Volume 1, Issue 1

CONTRABAND TOBACCO:

• What do you really know?• Who buys it?

• Are you being affected?

• Professor Spotlights

• Cancer Treatment with Nanomagnets

• Stress: It’s A Killer!

• ADHD in Children

• Designer Babies

• More inside!

Trans Fats:Is Canada doing enough to protect you?

Neural Interfaces: Control it

with your mind!

Neglected Diseases

STUDENT PRODUCED ACADEMIC MAGAZINE - THE MARCH 2010 ISSUE

1

Dear Reader,

I am both honoured and privi-leged to present you the first pub-lication of Brock Health! The pur-pose of this academic publication is to enhance the peer-to-peer edu-cational experience and to inform the student body of current health research. This magazine covers a wide range of topics from public health issues to treating cancer be-cause health care these days is also taking more of a multidisciplinary approach. It is through this manner that we can achieve the best health results for the community.

In 1846, Ignaz Philipp Semmel-weis, the now famous physician, had found the reason as to why new mothers were dying of childbed fever in his clinic and yet failed to report his findings. This delayed the intervention of child bed fever: the simple task of hand-washing. So with this magazine we hope to pro-vide students with an outlet where they can report ideas or findings that may advance health care and medi-cine without being ridiculed and judged as Semmelweis was.

This publication could not have materialized without the numer-ous people who have worked so hard to bring it to you. This great initiative began with myself and five core people: Yumna Ahmed, Singha Chanthanatham, Brent Gil-liard, Vicky Horner and Kresimir Mijaljevic. Without the endless ple-nary meetings and commitment of my fellow co-founders this Brock Health issue would not be in your hands right now. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to

Dr. Kelli-an Lawrance for her en-thusiasm and support for the project and her invaluable advice. Jackie Robb helped recruit some amazing and talented people as well. I’d like to thank our layout designer, Scott Alguire; without his skills we would still be lost in the enigma that is Adobe InDesign. Finally, I want to thank our platinum sponsor Sobey’s Pharmacy, VPSS Sohail Ahmed, SISO and the faculty of Applied Health Sciences for all their contri-butions. A final thank you goes to the fol-lowing people: Jenna Ventresca for sponsorship letters, Joanne Boucher for letting us use her resources and Deanna Vandenbroek for her sup-port as President of CHSC Student Council.

This is an ambitious initiative but I believe it is possible because of all the amazing people that are involved with Brock Health. I hope you thoroughly enjoy the first issue!

I sign off by mentioning the fol-lowing quote of Margaret Mead:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”.

Brock Health Team

Editor-in-ChiefShahla A. Grewal

Managing EditorsSingha ChanthanthamBrent Gilliard

Layout DesignScott AlguireTahmina TarakyPhuc Dang

Editorial BoardKresimir MijaljevicVicky HornerBrent GilliardSingha ChanthanthamYumna AhmedSteve DemetriadesShirin PilakkaMichael Carrigan

Graduate EditorsMegan BarkansGregory McGarrMatthew RatsepVal Andrew Fajardo

TreasurerBrent Gilliard

WebmasterScott Alguire

Faculty ConsultantKelli-an Lawrance (PhD)

CHSC Student Council President/LiaisonDeanna Vandenbroek

Editor’s NoteShahla A. Grewal

2March 2010 - Issue 1

Contents

• Trans Fats: Is Canada doing enough?

• Academic Advising

• Stress! Keep a Killer Under Control

• Food Deserts: How Cities Shape Health

• ADHD: Treatment With Drugs or Therapy?

• Faculty Spotlights

• Check Out These Butts

• Neglected Diseases: Poverty and Illness out of sight

• Neural Interfaces

• Nanomagnets: Cancer Cured?

• Brock Heart Institute

• Prescription Drug Abuse

• Mind Over Matter: Motivation for Exercising

• Designer Babies

• Making it All Possible

• Headlines

• References

• Brock Health Team

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Page 9

Page 11

Page 12

Page 13

Page 14

Page 15

Page 16

Page 17

Page 18

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Page 20

Page 21

3

For a long time, it was thought that saturated fats were the most dan-gerous type of fat. It was recently determined, however, that trans fats are responsible for 2.5–10 times more risk of ischemic heart disease than saturated fats.1 Trans fats not only increase ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol levels, but reduce levels of ‘good’ HDL cho-lesterol. They also raise triglyceride levels in the blood, and impair endo-thelial function resulting in vasocon-striction and inflammation.2 Worse still, trans fatty acids affect gene ex-pression by inserting themselves into cell membranes, which increases the risk of many chronic illnesses, espe-cially after a lifetime of consump-tion.1 As a result of their detrimental effects, Health Canada urges citizens to consume as few trans fats as pos-sible, if any at all,3 and mandated their labelling in 2005.4

Canada’s policy takes an individualistic approach by placing responsibility for healthy consump-tion of trans fats on Canadian citizens rather than reducing trans fats at the source, in processed foods. This type of policy neglects the needs of certain groups such as those with low socio-economic status who may not have the knowledge or financial means to select and purchase healthy foods without a lot of trans fats. Another disadvantage of this approach is that it does not apply to restaurants and

take-out foods. Up to 30% of total trans fats intake occurs outside of the home,5 so even the most diligent con-sumer will have trouble minimizing his or her exposure to trans fats.

It is not clear if Canada’s la-belling regulations are even being followed correctly, because almost one third of “trans fat free” marga-rines did not, in one study, meet the required low levels to legally print that claim on their packaging.6 Fur-thermore, since there are multiple methods used to determine the trans fat content of products, such as capil-lary gas chromatography and infrared spectroscopy, some labels may not be as accurate as others.7

On the other hand, Denmark effectively implemented strict restric-tions on food products and ready meals to be no more than two percent trans

fats.4 We can learn from Denmark’s trans fats policy, because it benefits the entire population and places less responsibility on individuals. In con-trast with Canada, in Denmark you do not have to worry about trans fats in your food.

Coronary heart disease has been identified as the single most ex-pensive cost burden on the Canadian healthcare system and given its strong relationship with trans fats,8 it is clear that prevention through restriction of trans fats in food is worth the short-term cost and effort. Canada’s manda-tory labelling of trans fats is a good start, but will probably fall short of benefiting the entire population. In order to improve the health of all Ca-nadians, including those who are dis-advantaged, maximum levels of trans fats should be placed on packaged and prepared foods.

Canada’s revised food guide: [healthcanada.gc.ca/foodguide]

What makes a serving of vegetables or fruit? Are you getting at least seven a day?

Trans FatsIs Canada doing enough?

Vicky Horner


So, instead here are some tips for course selection:

• Think about what you want to do after your undergraduate de-gree at Brock. Work? Graduate school? Second undergraduate degree?

• There are so many options, but it’s important to take some time to figure out some areas of study in which you have an interest (rather than taking a course you are not at all interested in, but that fits into your schedule)

• Narrow your options down to a few general areas - this will help guide your course selection because you can fit in prerequi-sites that may satisfy require-ments for a few different gradu-ate programs rather than taking random courses

• Don’t overwhelm yourself - it’s ok to take four courses instead of five; if you know a course is very challenging and may require ex-tra time, it’s better to take an ex-tra term or year (or take spring/summer courses) and do well in all of your courses, than to take five but have your other marks suffer because you had to focus so much on one class – lots of students do this!

I wish you all the best this term – don’t be afraid to stop in to say hi or to make an appointment!

Some of the things we can discuss in an appointment:

• Degree and course requirements• Internship and Directed Read-

ing opportunities• Time management pertaining to

the scheduling of courses and non-academic activities

• Graduate studies – prerequisites that may be needed and other application requirements

• Career goals and prospects• Getting involved at Brock and

in Niagara – why and how

For the inaugural edition of the Brock Health publication, I was asked to provide some course reviews and I eagerly accepted. However, as I began to think about writing these, I realized that I can’t really provide a ‘review’ of a course because everyone has a different ex-perience, and, I haven’t taken every course offered in the Department!

As you (hopefully) know, the Department of Community Health Sciences has a full-time Un-dergraduate Program Coordinator that is available to help guide stu-dents in areas of course selection and registration, career guidance, and to help you navigate your way through University. Many of you have come in for appointments and I love getting to know students face-to-face. In this electronic world, it’s nice to actually meet the peo-ple behind the email conversations so I can get a better feel for your personality, interests and goals.

One of my main tasks is to provide academic advising to ma-jors and prospective students in the Department. I encourage all stu-dents to make at least one advising appointment per year to ensure you are taking the proper courses to satis-fy your degree requirements. These appointments can be very quick (and painless), taking between 10 – 30 minutes depending on the number and type of issues that we discuss.

