Latest news with #CummingSchoolofMedicine
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
A public health blind spot: Cannabis use disorder's blunt truth
Since its legalization in 2017, cannabis use has been widely seen across Canada, with 50 per cent of people aged 20-24 reporting frequent use in the 2022 Canadian Cannabis Survey. Despite the all-time high amount of cannabis users, many disregard or minimize the dangers presented by frequent use. Cannabis use disorder affects nearly one-in-three cannabis users, according to Dr. Anees Bahji, MD, a PhD candidate in community health sciences at the Cumming School of Medicine . The current lack of formal clinical guidelines or approved treatments for cannabis use disorder in Canada is partly cultural, according to Bahji. 'Cannabis is often seen as benign or even therapeutic, and that's shaped public perception and research priorities. There hasn't been strong pharmaceutical investment, likely due to limited perceived market opportunity,' he said. 'Legalization focused on regulation and supply, not treatment infrastructure.' Cannabis use disorder, or CUD, currently has no medications approved by Health Canada. Bahji's research aims to fill these current nationwide gaps while building a system of care for people living with the disorder. His doctoral research involves analyzing large-scale provincial and national health and survey datasets, including efforts to validate a case definition for CUD. As a psychiatrist, Bahji said that cannabis is woven into his clinical work and 'everywhere.' 'What stood out to me early in my practice was how cannabis use could be profoundly disruptive for some patients, yet it was often dismissed or downplayed, both socially and within healthcare,' he said. Bahji said that he wanted to explore it further and bring depth and evidence to a poorly understood space, rather than judgment. Through his research, Bahji has found cannabis use to be a challenging issue. Firstly, researchers don't have access to dispensary or sales data, meaning they often miss half the picture, Bahji said. Secondly, Bahji noted that CUD is subjective and many people with milder forms of the disorder won't seek care, meaning they are unaccounted for in health data. 'Even when people do present, whether they get diagnosed or coded with CUD can vary by provider and context. The end result is an under-identified, inconsistently tracked condition,' he said. Bahji's research includes a population-based laboratory, a model that allows researchers to test hypotheses and monitor trends using population-level data, he said. 'It's about triangulating large, often disconnected data sources, health administrative data, national and provincial surveys, and clinical datasets to build a real-world lens on cannabis-related harms,' he said. Bahji said that early lab insights indicate that cannabis use disorder is likely more common than surveys suggest and that it's possible to build a viable research infrastructure around it. 'We've also found early signals suggesting people with CUD have an elevated risk of outcomes like cardiovascular disease, even after adjusting for other risk factors, which could be especially relevant for younger individuals,' Bahji said. Bahji said that some researchers have avoided CUD for fear of appearing anti-cannabis or out of touch with legalization movements. Despite the current status quo, progress is happening. Bahji said that he is currently involved in developing new national clinical guidelines for CUD. 'I hope they'll provide much-needed clarity and support for both patients and providers,' he said. Bahji has also contributed to national guidelines, partnered with provincial policy bodies and developed tools like an animated explainer video on YouTube to support public engagement and clinical education. 'Ultimately, data must inform action, or we're just describing suffering without helping to alleviate it,' he said. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Calgary Herald
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Three Calgary philanthropists receiving Alberta Order of Excellence
Three Calgary leaders will be inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence later this year. Article content Geoff Cumming, Brian Felesky and Stephanie Felesky of Calgary have been named as part of the list of inductees for 2025. Article content Article content Cumming, a University of Calgary Alumnus and philanthropist, is well-known for his historic $100 million donation to the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine. Article content Article content Brian and Stephanie Felesky have each contributed to the community through different initiatives and sitting on many boards in Calgary, where they've received many awards for their philanthropic efforts. Additionally, Brian served as a founding member for Awali, an Alberta-based initiative that worked with the Aga Khan Foundation to support teacher development in East Africa. Article content Also recieving the award is John Scott of Longview, south of Calgary. Scott has played a major role in placing southern Alberta on the radar for many big-budget movie and TV productions. He was also a Top 7 Over 70 winner in 2023, inducted into the Canadian Stunts Hall of fame in 2022, and was recognized by the Global Production Awards for Location of the Year. Article content Article content The ceremony will take place in Edmonton in October. With the new additions, this will bring the total members in the Alberta Order of Excellence to 229. Article content Article content Albertans also receiving honours include Sine Chadi, John Day and Doug Stollery of Edmonton, Nichole Neubauer of Medicine Hat, and Lyn Radford of Red Deer. Article content The order recognizes exceptional service and achievement in a variety of fields, and is part of the Canadian Honours System. It celebrates Albertans whose leadership, innovation and dedication have played a role in Alberta's identity and future. Article content Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Salma Lakhani, said the Alberta Order of Excellence has recognized individuals who have been making transformative contributions to the province since 1979.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Researchers at UCalgary to use nuclear imaging for adrenal disorder treatment
