Original broadcast date: September 20, 2009 Our breadth of understanding of the reams of medical information reported in the media is dependent in part on our understanding of the history of medicine. This history includes our human response to change and our willingness to accept new ideas and engage in healthy debate when conflicts arise. [...]

GI Joe Part 1 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

GI Joe Part 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Original broadcast date: May 18, 2009 Of great concern to many travelers is the prevention of infectious diseases such as typhoid, hepatitis A and B, malaria, and enterotoxigenic E. coli among others. Another common form of traveler’s diarrhea caused by the bacteria campylobacter jejuni is becoming resistant to antibiotic therapy. A research group from the [...]

Traveller's diarrhea vaccine in development Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Original broadcast date: May 10, 2009 When we talk of the human nervous system, we tend to think about the brain, spinal cord and the nerves that emanate from it to spread throughout the body. What is becoming clearer is that there is what some call a “second brain” that controls the functions of the [...]

Second brain controls the gut Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Original broadcast date: January 18, 2009 Colorectal Cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in North America. Screening is essential to catch the disease in its early stages. From a clinical standpoint colonoscopy is considered to be the gold standard for evaluation of the colon. There is a caveat introduced into this interpretation. [...]

Colonoscopy for the right side Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The investigation and research into the pathophysiology of Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune condition wherein the body’s own immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract, has produced some hypotheses with respect to a possible mechanism that triggers the disease. An article published in the journal Medical Hypotheses, looked at the link between a specific bacterial strain and [...]

Link between bacteria and Crohn's disease hypothesized Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Chronic hepatitis B affects an estimated 230,000-290,000 people in Canada. Though there is a range of new effective antiretroviral treatments that can help reduce disease complications, the estimated 80,000 – 100,000 chronic hepatitis B patients in Ontario have only limited options paid for by the Ontario Drug Benefit Program. Last week the British Columbia government [...]

Ontario Health Ministry limits coverage for Hepatitis B medications Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Original broadcast date: February 24, 2008 Dr. Richmond Sy will be answering questions about Crohn’s disease and some of the recent treatment advances. If time permits a discussion about other gastrointestinal disorders, colon cancer prevention and the role of food and diet on reducing cancer risk Dr. Richmond Sy, MD, FRCPC, Gastroenterologist at the Ottawa [...]

Crohn's Disease update Part 1 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Crohn's Disease update Part 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Original broadcast date: February 24, 2008 Ulcerative Colitis is one of several inflammatory bowel diseases that damages the large intestine. It is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting about 65,000 Canadians with 4,000 new cases reported annually. Treatments are varied and each confronts various aspects of the pathophysiology of the disease. Dr. Hillary Steinhart, MD MSc [...]

Ulcerative colitis Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A consortium of Canadian and American researchers led by Dr. John D. Rioux, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Montreal Heart Institute and the Université de Montréal, report in the April 15, 2007 online edition of Nature Genetics the results from a search of the entire human genome for genetic risk factors leading to [...]

Human genome used to search for genetic clues for Crohn's disease Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The news hasn’t been good recently for people planning a cruise ship vacation. Although the majority of travelers experience a trip that is relatively problem-free, we do come across reports of Norovirus outbreaks on some cruise ships. Recently the world’s largest cruise ship was held in port for intensive cleaning after a second outbreak of [...]

Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Last week I talked about how researchers had uncovered a new genetic mechanism that could explain why some people develop inflammatory bowel diseases like Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s. The discovery by a six-member Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Genetics Consortium of a genetic risk factor for IBD was reported in Science Express, the online publication of [...]

Genetics of inflammatory bowel disease Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Digestive problems, especially for people over the age of 60 may be due to a change in intestinal bacterial colonies or flora. The balance is thus more heavily weighted towards ‘unfriendly’ bacteria, which may make them more susceptible to gastrointestinal infections and bowel conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome. Restoration of the friendly bacteria in [...]

probiotics and maintenance of bowel health and function Play Now | Play in Popup | Download