Academic AdvisingWhy Should I Bother?

Jackie Robb, CHSC Undergraduate Program Coordinator & Advisor

Five Ways to Pass!CHEM 2P20

according to Yumna

1. Go to all lectures, a lot of hints are not in the notes and are said in class2. DO the textbook ques-tions! Just might show up on a test3. Understand the mate-rial, just don’t memorize (it won’t work!) 4. Know the major/basic concepts very well5. Believe in yourself!!!

SUDOKU!SUDOKU!

5

Today, academics are becom-ing more important and have a huge impact on one’s future and eligibility for a career. University students plan-ning to enter the work force in their future must become very educated and knowledgeable in their field of interest. Yet with assignments, tests, essays, presentations and deadlines to be met along with other commitments other than academics such as sports and social events, university proves to be very stressful. High levels of stress in the lives of university students lead to negative effects that must be dealt with properly. Some serious negative effects include anxiety and depressive disorder, gastrointestinal disorder and a weakening of the immune system.

Anxiety is a feeling of fear and is experienced by everyone. Some symptoms are sweating, nausea, hy-perventilation, tachycardia, dizziness etc. University students have high amounts of anxiety and stress because of all the problems and challenges they must face in this transitional and developmental period. 1 Anxiety disorders make it difficult for one to live a healthy fulfilling life. Univer-sity students are very susceptible to these disorders due to the stress in their lives. There are many treatments such as behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, relaxation exercises such as meditation and prescribed medica-tion.

Many anxiety disorders lead to depressive disorders. Symptoms of depressive disorder are having low en-ergy, loss of appetite, decrease in level of physical activity, loss of interest to maintain relationships, lack of sleep and suicidal thoughts. Depression can lead to major depression, dysthymia and in some cases bipolar disorder. 1 Major depression includes exces-

sive crying, and the body feeling very sore. Some treatment methods for de-pressive disorder are psychotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy, and medi-cation.2 Another effect that is linked with anxiety and depressive disorder that university students experience due to high levels of stress is gastro-intestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Those with IBS have psychosomatic and psycho-logical symptoms such as depression, insomnia, cramps, bloating, head-aches, anxiety and back ache.3 IBS has an impact on one’s interpersonal relationships, social connections and overall quality of life. Treatments for this syndrome are learning to manage stress, avoiding caffeine, taking medi-cations, increasing fibre in one’s diet, emotional treatment and psychologi-cal help.

One more negative effect that university students may experi-ence due to high levels of stress is the weakening of the immune system. People with high levels of chronic stress tend to have fewer white blood cells than the average amount. Stress increases the likelihood to catch infec-tious diseases, the seriousness of the infectious disease, lowers the immune system’s ability to accept vaccines and slows healing.4 Stress actually prolongs the release of neurotransmit-ters and hormones from the endocrine and nervous system which assist with the functioning of the tissues and the

nerves in the body. So, a long pe-riod of inactivation of these areas will have damaging and negative effects on the human body. Some treatments are simply having a well balanced diet, setting achievable goals, drink-ing lots of water, exercising, learning how to manage stress, and developing a strong support system.

Thus, high levels of stress in the lives of university students have negative effects that must be dealt with and treated effectively and properly. Some negative effects are anxiety, depressive disorder, gastro-intestinal disorder and the weakening of the immune system. Learning to cope with stress is an important life skill. Some techniques one can use to deal with stress are to do something they enjoy everyday, talk to friends/family, visualize positive things and treat one’s body right. Taking respon-sibility for one’s life, being aware of one’s choices, setting goals and being organized are other useful techniques. University students should be edu-cated and knowledgeable about stress and how to deal with it, in order to live physically, emotionally, mentally and socially healthy lives.

Stress, It’s a Killer

Yumna Ahmed

Student Development Centre's Personal Counselling Service http://brocku.ca/sdc/counselling/


Since the end of the Second World War, cities have sprawled with the construction of low-density, sin-gle use neighbourhoods on the fringes of existing urban areas. Many jobs have followed residents out of the city centre and urban areas have in-creased in size much faster than their populations. This new urban form is well suited to the automobile, but to the exclusion of all other modes of transportation.1

Living in the modern North Ameri can city, a car is usually need-ed to perform the most essential tasks, like commuting to work. As automo-bile ownership approaches (but does not reach) universality, the minor-ity of people or households without a car are left “transport-deprived”. The most apparent alternative, public transportation, poorly serves low-den-sity neighbourhoods by nature of their spatial structure (i.e. culs-de-sac)and dispersed demand. Individuals and families without a car are left with few good alternatives for accessing important but distant destinations.2

Of importance, there is a tendency for grocery stores to close down in older, poorer, neighbour-hoods, while new supermarkets open in the affluent suburbs. The unequal distribution of supermarkets has a disproportionate impact on transport-deprived people. When a neigh-bourhood with a high proportion of zero-car households loses its local supermarket, it can become part of a phenomenon known as a food desert, a socioeconomically disadvantaged area with limited food retail choices.3

Accessibility of supermarkets is important because they provide a wide selection of healthy foods at a reasonable cost. Convenience stores, on the other hand, carry a narrower selection of healthy food, and, ac-cording to a survey of Waterloo, are about 60% more expensive than su-permarkets4. The problem then is, that supermarkets would be most helpful for low-income, low-mobility people but are the least accessible, while ac-cessible retailers offer high-cost, un-healthy foods.5

It is widely accepted that unhealthy diets play a major role in the rising global burden of chronic, non-communicable diseases includ-ing type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. Of par-ticular concern is “elevated consump-tion of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt.”6 While research proving that low-income Canadians are eating less healthy than other Canadians is lim-ited, in other Western, industrialized countries, people with high socioeco-nomic status tend to eat more fruits and vegetables but less fat, oils, and meat. It is reasonable to expect these trends to exist in Canada.7,8

Access to supermarkets is not the only variable that determines healthy eating among low-income Canadians. The causes of unhealthy eating and ultimately obesity are often conceptualized as a causal web. There are dozens of interconnected elements at all levels, from global to local, that help or hinder healthy eating, includ-ing advertising, culinary culture, and the cost of food.8,9 The appearance of food deserts in cities is an important example of how decisions that seem unrelated to health (proximally, urban planning and the operating practices of supermarkets) can have profound impacts on the health of many people.

Food DesertsHealthy eating in a Drive-Thru city

Brent Gilliard

7

Attention deficit hyperactivity dis-order (ADHD) is a “problem with inattentiveness, over-activity, im-pulsivity, or a combination” beyond what is normal for a child’s age and development.1 It is more commonly diagnosed than any other behavioural disorder in children, affecting approx-imately 3-5% of school aged children; it is more common in boys than in girls.1 In Canada, 35% of all children referred to mental health clinics are diagnosed with ADHD.2

A prominent form of treatment noted in clinical settings was with the administration of Sertraline – mar-keted as Zoloft. Issued in 1996, Zoloft was developed by Pfizer for the pur-poses of treating Obsessive Compul-sive Disorder (OCD). It is the Food and Drug Administration’s obligation to make certain that the therapeutic agent must ensure safety and effica-cy.3 Hinshaw argues that “medication is the only viable option for treating children with ADHD, and that behav-ioural intervention strategies are not important for treating the core symp-toms of ADHD”.4 A significant prob-lem that arises with the administration of any drug is the problem of physi-ological dependence and proper ad-herence to the regimen. By offering a medicinal form of intervention for the treatment of a psychological disorder, new conditions and challenges arise in evaluating the efficacy of the treat-ment. Furthermore, the initial concern becomes a problem at the regulatory level.

On the contrary, The National Ini-tiative for Children’s Healthcare Qual-ity supports a chronic care model that accounts for teens and adolescents, and their families requiring supports in addition to an individualized and appropriate clinically based program.5

Lilienfield examines the treatment of

ADHD in the psychosocial domain.7 She notes that cognitive-training ther-apy programs help enrich a child’s way of expressing an underlying psy-chological barrier that cannot be oth-erwise expressed in communicated words. The play therapy was based on the notion that integrating toy props such as dolls and other inanimate play objects to help the child express an underlying psychological conflict. In reality, these programs help high-light the child’s self-control problems by communicating self-instructional skills to advance their ability to ‘stop, look, listen’. Lilienfield highlights the fact that some controlled studies mainly focus on school-based behav-ioural interventions which focus on the positive reinforcement of atten-tion sustainability.6 This exemplifies the simplicity in treating a complex disorder, in that the elementary con-structs of the child’s mind are exam-ined and manipulated in such a way to highlight undeveloped or repressed parts of the psyche. Similarly, Chronis and colleagues, examined both behav-ioural parent training and classroom behaviour management, in a study evaluating psychosocial treatment for children and adolescents with ADHD in a school setting.8 The study was directed toward teaching parents and teachers to implement behavioural modification principles supported by social learning principles, target-ing deviant behaviours, using praise and positive attention, as well as re-warding exemplary and improved behaviour. Thus, Chronis highlights a potentially successful redirection in treatment of ADHD, which can serve as a model for many other men-tal disorders.7 This model highlights the importance of improving behav-ioural treatment and implementing it as a guide for enhancing the training of caregivers, educators, and parents working with children plagued by this

disorder.

