Author Interviews, Memory / 14.02.2024

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Frederic Meunier PhD Professor and Academic Senior Group/Unit Leader/Supervisor Queensland Brain Institute and Isaac O Akefe DVM, PhD Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research Queensland Brain Institute The University of Queensland St Lucia Academy for Medical Education, Medical School Brisbane QLD Australia     MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The brain is the body’s fattiest organ, with fatty compounds called lipids making up 60% of its weight. Fatty acids are the building blocks of a class of lipids called phospholipids. In our study, we first showed that levels of saturated fatty acids increase in the brain during neuronal communication and long-term memory formation, but we didn’t know what was causing these changes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Melanoma / 06.10.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Mitchell Stark B.App.Sc (Hons), PhD UQ Amplify Senior Research Fellow Skin Cancer Genomics and Biomarker Discovery Group Leader Frazer Institute Faculty of Medicine The University of Queensland Translational Research Institute Woolloongabba, QLD 4102   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Nodular melanoma (NM) is one of the most aggressive subtypes of melanoma. Despite making up only 14 per cent of cases, it is the largest contributor to melanoma deaths. Nodular melanoma is difficult to catch early because it grows fast and has often spread deeper in the skin by the time it’s diagnosed. Around a quarter of NM cases also appear as a skin-coloured tumour, which might go unnoticed for longer. In this study we wanted to determine whether there were genetic variants associated with nodular melanoma, which might contribute to nodular melanoma risk. We identified 39 genes with rare DNA variants which had the greatest frequency in nodular melanoma patients compared to non-NM patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cannabis, JAMA, Pediatrics / 25.10.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Carmen Lim BSc(Hons), MSc, CStat PhD Candidate National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This review has systematically summarized the trends and products used for cannabis vaping using 17 studies published globally between Jan 1, 2003 and August 19, 2020. The pooled prevalence has increased for lifetime use (6.1% in 2013 to 13.6% in 2020), past-year use (7.2% in 2017 to 13.2% in 2020) and past-month use (1.6% in 2013 to 8.4% in 2020). Adolescents' preference for cannabis products may be shifting from less potent products (e.g., herbal cannabis) to highly potent vape oil and concentrates. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, Pharmaceutical Companies / 08.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Mark Blaskovich PhD Institute for Molecular Bioscience's Centre for Superbug Solutions The University of Queensland In collaboration with Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Botanix is a company that has been developing topical formulations of CBD for treatment of skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis and acne, based on its reported anti-inflammatory properties. However, these diseases are also associated with bacterial infection, so they were interested in looking at potential antimicrobial activity, as there are some previous literature reports suggesting it is active. They contacted us to do some more in-depth investigations. (more…)