CAMH / en Apartment and condo dwellers report smelling cannabis more than tobacco smoke, U of T researchers say /news/apartment-and-condo-dwellers-report-smelling-cannabis-more-tobacco-smoke-u-t-researchers-say <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Apartment and condo dwellers report smelling cannabis more than tobacco smoke, U of T researchers say</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/gettyimages-1081419484_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=LTmMEisA 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/gettyimages-1081419484_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=l5r0Nafo 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/gettyimages-1081419484_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=WzdLie4N 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/gettyimages-1081419484_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=LTmMEisA" alt="Man smoking cannabis in his home"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>geoff.vendeville</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2019-09-13T10:50:49-04:00" title="Friday, September 13, 2019 - 10:50" class="datetime">Fri, 09/13/2019 - 10:50</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">The U of T study on exposure to cannabis smoke may help inform the debate on how to regulate cannabis, one of the author says (photo by Cavan Images/Getty Images) </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/heidi-singer" hreflang="en">Heidi Singer</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cannabis" hreflang="en">Cannabis</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/camh" hreflang="en">CAMH</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/health" hreflang="en">Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>More people in apartment buildings and condominiums reported&nbsp;exposure to cannabis smoke than tobacco one year before legalization, a new șüÀêÊÓÆ” study says.&nbsp;</p> <p>The U of T public-health researchers&nbsp;based their findings on a telephone survey of Ontario adults by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health&nbsp;in 2017. Extrapolating from the CAMH results, the researchers suggest about 827,000 people in multi-unit dwellings were exposed to cannabis smoke from hallways, other units or elsewhere in their building&nbsp;– as opposed to about 728,000 who smelled tobacco smoke.</p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/MChaiton.png" alt>“I was surprised there were more reports of cannabis than tobacco,” says co-author <strong>Michael Chaiton </strong>(pictured left), an associate professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. “We’ve known anecdotally there had been increasing calls and complaints about cannabis smoke, but we hadn’t been able to quantify it until now.”<br> &nbsp;</p> <p>Chaiton hopes the&nbsp;results will contribute to the debate over whether to regulate cannabis like alcohol,&nbsp;by forbidding its consumption in public spaces,&nbsp;or like tobacco, by prohibiting its use in indoor public spaces or near buildings.</p> <p>He and his co-authors <strong>Alanna Chu</strong>&nbsp;and <strong>Pamela Kaufman</strong>, an assistant professor at Dalla Lana, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/18/3332/htm">published their study on Sept. 10</a> in the <em>International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health</em>.&nbsp;</p> <p>The team has been tracking exposure to tobacco smoke in residential buildings for many years, and recently they have become increasingly concerned about cannabis second-hand smoke.</p> <p>Despite the surprising results, Chaiton says it’s very possible that the study underreported cannabis exposure, since the authors found people who consume cannabis themselves were more likely to report smelling it – suggesting that not everybody can identify cannabis by its pungent scent.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The study, the first to examine the prevalence of involuntary cannabis exposure in residential buildings, also showed that people of lower income, who more often live in multi-unit buildings, are at higher risk of exposure to second-hand smoke and any related health effects from other people’s cannabis use.&nbsp;</p> <p>But those health effects are not yet fully clear.</p> <p>Third-hand smoke, the residue from smoke that clings to walls and furniture or&nbsp;settles in dust, is a particular concern for tobacco because nicotine is sticky and accumulates easily on surfaces like drapery, clothing and furniture.</p> <p>But Chaiton says researchers don’t yet know whether cannabis travels&nbsp;the same way through apartment buildings, including ventilation systems, or how it contributes to third-hand smoke contamination.&nbsp;</p> <p>The next step is to determine whether exposure reports have increased since the legalization of cannabis in October 2018.</p> <p>“If there are more people smoking cannabis or smoking more freely, indoor use in buildings may increase,” Chaiton says. “But, on the other hand, people may be more willing to go outside, lessening second-hand exposure indoors. As well, people may be less likely to report it to surveyors because it’s legal –&nbsp;or they may be more likely to complain if they have less fear of repercussions.”