It is clear that medicinal inter-ventions have significant immediate effects on mediating and controlling psychosocial disorders, but for the health and well-being of the child treatment models must be re-exam-ined. Similarly, behavioural models demonstrate the positive implications upon the child’s psychological frame-work as well the child’s overall well-being. Truly, positive implications on the individual will lead advocates to encourage various collaborative programs to help treat and possibly reduce the prevalence and future inci-dence of these disorders in our society. However, this will likely be a constant battle against the pharmaceutical in-dustry since the best interests of the child will ultimately compete with the marketing of medicine in our society.

ADHD Treatment with drugs or therapy?

Kresimir Mijaljevic


believes, manipulating someone's personhood ultimately leads to the infringement of his or her rights – the right to personhood.

Dr. Jeynes teaches:CHSC 2F95 Human AnatomyCHSC 4P95Principles of Pathology

Dr. Brian Jeynes is an asso-ciate professor at Brock University, where he teaches the undergradu-ate anatomy and pathology courses in the Department of Community Health Sciences. He is also a re-searcher, medical ethicist, and Cath-olic deacon who works with prison inmates.

His research interests re-volve around general neuropathy, stroke, and medical ethics. In par-ticular, his current research is fo-cused on specific neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Dis-ease. Accompanied by a colleague at McMaster General Hospital, he is examining the possibility that

the blood brain barrier contributes to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease.

In addition, Dr. Jeynes is a medical ethicist. Medical ethics may as well be the law behind med-ical practice and research, and is di-rectly related to the decisions made in diagnosis, medical treatment and lifestyle treatment of diseases. Cur-rently, a particular bioethical debate is concerned with the invention of a 'smart pill'. Will it reshape civili-zation in the future, positively im-pacting one’s intellect? Dr. Jeynes is concerned with the impact this ‘smart pill’ will have on “person-hood and individuality.” Surely, he

Dr. Brian JeynesB.Sc, M.Sc, PhD, Associate Professor

For the past 12 years, Profes-sor Tony Bogaert has become a dis-tinguished member of Brock Univer-sity’s faculty and has helped develop the Community Health Science de-partment from what used to be known as the Health Studies department.

Today, he is not only the Chair of Community Health Sciences, who has introduced many of his own courses to the department, but his work also continues outside of the classroom.

“We need to educate people about the

broader issues of health and wellbe-ing”, Dr. Bogaert explains, “it [health] is not just about what is happening in the cell”. He certainly means this, as multiple profiles of his work exist in the media to target the larger commu-nity. With grounded academic routes in sexual orientation and most recent-ly, the comparison of desire amongst genders, Dr. Bogaert’s research has been recognized internationally.

When asked the importance of a future career in health-related fields, Professor Bogaert had the following words of inspiration, “I commend all

students interested in pursuing health related careers; I can’t think of a more important pursuit.”

It is without a doubt that Dr. Tony Bogaert has largely contributed to and continues to improve Brock’s health!

Dr. Tony BogaertPhD, Chair of Community Health Sciences

FACULTY SPOTLIGHTS

Kresimir Mijaljevic

Vicky Horner

9

Check Out These Butts

Cigarette butts that is. More than 36,000 of them

Meagan Barkans

Between March and April 2009, discarded cigarette butts were collected from the grounds of 25 post-secondary institutions in On-tario. Far from a garbage pick-up, these butts were collected with a research purpose in mind- to deter-mine if post-secondary students in the province are using contraband tobacco.

Contraband tobacco

In simple terms contraband tobacco is cheap, illegal tobacco. A more official definition from the RCMP states contraband tobacco is any product that does not comply with the requirements of all fed-eral and provincial laws.1 In other words, if the laws regulating the manufacturing, packaging or dis-tribution processes are broken, or if appropriate taxes or duties aren’t charged, the tobacco is illegal; it is

contraband.

In Canada contraband to-bacco includes: 1) illegally manu-factured tobacco products 2) tobac-co products smuggled into Canada from international sources 3) ciga-rettes obtained through theft and criminal activity 4) counterfeit ciga-rettes and 5) untaxed (cheap) ciga-rettes purchased from First Nations reserves by non-Native individu-als. In Ontario, ‘Native cigarettes’ are the most common form of con-traband tobacco.1 Because Native cigarettes are cheap and accessible, many people buy these cigarettes without even realizing they are breaking the law!

Why contraband tobacco is a health issue

Aside from the legal ramifi-

cations associated with contraband, this inexpensive tobacco is also a health issue. Why? Well, contra-band tobacco has the potential to un-dermine public health strategies we have to prevent teens from initiating smoking and assist young adult and adult smokers to quit smoking. For example, higher taxes on cigarettes, bans on tobacco advertising, restric-tions on who can be sold tobacco, and graphic warnings on cigarette packs are all undermined when cheap (untaxed) cigarettes can be purchased in unmarked packs or bags from sellers who do not follow regulations about advertising, sales and warning labels. The availability of cheap tobacco reduces cost-bar-riers that prevent youth from start-ing to smoke and give adults more reason to quit.

Indeed, a 2009 article in the Canadian Medical Associa-tion Journal reported that Canadian youth are using contraband tobacco. The study found that 21.8% of cur-rent daily smokers in grades 9 to 12 identified First Nations/Native cigarettes as their usual brand.2 It also determined that these Native cigarettes smokers had higher con-sumption rates compared to other daily smokers. As for adults, in 2007 Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada released a report estimat-ing the size of the contraband to-bacco market at 40% of total ciga-


rette sales in Ontario.3 A 2009 study published in the journal Society for the Study of Addiction found that 25.8% of those Ontarians surveyed had purchased one or more packs of cigarettes from a reserve in the past 6 months.4 The same study also found that people who had recently purchased Native cigarettes were heavier smokers with lower inten-tions of quitting. So adults are us-ing contraband tobacco and youth are using contraband tobacco but what about young adults? In order to answer that question we need to go back to that butt study.

Contraband tobacco on post-sec-ondary campuses in Ontario

Collection of 36,000 plus cigarette butts occurred at 12 uni-versities and 13 colleges. At each school, unlucky butt collectors- out-fitted with protective clothing- gath-ered samples from four smoking lo-cations: 1) near the student building/university centre; 2) on the grounds of the campus pub; 3) at an on-campus, high-traffic bus stop; and 4) near a campus residence. They emptied butt receptacles or picked discarded butts off the ground, plac-ing all butts into large plastic con-tainers.

Then came the truly disgust-ing part! Researchers visually ex-amined every single butt in order

to categorize it according to their filter-tip logo...Huh?

To explain, legal cigarettes have logos on the filters; contraband cigarettes have either no logo or one that RCMP records have identified as contraband.

Based on information ob-tained from the RCMP (and a few other sources) collected butts were sorted into three categories: 1) le-gal cigarettes 2) contraband Native cigarettes (such as Putters, DK’s, Sago and unlabelled), and 3) un-known (that is, butts that couldn’t be identified because they were burnt, squished etc.). The propor-tion of cigarette butts that were con-traband/Native was then calculated for each school.

What did the results reveal?

Contraband use was appar-ent on all campuses, but varied con-siderably from school to school. In fact, data suggest that contraband Native cigarettes account for as little as 1% to as much as 33% of the total cigarette consumption at any particular school! The highest proportion of contraband was found on campuses in the Northern part of Ontario. At colleges and Universi-ties in this (Niagara) region, about 9.6% of the butts collected were contraband/Native cigarettes.

So what?

The results demonstrate that in fact some post-secondary students are using illegal tobacco. This is concerning as the possibil-ity exists that of those students us-ing contraband tobacco there might be some who would not be smoking if only fully taxed cigarettes were available.

