Alberta Becomes Second Province to Implement Biosimilar Switching Initiative
TORONTO, Dec. 12, 2019 /CNW/ - Biosimilars Canada, a national association representing Canada's biosimilar medicines industry, today congratulated the Government of Alberta for becoming the second province in Canada to implement a biosimilar "switching" or transitioning program.
Biosimilars are therapeutically equivalent to originator biologic drugs and are becoming an increasingly important part of patient care across Canada as public and private drug plans implement policies to expand their use. Patients with chronic diseases typically use a biologic medicine for many years, and biosimilars cannot fully contribute to health care sustainability unless these patients are switched or transitioned to biosimilar medicines.
Today's announcement comes six months after British Columbia became the first province in Canada to require eligible patients to switch from an originator biologic drug to a biosimilar biologic drug. Insurers such as Pacific Blue Cross and Green Shield Canada also encourage the switch to biosimilars.
"The decisions of the Alberta and British Columbia governments to implement biosimilar switching initiatives demonstrate continued confidence in biosimilars as a way to manage costs while supporting positive patient outcomes," said Jim Keon, President of Biosimilars Canada. "Switching to biosimilar treatments is the responsible choice for drug programs, and it is time for other provinces to bring the benefits of biosimilar switching programs to their patients, health care providers and taxpayers."
Biologic medicines have revolutionized the treatment and prevention of many disabling and life-threatening diseases over the past 50 years, but they are also very expensive and are a significant driver of increasing prescription drug costs. Just 1.7 per cent of Canadian prescriptions were filled with biologic drugs in 2018, yet the cost of these prescriptions represented 29.9 per cent of Canada's total prescription drug costs that year.
Switching from an originator biologic drug to a biosimilar is a safe and effective practice. Health Canada confirms that "patients and health care providers can have confidence that biosimilars are effective and safe for each of their authorized indications, and that no differences are expected in efficacy and safety following a change in routine use between a biosimilar and its reference biologic drug in an authorized indication."1
Biosimilars Canada looks forward to working with the Government of Alberta to ensure the successful implementation of its biosimilars initiative.
About Biosimilar Medicines2 A biosimilar biologic drug, or biosimilar, is a biologic drug that is highly similar to a biologic drug that was already authorized for sale. Biosimilars are manufactured to the same regulatory standards as other biologic drugs and are authorized after a scientific evaluation by Health Canada. Biosimilars are authorized by Health Canada for the indications listed in the Product Monograph. Patients and health care providers can have confidence that biosimilars are effective and safe for each of their authorized indications. No differences are expected in efficacy and safety following a change in routine use between a biosimilar and its reference biologic drug in an authorized indication.
_______________________________
2 Ibid.
About Biosimilars Canada Biosimilars Canada is a national association representing the biosimilar medicines industry in Canada. Its member companies are at the forefront of the global development and marketing of biosimilar medicines. Biosimilar medicines are approved by Health Canada as being as safe and efficacious as their reference biologic drugs, and are developed to the same quality standards. Biosimilar medicines present a significant opportunity to embrace cutting-edge therapies while addressing the cost-effectiveness demands on healthcare systems in Canada. Biosimilars Canada is a division of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association. Visit us at www.biosimilarscanada.ca.
SOURCE Biosimilars Canada
Deadly ‘superbugs’ destroyed by molecular drills Rice, Texas A&M-led research shows motors kill bacteria, revive some antibacterial drugs
HOUSTON – (Dec. 12, 2019) – Molecular drills have gained the ability to target and destroy deadly bacteria that have evolved resistance to nearly all antibiotics. In some cases, the drills make the antibiotics effective once again.
Researchers at Rice University, Texas A&M University, Biola University and Durham (U.K.) University showed that motorized molecules developed in the Rice lab of chemist James Tour are effective at killing antibiotic-resistant microbes within minutes.
“These superbugs could kill 10 million people a year by 2050, way overtaking cancer,” Tour said. “These are nightmare bacteria; they don’t respond to anything.”
The motors target the bacteria and, once activated with light, burrow through their exteriors.
While bacteria can evolve to resist antibiotics by locking the antibiotics out, the bacteria have no defense against molecular drills. Antibiotics able to get through openings made by the drills are once again lethal to the bacteria.
The researchers reported their results in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano.
Tour and Robert Pal, a Royal Society University Research Fellow at Durham and co-author of the new paper, introduced the molecular drills for boring through cells in 2017. The drills are paddlelike molecules that can be prompted to spin at 3 million rotations per second when activated with light.