</p> <p>Funding for the study was provided by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 13 Sep 2019 14:50:49 +0000 geoff.vendeville 158247 at U of T psychiatrists launch initiative to spot signs of psychosis early in adolescence /news/u-t-psychiatrists-launch-initiative-spot-signs-psychosis-early-adolescence <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T psychiatrists launch initiative to spot signs of psychosis early in adolescence</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-02-09-iamgold.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=nYkEdNla 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-02-09-iamgold.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Iwhl6WoF 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-02-09-iamgold.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=UBy4aRRq 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-02-09-iamgold.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=nYkEdNla" alt> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-02-09T16:43:04-05:00" title="Thursday, February 9, 2017 - 16:43" class="datetime">Thu, 02/09/2017 - 16:43</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Painting by Toronto artist Jessgo at the inaugural Miner's Lamp award dinner in 2016, an initiative of IAMGOLD and partners to support U of T psychiatry research (photo courtesy of Faculty of Medicine)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/carolyn-morris" hreflang="en">Carolyn Morris</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Carolyn Morris</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/youth" hreflang="en">Youth</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/psychiatry" hreflang="en">Psychiatry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/camh" hreflang="en">CAMH</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Faculty of Medicine</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Adolescence is a challenging period for everyone, but for those with mental illness, it’s particularly sensitive.</p> <p>Between the ages of 14 and 25 –&nbsp;known as a “transition age” –&nbsp;is a time when symptoms of psychosis are known to appear. It's also when people switch from child mental health services into adult care –&nbsp;not always a seamless process.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Joanna Henderson</strong>, an assistant professor,&nbsp;and Dr. <strong>Aristotle Voineskos</strong>, an associate professor, both from U of T&nbsp;Faculty of Medicine's department of psychiatry and CAMH, are launching a new research project aimed at identifying early signs of psychosis. The ideas is that if we could spot the signs early, we could potentially ensure continuous care for the most vulnerable.</p> <p>They spoke with U of T's <strong>Carolyn Morris</strong> about the new initiative, which is receiving key funding from the Miner’s Lamp Innovation Fund in the Prevention and Early Detection of Severe Mental Illness, a philanthropic initiative of IAMGOLD Corp.&nbsp;and its partners.</p> <hr> <p><strong>How are you setting out to identify the signs of psychosis early?</strong></p> <p><strong>Aristotle Voineskos:</strong> Due largely to the way the brain develops, symptoms of psychosis only tend to emerge in mid&nbsp;to late adolescence. And while we’ve found certain associated biological or social factors, for the most part, researchers haven’t yet figured out what puts certain people at higher risk of developing psychosis symptoms later on.</p> <p>These are much more common in youth than people realize –&nbsp;up to 20 per cent in the community&nbsp;if you include mild symptoms. We’re not talking about risk for schizophrenia. That’s not what this study is about. Instead, we’re focused on studying the number, severity&nbsp;and course of psychosis symptoms over time, and how those symptoms impact functioning.</p> <p>One place we often forget to look at is young people who already have a mental health condition. Early psychosis has typically been the domain of adult psychiatrists, but we really need to partner with child and youth psychiatrists to understand trajectories of development and illness.</p> <p>Recent research findings have found that kids who are diagnosed with conditions like autism spectrum disorder, oppositional defiant disorder or ADHD are at a higher risk of developing symptoms of psychosis later on. But that’s still a broad group of people, and only a fraction of them will actually go on to struggle with psychosis&nbsp;so we’re planning to follow a group over time and try to identify other possible signs that might serve as red flags.</p> <p><strong>What happens in our current system? </strong></p> <p><strong>Joanna Henderson: </strong>There can be a number of challenges getting access to care, but if all goes well, a young person who is experiencing difficulties would be getting the care they need for&nbsp;ADHD&nbsp;or other diagnoses.</p> <p>They might get referred to a psychiatrist, receive a diagnosis&nbsp;and be provided with medication or other treatment. Once they are adjusting and doing well, they would stop seeing the psychiatrist, and their care would be returned to their family doctor&nbsp;with care focused on maintaining treatment gains and monitoring for setbacks.