FACIT's Prospects Oncology Fund invests in Ontario-developed medical device and novel therapeutic platform technologies

Niche early-stage investment program seeds Ontario's developing pipeline of oncology assets

TORONTO, Sept. 26, 2019 /CNW/ - Three promising Ontario-based oncology innovations are recipients of seed capital through the latest round of FACIT's Prospects Oncology Fund. Medical device start-up Xpan Inc., Dr. Igor Stagljar of the University of Toronto, and the Drug Discovery Program at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) were selected to receive seed funding among a top-tier pool of applicants. 

Xpan Inc., whose CEO Zaid Atto also won FACIT's Falcons' Fortunes pitch competition earlier this year, is developing expandable surgical access ports that aim to increase safety and efficiency of minimally invasive surgeries. Dr. Stagljar is developing a unique and disruptive system for detecting protein-protein interactions in real time for drug discovery applications, while OICR's Drug Discovery Program, led by Dr. Rima Al-awar, will receive funds towards the development of a platform targeting multiple members of the WD40 repeat domain (WDR) family with small molecules. The lattermost project builds on OICR and FACIT's recent success in executing a $1B USD strategic transaction with Celgene for a related WDR5 asset. 

FACIT's Prospects Oncology Fund fuels a pipeline of innovations and is imperative to addressing the seed-stage gap experienced by Ontario's life sciences sector. In order to impact the Province's innovation economy, this Ontario First capital helps de-risk innovations through local development, ultimately driving greater value to attract follow-on investment into the province. The Prospects Oncology Fund provides a deal-flow of novel breakthrough discoveries that feed FACIT's Compass Rose Oncology Fund.

Armed with specialization in the oncology market, FACIT has grown its portfolio through these two investment funds, leveraging every dollar invested to attract nearly 20x of additional investment to the Province. Despite typical attrition rates, nearly two-thirds of Compass Rose Fund investee companies have subsequently advanced to secure private financing or successfully exited. This highlights the impact of investing Ontario First capital in the Province's rich talent and innovation pool, bringing economic and patient benefits to Ontario's biotech ecosystem. 

"The FACIT team is pleased to support these entrepreneurial scientists, providing both capital and commercialization expertise, as they advance their technologies closer to impacting patients with cancer," said Dr. David O'Neill, President of FACIT. "With these exciting innovations and partners, we look to continue to achieve significant innovation outcomes, anchoring companies, jobs and talent in Ontario."

About FACIT
FACIT builds companies with entrepreneurs to accelerate oncology innovation and its portfolio has attracted over 750 million dollars in investment to Ontario. Blending industry experience, capital and the unsurpassed clinician-scientist network of its strategic partner the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), FACIT capitalizes on the province's investment in research and healthcare to the benefit of the local economy and patients worldwide. FACIT's commercialization portfolio includes Turnstone Biologics, Fusion Pharmaceuticals, Triphase Accelerator and other biotechnology organizations. Cancer Breakthroughs. Realized. facit.ca.

About Xpan Inc.
Xpan Inc., a spin-out from the University of Toronto, has developed a patent-pending trocar that is less invasive yet expandable which promises to reduce risk of complications, cost and operative time associated with the use of these devices in minimally invasive surgeries.

About University of Toronto (U of T)
Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto is Canada's leading institution of learning, discovery and knowledge creation. U of T is one of the world's top research-intensive universities, driven to invent and innovate. It is also one of the top five universities in the world for its startup incubator programs. In the last 10 years, the U of T entrepreneurship community has created over 500 companies and raised over $1 billion in investment capital.

About the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR)
OICR is a collaborative, not-for-profit research institute funded by the Government of Ontario. We conduct and enable high-impact translational cancer research to accelerate the development of discoveries for patients around the world while maximizing the economic benefit of this research for the people of Ontario. For more information visit www.oicr.on.ca.

SOURCE FACIT Inc.

800 cyclists to participate in Ride for Cancer powered by BMO Bank of Montreal on September 28

HALIFAX, Sept. 26, 2019 /CNW/ -

SOURCE QEII FOUNDATION

Camp Trillium and Camp Oochigeas Announce Merger Agreement

• We are better together and look forward to expanding joint programs across Ontario for children and families affected by childhood cancer.

