Brain Canada and Heart & Stroke announce recipients of $6 million research competition
TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2022 /CNW/ – Today, Brain Canada and Heart & Stroke announce that Canadian researchers Dr. Peter Liu and Dr. Douglas Lee are each a recipient of a Heart-Brain Connection IMPACT Award— a competition totalling $6 million. These researchers will lead two multi-disciplinary teams bringing together close to 100 members from institutions across the country.
From left: Trudy Hall, Dr. Douglas Lee, Dr. Gustavo Saposnik, Peter Chaban. Dr. Lee and Dr. Saposnik are Principal Investigators of UNEARTH CVD: Using novel approaches for the early recognition of transient ischemic attack, heart failure and connections with vascular dementia. (Heart & Stroke/Brain Canada) (CNW Group/Heart and Stroke Foundation)
“We are thrilled by the calibre of the two teams and the thoughtful, innovative research programs they have designed,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President, and CEO of Brain Canada. “By bringing together leading and diverse experts from across the country, including people with lived experience and Indigenous peoples, they will drive discovery that goes beyond what would be possible for a single researcher or a single institution.”
The four-year projects will study urgent questions linking heart and brain health with the aim of making changes to patient care and improving outcomes for people in Canada. Currently, one person dies in Canada every five minutes from heart disease, stroke or vascular cognitive impairment, outpacing other diseases. In fact, 20% more people die of heart-brain related conditions than from all cancers. The impact of these heart-brain connections on people’s lives and on the health care system is profound, especially given our health system is designed on a “single disease” model – with different conditions being treated by different specialists. These projects challenge that system through broad collaboration.
Teams will begin work on their projects in 2022 and there are plans to bring the two teams together to share updates on their work as early as 2023. “Putting research into action by sharing knowledge and results are critical components of this award,” says Doug Roth, CEO of Heart & Stroke. “We are confident these teams, these projects and this approach to research will accelerate a much-needed shift around how we explore heart disease and brain disorders.”
Heart-Brain Connection IMPACT Award recipients:
BHRIITE (Brain-Heart Research Integrative Innovation Team Endeavor), led by Dr. Liu, University of Ottawa Heart Institute
“Our program stems from speaking with patients who were falling through the gaps created when heart and brain diseases are treated and researched separately,” explains Dr. Liu, Principal Investigator of BHRIITE. “We aim to change the fundamental disconnect between brain and heart conditions and develop new tools to predict who is at risk and how severely with new diagnostic blood tests and new ways to take pictures of the heart and brain. Together with patient partners, we will also test new treatments that can be used to protect both the heart and the brain.”
This diverse team will integrate patients’ lived experience with expertise in molecular manipulation, in-depth cognitive and cardiac testing, pharmacology, systems biology, clinical trials, epidemiology, biostatistical modelling, machine learning and artificial intelligence. It will also include components such as an Indigenous-led curriculum to build a network of Indigenous health mentors and trainees to support Indigenous capacity to engage in research.
UNEARTH CVD (Using novel approaches for the early recognition of transient ischemic attack, heart failure and connections with vascular dementia), led by Dr. Lee, Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, UHN, Toronto and Dr. Gustavo Saposnik, St. Michael’s Hospital, a site of Unity Health Toronto
“By assembling a team of leading Canadian experts in stroke neurology, cardiovascular disease, aging, general internal medicine, family medicine, sex and gender, health services research, basic science, biomedical engineering, biostatistics, bioethics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, we will find better ways to diagnose possible strokes early and prevent devastating effects such as paralysis” says Dr. Lee, Principal Investigator of UNEARTH CVD.
The team will also develop new methods to diagnose early declines in brain function, so that patients can receive preventive strategies and to study the intersection between heart failure and dementia which may radically change how doctors treat these conditions in the future. The project will also include engagement with Indigenous researchers and inclusion of Indigenous peoples with lived experience.
Funding for the Heart-Brain Connection IMPACT Award has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) and Brain Canada Foundation, and Heart & Stroke.
To date, Health Canada has invested over $130 million through the CBRF which has been matched by Brain Canada and its donors and partners.
About Brain Canada
Brain Canada is a national non-profit organization that enables and supports excellent, innovative, paradigm-changing brain research in Canada. It plays a unique and invaluable role as the national convener of the brain research community. We join people, labs and platforms across the country, as well as institutions, organizations and sectors – in order to drive innovation and foster an interconnected brain research system. Our work enables Canada to excel and make even greater contributions to the global quest to understand the brain and brain disorders. Join us in funding brilliance daily, braincanada.ca.
About Heart & Stroke
Life. We don’t want you to miss it. That’s why Heart & Stroke has been leading the fight to beat heart disease and stroke for 70 years. We must generate the next medical breakthroughs, so Canadians don’t miss out on precious moments. Together, we are working to prevent disease, save lives and promote recovery through research, health promotion and public policy. Heartandstroke.ca @HeartandStroke
SOURCE Heart and Stroke Foundation
For further information: Melissa Arauz, Brain Canada, [email protected], 514-377-6461; Kate Comeau, Heart & Stroke, [email protected], 902-412-6523
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.
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.
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.
