People with spinal osteoporosis often suffer back pain that cannot be relieved by exercise or medication. Physiotherapists with advanced training can use manual spinal joint mobilization techniques, also called manual therapy, to relieve the pain. However, there are questions about how safe the therapy is and whether the techniques pose a risk of causing fractures. Meena Sran is using bioengineering techniques to determine if manual therapy creates a risk of fracture in people with spinal osteoporosis. Besides assessing the spine’s ability to resist fracture during manual therapy by determining the pressure required to fracture vertebrae, she is also examining whether or not x-rays and CT scans can detect these fractures. The study will provide insights into the safety of manual therapy and ultimately help improve treatment of back pain in older adults with spinal osteoporosis.
Year: 2003
Uncoupling dopamine and glutamine transmission in animal models of schizophrenia
Schizophrenia affects one per cent of Canadians — more than 300,000 people — causing personality and perceptual changes and thought disorders. Physical and biochemical changes in the brain are linked to schizophrenia, but the exact cause is not known. In addition to the devastating effects on patients and families, the economic burden of schizophrenia on the health care system is staggering. Unfortunately, current medications are only partially effective and result in undesirable side effects. Schizophrenia disrupts interactions between dopamine, an important neurotransmitter (messenger) in the brain and glutamine, an amino acid that is one of the building blocks of protein. Richard Swayze is investigating whether proteins critical to signalling between dopamine and glutamine systems are uncoupled in schizophrenia. He hopes this information will lead to more effective drug treatments that improve quality of life for schizophrenic patients and their families, and reduce costs to the health care system.
A longitudinal study of adolescent risk-taking behaviour
Research has shown that smoking and drinking typically begin in adolescence. Stefania Maggi is studying the role of family, peers, school and neighbourhoods in developing risk-taking behaviours including smoking and drinking. She aims to identify the factors present early in life — such as parenting styles and socioeconomic conditions — that can predict smoking and drinking during adolescence. Stefania is closely examining how socioeconomic conditions shape the way parents relate to their children, and how the relationship between self-concept and affiliation with peers influences smoking and drinking. While other researchers have addressed these issues, few studies have examined a representative sample of Canadian children on a long-term basis. Stefania is analyzing data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Her study will make a valuable contribution to programs aimed at reducing smoking and drinking among adolescents.
The role of Fa2p in regulating microtubule severing
As an undergraduate student, Moe Mahjoub’s research findings on a gene involved in microtubule severing were published in the Journal of Cell Science, listing him as first author. Microtubules are thin tubes of protein and an essential element of the cell skeleton required for cell division and movement. Moe’s current research is directed at understanding how microtubule severing is regulated, using unicellular algae called Chlamydomonas. Microtubule severing is key to the algae’s shedding of flagella, or whip-like appendages, in response to a wide array of stimuli. This process has important implications for human health. For example, sterility can result when sperm shed flagella in response to ingested toxins. This research could help explain a range of diseases, including retinal degeneration, kidney disease and cancer.
Exposure to air pollutants and the incidence of lung cancer
Research suggests that exposure to air pollution contributes to small increases in lung cancer rates. However, errors in measurement of air pollution exposure, as well as in measurement of other risk factors such as cigarette smoking, limit the ability to quantify the extent to which air pollution increases risk of lung cancer. Elizabeth Matovinovic is developing an assessment of air pollution exposure for British Columbia, which will include an estimate of individual exposures to traffic-related air pollutants. Elizabeth will apply the assessment to data from the National Enhanced Cancer Surveillance registry to produce individual estimates of chronic exposure to air pollutants, with a special emphasis on traffic-related pollutants. The research will help improve understanding of the impacts of air pollution, particularly the relationship between chronic exposure to air pollution and lung cancer, an area that hasn’t been researched extensively.
Perfectionism and cultural influences in the development of eating disorder symptoms
Eating disorders affect an estimated three per cent of women, placing them at risk for physiological problems, social and emotional difficulties and disruption to their working lives. Research has shown that the causes of eating disorders are complex, but studies have identified certain psychological and social risk factors, including personality traits such as perfectionism. Brandy McGee is investigating how perfectionism combines with cultural influences to cause eating disorders. She is examining the idea that when perfectionists compare themselves to physical ideals suggested in cultural images such as advertisements, they feel they have failed in the area of appearance, which contributes to eating disorders. The study involves assessing levels of perfectionism, eating attitudes and eating behaviour of participants. The research will help in the development of preventative health care programs and improve understanding of the psychosocial and cultural issues affecting health.
Barriers to access and willingness to participate in an intervention program to reduce the incidence of HIV and Hepatitis C among drug dependent youth
In her Masters research Cari Miller showed there is a high prevalence and incidence of HIV and Hepatitis C among young injection users in Vancouver. Those at highest risk for HIV are young females and Aboriginal youth. Her research suggested that preventing infection requires a complex response, addressing risky drug and sexual behaviours. Cari is building on her earlier research to investigate the barriers to accessing current prevention tools such as clean needles and condoms. As well, she is examining the willingness of youth to participate in a behavioural intervention to reduce the risk of HIV and Hepatitis C. The research will inform policy on current methods of prevention and possibly help to develop new ones. Cari’s work could also help empower youth to better care for their health and for the health of their peers.
Tracking the B-cell repertoire associated with the broadly-neutralizing antibody response in HIV-1 infection
The progression from HIV infection to AIDS occurs because the body’s immune system fails to control replication of the virus. While broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNtAb) are unable to clear an established infection, they have shown promise in providing protection against the contraction of HIV. However bNtAb have proven to be extremely difficult to generate by immunization. Marinieve Montero is studying the antigenicity and immunogenicity of the HIV-1 transmenbrane glycoprotein gp41, to which several bNtAb are directed. Her work will involve an exhaustive biochemical characterization of the gp41 protein presentation in the context of membranes, and the analysis of the bNtAb response generated after immunization of animals. The results from her study will improve the understanding of the biology of bNtAb production, and may be a valuable aid in the design of successful vaccine candidates and immunization methods.
Molecular dissection of neural stem cells
Damage to the central nervous system caused by conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, stroke and spinal cord injuries was once considered irreversible. But recent scientific advances suggest neural stem cells may hold the key to restoring the damaged area of the brain, giving hope to people suffering from these devastating conditions. Scientists have discovered that transplanted neural stem cells have the ability to reproduce themselves and become mature cells capable of performing nervous system functions. However, isolating these cells has proven difficult since researchers have yet to find markers that identify neural stem cells. Barbara Murdoch is working to identify proteins specific to the surface of neural stem cells so she can study their growth requirements. By solving this puzzle, scientists will be able to more effectively use neural stem cells for therapies that promote nervous system recovery.
Developmental changes in pain expression in infants
Assessing infant pain for clinical or research purposes is challenging because infants are unable to talk about their pain. However, infants can communicate distress and pain in a number of ways, including facial activity, body movement, crying and changes in physiological responses. Rami Nader is studying how pain expression changes during the first year of life, when infants undergo a particularly rapid rate of growth and development. He is also investigating the link between parents’ assessments of pain and factors that influence those assessments. Improved understanding of how infant pain expression changes and what influences parents’ reports of pain will contribute to refinement and development of more developmentally appropriate measures of pain.