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GI Joe: An interview with a 100 year-old dynamo
Original broadcast date: September 20, 2009 Our breadth of understanding of the reams of medical information reported in the media is dependent in part on our understanding of the history of medicine. This history includes our human response to change and our willingness to accept new ideas and engage in healthy debate when conflicts arise.…
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Traveller's diarrhea vaccine in development
Original broadcast date: May 18, 2009 Of great concern to many travelers is the prevention of infectious diseases such as typhoid, hepatitis A and B, malaria, and enterotoxigenic E. coli among others. Another common form of traveler’s diarrhea caused by the bacteria campylobacter jejuni is becoming resistant to antibiotic therapy. A research group from the…
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The second brain that controls our gut
Original broadcast date: May 10, 2009 When we talk of the human nervous system, we tend to think about the brain, spinal cord and the nerves that emanate from it to spread throughout the body. What is becoming clearer is that there is what some call a “second brain” that controls the functions of the…
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Colonoscopy limitations for right-sided colon cancer
Original broadcast date: January 18, 2009 Colorectal Cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in North America. Screening is essential to catch the disease in its early stages. From a clinical standpoint colonoscopy is considered to be the gold standard for evaluation of the colon. There is a caveat introduced into this interpretation.…
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Link between bacteria and Crohn's disease hypothesized
The investigation and research into the pathophysiology of Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune condition wherein the body’s own immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract, has produced some hypotheses with respect to a possible mechanism that triggers the disease. An article published in the journal Medical Hypotheses, looked at the link between a specific bacterial strain and…
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Ontario Health Ministry limits coverage for Hepatitis B medications
Chronic hepatitis B affects an estimated 230,000-290,000 people in Canada. Though there is a range of new effective antiretroviral treatments that can help reduce disease complications, the estimated 80,000 – 100,000 chronic hepatitis B patients in Ontario have only limited options paid for by the Ontario Drug Benefit Program. Last week the British Columbia government…
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Crohn's Disease update
Original broadcast date: February 24, 2008 Dr. Richmond Sy will be answering questions about Crohn’s disease and some of the recent treatment advances. If time permits a discussion about other gastrointestinal disorders, colon cancer prevention and the role of food and diet on reducing cancer risk Dr. Richmond Sy, MD, FRCPC, Gastroenterologist at the Ottawa…
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Ulcerative colitis: Approach to treament
Original broadcast date: February 24, 2008 Ulcerative Colitis is one of several inflammatory bowel diseases that damages the large intestine. It is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting about 65,000 Canadians with 4,000 new cases reported annually. Treatments are varied and each confronts various aspects of the pathophysiology of the disease. Dr. Hillary Steinhart, MD MSc…
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Human genome used to search for genetic clues for Crohn's disease
A consortium of Canadian and American researchers led by Dr. John D. Rioux, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Montreal Heart Institute and the Université de Montréal, report in the April 15, 2007 online edition of Nature Genetics the results from a search of the entire human genome for genetic risk factors leading to…