</p> <p>So they’d be getting the appropriate set of services for ADHD. What can be missing, however, is systematic screening over time for other kinds of difficulties. For example, even though a young person might be at a statistically higher risk for developing psychosis symptoms, they would not necessarily be monitored for these. And I wouldn’t want to alarm anyone –&nbsp;the risk of developing severe psychosis is still very low. With this study, we’re hoping to monitor a group of approximately 200 kids with diagnosed mental health problems&nbsp;like disruptive disorders,&nbsp;keep track of how they do over time&nbsp;and ideally identify specific red flags associated with psychosis.</p> <p><strong>How would the ability to spot the signs of psychosis early change the quality of care?</strong></p> <p><strong>Aristotle Voineskos:</strong> Psychosis symptoms can have devastating repercussions for the individual, his or her family and others. School performance goes down. They can become socially isolated,&nbsp;and have increased suicidal thinking&nbsp;and more. We know that the longer psychosis goes on without being treated, the greater the adverse impact on that person’s life.</p> <p>So early identification makes a big difference in how these people do. We thought it would be important to understand which young people already getting mental health care for issues that emerge earlier in life&nbsp;such as autism, ADHD, or depression have elevated risk for psychosis symptoms.</p> <p>And we’re wondering if effective care for young people with those other conditions might in fact reduce the negative effects or eliminate the chance of experiencing symptoms of psychosis altogether.</p> <p><strong>What do you hope this research will ultimately achieve?</strong></p> <p><strong>Joanna Henderson</strong>: Ultimately we hope that any new insight into early signs of psychosis will help us build a better model of care. Our approach is focused on partnering and collaborating with different health-care teams and building capacity in the system –&nbsp;and these closer ties are important as we try to fill in some of the gaps in care, especially with this transition age group.</p> <p>We’ll be working closely with the clinical services within the Child, Youth and Emerging Adult Program, such as the Autism Clinic&nbsp;and our clinical research centres at CAMH –&nbsp;I’m the director of the Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth and Family Mental Health, and Aristotle is director of the Slaight Family Centre for Youth in Transition.</p> <p>The transition period is a time associated with greater mental health issues&nbsp;and substance use&nbsp;so there’s a major need for us to build bridges between services and provide ongoing support, especially for the most vulnerable youth.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 09 Feb 2017 21:43:04 +0000 ullahnor 104731 at Quitting smoking? Read this first /news/quitting-smoking-read-first <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Quitting smoking? Read this first </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-01-13T07:27:47-05:00" title="Tuesday, January 13, 2015 - 07:27" class="datetime">Tue, 01/13/2015 - 07:27</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(photo by WƂodi via Flickr)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/michael-kennedy" hreflang="en">Michael Kennedy</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Michael Kennedy</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/international" hreflang="en">International</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/health" hreflang="en">Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/collaboration" hreflang="en">Collaboration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/camh" hreflang="en">CAMH</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Researchers from șüÀêÊÓÆ” and the University of Pennsylvania can tell whether smokers will fare better with nicotine patch or varenicline pills</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p> If you’re trying to quit smoking, new research from the șüÀêÊÓÆ” suggests the first thing you need to understand is your DNA.&nbsp;</p> <p> “In this new trial, we’ve shown that it is possible to optimize quit rates for smokers, while minimizing side effects, by selecting treatment based on whether people break down nicotine slowly or normally,” said Dr. <strong>Rachel Tyndale</strong>, a professor of pharmacology &amp; toxicology and psychiatry at U of T and a senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute.&nbsp;</p> <p> Tyndale was the co-lead on the study published recently online in <em>The Lancet Respiratory Medicine</em>. The randomized clinical trial, the first of its kind, was performed in collaboration with researchers from the University of Pennsylvania. The clinical portion of the study was undertaken&nbsp;at CAMH and led by Dr. Tony George, professor of psychiatry and clinical director of the schizophrenia program at CAMH. The research is already garnering headlines around the world: <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/smokers-nicotine-metabolism-type-could-predict-best-way-to-quit-1.2897858">read the CBC story</a>; <a href="http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/578859/20150113/nicotine-metabolism-give-clues-quit-smoking.htm#.VLVUdyvF__E">read the International Business Times article</a>; <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/01/11/metabolism-stopping-smoking_n_6452768.html">read the Huffington Post story</a>; <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30744250">read the BBC coverage</a>; <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/metabolism-smoking-cessation-success-article-1.2074633">read the New York Daily News story</a>.)