2012 Study Results
December 18, 2012
Diabetes drug may work against Alzheimer's
Researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered that a drug intended for diabetes appears to restore memory in brain cells affected by Alzheimer's disease. Jack Jhamandas, a researcher with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the U of A, is the principal investigator with the team whose research results were recently published in the peer-reviewed publication The Journal of Neuroscience. These results could make a difference for the estimated 1,125,000 Canadians who are expected to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's over the coming 30 years. To respond to this growing health-care challenge, CIHR developed the International Collaborative Research Strategy for Alzheimer's Disease which aims to give Canadians rapid access to the latest approaches to preventing, diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded the work of Jhamandas and his team.
December 17, 2012
Growing fingers and toes
Researchers at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal have discovered the mechanism responsible for generating fingers and toes. Combining genetic studies and mathematical modelling, the researchers were able to prove the "Turing model" – a long-debated mathematical theory on how such complex structures are formed from cells. The study was published in the journal Science and was funded in part by CIHR.
December 10, 2012
Ottawa researcher closer to finding solutions for premature babies with lung disease
CIHR-funded researcher, Dr. Bernard Thébaud, recently published five major discoveries in the journal Thorax. One of the major findings by Dr. Thébaud and his colleagues is a therapy that would use stem cells from umbilical cords to treat a disease previously thought to be untreatable, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, or BPD. Dr. Thébaud is now determined to apply his laboratory breakthroughs in neonatal intensive care units (NICU). Dr. Thébaud is a senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the CHEO Research Institute, a neonatologist at CHEO and the Ottawa Hospital, and a professor in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ottawa.
December 6, 2012
New mental health support for children
December 5, 2012
Surgery drugs can lead to seizures – but anesthetics can minimize the risk
Patients undergoing complex heart operations or trauma surgery are often given tranexamic acid (TXA) and aminocaproic acid (EACA) to reduce blood loss. But University of Toronto researchers found that many of these patients – between 3 and 7.5 per cent – have a seizure soon after arriving in the Intensive Care Unit, when the anesthesia is wearing off. Seizures can cause long-term, permanent neurological problems, increase the risk of stroke, and prolong a patient's recovery time.
This team of clinician-scientists has now discovered that while two drugs commonly given during cardiac surgery can lead to convulsive seizures, anesthetics can help cut the risk.
The research was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, and was funded in part by CIHR.
November 28, 2012
CIHR-supported study reveals faulty weight shifting as the most common cause of falls in seniors
Dr. Stephen Robinovitch, a CIHR-supported researcher at Simon Fraser University, has provided new evidence on how and why seniors fall. Dr. Robinovitch and his colleagues used video cameras set up in two long-term care facilities in B.C. to capture the falls of residents. In analyzing the footage they found that the most frequent cause of falls was incorrect weight shifting followed by other causes such as tripping or being bumped by someone or a closing door. This research provides new insights into how to prevent falls, which are the number one cause of injury in older adults. The results were recently published in the journal The Lancet.
Dr. Robinovitch is a member of the advisory board of the CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and principal investigator of the CIHR Team in the Cause and Prevention of Falls in Residential Care.
October 22, 2012
New Laureates of the Medical Hall of Fame
On behalf of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), I wish to acknowledge the 2013 inductees to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame: Dr. Antoine Hakim, Dr. Arnold Naimark, Dr. David MacLennan, Dr. Bette Stephenson, Dr. Claude Roy, and The Late Dr. Ian Rusted.
Through their passionate dedication, innovative vision, and strong leadership, these great Canadians made contributions to medicine and the health sciences that have improved the health and well-being of people throughout Canada, and around the world.
Medical students and health professionals across Canada can draw inspiration from the accomplishments of these great pioneers. Their legacies serve as a model of excellence for all of us who work to improve the delivery of health care and the health of Canadians. It is with great respect and appreciation that CIHR honours these six new Laureates of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Dr. Alain Beaudet, MD, PhD
President, CIHR
September 18, 2012
Improving the outcome of patients with chronic diseases
CIHR-funded researcher Dr. Subash Sad and his team at the University of Ottawa are currently studying the implication of Interferon-I, a protein to fight viral infections, on the death of immune cells. They have also provided insight on how Inteferon-I is produced in abundance during chronic viral infections which makes these patients more susceptible to opportunistic infections. Although Dr. Sad's research is at an early stage, his intentions are to capitalize on the known healing aspects of Inteferon-I and rapidly develop therapeutics to limit inflammation while minimizing side-effects. A publication from their team on this study is now available in the prestigious journal, Nature Immunology.
