Major mental disorders are associated with increased rates of violence, which is a primary reason for involuntary psychiatric or community treatment for individuals with mental disorders. Within psychiatric inpatient units, violence compromises the safety of hospital staff and other patients, adversely impacts staff morale, jeopardizes the therapeutic setting, and presents a risk of physical injury. In order to prevent violence, it is important to identify the factors that can provoke violent outbursts. Certain known risk factors for violence do not change during a personâs life, such as their age at a first violent incident or early childhood maladjustment. However, there are also dynamic risk factors â such as emotional distress, treatment compliance, and symptoms of psychosis â that can and do vary over time. Catherine Wilson is studying a group of psychiatric inpatients admitted for treatment of a major mental disorder. Using specialized methods, she will measure these dynamic risk factors over time, from admission to discharge. The findings of Catherineâs study will increase our theoretical understanding of violence and assist the development of treatment and management programs designed to prevent violence by psychiatric inpatients.
Year: 2006
The development and evaluation of a novel hybrid exercise rehabilitation program for the improvement of the health-related quality of life and overall health status of persons with spinal cord injury
More than 35,000 Canadians are living with spinal cord injury (SCI), and recent research indicates that this population is at an increased risk for chronic disease, particularly cardiovascular disease. In fact, individuals with complete tetraplegia (paralysis of all four limbs) are at a markedly greater risk of death resulting from cardiovascular disease in comparison to the able-bodied population, due to factors such as obesity, inactivity, increased risk for blood clots and lower levels of âgoodâ cholesterol (HDL). Hybrid exercise training (involving the concurrent exercise of the arms and legs) is thought to have the potential to lead to marked improvements in the overall health status of persons with SCI. However, no investigations have been performed to evaluate and define the best hybrid exercise program for the treatment and rehabilitation of persons with SCI. Shirley Wongâs research is focused on developing and evaluating a novel intervention program involving hybrid exercise training for persons with SCI. The ultimate goal of Shirleyâs research is to reduce the risk for chronic disease and improve the overall health status and quality of life for persons living with SCI.
First Nations Women Leaders: Building a Bridge from Cultural Identity to Healthy Youth
In British Columbia, First Nations youth are five to 20 times more likely to die by suicide than their non-Aboriginal peers. These youth suicide rates, however, are not uniformly high across the almost 200 First Nations communities in BC. Research has found that suicide rates are lowest in those communities that have been especially successful in preserving and promoting their cultural heritage and in securing local control over key aspects of community life. More recently, it has been found that suicide rates are lower in communities where women actively participate in their local government. Robin Yates is exploring the relationship between First Nations women leaders, cultural identity, and lower suicide and injury rates of youth in BC First Nations communities. The results of her research will enhance the development and exchange of knowledge regarding factors that preserve and promote healthy youth in First Nations communities.
Ex vivo Engineering of Gut K-cells to Produce Insulin
Diabetes is a leading cause of death in Canada, affecting more than two million Canadians. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas fails to produce insulin, a hormone that is vital to transforming the sugars ingested in a meal to useable forms of energy. As a result, diabetic patients often depend on multiple daily injections of insulin to survive, but these injections do not prevent a series of long-term complications such as increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease and blindness. Type 1 diabetics can be treated by transplantation of isletsâcell clusters from the pancreas containing insulin-producing cellsâfrom non-diabetic donors. However, this option is severely limited by a shortage of donor islets. Therefore, there is interest in generating other cells that can also produce insulin. To be effective and safe, such cells must be capable of producing insulin in an amount that matches the quantity of sugar ingested. Like the insulin-producing islet cells, there are cells in the gut that are activated after a meal. These cells do not produce insulin, but another protein called glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP). Recently, scientists were able to genetically modify these gut cells to produce insulin in addition to GIP. Building on this discovery, Irene Yu is working to develop methods to isolate and purify these cells and to determine how long these genetically modified cells can survive after transplantation. She is also testing whether these cells can effectively maintain normal blood glucose levels. If so, there will be an alternative to islets that can be used for transplantation, providing more type 1 diabetes patients with a longer-lasting treatment option.
The role of CD72/CD100 interactions in NK cell activation
Resistance to cancer and infectious diseases relies on complex responses in our immune system. Natural killer (NK) cells provide a first line of defence, recognizing and killing infected and tumour cells, while sparing normal cells. NK cells use an intricate system of proteins, found on their surface, to either activate or inhibit their ânatural killerâ activity. However, the mechanisms by which these proteins induce this action are not completely understood. Dr. Valeria AlcĂłn is studying two cellular proteins (CD72 and CD100) that are involved in the activation of several immune cells to determine how these proteins regulate natural killer cell activity. She is also examining how NK cells interact with other immune system cells to induce immune responses. Her research could explain how to activate natural killer cells, leading to the development of more effective treatments for infectious disease and cancer.