Tests by the Texas A&M lab of lead scientist Jeffrey Cirillo and former Rice researcher Richard Gunasekera, now at Biola, effectively killed Klebsiella pneumoniae within minutes. Microscopic images of targeted bacteria showed where motors had drilled through cell walls.
“Bacteria don’t just have a lipid bilayer,” Tour said. “They have two bilayers and proteins with sugars that interlink them, so things don't normally get through these very robust cell walls. That’s why these bacteria are so hard to kill. But they have no way to defend against a machine like these molecular drills, since this is a mechanical action and not a chemical effect.”
The motors also increased the susceptibility of K. pneumoniae to meropenem, an antibacterial drug to which the bacteria had developed resistance. “Sometimes, when the bacteria figures out a drug, it doesn’t let it in,” Tour said. “Other times, bacteria defeat the drug by letting it in and deactivating it.”
He said meropenem is an example of the former. “Now we can get it through the cell wall,” Tour said. “This can breathe new life into ineffective antibiotics by using them in combination with the molecular drills.”
Gunasekera said bacterial colonies targeted with a small concentration of nanomachines alone killed up to 17% of cells, but that increased to 65% with the addition of meropenem. After further balancing motors and the antibiotic, the researchers were able to kill 94% of the pneumonia-causing pathogen.
Tour said the nanomachines may see their most immediate impact in treating skin, wound, catheter or implant infections caused by bacteria — like staphylococcus aureus MRSA, klebsiella or pseudomonas — and intestinal infections. “On the skin, in the lungs or in the GI tract, wherever we can introduce a light source, we can attack these bacteria,” he said. “Or one could have the blood flow through a light-containing external box and then back into the body to kill blood-borne bacteria.”
“We are very much interested in treating wound and implant infections initially,” Cirillo said. “But we have ways to deliver these wavelengths of light to lung infections that cause numerous mortalities from pneumonia, cystic fibrosis and tuberculosis, so we will also be developing respiratory infection treatments.”
Gunasekera noted bladder-borne bacteria that cause urinary tract infections may also be targeted.
The paper is one of two published by the Tour lab this week that advance the ability of microscopic nanomachines to treat disease. In the other, which appears in ACS Applied Materials Interfaces, researchers at Rice and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center targeted and attacked lab samples of pancreatic cancer cells with machines that respond to visible rather than the previously used ultraviolet light. “This is another big advance, since visible light will not cause as much damage to the surrounding cells,” Tour said.
Former Texas A&M postdoctoral fellow Don Thushara Galbadage, now an associate professor of public health at Biola, is lead author of the bacteria paper. Co-authors are postdoctoral researcher Dongdong Liu and research scientist Lawrence Alemany of Rice. Tour is the T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry as well as a professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering at Rice. Cirillo is a Regents’ Professor and director of Texas A&M’s Center for Airborne Pathogen Research and Tuberculosis Imaging. Gunasekera is associate dean of academic and research affairs of the School of Science, Technology and Health and professor of biological sciences and biochemistry at Biola.
The research was supported by the Discovery Institute, the Welch Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the U.K.'s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Royal Society University Research Fellowship.
An illustration shows how motorized nanomachines triggered by light drill into bacteria, making a path for antibiotics. Experiments showed the bacteria became susceptible again to the antibiotic meropenem, to which it had developed resistance. (Credit: Don Thushara Galbadage/Biola University)
A Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria exposed to motorized nanomachines invented at Rice University and the antibiotic meropenem shows signs of damage in a transmission electron microscope image. The yellow arrows show areas of cell wall disruptions, while the purple arrow shows where cytoplasm has escaped from the cell. (Credit: Don Thushara Galbadage/Texas A&M)
A Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria exposed to motorized nanomachines invented at Rice University and the antibiotic meropenem shows signs of damage in a transmission electron microscope image. The yellow arrows show areas of cell wall disruptions, the purple arrow shows where cytoplasm has escaped from the cell, and the red arrow shows cytoplasmic leakage. (Credit: Don Thushara Galbadage/Texas A&M)
Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,962 undergraduates and 3,027 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 4 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.
