Podcast appearances and mentions of Michael G Degroote

A new coronavirus variant has been detected in South Africa that scientists say is a concern because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people in Gauteng, the country's most populous province, Health Minister Joe Phaahla announced Thursday. The coronavirus evolves as it spreads and many new variants, including those with worrying mutations, often just die out. Scientists monitor for possible changes that could be more transmissible or deadly, but sorting out whether new variants will have a public health impact can take time. The World Health Organization's technical working group is to meet Friday to assess the new variant and may decide whether or not to give it a name from the Greek alphabet. GUEST: Dr. Matthew Miller, Canada Research Chair in Viral Pandemics and an Associate Professor with the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research with the McMaster Immunology Research Centre See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anxiety? Pain? PTSD? Concusions? Morning sickness? The straight dope from one of Canada's leading researchers in this field, James MacKillop, Director of the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research at McMaster University in Hamilton.

Naomi Norquay of the Old Durham Road Black Pioneer Cemetery committee talks about their efforts to see the property in Grey County turned into a community learning space; You might be wary of picking up hitchhikers. but would you consider giving an injured turtle a ride? The Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre needs volunteers willing to act as ambulance drivers for some or their patients. Sue Carstairs tells us more; Rob Benzie, the Queen's Park bureau chief for the Toronto Star reports on the province's move to Step 2 in reopening; Alanna McGinn, founder of the Good Night Sleep Site acknowledges that the pandemic has often disrupted our sleep schedule. She talks about the importance of getting enough rest; Gail Bannister-Clarke, President of the Peel Elementary Teachers' local outlines their concerns about the province adopting so-called 'hybrid' learning; Andrew McArthur from the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University discusses the likelihood that we will reach herd immunity from the coronavirus; Dr. Charles Gardner, the Medical Officer of Health for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, discusses the emergence of the Delta variant and our prospects for preventing a fourth wave in the pandemic; Ariel Siller of the Canadian Children's Literacy Foundation talks about the new campaign 'Read On' to help kids stay involved with reading.

Dr. Margo MountjoyInternational Olympic Committee – Medical & Scientific Committee (Games Group)Academic & Clinical Lead – University of Guelph Health and Performance CentreRegional Assistant Dean of McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of MedicineAssociate Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University Medical School Dr. Carla EdwardsHigh-Performance Mental Health Advisor, Swimming CanadaSports Psychiatrist – University of Guelph Health and Performance CentreAssistant Clinical Professor, McMaster Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural NeurosciencesDirector, Student Progress - Michael G. DeGroote School of MedicineClinical Educational Coordinator, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine Waterloo Regional CampusFor Episode No. 33 of our Gryph Nation Radio podcast, we have a fascinating conversation about the upcoming Olympic Games with a pair of talented, Tokyo-bound doctors, who just so happen to also have strong Gryphon ties. Dr. Margo Mountjoy has been a proud member of our Gryphon family since 1988, working in the heart of our campus at the University of Guelph's Health & Performance Centre, where she currently serves as HPC's clinical and academic lead. Margo is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University Medical School and Regional Assistant Dean of McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. Over the course of her distinguished medical career, Dr. Mountjoy has worked with the biggest national and international sports organizations out there, such as the World Anti-Doping Agency and the World Health Organization, just to name a few. Later this summer, Dr. Mountjoy will make her way to Tokyo as part of the International Olympic Committee's Medical and Scientific Commission – Games Group. Her portfolio within the I.O.C. is expansive, but in short, she will be working with a team of doctors from around the globe to help deliver a safe Olympic Games in Tokyo. Also joining us for Episode 33 is Dr. Carla Edwards, an accomplished Sports Psychiatrist who is also Tokyo-bound. Dr. Edwards came on board at the University of Guelph's Health & Performance Centre in 2016 and also holds several titles at McMaster University, including an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences. Carla will be heading to Tokyo as part of the Team Canada delegate, as the High-Performance Mental Health Advisor with Swimming Canada. Throughout our conversation, both Dr. Mountjoy and Dr. Edwards provide some outstanding insight into the challenges that lie ahead when it comes to the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Many Canadians use medical marijuana products, but not all of those products been studied for their safety and efficacy. We talk to Aly Benson and Rebecca Zak, who have had varying degrees of success with using medical cannabis; and James MacKillop, director at the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research at McMaster University. He's one of some 200 scientists and clinicians who have signed a letter to Health Canada urging the government to make research into medical cannabis more feasible.