HAMILTON, ON and TORONTO, Sept. 26, 2019 /CNW/ - The Boards of Directors of Camp Trillium and Camp Oochigeas (Ooch) today announced a merger agreement aimed at furthering their shared goal of reaching every child and family affected by childhood cancer across Ontario. For more than 30 years, Camp Ooch and Camp Trillium have each provided life-changing and enriching camp programs for thousands of children and families affected by childhood cancer. The merger will enable deeper support for families, result in camp programs in more communities, including eight hospitals across Ontario, and bring more children and their families to overnight camps. 

"We are excited to work with our friends at Camp Ooch to expand family-focused childhood cancer programming in Ontario," said Marci Shea-Perry, Executive Director, Camp Trillium. "The challenges we face and needs we address separately are best met by working together." 

The combined organization will deliver first-class programming currently provided independently, under one umbrella. The result will be a stronger organization, a broader donor and supporter base, and a more sustainable financial structure. 

"We look forward to working with Camp Trillium to strengthen support for children and families affected by childhood cancer," said Alex Robertson, Chief Executive Officer, Camp Ooch. "This is about leveraging our combined strengths for the benefit of campers, their families, our collective volunteers and staffs, and the long-time supporters of both our organizations."

Upon completion of the merger, Alex Robertson, Chief Executive Officer of Camp Ooch, will become CEO of the combined province-wide organization. Marci Shea-Perry, Executive Director of Camp Trillium, will step into the new role of Executive Director, Strategy & Integration, supporting Alex by overseeing the merger of the operations.

Camp Trillium and Camp Ooch head offices are located in Hamilton and Toronto, respectively. These offices will remain in place, and staff will remain in existing roles. The combined organization will continue to operate all current programming, including in-hospital programs, community programs at Ooch Downtown and elsewhere in Ontario, and overnight camp at Ooch Muskoka, Camp Trillium-Rainbow Lake, Waterford (Southwestern region), Camp Trillium-OuR Island, Wellington (Eastern region).

About Camp Ooch

Camp Ooch is a privately funded, volunteer-based organization that provides kids with and affected by childhood cancer unique opportunities for growth through challenging, fun, enriching and magical experiences. Camp Ooch offers year-round programs across Ontario and at overnight camp in Muskoka—the only one of its kind in Canada able to provide IV chemotherapy and blood transfusions. 

Our province-wide community and in-hospital programs take place in paediatric care centres including SickKids and McMaster Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital London Health Sciences Centre, Credit Valley Hospital (Trillium Health Partners), Rouge Valley Centenary (Scarborough Health Network) and Southlake Regional Health Centre. We bring the Magic of Ooch to over 1,600 children and their families from across Ontario each year, at no cost to Campers' families.

About Camp Trillium

Camp Trillium (officially The Trillium Childhood Cancer Support Centre) offers year-round recreational programs to bring children with cancer and their families together. We work to provide an environment that normalizes relationships and experiences helping families affected by childhood cancer in their healing process and enhancing their quality of life. Camp Trillium offers year round programs in Southwestern Ontario, at McMaster Children's Hospital and in various communities around the province. 

SOURCE Camp Ooch

FDA Approves Clinical Trial of a New approach to treat millions suffering from Enlarged Prostates

Urotronic, Inc. is maker of innovative Optilume BPH Catheter System

Plymouth, MN ( September 26, 2019 ) - Urotronic, Inc., a medical device company pioneering a new solution that could dramatically change the way millions of men around the world with enlarged prostates are treated, announced today it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin its US pivotal study for the Optilume BPH Catheter System.  

The FDA-approved clinical trial, known as PINNACLE, will be conducted at 20 medical facilities around the country. More than 12 million American men are reported to suffer from enlarged prostates or Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and over 750,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. 

“The Optilume BPH balloon pairs innovative design with powerful drug therapy to provide a simple, anatomy sparing in-office procedure that doesn’t surgically cut, burn, lase, steam or leave anything behind in the prostate like the other BPH technologies,” said Dr. Steven Kaplan, Professor, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of the Men’s Wellness Program, Mount Sinai Health System in New York and the principal investigator of PINNACLE “.  This technology holds tremendous promise.”

Kaplan says the Optilume BPH balloon is also the first minimally invasive in-office therapy to provide symptom scores and flow rates similar to the more invasive gold standard known as TURP – (transurethral resection of the prostate). 

