. Moreover, statin use did seem to be associated with an increased risk of functional limitations and poorer self-reported health, especially in the middle-aged women. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Statins / 26.12.2014

Beth Taylor, PhD Director of Exercise Physiology Research Department of Preventive Cardiology Hartford Hospital Hartford, CT 06102MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Beth Taylor, PhD Director of Exercise Physiology Research Department of Preventive Cardiology Hartford Hospital Hartford, CT 06102 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Taylor:  Statins reduce incidence of cardiac events, and thus are extremely effective drugs. However, they may cause muscle side effects such as pain, weakness and soreness (i.e., statin myalgia) in up to 10% of patients. One potential mechanism underlying statin myalgia may be the depletion of Coenzyme Q10, a mitochondrial transport element used in energy production, as statin therapy produces a 30-50% reduction in intramuscular Coenzyme Q10. Seven previous studies to date have produced conflicting results, yet CoQ10 supplementation is used by many patients and recommended by many clinicians despite the absence of definitive results. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect of CoQ10 on muscle pain, muscle strength and aerobic performance in confirmed myalgics (i.e., patients who tested positive for  myalgia during a randomized, double-blinded cross-over trial of statin therapy vs. placebo to confirm myalgia prior to CoQ10 treatment). Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Taylor:  The first main finding was that after our randomized double-blind cross-over run-in phase, only 35.8% of patients experienced myalgia on simvastatin and did not experience it on placebo, what we term true or confirmed statin myalgia, and 17.5% of patients had no symptoms on simvastatin or placebo which could have been because the dose we selected was too low.  However, 29.2% experienced pain on placebo but not on simvastatin and 17.5% experienced pain on both simvastatin and placebo during the confirmation phase. Secondly, we found that Coenzyme Q10 supplementation had no effect on the incidence and severity of myalgia, time to onset of pain, muscle strength, or aerobic performance.  Serum levels of CoQ10 went up, suggesting dosing worked, and LDL-C went down similarly in both groups, suggesting the statin was not compromised. Therefore we did not find an observable effect of CoQ10 on any muscle outcome. Finally, there were no reductions from baseline in muscle strength or aerobic performance when statins were combined with placebo in our verified statin myalgics. This is notable because while there have been observational reports of decreased muscle strength and aerobic performance in statin myalgics, there have been few rigorous assessments of muscle strength and aerobic performance with statins and myalgia. In our previous study, the The Effect of STatins On Skeletal Muscle Performance (STOMP) trial , we randomized healthy, statin-naïve patients to atorvastatin 80 mg daily or placebo for 6 months, confirming myalgia via a challenge-dechallenge protocol. In that study, we also found no significant differences in the two groups  in muscle and exercise performance, and thus the present results confirm those findings. (more…)
Author Interviews, Ophthalmology, Statins / 02.12.2014

B. John Mancini, MD, FRCPC, FACP, FACC Professor of Medicine; University of British Columbia; Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology; Research Director, Division of Cardiology; Director, Cardiovascular Imaging Research Core Laboratory (CIRCL); President, Vancouver Hospital Medical, Dental and Allied Staff; Staff Cardiologist, VH Cardiology Clinics and Cardiac Computed Tomographic Angiography Program; Staff Cardiologist, St. Paul's Hospital Healthy Heart/Prevention Clinic.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: B. John Mancini, MD, FRCPC, FACP, FACC Professor of Medicine; University of British Columbia; Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology; Research Director, Division of Cardiology; Director, Cardiovascular Imaging Research Core Laboratory (CIRCL); President, Vancouver Hospital Medical, Dental and Allied Staff; Staff Cardiologist, VH Cardiology Clinics and Cardiac Computed Tomographic Angiography Program; Staff Cardiologist, St. Paul's Hospital Healthy Heart/Prevention Clinic. MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of this study? Dr. Mancini: The main findings are that we found evidence of a relationship between statin use and the need for cataract surgery. The unique nature of the study is that it looked for the association in two distinctly different populations (a Canadian database and a separate, American database) and found a consistent association in both populations. (more…)
Author Interviews, General Medicine, JAMA, Statins / 18.11.2014

