Latest news with #DalhousieUniversity
CBC
16 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
'I have a life back': How ketamine therapy is helping these Nova Scotians find relief from depression
For decades, Sherri Topple's world was overshadowed by the crushing weight of depression that no medication or therapy seemed to fix. It wasn't until she tried ketamine therapy that she finally felt a sense of relief. At her worst, the Nova Scotia woman says she could barely muster up the energy to take a shower. "You look at the shampoo bottle and think, 'It's just too far. I can't reach,'" said Topple. "So you stand there with the water running and cry and think, 'What the heck is wrong with me?'" But after completing a clinical trial through Dalhousie University and receiving five doses of ketamine back in January, she said everything changed. "I have a life back. I have a better life back than what I've ever had," said Topple, who now enjoys painting, gardening and writing — hobbies she wasn't capable of while she was severely depressed. Ketamine is a fast-acting anesthetic used in medical or veterinary surgery. Selling, possessing or producing it in Canada is illegal unless it's authorized for medical or scientific purposes. In more recent years, it's become a tool used to treat severe depression that's been otherwise untreatable. Approximately 20 patients in the province have received ketamine therapy since March 2023, according to Nova Scotia's health authority. Psychiatrist Dr. Abraham Nunes runs the program through the mood disorders clinic at the QEII Health Sciences Centre, but can only administer the infusions on a compassionate basis due to limited resources and funding. Nunes has witnessed first-hand how ketamine therapy has improved the lives of patients like Topple. "It's quite remarkable how it can work, even for people who've been depressed for so long. But it helps them feel so much better that it actually provides them with hope that there is something that can be done," said Nunes. But some might think of ketamine as a club drug that's often used and abused for its hallucinogenic effects. "If you are buying ketamine off the street, using it in an uncontrolled fashion, or if I were to just give people vials of ketamine to take, that would of course be, yeah, a horror story," he said. A medical examiner ruled that ketamine was the primary cause of actor Matthew Perry's death. Perry was using the drug legally through his regular doctor, but he began seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him and buying it illegally, eventually suffering a fatal overdose in 2023. Nunes says the drug is "very safe" when used at a low dose in a medically supervised environment. Because the treatment is not publicly funded in Nova Scotia, Nunes and a handful of other health-care professionals volunteer their time to treat one patient every two weeks. He said the QEII Foundation is currently raising funds to hire two nurses and some administrative staff in order to expand the program, and administer about eight treatments per day for two years as a pilot project. He said from there, they would evaluate the data and seek more stable funding from the government. CBC News asked the Department of Health and Wellness whether it's considering funding ketamine therapy for treatment-resistant depression. In a statement, the department responded that it regularly reviews the procedures and services covered by MSI, Nova Scotia's insurance system, but there are "no plans currently to include ketamine infusion treatment as an insured procedure or ketamine as a benefit under the Nova Scotia Pharmacare Program." Patients like Lisa Herritt could benefit from ketamine therapy becoming part of Nova Scotia's public health system. She was also treated by Nunes, but unlike Topple, Herritt requires infusions on a more regular basis and had to seek treatment beyond what's being offered through the QEII Foundation. She was ultimately referred to a private clinic where she receives ketamine infusions every other week to the tune of $12,000 per year. Although it's expensive, she says going without the treatment is not an option for her. "I feel like I know what would happen, and I would go right back to where I was. And it is a horrible place," said Herritt, who has suffered from depression for more than 22 years since the birth of her first son. She said prior to receiving ketamine, her depression was "insurmountable." Herritt was disengaged from her children's lives and she eventually had to leave her 20-year career as a pharmacist. Herritt had tried many different medications to get her depression under control to no avail. She even tried electroconvulsive therapy until turning to ketamine as a last resort in 2023. She has responded well to the drug and believes that ketamine therapy should be made more accessible to Nova Scotians suffering with the mental illness. "If there's a treatment out there that would work after multiple failures, why wouldn't we do it for people? It's not like you wouldn't treat other illnesses that there's a treatment for," she said. Topple agrees. "Nova Scotians need this … and it needs to be funded. It will save so much pain, so much hurt and it will save a lot of money in unnecessary health care," she said.
CBC
a day ago
- Business
- CBC
Legal expert explains why Nova Scotia Power class action unlikely
Many Nova Scotia Power customers who recently found out their personal information was stolen in a ransomware attack have questions about the utility's legal responsibilities in the wake of the data breach. Watch Amy Smith's interview with Wayne MacKay, professor emeritus at Dalhousie's law school.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Lori Turnbull on the opening of parliament
Atlantic Watch Dalhousie University's Lori Turnbull discusses the opening of parliament and the significance of having King Charles deliver the throne speech.