Millions of men struggle to deal with the symptoms of BPH, including frequency, nocturia, intermittency, urgency, weak stream and straining to urinate as a result of being refractory or non-responsive, or unwilling to deal with the side effects of medical therapy, or reluctant to undergo an invasive surgical procedure requiring general anesthesia.   

"We are excited about the accomplishments our team has made," said Urotronic CEO David Perry.  “FDA approval is really a validation of our work to this point highlighting Urotronic’s potential to truly transform the urology market through an innovative approach and treatment for men suffering from BPH.”

The Optilume BPH procedure is a minimally invasive treatment that gives urologists the opportunity to offer an office-based or outpatient treatment option that may provide relief to men who are looking for an alternative to currently available BPH treatment offerings. 

Dr. Kaplan and other investigators will monitor the progress of the PINNACLE clinical trial, which will get underway shortly and will follow the patients for a period of five years.  The FDA will monitor the progress as well.

“This technology is very disruptive, and the end beneficiary is going to be the patients,” said investor and company board member Doug Kohrs. “Urotronic has embarked on an anatomy sparing approach to treating BPH that no one else has ever taken.”

The Optilume BPH Catheter System is an investigational device, not available for sale. CAUTION- Investigational Device. Limited by Federal (or United States) law to investigational use. 

The prospective PINNACLE U.S. trial markets will include but will not be limited to; Advanced Urology Institute; Daytona Beach, Fla -  Arkansas Urology; Little Rock, AR - Chesapeake Urology Associates; Baltimore, MD - Cornell University : New York, NY - Regional Urology, LLC; Shreveport ,LA - Sheldon Freedman Urology LTD: Las Vegas, NV - Western New York Urology Associates; Cheektowaga, New York- Associated Urologists of NC; Raleigh, NC -AUUA (Academic Urology & Urogynecology of Arizona); Phoenix, AZ- Carolina Urology Clinical Research (CUCR) ; Myrtle Beach, SC - Carolina Urology Partners; Charlotte, NC - Mount Sinai; New York, NY- Urology of Virginia; Norfolk, VA - Chesapeake 2; Baltimore, MD - Integrated Medical Professionals; Long Island, NY 

About Urotronic, Inc. 
Urotronic, Inc., headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota, is an early stage medical device company currently conducting clinical trials to support global commercialization of their products. The Optilume™ drug-coated balloon technology provides a low cost, minimally invasive treatment option for men suffering from urinary tract conditions like benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), urethral and ureteral strictures, and bladder neck contractures (BNC). The prevalence of BPH and lower urinary tract issues rises markedly with increased age. The drug-coated balloon technology under clinical investigation creates a paradigm change from the methods currently used by urologists to treat these conditions. For more information on Urotronic and our products, please visit us at   http://urotronic.com/    or to schedule interviews with any of these stakeholders contact publicist Robb Leer 612.701.0608

Weekend Blizzard Set to Bring Historic Snowfall to the Northern Rockies

Wavy jet stream consistent with climate change

An early-season snowstorm could bring up to 4 feet of snow in the Northern Rockies. The heaviest snow and most extreme conditions are forecast to happen on Saturday and Sunday, and Winter Storm Watches have been issued across portions of Montana. Such a storm has not occurred in the northwestern part of the state since 1934. 

Record-setting September snowfall isn’t what most people think of when they imagine climate change, but there’s a reason scientists prefer the term “climate change” to “global warming.” Global warming describes the average global surface temperature increase from human emissions of greenhouse gases. Global warming causes climate change, a long-term change in a region’s climate, and the change isn’t always what one might expect.

Climate change is making extreme cold events less likely on average, but it is also increasing the frequency of extreme precipitation, and destabilizing the jet stream. The result is that certain areas and seasons are getting a lot more blizzard weather, and in other areas, blizzards are less common. The forecasted blizzard is the result of a wavy jet stream pattern. 

Here are the climate change signals related to the current storm:

Climate change destabilizes the jet stream.

The Arctic is warming much faster than areas farther south, which reduces the temperature difference between the two regions. Because that temperature difference provides the main fuel for the polar jet stream (a river of strong wind at levels where jet aircraft fly), the jet stream weakens and favors a more meandering north-south path.

The blizzard headed for Montana is due to a wavy jet stream pattern responsible for “record-challenging heat in the East” and “dramatically cooler conditions in the West.”

Climate change increases the frequency of extreme storms.

