BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
After a year-long wait for a neurologist in Halifax, Tracy Brander’s husband was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease. Her husband, now 54, was 39 at the time.
“It wasn't bad for the first years, you know. But the past three years it has been terrible for him. He can hardly walk. He's in a lot of pain,” Brander told CTVNews.ca on Wednesday.
While the average age to develop Parkinson’s is around 60, young-onset occurs in five to 10 per cent of people diagnosed under 40, according to Parkinson Canada’s website.
Brander said she would like to know if any of her four children will get the disease, too, and with a personal family history of Alzheimer’s–another neurodegenerative disease–the Dalhousie University nursing student is looking for ways to get them diagnosed before showing any symptoms.
It's something that wouldn't have been possible decades ago, but new research means it is now an option for Brander's family.
Researchers at Carleton University's Department of Electronics in Ottawa created a ground-breaking testing device to detect early signs of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s through biomolecular activities in a person’s saliva.
The palm-sized, 3D-printed device has bio-electronic sensors helping monitor hormone concentration – such as dopamine, cortisol and a few other stress hormones – and protein aggregation for neurodegenerative diseases.
Until recently, it was believed Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s biomarkers (biological molecules) could only be found in blood or tissue, making current testing for these diseases onerous and requiring invasive measures like spinal taps.
At the same time, individuals must have significant cognitive and physical deterioration before receiving a definitive diagnosis.
Ravi Prakash, an electrical and biomedical engineering professor and lead researcher in Carleton's Organic Sensors and Devices Lab, told CTVNews.ca on Tuesday this non-invasive tool uses recent research showing the diseases’ presence is on a smaller, molecular scale.
“If we can quantify the presence of pathogenesis in saliva, it will make better diagnosis and treatment more effective and easier,” said Prakash.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information published a report in 2007 called The Burden of Neurological Diseases, Disorders and Injuries in Canada, saying the total combined cost of 11 common neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, was estimated to be $8.8 billion in 2000-01.
If these diseases can be detected early, “the amount of medication for treatment required and the care required will be much less than what it is right now,” Prakash said.
The device is currently in the prototyping stage and will be going into advanced laboratory testing with clinical trials within the year.
Brander, who reached out to Prakash about the new tool, said she is interested in the research part of it from a professional perspective, but personally, “I would like to get (my children) diagnosed and not have them get to the stage that (my husband) was at before they find out if they have it or not.”
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
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MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
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The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
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At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.