Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
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.”
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
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.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.