Researchers at the University of Calgary (UCalgary) in Canada are set to make use of nuclear adrenal imaging, specifically a technique known as CETO, to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of adrenal disorders. This advancement could impact the management of conditions associated with adrenal gland tumours such as treatment-resistant hypertension. These glands are said to be present on the top of the kidneys. The CETO technique claims to offer a non-invasive screening approach for diagnosing and locating adrenal gland tumours. Dr Gregory Kline and Dr Alex Leung, both from UCalgary's Cumming School of Medicine, are the principal investigators spearheading this initiative of introducing CETO to the university. Both of them obtained funding for the trial to broaden the diagnostic imaging technique. Dr Kline, an endocrinologist and clinical professor, as well as the medical director of the Calgary Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Clinic, furthered his 'expertise' in the CETO technique during a sabbatical at the UK's Addenbrooke's Hospital. Kline said: 'It's quite different from the traditional computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The process involves an injection of a very short-lived compound that finds and sticks to the tumour, giving off a tiny radioactive signal which provides an image of the adrenal glands and tumour within.' Dr Leung is an associate professor and endocrinologist and a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute and the O'Brien Institute for Public Health. The partnership with Addenbrooke's Hospital has yielded positive outcomes, with the first subject in Calgary scanned, diagnosed, and treated using the CETO technique in late 2024. This was made possible by a grant awarded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, which is to provide funding for a Phase II trial over the next three years. The trial will compare the precision of the CETO scan against the current standard of care, adrenal vein sampling, in detecting adrenal gland tumours. Additionally, subjects' experiences with the CETO scan will be evaluated. In January 2025, UCalgary's faculty of kinesiology in partnership with the Mira Hormone Monitor creators, announced the start of a validation study for the device, aiming to provide individuals with detailed hormone profiles. "Researchers at UCalgary to use nuclear imaging for adrenal disorder treatment" was originally created and published by Medical Device Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
CBC
07-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
University of Calgary team tracking national respiratory virus trends among kids
University of Calgary researchers are leading a national surveillance system, tracking respiratory virus trends among Canadian children who seek care in hospitals, from coast to coast. The program, known as SPRINT-Kids, involves 15 pediatric hospitals in eight provinces, and is designed to track a range of infectious diseases, including RSV, influenza and COVID-19. It is also monitoring adverse reactions to immunizations and vaccine effectiveness. The data, collected for the Public Health Agency of Canada, is reported weekly, providing a real-time perspective on which infections are active, who is most at risk as well as transmission patterns and hot spots, according to the University of Calgary. "It can serve as a sentinel warning system to identify when we are starting to see increases across the country and where we are seeing it," said Dr. Stephen Freedman, a professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at the Cumming School of Medicine. The University of Calgary team was contracted by the federal government to take over the monitoring project after an earlier pediatric surveillance contract expired. According to Freedman, who leads the team, they've expanded the surveillance system beyond hospital admissions to include children seen in emergency rooms. "Over 90 per cent of children who seek emergency department care are actually discharged to home. So [we're] really trying to understand the broader picture that affects the broader community," he said. The program gathers a range of information, including symptoms, severity of illness, vaccination status, treatment, tests and outcomes. "Often these infections … start off on the East Coast and then slowly make their way out to the West Coast," he said. "So that can actually play a role in helping with staffing, planning, addressing the need for surge and capacity. And that is really kind of an important thing for the health-care system." Beyond informing public policy and planning at a hospital level, he said, this kind of monitoring helps parents by providing information on which viruses are circulating, how common they are and whether they're likely to show up in their community. "That also really reinforces the potential impact and importance of vaccination," he said. And, according to Freedman, the system can track emerging threats such as H5N1 avian influenza. "If that were to start to emerge, we would be primed and ready to track it, understand it, collect data on its severity very quickly to better understand it, see what treatments are being given and how the children are doing as well." The team is also looking at mycoplasma pneumoniae — known as walking pneumonia — which sparked concern as case numbers surged late last year. In addition, the system monitors adverse immunization reactions (both mild and severe), such as myocarditis, and how often that might be happening. This also includes children seen in emergency rooms. And it builds on the earlier system by collecting data that will help assess how well vaccines are working, according to Freedman. The U of C team was contracted to lead the project in November of 2023 and its scope expanded in November of 2024, he said. The Public Health Agency of Canada said the university was selected after a previous contract for pediatric hospital surveillance expired and the data is a key component of its overarching surveillance system. "These data include information on demographics, clinical characteristics, risk factors and interventions related to severe respiratory illness, which enables a better understanding of key factors influencing observed trends and supports the development of public health recommendations to mitigate the impact of severe illness in children," a spokesperson said in an email. Freedman expects the team's data will be shared on the federal government's weekly respiratory virus surveillance report within the next month or two.