More efficient influenza vaccines needed as flu seasons start earlier and last longer, says GlobalData
The current 2019-2020 US influenza season has already begun, despite the 2018-2019 season having ended in May. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting high influenza-like illness (ILI) activity for many southern US states, and disease activity is quickly ramping up throughout the rest of the country. While manufacturers claim that 169 million doses of influenza vaccine will be available for the current season, AstraZeneca’s FluMist, a live-attenuated vaccine that has an intranasal route of administration and is popular with the pediatric population, has very limited availability due to production problems. Less than 800,000 doses will be available in the US, representing about one-third of the number of doses available last year, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Philipp Rosenbaum, Infectious Diseases Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The elderly are the most vulnerable population affected by influenza-related complications and deaths, and conventional trivalent and quadrivalent egg-based vaccines have a lower efficacy in this population as advanced age is often associated with a weakened immune system.
“There are two currently marketed vaccines specifically indicated for the patient segment aged 65 years and older, the Seqirus’ adjuvanted vaccine Fluad trivalent and Sanofi’s Fluzone High-Dose trivalent.”
A recent study from Insight Therapeutics in collaboration with Case Western Reserve University, Brown University and Seqirus in US nursing homes found that Fluad was more effective in reducing the risk of hospitalization due to influenza-related complications (such as pneumonia) than standard trivalent influenza vaccines. A total of 50,012 residents from 823 nursing homes were randomized to receive Fluad trivalent or a conventional inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine. Preliminary results showed that participants receiving the adjuvanted vaccine were hospitalized in 6% fewer cases than participants receiving the conventional vaccine, showing that Seqirus’ adjuvanted vaccine had measurable benefits.
In October 2019, a quadrivalent formulation of Fluad was approved in Australia, where Seqirus’ parent company CSL Limited is headquartered. It is projected to launch in 2020 in the US and in 2021 in the EU. Additionally, a quadrivalent formulation of Sanofi’s Fluzone High-Dose is projected to be available in the US for the 2020–2021 influenza season. Fluzone High-Dose is much more widely used in the US than in the EU, while the adjuvanted Fluad is more popular in European countries, and Fluzone High-Dose is only approved in the UK for the 2019–2020 influenza season.
Rosenbaum continued: “Issues with seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness are not limited to the elderly, as mismatches between viral strains included in the vaccine and the actually circulating strains commonly occur, affecting all potential influenza vaccine recipients. More than 80% of US influenza vaccines are currently produced in eggs, according to GlobalData’s recent Seasonal Influenza Vaccines: Global Drug Forecast and Market Analysis to 2028 report.”
Egg-based vaccine production is a time-consuming process, so strains included in the vaccine must be chosen up to six months before the start of the influenza season. Furthermore, growing the virus in eggs leads to viral adaptations, further decreasing the match between the viral antigens and circulating viruses. This issue drove the development of egg-free, cell culture-based and recombinant vaccines, such as Seqirus’ Flucelvax and Sanofi’s Flublok, decreasing vaccine production time and minimizing viral adaptation.
Novel influenza vaccines are expected to launch soon, including two quadrivalent vaccines, Medicago’s plant-based virus-like-particle MDG-2271 in 2021 and Novavax’s insect cell-based NanoFlu in 2023.
Rosenbaum added: “NanoFlu will be a particularly interesting product for use in the elderly population, since it combines an egg-free manufacturing method with the use of a plant-based adjuvant. Universal influenza vaccines have the potential to protect against multiple influenza stains for multiple seasons, but are still approximately five to ten years away from launch. Biondvax, FluGen, and Imutex have promising candidates in late-stage clinical development, but in the meantime the CDC emphasizes that it is not too late to get vaccinated as immunization remains the most effective means of influenza prevention.”
Quotes provided by Philipp Rosenbaum, Infectious Diseases Analyst at GlobalData
About GlobalData
4,000 of the world’s largest companies, including over 70% of FTSE 100 and 60% of Fortune 100 companies, make more timely and better business decisions thanks to GlobalData’s unique data, expert analysis and innovative solutions, all in one platform. GlobalData’s mission is to help our clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative across a range of industries, including the healthcare, consumer, retail, financial, technology and professional services sectors.
Canopy Growth Introduces First & Free - A Line of Branded Hemp-Derived CBD Products to the U.S. Market
Canopy Growth's first line of CBD products are available for purchase through e-commerce platform available at www.firstandfree.com
DENVER, Dec. 12, 2019 /CNW/ - Canopy Growth Corporation, USA, LLC (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC) ("Canopy Growth" or the "Company") today announced the launch of First & Free – a hemp-derived CBD product line offered in a variety of formats, including softgels, oil drops and creams. The products will be available for purchase on the company's first e-commerce site: www.firstandfree.com.
Perfected through state-of-the-art technology and rigorous testing, First & Free products are created by extracting and isolating derivatives from the hemp plant to produce pure and consistent CBD formulations that are packaged in easy-to-use formats.