New therapeutic target for breast cancer
Breast cancer continues to be one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers among Canadian women. Dr. Lynne-Marie Postovit and her team at the Western University have identified a protein called Nodal – primarily found in patients with aggressive breast cancer tumors. The study, published in the journal Cancer Research, indicates that when this protein is targeted, the blood vessels in the tumor collapse, depleting oxygen levels and ultimately causing tumor cell death.
August 1, 2012
Rural students trade sex for drugs or alcohol
A new CIHR-funded study shows that some students in rural schools have traded sex for use of alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs. The research team found that those who traded sex had higher rates of weekly binge drinking than other students. In fact, 47% reported binge drinking once a week or more on average, compared to 16.7% of the general population. This is the first study to track this issue among rural students. The study, which was published today in the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality used survey data from 2,360 students in grades 7-12 from 28 schools in the East Kootenay, a rural area of B.C. The researchers found equal numbers of boys and girls traded sex. The majority of these students were living at home with family members.
June 7, 2012
Structural Genomics Consortium develops new antibodies
The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) has just released the first set of ten new antibodies for use in medical and life science research. These antibodies are directed at epigenetics targets (which affect how genes are expressed). Researchers will use these antibodies to better understand diseases, like cancer, and ultimately develop new treatments. The SGC is funded in part by CIHR.
May 30, 2012
McGill team studies off-label drug prescriptions
A team of researchers at McGill University have provided new evidence on the frequency of off-label prescribing – that is, the practise of prescribing drugs for conditions for which they were not approved by Health Canada. In a study funded by CIHR, McGill researcher Dr. Tewodros Eguale and his colleagues used the Medical Office of the XXI Century (MOXXI) electronic health record network to examine the prescriptions of primary care physicians in Quebec. They found that off-label prescribing is common and varies by drug, patient, and physician characteristics. Overall, the study showed that 11 per cent of medications were prescribed for an off-label indication and 79 per cent of off-label use lacked strong scientific evidence. The study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Stopping Statin Therapy Increases Risk of Death for Rheumatoid Arthritis, says CIHR-funded Study
People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who quit taking statin drugs prescribed to them face an increased risk of death, according to a CIHR-funded study published recently in the journal Arthritis Care and Research. The study was carried out by researchers at the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, University of British Columbia, McGill University and Boston University. People with RA have an increased risk of heart disease. To reduce this risk, they are often prescribed statin drugs, which lower cholesterol and reduce inflammation. Previous research has suggested that adherence to statin therapy is a problem among people with RA. In this study, researchers looked at the use of statin drugs among RA patients in British Columbia. They found that discontinuation of statins was associated with a 60 percent increased risk of death from heart attack or stroke, and 79 percent risk of death from all causes. The study provides important new evidence on the serious effect of discontinuing these drugs for people with RA. RA is an inflammatory type of arthritis and autoimmune disease that affects one in 100 Canadians.
May 25, 2012
Flu shot during pregnancy shows unexpected benefits
Getting a flu shot during pregnancy provides unanticipated benefits to the baby, according to the authors of a new study. Researchers at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute demonstrated that H1N1 vaccination during the pandemic was associated with a significantly reduced risk of stillbirth, preterm birth and extremely small babies at birth. The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
May 7, 2012
Mobile research laboratory rolls into Windsor
Canada's first known mobile laboratory dedicated to research on mental health, substance use and violence problems is rolling into Windsor. The research project, co-funded by CIHR, provides findings that will help inform prevention and treatment services in Windsor and other communities. One study, headed by Dr. Samantha Wells from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, looks at the health care experiences of individuals with mental health and/or substance use problems to identify strengths and gaps in the treatment system. Results from the lab studies will produce local knowledge about Ontario communities that is often not available from large-scale provincial or national surveys. After three months in Windsor, the lab will head to Leamington. Prior to Windsor, it was in Port Colborne and Welland.
April 25, 2012
A Guide to the Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease
CIHR is pleased to introduce A Guide to the Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. This 50-page patient-friendly booklet, available in English and French, is a user-friendly, educational booklet, designed to help people with Parkinson's recognize non-motor symptoms such as cognitive impairment, sleep problems and compulsive behaviours and learn about treatments and strategies to manage them.
The author, Dr. Ronald Postuma, is a researcher in neurosciences at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal. Dr. Postuma was funded by an Operating Grant - Psychosocial Research Parkinson's Disease, in partnership with Parkinson Society Canada and CIHR-INMHA.
April 20, 2012
Unhealthy habits shave seven years off Ontarians' life expectancy
New study shows smoking, alcohol, poor diet, lack of physical activity and stress are costing Ontarians more than seven years of their lives. CIHR Applied Public Health Chair and study author, Dr. Doug Manuel, found that 60 per cent of all deaths in Ontario can be blamed on those five unhealthy habits. The research team concluded that improving healthy behaviour will not only lengthen life, but also the amount of healthy life.
