U of A spinoff company launches MedROAD virtual clinic in Alberta, making long-distance health care a reality during COVID-19
A new pilot project called MedROAD is bringing the power of precision health to Pincher Creek, Alta. – and seeing promising results. MedROAD promises to be the future of telehealth, leveraging the power of artificial intelligence and cloud-based computing to remotely connect patients with health-care professionals, no matter where they are. Developed at the University of Alberta by computing scientist Pierre…
In a year of unprecedented challenges, the people of the U of A gave us plenty of reasons to expect a brighter future
Let’s be honest: 2020 has been a tough year. Amid a global pandemic whose rising tide continues to take an enormous human and economic toll every day, it’s been hard to hold out hope for whatever the “new normal” might look like once COVID-19 finally ebbs for good. But through everything – including academic and…
Three U of A researchers will help lead projects to advance treatments for patients
University of Alberta researchers are among two Canadian research teams chosen for significant new funding from the government of Canada and JDRF Canada to develop new stem cell-based therapies for treating Type 1 diabetes. The projects will each receive $1.5 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (CIHR-INMD), along with…
As close to a cure for diabetes as we’re ever going to see
As the world prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin next year, researchers at the University of Alberta are hard at work on what they hope will become the next big diabetes breakthrough. The project is led by James Shapiro, professor of surgery in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and Canada Research…
Only a “proof of concept” at this stage, but validates the need for further research
A team of researchers led by a University of Alberta pharmacology professor has mapped the function and gene expression of individual insulin-producing cells within the human pancreas, opening new paths of research for diagnosing and treating diabetes. “There’s been a lot of excitement the last few years about understanding how pancreatic beta cells make insulin,” said Patrick MacDonald,…
The diabetes drug increased ketone levels, which might be the key to improving cardiac metabolism
In 2015, researchers began noticing that a drug used to treat Type 2 diabetes, empagliflozin, came with the added benefit of decreasing hospitalization for heart failure and death from cardiovascular causes in those patients. “It was very unexpected, because this drug is targeted and marketed for Type 2 diabetes, not heart failure,” said Kim Ho,…
Poor diet right behind tobacco consumption as leading cause of premature death for Canadians, says public health expert
Everything from advertising to school cafeteria menus can affect whether children develop lifelong healthy eating habits, according to the sixth annual Nutrition Report Card for Alberta. The report evaluates 39 indicators in five food “environments” – physical (what food is available?), economic (how affordable is healthy food?), communication (what messages are children getting about food through…
U of A PhD candidate studies and participates in grassroots movement to hack diabetes equipment
People with Type 1 diabetes – including University of Alberta graduate student Jonathan Garfinkel – are using free instructions from the Internet to build an artificial pancreas. The patient-led movement is pushing pharmaceutical companies to improve the treatments they offer, according to U of A diabetes expert Peter Light. “Diabetics have developed, programmed and are now living…
Many people have ongoing pain where there is no obvious injury, or continue to have pain at the site of an injury long after it has healed
Chronic pain impacts the lives of many Canadians every day. Thousands wake up every morning to pain, deal with it throughout the day and don’t even escape its clutches as they sleep. Neuropathic pain is a very common chronic condition that poses a challenge for doctors. It's the result of a primary lesion or dysfunction in…
It's clear the status quo isn’t meeting the needs of our aging population. So what can be done?
By Ruta Valaitis and Maureen Markle-Reid McMaster University Despite having diabetes and arthritis, Verne was a thriving independent 72-year-old who lived at home with his wife when he had a stroke. He had excellent emergency care in the hospital and began his recovery there. But he didn’t adjust well after arriving home. He started to…
A new pilot project called MedROAD is bringing the power of precision health to Pincher Creek, Alta. – and seeing promising results. MedROAD promises to be the future of telehealth, leveraging the power of artificial intelligence and cloud-based computing to remotely connect patients with health-care professionals, no matter where they are. Developed at the University of Alberta by computing scientist Pierre…