"First & Free marks a new way for US consumers to purchase quality CBD products from a trusted source," said Rade Kovacevic, President, Canopy Growth. "Through state-of-the art extraction methods, strict quality control measures, and scientific research, we are delivering a best-in-class product to the market."
At launch, the First & Free brand will offer the following hemp-derived CBD products:
First & Free Oil Drops
Unflavored 25 mg per mL (750 mg per 30 mL bottle)
Peppermint flavor 25 mg per mL (750 mg per 30 mL bottle)
First & Free Softgels
250 mg CBD carton (10 softgels)
750 mg CBD bottle (30 softgels)
1500 mg CBD bottle (30 softgels)
First & Free Creams*
2500 mg Everyday Cream (CBD Only)
2500 mg Motion Cream (CBD + Arnica)
2500 mg Revitalize Cream (CBD + Capsaicin)
Canopy Growth is committed to selling only high-quality, tested and reliable products, and ensuring it makes no claims unless clinically validated. This means selling First & Free products only in states where permissible under state law in order to ensure compliance with state consumer protection mandates and following the most stringent state laws regarding sale of CBD. The Company is also abiding by existing FDA regulations for manufacturing, labeling and marketing dietary supplements.
Here's to Future (United States made, First & Free CBD) Growth.
* Creamscoming soon
About Canopy Growth Corporation Canopy Growth (TSX:WEED, NYSE:CGC) is a world-leading diversified cannabis, hemp and cannabis device company, offering distinct brands and curated cannabis varieties in dried, oil and Softgel capsule forms, as well as medical devices through Canopy Growth's subsidiary, Storz & Bickel GMbH & Co. KG. From product and process innovation to market execution, Canopy Growth is driven by a passion for leadership and a commitment to building a world-class cannabis company one product, site and country at a time. Canopy Growth has operations in over a dozen countries across five continents.
Canopy Growth's medical division, Spectrum Therapeutics is proudly dedicated to educating healthcare practitioners, conducting robust clinical research, and furthering the public's understanding of cannabis, and has devoted millions of dollars toward cutting edge, commercializable research and IP development. Spectrum Therapeutics sells a range of full-spectrum products using its colour-coded classification Spectrum system as well as single cannabinoid Dronabinol under the brand Bionorica Ethics.
Canopy Growth operates retail stores across Canada under its award-winning Tweed and Tokyo Smoke banners. Tweed is a globally recognized cannabis brand which has built a large and loyal following by focusing on quality products and meaningful customer relationships.
From our historic public listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange to our continued international expansion, pride in advancing shareholder value through leadership is engrained in all we do at Canopy Growth. Canopy Growth has established partnerships with leading sector names including cannabis icons Snoop Dogg and Seth Rogen, breeding legends DNA Genetics and Green House Seeds, and Fortune 500 alcohol leader Constellation Brands, to name but a few. Canopy Growth operates eleven licensed cannabis production sites with over 10.5 million square feet of production capacity, including over one million square feet of GMP certified production space. For more information visitwww.canopygrowth.com
Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Canopy Growth or its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release. Examples of such statements include statements with respect to future product format offerings. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including the Company's ability to establish and maintain CBD product availability in the US, and such risks contained in the Company's annual information form dated June 25, 2019 and filed with Canadian securities regulators available on the Company's issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information or forward-looking statements in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information or forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities laws.
SOURCE Canopy Growth Corporation
Personal Support Workers Rally at Homecare Agency to Avoid a Lockout by the CarePartners Corporation
KITCHENER, ON, Dec. 11, 2019 /CNW/ - Hundreds of frontline healthcare workers and union supporters rally at the CarePartners' corporate head office to fight back against the homecare agency's recent move towards locking out their almost 3,000 personal support workers (PSWs). A lockout by CarePartners could leave thousands of seniors without the daily care they need during the holiday season.
SEIU Healthcare, the union which represents the PSWs at CarePartners, has been working to negotiate a fair deal for workers that would see more PSWs enter the workforce, end the retention crisis, and reduce the backlog that's preventing seniors to receive care at home when they need it.
CarePartners, a for-profit homecare agency with contracts from the Ontario government to schedule homecare services, has been unwilling to negotiate new terms that would end the recruitment and retention crisis created as a result of the corporation's poor wages.
Last week, the CarePartners corporation filed a notice with the Ontario Labour Relations Board that would give them authorization to lock out their employees.
