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A good night’s sleep
Sleep apnea is a life-threatening condition that interrupts
breathing during sleep. The University of Calgary’s
Dr. John Remmers was the first to demonstrate that the
condition is due to a narrowing of part of the throat. He
developed a device to keep the airway open during sleep:
the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) device. The
CPAP essentially eliminates sleep apnea and dramatically
improves sleep quality. See Extra Weight Can Lead to Being
Extra Tired on page 30.
Cardiac surgery pioneer
The bio of the late Dr. John Callaghan contains a series
of firsts including: co-developer of the world’s first
cardiac pacemaker, Canada’s first open-heart surgery and
Canada’s first successful complete repair of the blue baby
malformation. The last two landmarks were performed by the
multi-talented cardiac surgeon at the University of Alberta
Hospital. The open-heart surgery required a heart-lung pump
that Callaghan built himself. His operations saved many lives
and his pioneering innovations continue to save lives around
the world.
Combating doctor shortages
with innovative physician training
Medical schools in Calgary and Edmonton are addressing
the province’s chronic shortage of rural physicians with a
long-term approach focused on education and training. One
of their innovations is the Rural Integrated Community
Clerkship Program, which gives third-year medical students
at both universities an immersion-type experience in rural
practice. Students are placed in an Alberta rural community
for about 36 weeks where they learn in an integrated fashion
by following their patients from the clinic to consults,
surgery, delivery and other specialities.
‘Smarter’ roads are safer roads
The AMA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports, on average,
that Alberta has one traffic fatality every day, one collision
every five minutes and a serious injury from a collision
every 20 minutes. Researchers at the University of Calgary’s
Schulich School of Engineering are using a state-of-the-art
laboratory to increase road safety and ease congestion. The
researchers are paving the way for smarter roads in Alberta
with ramp meters, variable speed limits and advanced
warning systems.
Website cuts through social assistance maze
It can be tough to navigate Alberta’s wide range
of social benefits and services and figure out whether you or
your family are eligible. My Alberta Supports is a website with
an easy-to-use needs identification and eligibility estimator.
No personal identifying information is needed. After
answering a few multiple choice questions, you’re provided
with a list of programs and services that may be right for you.
Links to online applications will be available later this year.
Find the estimator at AlbertaSupports.ca.
Breakthrough in colon cancer screening
Every year, about 1,200 Albertans are diagnosed with colon
cancer and about 600 die from it. These grim statistics drove
Edmonton physicians Drs. Richard Fedorak and Haili Wang
to search for better ways to screen for colon cancer. Their
team focused on detecting non-cancerous growths in the
colon called polyps. If left to grow, polyps can turn cancerous.
The new technology can detect the chemical “fingerprints” of
these growths in urine. “We have an easy, non-invasive test,”
says Fedorak. “All you need is a urine sample.” The science
behind this is a tongue-twister—metabolomics—and Alberta
scientists are world leaders in the field. Now, Alberta-based
Metabolomic Technologies Inc. is commercializing the test,
with a clinical trial complete in Alberta and one underway
in China.
New test for rheumatoid arthritis
A new test for rheumatoid arthritis—the first in more than
two decades—is now available from Quest Diagnostics, the
world’s leading provider of diagnostic services. The test is
based on 10 years of research by Drs. Walter Maksymowych
and Aziz Ghahary at the University of Alberta. They
discovered a protein that floods into the joints of people
with rheumatoid arthritis and causes an explosion of
inflammatory activity that damages joint tissue. Testing for
the protein not only detects rheumatoid arthritis, but also
predicts the severity of the disease. “We have many treatment
options for rheumatoid arthritis, but it’s important to start
them early, especially for the very destructive forms,” says
Maksymowych.