Dr. Mike Miedema MD, MPH Minneapolis Heart InstituteMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Mike Miedema MD, MPH Minneapolis Heart Institute Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Miedema: " Released in November 2013, the ACC/AHA guidelines for the treatment of blood cholesterol attempt to target individuals that are most likely to benefit from cholesterol-lowering statin therapy. These guidelines are a significant change from prior guidelines that relied heavily on levels of bad cholesterol to determine who to treat. Instead, the new guidelines recommend focusing statin therapy on the individuals that are at the highest risk for heart attack and stroke, even if their cholesterol levels are within normal limits. In addition to recommending statin therapy for individuals with known cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or markedly elevated cholesterol levels, they also recommend statin therapy for individuals without these conditions but with an elevated estimated risk of a heart attack or stroke in the next 10-year based on a risk calculator that factors in an individual’s age, gender, race, and risk factors. Patients with an estimated 10-year risk > 7.5% are recommended to consider statin therapy. While I believe the scientific evidence supports this “risk-based” approach, one potential concern is that the risk-calculator relies heavily on age to determine an individual’s risk, so we wanted to examine the implications for these guidelines in an older sample of adults." (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Statins / 14.11.2014

Mostafa Borahay, MD, FACOG Assistant Professor, Director of Simulation Education Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology University of Texas Medical BranchMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mostafa Borahay, MD, FACOG Assistant Professor, Director of Simulation Education Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology University of Texas Medical BranchCo-director of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery University of Texas Medical Branch Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Borahay: Uterine fibroids are the most common type of tumor in the female reproductive system, accounting for half of the 600,000 hysterectomies done annually in the U.S. Their estimated annual cost is up to $34 billion in the U.S. alone. Despite this, the exact cause of these tumors is not well understood, as there are several genetic, familial and hormonal abnormalities linked with their development. Even more, we currently don’t have a satisfactory medical treatment for these tumors. Our team investigated the impact of simvastatin on human uterine fibroid cell growth. Statins, such as simvastatin, are commonly prescribed to lower high cholesterol levels. Statins work by blocking an early step in cholesterol production. Beyond these well-known cholesterol-lowering abilities, statins also combat certain tumors. Statins have previously been shown to have anti-tumor effects on breast, ovarian, prostate, colon, leukemia and lung cancers. However, the effect of statins on uterine fibroids was unknown. We found that simvastatin impedes the growth of uterine fibroid tumor cells. We also studied the way simvastatin works to suppress these tumors. Simvastatin was shown to inhibit ERK phosphorylation, which is a critical step in the molecular pathway that prompts the growth of new cells. In addition, simvastatin stops the progression of tumor cells that have already begun to grow and induces calcium-dependent cell death mechanisms in fibroid tumor cells. Therefore, we identified a novel pathway by which simvastatin induces the death of uterine fibroid tumor cells. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Lipids, Statins / 22.09.2014

Prof. Moses Elisaf Professor of Internal Medicine University of Ioannina, GreeceMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Moses Elisaf Professor of Internal Medicine University of Ioannina, Greece Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Elisaf: We evaluated the effects of rosuvastatin in two groups of hyperlipidemic patients: one group had impaired fasting glucose (IFG) while the second group had normal fasting glucose. After study end, both groups had similar changes in their lipidemic profile. However, patients with IFG had a significant greater decrease in the cholesterol concentration of the more atherogenic small dense low-density lipoprotein (sdLDL) particles (-65.7%) compared with controls (-38.5%). Moreover, a greater increase in the mean LDL particle size was observed in the impaired fasting glucose group (+1.5% vs +0.4%). In addition, redistribution from the more atherogenic sdLDL to large buoyant LDL (lbLDL) subfractions was observed in the IFG group. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Lancet, Statins / 11.09.2014

Børge G. Nordestgaard, MD, DMSc Professor, University of Copenhagen Chief Physician, Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital Dept. Clinical Biochemistry Herlev Ringvej 75, DK-2730 Herlev, DenmarkMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Børge G. Nordestgaard, MD, DMSc Professor, University of Copenhagen Chief Physician, Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital Dept. Clinical Biochemistry Herlev Ringvej Herlev, Denmark Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Nordestgaard: Among all patients with diabetes in Denmark during 1996-2009 and compared with non-statin users, statin users had a 40% lower risk of diabetic retinopathy, a 34% lower risk of diabetic neuropathy, and a 12% lower risk of gangrene of the foot, while the risk of diabetic nephropathy was similar. (more…)
Author Interviews, CMAJ, Compliance, Pharmacology, Statins / 25.06.2014