The benefits of the Mediterranean diet pass on to the families of patients who follow it Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (Italy), March 9, 2021 People living with a patient undergoing an intensive weight loss treatment also benefit from this therapy. This has been demonstrated by a team of researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM-Hospital del Mar) along with doctors from Hospital del Mar and the CIBER on the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERObn), in collaboration with IDIAPJGol, the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV), IDIBELL, IDIBAPS and the Sant Joan de Reus University Hospital. The study has been published in the journal International Journal of Obesity. The study analysed data from 148 family members of patients included in the weight loss and lifestyle programme PREDIMED-Plus (PREVencióDIetaMEDiterranea Plus) over a two-year period. The researchers analysed whether these people also indirectly benefited from the programme, as they were not enrolled in the study and did not receive any direct treatment. PREDIMED-Plus is a multicentre study in which a group of patients follow an intensive weight reduction programme based on the Mediterranean diet and a plan promoting physical activity. Weight loss despite not being included in the programme The relatives (three out of four were the patient's partner and the rest were children, parents, siblings or had some other degree of kinship), lost an average of 1.25 kg of weight during the first year of the programme, compared to the relatives of the patients in the control group (those who did not follow the intensive treatment proposed by PREDIMED-Plus). This rose to almost 4 kg in the second year. These figures were better in cases where the family member ate with the patient and, above all, when it was the patient themselves who cooked. The treatment, aimed at achieving weight loss in people with obesity and high cardiovascular risk by following the Mediterranean diet, "Achieved effects beyond just weight loss in the patient, and this extended to their family environment", explains Dr. Albert Goday, the principal investigator on the project, head of section in the Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition at Hospital del Mar, researcher in the Cardiovascular Risk and Nutrition Research Group at the IMIM-Hospital del Mar and a CIBERobn researcher. "The effect was contagious, in this context it was, fortunately, a beneficial 'contagion', resulting in weight loss and improved dietary habits." Dr. Goday points out that "among the many possible dietary approaches to weight loss, the one based on the Mediterranean diet is the most easilt shared within a family environment." According to Dr. Olga Castañer, the final author of the study and a researcher in the Cardiovascular Risk and Nutrition Research Group at the IMIM-Hospital del Mar and CIBERobn, the good results can be explained "By an improved diet, since the same contagious effect was not observed in terms of physical activity among the patients and their relatives." Family members also showed increased commitment to the Mediterranean diet, according to a questionnaire assessing adherence to the dietary patterns of this regimen. But the same was not true in terms of physical activity. As Dr Castañer points out, "In addition to weight loss, there was greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet, which has intrinsic health benefits, such as protection against cardiovascular and neurodegenerative risks." The results of the study "Demonstrate the contagion effect, the halo effect, of a treatment programme in the relatives of participants involved in an intensive weight loss procedure, as well as increased adherence to the Mediterranean diet", stresses Dr. Albert Goday. "The beneficial effect of the programme on one member of the family unit can be extended to its other members, which is extremely significant in terms of reducing the burden of obesity on the public health system", he explains. The family members not only lost weight but also improved the quality of their diet. Effect of the programme on patients The study also analysed the results of the PREDIMED-Plus programme in 117 patients. Compared to participants in the control group, they lost 5.10 kg in the first year of intervention rising to 6.79 kg in the second year. They also significantly increased their physical activity levels, as well as their adherence to the Mediterranean diet.     CBD reduces plaque, improves cognition in model of familial Alzheimer's Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, March 9, 2021 A two-week course of high doses of CBD helps restore the function of two proteins key to reducing the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaque, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, and improves cognition in an experimental model of early onset familial Alzheimer's, investigators report.  The proteins TREM2 and IL-33 are important to the ability of the brain's immune cells to literally consume dead cells and other debris like the beta-amyloid plaque that piles up in patients' brains, and levels of both are decreased in Alzheimer's.  The investigators report for the first time that CBD normalizes levels and function, improving cognition as it also reduces levels of the immune protein IL-6, which is associated with the high inflammation levels found in Alzheimer's, says Dr. Babak Baban, immunologist and associate dean for research in the Dental College of Georgia and the study's corresponding author.  There is a dire need for novel therapies to improve outcomes for patients with this condition, which is considered one of the fastest-growing health threats in the United States, DCG and Medical College of Georgia investigators write in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.  "Right now we have two classes of drugs to treat Alzheimer's," says Dr. John Morgan, neurologist and director of the Movement and Memory Disorder Programs in the MCG Department of Neurology. One class increases levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which also are decreased in Alzheimer's, and another works through the NMDA receptors involved in communication between neurons and important to memory. "But we have nothing that gets to the pathophysiology of the disease," says Morgan, a study coauthor.  The DCG and MCG investigators decided to look at CBD's ability to address some of the key brain systems that go awry in Alzheimer's.  They found CBD appears to normalize levels of IL-33, a protein whose highest expression in humans is normally in the brain, where it helps sound the alarm that there is an invader like the beta-amyloid accumulation. There is emerging evidence of its role as a regulatory protein as well, whose function of either turning up or down the immune response depends on the environment, Baban says. In Alzheimer's, that includes turning down inflammation and trying to restore balance to the immune system, he says. That up and down expression in health and disease could make IL-33 both a good biomarker and treatment target for disease, the investigators say.  CBD also improved expression of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2, or TREM2, which is found on the cell surface where it combines with another protein to transmit signals that activate cells, including immune cells. In the brain, its expression is on the microglial cells, a special population of immune cells found only in the brain where they are key to eliminating invaders like a virus and irrevocably damaged neurons. Low levels of TREM2 and rare variations in TREM2 are associated with Alzheimer's, and in their mouse model TREM2 and IL-33 were both low.  Both are essential to a natural, ongoing housekeeping process in the brain called phagocytosis, in which microglial cells regularly consume beta amyloid, which is regularly produced in the brain, the result of the breakdown of amyloid-beta precursor protein, which is important to the synapses, or connection points, between neurons, and which the plaque interrupts.  They found CBD treatment increased levels of IL-33 and TREM2 -- sevenfold and tenfold respectively.  CBD's impact on brain function in the mouse model of early onset Alzheimer's was assessed by methods like the ability to differentiate between a familiar item and a new one, as well as observing the rodents' movement.  People with Alzheimer's may experience movement problems like stiffness and an impaired gait, says Dr. Hesam Khodadadi, a graduate student working in Baban's lab. Mice with the disease run in an endless tight circle, behavior which stopped with CBD treatment, says Khodadadi, the study's first author.  