Based on research done in adult and youth populations it is also likely that these illegal tobac-co users are heavier smokers who are less inclined to quit, compared to students who use legal tobacco. This is important information for health professionals to keep in mind so they can ensure that cessation ad-vice is tailored to meet the unique needs of contraband tobacco users.

In the future, professionals who are implementing strategies aimed at reducing smoking in this age group- including health pro-motion messages, tobacco control policies and smoking cessation pro-grams will want to consider this co-hort’s use of illegal tobacco.

Further research is needed in order to expand on the knowledge attained through this study, though the present researcher assures you she will not be doing any more stud-ies of this sort- no ifs, ands or butts!

11

Approximately 600 million people worldwide are infected with small intestinal parasites that feed on human blood, called hookworms (Necator americanus and Ancy-lostoma duodenale). The resulting blood loss can be so severe it causes anaemia, negatively affecting chil-dren’s growth, education, and future economic productivity. Importantly, there are safe, effective treatments for hookworm infection, yet we do not have the situation under control.1

This can be explained mostly due to the fact that hookworm infec-tion is just one of several neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Of the poorest billion people in the world, almost all have at least one NTD.2 Collectively, they reduce child health, hinder education, reduce productivity, disrupt social ties, and impose steep costs for medical care. These diseases thrive in conditions of poverty, and they trap people in it. The symptoms of NTDs are diverse, including anae-mia, blindness, disfigurement, organ damage, severe itching, pain, and di-arrhea (Table 1). What they share is a high burden of disability and low mortality rate.2,3

The resources marshalled against NTDs have been too few de-spite the billion or more people with these diseases. They have a collec-tive burden of disability in excess of better-known diseases such as malaria or tuberculosis, but investment and even awareness have been stymied by the nature of NTDs. Most are not threats to wealthy nations, because they are tied to tropical environments and do not travel well, so there is very little self-interested investment by these governments or pharmaceuti-cal corporations. Even within affect-ed nations, NTDs are concentrated in marginalized populations where

they disable, rather than kill. Cash-strapped developing nations tend to focus on visible, highly fatal diseases like HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately, the stigma attached to some NTDs means that they are neglected by even neigh-bours and family members.4,5

Fortunately, many NTDs might be controlled or eliminated for as little as fifty cents per person per year.2 Mass drug administration, the treatment of entire populations with safe drugs, has proven effective and affordable for several NTDs. The drugs are often donated by multina-tional pharmaceutical corporations. (Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but these are the same corporations that neglect new research and de-velopment.) When communities are trained to manage their own treatment programs the local health systems are strengthened and more people can be treated at lower cost. The burden of NTDs is already falling in some countries, thanks to successful inter-ventions. The immediate challenge, therefore, is not developing new treat-ments; it is brining existing treatments to the people who need them.2,5

Despite remarkably low costs per person, NTDs are so widespread – remember, at least one billion people are affected – that $2-3 billion in fi-nancial assistance is needed in the short term to address the most impor-tant NTDs alone. This figure does not include the long term costs of manag-ing NTDs. In addition to fundraising, there is also significant organizational work to be done; each disease and local health system is unique.2 Bring-ing NTD control to every person in the world is not a simple task, but it is a manageable task. It promises a tremendous return on investment by breaking a vicious cycle of disease and poverty for a billion people.

Neglected DiseasesPoverty and illness out of sight

Brent Gilliard

Table 1. SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT

NTDs2 Parasite Estimated

Global Preva-lence

hookworm 600 million

ascariasis 800 million

trichuriasis 600 million

lymphatic filariasis

120 million

schistosomiasis 200 million

trachoma 84 million

onchocerciasis 37 million

Interested in joining the Brock Health team?

Contact us at: [email protected]


In our modern world, it’s hard to believe that anything is im-possible anymore. Decades ago, mind control was something read in a fiction novel or seen on television and film. However, in recent years, it has become a reality for many. Though nothing as extravagant as freely moving objects (yet), those with paralysis and amputations have and will benefit from a tech-nology known as neural interface systems (NIS), also known as brain-machine interface (BMI) or bionics. Research on this relatively young technology is being developed in an effort to return accessibility to individuals with missing or dam-aged appendages. It helps to restore control, communication, and inde-pendence to those individuals with paralysis when the motor control structures are disconnected from muscle output.1

This amazing technology detects neural signals from the in-dividual’s brain, and translates the desired action from thought into an interpreted, physical movement, ex-actly the same way it occurs with a natural body part. It bypasses mus-cles and damaged neural structures between the brain and new pros-thetic as though it were controlling a phantom of the original limb. In a paralysing spinal cord injury, an individual would be given an NIS device , similar to a computer chip embedded on the brain, that reads motor cortex signals to control the activity of a prosthetic extremity, and returning feedback to the sen-sory cortex in the brain to allow for control of a robotic limb.

The fundamental process of this high-tech machinery is the translation of the brain’s intention in the communication pathways from

the brain to the target muscle. An-ticipation of potential errors occur-ring will need to be considered in the design of the system in order to predict and prevent any possibility of misinterpreted movement, such as a slip of a handgrip. In a dam-aged brain this would produce a sig-nificant dilemma seeing as the ini-tial intended movement might not be the most direct one. It requires a buffer for translation to extend the signal to the limb. The ultimate goal of this buffering can lead to a ben-eficial improvement in speed and accuracy, reaching a more natural, nearly unconscious level of use.2

One of the first times this exciting advancement was demon-strated was in a study conducted in North Carolina on primates, spark-ing lots of interest. Two female monkeys were attached to comput-ers using multiple array chips and wires to both hemispheres of the brain. They were given simple tasks to perform using their connection, the primary one being grabbing and gripping a pole with a specified amount of force. They successfully performed their tasks after previ-ously being trained to do so without the NIS setup.3

Current applications of this, like cochlear implants for the deaf, are already available to those who have the resources available to them. In the near future, assis-tive technology in other forms of impairment will also begin to rise. Tasks such as speech assistance to those who, literally, no longer have a voice or even artificial vision for the blind are highly possible. Whatever the possibilities, this complex tech-nology requires stability in com-munication between man and the physical machinery. Recent studies

have shown that the technology has substantially improved in accuracy and feedback, providing more fluid communication and hope to those who need it most.4,5 Individuals who are physically unable to perform tasks, but are still cognitively intact, will have the opportunity to regain their independence through one of the most technologically advanced means in the medical field.

Neural InterfacesExactly as creepy as it sounds

Singha Chanthanatham

Five Ways to Pass!CHSC 2P27

according to Singha

1. Know all Study Designs at all levels, including any details (biases, strengths etc.)2. Ask questions when you’re confused…really, es-pecially about your SSP.3. Attend and contribute in all seminars. It can make a HUGE impact; trust me.4. Note what the prof says is important and UNDERLINE it, then HIGHLIGHT it!5. Study those notes in full for your midterm and exam...bribing won’t work.

For more information on NIS, check out a great article in the January 2010 issue of National Geographic Magazine, titled

Bionics.

13

The exciting field of mag-netic nanoparticles is really picking up speed these days. The possibil-ity of treating cancer through nano-magnets (hyperthermia and direct drug delivery) is slowly but surely materializing.

The idea behind this ap-proach is to artificially induce hy-perthermia with the nanomagnets to kill cancer cells. This technology began in the late 1950s when Gil-christ et al at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago heated various tissue sam-ples with 20-100 nm size particles of iron oxide.2 It has improved since then and will continue improving in the future.

This interesting procedure works through dispersing magnetic nanoparticles, which are about a billionth-of-a-meter, throughout the target tissue and then applying an AC magnetic field with a set amount of strength and frequency (which varies by tissue type) to heat up the particles. This heat, with a therapeu-tic threshold of 42˚C for 30 minutes or more, penetrates the immediately surrounding tissue, killing the can-cerous cells.2

Indeed, Janet Raloff, senior editor of ScienceNews, has called these nanomagnets “highly local-ized space heaters”.1 This heat treat-ment is quite advantageous for kill-ing these cancerous cells because not only are cancer cells much more sensitive to heat, but radiation and chemotherapy tend to have a greater effect on heat-treated cells.1

Direct drug delivery is anoth-er aspect of nanomagnet technology currently under development. The major disadvantage of most chemo-therapy interventions today is that

they are non -specific. Therapeutic drugs are typically administered intravenously, being distributed throughout the body. This results in deleterious side-effects as the drug attacks normal, healthy cells in ad-dition to the target cancerous cells. In magnetically targeted therapy, a cytotoxic drug is attached to a bio-compatible magnetic nanoparticle carrier. These drug/carrier complex-es—usually in the form of a bio-compatible ferrofluid—are injected into the patient via the circulatory system.2

When the particles have entered the bloodstream, external high-gradient magnetic fields are used to concentrate the complex at a specific target site within the body. Once the drug/carrier is concentrat-ed at the target, the drug can be re-leased either via enzymatic activity or changes in physiological condi-tions such as pH or temperature, and be taken up by the tumour cells.2

MagForce Nanotechnolo-gies (Berlin), one of the companies at the forefront of this technology, is exploring this idea of ‘killing two birds with one stone”. In other words, heat treat the malignancies in the body and at the same time de-liver drugs directly to the tumours.1 Through direct delivery of drugs, the side effects of traditional che-motherapies would be largely by-

passed.