SEIU Healthcare is calling on CarePartners to come back to the bargaining table with a commitment to:
Avoid a cruel lockout that would both leave seniors without the care they need and put PSWs out of work during the holidays;
Pay PSWs a living wage that includes a cost-of-living increase;
Finally end the recruitment and retention crisis so the backlog of seniors waiting for care is eliminated.
QUOTES: "Everyday I hear from more PSWs who are leaving CarePartners because the corporation is unwilling to pay employees enough to support themselves," said Gloria Turney, a CarePartners PSW. "As PSWs we love caring for others, but business executives at CarePartners make it harder and harder for us to stay with this agency."
"For CarePartners' to start the process of locking their PSWs out just weeks before the holidays is disgusting," said SEIU Healthcare President Sharleen Stewart. "These passionate caregivers and the seniors they care for should be looking forward to this special time of year. Instead, they are forced to worry about a lockout that would turn their lives upside down. We are committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure personal support workers and their clients are treated with fairness, dignity and respect. We call on CarePartners to negotiate terms that end their retention failures."
BACKGROUND: Retention issues are having a direct impact on the care that seniors are receiving. SEIU Healthcare recently launched a video about Don and Penny, a husband and wife who rely on CarePartners but have been constantly let down due to the shortage of CarePartners PSWs. The video has over 250,000 views across on social media. (http://www.stuckinthepast.ca)
CarePartners is no stranger to locking their workers out. In early June, CarePartners locked out 29 schedulers in Sudbury. After a 22-week lockout, CarePartners closed the Sudbury office in November, resulting in all 29 positions being moved elsewhere. This recent situation has CarePartners' PSWs and their clients feeling uneasy.
SEIU Healthcare represents more than 60,000 healthcare and community service workers across Ontario. The union's members work in hospitals, homecare, nursing and retirement homes, and community services throughout the province. SEIU Healthcare has a strong track record of improving wages, benefits and working conditions for healthcare workers, supporting the training and development needs of its members, and strengthening standards in the management and delivery of patient and client care. www.seiuhealthcare.ca
SOURCE SEIU Healthcare
Air pollution is breaking our hearts: human and marine health is affected in similar ways
UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 01.00 GMT MONDAY 16 DECEMBER 2019
Not for publication or broadcast before this time
Air pollution is associated with detrimental effects on human health, including increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Research published today in The Journal of Physiology by researchers at The University of Manchester shows that the knowledge we have about how pollution harms the hearts of marine species can be applied to humans, as the underlying mechanisms are similar. In other words, knowledge gained from the marine ecosystem might help protect the climate and health of our planet, whilst also helping human health.
Around 11,000 coronary heart disease and stroke deaths in the UK each year are attributable to air pollution, specifically due to particulate matter (PM), or small particles in the air that cause health problems. PM2.5 is one of the finest and most dangerous type of PM, is a compound for which the UK has failed to meet EU limits.
Researchers of this study looked across all vertebrates and particularly focused on a set of compounds that binds to the surface of PM, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) as the amount of PAH on PM is associated with the detrimental affect air pollution has on the heart.
While air pollution is known to be dangerous to humans, it actually only became a widely-researched topic in the past five years or so. In marine species however, the mechanism of how PAH pollution causes heart problems is well understood.
Studies after the 1999 Exxon Valdez oil spill showed that the ecosystem still has not recovered 20 years on. In 2010, research on fish after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which released large quantities of PAHs into the marine environment, showed that the heart’s ability to contract was impaired.
Dr Holly Shiels, senior author on the study, from The University of Manchester said:
“Pollution affects all of us living on Planet Earth. Due to the conserved nature of cardiac function amongst animals, fish exposed to PAH from oil spills can serve as indicators, providing significant insights into the human health impacts of PAHs and PM air pollution.”
Dr Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, which partly funded the research presented in this review, commented:
“We know that air pollution can have a hugely damaging effect on heart and circulatory health, and this review summarises mechanisms potentially contributing to impaired heart function. Reducing air pollution is crucial to protecting our heart health, which is why the BHF is calling on the next Government to commit to reducing air pollution to within WHO limits.”
