In development, neurons form complex connections within the brain that ultimately determine how you think, how you feel, how you act and how your body communicates with itself. In the past, researchers believed that our genes were the main determinants of brain development. Now an increasing number of studies show that conditions in our surroundings can influence our internal brain plan during early life and in later years. One of the most interesting questions in brain development is whether the shape and structure of individual neurons is connected to the function that those neurons play within our brains. Using real-time imaging of the shape and structure of single neurons during development, Derek Dunfield is investigating how neurons grow and connect with each other and how external activity influences these connections. His studies include using external activity to modify the functions of neurons and see if this affects their structure. By developing a better understanding of the connection between a neuron’s function and its growth or ability to form brain circuit connections, Dunfield’s research could provide useful knowledge about how information is stored within our brains. The study of how external activity modifies both the structure and function of neurons may shed light on how aberrant brain circuits form and can lead to disabling brain disorders later in life.
Research Location: University of British Columbia - Point Grey
The effectiveness of a supplementary inpatient exercise program on upper limb function in individuals with stroke
After a stroke, 80 per cent of people have long term difficulty using the arm and hand on one side of their body. This can lead to a loss of independence and a decrease in quality of life. Most rehabilitation of the arm and hand after a stroke takes place in hospital; however, while recent research indicates that approximately one hour a day of arm therapy is needed to improve the arm’s ability to be useful in daily activities, the time currently spent on arm-specific treatment is only 20 to 30 minutes. Jocelyn Harris is studying the implementation of an in-patient exercise homework program that increases the amount of arm therapy a patient performs in hospital. Taught by a therapist, the homework exercises are done for one hour a day, five days a week, for four weeks. Before starting the program and at the conclusion of the four weeks, patients participate in tests to measure hand strength, arm and hand movement, and the ability of the arm and hand to participate in day-to-day activities. This study will determine if increasing the amount of arm therapy time increases the ability to use the arm among stroke patients. An increase in ability can ultimately contribute to improved independence, continued community living, better health and enhanced life satisfaction among people who have had a stroke.
What Causes Parkinson's Disease? An Epidemiologic Analysis of Occupational Exposures
An estimated 100,000 Canadians have Parkinson’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects the body and brain, causing tremors, stiffness and impaired mobility. Dopamine is a chemical produced in the brain to carry signals between nerves. Parkinson’s develops when cells that produce dopamine die. Researchers have yet to determine what triggers the onset of Parkinson’s. Although a small proportion of cases seem to run in families, research indicates the explanation may lie in individual environmental and lifestyle exposures. For example, workplace exposure to chemicals such as pesticides, heavy metals and solvents may increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s. In one of the largest studies to examine Parkinson’s disease, Anne Harris is investigating whether exposure to the “whole-body vibration” workers can experience operating heavy machinery also elevates risk. Previous studies have shown that traumatic head injury from boxing and other activities can damage the part of the brain that produces signals crucial to mobility and brain function. Harris wants to determine whether the accumulation of smaller injuries over time from whole-body vibration also damages this part of the brain. Her findings could lead to new methods for preventing and treating Parkinson’s disease.
Person Perception in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Autism has increased 700 per cent in the last decade. The developmental disorder is characterized by severe difficulties with social interaction and communication, an extremely limited range of activities and interests, and often by the presence of repetitive behaviors. A recent study showed autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are the most costly of all childhood disorders in terms of prevalence, outcome, response to treatment, economic cost and family stress. The ability to recognize and understand the constantly-fluctuating emotional expressions of the human face and their associated mental states usually develops in the first year of life. Research has shown that these abilities are seriously impaired in individuals with autism. The causes of this impairment are not yet understood, and although researchers have put forward a variety of explanations, there has been no definitive answer. Based on her past research, Lisa Jefferies is implementing a new approach to the study of person perception in individuals with low to severe autism spectrum disorder and a milder variant known as Asperger’s Syndrome. Jefferies’ approach is based on computer-generated, human-like “”talking heads”” that allow each component of an expression to be controlled and manipulated independently. She aims to use this tool to understand the root of face-perception deficits in children with autism. Jefferies also believes the talking heads will provide an ideal format for an intervention technique, as they could be programmed to focus on critical combinations of facial actions. Her ultimate goal is to develop new knowledge that will contribute to the design of more effective intervention and training to improve the social intelligence of individuals diagnosed with ASD.
