news 2022

A class of medication for Type 2 diabetes may help older people with the condition reduce their risk of dementia. The findings are contained in a new study by Walter Swardfager , an assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and a scientist in the Sandra Black Centre for Brain Resilience and Recovery at Sunnybrook Research Institute, and graduate student Che-Yuan (Joey) Wu.

Science, Health & Technology Brett Goldhawk Early intervention with catheter cryoablation can halt disease progression, reduce risk of serious health impacts A national study led by UBC researchers at the Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation is shedding light on how to more effectively treat atrial fibrillation (AF) - a common heart rhythm problem associated with increased risk of stroke and heart failure.

COVID-19 infections are once again on the rise as our immune systems struggle to combat new variants. That's according to a University of Toronto study that found the antibodies generated by people who were vaccinated and/or recovered from COVID-19 prior to 2022 failed to neutralize the variants circulating today.

Even if the evidence of the effectiveness of cannabis is still very scarce, Quebecers are self-prescribing products from this plant for health problems ranging from pain to shyness Anxiety, depression, insomnia, shyness, migraines, muscle spasms, pain, loss of appetite, loss of libido. These are some of the health problems for which Quebecers self-prescribe cannabis, even though no reliable scientific study has yet demonstrated its effectiveness for these uses.

A pan-Canadian team announces initial results of the national OPTIMA study comparing the efficacy of two models of care for treating opioid use disorder. Did you know that more than 26,500 Canadians died from opioid intoxication between January 2016 and September 2021? Or that more than 350,000 people who used drugs containing opioids to relieve their pain did so problematically? In Quebec alone, 339 people died from opioid intoxication between January and September 2021, according to the latest data from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

HBV vaccination, screening, and treatment strategies are often logistically challenging and expensive By A new University of Waterloo study shows that current Hepatitis B vaccination, screening, and treatment strategies in Ontario will leave the province well short of its goal to reduce preventable infections that afflict 1,000 Ontarians annually.

Researchers from McGill University and the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) have made some surprising discoveries about our immune system. By using mathematical modelling to look at specific aspects of immune responses in mice and humans, their data-driven approach, described in a recent article in Science, reveals that immune responses may exist on a finer spectrum than had previously been believed.

An international team led by a University of Toronto researcher has found that an antibody in the blood predicts severe Crohn's disease and is detectable up to seven years prior to disease diagnosis. Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory condition of the intestine for which simple and effective biomarkers prior to diagnosis are lacking.

A new international collaborative study, involving multiple institutions including Western University, has found computer-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CCBT) has significantly greater impact in treating depression among adults than treatment as usual (TAU).

Using anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids to relieve pain could increase the chances of developing chronic pain, according to researchers from McGill University and colleagues in Italy. Their research puts into question conventional practices used to alleviate pain. Normal recovery from a painful injury involves inflammation and blocking that inflammation with drugs could lead to harder-to-treat pain.

Science, Health & Technology Brett Goldhawk As Canada faces a sixth wave of COVID-19 infections, researchers at the UBC faculty of medicine are urging people who are pregnant to remain vigilant based on data from Canada's first national, peer-reviewed study on COVID-19 in pregnancy. The findings, published today in JAMA , show that pregnant people who catch COVID-19 are at greater risk of being hospitalized, being admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) and experiencing an early birth.

Scientists at Sinai Health and the University of Toronto say a new drug designed to block an enzyme essential for the survival of certain cancer cells shows promise in curbing tumour growth. The preclinical findings,  published this month in the journal  Nature , describe a new drug designed with CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology in the lab of  Daniel Durocher , a senior investigator at Sinai Health's  Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute  (LTRI) and a professor of molecular genetics in University of Toronto's Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

Q&As Erik Rolfsen You might be surprised to learn how rarely health research accounts for the fact that male and female bodies are different. Researchers from UBC's women's health research cluster and department of psychology have published an analysis of 3,193 neuroscience and psychiatry studies from 2009 and 2019.

Science, Health & Technology Erik Rolfsen The risk of developing one of three serious eye conditions increases by 85 per cent for regular users of common erectile dysfunction (ED) medications such as Viagra, Cialis, Levitra and Stendra, new UBC research has found. Two of the three conditions had previously been linked to ED medications only by anecdotal case studies.

Applying machine learning to a database of testimonials uncovers how drug-induced changes in subjective awareness are mechanistically rooted in the human brain Psychedelics are now a rapidly growing area of neuroscience and clinical research, one that may produce much-needed new therapies for disorders such as depression and schizophrenia.

By the end of September 2021, uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among adults with a recent experience of housing insecurity were 25 per cent lower than the adult population of Ontario for a first dose, and 34 per cent lower for a second dose, according to a new study. Published in The Lancet Public Health , the study is the first in Canada to examine vaccination rates among persons experiencing homelessness.

An innovative concussion blood test developed by researchers at Western University is set to begin a pivotal clinical trial with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in the coming weeks. Leveraging biomarkers and artificial intelligence, the test could be a game-changer for concussion diagnosis and management.

Metformin highly effective in targeting diabetes and some cancers but potentially dangerous with others By Using computer drug simulations, researchers have found that doctors need to be wary of prescribing a particular  treatment  for all types of cancer and patients. The drug, called metformin, has traditionally been prescribed for diabetes but has been used in clinical settings as a cancer treatment in recent years.

Smart packages can be used to electronically monitor when patients take their medication. By Older adults are open to using smart packaging to improve their medication-taking experience, a new study finds. Smart packages are used to electronically monitor when patients take their medication. When the prescription is not followed as advised by their physician the smart system can notify patients and their caregivers.

Castalagin, a polyphenol from the Amazonian fruit camu-camu, increases the efficacy of immunotherapy in mice by modifying their microbiome, Quebec researchers find. Quebec scientists have discovered that the Brazilian camu-camu berry, already recognized for its protective effects against obesity and diabetes, can also help to treat cancers.