Dr. Heli Halava: Departments of Public Health and Pharmacology, Turku, FinlandMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Heli Halava: Departments of Public Health and Pharmacology, Turku, Finland MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Halava: The associations between lifestyle factors and nonadherence to statin therapy varied by cardiovascular comorbidity status. Of the participants without cardiovascular comorbidities (n = 6458), 3171 (49.1%) were nonadherent with their statin therapy. Of the participants with cardiovascular comorbidities (n = 2827), 1155 (40.9%) were nonadherent. People with cardiovascular comorbidities who had risky drinking behaviours or a cluster of lifestyle risks were at increased risk of nonadherence. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, JAMA, Statins / 10.06.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with David S.H. Lee, Pharm.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Pharmacy Practice College of Pharmacy Oregon State University/Oregon Health and Science University Portland OR, 97239MedicalResearch.com Interview with David S.H. Lee, Pharm.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Pharmacy Practice College of Pharmacy Oregon State University/Oregon Health and Science University Portland OR, 97239 MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lee: We found that older men taking a statin were less physically active and had more sedentary behavior. They had about 37 minutes of less moderate exercise per week. For comparison, the American heart Association recommends about 40 minutes of moderate activity 3-4 times per week. We also found that those that started using a statin during the study had the largest drop in physical activity. (more…)
Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, NEJM, Statins / 22.05.2014

Jonathon D. Truwit, MD, MBA Enterprise Chief Medical Officer Sr. Administrative Dean Froedtert-Medical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee, WI 53226MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jonathon D. Truwit, MD, MBA Enterprise Chief Medical Officer Sr. Administrative Dean Froedtert-Medical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee, WI 53226 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Truwit: Rosuvastatin did not reduce mortality, nor days free of the breathing machine, in patients with sepsis-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). One in four patients with ARDS die. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Statins / 14.05.2014

Medidr_jennifer_robinsoncalResearch.com Interview with: Jennifer G. Robinson, MD, MPH Professor ,Departments of Epidemiology & Medicine Director, Prevention Intervention Center Department of Epidemiology College of Public Health University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242-2007 MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Robinson: The PCSK9 antibody, evolocumab, reduced LDL (or bad) cholesterol by about 65-70% regardless of the dose or type of statin used. This is a greater percentage reduction than ezetimibe, another drug used to lower LDL cholesterol in statin-treated patients, which lowered LDL cholesterol 15-20%. Side effects of evolocumab were similar to those for ezetimibe or placebo. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Statins, Weight Research / 29.04.2014

Takehiro Sugiyama, MD, MSHS, PhD Project Director, Diabetes Policy Planning Office Management and Planning Bureau Fellow, Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism National Center for Global Health and Medicine Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo JapanMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Takehiro Sugiyama, MD, MSHS, PhD Project Director, Diabetes Policy Planning Office Management and Planning Bureau Fellow, Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism National Center for Global Health and Medicine Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Japan MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Sugiyama: In the US nationally representative sample from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2010, we found that statin users in 2009-2010 eat 9.6% more calories and 14.4% more fat than statin users in 1999-2000. These increases were not observed in statin non-users; the trends of caloric and fat intake were statistically different between statin users and non-users. In 1999-2000, caloric and fat intake was significantly less for statin users compared with non-users, but the difference between the groups because smaller as time went by and there was no statistical difference in 2009-2010. Body mass index increased more rapidly for statin users compared to non-users. (more…)
Sexual Health, Statins / 29.03.2014

Dr. John B. Kostis, MD Chief of Medical Service, RWJUH Professor of Medicine & Pharmacology Chair - Department of Medicine Rutgers Robert Wood JohnsonMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. John B. Kostis, MD Chief of Medical Service, RWJUH Professor of Medicine & Pharmacology Chair - Department of Medicine Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr.Kostis:  In this meta-analysis statins improved erectile function in men with decreased function on the average. (more…)
Author Interviews, Duke, Lipids, NEJM, Statins / 28.03.2014