April 2, 2012
Ryerson researchers studying defective protein in search of cystic fibrosis treatment
Cystic fibrosis is the most common fatal genetic disease affecting Canadian children and young adults. New research at Ryerson University, in partnership with The Hospital for Sick Children, is examining the interaction between lab-tested drugs and the defective protein that causes CF. The researchers are seeking to understand how and why the drugs work, and to create stronger, more powerful second generation drugs to treat CF. The study is being led by Dr. Russell Viirre at Ryerson University, and was funded in part by CIHR.
March 27, 2012
Effects of Pre-Natal Exposure to the 1998 Ice Storm
CIHR has been funding Project Ice Storm at McGill University since 2003, looking into the health effects of the massive ice storm that struck the St. Lawrence Valley in January 1998. A new study appearing in Pediatric Research and now available online at Nature shows that risk for obesity at age 5 1/2 years is increased as a function of the mother's objective level of hardship from the ice storm, but not as a function of her level of distress from the storm. Podcast available.
March 22, 2012
Drug policy and the public good: evidence for effective interventions
Anyone who treats patients in any capacity today will encounter addiction. The current epidemic of prescription medication abuse requires all physicians who prescribe medication to become aware and educated about addiction. This article provides an excellent review and analysis of the evidence base for interventions for addiction and makes a good argument for the importance of scientifically informed drug policy to achieve the greatest good. The article presents important evidence about drug policy intervention that goes against intuition or what the lay public assumes to be true about how to reduce the individual and societal damage related to drug addiction. For example, wide-scale arrests and imprisonments of drug offenders have little effect on reducing drug use or drug-related harm. Dr. Benedikt Fischer, one of the co-authors, is a Canadian Institutes of Health Research-Public Health Agency of Canada Applied Public Health Chair.
March 21, 2012
Ottawa researchers to lead clinical trial of stem cell therapy for septic shock
A team of researchers from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa will lead the first clinical trial in the world of a stem cell therapy for septic shock. This deadly condition occurs when an infection spreads throughout the body and over-activates the immune system, resulting in severe organ damage and death in 30 to 40 per cent of cases. Septic shock accounts for 20 per cent of all Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions in Canada and costs $4 billion annually. Under the leadership of Dr. Laura-Lyn McIntyre, this new "Phase I" trial will test the experimental therapy in up to 15 patients with septic shock at The Ottawa Hospital's ICU. This clinical trial was supported in part by CIHR.
February 20, 2012
Technetium-99m Made on Multiple Cyclotrons
A team led by TRIUMF and partly funded by CIHR has announced the successful production of the key medical isotope technetium-99m on cyclotrons already available in Ontario and British Columbia. This development allows hospitals and clinics with existing cyclotrons to make the isotope traditionally only available from nuclear reactors. Information on how a cyclotron makes technetium-99m
Five-year national study tackles anti-gay bullying in schools
A North American team of researchers led by Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc, UBC professor of nursing and adolescent medicine, has been funded by CIHR to study how schools and community organizations are making a difference in reducing homophobic bullying and improving health and school outcomes for sexual minority youth. The team includes researchers from 10 different universities in 7 provinces and the U.S., in partnership with Ministries of Education and Health, national teacher and public health associations, school districts, and community programs that work with schools.
February 17, 2012
International ranking for infant mortality flawed
Canada's ranking in international child health indexes would dramatically improve if measurements were standardized, according to a new study by researchers from the University of British Columbia, Dalhousie University, McGill University, the University of Calgary, and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
The study shows the surveys on perinatal, infant and child mortality rates conducted by the United Nations Children's Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are biased because many countries fail to register all babies, especially those born very small or too early.
February 2, 2012
Genomics research identifies childhood cancer genes
With the introduction of next-generation sequencing techniques, research now has the ability to identify disease causing genes. In fact, Dr. Nada Jabado and her team have been able to determine which mutations are driving the growth and spread of disease. Focusing on pediatric cancers, they have uncovered genetic abnormalities that cause tumor cells to grow, or even, become resistant to treatment in pediatric glioblastoma, a deadly brain tumour.
This discovery has the potential to lead to more tailored treatment for this cancer. Using these technologies, we will soon be able to better understand the origin of several diseases including other types of cancer, and the reason(s) for their progression or resistance to therapies. Vast amounts of clinical, biological and sequencing data are now being generated by an expanding number of research efforts on a scale that we could only dream of a few years ago. These endeavors are expected to bring a major shift in clinical practice in terms of diagnosis and understanding of diseases, ultimately enabling personalized medicine based on one's genome and/or the genome of the tumour.
