Author Interviews, Multiple Sclerosis / 19.01.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marcus Koch MD PhD Associate Professor of Neurology Multiple Sclerosis Program University of Calgary MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) is the least common, but also the least treatable form of multiple sclerosis. PPMS does not react well to commonly used MS treatments. We believe that this is at least in part because PPMS is driven by other disease mechanisms. One disease mechanism that we believe is important in PPMS is microglial activation. Microglial cells are a type of cell in the brain and spinal cord that normally have beneficial functions, such as clearing debris or assisting repair after injury. In PPMS however, microglial cells are chronically active, and we believe that this chronic microglial activation contributes to tissue damage. (more…)
Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, JAMA, Pediatrics / 11.01.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stephen Freedman MDCM, MSc Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation Professor in Child Health and Wellness Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Cumming School of Medicine University of Calgary MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: During the early stages of the global 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, children represented fewer than 5% of reported cases.  However, children now represent a significant percent of all new COVID-19 cases.  Similarly, pediatric hospitalizations due to COVID-19, are now at an all-time high.  Although COVID-19 is generally mild in children, severe outcomes and death do occur.  The risk of severe outcomes among SARS-CoV-2 infected children is poorly understood with estimates varying considerably between study designs, settings, and regions.  Studies generally include large administrative databases (i.e. community based), hospitalized populations, and children admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Identified risk factors for severe COVID-19 in children have included young (i.e. 1-3 months) or old (15-18 years) pediatric age group, male sex, and pre-existing medical condition.  However, data from large prospective cohort studies which include children with early or mild stages of disease seeking emergency department (ED) care are lacking. To address this knowledge gap we sought to quantify the frequency of and risk factors for severe outcomes in SARS-CoV-2 infected children enrolled in a prospective ED-based cohort study.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Menopause, Urology / 15.03.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lin Yang, PhD Research Scientist/Epidemiologist Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research Cancer Care Alberta | Alberta Health Services | Canada Adjunct Assistant Professor Departments of Oncology and Community Health Sciences University of Calgary | Canada  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Urinary incontinence disproportionately affects women. Urinary incontinence results in significant physical, social, and psychological adverse consequences that impair women’s quality of life and contribute to considerable healthcare costs. At the moment, the contemporary prevalence and recent trends in urinary incontinence in US women are unknown. More importantly, there is a growing awareness that urinary incontinence is not part of normal aging, but very little information is available to inform prevention strategies. Therefore, we were also interested in exploring correlates of urinary incontinence in a population-based sample of US women. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Kidney Disease / 08.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Matthew T James MD, PhD Assistant Professor University of Calgary  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: The Acute Kidney Disease and Disorders (AKD) criteria from the KDIGO Acute Kidney Injury guidelines identified many patients who do not meet existing criteria for Chronic Kidney Disease or Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), and the majority of AKD events occured in the community rather than hospital setting. This study characterized the frequency and outcome for patients with AKD (without  AKI) as well as AKD with CKD from among over 1.1 million adults  residing in Alberta Canada who received  kidney function testing and were followed for up to 8 years. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, Dermatology, JAMA, Mental Health Research / 21.01.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Isabelle Vallerand, PhD Epidemiologist, MD Student Department of Community Health Sciences Cumming School of Medicine University of Calgary MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: It is well known that patients with alopecia areata, a form of autoimmune hair loss, are at a higher risk of suffering from depression than the general population. But in practice, we often hear patients tell us that they believe their hair loss developed as a result of stress or problems with mental health – certainly the phrase “so stressed your hair is falling out” is something most people have heard of. Despite this, there has actually been very little research investigating the role that mental health may have on development of alopecia areata. Interestingly, depression has recently been associated with increased systemic inflammatory markers, so there is biologic plausibility that depression could increase the risk of alopecia areata. Our group was interested in addressing this question, and used a large population-level health records database with up to 26 years of follow-up to study it. We ultimately found that not only does depression increase one’s risk of alopecia areata, but that it increases their risk by nearly 90% compared to people who have never had depression. We also found that using antidepressants can significantly decrease the risk of developing alopecia areata in patients with depression. So there appears to be an important link between mental health and development of hair loss from alopecia areata. (more…)