Healthcare and Wellness : In The News

The Globe & Mail features new Toronto gym Motion Room in a short online video. The fitness club, which opened its doors December 2010, distinguishes itself from other gyms by working with each individual client to develop a unique guided fitness program.

see video here
original source Globe & Mail

Canada is the second happiest country in the world according to global survey by Gallup News. 69% of Canadians rated their lives as "thriving" in 2010 -- tying Sweden for second place.

"Gallup classifies respondents' wellbeing as "thriving," "struggling," or "suffering," according to how they rate their current and future lives on a ladder scale with steps numbered from 0 to 10 based on the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. People are considered thriving if they rate their current lives a 7 or higher and their lives in five years an 8 or higher."

"Majorities of residents in 19 countries -- mostly in Europe and the Americas -- rated their lives well enough to be classified this way. Denmark, along with Sweden (69%) and Canada (69%), led the list, which is largely dominated by more developed and wealthier nations, as expected given the links between wellbeing and GDP. The U.S. falls somewhat near the middle of the pack, with 59% of Americans thriving."

read full story here
original source Gallup News

Time Magazine writes on a potentially ground-breaking discovery from a group of University of Toronto scientists. At the annual meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology, UofTs Dr. Kieran Murphy announced that cocktail of antioxidants developed at the university, could cut the damage to DNA by radiation from CT scans by as much as 50%, if taken before the scan.

"Murphy's concoction works by blocking the effect of free radicals, or unstable compounds made when radioactive waves collide with water, generated by radiation. Free radicals can damage DNA and are responsible for the premature aging and death of cells. Murphy's idea was to flood the body with antioxidants that neutralize free radicals prior to medical procedures such as CT scans, which use X-rays to image the body; the antioxidants would counter the damage from radiation."

"He stresses that while any CT scan causes some damage to DNA, for the most part the body's own repair mechanisms are able to overcome such low-level changes. "We have to balance the risks with the benefits," he says. "By far the majority of the time, the risk is far, far worth the benefit. We're just trying to say that if we can reduce that risk a little more, it's a good thing. Then we might be able to allow more screening. If we can increase the number of women who feel safe having a mammogram or the number of people who feel comfortable having a colorectal CT to detect colon cancer, or the number of people who get a coronary calcium screen to pick up signs of future heart trouble, then that would be a good thing."

read full story here
original source Time Magazine

Surgeons at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital are getting attention from the international medical community for their innovative use of the Xbox 360 Kinect in the operating room. The Microsoft system, which uses hands-free motion-sensing controls, allows doctors to manipulate images during surgery without having to touch a thing. The system saves both time and money as surgeons are able to pull up CT or MRI scans for review during an operation without having to re-sterilize the operating area (which would involve changing gloves and gowns).

"The Kinect can recognize hand gestures, as it is essentially a depth-sensing camera that fires out a grid of near infra-red beams to figure out how far away objects are from the camera. Built-in software contains algorithms that help it detect and recognize movement."

"And using hand gestures to zoom in or out of or flip through images could cut out the time surgeons normally spend scrubbing clean after reviewing images, the doctors said. Dr. Calvin Law, a surgical oncologist with the hospital, told the paper that cleaning to prevent bacterial contamination after checking a computer can take up to 20 minutes an image, sometimes adding a full hour to surgery."

"The project was developed by three engineers at the hospital, who have used the Kinect for six surgeries, The Canadian Press said, but the hospital has plans to roll it out in other departments."

read full story here
original source DOTmed News

The Economist Intelligence Unit has released it's annual rankings of world's most livable cities and, as in past years, Canada dominates the list. Three Canadian cities--Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary--placed in the top ten. While Toronto still has some catching up to do with Vancouver (who got the number one spot for the second year in a row) it nonetheless scored favourably, coming 4th out of 140 cities worldwide.