One of the current advanced clinical trials is studying approxi-mately 65 patients with late-stage recurrent glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer. Currently, the survival rate is approximately seven months, however, with this procedure they are hoping to increase it by at least three more months if not more.1

It is worth noting that not all of the work in this field appears in the scientific literature, but rather kept hidden in company patents or on the down low until commercial-ization of this technology is legally approved and full blown.3 So, for at least the next couple of months or years, the growth of such compa-nies should be observed closely.

All in all, this field is emerg-ing and the future looks bright for the end of these vicious diseases. Whether it be now or a hundred years from now I believe can-cer will be cured and that shining knight may very well be nanomag-netic technology.

NanomagnetsCancer Cured?Shahla A. Grewal


Although we rarely hear about students making a difference in our community, Brock students are extremely important in the suc-cess of many community projects throughout Niagara both through Brock initiatives and individually. Students donate their time and ener-gy to help and improve the lives of others within our community. One specific community project occurs at the Brock University Heart In-stitute (BUHI) located on Lockhart Drive at the base of the Glenridge hill. Within this Institute, desper-ately needed cardiac rehabilitation takes place in an environment that is extremely unique for volunteers, staff and members.

Along with the main focus being on cardiac rehabilitation, a large part of the institute is centered on building relationships between members, volunteers, and staff. They have created an atmosphere that is friendly, welcoming and makes you want to return. This ex-perience is invaluable for students in that it helps give faces to the sta-tistics that you learn in class. Dr. Brent Faught, a coordinator of the BUHI, says that besides the academ-ic aspect of the Institute he hopes that students learn to appreciate the knowledge that can be gained from the members. “You can get another education at the Institute” says Dr. Faught. This education goes beyond books and statistics and can only be gained by listening to the personal experiences of the members you in-teract with.

The main role of the stu-dent volunteers is to be there for the members, to help with exercis-es, recording results, taking pulses and most importantly talking to the members. It is the personal time and

attention towards the members that keeps many of them coming back and makes the facility more than just a place for them to do their ex-ercises. Peter, a member for over a year, says that the Institute has a great atmosphere and great people. “The volunteers really help make this place great. The atmosphere and friendliness really makes it easy to come back week after week” ex-plains Peter. Brandon, a master’s student who prescribes exercises to new and existing members, states that research shows that only around 1/3 of people who begin treatment with exercise continue af-ter 6 months. At the Institute he says this number is much higher due to the development of strong relation-ships between staff, members and volunteers.

The need for volunteers is only expected to grow in the future. Within the Niagara Region alone, there are over 4500 people who need cardiac rehabilitation and only 600 spots in the Niagara Health Sys-tem. The Brock University Heart Institute is in a perfect position to help take some of the pressure off and provide life changing servic-es to people who may otherwise never get the treatment they need. With only 50 members currently enrolled at the Heart Institute and a maximum capacity of around 400 the room for growth is thrilling to all involved. This is a place where everyone involved gains more than they expect.

For students interested in volunteering, the Heart Institute can be reached by email at:

[email protected]

Brock Heart InstituteHelping Hearts

Steve Demetriades


according to Phuc

1. Attend lectures regu-larly for consistent learning.2. Complete the weekly e-seminars as those marks will add up and will pay off in the end.3. Start the Dietary Analy-sis early so you can earn the best mark possible!4. Be attentive during lectures so you can absorb the class material quicker.5. Last...but certainly not least...prepare and study for midterms in ad-vance!

15

OxyContin. Prozac. Ritalin. For most of us, these aren’t your typi-cal everyday items. However, popu-larized by every imaginable media outlet, be it from chastising celeb-rities or new health care technolo-gies, prescription drugs and their abuse are increasing. If taken as directed by the doctor or physician, prescription drugs can offer relief and positive reinforcement. On the other hand, when not taken for the intended use, they pose certain dan-gers and hazardous consequences.

Abuse of prescribed drugs is defined as “use that occurs without a physician’s prescription, in greater amounts than prescribed, and/or for reasons other than indicated by the prescribing physician.”1

Among the most commonly abused prescription drugs are opi-oids, antidepressants, and stimu-lants. According to a recent report, for the first time opiates displaced marijuana to become the new illicit drug of choice.6 Opiates (e.g. Oxy-Contin) undergo considerable first-pass metabolism in the liver result-ing in about 15-30% bioavailability with onset taking place within 15 minutes.7 Because of this, patients normally ingest more than the re-quired amounts to achieve initial euphoric effects.

Antidepressants (e.g. Prozac and Zoloft) are observed to induce excessive CNS stimulation. While the onset of action is slow, they have long-lasting effects. A lesser recog-nized trend is the non-medicinal use of psychostimulants (e.g. Ritalin) normally used to treat patients with

ADHD. In healthy individuals, this leads to feelings of increased energy and capacity to do work explaining the strong tendency of students to abuse this drug.

In today’s world of instant coffee and fast-food it’s not surpris-ing that the Internet, with its imme-diate access to virtually everything, has become an easy source for ob-taining drugs. The FDA has identi-fied between 200 and 400 Internet pharmacies, as well as other web-sites where drugs were accessible with a click of a mouse.2 What’s more, only a mere six percent of those websites required a valid pre-scription.

Possibly the most under-estimated or disregarded source of prescription drug is the immedi-ate family. It is much easier to ob-tain a prescribed drug if the history of psychiatric distress is already available.4 Either deliberately or by mistake, the immediate family is the main source of easy access to prescription drugs. Guardians must take responsibility of drug monitor-ing, even in private settings, to min-imize abuse of prescription drugs.

Nonmedicinal use of pre-scription drugs has increased due to its accessibility, increased effects, and lack of particular details. As with anything else, prior to using prescribed drugs, consumers should be informed and involved in their therapy, understand associated risks and consequences, as well as proper instructions by a certified physician.

Compton and Volkow have

studied and followed the changes in prevalence of drug use and abuse in recent studies and state, future sci-entific work on prescription drug abuse will include identification of clinical practices that minimize the risk of addiction, the development of guidelines for early detection and management of addiction, and the development of clinically effective agents that minimize the risks of abuse.3

Prescription Drug Abuse

What’s really going on?Shirin Pilakka

Five Ways to Pass!BIOL 3P30

according to Brent

1. Bespecific!Generali-ties and ambiguities will not pass.2. Learn the experiments that show basic principles (there are no labs).3. Do the readings before lecture.4. Go to lecture because the slides are only outlines.5. Keep up; each week builds on the last.


Have you ever looked at yourself and thought perhaps you should exercise more? Do you ever put your jeans on in the morning to find that they are a little too snug? When a friend of yours invites you to run with them would you prefer to stay in and watch TV? You need motivation to get you up and mov-ing, though often this is hard to pro-duce. Here are some helpful tips to get you moving in the right direc-tion.

I have found that a positive attitude can go a long way when contemplating exercise. If you want to feel and look healthier then you will be more obliged to exercise. Remember, exercising requires both mental and physical endurance, so if you can fight the urge to relax, that is half the battle. Once you begin to exercise you will feel healthier and more confident. The will to exercise will increase because you have felt its positive effects.

If you find yourself stressed out from work and studying, physi-cal exertion is an excellent way to relieve it. According to Cotman, Berchtold, and Christie, “This will stimulate brain activity and is recognised to increase memory and learning capacity, further protecting from neural degeneration and the al-leviation of depression and stress.”1 By exercising you can relieve stress and simultaneously stimulate your brain so that when you return to study or work, you will retain more knowledge than if you had not exer-cised.

If you find that what would typically be a long enough sleep does not make you feel rested or it takes a long time for you to fall asleep at night, exercise can increase

the depth and effect sleep takes. A study done on athletes by the Jour-nal of Adolescent Health reported a higher quality of sleep, shorter sleep onset, fewer awakenings during the night and higher concentration dur-ing the day.2 Having a regulated sleep pattern will reflect a positive outlook on life, study and work, in addition to higher attentiveness and healthiness.