</p> <p> At issue is how long nicotine stays in the body between cigarettes and after users stop smoking. In normal metabolizers, nicotine levels drop more quickly, putting them at risk of succumbing to cravings and relapse. Researchers said normal metabolizers are more likely to be helped by medications such as varenicline – known by the brand name Champix – which can increase levels of the “feel-good” hormone dopamine and reduce cravings.</p> <p> Normal metabolizers of nicotine were significantly more likely to remain abstinent from smoking after treatment with&nbsp;varenicline compared to the nicotine patch, at the end of treatment and six months later. Slow metabolizers, on the other hand, could benefit the most from the nicotine patch, the authors suggest. Varenicline was just as effective as the patch for “slow” metabolizers, but it led to more side effects than the patch.</p> <p> “This is a much-needed, genetically-informed biomarker that could be translated into clinical practice,” said co-lead Dr. Caryn Lerman, professor of psychiatry and director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Nicotine Addiction at the University of Pennsylvania. “Matching a treatment choice based on the rate at which smokers metabolize nicotine could be a viable strategy to help guide choices for smokers and ultimately improve quit rates.” &nbsp;</p> <p> Unfortunately, there are no commercial tests for this biomarker on the market – so, right now, smokers and their physicians currently have no way of knowing which approach is likely to work best. Tyndale said she hopes the research findings will spur others to create such a test. Such a test could be used by doctors to optimize the cessation rates for all people without unnecessarily exposing people to a drug which doesn’t work as well, or has avoidable side effects, she said.&nbsp;</p> <p> In the clinical trial, 1,246 smokers seeking treatment were categorized as either slow metabolizers (662) or normal metabolizers (584). They were randomized to receive one of the following for 11 weeks: the nicotine patch plus a placebo pill; varenicline plus placebo patch; or both placebo pill and patch. All received behavioural counselling. The trial was conducted at four academic medical centres</p> <p> Participants’ status as either a normal or slow metabolizer was based on a measure called the nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR). NMR is the ratio of two chemical products of nicotine, which break down at different rates based on different genetic versions of CYP2A6, a liver enzyme. Participants’ smoking behaviour was assessed at the end of treatment, and six and 12 months later.&nbsp;</p> <p> Among normal metabolizers, nearly 40 per cent taking varenicline were still abstaining from smoking at the end of treatment, compared to 22 per cent on the nicotine patch. The quit rates, as expected based on the difficulty of prolonged quitting success, decreased at six and 12 months, but the overall pattern of response for both normal and slow metabolizers on the patch and varenicline remained.</p> <p> Smoking rates in North America have fallen substantially since the 1960s, but nearly 1.8 million Ontario adults and students still report smoking, according to recent CAMH surveys. Worldwide, about six million people die every year from smoking-related diseases, and $200 billion is spent on tobacco-related health care costs. &nbsp;</p> <p> <em>Michael Kennedy writes about health for U of T News.</em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-01-13-cigarettes.jpg</div> </div> Tue, 13 Jan 2015 12:27:47 +0000 sgupta 6731 at Alzheimer's, mood disorders: U of T partners with industry for open source collaboration /news/alzheimers-mood-disorders-u-t-partners-industry-open-source-collaboration <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Alzheimer's, mood disorders: U of T partners with industry for open source collaboration</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2014-11-12T03:13:16-05:00" title="Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - 03:13" class="datetime">Wed, 11/12/2014 - 03:13</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Professor Ruth Ross, director of the Centre for Collaborative Drug Research (photo by Rick Chard/CAMH)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/liam-mitchell" hreflang="en">Liam Mitchell</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Liam Mitchell</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/health" hreflang="en">Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sunnybrook" hreflang="en">Sunnybrook</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/st-michael-s-hospital" hreflang="en">St. Michael's Hospital</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/medicine" hreflang="en">Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/international" hreflang="en">International</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hospital" hreflang="en">Hospital</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/disease" hreflang="en">Disease</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/collaboration" hreflang="en">Collaboration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/camh" hreflang="en">CAMH</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/more-news" hreflang="en">More News</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Working with Johnson and Johnson Innovation and Janssen to find neuroscience therapies</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A new collaboration aimed at developing therapies for mood disorders and Alzheimer’s disease – known as the <a href="http://neurosciencecatalyst.ca/">Neuroscience Catalyst</a> – launched on November 6.