Michael J. Pencina, PhD Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Director of Biostatistics Duke Clinical Research Institute Durham, NC 27710 MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael J. Pencina, PhD Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Director of Biostatistics Duke Clinical Research Institute Durham, NC 27710 MedicalResearch.com: What motivated your research? Dr. Pencina: After the new guidelines were issued last November, we were intrigued by the change in treatment philosophy from that based on cholesterol levels (used by the “old guidelines” known as NCEP ATPIII) to one based on 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease (used by the new AHA-ACC guidelines).  We were curious what the practical consequences of this shift would be. Furthermore, the media quoted a lot of experts making educated guesses on the impact.  We realized that this question can be answered much more precisely based on the NHANES data. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Erasmus, Statins / 25.11.2013

Prof Ype Elgersma PhD Professor, Neuroscience Neuroscience Institute, Erasmus University Rotterdam Rotterdam, NetherlandsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof Ype Elgersma PhD Professor, Neuroscience Neuroscience Institute, Erasmus University Rotterdam Rotterdam, Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Research in genetic mouse models suggested that inhibition of HMG-CoA-reductase by statins might ameliorate the cognitive and behavioral phenotype of children with Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), an autosomal dominant disorder. In a 12-month randomized placebo-controlled study including 84 children with NF1, we found that simvastatin, an inhibitor of the HMG-CoA-reductase pathway had no effect on full-scale intelligence, attention problems or internalizing behavioral problems, or on any of the secondary outcome measures. (more…)
Aging, General Medicine, McGill / 05.11.2013

Dr. Laurent Azoulay Project Leader, Lady Davis Institute Assistant Professor, Department of Oncology, McGill UniversityMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Laurent Azoulay Project Leader, Lady Davis Institute Assistant Professor, Department of Oncology, McGill University MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Azoulay: Using large population-based databases from the UK, we assembled a cohort of men newly-diagnosed with non-metastatic prostate cancer. Within this group of men, the use of statins after prostate cancer diagnosis was associated with a 24% decreased risk in cancer-related mortality. We observed duration- as well as a dose-response relationships. Furthermore, in a secondary analysis, we observed that the benefits were greater among men who used also used statins before their diagnosis, with more modest yet significant benefits among men who initiated the treatment after their diagnosis. The latter result is one of the novelties of this study, as it provides an estimate of the potential benefits of statins, if used in the adjuvant setting. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Johns Hopkins, Mental Health Research / 07.10.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Seth S. Martin, MD Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins Hospital 600 North Wolfe Street Baltimore, Maryland 21287 Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, MD 21287. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Martin: Our systematic review identified 16 studies for qualitative synthesis and 11 for quantitative synthesis. In individuals without baseline cognitive dysfunction, statins did not adversely affect memory when used in the short-term (<1 year). Long-term cognition studies including 23,433 patients with a mean exposure duration of 3 to 24.9 years showed a 29% relative reduction in incident dementia related to statin use (hazard ratio, 0.71; 95% CI 0.61-0.82) and a 2% absolute risk reduction (number needed to treat for 6.2 years: 50). (more…)
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, PLoS / 02.10.2013

Professor of Neuroscience Programme Director for BSc and MSci Pharmacology degrees School of Physiology & Pharmacology Medical and Veterinary Sciences University Walk University of Bristol Bristol, BS8 1TD.Neil V. Marrion, PhD Professor of Neuroscience Programme Director for BSc and MSci Pharmacology degrees School of Physiology & Pharmacology Medical and Veterinary Sciences University Walk University of Bristol Bristol, BS8 1TD. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Marrion: We tested pravastatin and atorvostatin (two commonly prescribed statins) in rat learning and memory models.  Rats were treated daily with pravastatin (brand name - Pravachol) or atorvostatin (brand name - Lipitor) for 18 days. The rodents were tested in a simple learning task before, during and after treatment, where they had to learn where to find a food reward. On the last day of treatment and following one week withdrawal, the rats were also tested in a task which measures their ability to recognise a previously encountered object (recognition memory). The study’s findings showed that pravastatin tended to impair learning over the last few days of treatment although this effect was fully reversed once treatment ceased. However, in the novel object discrimination task, pravastatin impaired object recognition memory.  While no effects were observed for atorvostatin in either task. (more…)