If the idea of running on a treadmill and staring at your watch discourages you from exercising then try something innovative. Take a trip somewhere like Chingua-cousy Hill in Brampton and try ski-ing or snowboarding. These places offer classes once a week for begin-ners and are a great way to embrace the Canadian winters. If cold, wet snow is not your forte then perhaps a dance class in jazz or salsa will get your feet moving. This way, you will be exercising and learning a new skill as well. For something local and free, try going for a walk around the scenic Brock campus in the spring.

Try participating in some-thing active every other day for three weeks. Although it may hurt for some time, once you get into the habit, you will soon look forward to making your body and mind health-ier.

Exercising does not have to be an aggravating task; it should be a positive experience. It will increase your attentiveness, make your body and mind healthier and give you a better attitude and self-image.

Exercise MotivationMind Over MatterMichael Carrigan

HOT HEADLINES!

“Health-care staff close to burn-out, study finds”

Katelyn Cullen

Researchers say excessive de-mands on hospital staff and man-agers, and a culture of urgency, are fuelling stress and absentee-ism

The fact that one in three hospital employees are at risk of burnout suggests that it is time for hospitals to start caring for their employees, in addition to caring for their patients. The demands faced by hospital employees ap-pear to be taking excessive tolls on their mental and physical health, with over half of the respondents reporting sleeping less, and 18% saying they had used alcohol or prescription drugs as stress reliev-ers. Insufficient amounts of rest and use of drugs or alcohol can certainly hinder the performance ability of an employee during their following shift, which could ultimately jeopardize the safety of a patient. Implementation of a health care policy seems ben-eficial for employees, as it would provide them with the appropriate amount of time needed to rest and recuperate from an extensive shift, thus improving their performance and general state of health. It is questionable whether to allow an employee that faces such high de-mands, stress and work overload, to continue a shift past a specified number of hours – or to apply a regulation that limits the number of hours clocked, and enforces a time of recuperation.

17

How far would one go to create the “trophy” child? Imagine a build-a-bear store filled with dif-ferent shapes, sizes, colours and even stuffing’s to create your “per-fect” bear. Now imagine the same concept except replace stuffed bears with human babies.This idea comes from a medical procedure known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD. PGD has been used for medical purposes to avert life threatening genetic disorders in children. Briefly, a three day old embryo that consists approximately six to eight cells are examined for genetic diseases, and the cells free of any disease are implanted back into the mother’s womb.1

This highlights the potential benefits of PGD. For example, fre-quently diagnosed disorders include cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, Huntington’s disease and myotonic dystrophy. But the advances in sci-ence are not limited to avoiding cer-tain traits; it is now also possible to pick and choose certain traits (anal-ogous to build-a-bear store). For ex-ample, parents could choose to have a green eyed, blonde hair daughter. To do this, first, a woman’s eggs are fertilized with sperm in a lab, creat-ing several embryos. Then a single cell is removed from each embryo and tested for biomarkers associated for female gender, green eyes and blonde hair. Finally, only embryos with the biomarkers for the required traits are placed in the woman’s womb. The procedure guarantees that the child will be female, and increases the probability of having green eyes and blonde hair.2

However, what happens when you order a blonde hair and green eyed baby, and you’re de-livered a brown hair and browned eyed baby? Do you get your money

back? Do you take legal action?

It seems foolish, but believe it or not a couple in Utah are taking legal action towards the University of Utah medical centre for alleg-edly using the sperm of a donor, other than one they had originally selected. The mother gave birth to three healthy triplets, but claimed that if they had used donor #183 as opposed to #83 the children would have turned out better looking, and this caused her severe emotional distress. The judge ruled there was not enough evidence of emotional distress or bodily harm and the cou-ple lost the case. 3

This is a clear example of parental control and the idea of cre-ating the perfect child. The idea that all is wanted is a healthy baby no matter what he or she may look like, has been diminished. These parents are only being selfish and forgetting what is best for the child, and look-ing for personal gain. Just like we have created genetically engineered foods, crops and animals, it is in-evitable that genetically engineered babies will be coming up in the next decade. The fact is that parents will always want what is best for their children. But does designing a child take it too far? Are parents now only feeding their own desires? On one hand, it reduces the chances of a baby being born with several serious diseases. On the other hand, there is a sense of playing God. The level of biodiversity will cease to exist, and there will be discrimination towards anyone who appears different. Fur-thermore, parents who decide their children’s traits, eliminates what the child has to say about his or her life.

The moral and ethical issues of this new technology are still not defined and there is an ongoing de-

bate concerning this area. Genetic engineering is complex, and know-ing that one mistake can alter the lives of many should tell us this is not something to play around with. We never know. Mutations can lead to new diseases and viruses. We must stop trying to control every-thing and take the world for what it is.

Designer BabiesBuild a Baby

Hind El-Hussein

HOT HEADLINES!“Sale of junk food to be banned in Ontario schools”

Jacey Allardyce

A ban effective the first day of school in 2011 on the sale of junk food in schools is intended to target the rise in childhood obesity

Although this proposal is being met with mixed reviews, the regulation of foods sold in schools is an exam-ple of a preventative health care ap-proach instead of addressing the is-sue of obesity when it is too late and more costly to the Canadian health care system. People may feel that this is some type of privacy inva-sion but students are still permitted to bring in their own lunches and having healthier options at school may inspire students to request healthier choices from their homes. Addressing obesity and the negative repercussions that can occur will no doubt save money in the long run.


Making it all Possibleand addressing your health con-cerns.

Since opening its doors, Sobeys Manager, Mel Raimondo and Sobeys Pharmacy Manager, Kerri O’Kane have been busy sup-porting Brock University by host-ing fundraising barbeques, donating food to off campus living, contrib-uting door prizes for select events, giving away gift certificates and most recently as a Platinum Sponsor to this new and exciting magazine, Brock Health. We are happy to be working with the Brock University Community and look forward to further building the relationship in the years to come.

We welcome you to come in and visit our pharmacy to see how our services may benefit you. Phar-macy hours are 9 am – 9 pm Mon-day through Friday, 9 am – 6 pm on Saturdays and 11 am – 6 pm on Sundays. The grocery store is open 24 hours a day to serve the commu-

nity.

Sobeys Inc. is proud to be a Canadian company originating in the early 1900’s on the East Coast, in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. The company’s success is built on the strong ideals of three generations of Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs and is now driven by thousands of people across this country. Cur-rently Sobeys Inc. has stores in 10 provinces and is continually reach-ing out to more communities in Canada every year. In the 1980’s, Sobeys expanded into Ontario.

Sobeys Inc. opened a new grocery store in St. Catharines last summer at 343 Glendale Avenue, just minutes away from Brock Uni-versity. This Sobeys store is unique as it is the first store in the Niagara Region equipped with a full service pharmacy. Sobeys Pharmacy Group is not new; we have over 220 phar-macies belonging to our group throughout Canada. Sobeys Phar-macy in Ontario is rapidly expand-

ing, opening 5 pharmacies in 2009 alone; bringing our total number of pharmacies in Ontario to 47.

Sobeys Pharmacy offers great service at a very competitive price. Our pharmacists are efficient, very knowledgeable, have a large number of resources at their finger-tips. There are a number of services available through our PROfile Pro-gram – AutoFill Plus (an automatic prescription refill service), Pill Pack Plus (your medication organized in weekly blister packs), personal medication reviews, monthly infor-mation clinics, and many more. We are pleased to make time to spend with you; answering your questions

SUDOKU!SUDOKU!


according to Shahla

1. Make sure you do all the readings before going to class because this class acts as your seminar as well2. Don’t leave your news summaries till the last min-ute as it really defeats the purpose3. Have fun with your group presentations, no one likes a paper-reader4. Participate! Participate! Participate! Even if your shy or think your point is lame, it might be really interest-ing to someone else5. Talk and discuss with people you don’t know, great things like Brock Health originated from do-ing this last point!

19

References

“Diabetes Huge Problem on Canadian Reserves”

Colin Horne

Diabetes is spiralling out of control among aboriginal Canadians, with women being alarmingly affected, a new study of more than 90,000 people shows.