"The ranking scores 140 cities from 0-100 on 30 factors spread across five areas: stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. These numbers are then weighted and combined to produce an overall figure. The top ten cities occupy the same positions as last year, with the exception of Melbourne and Vienna, which have swapped places."

"The report, which some companies use to determine hardship allowances for relocated employees, explains what makes a high-ranked city:
Cities that score best tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density. This often fosters a broad range of recreational availability without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure. Seven of the top ten scoring cities are in Australia and Canada, where population densities of 2.88 and 3.40 people per sq km respectively compare with a global (land) average of 45.65 and a US average of 32."

read full story here
original source The Economist

Blog TO reviews Fabarnak, the restaurant/cafe that recently opened inside Church street's revamped 519 Community Centre. In addition to serving great tasting sustainable and healthy foods, Fabarnak also functions as a social enterprise by offering employment opportunities to area residents.

"Since opening in October, word has slowly gotten out about the cafe/restaurant's unique menu of sustainable, homemade foods. Everything served at Fabarnak, right down to the ketchup served with the "Cosy" gluten-free elbow pasta with four local cheeses ($12), is made on site. Fabarnak smokes it own meats, makes its own soup stocks, even creates its own evergreen oil for its vegan "Comfy" soup, a tomato bisque with gouda and croustade ($4 or $9, depending on size)."

"My philosophy is that food is either about fantasy or nostalgia," says head chef and director of food services Eric Wood. "It takes us to somewhere we've never been, or reminds us of someplace we'd like to revisit." Wood encourages the staff to push boundaries and try to experiment with new tastes. "It's like you're writing a play," he says. "Constructive conflict is a good thing."

read full story here
original source Blog TO

Researchers from University of Toronto have made giant strides in the search for relief from obstructive sleep apnea, a sleeping disorder that effects more than 18 million North Americans. As reported by the Medical News, the UofT scientists found that repeated obstruction of the airways releases the brain chemical noradrenaline, an important finding as it suggests that common drugs that affect noradrenaline levels in the brain could be used to improve breathing in patients suffering from sleep apnea.

"In a recent study that appeared in the Journal of Neuroscience, scientists from the University demonstrated that repeated obstruction of the airways requires release of the brain chemical noradrenaline. The release of this chemical helps the brain learn to breathe more effectively and purposefully."

"What we showed is that repeated disruption of normal lung activity - what happens during sleep apnea - triggers a form of learning that helps you breathe better. This type of brain plasticity could be harnessed to help overcome the breathing insufficiency that typifies sleep apnea" says Dr. John Peever, Associate Professor of neuroscience and lead author of the study."

"These findings are important because they suggest that artificial manipulation with common drugs that affect noradrenaline levels in the brain could also help improve breathing in patients suffering from sleep apnea. This work could serve as the potential basis for developing the long sought after pill for sleep apnea."

read full story here
original source Medical News

The Toronto Star features Ella's Botanicals, a Toronto-based business which manufacturers a line of handmade soaps and lotions. Launched by Torontonian Ella Nunes in 2006, Ella's Botanicals has built a loyal following for its commitment locally produced, eco-friendly and all-natural skin care products.

"The company's top seller is the Lavender Rose soap bar, which counts essential oils of lavender and geranium among its ingredients. Another standout is the Chai Latte soap bar, which includes cinnamon, vanilla and goat's milk.The products are luxurious and eco-friendly, and range in price from $5.50 for a bar of soap to $20 for a 500-ml bottle of lotion."

"Much like her soap bars, which can take a month to make, Nunes has built her business slowly but steadily. She launched Ella's Botanical's in 2006 with a single product: soap bars. To pay for the essential oils and other materials needed to produce samples, the trained herbalist and aromatherapist worked part-time as a cashier at Mountain Equipment Co-op."

read full story here
original source Toronto Star

As reported by the Times of India, researchers from Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, have found that "mindfulness-based cognitive therapy" can be as effective as antidepressant medication for preventing relapse among patients suffering from depression. The findings of the innovative study (which followed 160 patients age 18 to 65 over eight months of treatment) were recently reported in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

"Zindel V. Segal, of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, and colleagues studied 160 patients age 18 to 65.After eight months of treatment, 84 achieved remission. Patients in remission were then randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: 28 continued taking their medication; 30 had their medication slowly replaced by placebo; and 26 tapered their medication and then received mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural therapy."