Warmer air holds more moisture and causes more intense rain and snow storms. NOAA scientists, examining 120 years of data, found that there were twice as many extreme regional snowstorms in the US between 1961 and 2010 compared to 1900 to 1960.

Early autumn extreme snowfall events are less likely.

On average, climate models suggest that early autumn extreme snowfall events in the Northern Great Plains are less likely due to human-caused climate change. This average trend, however, does not preclude extreme weather outbreaks tied to Arctic warming and a destabilized jet stream. These outbreaks of Arctic air can break cold temperature and snowfall records even as the average temperature increases.

###

Doctor Burnout: Are We Missing The Elephant in the Exam Room?

A few years out of residency training, I was already feeling the early symptoms of burnout: a loss of motivation in my day-to-day work, and sometimes a feeling of being trapped. Part of this was due to the fast-paced demands of outpatient care. In primary care, I felt overwhelmed by administrative duties, insurance guidelines, and cramming in too many patients into a single day. More so, I felt at a loss for treatment options. In my hospital-based training, acute exacerbations of chronic diseases felt readily treatable with drugs and procedures. But in outpatient medicine, where I was trying to meet patients and their chronic conditions in their day-to-day lives, I felt like the tools in my doctor's bag were few and far between. Anti-inflammatories, antidepressants, and acid-suppressing heartburn medications could only stave symptoms off for a period of time. Patients would be back. Sooner. Sicker. And more frustrated. This pattern fueled within me a frustration toward my own patients--the very people I'd gone into medicine to serve.

One strategy I took, which was also fueled by my own personal health challenges, was to get trained in integrative and functional medicine. Integrative means approaching the body holistically, as dynamic systems rather than isolated organs. Functional refers to the optimal functioning of the body, which involves going down to the root causes of inflammation, the common denominator for chronic conditions. So I added to my doctor's bag a wealth of tools: therapeutic diets, vitamins and minerals and other supplements, movement strategies, mind-body-spirit practices, grief work, and hormone balancing. Personally, I took restorative retreats, modified my schedule for greater work-family balance, eliminated my commute, and set a real intention to "practice pleasure," as I called it. I learned the ukulele, hiked and camped with my family, watched funny movies, and returned to reading novels. 

Still, I felt the symptoms of burnout at work simmering within me. I saw the signs in my integrative and functional medicine colleagues, too. Because that's just it--burnout is a symptom. It's not the root of the issue. There was something larger, something more hidden, that wasn't being addressed by me personally. And it certainly wasn't being addressed by the medical culture as a whole.

At the root of burnout is detachment and disconnection. I don't believe we can begin to heal detachment without confronting the elephant in the exam room: grief. With the nature of our work, we're encountering patients in their deepest fears, in their most vulnerable states, and we seem to be taught 2 options: carry it, or detach. If we carry too much of their grief, we risk getting sick ourselves. If we detach in an effort to protect ourselves, we can cope, we can function. The trouble is that we can't heal something or someone we're detached from. What's more, when we detach from others, we also detach from our own humanity. We become robotic. 

So how might we address burnout beyond symptom management? We can learn from the ancient medicine men and women who came before us--to embrace grief as a fundamental part of being human, and to respond to grief in a healthy, affirming way. In my own experience, I've learned two pathways. One is release. I attended grief retreats where we did writing practices and poem readings to awaken the soul, to evoke experiences of loss, and then we participated in rituals to help us release any grief that was stored within our bodies. Many indigenous cultures around the world have grief ceremonies as regular "detoxes." Might we as doctors have more space for empathy if we could learn to release better? A second path is transformation. I took up Wisdom Healing Qigong, a moving meditation that integrates consciousness with core-strengthening exercises, and learned that I could more readily receive the suffering of others and, through repetitive sweeping movements of the arms and direct visualizations, I could transform in my mind their suffering into an experience of compassion. 

By doing the hard work of grieving and transforming, I've let go of the biggest unstated pressure I've carried as a doctor: that it was somehow up to me, lil' ole me, to alleviate the suffering of the world. And by letting that go, I've experienced greater spaciousness for reconnection to myself and others. I've nipped burnout in the bud. 

-----

CYNTHIA LI, MD graduated from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and has practiced internal medicine in settings as diverse as Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Francisco General Hospital, St. Anthony Medical Clinic for the homeless, and Doctors Without Borders in rural China. Her own health challenges led her to functional medicine, a paradigm that addresses the root causes of chronic conditions. She currently serves on the faculty of the Healer's Art Program at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, and has a private practice. She lives in Berkeley, CA with her husband and their two daughters.