As is well known when discussing aboriginal Canadians, the transition from a traditional and cultural life-style to a more sedentary one has created devastating health affects in aboriginal communities and raised many concerns for their health. With current conditions worsening by the year, changes must be made in or-der to help young aboriginal women most at risk of developing diabetes. Our current healthcare policies need to acknowledge the unique situation and needs of aboriginal Canadians and in particular aboriginal women, emphasizing preventative care strat-egies for areas and ages most at risk. By adjusting the accessibility to our healthcare and healthcare profes-sionals in northern regions, many at risk aboriginal women would be able to gain the necessary education to reverse this worsening trend.

“U.S. links bisphenol-A to health risk”

Gillian McDonald

In a shift of position, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is express-ing concerns about possible health risks from bisphenol-A, or BPA, a widely used component of plastic bottles and food packaging that it declared safe in 2008..

The fact that bisphenol-A (BPA) - such a commonly found substance - has the potential to be detrimen-tal to one’s health is alarming. You would think that in this day and age

we would be more aware of issues like these, especially since BPA can be found in many common house-hold items. There is still debate as to whether it is actually harmful or not but research has proven it to be harmful in animals. In my opinion, the fact that it is even remotely con-troversial is enough for me to think it should be eliminated from produc-tion. This issue also makes people wonder about the government and whether there should be more poli-cies and regulations in place to help prevent issues like this from hap-pening in the future. BPA is found in many things that we come into contact with on a daily basis. This causes one to question what else we are exposed to frequently that could slowly be affecting our health that we aren’t even aware of? ? Did the government drop the ball when it comes to policies to prevent the mass manufacturing of potentially harmful substances?

“For sale: 1 farmhouse, great views, a bit smelly”

Dan Harasymiw

A century-old farmhouse included in Toronto's purchase of its new landfill site will be sold off

Toronto's garbage problem is be-coming a big issue that is rais-ing the question “what will we do with all of our garbage after cur-rent landfills are full?” Constantly buying more land just to find new places to dump our garbage is not a smart or economical way to spend tax payer money. Eventually there will be no more room and events such as these where peoples’ houses and good farmlands, will be turned into a “waste of space”, no pun in-tended. The government and busi-nesses should look at ways to intro-duce policies which can be filtered down into individuals’ lives, with

the idea of creating less garbage, becoming more green, and finding a more sustainable way to deal with our garbage instead of harming the environment by finding sanctioned areas to pollute our earth. This way we will ensure that for generations to come there is an earth and envi-ronment that everyone can enjoy.

“Forget cellphones. Talking distracts drivers, study finds”

Katelyn Cullen

Research discovers dramatic de-crease in comprehension for drivers

This study found that driving a ve-hicle affects how well someone talks or understands what is be-ing said to them. With such atten-tion being placed on the use of cell phones while driving, it’s no won-der that further investigations are taking place that study similar dis-tractions - which may also hinder one’s ability to concentrate while behind the wheel of a moving ve-hicle. This article raises questions as to the number of passengers a driver should be allowed to cargo, when each additional passenger can apparently increase the distraction felt by the driver. If a policy, which limits the number of passengers al-lowed in a vehicle were enforced, should this be done among all age groups, or should this solely be lim-ited to the new and often less expe-rienced drivers? It is believed that a passenger limit would be quite difficult to enforce, especially with the manufacturing of larger vehicles that have the ability to hold up to seven people – as well as the notion that good drivers are able to concen-trate on their driving and allow the other things they are doing at the same time to suffer.

Hot Headlines!


Trans Fats: Is Canada Doing Enough? by Vicky Horner

1. Friesen R, Innis SM. Trans fatty acids in human milk in Canada declined with the introduction of trans fat food label-ing. J Nutr. 2006;136(10):2558-2561.2.StenderS,DyerbergJ.Influenceoftransfattyacidsonhealth. Ann Nutr Metab. 2004;48(2):61-6.3. Health Canada. Food and Nutrition. [cited 2009 March 14] Available at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/refer-ence/table/index-eng.php.4. Stender S, Dyerberg J, Astrup A. Consumer protec-tion through a legislative ban on industrially produced trans fatty acids in foods in Denmark. Scand J Food Nutr. 2006;50(4):155-160.5. Trans Fat Task Force. Transforming the food supply. Health Canada 2006. Available at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/gras-trans-fats/tf-ge/tf-gt_rep-rap-eng.php.6. Ricciuto L, Lin K, Tarasuk V. A comparison of the fat com-position and prices of margarines between 2002 and 2006, when new Canadian labelling regulations came into effect. Public Health Nutr. 2009;12(8):1270-5.7. Mossoba MM, MilosevicV, Milosevic, M, Kramer JK, Azizian, H. Determination of total trans fats and oils by infrared spectroscopy for regulatory compliance. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2007;389(1):87-92.8. Malla S, Hobbs JE, Perger O. Estimating the health care savings from trans fat-free canola in Canada. Acta Agricul-turae Scand Section C, 2005;2:175-184.

Stress, It’s a Killer by Yumna Ahmed(1) Hunt SL, Simon SL, Wisocki P. An examination of physical health and coping styles associated with symptoms of general-ized anxiety. Psychology Journal 2007;4(1):15-27.(2) Shih JH, Eberhart NK. Understanding the impact of prior depression on stress generation: examining the roles of cur-rent depressive symptoms and interpersonal behaviours. Br J Psychol 2008;99(3),413-426.(3) Tan YM, Goh KL, Muhidayah R, Ooi CL, Salem O. Preva-lence of irritable bowel syndrome in young adult Malaysians: a survey among medical students. J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2003;18(12):1412-1416.(4) Glaser, R., Kiecolt-Glaser, JK. Stress-induced immune dysfunction: implications for health. Nat Rev Immunol 2005;5(3):243-51.

Food Deserts by Brent Gilliard1. Miller, E. J. (2006). Transportation and communication. In T. Bunting, & P. Filion (Eds.), Canadian cities in transition (Third ed., pp. 103-122). Toronto: Oxford University Press. 2. Docherty, I., Giuliano, G., & Houston, D. (2008). Connected cities. In R. Knowles, J. Shaw & I. Docherty (Eds.), Transport geographies: Mobilities, flows and spaces (pp. 83-101). Ox-ford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 3. Kirkup, M., De Kervenoael, R., Hallsworth, A., Clarke, I., Jackson, P., & Perez del Aguila, R. (2004). Inequalities in retail choice: Exploring consumer experiences in suburban neigh-bourhoods. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Man-agement, 32(11), 511-522.4. Region of Waterloo Public Health. (2004). A glance at ac-cess to food. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from http://bit.ly/4Jf2a45. Whelan, A., Wrigley, N., Warm, D., & Cannings, E. (2002). Life in a ‘food desert’. Urban Studies, 39(11), 2083-2100.6. World Health Organization. (2004). Global strategy on diet, physical activity and healthWorld Health Organization. Re-trieved from http://bit.ly/7GXKjt7. St John, M., Durant, M., Campagna, P.D., Rehman, L.A., Thompson, A.M., Wadsworth, L.A., Murphy, R.J. (2008). Over-weight Nova Scotia children and youth: the roles of household income and adherence to Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eat-ing. Can J Public Health, 99(4), 301-306.8. Power, E. M. (2005). The determinants of healthy eating among low-incomeCanadians.TheOfficeofNutritionPolicyand Promotion. Health Canada.

Nanomagnets by Shahla Grewal1. J. Raloff. Fatal Attraction: Nanomagnets tackle disease. ScienceNews. August 16th, 2008. Volume 174, Issue no. Pg. 5-62. Q. Pankhurst, J. Connolly, S. Jones and J. Dobson. Topical Review: Applications of magnetic nanoparticles in biomedi-cine. J. Phys. D: Appl. Physics. 36 (2003) R167–R181.3. Q. Pankhurst, N. Thanh, S. Jones and J Dobson. Topical Review: Progress in applications of magnetic nanoparticles in biomedicine. J. Phys. D: Appl. Physics. 42 (2009) 224001.

Contraband Tabacco by Meagan Barkans

1. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Contraband tobacco en-forcement strategy. 2008. Available at http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ce-da/tobacco-tabac-strat-2008-eng.htm. Accessed 19/12, 2008.2. Callaghan RC, Veldhuizen S, Letherdale S, Murnaghan D, Manske S. Use of contraband cigarettes among adolescent dai-ly smokers in Canada. Can Med Assoc J. 2009;181(6-7):384-6.3. Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. Estimating the vol-

ume of contraband sales of tobacco in Canada. 2008. Available at: http://www.smoke-free.ca/pdf_1/EstimatesofContra-band-2008.pdf. Accessed 05/02, 2009.4. Luk R, Cohen JE, Ferrence R, McDonald PW, Schwartz R, Bondy SJ. Prevalence and correlates of purchasing contra-band cigarettes on First Nations reserves in Ontario, Canada 2009;104(3):488-95.

