Media Newsletter

February edition, 2010

In this issue:

February is Heart Month
Vitamin B pills don't cut risk of heart disease
Don't count on vitamin B supplements to reduce your risk of heart disease – despite what many websites advise. A review by Cochrane Collaboration scientists of eight trials involving 24,210 people concluded that B-vitamin supplements, whether compared with placebos or standard care, have no effect on the incidence of heart attack, stroke or death associated with heart disease. "Prescription of these supplements cannot be justified, unless new evidence from large high quality trials alters our conclusions. There are currently three ongoing trials that will help to consolidate or challenge these findings," says lead researcher, Arturo Martí-Carvajal of the Iberoamerican Cochrane Network in Valencia, Venezuela. CIHR is a partner in the Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre.

February is Black History Month
Study examines link between racial discrimination and physical and mental health
Current CIHR-funded research: In the first study of its kind, researchers at Carleton University are examining how a body's responses to racial discrimination can affect a person's physical and mental health. Led by Drs. Hymie Anisman and Kimberly Matheson, the study is focusing on Black immigrants and Black Canadians living in Canada and how physiological stress responses (e.g. increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol) and strong negative emotions such as anger contribute to depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease and other negative health outcomes. The study is also examining how an individual's ability to cope can help to reduce levels of physiological distress when facing racial discrimination.

February 14: Valentine's Day
Science shows that women really are better at picking up on emotions
Published CIHR-funded research: A word of advice to men this Valentine's Day: make sure those loving feelings are for real. A new study led by the University of Montreal has found that women are better than men at distinguishing between emotions, especially fear and disgust. Dr. Olivier Collignon and his team demonstrated that women are better than men at processing auditory, visual and audiovisual emotions. "The aim of such a study isn't to prove the superiority of men or women – contrary to what some people believe," says Collignon. "These gender studies are necessary for researchers to better understand mental diseases which have a strong gender component. That means they affect men and women differently. Autism is a good example, because it affects more men than women and one of its features is the difficulty in recognizing emotions."

Nobel Prize-winning worm could lead to new targeted cancer treatments
Published CIHR-funded research: Researchers at Queen's University have found a link between two genes involved in cancer formation in humans by examining the genes in microscopic roundworms. The groundbreaking discovery provides valuable insight into how tumour-forming genes interact. "The research on the worm may provide a useful drug target for therapeutic intervention of cancer," says lead investigator Dr. Ian Chin-Sang. "In fact, this worm is becoming a bit of a scientific celebrity. Studies on this worm have won researchers three Nobel prizes in the last seven years."

Study examines need for male-friendly approach to help youth at risk
Current CIHR-funded research: Health and social services are far more focused on helping sexually exploited and at-risk teenage girls and young women than boys and young men, despite research showing that male and female street teens in British Columbia are equally as likely to have been sexually exploited. Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc at the University of British Columbia hopes to change that by exploring urban young men's experiences of health and social services, how their views and ideals about masculinity influence their decisions to access services, and ways health care can be delivered using male-friendly approaches for this marginalized population.

MRIs provide better picture for identifying and treating lung disease
Current CIHR-funded research: Scientists at the Robarts Research Institute and The University of Western Ontario are pioneering a new imaging approach that could result in a better understanding of and more targeted treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Led by Dr. Grace Parraga, the study is developing and applying noble gas magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of patients' lungs to measure lung changes as COPD progresses in order to better predict long-term health outcomes like hospitalization and early death. "Our interdisciplinary team approach uses hyperpolarized helium-3 MRI to measure specific airway and lung tissue differences over time," says Dr. Parraga. "We have patients imaged here who have very similar lung measurements using the established clinical tools and yet their MR images show very significant differences in underlying disease, which opens up the opportunity to personalize COPD treatment and use the imaging measurements as predictors of outcomes." CIHR funding will accelerate the testing of these important ideas in a large group of COPD patients.
Did You Know? COPD, commonly known as chronic bronchitis or emphysema, is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide and it is directly responsible for 10,000 deaths and 100,000 hospitalizations each year in Canada, costing more than $5 billion in direct and indirect costs.

Upcoming Events
February: 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.

Clearing a path to mental health
How can we improve access to effective mental healthcare services?
February 9, 2010, O Patro Vys
Montreal, Quebec

For more information, please visit the CIHR Café Scientifique website.

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