Medical Insights from Industry

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"Insights from Industry" is a dynamic series of interviews at the cutting edge of the medical industry. Every interviewee is a leader in their particular field and is handpicked to give an informative and accessible insight into their chosen field. These interviews are guaranteed to keep you in the know in a rapidly changing industry.

Molecular breast imaging: an interview with Jim Calandra, CEO Gamma Medica

Studies have shown that mammograms fail to detect cancers in one-third to one-half of women with dense breasts (Clinical Literature on MBI). In some cases, the findings from a mammogram are inconclusive and secondary screening will almost always be required.

6 Oct 2014

Managing diabetes and intensive exercise: an interview with Dr Rafael Castol, Team Novo Nordisk

Team Novo Nordisk is a professional cycling team that races at UCI Pro Continental level. It's the first ever team to be made up of athletes diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The team was created three years ago, and is part of the Changing Diabetes initiative developed by Novo Nordisk.

From Novo Nordisk 1 Oct 2014

Gaucher disease: an interview with Dr Clement Olivier, Shire

Gaucher disease is the most common condition within a family of rare diseases known as the lysosomal storage diseases. The disease causes lipids to accumulate in cells, which is why it is referred to as a storage disorder. The accumulation occurs mainly in the spleen, liver, and bones, but may also occur in the lungs, heart, and central nervous system.

30 Sep 2014

Combating prescription drug abuse: an interview with Mark Trudeau and Carmen Catizone

Prescription drug abuse is an extremely complex problem with no single solution. For example, the very same medications that are so critical for alleviating pain in legitimate patients could easily be diverted and misused by other people.

16 Sep 2014

Stages of symptoms in schizophrenia: an interview with Dr. Mark Opler, ProPhase

I think there's a perception that schizophrenia is principally a disorder that involves hallucinations such as hearing voices, seeing things and believing things that aren't real. These are indeed part of the phenomenon, but the condition is much broader than that.

9 Sep 2014

Treating wet AMD with gold nanoparticles: an interview with Jim Taylor, CEO, Oraya Therapeutics

Wet AMD is characterized by abnormal growth of blood vessels in the macula (the area of the eye containing vision-enabling photoreceptors), and is responsible for the vast majority of severe vision loss in the industrialized world.

4 Sep 2014

Aging healthily: an interview with Dr. Jack Watters, Vice President for External Medical Affairs, Pfizer

Get Old was developed by Pfizer in 2012 to challenge misperceptions about aging and foster a candid conversation around aging. Our goal for the program was to redefine what it means to “get old” and encourage people to adopt healthy behaviors to age the way they want.

3 Sep 2014

Extracting Cardiac Leads: An Interview with Barry Norlander from Cook Medical

The pacemaker or ICD unit, which is the implanted box or generator i.e. the electrical component of the device that's implanted in the chest, usually lasts between seven to 10 years before the generator’s battery is depleted.

From COOK MEDICAL INC. 2 Sep 2014

Remote monitoring of implanted pacemakers and defibrillators: an interview with Dr. Suneet Mittal

Remote monitoring is the ability to follow patients who have implantable pacemakers or defibrillators from home. This technology was introduced in the U.S. in 2001 so it’s been available for close to 15 years.

27 Aug 2014

Cognitive impairment communication: an interview with Marc Wortmann, Executive Director, Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI)

Cognitive impairment is the loss of brain functions like short and long term memory, the ability to plan ahead or conduct more complicated intellectual tasks.

27 Aug 2014

Acromegaly and antisense therapy: an interview with Mark Diamond, CEO Antisense Therapeutics

Acromegaly is a chronic, life-threatening disease triggered by a benign tumour of the pituitary gland causing excessive growth hormone release. Oversupply of growth hormone stimulates liver, fat and kidney cells to produce excess levels of Insulin-Like Growth Factor I (IGFI), which causes abnormal growth of the bones of the hands, face and feet and bodily organs.

26 Aug 2014

Tackling rising healthcare costs: an interview with Professor Graeme Currie, Warwick Business School

I think the main reason involves the impact of an aging population, some of whom age healthily, but many of whom, unhealthily, particularly those from poorer sectors of society.

12 Aug 2014

New spinal fixation technique: an interview with Dr. Ian Armstrong, Medical Director, Southern California Spine Institute

Traditionally, the most commonly used medical devices for spinal fusion procedures have been pedicle screws and rods, and interbody cages or spacers. Each are coupled with bone grafts and limit movement while the area being fused heals.

4 Aug 2014

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease flare-ups: an interview with Dr. MeiLan Han, University of Michigan and Scott Cerreta, Director of Education, COPD Foundation

During a flare-up, symptoms of a patient’s COPD worsen significantly, and breathing becomes more difficult. A persistent increase in shortness of breath, cough and sputum production are typical symptoms.

30 Jul 2014

Tackling hepatitis C: an interview with Gaston Picchio, Global Hepatitis Disease Area Leader at Janssen

Gaston Picchio outlines the major findings of the recent report published by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU): ‘Tackling hepatitis C: Moving towards an integrated policy approach’

23 Jul 2014

Genomics testing in action: an interview with Kevin Haar, CEO, Appistry

The more connections are made between genes, disease and drugs, and the more that we continue to understand about those connections, the more critical genetic testing will become in modern medicine.

21 Jul 2014

Pain control in osteoarthritis patients

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common causes of disability, and inadequate pain control can lead to joint stiffness that may impair mobility for patients.

9 Jul 2014

Fabry disease awareness: an interview with Dr. Hartmann Wellhoefer, Head of Medical Affairs, Rare Disease, Shire

Lysosomes are subcellular organelles that are present in most cells, with the major exception of red blood cells.

8 Jul 2014

Treating ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are idiopathic (we don’t know the cause) inflammatory diseases (IBD) of the colon and/or small bowel. They are chronic in that we do not have a medical cure and are differentiated from IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) by inflammation that causes ulcerations of the GI tract.

7 Jul 2014

Preventing antibiotic side effects: an interview with Florence Séjourné, CEO, Da Volterra

Like all drugs, antibiotics can have side-effects when administered to people. The most common (and often benign) side effect people experience when taking antibiotics is “associated diarrhea”. This illustrates the fact that antibiotics have an impact on the intestine!

25 Jun 2014