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British
Columbia
Tricky docs knock
out cravings
VANCOUVER —
A team of Canadian researchers led by Dr Yu Tian Wang
have found a way to help reduce cravings in drug-addicted
rats. In addiction, glutamate receptors are lost from
the cell surface, leading to problems in communication
between brain cells. So the research team skillfully
created a protein that mimics part of this receptor,
tricking the brain into behaving normally. The group
is hopeful the discovery will lead to new therapies
to treat addiction and relapse as well as compulsive
behaviours associated with schizophrenia. LD
More
spots for foreign doctors
VANCOUVER —
BC continues to be the top destination for province-jumping
physicians, leading Ontario and Alberta by a significant
margin. Yet despite doctor shortages, the province had
a paltry six residence spaces available for foreign
doctors. That will soon change. "We're tripling the
number of spaces from six to 18," Health Minister George
Abbott announced to an audience of medical professionals
and journalists. Dr Rod Andrew, who directs the province's
only training program for international doctors at Vancouver's
St Paul's Hospital, told the CBC that the increase in
spaces is a first step, and that it's only a matter
of time before more spots become available. LD
Alberta
Breathing easier
with the gift of life
EDMONTON —
Two brave Edmonton sons have given their mother a very
generous early Christmas gift: half of each of their
lungs. Fifty-one year old Brenda Kinnear has pulmonary
fibrosis, a debilitating disease that destroys the lung's
ability to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream. "They
can just suddenly have a cold or whatever, and the next
day, they pass away," U of A cardiothoracic surgeon
Dr John Mullen told the CBC. Ms Kinnear's only hope
of survival was a lung transplant — until her sons
generously decided to return her gift of life. Edmonton
is the only place in Canada that offers the extremely
complex surgery. It's been successfully performed four
times to date. GE
Saskatchewan
Midwives to join
health teams
REGINA —
Midwives have had an important place in the medical
history of all cultures, but they have become scarce
in Canada in recent years while demand for their services
has swelled. In an effort to attract more people to
the profession, Saskatchewan Health Minister John Nilson
has taken the bold step of creating salaried positions
to integrate midwives into the healthcare team. The
province is modeling the system on information gathered
from Manitoba and Ontario, which has the highest number
of midwives in the country. The initial investment of
roughly $1 million will fund a team of four working
out of an urban clinic. TJ
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Hot
Spot
Manitoba
MRIs spur private
care standoff
WINNIPEG —
Dr Mark Godley, head of the Maples Surgical Centre of
Winnipeg, wants to offer patients MRI scans within 48
hours for $695 a pop. NDP Health Minister Tim Sale initially
deferred his decision on the move to the feds, but has
now decreed the clinic would be breaching the Canada
Health Act by charging patients for medically necessary
tests. Though private MRIs are already operating in
Quebec, Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Alberta, Mr
Sale told the Canadian Press the clinic could be fined
up to $5,000 for disregarding the Act. "We're going
to offer MRIs to people who need MRIs," countered Dr
Godley. "We'll provide care, and if it has to go to
court, it will go to court." HA
Ontario
Beware of bean sprouts
KINGSTON —
Fifteen Kingston residents, mostly students at
Queen's University, developed salmonella poisoning last
week after consuming bean sprouts. Canadian Food Inspection
Agency officials met with federal and Ontario health
officials to decide whether to issue a province-wide
recall of the popular sprouts, which are often eaten
raw. "Salmonella is the second most common bacterial
cause of infectious diarrhea in North America and particularly
in Ontario," Dr Andrew Seymour, of Sunnybrook and Women's
College Health Sciences Centre, told the Globe and
Mail. Health officials are linking the recent victims
to the more than 200 salmonella cases that have occurred
in Ontario during the last two months. JJM
Let's
talk about healthcare
TORONTO —
OMA president Dr Greg Flynn says Canadians and
Ontarians alike are growing weary of political rhetoric
concerning healthcare, including fear mongering about
the destruction of our universal healthcare system in
favour of a US model. Dr Flynn says the Canadian model
isn't delivering as well as parallel systems like those
in Britain or France, with whom we share common values
in terms of healthcare. "We need to consider in an unemotional
way what works elsewhere. This should be about what
works, not what used to work," he told the Canadian
Press.
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