January 26, 2012
Breakthrough Treatment Found to be Successful for Patients with Blocked Arteries
The world's first clinical trial of a new treatment for patients with blocked coronary arteries has shown the novel approach to be safe with promising success rates.
Drug policy and the public good
Illicit drugs constitute a concrete threat to the public good, not only because they have a negative effect on public health, but also because they can generate crime, disorder and other social problems. Actual policies and programs to improve these problems have various levels of effectiveness. However, policy initiatives to prevent or reduce the harms caused by illicit drugs are often only minimally informed by scientific evidence. Too often, the reasoning behind decisions is of a non-scientific nature, focused more on what the public and policy-makers consider of value.
Dr. Benedikt Fischer, a CIHR-funded researcher, was part of an international team who reviewed relevant evidence and outlined the likely effects of fuller implementation of existing interventions to draw attention to the drug-control policies available to governments, published as part of a featured article series on 'Addiction' in The Lancet. Evidence-based interventions that help making drugs less available, prevent drug use initiation in young people, or reduce violence in drug markets, for examples, are increasingly being identified. Dr. Fisher's work constitutes one of many important opportunities that exist for science to guide the selection of policies that maximize the public good.
Dr. Benedikt Fischer, CIHR/PHAC Research Chair in Applied Public Health, is a Professor and Director of the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addictions (CARMHA) at Simon Fraser University's Faculty of Health Sciences and as a Senior Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. Fischer specializes in psychoactive substance use and public health.
January 25, 2012
Identification of molecule has the potential to increase effectiveness of HIV therapy treatment
Dr. Tania Watts, a CIHR-funded scientist, and her research team have identified a molecule in white blood cells that could be used to track the effectiveness of HIV treatment. The findings of her analysis, which have been published in the prestigious Journal of Experimental Medicine, have been discovered while the team was investigating the immune system and what happens when chronic infection, such as HIV, sets in. These results demonstrate the importance this molecule plays in limiting HIV infection. Dr. Watts hopes that the findings will have the potential to provide more effective treatments to those who are infected with the HIV virus.
January 18, 2012
A new discovery links menstrual pain and cardiovascular diseases
Dr. Michel A. Fortier, professor at Université Laval, studies uterine function at the cellular and molecular level in the context of fertility and early pregnancy. In the course of his CIHR funded project on menstrual disorders, he has made an important discovery about prostaglandins – locally-acting hormones that are essential for female reproduction, yet also responsible for inflammation, pain, fever and headaches. Prostaglandins have been the target for treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen for over a century. One such prostaglandin, PGF2α, is responsible for blood vessel constriction that can lead to menstrual pain and even stroke and heart attacks. While looking for the biological pathway that produces PGF2α in the uterus, Dr. Fortier and his colleagues discovered that the enzyme known as "human aldose reductase" plays an important role in the process of creating PGF2α. The discovery of this enzyme opens up the possibility of entirely new ways to treat not only menstrual pain, but also cardiovascular complications including stroke and heart attack.
Recognizing the importance of this discovery, Dr. Joy Johnson, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health, highlights: "It is fascinating that a study of uterine function could lead to new ways to treat cardiac disorders. This research is a testament to the importance of considering the role of biological sex-based factors in influencing seemingly unrelated health issues."
January 17, 2012
Results from a study on youth with government care experience
The Ministry of Child and Family Development of British Columbia commissioned the McCreary Centre Society to conduct an in-depth study of almost 1000 youth who reported ever being in government care. Elizabeth Saewyc, Applied Public Health Chair in Youth Health and Research Director for the Centre, was involved in guiding this research. The study led to the publication of a community report entitled "Fostering Potential: The lives of BC youth with government care experience," on December 13, 2011. While it was found these youth experience much higher rates of trauma and challenges in their lives, as has been documented by many other studies, the research tried to understand potential protective factors that were linked with better health. No similar study had looked at nutrition and food security issues among youth in care. The study examined different combinations of risk and protective factors that affect these young people's intentions and chances of completing high school and/or post-secondary education. The influence of other protective factors was also studied, for example: sports involvement, volunteering, meaningful extracurricular activities, school connectedness, and having caring adults to talk to about problems. Finally, the study analyzed how these factors were associated with better health outcomes, including lower rates of suicide attempts and self-harm. To summarize, teenagers who go through the BC government care system are facing many difficult challenges but, with support from peers and adults, they can experience better health outcomes.
The McCreary Centre Society is a non-governmental non-profit youth health research organization in British Columbia. The Centre conducts the province-wide BC Adolescent Health Survey every five years among more than 29,000 students in grades 7 to 12. This is one of the largest, regularly recurring surveys of youth health in Canada.
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