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'It saves lives': Medical study says established heart drug good for strokes, too – Terrace Standard – Terrace Standard

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Andre Lavoie knew almost immediately that he was suffering a stroke.

The 60-year-old from Calgary was helping his wife put away groceries in 2015 when he dropped a can onto the floor.

“I bent to pick it up with my left arm and … nothing. I could not pick it up,” Lavoie said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

“I said ‘Oh My God. I’m having a stroke.’ Luckily it did not affect my judgment and I went to my wife and said ‘call 911.’”

Lavoie said he is one of the lucky ones. His blood clot cleared on its own by the time the ambulance arrived, but months of headaches and a feeling of unease followed.

He agreed to be part of a focus group at the Foothills Medical Centre conducted by the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. It was part of a large study about the use of an established heart medication in stroke patients.

Research published Wednesday in the British medical journal The Lancet shows that Tenecteplase, commonly used as a clot-buster for heart attacks, is also an effective treatment for acute ischemic stroke — when blood flow through a brain artery is blocked by a clot.

The two-year study, which included Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto, included 1,600 patients at hospitals throughout Canada. It was the largest stroke clinical trial ever run in the country.

Dr. Bijoy Menon, a University of Calgary professor and a neurologist at Foothills hospital, was the co-principal investigator of the study. He said the common treatment has been a drug called Alteplase, which is effective but more difficult to administer.

He said it takes up to an hour and requires an infusion pump that needs to be monitored.

That’s not the case with the heart drug, which is simply injected and begins working almost immediately, said Menon.

“The big advantage would actually be the speed at which this could be delegated. This could be delegated really easy and fast for folks in rural hospitals, in ambulances, folks even in big hospitals … everything gets done really fast so that’s the big advantage of this new drug.

“The time you make up could really improve outcomes.”

Menon said the findings could revolutionize stroke treatment and could also offer a less expensive option in mid- and lower-income countries.

“Tenecteplase is known to be an effective clot-dissolving drug. It is very easy to administer, which makes it a game-changer when seconds count to save brain cells,” Menon said.

“When you are treating your patients faster, they tend to do better and it saves lives.”

Lavoie said when he shared his input in the focus group, he said using the heart drug in stroke patients was a good idea.

“When they said this is one injection and they can do it earlier than the other one I said ‘Jeez don’t do a study. Just do it,’” he said with a chuckle.

“If I get another stroke I know what to ask for.”

Menon said the drug is already proven to be safe and, with the results of the study, he expects it could be months rather than years before it starts to be used on a regular basis.

Carol Kenney, the clinical trials nurse coordinator, said the new drug would free nurses up to provide additional treatment for the patients once it is administered.

“We say time is brains so the quicker we treat patients the better it is.”

—Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

RELATED: VIDEO: Exoskeleton enables B.C. stroke survivor to walk nearly 2 km a day

RELATED: Stroke month aims to close gaps in medical treatment

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Canada to donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to combat mpox outbreaks in Africa

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The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.

It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.

Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”

Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.

Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.

On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.

Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”

But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”

“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.

Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.

Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.

Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.

“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.

“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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How many Nova Scotians are on the doctor wait-list? Number hit 160,000 in June

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HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.

The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.

Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.

“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”

The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.

A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.

Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.

“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.

Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.

The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.

“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.

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Newfoundland and Labrador monitoring rise in whooping cough cases: medical officer

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ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.

Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.

Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.

The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.

“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.

Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.

Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.

Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.

A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.

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