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National Health Expenditure Trends, 1975-2007
Where is Canada’s health care spending heading? What conclusions can be drawn when we extrapolate those costs into the future? These among many other findings were evaluated in a report released November 12, 2007 by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) released its flagship annual report, National Health Expenditure Trends, 1975-2007. In 2007, health…
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Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Heart Check program; A tall cold Slush Puppy for health!
We will be speaking with Dr. Yoni Freedhoff about issues dealing with obesity, salt content of food, his recent appearance on CBC’s Marketplace talking about the lack of nutritional information provided by restaurants, diet, and recent studies linking obesity and cancer. He will discuss the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Heart Check program, with which he…
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Vitamin D and prevention of preeclampsia during pregnancy
Food science research has recently published the links between adequate vitamin D levels and reduced risks of breast and colon cancer, reduced falls in the elderly, a reduction in stress fractures in young athletic women, a possible reduction in age related wet-type macular degeneration, and improved bone structure and density in children borne from mother’s…
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Competition Bureau of Canada investigates generic drug pricing
The Competition Bureau an independent law enforcement agency of Industry Canada recently released a report investigating the pricing and marketing of generic medications in Canada. Their findings were similar to those reported by Brett Skinner of the Fraser Institute several months ago. The Competition Bureau has concerns that despite strong competition between generic medication manufacturers,…
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Pediatric safety concerns about OTC cough and cold products
An October 11, 2007 media advisory from Health Canada raised concerns regarding the safety of “over-the-counter” (non-prescription) cough and cold products in children. An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration called for all over-the-counter pediatric cough and cold medicines to be banned. Pharmaceutical companies have issued a voluntary recall of these products…
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New surgical procedure to replace damaged heart valves
A new surgical procedure being performed at the Heart Centre of St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver is transforming the lives of patients too sick to undergo conventional treatment to replace diseased aortic valves. The results of this new technique were presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2007, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and…
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The limitations of Alzheimer's medications
There are several Alzheimer’s disease medications that are used to slow the decline of memory, language and thinking abilities. A study published in October issue of Journal of the American Geriatrics Society by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) sought to answer several questions regarding the duration of therapy, whether there is a point…
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New treatment classifications for lung cancer
An important factor that helps oncologists and surgeons decide whether aggressive chemotherapy and or surgery will be effective in treating cancerous tumours is a system of tumour classification. A recent overhaul to this system has opened new opportunities for thousands of patients with lung cancer previously classified as inoperable or beyond treatment. Dr. Peter Goldstraw,…
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