</p> <p>The new public-private partnership brings together the șüÀêÊÓÆ” with Janssen Inc. and the Johnson &amp; Johnson Innovation Center in California to support collaborative, open-source research.</p> <p>“Mood disorders and Alzheimer’s disease are chronic illnesses that affect millions of people worldwide,<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">”</span> said <strong>Catharine Whiteside</strong>, U of T’s dean of medicine and vice-provost, relations with health care institutions. <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">“</span>By 2040, these debilitating brain diseases could surpass cancer as the second-leading cause of death.</p> <p><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">“</span>Finding solutions that bring relief to those who face these aliments, and the family and friends who care for them, are what makes this partnership so important.<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">”</span></p> <p>Researchers at U of T and its affiliated hospitals through the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TASHN) are welcome to <a href="http://neurosciencecatalyst.ca/apply/">submit collaborative proposals</a>. Scientists from Janssen will work with U of T researchers to provide the drug-discovery expertise required to rapidly develop new medicines from basic science innovations. The open nature of the research means the findings can be published and researchers are free to commercialize their work with any company they wish.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Neuroscience Catalyst is based at the Centre for Collaborative Drug Discovery (CCDR), which is a multidisciplinary initiative bringing together researchers from U of T’s Faculty of Medicine, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).<br> &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<br> “There is a tremendous amount of incredible blue sky, curiosity-driven research being conducted at U of T,<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">”&nbsp;</span>said <strong>Ruth Ross</strong>. The Centre’s inaugural director, Ross is a professor and chair of toxicology and pharmacology in the Faculty of Medicine and senior scientist with the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).</p> <p>"When we launched the CCDR, we began by looking across the fields of research in Toronto and asked ‘Where is there an opportunity and a need for us to add real impact in drug discovery?’”&nbsp;</p> <p>Neuroscience is one area where Ross and partners saw CCDR could help to create a collaborative network to accelerate the translation of bench research into new treatments. In addition to the Neuroscience Catalyst, there will be other venues for researchers to share information and meet as a community.The first meeting will be held on November 27 when the Centre hosts <a href="http://www.collaborativedrugresearch.ca/ccdr-neuroscience-research-day-2/">Neuroscience Research Day on New Targets in Neurodegeneration and Neuropsychiatry</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>Ross said the focus in neuropsychiatry and neurodegeneration highlights the “
urgent and compelling need for scientists, government and industry to work together in partnership, using their collective expertise to seek safe effective new interventions for debilitating conditions such as depression and Alzheimer’s disease.”&nbsp;</p> <p>The Neuroscience Catalyst is overseen by a joint steering committee with representatives from U of T, CAMH, St. Michael's Hospital, Sunnybrook Hospital, University Health Network&nbsp;and Janssen Inc. Ross believes the partnership is an example for future open innovation consortia with additional industry partners.&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Liam Mitchell is a writer with the Faculty of Medicine at the șüÀêÊÓÆ”.</em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2014-11-11-neuroscience-catalyst-ruth-ross.jpg</div> </div> Wed, 12 Nov 2014 08:13:16 +0000 sgupta 6630 at Back to School: how to calm students' stress and anxiety /news/back-school-how-calm-students-stress-and-anxiety <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Back to School: how to calm students' stress and anxiety</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2014-09-08T06:16:00-04:00" title="Monday, September 8, 2014 - 06:16" class="datetime">Mon, 09/08/2014 - 06:16</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Parents shouldn't dismiss a child's fears or pile on reassurances, experts say. Instead, help students learn to manage their fears. </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/heidi-singer" hreflang="en">Heidi Singer</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Heidi Singer</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/back-school" hreflang="en">Back to School</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/medicine" hreflang="en">Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/kids" hreflang="en">Kids</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hospital-sick-children" hreflang="en">Hospital for Sick Children</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/education" hreflang="en">Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/camh" hreflang="en">CAMH</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p> The heavy academic pressures so common today raise back-to-school stress like never before –&nbsp; and it’s not just high school seniors or university students who are feeling it right now.