Media Newsletter

January edition, 2010

In this issue:

January 1: New Year’s Day
Eating Better and Exercising More Always Among Top New Year’s Resolutions
Television ads could be contributing to your child’s bad eating habits
Current CIHR-funded research: Here’s a research project for parents who worry their kids are watching too much television and eating badly. Dr. Lise Dubois at the University of Ottawa is leading a study involving more than 2,000 elementary and high school students from Ottawa and Gatineau to learn more about their TV viewing, eating habits and exercise patterns, and to determine which groups are exposed to more junk food advertising. In Quebec, advertising to children is prohibited, but outside of Quebec it’s self-regulated by industry. This is the first major study to evaluate whether these different advertising policies are contributing to childhood obesity in different parts of the country.

New program helping older adults stay fit and independent
Current CIHR-funded research: Researchers at the University of Western Ontario are testing an eight-week exercise and education program (“Get Fit for Active Living”) with 300 Meals on Wheels volunteers from across Canada. Led by Clara Fitzgerald, Donald Paterson and Mark Speechley, the study helps the volunteers start an exercise program, and explains the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle. “Minor increases in activity result in, at most, only minor gains in health. By educating older adults about the importance of exercise, and developing an exercise routine, older adults are more motivated to maintain an active lifestyle that enables them to maintain a more independent lifestyle after retirement and remain engaged in volunteer activities in the community with the maintenance of their functional mobility,” says Fitzgerald.

January is Alzheimer’s awareness month
Stem cell "super soldiers" slow progression of Alzheimer’s disease
Current CIHR-funded research: Dr. Serge Rivest is one of Canada’s top Alzheimer’s scientists. His team at Laval University has developed an innovative therapeutic approach, based on cellular genetics, in which stem cells are transformed into “super soldiers” with the potential to revolutionize Alzheimer’s treatment. The research builds on Dr. Rivest’s groundbreaking CIHR-funded discovery that immune cells derived from bone marrow stem cells show promise in stabilizing patients during the early stage of the disease. “I never thought we’d be on the verge of controlling the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in my lifetime. But following the discoveries made by our team and by other researchers around the world, it looks as if success is within reach, perhaps just a few years away,” says Dr. Rivest.

Researchers reverse cognitive impairment caused by sleep deprivation
Published CIHR-funded Research: Researchers in Toronto, Philadelphia and Glasgow have found a molecular pathway in the brain that causes cognitive impairment due to sleep deprivation. Just as important, the team believes these cognitive deficits, such as an inability to focus, learn or memorize, can be reversed by reducing the concentration of a specific enzyme that builds up in the hippocampus of the brain. The findings, reported in a recent issue of the journal Nature, could present a new approach to treating the memory and learning deficits of insomnia, says Dr. Min Zhuo at the University of Toronto.
Did You Know? Sleep deprivation plagues millions of people around the globe and can cause both long-term and short-term memory challenges.

What research should you believe?
Giving birth: Upright positions shorten first stage labour
Lying down during early stages of childbirth may slow progress, according to a new systematic review of 21 studies involving 3,706 women by The Cochrane Collaboration. Cochrane researchers found the first stage of labour was significantly shorter for women who kneel, stand up, walk around, or sit upright as opposed to lying down. “Based on these results, we would recommend that women are encouraged to use whichever positions they find most comfortable, but are specifically advised to avoid lying flat,” said lead author Annemarie Lawrence, who works at the Institute of Women’s and Children’s Health in Queensland, Australia. “This review demonstrates that there is some benefit and no risk to being upright and or mobile during first stage labour.” CIHR is a partner in the Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre.

Upcoming Events
January: Quench your scientific thirst
CIHR is helping to make the latest health and science research accessible to the general public. Café Scientifiques bring together researchers and the general public in informal venues (such as restaurants, pubs or cafés) for an evening of lively and informative discussion. CIHR and some of its Institutes have already hosted Cafés dealing with health subjects such as obesity, healthy aging, mental health in the workplace, Edmonton housing, the positives and negatives of personalized medicine, the hazards of urban living, and the effects of air pollution on citizens in Toronto.

For more information, please visit the CIHR Café Scientifique website

January 18-19, 2010: CIHR Primary Health-Care Summit
Patient-Oriented Primary Health Care
Hilton Hotel, Toronto, Ontario
The CIHR Primary Health-Care Summit will bring together researchers, health-care professionals, administrators and policy makers as a catalyst for new collaborations and innovative thinking in primary health care. This event will focus on effective practices in primary health-care delivery and the requirements for their transformation.

For more information on any of the above story leads, please contact:
David Coulombe
Media Relations
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Phone: 613-941-4563
Cell: 613-808-7526
mediarelations@cihr-irsc.gc.ca