Next steps include determining optimal doses and giving CBD earlier in the disease process. The compound was given in the late stages for the published study, and now the investigators are using it at the first signs of cognitive decline, Khodadadi says. They also are exploring delivery systems including the use of an inhaler that should help deliver the CBD more directly to the brain. For the published studies, CBD was put into the belly of the mice every other day for two weeks. A company has developed both animal and human inhalers for the investigators who also have been exploring CBD's effect on adult respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, a buildup of fluid in the lungs that is a major and deadly complication of COVID-19, as well as other serious illnesses like sepsis and major trauma. The CBD doses used for the Alzheimer's study were the same the investigators successfully used to reduce the "cytokine storm" of ARDS, which can irrevocably damage the lungs.  Familial disease is an inherited version of Alzheimer's in which symptoms typically surface in the 30s and 40s and occurs in about 10-15% of patients.  CBD should be at least equally effective in the more common, nonfamilial type Alzheimer's, which likely have more targets for CBD, Baban notes. They already are looking at its potential in a model of this more common type and moving forward to establish a clinical trial.  Plaques as well as neurofibrillary tangles, a collection of the protein tau inside neurons, are the main components of Alzheimer's, Morgan says. Beta-amyloid generally appears in the brain 15-20 years or more before dementia, he says, and the appearance of tau tangles, which can occur up to 10 years afterward, correlates with the onset of dementia. There is some interplay between beta amyloid and tau that decrease the dysfunction of each, Morgan notes.  The Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to make a ruling by early June on a new drug aducanumab, which would be the first to attack and help clear beta amyloid, Morgan says.     1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D supports bone marrow stem cell proliferation Cang-zhou Central Hospital (China), March 1, 2021 According to news originating from Hebei, People’s Republic of China, research stated, “Osteoporosis (OP) is a common clinical geriatric disease. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are widely applied in bone engineering. 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25-(OH) 2D) deficiency involves in geriatric disease.” Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Cangzhou Central Hospital, “However, its effects on BMSCs differentiation and osteoporosis have not yet been elucidated. An OVX-induced OP rat model was constructed and treated with 10 mu M 1,25-(OH) 2D followed by analysis of bone mineral density and ALP activity. Rat BMSCs were isolated and divided into control group, OP group, OP rat BMSCs, and VD group (OP rats were injected with 1 mu M 1,25-(OH) 2D) followed by analysis of cell survival by MTT assay, Caspase 3 activity, type I collagen and Osterix expression by Real time PCR, Wnt5 expression by Western blot and TGF-beta secretion by ELISA. The bone density and ALP activity was significantly decreased in OP rats (P < 0.05). 1,25 (OH) 20 injected into OP rats significantly increased bone density and ALP activity (P < 0.05). The survival rate of BMSCs in OP group was significantly decreased and Caspase 3 activity was increased along with downregulated type I collagen and Osterix, TGF-beta secretion and Wnt5 expression (P < 0.05).” According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Adding 1,25-(OH) 2D to BMSCs cells in OP group could significantly reverse the above changes (P < 0.05). 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D promotes BMSCs proliferation by regulating Wnt5/TGF-beta signaling, promotes differentiation into osteogenesis, increases bone density, and then improves osteoporosis.” This research has been peer-reviewed.     High-fat diets can cause normal liver tissue to behave like tumor tissue Flanders Institute of Biotechnology (Belgium), March 10, 2021 Normal, non-cancerous liver tissue can act like tumor tissue when exposed to a diet high in fat, linking diet and obesity to the development of liver cancer. The Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism and Metabolic Regulation headed by Prof. Sarah-Maria Fendt (VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology), shows how the livers of mice on a high-fat diet used glucose in a way similar to aggressive cancer cells. This suggests that when the liver is exposed to excess fat, normal tissue could be primed to become cancerous. The study appeared in the journal Cancer Research. Cancer and obesity With global rates of obesity and liver cancerincreasing each year, understanding how excess fat availability can drive liver cancerdevelopment is important to understand how the disease starts and how it can be treated. To explore this, Prof. Fendt and her team tested the metabolic changes in liver tissue from mice fed a high-fat diet at an early time point when no tumors were present, and late time point when tumors had formed. They found that before there were any clues that cancer was developing, the liver tissue used glucose the same way that tumors would. This high use of glucose is one of the well-known hallmarks of cancer and is known as the Warburg effect. After finding these early changes to liver tissue, they investigated what happens when tumors have fully formed. One way they measured this was to test sensitivity to glucose, which is usually cleared away quickly by the body but is impaired in obesity-induced diabetic animals. Prof. Fendt describes what they found: "Strikingly, mice fed a high-fat diet who had a large tumor burden could remove glucose from their blood as easily as healthy mice despite being diabetic. Using state-of-the-art 13C6-glucose tracing technology, we could observe how glucose molecules are used in cells and tissues, and we found that that tumor tissue breaks down glucose in a consistent way, regardless of whether the mice were fed high-fat or normal diets." Alternative pathways These findings suggest that when cancer cells develop from normal liver cells, their metabolism consistently increases glucose use. Since a high-fat diet causes these changes before cancer is present, this may mean that—in a high-fat diet—non-cancer liver tissue could be more likely to become cancerous. The team also looked into deeper mechanisms for this effect. Dr. Lindsay Broadfield, one of the lead authors of the study, says: "We discovered that, before any cancer development, liver tissue exposed to high fat seemed to use an alternative pathway for fat breakdown in a cellular compartment called the peroxisome. Using cancer liver cells, we then confirmed that peroxisome metabolism increased cellular stress and glucose uptake." Fat can be used by cells in several ways—for energy, to stimulate growth pathways, or to be stored for later use. The scientists used the Lipometrix lipidomics platform at KU Leuven to see if there was anything unique about the fate of fat in tumor cells and found that the fat species and content in tumor cells were indeed different from non-cancerous liver tissue close to the tumors.     For teens, outdoor recreation during the pandemic linked to improved well-being North Carolina State University, March 9, 2021 A study from North Carolina State University found outdoor play and nature-based activities helped buffer some of the negative mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for adolescents.  Researchers said the findings, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, point to outdoor play and nature-based activities as a tool to help teenagers cope with major stressors like the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as future natural disasters and other global stressors. Researchers also underscore the mental health implications of restricting outdoor recreation opportunities for adolescents, and the need to increase access to the outdoors. "Families should be encouraged that building patterns in outdoor recreation can give kids tools to weather the storms to come," said Kathryn Stevenson, a study co-author and assistant professor of parks, recreation and tourism management at NC State. "Things happen in life, and getting kids outside regularly is an easy way to build some mental resilience." In the survey, conducted from April 30 to June 15, 2020, researchers asked 624 adolescents between the ages of 10 to 18 years to report their participation in outdoor recreation both before the pandemic and after social distancing measures were in effect across the United States. They also asked adolescents about their subjective well-being, a measure of happiness, and mental health. The findings revealed the pandemic had an impact on the well-being of many teens in the survey, with nearly 52 percent of adolescents reporting declines in subjective well-being. They