Notes for Editors
Full paper title: Polyaromatic hydrocarbons in pollution: a heart-breaking matter https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/JP278885 (link will only work after the embargo date. Before then, please email the press office for a copy of the paper)
The Journal of Physiology publishes advances in physiology which increase our understanding of how our bodies function in health and disease. http://jp.physoc.org
The Physiological Society brings together over 4,000 scientists from over 60 countries. The Society promotes physiology with the public and parliament alike. It supports physiologists by organising world-class conferences and offering grants for research and also publishes the latest developments in the field in its three leading scientific journals, The Journal of Physiology, Experimental Physiology and Physiological Reports. www.physoc.org
Importance of breastfeeding in preventing diabetes reaffirmed in rat study
UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 01.00 GMT 12 DECEMBER 2019
Not for publication or broadcast before this time
New research published today in The Journal of Physiology shows that breastfeeding is crucial in preventing diabetes.
The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding as the sole source of nutrition for infants until six months of age, as this helps reduce child morbidity and mortality. In contrast, early weaning is associated with both the development of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in adulthood.
Researchers at Rio de Janeiro State University, led by Patricia Lisboa, showed that weaning rat pups early increased insulin secretion in adolescent male pups and in both genders as adults.
By adolescence in male pups, the scientists mean an age in pups that is considered equivalent to adolescence in humans. In rats, adolescence is defined as ranging from age 35 to 55 days.
This increased insulin secretion is indicative of developing insulin resistance, which means a reduced responsiveness to insulin. To try to compensate for this reduced responsiveness of the body, it secretes more insulin. This is one sign of diabetes, a disease characterised by high blood sugar levels. Blood sugar levels are normally regulated by insulin, so high blood sugar levels mean the body creates more insulin to try to regulate this.
The result of increased insulin secretion indicates that adolescent pups might be more susceptible to Type 2 diabetes, as will all the offspring in adulthood.
Patricia Lisboa, one of the authors on the study said:
“There are many causes of Type 2 diabetes, but not breastfeeding for long enough, is one we can guard against. Understanding the increased susceptibility to Type 2 diabetes as a result of early weaning will help us develop the best public health guidance. “
ENDS
Notes for Editors
Full paper title: EARLY WEANING INDUCES SHORT- AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS ON PANCREATIC ISLETS IN WISTAR RATS OF BOTH SEXES https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/JP278833 (link will only work after the embargo date. Before then, please email the press office for a copy of the paper)
The Journal of Physiology publishes advances in physiology which increase our understanding of how our bodies function in health and disease. http://jp.physoc.org
The Physiological Society brings together over 4,000 scientists from over 60 countries. The Society promotes physiology with the public and parliament alike. It supports physiologists by organising world-class conferences and offering grants for research and also publishes the latest developments in the field in its three leading scientific journals, The Journal of Physiology, Experimental Physiology and Physiological Reports. www.physoc.org
$2.6M to fight cancer using innovative technologies and artificial intelligence
MONTREAL, Dec. 11, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - The Oncopole, the MEDTEQ Consortium, the TransMedTech Institute and the Cancer Research Society, as part of the joint Onco-Tech Competition, are proud to announce a $2.6M investment to support innovative projects in oncology and in medical technologies.
Created by leading financiers wanting to combine academic research and industry expertise, the Onco-Tech Competition is an opportunity for Quebec investigators to accelerate the development, validation and marketing of new medical technologies in oncology, for the benefit of patients.
"The Onco-Tech Competition is a great example of the opportunities for collaboration between the research and industry sectors. This investment enables the Oncopole to reaffirm its commitment to promote Quebec innovations in medical technologies for the benefit of patients, and points to major breakthroughs in oncology" points out Renaldo Battista, Executive Director of the Oncopole.
"Industry-academic competitions such as Onco-Tech are great proof of the spirit of collaboration that prevails in R&D in Quebec. We are delighted to engage with our longstanding partners, and thus accelerate the technological innovations in oncology" said Diane Côté, President and Chief Executive Officer of MEDTEQ.
Five projects receiving substantial support
Selected for their ability to meet a clinical need by integrating innovative technologies, in collaboration with industry partners such as Imagia, Siemens, Elekta, Photo Etc or ORS, five projects will receive major funding support.
Better classification of mammographic abnormalities using artificial intelligence artificielle [Team led by Julie Lemieux and Louise Provencher (CHU de Québec – Université Laval)]
By using Imagia's EVIDENS platform, the objective of the research project is to more specifically classify mammographic abnormalities as "malignant" or "benign". This would result in decreasing the number of supplementary investigations (other breast imaging or biopsy) for abnormal mammography images. The project also provides hope for major advances in breast cancer screening: it seeks to obtain an objective measurement of breast density using artificial intelligence.
