UofT Tag

22 Sep

Posted at 14:37h in Addiction, Cannabis, JAMA

Notice: If you or someone you know needs help with substance use, contact SAMHSA at 1-800-662-4357 (free, confidential, 24/7) or visit findtreatment.gov. Do not drive after consuming cannabis or any substance that may impair your ability to operate a vehicle safely.

[caption id="attachment_76167" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr. Bernard Le Foll Dr. Bernard Le Foll[/caption]

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Bernard Le Foll, MD, PhD

Chair in Addiction Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto

Head, Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute

Cannabis edibles — cannabis products that are ingested rather than smoked — are widely available and increasingly consumed, yet their effects on driving performance have been far less studied than smoked cannabis. A new randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Network Open now provides the first systematic evidence on how edibles affect simulated driving, and the findings have significant implications for road safety and impaired driving enforcement. According to NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse), cannabis is one of the most commonly detected substances in drivers involved in motor vehicle crashes, and understanding the full duration and dose-dependence of impairment — including from non-smoked forms — is critical to effective public safety policy.

Watch the Video presentation of this study on YouTube

22 Jun

Posted at 21:22h in Author Interviews, PLoS, Sexual Health
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Karyn Anderson (she/her) PhD Candidate, Evolutionary Anthropology Lab of Dr. Julie Teichroeb University of Toronto, Scarborough MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We sought out to determine if there were observations of same-sex sexual behavior in mammals that exist beyond the published record. We found that more people observe same-sex sexual behavior than they publish on it, and this appears to be due to a perception of researchers that same-sex sexual behavior is very rare. We found, however, that it was commonly observed by our survey participants.

03 Jun

Posted at 19:33h in Alcohol, Author Interviews, CMAJ
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_61837" align="alignleft" width="125"]Rahel Zewude, MD FRCPCInfectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology, PGY-5 University of Toronto Dr. Zewude[/caption] Rahel Zewude, MD FRCPC Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology, PGY-5 University of Toronto MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you describe the syndrome of Auto-brewery syndrome? Response: Auto-brewery syndrome refers to a syndrome where the gut ferments alcohol from carbohydrates leading to high blood alcohol levels and intoxication without any consumption of alcoholic drinks.

20 May

Posted at 13:29h in Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Gastrointestinal Disease, Health Care Systems
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_61735" align="alignleft" width="183"]Laura Targownik, MDLead author and Clinician-Investigator Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto Departmental Division Director, Gastroenterology and Hepatology University of Toronto Dr. Targownik[/caption] Laura Targownik, MD Lead author and Clinician-Investigator Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto Departmental Division Director, Gastroenterology and Hepatology University of Toronto MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Was there a difference in the types of patients or need for surgery seen by the female/male physicians? Response: The background for this study is that there is an emerging body of literature that having a female physician leads to better patient outcomes in many health care settings, especially amongst patients undergoing surgery or being admitted to hospital.  However, this has not previously been evaluated in gastroenterology.  Female and male gastroenterologists may have different styles of practice on average, and this potentially could lead to differences in how patients engage with the health care system following an initial assessment.

25 Mar

Posted at 22:43h in Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Environmental Risks
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Donald A. Redelmeier, MD, MS(HSR); Canada Research Chair Medical Decision Sciences Professor of Medicine University of Toronto MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The arrival of a solar eclipse attracts substantial public attention and superstitions about supernatural forces. We wondered whether the risk of solar retinopathy might not be the only health hazard since the celestial event leads to increases in driving and potentially increases in traffic deaths.

19 Jan

Posted at 01:22h in Accidents & Violence, Aging, Author Interviews, Cannabis, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_61266" align="alignleft" width="150"]Patricia Di Ciano, PhDScientist, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology University of Toronto Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute Collaborative Program in Neuroscience Dr. Di Ciano[/caption] Patricia Di Ciano, PhD Scientist, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology University of Toronto Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute Collaborative Program in Neuroscience MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: It is now fairly well established that cannabis has a detrimental effect on driving. The most consistently reported effect of cannabis on driving is to increase ‘weaving’ on the road. We know that cannabis use is on the rise in people over 65 years of age. In fact, over the past few years cannabis use is increasing the most in this age group. Despite this, there are few studies of the effects of cannabis on people over 65; most studies have been conducted on younger adults. We know that there are important age-related changes in the way the body works that may alter the impact of cannabis on the body. Also, older adults may have more experience with cannabis and this can change the effects of cannabis.