"In this therapy, patients learn to monitor and observe their thinking patterns when they feel sad, changing automatic reactions associated with depression into opportunities for useful reflection."

"During the 18-month follow-up period, relapse occurred among 38 per cent of those in the cognitive behavioral therapy group, 46 per cent of those in the maintenance medication group and 60 per cent of those in the placebo group, making both medication and behavioral therapy effective at preventing relapse."

"For those unwilling or unable to tolerate maintenance antidepressant treatment, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy offers equal protection from relapse during an 18-month period," wrote the authors."

read full story here
original source Times of India

The Globe & Mail looks into the innovative research of Julie McCarthy, a professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. McCarthy has spent years studying the negative effects of putting employees and potential employees under intense pressure, suggesting that companies looking for the best candidates should seek to minimize anxiety levels at the workplace.

"Some people might argue that we want to hire someone who can handle anxiety and if you can't handle it in a job interview, how can you handle it on the job," she says. And in some cases, that may be true. But, for the most part, the intense pressure that candidates face in job interviews isn't characteristic of the day-to-day performance that's required of them, argues Dr. McCarthy. "Just because someone is anxious in a job interview doesn't mean they aren't going to be a phenomenal employee," she says. "They might actually be superb."

"The research has important implications for companies that want to ensure they use fair and objective hiring and advancement practices and select the best qualified people. "You want to get as accurate a picture as possible of the individual," she says."

"Dr. McCarthy has been studying workplace anxiety since she was a PhD student, when she developed work selection tests for various companies. Friends and colleagues used to turn to her for advice on how to curb their nervousness during job interviews. Her research work now focuses on analyzing the impact of employee anxiety on test and interview performance. She collaborates with numerous employers to gauge the impact of anxiety on an employee's performance in job interviews, annual reviews and promotional exams, and to identify strategies to reduce the negative effects of anxiety. She has worked with police services, retailers, the armed forces, government agencies, and other organizations in Canada and the U.S."

read full story here
original source Globe & Mail

The Toronto Star writes on new local community hub Crescent Town. Located at 3079 Danforth Ave, just east of Victoria Park, Crescent Town has become a gathering place for the community, in particular for newcomers to Toronto, offering a much-needed mix of health, social, youth and community services.

"The services are desperately needed. There has been a dearth of health and social programs for residents � many of them poor and newcomers. For executive director Axelle Janczur, AccessPoint is the realization of a dream. "Community hubs are about bringing a variety of services under one roof to create synergy . . . and provide better access for grassroots community groups and residents � all those who need them," she said."

"The evolution of the hubs began in 2006 when the provincial health ministry announced the need for health services in Toronto's priority neighbourhoods, where services were lacking or non-existent. In 2007, United Way Toronto joined the province to establish community hubs in poor neighbourhoods. Money to open eight hubs became available a year later. The first opened in 2009 in Scarborough."

"The centre is another step toward making Toronto's neighbourhoods stronger, said United Way president and CEO Susan McIsaac."

"We're so delighted to see a project like this one open its doors to the community, bringing renewed energy and spirit to the neighbourhood and providing opportunities for a better life for everyone," she said."

read full story here
original source Toronto Star

New research released by a group of University of Toronto scientists suggests that a peptide inhibitor called ZIP could help alleviate certain kinds of chronic pain. As reported by HealthCanal.com the study could prove groundbreaking as chronic pain treatments to date remain insufficient or ineffective for many patients.

