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April 19, 2023 University of Waterloo researchers use a mathematical model to understand diuretic effectiveness  New research from a team based at the University of Waterloo suggests that the time of day and a patient's sex may alter the effectiveness of certain blood pressure medications. Biological sex and the body's circadian clock are critical factors in managing blood pressure.

An analysis of global usage patterns of a common hypertension drug following a major recall demonstrates the worldwide impact of contamination at a single manufacturing facility. The research, led by researchers at the University of Toronto and published in  BMJ Open , highlights the vulnerability of the global drug supply chain and the impact of drug recalls on access to safe medications, particularly in lower-income countries.

Waterloo Pharmacy professor and doctoral candidate invited to discuss recent research findings in Neurology By Milana Madzarac School of Pharmacy In an age of misinformation, knowledge translation (KT) is an increasingly important way to communicate research to the audiences who need it. Knowledge translation links the creation of knowledge from research areas to real-world situations.

A new study shows the urgency of tailoring treatment regimens based on several criteria to provide better health outcomes for medulloblastoma patients. Hallie Coltin, pediatric hemato-oncologist and researcher at CHU Sainte-Justine and clinical assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the Université de Montréal.

In one of the most comprehensive studies to date, the findings showed more than one in ten Americans used prescription opioids in the past 12 months By Western Communications , March 21, 2023 By Western Communications , March 21, 2023 More than 30 million Americans - roughly 12 per cent of the U.S. population - rely on prescription opioids.

Simulated study finds new robotic ultrasound system can optimize liver cancer ablation therapy By Lawson Health Research Institute, Special to Western News, January 25, 2023 By Lawson Health Research Institute, Special to Western News, January 25, 2023 A simulated study by researchers at Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute has found a new system that uses ultrasound to construct 3D-images could make treatment of liver cancer, using thermal ablation, more accurate.

In a bid to reduce the time and cost associated with developing promising new medicines, University of Toronto scientists have successfully tested the use of artificial intelligence to guide the design of long-acting injectable drug formulations. The study, published this week in  Nature Communication , was led by Professor  Christine Allen  in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and  Alán Aspuru-Guzik  in the departments of chemistry and computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

Pharmacist-administered vaccination sites unevenly distributed across Ontario New research out of the University of Waterloo has identified "vaccination deserts" in parts of northern and rural Ontario and in locations where French is predominantly spoken. These areas have little to no access to pharmacist-administered vaccination sites for COVID vaccines or the flu shot.

A new study led by the University of Toronto and its partner institutions has found that older adults - who account for more than 70 per cent of cancer diagnoses - would benefit from undergoing a geriatric assessment screening before they start chemotherapy. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and led by Martine Puts , an associate professor in the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, examines whether the use of the geriatric assessment and management (GAM) model in cancer patients would show an improvement in their quality of life.

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.