Spiritual Coping in Portuguese Immigrants to British Columbia
Numerous studies on the relationship between spirituality and mental and physical health have demonstrated that spiritual coping is an effective way of dealing with stress. Most research in this area has been conducted with members of ethnic and religious majorities. But little is known about how ethnic and religious minorities employ faith in coping with stress. Derrick Klaassen is examining the spiritual coping practices of Portuguese immigrants to British Columbia. Susan James and her colleagues at the University of British Columbia demonstrated that many of these immigrants suffer from a culture specific disorder termed agonias, translated as “”the agonies””. North American health care providers have generally misdiagnosed this problem as indigestion rather than anxiety or stress, and as a result the treatments have remained ineffective. Klassen has two goals for his research. The first is to add to the understanding of effective intervention for agonias by exploring the various healing systems that Portuguese immigrants employ (e.g. mental/health systems, spiritual, community, and cultural resources). The second goal is to examine the ways in which Portuguese immigrants use spiritual strategies to cope with agonias. Klaassen’s research involves conducting focus groups and revising an existing assessment tool for this community. The resulting questionnaire will serve both practitioners and scholars in their investigations of the role of spirituality in coping with stress in Portuguese immigrants. This project is part of a multi-stage program of research that will formulate a culturally sensitive treatment manual for health providers.
Knowledge translation of health outcome measurement research into clinical practice to improve health care effectiveness and efficiency in a Prevention and Early ACtive Return-to-work Safely (PEARS) …
With population growth, an aging population, and an aging and supply-limited workforce of health professionals, British Columbia is challenged to sustain its current levels of health services in the face of unprecedented demand. In this context, the use of valid health outcome measures (OMs) is important to evaluate and improve the results of various interventions for health professionals with musculoskeletal injury (MSI)-related disabilities. Prevention and Early Active Return-to-work Safely (PEARS) is a primary (injury prevention) and secondary (physiotherapy for MSIs) program designed to reduce disability in healthcare workers who have sustained a workplace injury. Outcome measures used in the program pilot included Activity-level self-report disability questionnaires. With expansion of PEARS across BC, only Participation-level outcomes like time-loss duration and level of return-to-work were retained. Currently, few physiotherapists in PEARS are using disability measures, limiting ability to measure effectiveness of the secondary prevention component of the program. This further limits ability to improve outcomes through predictive modeling and examining effectiveness of the variety of available treatments. Allan Kozlowski is evaluating a training program intended to promote the adoption of self-report outcome measures by PEARS program physiotherapists. In addition to information about how to use the OMs, individual- and organizational-level barriers will be identified and addressed. The objective is to demonstrate that physiotherapists can measure disability outcomes as part of their practice without diminishing patient service. Implications of this work include enhanced decision-making for individual patients, identifying ‘best-practice’ treatments, managing distribution of resources within health authorities, and development of enhanced predictive modeling of outcomes, all of which would contribute to a viable and sustainable health care system.
Goal adjustment processes and caregiver health: Can giving up be a good thing?
Mounting evidence indicates that caring for a family member with a chronic illness not only reduces the quality of life for the caregiver, it also increases the caregiver’s risk of becoming ill. Little is known about the specific mechanisms by which caregiving impacts health and well-being. One important factor may be the caregiver’s ability to adjust personal family and career goals to meet the demands of the difficult situation. If a caregiver is able to let go of goals set before the diagnosis, such as getting a promotion at work or building a vacation home, he or she may have an easier time adjusting to this new role, and in turn, experience reduced distress and better physical health. Teresa Marin is examining the impact of tendencies to adjust goals on both psychological and physical well-being. Once she has determined the relationship between goal adjustment and health in the context of caregiving stress, it will be possible to apply this knowledge to clinical interventions designed to foster better coping skills among caregivers. This research follows Marin’s MSFHR-funded Master’s work, in which she analyzed the mental and physical health of spouses caring for cancer patients to determine the daily impact of expressing or suppressing their emotions.