also saw declines in teens' ability to get outside, with 64 percent of adolescents reporting their outdoor activity participation fell during the early months of the pandemic. Despite these declines in outdoor activity participation, nearly 77 percent of teens surveyed believed that spending time outside helped them deal with stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. "We know that a lot of outdoor activities that kids engage in happen during school, in youth sports leagues or clubs, and those things got put on hold during the pandemic," said the study's lead author Brent Jackson, a graduate student in the Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology Program at NC State. "Based on our study, they were getting outside less - we think not being in school and having those activities really contributed to that." When they broke down recreation by type, they saw participation in outdoor play activities such as sports, biking, going for walks, runs or skating declined by 41.6 percent, nature-based activities such as camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, and paddling dropped by 39.7 percent, and outdoor family activities declined by 28.6 percent. In those early months of the pandemic, about 60 percent of teens said they were able to get outside once a week or less. "We saw declines in all three types of outdoor recreation participation," Jackson said. "Nature-based activities had the lowest participation before and during the pandemic, which may point to the need for more access to natural spaces in general." Results showed that well-being and outdoor recreation trends were linked, and the negative trends they saw during the pandemic for well-being and participation in outdoor recreation were seen regardless of teens' race, gender, age, income community type or geographic region. Kids who did not get outside as much saw declines in well-being, but those who got outside both before and during the pandemic were able to maintain higher levels of well-being.  "This tells us that outdoor recreation can promote well-being for kids when it happens, and can potentially take away from well-being when it doesn't," Stevenson said. Teens who had high rates of outdoor play before the pandemic were more resistant to negative changes in social well-being. Those who got outside frequently before the pandemic were more likely to experience a lesser decline in well-being, regardless of participation during the pandemic. And, for teens who were able to play outside or get involved in nature-based activities during the pandemic, their well-being was on par with pre-pandemic levels. "Kids who were able to continue participating in outdoor play and nature-based activities had subjective well-being levels that were similar to what they were before the pandemic, but kids who weren't able to participate saw much greater declines," Jackson said. The study's findings also point to strategies to help kids navigate future global stressor events, as well as the importance of ensuring access to outdoor recreation. They help define the risks associated with policies that reduce kids' ability get outside. "Going outside and participating in activities that provide exposure to nature, physical activity and safe social interaction during the pandemic were really powerful in terms of improving kids' resilience," Jackson said.     Study finds two servings of fish per week can help prevent recurrent heart disease McMaster University (Ontario), March 8, 2021 An analysis of several large studies involving participants from more than 60 countries, spearheaded by researchers from McMaster University, has found that eating oily fish regularly can help prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) in high-risk individuals, such as those who already have heart disease or stroke. The critical ingredient is omega-3 fatty acids, which researchers found was associated with a lower risk of major CVD events such as heart attacks and strokes by about a sixth in high-risk people who ate two servings of fish rich in omega-3 each week. "There is a significant protective benefit of fish consumption in people with cardiovascular disease," said lead co-author Andrew Mente, associate professor of research methods, evidence, and impact at McMaster and a principal investigator at the Population Health Research Institute.  No benefit was observed with consumption of fish in those without heart disease or stroke. "This study has important implications for guidelines on fish intake globally. It indicates that increasing fish consumption and particularly oily fish in vascular patients may produce a modest cardiovascular benefit."  Mente said people at low risk for cardiovascular disease can still enjoy modest protection from CVD by eating fish rich in omega-3, but the health benefits were less pronounced than those high-risk individuals.  The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine on March 8.  The findings were based on data from nearly 192,000 people in four studies, including about 52,000 with CVD, and is the only study conducted on all five continents. Previous studies focused mainly on North America, Europe, China and Japan, with little information from other regions. "This is by far the most diverse study of fish intake and health outcomes in the world and the only one with sufficient numbers with representation from high, middle and low income countries from all inhabited continents of the world," said study co-lead Dr. Salim Yusuf, professor of medicine at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and executive director of the PHRI.  This analysis is based in data from several studies conducted by the PHRI over the last 25 years. These studies were funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, several different pharmaceutical companies, charities, the Population Health Research Institute and the Hamilton Health Sciences Research Institute.     COVID-19 or something else? Learn how COVID-19 symptoms compare to other illnesses, and when you should call the doctor. Harvard University, March 10, 2021   Before 2020, you might not have worried much about a tickle in your throat or a little tightness in your chest. But that's changed. Now even slight signs of a respiratory bug might make you wonder if it's the start of COVID-19, the illness that has become a pandemic. How do you distinguish one illness from another? It's complicated. "Many of the symptoms overlap. For example, it's very hard for me clinically, as a physician, to be able to look at someone and say it's COVID-19 or it's influenza," says Dr. Ashish Jha, former director of the Harvard Global Health Institute and now dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. Don't jump to conclusions if you start to feel sick. Learn the hallmarks of common illnesses and how they differ from COVID-19, so you can take the appropriate action. COVID-19 COVID-19 is an extremely contagious respiratory illness caused by a type of virus (a coronavirus) called SARS-CoV-2. It's a cousin of the common cold, but its potential consequences are far more serious: hospitalization, lasting complications, and death. Hallmarks: Loss of taste and smell (in the absence of nasal congestion), fever, cough, shortness of breath, and muscle aches. Other potential symptoms: Sore throat, diarrhea, congestion, runny nose, chills, shivering, headache, fatigue, and loss of appetite. Note: Some infected people don't have any symptoms of COVID-19, but they're still contagious. Influenza Influenza (flu) is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by the influenza A, B, or C virus. The U.S. flu season typically lasts from October to March, but flu is present year-round. Hallmarks: Fever, muscle aches, and cough. Other potential symptoms: Sore throat, diarrhea, congestion, runny nose, chills, shivering, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite. Different from COVID-19: Flu usually does not cause shortness of breath. Common cold The common cold (viral rhinitis) is an upper respiratory infection that can be caused by any of hundreds of different viruses (including coronaviruses or rhinoviruses). It's usually mild and resolves within a week. Hallmarks: Congestion, runny nose, cough, and sore throat. Other potential symptoms: Fever, muscle aches, and fatigue. Different from COVID-19: A cold does not cause shortness of breath, body aches, chills, or loss of appetite, and it usually doesn't cause fever. Seasonal allergies A seasonal allergy isn't a virus; it's caused when the immune system responds to a harmless non-human substance, like tree pollen, as if it were a dangerous threat. Allergies are typically seasonal, lasting for weeks or months, depending on the allergen in the air (mold is the common allergen in the fall and winter). Hallmarks: Runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing, congestion. Other potential symptoms: Loss of smell from congestion. Different from COVID-19: Allergies do not cause fevers, coughing, shortness of breath, muscle aches, sore throat, diarrhea, chills, headaches, fatigue, or loss of appetite. Asthma Asthma is a chronic lung condition caused by inflammation in the air passages. Airways narrow and make it harder to breathe, which can cause concern that it might be COVID-19. "Asthma can be triggered by a cold or influenza, but it's a separate condition," Dr. Jha says. Hallmarks: Wheezing (a whistling sound as air is forcibly expelled), difficulty breathing, chest tightness, and a persistent cough. Other potential symptoms: A severe asthma attack can cause sudden, extreme shortness of breath; chest tightness; a rapid pulse; sweating; and bluish discoloration of the lips and fingernails. Different from COVID-19: Asthma does not cause a fever, muscle aches, sore throat, diarrhea, congestion, loss of taste or smell, runny nose, chills, shivering, headache, fatigue, or loss of appetite.