Health
B.C. researchers use nuclear medicine research to fight cancer
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A UBC-led team of Canadian researchers has received a $23.7 million in federal funding to develop a radiopharmaceutical therapy to help treat certain cancers.
The university announced the funding in a news release Thursday.
Unlike traditional radiation therapy that only targets select locations in the body – making it tough to treat cancers that spread to multiple parts of the body – radiopharmaceutical therapy aims to treat deposits of cancer cells throughout the patient’s body.
“This is the holy grail of cancer treatment,” explained principal investigator Dr. François Bénard, professor of radiology and senior executive director of the BC Cancer Research Institute, in the news release.
“These disease-targeting molecules circulate throughout the body, binding tightly to cancer cells in order to eliminate them with a highly localized blast of energy.”
A key challenge in this research is to overcome a global shortage of radioisotopes, specifically actinium-225. An amount of that element equivalent to only a few grains of sand is enough to treat up to 2,000 patients a year, but securing even that much of it is difficult.
UBC’s partner in this research is TRIUMF – Canada’s particle accelerator centre – which hopes to help fill this gap.
“TRIUMF is delighted to leverage its laboratory space and capabilities to ramp up and provide large quantities of rare isotopes like actinium-225, and to collaborate in the critical research taking place,” said Dr. Paul Schaffer, director of TRIUMF’s life sciences division, in the news release.
The project aims to design biomolecules that target a range of different cancer types, including prostate, pancreatic, breast and blood cancers, according to the news release.
“Radiopharmaceutical design is intrinsically modular, which gives us the flexibility to customize each drug to a specific disease target,” said co-principal investigator Dr. Caterina Ramogida, assistant professor of chemistry at Simon Fraser University, who also works for TRIUMF.
“Using this adaptable approach, we have the potential to develop an arsenal of different drugs tailored for various types of cancer.”
Cancer remains the leading cause of death in Canada, with one in two Canadians expected to be diagnosed with it during their lifetime, according to the news release. The team of researchers aims to bring drug candidates into their clinical trials in coming years to speed up adoption of radiopharmaceutical therapy in Canada.
“We will establish Canada as a world leader in the field of nuclear medicine and ensure Canadians and patients around the world have access to these innovative medicines sooner,” said Bénard. “These radiopharmaceuticals can significantly improve the quality of life and life expectancy of patients with cancer, particularly metastatic cancers, many of which are currently untreatable.”
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Alberta Health Services (AHS) has confirmed a case of measles in Edmonton, and is advising the public that the individual was out in public while infectious.
Measles is an extremely contagious disease that is spread easily through the air, and can only be prevented through immunization.
AHS says individuals who were in the following locations during the specified dates and times, may have been exposed to measles.
- April 16
- Edmonton International Airport, international arrivals and baggage claim area — between 3:20 p.m. and 6 p.m.
- April 20
- Stollery Children’s Hospital Emergency Department — between 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- April 22
- 66th Medical Clinic (13635 66 St NW Edmonton) — between 12:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Pharmacy 66 (13637 66 St NW Edmonton) — between 12:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- April 23
- Stollery Children’s Hospital Emergency Department — between 4:40 a.m. to 9:33 a.m.
AHS says anyone who attended those locations during those times is at risk of developing measles if they’ve not had two documented doses of measles-containing vaccine.
Those who have not had two doses, who are pregnant, under one year of age, or have a weakened immune system are at greatest risk of getting measles and should contact Health Link at 1-877-720-0707.
Symptoms
Symptoms of measles include a fever of 38.3° C or higher, cough, runny nose, and/or red eyes, a red blotchy rash that appears three to seven days after fever starts, beginning behind the ears and on the face and spreading down the body and then to the arms and legs.
If you have any of these symptoms stay home and call Health Link.
In Alberta, measles vaccine is offered, free of charge, through Alberta’s publicly funded immunization program. Children in Alberta typically receive their first dose of measles vaccine at 12 months of age, and their second dose at 18 months of age.
Health
U.S. tightens rules for dairy cows a day after bird flu virus fragments found in pasteurized milk samples – Toronto Star
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Infected cows were already prohibited from being transported out of state, but that was based on the physical characteristics of the milk, which looks curdled when a cow is infected, or a cow has decreased lactation or low appetite, both symptoms of infection.
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