</p> <p> “It’s very sad to hear an eight-year old say ‘if I don’t get an A on this book report, I’m not going to university,” says <strong>Sandra Mendlowitz</strong>, assistant professor of child psychiatry at the șüÀêÊÓÆ”'s Faculty of Medicine. “We live in a very different world today, and children are facing all kinds of new pressure. Information overwhelms them. They’re overexposed.”</p> <p> Parents can do a lot to help ease their children’s anxieties around school, she says. The key is to really listen, and let your child open up about their fears.</p> <p> “You engage in a conversation when you’re not distracted by other things,” she says. “With younger children, you need to ask them specific questions that jog their memory. Ask what their teacher is like, not how their day was. If teens refuse to talk about their day, you could say, ‘Oh, sounds like something really juicy happened!’”</p> <p> Performance aside, kids worry most about whether their teacher is friendly, and whether they will have a friend in the class, says Mendlowitz, who works on the anxiety disorders team at the Hospital for Sick Children. Younger children worry about whether their parents will be there to pick them up. Older kids might be anxious about whether their clothes or lunch will look weird to others. Parents shouldn’t dismiss their fears, but they should also resist the urge to pile on reassurance. Instead, help the child develop true confidence by thinking together about their fears and learning how to manage them. Work with the child on a plan to address the problem.</p> <p> That’s also true for the college crowd, according to <strong>David Wolfe</strong>, a professor of psychiatry at U of T and director of the centre for prevention science at CAMH. “Avoid helicopter parenting,” he advises, because hovering, overprotecting parents make it tough for kids to grow and become independent. That said, those newly independent university students probably do need help with time and money management, he notes –&nbsp;which means helping them develop a plan to manage their money, not just giving them more.</p> <p> Showing your child how you solve problems is also a great solution, says Mendlowitz. “You could say, I had a great day except for one thing, and here’s how I managed it,” she advises.</p> <p> And talking to your child’s teacher is also key, she adds. “It may be simply that the child is very uncomfortable with their seat mate. Or sometimes they’re too shy to ask for help, and the teacher needs to check in with them.”</p> <p> If the parent shows anxiety, the child will likely pick up on this and become insecure, Mendlowitz warns. Parents should be aware of their own anxious signals: a high-pitched voice, asking the child if they’re okay too many times, or placing too much focus on the what-ifs.</p> <p> “It’s never just one thing,” she says. “It’s the constellation of many different factors coming together that make a difference between whether your child is going to have a good or a difficult school year.”</p> <p> <em>Heidi Singer is a writer with the Faculty of Medicine at the șüÀêÊÓÆ”.</em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2014-09-05-backtoschoolstress.jpg</div> </div> Mon, 08 Sep 2014 10:16:00 +0000 sgupta 6461 at Understanding the depressed mind: how the brains of new mothers may hold the keys to treatment /news/understanding-depressed-mind-how-brains-new-mothers-may-hold-keys-treatment <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Understanding the depressed mind: how the brains of new mothers may hold the keys to treatment</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2014-08-15T07:38:12-04:00" title="Friday, August 15, 2014 - 07:38" class="datetime">Fri, 08/15/2014 - 07:38</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Dr. Jeffrey Meyer uses brain imaging technology to detect elevated levels of chemicals in the brains of those with depression (photo by Christopher Wahl)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/dana-yates" hreflang="en">Dana Yates</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Dana Yates</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/medicine" hreflang="en">Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hospital" hreflang="en">Hospital</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/camh" hreflang="en">CAMH</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/brain" hreflang="en">Brain</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Dr. Jeffrey Meyer on what we can learn from postpartum depression</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><em>The death of award-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams has put depression and mental health issues back in the headlines. </em></p> <p><em>Scientist <strong>Jeffrey Meyer </strong>of the șüÀêÊÓÆ” and CAMH conducts research into depression and the brain. In this profile from </em>Edge<em>, <a href="http://www.research.utoronto.ca/publications/">a publication of U of T's&nbsp;</a></em><em><a href="http://www.research.utoronto.ca/publications/">Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation</a>, Meyer discusses his research into the role of an enzyme called MAO-A and his work to devise interventions that would help prevent depression in anyone from new mothers to the general population.