Connect with Cynthia Li, MD on Facebook @dr.cynthia.li and visit www.cynthialimd.com.

Brave New Medicine: A Doctor’s Unconventional Path to Healing Her Autoimmune Illness is available September 1, 2019 in paperback at Amazon and other retailers.

4 Nutrients That Make Your Workouts More Effective

If you want to make your workouts as effective as possible, consuming the right nutrients can help you achieve better results. Many of the best nutrients are known to aid muscle development, boost energy levels, and provide other great benefits that can help people like you reach their fitness goals faster. Here are four important nutrients that your body needs to make each workout more effective.

Carbohydrates

Even though many people seem to fear carbohydrates, they are actually good for your body when consumed in the right ways. Carbohydrates can help you maintain energy levels throughout each workout by supplying your muscles with glycogen. Carbohydrates should make up 45 to 65 percent of your daily caloric intake, and it’s important to not go over your recommended daily amount since carbs that are unused by the body get stored as sugar. Some of the best carb sources include sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and brown rice. Whole-wheat pasta can also be an excellent source when consumed in moderation.

Vitamin C

This nutrient facilitates growth and tissue repair by improving cellular health. Vitamin C can also reduce fatigue and perceived exertion during exercise so that you can work out for longer periods. Eating foods that are rich in this nutrient or taking a supplement that’s high in vitamin C before a workout can be especially advantageous for your progress. Oranges and other citrus fruits and juices are excellent sources of vitamin C. Other good foods for increasing vitamin C intake include Brussel sprouts and red and green peppers.

Protein

Protein is another great nutrient that promotes better muscle development and helps with tissue repair. The amount of protein that your body specifically needs depends on your gender, current bodyweight, workout intensity level, and the amount of time that you exercise. Fish, red meat, and chicken are among the most well-known protein sources, but you can also give your body a healthy dose of this nutrient by trying some of the best hemp protein powderon the market.

Potassium

Potassium works well for recovery after a workout and can help you get ready faster for your next training session. Another benefit of potassium is that it allows the muscles to contract and relax more effectively by keeping them hydrated. You can increase your potassium intake by eating more bananas, cherry tomatoes, or raw spinach. Cantaloupes and avocadoes can also give your body the potassium that it needs to make it through each workout better.

These nutrients play an important role in overall fitness and should be consumed regularly if you want to make the most of your fitness training. Whether you choose to consume these nutrients in food, beverage, or supplement form, you’re sure to notice an improvement in your workouts when you get the right amounts.

Concerned about Vape Products? 

Get to Know Medical Cannabis Alternatives and the Difference Between Solventless and Solvent-free.

Kailua-Kona—One of just two licensed medical cannabis growers and distributors on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, Hawaiian Ethos is very concerned about the current news surrounding vaping. Severe lung disease experienced by people vaporizing nicotine and cannabis is serious, but the illness has not been linked to specific cannabinoids or terpenes. The issue has raised very real questions about the processes, ingredients and safety of this delivery method. 

Unfortunately, a direct cause of these instances has yet to be determined, but many speculate the answer may lie in the production process and additives being introduced to the cartridges. The CDC states, “No evidence of infectious diseases has been identified; therefore lung illnesses are likely associated with a chemical exposure.” This refers to chemicals such as Vitamin E Acetate and other additives, used by some dealers to produce vape-oil.

Stacey Marie Kerr M.D., Hawaiian Ethos Medical Advisor, commented on the current vaping situation, “As a physician, I implore all patients to use products that are quality lab tested for content and purity. Hawaiian Ethos’ products contain nothing but the plant with no additives of any kind. Our alternatives to pulmonary products are controlled-dose QDTs, effervescent tables, and capsules, supporting reproducible onset times. We believe in the efficacy of alternatives to pulmonary delivery, and micro-dosing to establish the least amount of medicine needed to achieve desired relief.”

The oil in Hawaiian Ethos’s vape cartridges contains only the cannabinoids and terpenes that were in the original plant, with absolutely no added chemicals, so vaporizing Ethos products remains a viable option for those needing rapid relief. And for those patients who wish to steer clear of vaping altogether, Hawaiian Ethos offers a variety of non-pulmonary Quick Dissolve Tablets and Effervescent Tablets. Dr. Kerr adds: “Our flower, vape cartridges, QDTs, capsules, tinctures, and salves have identical cannabinoid and terpenoid profiles.”

