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.

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

Telemedicine house calls for Parkinson’s patients: an interview with Dr Ray Dorsey, Johns Hopkins University

Access to neurological care for Parkinson disease is currently limited by distance, disability, and the distribution of doctors.

18 Apr 2013

Obesity epidemic in the Asia Pacific region: an interview with Prof Drexel, European Society of Cardiology

The prevalence of obesity is about 20 % in Australia, 17 % in Japan, but only 3 – 4 % in China. Thus, Asia Pacific is a very heterogeneous region.

15 Apr 2013

Migraine severity and adiponectin: an interview with Dr. B. Lee Peterlin, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Migraine affects an estimated 30 million people in the U.S, with the one year prevalence of migraine estimated at 12% of the general population, including 18% of all women and 6% of all men.

12 Apr 2013

GP clinics at hospitals: an interview with Dr Sharma, Monash University

Around 13 per cent of hospitals have a primary care unit within the emergency department and 6 per cent have a free standing primary care unit.

11 Apr 2013

Lynch syndrome and cancer risk: an interview with Prof. Ellen Kampman, Wageningen University

Lynch syndrome is one of the inherited cancer syndromes characterized by the development of colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer and other cancers at an early age.

10 Apr 2013

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway: an interview with Dr. Paul Mischel, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research

The mammalian target of rapamycin, mTOR is a central integrator of the cell that coordinates growth factor receptor signaling with energy and nutrient status to control a wide array of activities, including the regulation of cellular proliferation and survival.

9 Apr 2013

Business Network Services from Anglia Ruskin: an interview with Prof Young

The Anglia Ruskin Medtech Campus Business Network Services have been developed in partnership with Chelmsford City Council, Harlow District Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council as part of plans to form the largest MedTech cluster in the UK over three development sites in Essex.

8 Apr 2013

Animal robots for dementia treatment: an interview with Professor Wendy Moyle, Griffith University

A robotic cat was first trialled in the US in early 2004 as a companion pet for people with dementia. A number of nursing homes have either ‘toy’ or robotic animals that they use as entertainment for older residents as well as people with dementia.

5 Apr 2013

Weight loss and heart damage: an interview with Dr Lili Barouch, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Obesity causes an increase in the stiffness of the heart, making it hard for the heart muscle to relax and fill with blood in between heartbeats. This abnormal stiffness can lead to congestive heart failure and other problems as it becomes more severe.

4 Apr 2013

New born neurons as a therapeutic strategy: an interview with Mi-Hyeon Jang, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota

There are two regions in the brain that continue to produce new neurons well into adulthood. One of these regions is the hippocampus and as we converse this region is actively involved in memory formation, mood regulation and cognition.

2 Apr 2013

Inflammation and epigenetics: an interview with Dr Belkina and Dr Denis, Boston University School of Medicine

Inflammation can be thought of as taking two major forms: acute or chronic. Acute inflammation, which can be painful, usually arises quickly and resolves quickly. It accompanies bacterial infections, traumatic injury and is useful to fight infections and promote healing.

28 Mar 2013

Prostate cancer prognosis tables: an interview with Dr John B. Eifler, Brady Urological Institute of Johns Hopkins

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. Despite many advances in diagnosis and treatment over the past two decades, it remains the second most common cause of cancer related death in men.