Molecular mechanism of Prp24-mediated U4/U6 formation
Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of ribonucleic acid found in the nucleus of cells that transmits the genetic information needed to produce proteins. This production process involves âsplicingâ of the mRNA, whereby non-protein coding sections are removed. The splicing process must be precise as errors can result in genetic disease. For example, mutations in BRCA1, which are implicated in some breast cancers, and mutations in SMN2, which cause spinal muscular atrophy, result in defective splicing of their messenger RNA. To minimize mistakes, the cell regulates splicing. However, many of the details of this process are unclear. Dr. Kelly Aukema is studying the molecular mechanisms involved in splicing, using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) â a cutting-edge technique for measuring interactions between two molecules. She will use FRET to investigate the structural RNA changes of the molecular machinery that carries out splicing. This knowledge should ultimately lead to a better understanding of, and more effective treatments for, splicing-related diseases.
Molecular analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein phosphatase
Tuberculosis (TB) causes about eight million new infections each year and up to three million deaths. Already one of the leading causes of death world-wide, the number of deaths from tuberculosis continues to increase as new, antibiotic resistant strains and co-infections linked to HIV emerge. A third of the world population has been exposed to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that cause TB. The disease is spread from one person to another, when someone with TB coughs or sneezes and people nearby breathe in the bacteria and become infected. TB most commonly affects the lungs, attacking and destroying tissue, but also can spread to other parts of the body. Despite its prevalence and long history, little is known about the survival of the pathogen in macrophages. Dr. Horacio Bach is studying how proteins secreted by TB bacteria enable them to evade the bodyâs immune defenses and survive to multiple inside host cells. This research should help explain the cellular mechanisms involved in causing the disease, and could lead to new therapies for controlling tuberculosis bacterial infections.
Perceptions of Health Care Providers about Integrative Breast Cancer Care: A Pilot Study
Complementary therapies are a diverse set of treatment approaches that fall outside of mainstream medicine. The majority of cancer patients â especially those with breast cancer â use a form of complementary therapies. While there is growing evidence that some of these therapies can contribute to effective cancer care, their use has not become part of standard cancer care. Patients often research complementary care options and investigate ways of integrating them in their treatment plan, without discussing these approaches with conventional health care providers. This can lead to poorly integrated care, which raises concerns about potential toxicities, adverse reactions and patients engaging in therapies with little therapeutic value. Alison Brazier is researching health care providersâ perceptions of the factors that either serve as barriers or facilitate an integrative approach to breast cancer care. Alison is conducting a series of in-depth qualitative interviews with health care providers and women living with breast cancer in four Canadian cities. She is also developing a survey instrument, to be used in a large national survey, which examines the attitudes and knowledge of complementary and conventional health care providers about integrative cancer care. The results of this study are aimed to enable a more integrative approach to cancer care in Canada that provides safer, more effective and more comprehensive cancer care.
Investigation of the impact of HLA genetic diversity on HIV sequence evolution and clinical correlates of HIV disease
One of the major challenges facing HIV treatment and vaccine design is the virus’ capacity to mutate extremely rapidly in response to a changing environment. The course of HIV infection within a given individual is characterized by a constant, dynamic evolution of the virus. It is now appreciated that a wide range of host genetic factors influences the course of HIV infection and disease progression. The proposed research project seeks to investigate the effects of genetic variation within specific genes of the human immune system (called the “”Major Histocompatibility Complex”” or “”MHC”” genes) on the clinical course of HIV infection. The results of this project will help us gain a more detailed understanding of the multiple genetic factors that affect the course of HIV infection, and help bring us closer to the potential incorporation of human genetic information into the clinical management and treatment of this disease. In addition, this research will be of relevance in the continuing efforts to develop a vaccine against HIV. Research such as this will help us develop and implement strategies for clinical management of HIV/AIDS and will therefore ultimately be of benefit to individuals living with HIV.
Investigation of the factors secreted by feeders used in the maintenance of human embryonic stem cells
Embryonic stem cells can continually replicate themselves and also have the capacity to differentiate into other types of cells. Consequently, stem cells have the potential to replace damaged tissues in our bodies, which could revolutionize the treatment of degenerative diseases and traumatic injuries. Currently the production of human embryonic stem cells in the lab setting requires use of âfeeder cellsâ from mice in order for the stem cells to grow. Having to depend on feeder cells limits large-scale production and also could introduce unacceptable risks in clinical applications. Dr. Nicolas Caron is investigating which proteins from feeder cells nourish stem cell growth. His goal is to develop a feeder-free culture that would be equally effective for growing stem cells. This research could lead to the development of cell-based therapies for genetic diseases, and support research into ways of shifting from organ, to cell-based transplants.