Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Brain Injury, Exercise - Fitness / 01.07.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_57739" align="alignleft" width="200"]Mireille E. Kelley Ph.D. Staff Consultant for Engineering Systems Inc. Dr. Kelley[/caption] Mireille E. Kelley Ph.D. Staff Consultant for Engineering Systems Inc. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Youth and high school football players can sustain hundreds of head impacts in a season and while most of these impacts do not result in any signs or symptoms of concussion, there is concern that these repetitive subconcussive impacts may have a negative effect on the brain. The results of this study are part of an NIH-funded study to understand the effects of subconcussive head impact exposure on imaging data collected at pre- and post-season time points. The present study leveraged the longitudinal data that was collected in the parent study to understand how head impact exposure changes among athletes from season to season and how that relates to changes measured from imaging.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Cognitive Issues, JAMA / 25.01.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_47146" align="alignleft" width="153"]Dr-Jeff Douglas Williamson Dr. Williamson[/caption] Jeff D. Williamson, MD Geriatric Medicine - Sticht Center Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: A growing amount of epidemiologic research has suggested that higher blood pressure is associated with higher risk for dementia, including Alzheimer’s dementia. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: More than 9,300 ambulatory, community dwelling persons over age 50, 30% of whom were over the age of 75, were randomly assigned to a blood pressure goal of 120 vs 140.  Persons in the 120 group had a 19% lower risk for developing MCI an transitional stage between normal and dementia (P<.008).  There was a 17% lower risk for developing dementia but this only achieved a p value = 0.10.  The combined risk for both MCI and dementia was 15% lower in the 120 group (p<0.04).  The dementia outcome was the primary outcome but all the outcomes were pre-specified in the protocol at the beginning of the trial.  Unfortunately the blood pressure intervention was stopped after only 3.3 years due to CVD and mortality benefit and this may well have influenced the ability to reach the expected number of dementia cases. 
Author Interviews, Weight Research / 14.11.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_45964" align="alignleft" width="153"]Dr. Jamy Ard MD Professor of Epidemiology and Prevention Co-director,the Wake Forest Baptist Health Weight Management Center Wake Forest School of Medicine Dr. Ard[/caption] Dr. Jamy Ard MD Professor of Epidemiology and Prevention Co-director,the Wake Forest Baptist Health Weight Management Center Wake Forest School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Obesity continues to be a growing health challenge, and doctors need as many resources as possible to help their patients achieve success. The OPTIWIN trial shows that a total meal replacement program like OPTIFAST can help with significant and sustained weight loss. The OPTIFAST Program is a medically monitored weight loss program that combines meal replacement with behavioral counseling and personalized support. In the OPTIWIN study, participants were randomized to either the OPTIFAST Program (OP) or a behavioral intervention using a food-based diet (FB). At both 26 and 52 weeks, the OP group lost, on average, twice as much of their initial body weight as the FB group:
  • At 26 weeks: 12.4% (SE 0.6) vs 6.0% (SE 0.6) of body weight lost (OP vs FB, respectively; p<0.001)
  • At 52 weeks: 10.5% (SE 0.6) vs 5.5% (SE 0.6) of body weight lost (OP vs FB, respectively; p<0.001)
Additionally, the proportion of participants who achieved clinically meaningful weight loss (≥5%, ≥10%, and ≥15%) was significantly higher in the OP group. For example:
  • At 26 weeks, 55% of the OP group lost at least 10% of their initial body weight vs 23% of the FB group (p<0.001)
  • At 52 weeks, 44% of the OP group lost at least 10% of their initial body weight vs 22% of the FB group (p<0.001)