Development of Fluorinated Carbohydrates for use as Positron Emission Tomography Imaging Agents and Pharmacological Chaperones in the Treatment of Lysosomal storage diseases
Lysosomal Storage Diseases (LSD) are a rare group of more than 40 disorders, including conditions such as Gauchers and Tay Sachs disease, in which a genetic abnormality leads to the buildup of naturally occurring compounds throughout the body. This process may lead to a variety of symptoms including skeletal defects, heart problems, mental retardation, and death. The diseases can be treated by enzyme replacement therapy, in which a missing enzyme is injected into the bloodstream so it can move into cells to alleviate the buildup of these compounds. However, the therapy is extremely expensive and cannot be used to alleviate neurological symptoms. Brian Rempel is developing imaging agents for Positron Emission Tomography (PET), a highly specialized technology that produces powerful images of the body’s biological function. Using PET with enzyme replacement therapy would enable imaging of an injected enzyme and tailoring of the dose to the individual patient, which could reduce the costs of the therapy. As well, PET imaging would allow for a better understanding of how the enzyme is distributed throughout the body. Rempel is also investigating the development of pharmacological chaperones, molecules that bind to the mutant enzyme that is deficient in LSD patients. The molecules help the enzyme migrate to the correct cellular compartment where it can function normally, with the aim of enhancing the patient’s own naturally occurring enzyme levels. Pharmacological chaperones would be a fraction of the cost of enzyme replacement therapy.
Adaptive resistance to aminoglycosides in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common genetic disorder among young children in Canada. CF affects the lungs and digestive system of almost 70,000 children and adults worldwide. A defective gene causes the body to produce thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs leading to frequent lung infections and obstructs the pancreas stopping enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacteria commonly associated with both hospital-acquired infections and chronic lung infections in people with CF. Although these lung infections can be temporarily suppressed, they are never completely cured and are eventually fatal. Kristen Schurek is investigating how P. aeruginosa develops resistance to the class of inhaled antibiotics called aminoglycosides that are used to treat lung infections in CF patients. Schurek believes these antibiotics trigger the organism to adapt its genetic physiology causing small, incremental increases in resistance over time. As a result, the bacteria gradually develop the ability to persist in the presence of the antibiotics. She will determine how these antibiotics cause the bacteria to adapt, and which genes in P. aeruginosa contribute to antibiotic resistance. This knowledge could lead to better methods of administering antibiotics to prevent drug resistance in people with cystic fibrosis.
Acute exercise in individuals with spinal cord injury: friend or foe?
Individuals with spinal cord injury often have cardiovascular complications, such as fainting and dramatic increases in blood pressure. These conditions lead to a decrease in quality of life and significant treatment costs. Although these cardiovascular problems have been well documented, little is known about their causes following spinal cord injury. Jessica Scott’s research builds on her MSFHR-funded Master’s work that investigated whether a sudden drop in blood pressure following exercise predisposes people with high blood pressure to lose consciousness. While exercise can help reduce or reverse cardiovascular disease in people with spinal cord injury, the striking decrease in blood pressure that occurs after vigorous short-term exercise may in fact be dangerous. Loss of consciousness associated with physical exercise may be the first indication of a dangerous underlying cardiovascular condition. Scott is researching the connection between this sudden drop in blood pressure with the predisposition to lost consciousness following exercise in individuals with spinal cord injury. She aims for the research to contribute to development of an intervention program to improve post-exercise tolerance in individuals with spinal cord injury. The findings may also help in assessing post-exercise tolerance in other cardiovascular diseases such as chronic heart failure.