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a rise to many Canadians' cannabis use but even if the pandemic comes to an end, will there be lingering effects for users? Guest: Dr. James MacKillop, Peter Boris Chair in Addictions Research; Director, Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton; Co-Director, Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research, McMaster University; Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University - One of the richest men in the world has disappeared. Jack Ma, co-founder of tech giant Alibaba Group, has not been seen publicly in 2 month following some criticism of the Chinese government and its banking system. Is this a case of the Chinese government kidnapping a Chinese citizen for speaking out against it? Guest: Dr. Charles Burton, Senior Fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute; former Counsellor, Canadian Embassy to China - The World Junior Championship  is something many hockey fans make sure they watch each year and this year is no different... all things considered. Don Robertson joins Scott to talk all about the tournament, Blue Jays' off-season plans and more. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Mohan Cooray is a specialist in internal medicine, gastroenterology, hepatology, and advanced endoscopy. After graduating from the University of Toronto's Life Sciences program with the highest distinction, he was accepted into the prestigious Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University and was recognized for his achievements with the Outstanding Gastroenterology Resident Award in 2015. Dr. Cooray was quickly recruited for a highly coveted position at the Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto, where he worked with patients undergoing treatment for digestive diseases. Internists are doctor's doctors; they are all about the evidence. And Dr. Cooray did not start out believing cannabis was a reasonable treatment for his patients. What changed his mind so much he helped found a company, Cannalogue, that aims to get cannabis and cannabis education out to medical patients? You gotta listen! Music by: Leo Moracchioli Covers Hello by Adele - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtQUJMBH8uE (Yes we got a SOCAN membership to use this song all legal and proper like) Additional Music: Desiree Dorion www.desireedorion.com/ Marc Clement http://marcclementmusic.com/ Links: Cannalogue - https://cannalogue.ca/

Patients commonly present with acute pain secondary to an acute injury, and there are dozens of potential options for addressing their pain. Most trials explore the effectiveness of a treatment option versus placebo or sham therapy, which complicates assessment of comparative effectiveness among competing therapies. We will discuss the role of network meta-analyses to inform comparative effectiveness, despite limited evidence from head-to-head trials.Insights:An evolving approach for informing comparative effectiveness of competing interventionsOptimizing interpretation of effect estimatesConsideration of net benefit (benefits and harms)Advantages of a partially contextualized approach to interpreting network estimates vs. surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA)KeynoteJason Busse DC, PhDAssociate ProfessorAssociate Director, Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis ResearchAnesthesia & Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact

Dr. Edwards is a psychiatrist focused on treating mental illness and psychological struggles in elite and high-performance athletes. She has offices in Guelph and Burlington, ON, and uses an online platform to support athletes wherever they are in the world. She was a decorated varsity volleyball player while she completed her undergraduate and Master's degrees in Chemistry at Mount Allison University. She completed medical school at Memorial University of Newfoundland and psychiatry residency at McMaster University. Dr. Edwards is the Clinical Education Coordinator of the Waterloo Regional Campus at McMaster's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. She has spent time throughout her career focused on emergency psychiatry and crisis stabilization, outpatient child and adolescent psychiatry and athletes of all ages. Show notes available at northernexposurepodcast.ca

Jason Busse DC, PhD Associate ProfessorAssociate Director, Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis ResearchAnesthesia & Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact

“Only by speaking out can we create lasting change” On this week’s BJSM podcast, Prof Margo Mountjoy (T:@margomountjoy) joins BJSM’s Daniel Friedman (T:@ddfriedman) to discuss harassment and abuse in sport. Prof Mountjoy is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University Medical School and Regional Assistant Dean of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University. She is also a clinician scientist – sports medicine physician practicing at the Health + Performance Centre at the University of Guelph, as the Clinical + Academic Director. Prof Mountjoy works for several International Sports organizations in the field of sports medicine including the International Olympic Committee (Games Group), the International Federation for aquatics (FINA), the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations and for the World Anti-Doping Agency. In this episode, Prof Mountjoy discusses: · The Larry Nassar case · Sexual abuse in sport · MeToo movement’s impact on sport · Types of abuse and harassment and the impact on the athlete vs organisation · The Olympic Athlete Welfare Programme · Tips for clinicians to help prevent abuse and harassment in sport Mentioned in this podcast: Mountjoy M ‘Only by speaking out can we create lasting change’: what can we learn from the Dr Larry Nassar tragedy? British Journal of Sports Medicine 2019;53:57-60. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/53/1/57 The Larry Nasser Tragey – BMJ https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2018/03/29/margo-mountjoy-on-the-larry-nassar-tragedy-never-again/ Reardon CL, Hainline B, Aron CM, et al Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement (2019) British Journal of Sports Medicine 2019;53:667-699. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/53/11/667 Safeguarding athletes from harassment and abuse in sport IOC toolkit https://www.iwf.net/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2018/10/IOC_Safeguarding_Toolkit_ENG.pdf You can find two of Professor Mountjoy’s previous podcasts here: Relative energy deficiency syndrome (RED-S): http://ow.ly/VCZK50v2A7f Psychological abuse in sport (2017) http://ow.ly/ljJt50v2Amt (Harrassment, abuse, bullying)