The difference between solventless and solvent-free:

The Hawaiian Ethos product development team has done extensive research on the most responsible and safe methods of production for each of our products. All of our extracts, including those that go into our vape cartridges, are solventless. This means that we only use water, heat and pressure to extract cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids from the plant. Along with upholding a pure extraction process, Hawaiian Ethos never adds any outside ingredients to our cartridges. Every extract sold in our dispensary comes straight from the plant with absolutely no additives, from the beginning of processing to the finished product.”

It is important to understand the difference between solventless and solvent-free. Solventless means no solvents were ever used in the production of the medicine. Solvent-free is a term used to describe a cannabis extraction process that uses either ethanol, butane, CO2, or other known solvents to extract cannabinoids from the plant. The solvents are then burned off and evaporated, leaving a cannabinoid isolate extract with no terpenes or flavonoids. Many solvent-free production procedures include introducing outside terpenes, flavors, or fillers to make the product taste better and/or get to the right consistency. In contrast, Hawaiian Ethos products have always been solventless vs. solvent-free. 

Traveling to Hawai’i?

Hawaiian Ethos is permitted to serve out-of-state medical cannabis patients.

Residents of the United States with a government-issued Medical Cannabis Registration Card may apply for an out-of-state medical cannabis card here.

Location/Hours

Hawaiian Ethos’ first dispensary is located on Olowalu Street in Kailua-Kona, on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. Hawaiian Ethos is open from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Sunday.  A Hilo location will be announced soon.

For more information, please visit https://www.hawaiianethos.com and @hawaiianethos on social media.

For current product list see: https://secure.hawaiianethos.com/products

Hawaiian Ethos   (808) 339-3205   PO Box 5379, Kailua Kona, HI, 96740   www.hawaiianethos.com

Gout Patients at Higher Risk of Developing Life-Threatening Blood Clot

RICHMOND, BC, Sept. 24, 2019 /CNW/ - An Arthritis Research Canada study has revealed that people with gout (the most common inflammatory arthritis in men) are more likely to develop venous thromboembolism (VTE) – a blood clot that starts in a vein and can travel to the lungs (pulmonary embolism or PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) – a blood clot in the leg veins.  

"These are serious cardiovascular events associated with increased mortality," said Dr. Antonio Aviña-Zubieta, a senior scientist of rheumatology at Arthritis Research Canada and the study's lead researcher. 

In this study, researchers assessed the risk of VTE, PE and DVT in patients with newly diagnosed gout and found that people with the disease have a higher risk of the three conditions than the general population without gout. 

Compared to the general population, the risk of VTE, PE and DVT increased both before (51%, 47%, and 55%) and after the diagnosis of gout (22%, 28%, and 16%), respectively. 

The research also revealed that the risk increases gradually even before the gout diagnosis, peaks in the year prior, and then progressively declines. It is believed that gout associated inflammation before and after diagnosis might be a contributing factor for VTE. 

Previous studies reported the increased risk of VTE, PE, and DVT in some types of inflammatory arthritis, like rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and ankylosing spondylitis, but not gout. This is the largest population-based study to demonstrate that patients with gout have an increased risk of VTE, DVT and PE after a gout diagnosis compared with the general population. 

"The findings call for awareness and vigilance for VTE risk assessment in patients with gout in order to prevent the life-threatening condition," Dr. Aviña-Zubieta said. "It is also important for patients and clinicians to adhere to treatment guidelines under the assumption that this will decrease the risk of gout flares and, thus, VTE."     

To read the study, titled "Trends of Venous Thromboembolism Risk Before and After Diagnosis of Gout: A General Population-Based Study," please click here: https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kez398. 

ABOUT ARTHRITIS RESEARCH CANADA

Arthritis Research Canada is the largest clinical arthritis research institution in North America. Our mission is to transform the lives of people living with arthritis through research and engagement. Led by world-renowned rheumatologist, Dr. John Esdaile, Arthritis Research Canada's scientific team of over 100 are creating a future where people living with arthritis are empowered to triumph over pain and disability. Within British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec, Arthritis Research Canada is leading research aimed at arthritis prevention, early diagnosis and treatment, and quality of life issues.

SOURCE Arthritis Research Canada