Towards a better quantitative and multiplexed lung cancer diagnosis using metallic nanoparticles [Team led by Michel Meunier and Dominique Trudel (Polytechnique Montréal, CHUM)]
The project focuses on the innovative use of multiple metallic nanoparticles of various colours targeting cell surface proteins to ensure a more quantitative diagnosis and multiplexed selection of the imune treatment for lung cancer patients.
Predicting the clinical response to immunotherapy for lung cancer patients, using artificial intelligence [Team led by Drs. Philippe Joubert and Bertrand Routy (Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, CHUM Research Centre]
By putting artificial intelligence to good use, the project aims to develop an algorithm integrating the clinical, radiological and molecular characteristics of the tumor for patients suffering from advanced lung cancer, in order to predict their response potential to treatment aimed at reactivating the immune system in order to destroy tumor cells (immunotherapy).
Better detection of hepatocellular carcinomas to improve the effectiveness of liver cancer treatments using novel algorithms [Team led by Guy Cloutier and Dr. An Tang, CHUM Research Centre, Université de Montréal]
The team focuses on studying the mechanical and structural properties of the liver using novel algorithms applied to experimental ultrasound images in order to increase the detection of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and thus improve monitoring, the effectiveness of the treatments and patient survival.
A predictive plateform of radiation treatments using breakthroughs in artificial intelligence [Team led by Samuel Kadoury and Dr. David Roberge (Polytechnique Montréal, CHUM)]
The project's objective is to develop a prediction platform based on deep learning for digital planning and radiation treatments – adaptable, depending on the case in question -, using medical images, for cancer patients.
This major funding will enable the projects selected to benefit from targeted and complementary expertise to accelerate the development of new medical technologies, providing hope in the fight against cancer.
"The TransMedTech Institute is proud to have contributed to Oncopole's initiative and to have assisted four of the five Onco-Tech Competition winners. Together, we explored the investigators' initial innovative ideas in order to understand the needs from various angles and standpoints during the co-development of medical technologies in oncology. Founded in 2017, TransMedTech is already setting itself apart in the R&D community through its expertise in rallying stakeholders to an approach known as Living Lab, which enhances project quality" points out Prof. Carl-Éric Aubin, Chief Executive and Scientific Officer of TransMedTech.
"The Cancer Research Society is pleased to help propel these promising projects in order to develop technology and take giant steps to #OutsmartCancer. It's the mandate that we have been given by hundreds of thousands of donors who, across the country, count on research to fight this disease that affects 1 in 2 Canadians", said Manon Pepin, the organization's President and Chief Executive Officer.
About the Oncopole
Oncopole is a Quebec hub for research, development and investment to accelerate the fight against cancer. Created in February of 2017, it is the product of a unique co-creation process led by the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS) and made possible by an initial $15M investment from Merck Canada. Oncopole's mission is to act as a catalyst leveraging actions made by the key players in Quebec's oncology and innovation research ecosystem. As a result, it aims to position the province as a leader in the field. Its priorities of action, namely research, entrepreneurship, commercialization and integration of innovation, as well as clinical relevance, are orchestrated in order to foster the mobilization of stakeholders, the discovery of innovative approaches to fight cancer and, ultimately, a positive impact for the benefit of patients.
About MEDTEQ
MEDTEQ is the pan-Canadian Consortium for Industrial Research and Innovation in Medical Technology. Its mission is to accelerate the development of innovative technological solutions to improve patients' health and quality of life. MEDTEQ supports their validation and integration in the healthcare system and their impact, both locally and globally, by bringing together the complementary skills of industrial and academic partners, and with those of healthcare providers. MEDTEQ relies on the financial support of the Government of Quebec, the Government of Canada (delivered through the Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR)), the private sector and complementary partners to foster research-industry relations.
About the TransMedTech Institute
TransMedTech Institute aims to support the development of innovative medical technologies, train the next generation of professionals and make innovation in life sciences and engineering a source of wealth for society. Based on a Living Lab approach, TransMedTech provides an integrated environment that supports interdisciplinary collaborative processes and co-creation of new medical technologies and interventions to catalyze their development and adoption by users.
With a total of $95 million in grants from the Fonds d'excellence en recherche Apogée Canada, the Fonds de recherche du Québec, the Ministère de l'Économie et de l'Innovation du Québec and several other partners, TransMedTech Institute is led by 5 founding institutions (Polytechnique Montréal, University of Montréal, CHU Sainte-Justine, CHUM and Jewish General Hospital of Montreal), includes over 50 partner institutions and has first-rate infrastructure to support the development and validation of medical technologies.
