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The Canadian National Palliative Care Survey
The relief of suffering is one of the central goals in all of health care, but very little research has examined how common suffering is and what it actually means to patients. Now, a new study of patients receiving palliative care for cancer has revealed that suffering may be far less common than traditionally assumed.…
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Update on the Global Polio Eradication Program of the World Health Organization
How many people remember seeing a child with polio? The success of vaccination programs has created a situation that elegantly illustrates how we think about risk and danger. Because most people have no experience with the disease, many do not perceive it to be a danger anymore. However other areas of the world unfortunately do…
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Research into boosting life expectancy for patients with liver cancer
There are few alternatives to effectively treat liver cancer. It is the fifth most common cancer in the world and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. Researchers have been looking for a means to slow the progression of the disease and extend survival times. In an international clinical study presented in early June…
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Menopause survey
New survey by the Federation of Medical Women of Canada shows that women with menopausal symptoms need support before the change. The poll surveyed nearly 2,500 Canadian women age 41 and older who have never had breast cancer or a hysterectomy, and 125 general practitioners who have mostly female patients. Dr. Michelle Wise, B.A., M.D.,…
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Developing a cardiac pacemeker that can survive an MRI
People who can’t have life-saving diagnostic tests because of their pacemakers might have a scan-worthy device in years to come. An international clinical trial of a pacemaker system, the Medtronic EnRhythm MRI SureScan pacing system, will be conducted at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, Foothills HSC in Calgary, Hopital Laval in Quebec, Montreal Heart…
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How long do hip fracture patients age 65 and over have to wait for surgery?
How long do hip fracture patients age 65 and over have to wait for surgery? This answer and many others published by the Canadian Institute for Health Information in their report Health Indicators 2007 provides an overview of 40 health and health system performance factors from across the country. Jennifer Zelmer, Vice President of Research…
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Insight into how lithium interacts with the brain to help treat bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder is an inheritable illness that leads to extreme mood swings. About one in 100 Canadians suffer from this condition over their lifetime. Efforts are being made to understand the pathophysiology or mechanism of the disease process. Researchers at UCLA are contributing to this understanding. In the July issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry,…
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Vitamin D deficiency and effect on cancer risk
Sunday House Call has focused on the promising research and a greater understanding on the effects of Vitamin D. We have had principle investigators discuss its effects on reducing the rate of falls in the elderly, reducing the risk of colon and breast cancer recurrence, reduction of stress fractures in young women and its effects…
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Stroke risk factors among women
A new study released this week by the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation outlines some new information regarding stroke risk factors especially among women. What are these risk factors and how can they be incorporated into preventive measures against the development of stroke? Dr. Michael Hill, neurologist, Director of the Stroke Unit at Foothills Medical…
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