</em></p> <p>Depression is a disorder of many names. Winston Churchill, for example, called his depressive episodes the “black dog.” Others, meanwhile, refer to the condition as the blues or the blahs. Despite the colloquialisms for depression, the reality is the disease can feel like a dark, endless tunnel — one that researcher Jeffrey Meyer hopes to prevent people from entering.</p> <p>Meyer, an MD/PhD and professor in the șüÀêÊÓƔ’s departments of Psychiatry, and Pharmacology and Toxicology, is head of neurochemical imaging for the Mood and Anxiety Disorders program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Also the Canada Research Chair in Neurochemistry of Major Depressive Disorder, Meyer is focused on answering one question: what is needed to have a healthy brain?</p> <p>To that end, Meyer wants to create specific recommendations to help people sidestep major depressive disorder. Typically just called depression, the condition is much more than a brief period of melancholy — it involves ongoing feelings of deep despair.</p> <p>“Ultimately, we would like to say, ‘Here are four things you should do to avoid depression',” Meyer said. “It would be similar to the strategies for avoiding heart disease, which include eating right and exercising, but in the case of depression, the strategies would be more complicated than simply saying ‘avoid stress'.”</p> <p>That advice could have a significant impact on mental health worldwide. Indeed, depression affects more than 350 million people globally, according to the World Health Organization. While there are treatments for the condition, such as medicine, therapy and lifestyle changes, they don’t seem to work for everyone. And at its worst, depression can lead to suicide. In fact, one million people take their own lives each year around the world.</p> <p>So what happens in depressed brains? Meyer is focused on monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), an enzyme that breaks down the chemical messengers serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. When the brain is depleted of those mood-related substances, people experience a sad emotional state. And those feelings, along with pessimism, are harbingers of depression.</p> <p>Although scientists long believed that a chemical imbalance in the brain caused depression, in 2006 Meyer and his colleagues determined conclusively how that process actually works. Using a brain imaging technique called positron emission tomography, the researchers found that the level of MAO-A was considerably higher in the brains of those with untreated depression. Meyer subsequently made other landmark discoveries. For instance, he found that MAO-A is elevated in several high-risk states for clinical depression, including prior to the condition’s recurrence, during early withdrawal from heavy cigarette smoking and just after childbirth.</p> <p>Today, Meyer is using that information to study and assist those with high MAO-A. For example, he has developed a natural health product to help regulate the MAO-A of new mothers with postpartum depression. After giving birth, a woman’s estrogen level drops considerably, triggering a surge in MAO-A level.</p> <div> "We have developed a measure of postpartum blues that can be used to screen combinations of ingredients in the supplement," said Meyer. "Postpartum blues is the healthy range sadness that tends to peak on day five postpartum and when severe is associated with later clinical level postpartum depression.</div> <div> &nbsp;</div> <div> "If we reduce postpartum blues we hope to reduce risk of postpartum depression. We are now piloting the supplement to see to what extent it reduces severity of postpartum blues."</div> <p>It would still be a few years before the product might reach the market. Meyer is now testing the dietary supplement on new mothers in an open trial (where all patients receive the supplement) and the next step would be to test the product in a randomized, double-blind trial.&nbsp;</p> <p>Meyer also aims to develop interventions to adjust the MAO-A of people at increased risk of depressive symptoms, including premenopausal women and those with substance addiction. As well, on top of designing preventive strategies to help the general population avoid depression, Meyer hopes to bring peace of mind to those with the treatment-resistant form of the disorder. That two-step process will involve identifying subtypes of depression and determining which treatments best normalize brain changes in each subtype.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2014-08-15-depression-meyer-brain.jpg</div> </div> Fri, 15 Aug 2014 11:38:12 +0000 sgupta 6425 at