02 May

Posted at 19:01h in Lung Cancer, Race/Ethnic Diversity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60384" align="alignleft" width="150"]Andres Kohan MDMHSc. in Translational Research Joint Department of Medical Imaging University Health Network Mount Sinai Hospital and Women's College Hospital University of Toronto Toronto, Canada Dr. Kohan[/caption] Andres Kohan MD MHSc. in Translational Research Joint Department of Medical Imaging University Health Network Mount Sinai Hospital and Women's College Hospital University of Toronto Toronto, Canada   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Inequalities in access to healthcare for oncologic patients and its impact on quality of life and survival have been previously described. However, there also exists reports pointing out that when factors contributing to socioeconomic inequality are accounted for differences in outcome between races remain identifiable. In this context, we sought to evaluate the presence of disparities in imaging in a selected population of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) within AACRs Project GENIE Biopharma Consortium (BPC) dataset v 1.1. This database is the largest in existence that has not only the patients’ imaging and clinical staging/follow-up, but also the genetic profile of the patients’ tumors.

15 Feb

Posted at 20:08h in Author Interviews, Coffee, Genetic Research, JAMA, Kidney Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_60028" align="alignleft" width="133"]Dr. Sara Mahdavi Dr. Mahdavi[/caption] Dr. Sara Mahdavi, PhD Clinical Scientist and Clinical Instructor Research Appointment in the Faculty of Medicine University of Toronto Toronto, ON MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: This was a long-term study spanning 16 years and began with a population of young adults who were medically assessed on a regular basis. It was remarkable to see just how striking the effects of coffee were in the group that had the susceptible genetic variant, what we termed “slow caffeine metabolizers” yet no effect whatsoever in those who did not were termed “fast metabolizers”.

18 May

Posted at 16:16h in Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, JACC, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_59166" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr. Amy Kirkham, PhD Assistant Professor of Clinical Cardiovascular Health Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education University of Toronto Affiliate Scientist at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Dr. Kirkham[/caption] Dr. Amy Kirkham, PhD Assistant Professor of Clinical Cardiovascular Health Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education University of Toronto Affiliate Scientist at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: Women who have had a breast cancer diagnosis are at least two-fold and often higher risk of cardiovascular or heart disease compared to women without a history of breast cancer. Older age, higher body mass index, and receipt of chemotherapy treatment that can injure the heart are risk factors for cardiovascular death after a breast cancer diagnosis. Time-restricted eating is a type of intermittent fasting that appears to be easy to follow and to improve some measures of metabolic health but has not been studied in populations with a cancer history. Time-restricted eating simply involves consuming all calorie intake within a specific time window, commonly 8 hours, like between 12 and 8 pm, and then only consuming water or black coffee outside of those hours. We enrolled breast cancer survivors who were aged 60 or older, had an overweight or obese mass index, and were finished chemotherapy treatment in a single-arm trial of time-restricted eating for 8 weeks. We asked participants to restrict their calorie intake between 12 and 8 pm from Monday to Friday with no restrictions on weekend and no further instructions on what to eat.

12 May

Posted at 00:52h in Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Peter Jüni, MD, FESC Director, Applied Health Research Centre Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St Michael's Hospital Department of Medicine University of Toronto, Ontario  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: It is unclear whether seasonal changes, school closures or other public health interventions will result in a slowdown of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We studied 144 geopolitical areas around the world with more than 375,000 COVID-19 cases by March 27 to determine whether epidemic growth is globally associated with climate or public health interventions intended to reduce transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

26 Nov

Posted at 12:54h in Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, CMAJ, Pharmacology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46190" align="alignleft" width="150"]Jennifer Watt, PhD Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation University of Toronto Dr. Watt[/caption] Jennifer Watt, PhD Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation University of Toronto MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (e.g. aggression, agitation) are common among persons living with dementia. Pharmacological (e.g. antipsychotics) and non-pharmacological (e.g. reminiscence therapy) interventions are often used to alleviate these symptoms. However, antipsychotics are associated with significant harm among older adults with dementia (e.g. death, stroke). Regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada issued black box warnings to advise patients and clinicians of this potential for harm. And initiatives were championed to decrease the use of antipsychotics in persons living with dementia. In response, we have seen a rise in the use of other pharmacological interventions, such as trazodone (an antidepressant). Its potential to cause harm in older adults with dementia is largely unknown.