Polycystic ovary syndrome causes the ovaries to produce abnormally high levels of male hormones
By the time she was 15, Sarah Chambers knew something wasn’t right with her body. “I was late getting my first period, I’d only have a couple a year, and I had facial hair, but I got told it was teenage hormones.” So she waited, hoping the embarrassing symptoms would fade as she matured –…
Undiagnosed, untreated illness could lead to heart disease later in life, says lead researcher
Not enough men in Alberta – especially those in their 40s – are getting tested for diabetes, putting them at risk for heart disease, cancer and other illnesses, according to new population health research published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas. “My main message to young men is that early diagnosis is critical because diabetes…
Flexitarians have decreased risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes and reduced risk of cancer
For a number of years, I talked about becoming a vegetarian. I could see the health and environmental benefits, but completely removing meat seemed a bit extreme for my tastes. I recently discovered flexitarianism, a vegetarian diet where one eats meat occasionally. I limit my intake of meat and seafood, but I can still enjoy…
Federal funding supports intensive advanced training for future leaders in AI and diabetes research
In a global competition for talent, Canada is seeking to train the best graduate students to become “highly qualified personnel” – university-educated experts with the savvy and ingenuity to lead innovation in high-tech industries, government and academia. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada has announced two new programs at the University of…
Edmonton Protocol team reports treatment is safe and reliable for people with hard-to-control diabetes
After 20 years of perfecting their technique, the team behind the largest islet transplant program in the world reports the procedure is a safe, reliable and life-changing treatment for people with hard-to-control diabetes. In results published recently in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, the researchers report on patient survival, graft survival, insulin independence and protection from life-threatening low…
Researchers working to identify drug combinations to treat people with obesity, Type 2 diabetes
Canadian and German researchers are teaming up to identify new drug combinations to treat people with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. The goal is to develop personalized prescriptions that are more effective than single drugs and that can potentially replace more invasive treatments such as bariatric surgery, especially for children. “As a pediatric endocrinologist, I…
Researchers urge use of taxation, education and subsidies to encourage better eating habits
Imagine if the real cost to society of the food you buy at the grocery store was built right into each product’s price. Everything with added sugar would cost a whole lot more, according to University of Alberta researchers in a new study in The Canadian Journal of Public Health. They peg the economic burden of excessive…
For one research participant, the study taught her how to take care of her own health
“You’re stronger than you think,” said diabetes researcher Jane Yardley, as she clinked the 306-pound (138-kg) weight into place on the calf raise machine at the University of Alberta’s Physical Activity and Diabetes Lab. Surprising myself about how much weight I can lift is just one of the personal takeaways I’ve gained as a participant…
Throwing more money into the existing system won't work
Canada’s medical system is one of the defining benefits of living in this country, but we have learned from the pandemic that our medicare is nowhere near as strong and resilient as we might wish. Waiting lists have long been an indicator that the capacity of our clinics and hospitals was insufficient to meet our…
Researchers achieve milestone in efforts to get patients with diabetes off injected insulin for good
Diabetes researchers are reporting early success in a first-in-humans clinical trial to test whether pancreatic cells grown from a patient’s own blood can be safely implanted and begin to produce insulin. The team reported on their proof of concept and safety study in a newly published paper in the journal Cell Reports Medicine. Of 17 patients who…