About the Cancer Research Society
Founded in 1945, the Cancer Research Society is the first Canadian organization entirely dedicated to funding research on all types of cancer. Over the course of its history, the Society has supported thousands of our country's best scientific minds who have helped make important strides in the way we prevent, detect, and treat cancer. Since 2000, thanks to the generosity of donors across the country, the Society distributed over $172 million in research grants. CancerResearchSociety.ca
SOURCE Oncopole
How to Recover from an Exercise Related Injury so You Can Get Back to Work
It is important to remain physically fit, but you can incur an injury while working out. This can make it difficult to go back to work. However, there are ways to recover faster from an exercise-related injury. Use these tips during your recovery so that you can get back to work faster.
Rest for a Few Days
You can rest for a few days to help you recover from an injury. This means that you should reduce your physical activities, but you can likely continue with your daily activities. It is important to sleep as much as possible during this time, or you can recline on a couch while resting your injured arm or leg on a pillow. If your back or shoulder is injured, then sitting in a recliner may feel better than resting in a bed. After a few days, you can begin to move around more to avoid developing stiff muscles and inflexible joints.
Application of Ice Packs
Applying an ice pack is one of the first things that you should do while recovering from your injury. You can use ready-made ice packs that are kept in the freezer, or alternatively, you can make an ice pack with ice cubes and a plastic bag. Make sure to apply the ice to the injured area for only 20 minutes every few hours. This will reduce the inflammation in the joints along with reducing any swelling in the tissues. Avoid leaving the ice packs on your injured body part too long because it can damage your sensitive skin.
Get Help from Experts after an Injury
At an injury rehab clinic, you can get help from experts who can create a customized treatment plan. This type of personalized care might include physical therapy with special exercises, chiropractic care or pain management with medications. You can also receive a special brace to support an injured knee, back or other body part. It is possible to undergo professional treatment one or more times to help you recover quickly.
Have a Positive Mental Attitude
In addition to taking care of yourself physically, you can improve your well-being with a good mental attitude. Listen to your favorite music, relax and think positive thoughts to encourage faster healing of your body. You might want to learn how to meditate during the recovery process to reduce your negative thinking.
Last, you might find relief from your pain by using heat treatments rather than using ice. This can involve hot showers or using an electric heating pad.
5 Training Tips to Protect Against Strained Muscles
When it comes to injuries, muscle strain is among some of the most unpredictable, yet most common. Whether you’re exercising, working, or simply going about your daily routine, one wrong move could result in sudden pain.
Muscle strain is mostly prevalent in those who exercise and train a lot. Despite the randomness of muscles strain causes, there are plenty of things you can do to help prevent muscle strain.
Warm Up First
One of the most common causes of muscle strain is working out without warming up first. Warm ups don’t have to be anything tricky. In fact, they should be something simple. They can be anything, like a walk around the block or mild stretching.
Some people actually think that the more rigorous the exercise, the less likely they’ll develop muscle strain. This is not true as your muscles will become inflamed after an intense workout. Inflammation opens the door for many potential problems with not only your muscles, but your joints and ligaments as well.
Build Muscle Tone
Another common reason for muscle strain is muscles that aren’t quite strong enough for the task at hand. Similar to inflammation, weak muscles are also at risk of developing muscle strain such. One wrong move and it will be very painful to lift your arm for a few days.
A surefire way to prevent muscle strain is to build muscle. Keep in mind that muscle growth doesn’t happen overnight. It takes dedication, commitment, and effort to have effect. Remember to take things slow as you do so.
Improve Endurance
Everyone has a limit of how much they can endure, but with enough time and dedication, your endurance will gradually improve. Overexerting yourself is something you should always avoid as it can cause other problems aside from muscle strain. As with building muscle, it’s crucial you take things slow and pace yourself.
Consider Your Exercise Method
Not everyone can perform all types of exercise, so be sure to exercise within your limits. Going beyond you’re able to do can be risky, so never push yourself. If you have trouble deciding what type of exercise is right for you, consult your doctor.
Choose the Right Exercise Gear
Having the right gear can also help prevent muscle strain. While the gear you need will depend on your activity, using the correct recommend equipment will prevent more injuries that just muscle strain. To prevent muscle strain specifically, consider using compression gear over whichever muscles are at risk for strain. Runners many want compression pants, and those working their arms may want an upper arm sleeve.Muscle strain can become very uncomfortable and painful. However, by taking the right precautions, you’ll be able to train without having to worry about
TRAIN IT RIGHT NEWSLETTER
Sign Up and get a free 7 day Train it Right HIIT Program!