Antibiotic resistance is an increasingly serious problem - threatening to alter modern medicine as we know it. It's an area of research that has captured Gerry Wright's attention for over two decades. As the director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University, Wright and his team have made some exciting progress in identifying where resistant genes come from and how to beat them. Transcript: This podcast is brought to you by the Canada Foundation for Innovation. Imagine cancer chemotherapy without being able to control infection. Imagine open heart surgery. Organ transplantation. Saving premature babies. All of this stuff is based on our ability to control infection and without antibiotics, all those wonderful things we've come to expect from medicine evaporate. My name is Gerry Wright, I'm the director of the Michael G. de Groote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University. Antibiotic resistance has been called an apocalyptic scenario by a number of public health leaders around the world. It's taking us back to what it was like before 1940 when the major reason people died was because of infection. Now your chances of dying of infection or about three percent whereas in say 1930 it was almost sixty percent so the reason for that is antibiotics and vaccines and all the wonderful things that control infection and we're at risk of losing that. In our lab we are investigating how to overcome antibiotic resistance so that includes finding out what the enemy is an then see what we can do in terms of being able to discover new drugs or new approaches to killing resistant bacteria. Resistance is spreading like wildfire across the the planet because of modern transportation because of all of these interventions that we're doing in hospitals and as a result we have a really significant problem. One of the biggest issues that we face is that we're not considering in terms of evolution. We think it's sort of a stochastic event but this is entirely predictable process and it's been going on for millennia. So we really need to rethink how we look at a microbes and think about them in terms of their evolutionary history. And then we'll start to be able to rationalize why antibiotic resistance is such a significant problem and maybe even get ahead of it instead of trying to react to it. We're very interested in thinking about antibiotic resistance on a global level and not just in pathogenic bacteria, disease causing bacteria but rather where do these resistance genes come from in the first place and what we found for example is that environmental bacteria that don't cause disease are actually large reservoirs of resistance genes. Probably the origins of antibiotic resistance and so these genes move throughout bacterial populations horizontally so from one organism to another they share DNA so bacteria are notoriously promiscuous having sex with each other all the time and as a result they share these these genes and we're trying to understand these mechanisms in order to use that against these organisms to solve this problem. We reported in, "Nature" a molecule that blocks one of the most important antibiotic resistance elements out there right now and that rescues antibiotic activity. That was a big day in the lab when we were actually able to give a mouse an infection with a lethal dose of of drug resistant organisms, add the antibiotic and add this compound and when this compound, this inhibitor of resistance is added the mice live so that was the big eureka sort of moment that we were really onto something hot... And so we're actually in the early stages of sort of a real drug discovery process where we're doing things that I never thought we would be able to do because we have this really this really hot molecule. So that's incredibly exciting and time will tell whether or not will actually be a drug that we can use for people but it's the closest I've come in the last twenty five years of dreaming about something like this. It's a pretty exciting feeling to go back and look at where we started and where we are now. It really shows that you can stay in Canada and get things done. This podcast is brought to you by the Canada Foundation for Innovation. If you're a researcher looking for funding opportunities click here. If you're a business looking for research facilities that can help you succeed click here.            

Antibiotic resistance is an increasingly serious problem - threatening to alter modern medicine as we know it. It's an area of research that has captured Gerry Wright's attention for over two decades. As the director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University, Wright and his team have made some exciting progress in identifying where resistant genes come from and how to beat them.

The new Canadian guideline presents evidence-based recommendations for prescribing of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain, including maximum dose recommendations, avoiding opioids in high risk populations, and guidance for tapering patients receiving high doses. Dr. Jason Busse, Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesia at McMaster University and researcher with the Michael G. DeGroote National Pain Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, co-authored the guideline. In this podcast, he speaks with Dr. Diane Kelsall, interim editor-in-chief, CMAJ, and explains the recommendations. Full guideline (open access): www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.170363 ----------------------------------- Subscribe to CMAJ Podcasts on iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, Instacast, or your favourite aggregator. You can also follow us directly on our SoundCloud page. Our podcasts are also released on www.cmaj.ca and on www.cmajblogs.com.

On behalf of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Margo Mountjoy on psychological injury and abuse in sport LIVE from the IOC World Conference in Monaco. Dr. Mountjoy is a member of the IOC medical commission, FINA executive board member, and associate clinical professor at McMaster University. She explores the various types of harassment, how it can occur, and what safeguards can be put in place to help athletes report abuse. In this episode, we discuss: -What form does psychological abuse and injury take in the world of sports? -How psychological abuse persists with the use of social media for the millennial generation -How competitive sport culture can enable abuse -The role healthcare professionals can play in preventing abuse -Signs and symptoms of psychological and sexual abuse -And so much more!   One of the key risks for psychological injury and abuse to occur is when “there is a differential in power relationships.” The differential of power could be due to differences in a variety of factors including age, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or athletic ability which leads to the harassment and abuse.   The advent of social media has led to more persistent forms of abuse which are carried off the field and into everyday life. With social media, there is no physical escape from the abuse and Dr. Mountjoy believes, “There is always someone that is ready to criticize.”   Psychological injury and abuse in sport is not unique to any one sport or region and global resources are available through Dr. Mountjoy’s research and the IOC to help combat this problem. In our roles as coach, support team or therapist, Dr. Mountjoy stresses, “Each and every one of us in sport has the ability to stop this. But not only the ability, we have the responsibility.”   One of the challenges of helping athletes is that, “Most athletes do not talk about their abuse while they are in sport because the process of abuse often silences the athlete. We see time and time again that we learn about harassment and abuse after they have retired.” However, healthcare providers have unique opportunities to engage athletes as impartial healers and provide support both physically and mentally.   For more information on Dr. Mountjoy: Margo received her medical education and her family medicine training at McMaster University, Canada and her sports medicine specialty degree in Ottawa, Canada. Margo has worked as a community sports medicine physician in the Health & Performance Centre at the University of Guelph since 1988 where she has focused her practice on promoting elite athlete care and physical activity promotion in the general population. In addition, Margo has acted as the national team physician for Synchro Canada for 20 years as well as for the National Endurance Training Centre Athletes (middle and long distance track athletes) and the National Triathlon & Wrestling team training centres.   Margo is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Family Medicine in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Canada where she teaches sports medicine and is the Director of Student & Resident Affairs.   Margo is a member of the FINA Executive Board and holds the portfolio of Sports Medicine. She is also the Chair of the ASOIF Medical Consultative Group and a member of the IOC Medical Commission Games Group. Margo sits on the TUE committees of the IOC, WADA and CCES as well as the USADA and World Rugby Anti-doping Review Boards. Margo’s areas of research focus on elite athlete health and safety.   Resources discussed on this show: BJSM Website BJSM Podcast IOC consensus statement on non-accidental violence in sport Margo Mountjoy Twitter Margo Mountjoy Publications   Thanks for listening and subscribing to the podcast! Make sure to connect with me on twitter, instagram and facebook to stay updated on all of the latest! Show your support for the show by leaving a rating and review on iTunes!   Have a great week and stay Healthy Wealthy and Smart!   Xo Karen   P.S. Do you want to be a stand out podcast guest? Make sure to grab the tools from the FREE eBook on the home page! Check out my blog post on the Top 10 Podcast Episodes of 2016!

