Issue 91  March 29th 2019

Contaminated needle used to draw blood from child at St. Catharines hospital

Niagara Health has apologized to a St. Catharines mother for drawing blood from her son with a contaminated needle last week.

Kalesa Sewell's two-year-old Fallon had to be tested for HIV, along with hepatitis B and C, after a personal support worker pricked herself with a needle that was then used to draw blood from the boy.

Analytics help lower risk for clinical labs in growing esoteric test market

Data-driven proof supports decision-making that optimizes efficiency and boosts bottom lines in the face of shrinking margins and increased competition

Molecular and esoteric testing developers continue to make advanced assays and diagnostic technologies available to medical laboratories. However, some laboratory senior management and stakeholders may be reluctant to invest in them even though the market for such testing is poised for significant growth.

Not all stem cells are created equal

Researchers from U of T’s Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) and the Donnelly Centre have discovered a population of cells — dubbed to be “elite” — that play a key role in the process of transforming differentiated cells into stem cells. The finding has important implications for regenerative medicine.

A protein's surprising role offers clues to limit graft-vs.-host disease

A protein that protects people with inflammatory bowel disease has quite a different effect in graft-vs.-host disease, a common and challenging side effect of bone marrow transplants.

In a surprising finding, researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center showed the protein NLRP6 aggravated the difficult symptoms of gastrointestinal graft-vs.-host disease. Knocking out this protein in mice led to significantly better survival and less severe GVHD.

Flow cytometry: Combinatorial approaches to cell counting

Flow cytometry is a versatile cell analysis technique that can be used to analyze multiple cell types. Combining flow cytometry with various other techniques can further increase its versatility and provide more detailed data.

Going hungry before some blood tests not required in B.C.: Providence Health

A new way of checking blood cholesterol levels is now in effect in British Columbia but a health-care provider says public awareness remains low about the change, even though it provides better results for doctors and is much easier on the patient.

Involve Indigenous people in vaccine development, disease expert says

Dr. Yoko Schreiber is the chair of the Indigenous Health Committee for the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease; she's been taking part in stakeholder meetings with the National Research Council over its work on a vaccine for hoemophilus influenza type A.

An infectious disease specialist in Sioux Lookout, Ont., says Indigenous people need to be involved in the development of a new vaccine.

Nine most important trends in healthcare technology revolutionizing patient care and management

One of the biggest challenges mankind is facing is the population problem. Not only the living space but also the healthcare facilities are falling short as a big segment of it has reached middle age. The lack of medical facilities and limited availability of medical professionals will make it harder to manage the aging population in the upcoming years. The average lifespan of the human race has also increased considerably due to various achievements of medical science.

Lack of diversity in genetic datasets is risky for treating disease

Certain populations have been historically underrepresented in genome sequencing studies, but the NIH, private clinics, and 23andMe and other companies are trying to fix that.

“For individuals with genetic backgrounds not represented in [the database], there can be additional challenges in properly identifying genetic variants that cause the patient’s symptoms,” Risch says. Namely, it’s hard to identify any genetic link to symptoms, perhaps because the disease is caused by novel variants not yet identified as pathogenic.