Medical Thought Leaders

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News Medical's "Thought Leaders" series is a selection of articles written by national and international experts and trusted advisers in health and medicine. All the articles are written by experts who have been invited as recognised leaders in their fields to provide a "state of the art" contribution.

Allergic rhinitis treatments: an interview with Dr Dermot Ryan, GP and allergy expert

Allergic rhinitis is most commonly recognized as hay fever in the United Kingdom and it is due to the impact of an allergen, in the case of hay fever a pollen, setting off an inflammatory response in the lungs, causing typical symptoms...

5 Jun 2013

Vitamin C and gout: an interview with Prof. Lisa Stamp

A previous study in by Choi et al in the USA showed that people with a higher vitamin C intake have a lower risk of gout. There are also studies in healthy volunteers that suggest that vitamin C supplements reduce blood uric acid levels.

4 Jun 2013

Ragweed allergy sublingual immunotherapy: an interview with Dr. Peter Creticos, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Ragweed is a dominant seasonal allergen in North America (~26% of US and North American population is allergic to this noxious weed which pollinates from early August to early October).

31 May 2013

Whiplash therapy: an interview with Dr Williamson and Dr Williams, University of Warwick

A whiplash injury is a common soft-tissue injury that may result in neck pain and other symptoms like headaches and arm pain.

30 May 2013

Strengthening miniaturized titanium-based medical devices: an interview with Dr Masaru Rao, University of California, Riverside

While titanium is used widely for more conventional macro-scale medical devices (e.g. hip implants, dental implants, and cardiac pacemakers), its use for micro- and nano-scale devices has been limited thus far.

29 May 2013

Mosquito repellent and human odour: an interview with Dr James Logan, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Mosquitoes can carry parasites and other organisms that cause deadly diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. So, protecting yourself against their bites is very important.

28 May 2013

Heart disease signs in newborns: an interview with Dr Michael Skilton, University of Sydney

Thickening of the walls of the main arteries is the best indicator of poor cardiovascular health in healthy young children.

23 May 2013

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) guidelines: an interview with Dr Jonathan Parsons, The Ohio State University Asthma Center

Exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) is defined as acute, transient airway narrowing that occurs in association with exercise. Exercise-induced bronchospasm can occur during or, more frequently, after exercise.

21 May 2013

Depression and time perception: an interview with Dr Rachel Msetfi, University of Limerick

In clinical terms, depression is defined by the presence of a cluster of symptoms. The Diagnostic Manual used by many psychologists and psychiatrists cites nine symptoms of depression, of which five must be present for a two-week period.

16 May 2013

Bowel cancer survival in the UK: an interview with Camille Maringe, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in men and second in women, with over 1.2 million cases diagnosed worldwide in 2008.

14 May 2013

RA, anti-TNF drugs and abortion rates: an interview with Dr. Evelyne Vinet and Dr. Sasha Bernatsky, McGill University

Prednisone and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be used for symptom control, but to prevent joint damage, we use disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) including the cornerstone, methotrexate.

13 May 2013

Drug resistant brain tumors: an interview with Prof. Mischel, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Prof. Bensinger, University of California

In cancer, mutations in proteins that control cell growth are common, leading to unrestrained cellular proliferation and tumor formation.

9 May 2013

EPAC2 and diabetes: an interview with Dr. Hussain, Johns Hopkins University

EPAC stands for exchange protein activated by cyclic AMP (cAMP). cAMP is an (among many) intracellular messenger molecule. cAMP is generated when certain hormones stimulate a cell by binding to their receptor, which is at the outside surface of the cell.

3 May 2013

HCV screening of prison inmate drug users: an interview with Dr. Arthur Kim, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School

Prisoners overall have a very high rate of past or present injection drug use, which is a major risk factor for HCV infection due to repeated exposures to needles.

1 May 2013

Pancreatitis and diabetes drugs: an interview with Dr Sonal Singh, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Acute pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas which leads to leakage of pancreatic enzymes. Apart from certain drugs such as GLP-1 based therapies, the most common causes of pancreatitis are Gallstones and Alcohol use.

30 Apr 2013

UK’s health performance: an interview with Prof. Murray, University of Washington

Rates of premature mortality in the UK have been falling steadily, but the pace of decline is not as fast as in many other high-income countries, such as Australia. In that sense, the UK lags behind.

29 Apr 2013

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB): an interview with Dr. Jennifer Cohn, Médecins Sans Frontières

MDR-TB is tuberculosis, a mycobacterial infection, that has developed resistance to two important and powerful first-line anti-TB drugs, INH and rifampin.

26 Apr 2013

Nanogels to attack lupus: an interview with Dr Look and Dr Fahmy, Yale University

Nanogels are synthetic particles that can be used for drug delivery. They are approximately 100 nm to 200 nm in diameter, and are made from safe, biocompatible materials: a gel-like interior and a lipid exterior.

24 Apr 2013

DNAzymes, gold nanoparticles and disease detection: an interview with Dr Chan and Kyryl Zagorovsky, University of Toronto

Gold nanoparticles are tiny spherical particles made out of gold atoms with sizes on nanometre scale. This is around 1,000 times smaller than the thickness of human hair.

23 Apr 2013

Non-invasive brain surgery: an interview with Dr Andres Lozano, University of Toronto

MR-guided focused ultrasound is a new technique that involves focusing 1024 beams of ultrasound through the skull to a focal point in the brain, very much like using the sun and a magnifying glass to burn a hole in a sheet of paper.

22 Apr 2013