Global News
27-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
Tim Houston has been travelling the world promoting Nova Scotia. Is it money well spent?
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston is in France as part of ongoing efforts to promote trade talks amid tariff tensions between Canada and the U.S. Houston is in the country to discuss market and energy opportunities with France-based tire manufacturer, Michelin, which is one of Nova Scotia's largest employers. It's the latest in a series of international trips for Houston to bolster trade relations since Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods. 'Given the circumstances we're in, I think it's probably going to be the case that a lot of the premiers if not all of them, are going to be travelling more than they usually do because they're looking for new trade partnerships.,' said Dalhousie University political scientist, Lori Turnbull. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Although the response to build up new trade relations is being led federally, Turnbull says the provinces' premiers also play a key role. Story continues below advertisement 'They are actually the best ones that are most able to explain what that partnership would look like on the ground because it is very regional, provincial, more than it is national,' she said. She also notes Houston has been travelling interprovincially, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford becoming a significant ally. 'There seems to also be a desire on Premier Houston's part to expand the reach of his own brand,' she said. Since being re-elected in November 2024, Houston has been on more than half a dozen international trips. The province's ministerial expenses record for the fiscal year ending March 31 shows more than $10,000 has been spent. That figure doesn't include his most recent stops in Denmark, Spain, the U.K. and now France. The Nova Scotia Liberal Party says it's crucial for the premier to deliver the results of these trade talks to Nova Scotians. 'The premier has indicated that he's meeting with various representatives and some of them are maybe potential to the province or established in the province already, so we haven't seen any reports coming out of the trips yet but we'll be asking the question,' said interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette. During the spring sitting of the legislature, the NDP also raised concerns about Houston's travel, saying he should have made sitting in the House a priority. Story continues below advertisement The premier's office did not respond to our request for comment by deadline Monday night.
CTV News
26-05-2025
- Science
- CTV News
Dalhousie University using 3D printing technology to make replacement parts for navy vessels
Halifax's Dalhousie University is partnering with the Department of National Defence to extend the life of Canada's aging naval fleet. The project uses an industrial-grade form of 3D printing to produce critical parts for vessels, like submarines. HMCS Windsor HMCS Windsor, one of Canada's Victoria-class long range patrol submarines, returns to port in Halifax on June 20, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan (Andrew Vaughan/THE CANADIAN PRESS) Paul Bishop, a materials engineer at Dalhousie and lead researcher on the project, says the process is much faster than typical repairs or replacement. 'Which means to get a replacement part it costs many, many dollars and can take months just to get a singular part,' he says. 'Whereas with 3D printing, once you have the acquired approach nailed down, which is what we do at Dalhousie, you can print a part in a matter of hours or days.' A gas atomizer is among the pieces of equipment Bishop and his team uses. '(It) is where we convert solid metallic materials into a powder form that we need as the feed stock for the 3D printing process,' he says. The powder is a copper-based alloy. Bishop says it comes from pieces of decommissioned naval vessels that his team is essentially recycling into powder, to then recycle into new vessel parts. The next step in the process is done at the university's Advanced Manufacturing Hub where the metal 3D printing research is done. 'The level of detail and resolution is pretty amazing. We have three different technologies here that we're using,' says Bishop. Metal 3D printing An example of metal 3D printing research done at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Directed energy deposition is among them. 'The navy's interest in this technology is that we can use it to repair worn or damaged components so they can be put back into service in a fraction of the time and a fraction of the cost,' Bishop says. 'This is a gamechanger for the navy and a lot of different circumstances and we can really get that vessel back in service in a very short period of time.' The team then designs and develops parts, like impellers, from the metal powder from the gas atomizer. Impeller Examples of an navy impeller (left) and repaired pipe. They also use different technology to repair existing parts, like pipes. 'With this technology you can overlay different materials that have different properties, better corrosion resistance, or rebuild a worn surface, so that part can be put back into service,' explains Bishop. He says one the main benefits of this technology for the navy is to keep everything in Canada. 'To keep everything secure and hopefully to grow an ecosystem within the defense sector where they'll be many, many companies doing this sort of work for the Canadian navy,' Bishop says. 'It's been a great development for the university and with our proximity to the Canadian armed forces and the naval base of course it's been a real win-win situation for everybody.' For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