Coming up on Biotechnology Focus Radio: The launch of a new Canadian Regenerative Medicine Alliance, Canada’s House of Commons passes the Genetic Discrimination Act Bill S-201, and a One-Two Punch that May Floor the Worst Infections by stopping antibiotic drug resistance. Welcome to another episode of Biotechnology Focus Radio. I’m your host Shawn Lawrence, here to give you a rundown of this week’s top stories on the Canadian biotech scene. Our first story this week takes us to Toronto, where Antibe Therapeutics Inc. reports it has signed an exclusive licensing and distribution agreement with a pharmaceutical company, Laboratories Acbel SA (Acbel), for its lead product ATB-346. ATB-346 is an anti-inflammatory drug, designed to spare the gastrointestinal tract of the ulcers and bleeding normally associated with NSAIDs. The agreement covers distribution in Greece, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Algeria and Jordan. Antibe will receive an upfront, non-dilutive payment of $1.1 million, and is entitled to receive a 5 per cent royalty on net sales of ATB-346 in these countries. The agreement has a 30-year term with contemplated renewals thereafter. Acbel, through its affiliates and partners, is the largest seller of naproxen in this region, which represents approximately one per cent of the global market for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The global market for NSAIDs is in excess of US$12 billion (Evaluate Pharma). In a recent Phase 2 clinical trial, ATB-346 was found to be highly effective in reducing the pain associated with osteoarthritis of the knee. Antibe says it will now initiate two larger Phase 2 double-blind trials: a placebo-controlled dose-ranging study to determine the go-to-market dose, and an active comparator trial to demonstrate superior GI safety. Antibe also has two other therapeutic candidates in development: ATB-352 and ATB-340. ATB-352 is a non-addictive analgesic for treating severe acute pain and ATB-340 is a GI-safe derivative of aspirin. Antibe intends to leverage data across its programs to secure licensing agreements whenever possible. In regulatory news Canada’s House of Commons has passed Bill S-201 (An Act to Prohibit and Prevent Genetic Discrimination in Canada), as it was presented, by the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Wednesday March 8, 2017. According to Bev Heim-Myers, chair of the Coalition for Genetic Fairness and CEO of the Huntington Society of Canada (HSC), while the Bill will still have to go to the Senate, all indications point to it being fully supported. Heim-Myers adds that Canada has finally caught up to other western jurisdictions in regards to protection of genetic information and Canadian legislation has caught up to science. Since the Genome Project was launched in the early 1990s, Canada had been the only G7 country that had not taken steps to prevent genetic discrimination. With this decision, this changes. Qu Biologics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing Site Specific Immunomodulators (SSIs) that aim to “reboot” the body’s innate immune system, has reported positive genetic analyses of their recently completed Phase 2 clinical studies in Crohn’s Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC). These findings suggest that, for the first time in the field of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), personalized medicine and the application of genetic testing may identify patients highly likely to respond and go into remission with treatment. The analyses identified common IBD-related genotypes with a high likelihood of response to SSI, suggesting that genetic testing may identify a large subset of CD patients (representing approximately 60% of the CD population) with a greater than 80% likelihood of responding to QBECO treatment, the large majority of which achieved remission on SSI treatment. Dr. Hal Gunn, CEO of Qu Biologics, stated, “We are very excited about the possibility of identifying CD and UC patients highly likely to respond to SSI treatment, which would substantially de-risk future trials and be an important advance for patients who currently face the uncertainty of knowing whether current immunosuppressive IBD treatments, which can be associated with significant side effects, will work for them or not.” Dr. Shirin Kalyan, Qu’s Director of Scientific Innovation, added, “Unlike current IBD treatments that suppress immune function, we believe that SSIs, which restore innate immune function, treat the underlying cause of IBD. Consequently, unlike other treatments, we were able to identify IBD-related genotypes highly responsive to SSI therapy. It is exciting that the genotypes correlated with SSI response are highly relevant to SSIs’ mechanism of action.” Based on the promising results of Qu Biologics’ recently completed Phase 2 study in CD, a follow-on Phase 2 study in moderate to severe CD is planned to confirm these findings. Study initiation is anticipated in late 2017. If the genetic analysis results are confirmed in follow-on studies, Qu Biologics’ QBECO SSI has the potential to become first-line therapy for a majority of IBD patients. In funding news, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) is providing TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario with up to $1.32 million to deliver on a new incubation program, called BURST, which will provide 30 innovative technology entrepreneurs in southwestern Ontario with mentoring and business guidance, seed funding, exposure to potential investors and access to a dedicated working space in Western University's Discovery Park. As entrepreneurs establish and grow their businesses with help from this program, it is expected that up to 45 new full-time jobs will be created. Building on London's history of innovation in health sciences, a unique partnership with the London Medical Network will also be established to help eligible medical technology companies receive funding. The announcement was made on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario. In Hamilton, ON, McMaster University researchers say they have found a new way to treat the world’s worst infectious diseases, the superbugs that are resistant to all known antibiotics. The McMaster team published their findings in the journal Nature Microbiology last week. Eric Brown, senior author of the paper, a professor of biochemistry and biomedical science at McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and a scientist of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for infectious Disease Research says his team looked for compounds that would mess with these antibiotic resistant bacteria, focusing on Gram-negative bacteria which are resistant to all antibiotics including last resort drugs, such as colistin, and lead to pneumonia, wound or surgical site and bloodstream infections, as well as meningitis in healthcare settings. Brown explains that Gram-negative bacteria have an intrinsically impenetrable outer shell that is a barrier to many otherwise effective antibiotics, and this makes these infections deadly, particularly in hospital settings. His team tested a collection of 1,440 off-patent drugs in search of one that might compromise that barrier in the superbugs. “These pathogens are really hard nuts to crack, but we found a molecule that shreds that shell and allows antibiotics to enter and be effective,” Brown said. The scientists discovered the antiprotozoal drug pentamidine disrupts the cell surface of Gram-negative bacteria, even the most resistant. The anti-fungal medication was particularly potent when used with antibiotics against multidrug resistant bacteria. Moreover, Pentamidine, when used with other antibiotics, was found to be particularly effective against two of the three pathogens which the WHO has identified as having