Neglected Diseases by Brent Gilliard1. Bethony J, Brooker S, Albonico M, Geiger SM, Loukas A, Diemert D, & Hotez PJ. Soil-transmitted helminth in-fections: ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworm. Lancet 2006;367(9521):1521-32.2. Hotez PJ, Fenwick A, Savioli L, Molyneux DH. Rescuing the bottom billion through control of neglected tropical diseases. Lancet 2009;373(9674):1570-1575.3. Ribera JM, Grietens KP, Toomer E, Hausmass-Muela S. A word of caution against the stigma trend in tropical disease research and control. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2009;3(10):e445.4. World Health Organization. Neglected tropical diseases: hidden successes, emerging opportunities. 2006; Available at: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2006/WHO_CDS_NTD_2006.2_eng.pdf5. Savioli, L. A letter from the director. World Health Organiza-tion [cited 2010 January 8]; Available from: http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/director/en/index.html

Neural Interfaces by Singha Chanthanatham

1. Donoghue JP. Bridging the Brain to the World: A Perspective on Neural Interface Systems. Neuron 2008 11/6;60(3):511-521. 2. Patil PG, Turner DA. The Development of Brain-Machine Interface Neuroprosthetic Devices. Neurotherapeutics 2008 1;5(1):137-146.3. Carmena JM, Lebedev MA, Crist RE, O’Doherty JE, Santucci DM, Dimitrov DF, et al. Learning to control a brain-machine interface for reaching and grasping by primates. PLoS Biol. 2003 Nov;1(2):E42.4. Donoghue JP, Nurmikko A, Black M, Hochberg LR. Assistive technology and robotic control using motor cortex ensemble-based neural interface systems in humans with tetraplegia. J.Physiol. 2007 Mar 15;579(Pt 3):603-611.5. Isa T. Recent advances in brain-machine interfaces. Neural Networks 2009;22(9):1201.

Prescription Drug Abuse by Shirin Pilakka

1. Adalf, E., Fischer, B., Haydon, E., Monga, N., and Rehm, J. (2005). Prescription Drug Abuse in Canada and the Diversion of Prescription Drugs into the Illicit Drug Market. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 96, 459-461. 2. Bensinger, P.B., Bianchi, R.P., Coleman, J.J., DuPont, R.L., Gold, M.S., & Smith, D.E. (2005). Can Drug Design Inhibit Abuse? Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 37, 343-362. 3. Compton, W.M., & Volkow, N.D. (2006). Abuse of prescrip-tion drugs and the risks of addiction. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 83S, S4-S7. 4. Hurwitz, W. (2005). The Challenge of Prescription Drug Misuse: A Review and Commentary. Forensic Pain Medicine Section, 6, 152-161.

5. Kinsley, J.S, Wunch M.J., Cropsey, K.L., and Campbell, E.D. (2008). Prescription Opioid Misuse Index: A brief questionnaire to assess misuse. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 35, 380-386. 6. Kalant, H., Grant D., Mitchell J. Principles of Medical Pharmacology 7th ed. Elseiver Canada, 2007.

Exercise Motivation by Michael Carrigan

1. Cotman CW, Berchtold NC, Christie L. Exercise builds brain health:keyrolesofgrowthfactorcascadesandinflamma-tion. Trends in Neurosciences 2007;30(9):433-488.2. Wolfson AR. Adolescents and emergin adults’ sleep pat-terns: new developments. Journal of Adolescent Health 2010;46(2):97-99.

Designer Babies by Hind El-HusseinLiu,J.etal.Cysticfibrosis,Duchennemusculardystrophyand preimplantation genetic disorders. Human Reproduction Update (November 1996), 2 (6), pg. 531-539

Meisenberg, Gerhard. Designer babies on tap? Medical stu-dents’ attitudes to pre-implantation genetic screening. Public Understanding of Science (March 2009), 18 (2), pg. 149-166

David HARNICHER and Stephanie Harnicher, Plaintiffs and Ap-pellants v. UNIVERSITY OF UTAH MEDICAL CENTER, Defendant and Appellee. Supreme Court of Utah. July 31, 1998

ADHD: Treatment by Drugs or Therapy by Kresimir Mijaljevic

1.MedlinePlusMedicalEncyclopedia.Attentiondeficit

hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); n.d. [cited 2010 February 25]. Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001551.htm2. ADHDCanada. What is ADHD?; n.d. [cited 2009 October 02]. Available from: www.adhdcanada.com/what.html3. Internet Drug News. FDA Information; n.d. [cited 2009 September 09]. Available from www.coreynahman.com/FDA_Page.html4. Hinshaw SP. Treatment for children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivitydisorder.In:KendallPC,editor. Child and adolescent therapy: cognitive-behavioral procedures. 3rd ed. New York: Guilford; 2006. p. 82-113.5. Wolraich ML, Wibbelsman CJ, Brown TE, Evans SW, Gotlieb EM, Knight JR, Ross EC, Shubiner HH, Wender EH, Wilens T. Attention-deficit/hyperactivitydisorderamongadolescents:areview of the diagnosis, treatment, and clinical implications. Pediatrics 2005 Jun;115(6):1734-46.6.LilienfeldSO.Scientificallyunsupportedandsupportedin-terventions for childhood. Pediatrics. 2005 Mar;115(3):761-4.7. Chronis AM, Chacko A, Fabiano GA, Wymbs BT, Pelham WE Jr. Enhancements to the behavioral parent training paradigm for families of children with ADHD: review and future direc-tions. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2004 Mar;7(1):1-27.

Photo Credits1. Cover Photo “Portrait #122 - Coline - While she was smoking”[email protected]. Page 3 “Metzis Tasty Takeaway Hamburger” by Vanessa [email protected]. Page 5 “Self Portrait As A Stressed-Out Bride To Be” by [email protected]. Page 6 “Establishing Shot: The 405” by Atwater Village [email protected]. Page 7 “Jul 24, 2009 - Summertime basketball, Jul 2009 - 09”[email protected]“Kidintheair”[email protected]. Page 11 Hookworm Images courtesy of Centres for Disease Control Canada Image library. http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Image_Library.htm8. Page 14 Treadmill photo courtesy of Brock Heart institute. http://www.brocku.ca/heartinstitute/gallery.php

References

Five Ways to Pass!CHSC 1F90

according to Kresimir

1. Do the readings prior to class and ask questions if uncertain about something. Use your resources.2. Asking questions brings you one step closer to knowing something new and something that may be on the exam!3. DO NOT miss seminars. You re-cieve participation marks for simply saying something relevant to the topic of discussion. Start early for your seminar presentation!4. Dr. Faught likes stats on his ex-ams. So be sure to jog your memory every once in a while with facts that he provides in class. 5. Be sure to set out time to look over your notes after lecture and once before the following lecture. This will minimize cram-time in the finalhoursbeforeyourexam.

Kresimir Mijaljevic

Steve Demetriades Tahmina Taraky

Shahla A. Grewal

Shirin Pilakka

Vicky Horner

Brent Gilliard

Singha Chanthanatham

Scott Alguire

Gregory McGarr

Phuc Dang

Yumna AhmedTHE TEAM

HOT HEADLINES!

“U.S. journal heaps praise on Ontario's health teams”

Phuc Dang

Ontario's push to have family doc-tors work in collaborative teams with other health professionals is paying off financially for the phy-sicians and is resulting in better patient care, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.

Ontario’s desire to increase col-laborative teams with family phy-sicians and other health profes-sionals is a good policy because it ensures that Canadians will have better patient care. The usual fee-for-service model focuses only on the physicians’ advice and does not allow patients to seek other health professionals’ ad-vice, unless there is a referral is-sued from their family physician whereas family health teams al-low patients to have better care in a one stop shop experience. These multi-disciplinary groups expose physicians and health profession-als to effective communication with sharing of expertise, which in turn, ultimately benefits the pa-tients. Ontario’s policy for collab-orative teams should be expanded throughout Canada to ensure that all Canadians have access to the best health care possible.

Michael Carrigan

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Pill Pack PlusWhen it is time to takeyour medication, simplypush out the correctbubble.

PROfileBrochuresHealth information thatyou can take with you.

FLAVORxWe can make yourmedication easierto swallow.

...and much more

Sobeys Pharmacy has programs and services tocomplement your prescription and help you manageyour family’s medication and health care needs.Talk to your PROfile Pharmacist today.

They can do much more for you than you’d expect!

?What’s your

another valued service of

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