"The new research, led by Professor Min Zhuo of the University of Toronto's Department of Physiology and published in the current edition of the journal Science, explores the role that the protein kinase M zeta plays in storing "memories" of pain and therefore enhancing the sensation of pain. Blocking the effect of [the protein] through the use of a selective inhibitor called pseudosubstrate inhibitory peptide - or ZIP -- blocked behavioral sensitization and nerve injury related to chronic pain."

"Normal pain or physiological pain is an important warning signal to avoid potentially dangerous situations or environments. It is brief, and short-lasting. Chronic pain is different, as it persists for weeks, month or years due to spontaneous firing or overexcited pain-related neurons."

"What makes chronic pain difficult to treat is that these painful signals trigger long-term plastic changes in different cortical areas and form permanent bad 'memory'. It explains why the treatment ofchronic pain in areas like the spinal cord is often insufficient or ineffective," said Zhuo, the Canada Research Chair in Pain and Cognition."

read full story here
original source HealthCanal.com

The National Post features the North Toronto Baseball Camp (NTBC) as part of the paper's ongoing "Young Entrepreneur Spotlight" series. Launched in 2007 by five friends--Alex Day (23), Jeremy Weisz (23), Simon Weisz (20), Gabe Diamond (23), and Lee Berger (23)--NTBC offers summer baseball camps, coach's clinics, and private and group lessons for Toronto youth.

"The Main Camp program started in 2007 at Memorial Park, located in the heart of mid-town Toronto. This program was developed as a specialty baseball day camp which caters to all ages and skill levels. After a successful inaugural summer, the camp expanded to include a second summer program at another location � Elite Camp located at Sentinel Park, near Keele & Sheppard.  Elite Camp was developed for more competitive baseball players looking for advanced skill development."

"Enrollment has grown steadily from 140 campers in 2007 to over 400 in 2010. Furthermore, the number of staff has increased from 9 to 25, together with the establishment of a Counselor-in-Training (CIT) program. Our CIT program allows older campers to slowly transition into staff members, and learn the necessary leadership skills to be successful."

read full story here
original source National Post

The 64 organizations selected as the 2011 winners of Mediacaster's fifth annual GTA's Top Employers contest, may vary widely in industry-type and workforce-size, but, as reported by the Globe & Mail, they all share an impressive commitment to employee engagement and fulfillment.

"With so many national and international head offices in or near Toronto, the 2011 winners of the fifth annual GTA's Top Employers contest faced fierce competition. Size didn't matter. Companies making this year's list range from Newmarket's XE.com Inc., in the Internet publishing and broadcasting sector, with a staff of 19, to Ontario Public Service, with 65,234 employees. Employers were compared with others in their field to determine which offers the most progressive and forward-thinking programs."

see full list of winners here
original source Globe & Mail

University of Toronto scientists have discovered a new and potentially ground-breaking method for preventing the bone-wasting disease osteoporosis. As reported by the Daily Mail, the UofT researchers found that patients who used an ointment made of nitroglycerine (the same chemical used to make dynamite) saw significant increases in their bone density over a two-year period.

"Researchers at the University of Toronto tested the dynamite ointment on 126 women aged 50 or older with osteopenia, a condition where the bone density is lower than normal, but not bad enough to be classed as osteoporosis. Without treatment, most people with osteopenia end up with osteoporosis."

"Each woman rubbed 15mg of ointment - costing less than £1 a day - into their chest or arms at bedtime (the cream can be applied on any area of hairless skin). A separate group was given a dummy ointment. After two years, women using the nitroglycerine ointment had higher bone density in all the major fracture risk sites - such as the spine, femur (thigh bone) and hip".

"Research leader Dr Sophie Jamal said: "I'm pretty excited. The group with nitroglycerine had huge improvements in bone density and strength." Dr Claire Bowring, of the national Osteoporosis Society, says: "The results are very interesting, especially as the treatment is an ointment, rather than injection or tablets. However, a larger trial is needed, looking at improvements in bone density for people with osteoporosis and, ultimately, whether broken bones can be avoided. If the results show the same benefits, it could be exciting news."

read full story here
original source Daily Mail