the most critical priority for development of new antibiotics. Those were Acinetobacter baumannii and the enterobacteriaceae. The combo therapy also had some impact on the third most critical bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa according to Brown. Brown continued saying These discoveries were found to be effective in the lab and in mice, but more work is needed to offset potential side effects and ensure human safety. Brown adds that his lab is continuing to test more compounds as well. “One of the things we want to pursue further is why this is working so well,” he said. The study was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Cystic Fibrosis Canada, among others. http://bit.ly/2m3hZq2   In our final story , a group of Canadian Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Leaders have announced that they are Joining Forces to Advance Canada’s Position in the Field, with the launch late last week of a new national group called the Regenerative Medicine Alliance of Canada. The founding members include: CCRM; The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD); CellCan; Medicine by Design; Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine; ThéCell; Canadian Stem Cell Foundation, and Stem Cell Network. The goal of this new Regenerative Medicine Alliance of Canada or (RMAC) will be to advance Canada’s stem cell science and regenerative medicine sector by aligning national activity in the field. Its members say they plan to work collaboratively to share information and identify strategies that will benefit the growth of Canada’s regenerative medice expertise. The initial concept for this alliance was conceived by members of the regenerative medicine community during a workshop on the state of regenerative medicine in Canada. The workshop was held by the Council of Canadian Academies in 2016. Their newly released report notes the importance of strategic coordination amongst the stem cell and regenerative medicine community. Bolstering and aligning programs, training, policy and communication will also be central themes addressed by RMAC. According to the Alliance, With the global market for regenerative medicine iexpected to exceed US$49 billion by 2021, the need to keep Canada well positioned to compete by moving its innovative treatments and therapies out of the lab and into the clinic has never been greater. Countries around the world, including the U.S., Japan and the U.K., have already taken bold steps through investment and regulatory modernization to capture a significant piece of the market. RMAC will serve as a mechanism to support strategic activity across the regenerative medicine sector in Canada. The RMAC will act voluntary organization comprised of national, provincial and regional organizations. All members have mandates relevant to stem cell research and/or regenerative medicine. Well that wraps up another episode of the Biotechnology Focus Podcast. We hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to let us know what you think, and we’re also always looking for story ideas and suggestions for future shows, and of course we’d love to hear from you as well, simply reach out to us via twitter @biotechfocus, or by email at the following email address press@promotivemedia.ca. And

I can still recall the time, at the ripe and impressionable age of 13, I pulled my first-ever all-nighter with my older cousin to beat Diddy Kong Racing on his Nintendo 64. No, it wasn’t the greatest game ever made for the N64 (though I’ll still argue that it was criminally underrated), but it didn’t need to be. The thrill resided in simply staying up all night, hanging with my older cousin, and finally beating Wizpig as the sun was coming up. Fortunately for me, relatively strict parenting and a knack for socializing prevented these all-nighters from becoming a regular occurrence (I will admit that later on in college I had a couple more restless nights when Skyrim was released). But still, some diehard gamers go down into this sleepless rabbit hole of video game addiction and are unable to pull themselves out. Now, we all probably have our stories about staying up late on a school night to beat that last mission, but for some, this has led to an unhealthy and potentially dangerous lifestyle. A new study conducted by the Hamilton, Ontario-based McMaster University took an in-depth look at how video game addiction is a proponent of sleep deprivation, which in and of itself can bring about a number of health-related issues. The research, which was recently published in the academic journal PLOS One, was pioneered by Dr. Katherine Morrison, an associative professor at McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. The case study, which was a collaborative effort by researchers from both McMaster and California State University, Fullerton, featured data analyzed from a group of 94 children and teens between the ages of 10 to 17. These young subjects all played video games and were enrolled in lifestyle management programs for either obesity or lipid disorders. The focus of the study was to research the extent that the video game habits of the group had impacted their sleep habits, obesity risks, and cardio-metabolic health. The research team used fitness trackers to monitor the sleep habits of the participants, which was then compared to their video game usage. What the research showed, unfortunately and— in my opinion— unsurprisingly, was that video game addiction habits did indeed result in a shorter amount sleep, which in turn increased chances of having elevated blood pressure, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high triglycerides, and high insulin resistance. Still, as Dr. Morrison acknowledges, this sample set of kids was both specific and quite small, it’s uncertain how these numbers would relate to the general population. But that didn’t prevent Dr. Morrison from finding strong evidence in her research. “That said, we were amazed that amongst gamers, video game addiction scores explained one-third of the differences in sleep duration,” Dr. Morrison said. “Sleep is emerging as a critical behavior for cardio-metabolic health, and this data shows that gaming addictions can cause numerous health issues in at least a segment of the population.” The research team plans to expand their study further, looking to study the effects of video game addiction in more general populations, while also analyzing video game usage and addiction tendencies of gamers over a longer period of time. But what can we, as gamers, do to prevent ourselves, our friends, and our family from falling into the rabbit hole of addiction? As someone with quite the addictive personality, I can sympathize with those who have fully replaced a bulk of their sleep schedule with gaming, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a viable lifestyle alternative. According to Dr. Morrison, those avid and sleepless gamers who are dealing with obesity or some type of lipid disorder should take part in some type of intervention, for their cardio-metabolic health is vital to their long-term well-being. It’s something that some of us, as major video game advocates, hate to admit or deal with as a real issue. Although Dr. Morrison’s study does cast gaming under a relatively negative light, I think it’s important to note that addiction comes in all types of forms, and indulging too much in anything will lead to negative side effects. So, next time I power up my PS4 to get my Phantom Pain on, I’ll try and keep the words my Grandfather has said to me so much, that it’s basically become his motto at this point. “Everything in moderation my boy, everything in moderation.” FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://equityarcade.com/2016/05/14/study-on-video-game-addiction-hints-at-harmful-and-sleepless-consequences/