And nothing to do with Microsoft.
When I heard about the promising new breakthrough in MS treatment the other day, I spent a bit more time getting re-acquainted with all the resources out there.
I came across a "Focus on MS" section at the National Post. It has a lot of great articles on MS. I encourage all to take the time to read through some of it. MS afflicts a lot of people.
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Promising MS Breakthrough
Dr. Paolo Zamboni has a revolutionary new theory about Multiple Sceroisis. Its not an autoimmune disease, its a vasular disease!
Its an astonishing theory that promises to turn the world of MS research on it's head. W5 will have an investigative report on it tonight, you read about it here.
I have a lot of family afflicted with this disease, I sure hope Dr. Paolo Zamboni is onto something here.
Its an astonishing theory that promises to turn the world of MS research on it's head. W5 will have an investigative report on it tonight, you read about it here.
I have a lot of family afflicted with this disease, I sure hope Dr. Paolo Zamboni is onto something here.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Lies, damned lies, and Liberal half-truths
I read everything, and I mean everything. I read the Globe and Mail, the National Post, CBC, CTV, Toronto Star, Blogging Tories, Liblogs, Macleans, and Progressive Bloggers. I am sure I am missing some out of this list. The point is, I read everything I can get my hands on about politics, policy, and news. I don't just read news sources to reinforce my own view. Occasionally I stumble across idiots, and I take the time to refute them harshly. I have done this to Liblogs, and BloggingTories. Ignorance knows no side.
This afternoon I stumbled across a blathering fool of a blogger on Liblogs. This blogger tries to make a case of incompetence on the part of the Conservative government in relation to their H1N1 vaccination program. A program that has had some issues, but when viewed in the larger context, has been pretty darn successful to date.
Let's view his ramblings point by point, I shall quote him as I go.
Health Minister Aglukkaq ordered 1.8 million doses of unadjuvanted vaccine in September. That order had to be placed to cover off the expected needs of pregnant women, which was forgotten, apparently, when the same Minister got around to placing her original order in August.
The order wasn't forgotten, it wasn't ordered. You see, there is no research that points to adjuvanted vaccines being harmful to either the mother or the fetus. None, zip, zero. Why did we order unadjuvanted vaccines then? Because there is no evidence that it doesn't hurt the mother or the fetus. There hasn't been enough research yet to be medically certain.
It was decided that it was better to err on the side of caution, that being said many pregnant women received the adjuvanted version as they were in the high-risk groups.
The August "order" was among the last placed worldwide.
So what? Placing an order in March for a vaccine that is not ready to be produced is no more efficient. Canada has a contract, we jump the queue, and go to the front of the line in terms of production.
The 1.8 million dose order for non-adjuvanted vaccine then disrupted and delayed GSK's "bottling" of adjuvanted vaccine, which was intended for use in the broader population. This delay caused line ups and general mayhem along the vaccination distribution system as there was a shortage of vaccine, which exists to this day.
At the same time, GSK wasn't able to get the non-adjuvanted product ready quick enough anyway and the government had to order 200,000 doses from another supplier in Australia.
Sigh. When the immunization programme started, cities had thousands and thousands of vaccine doses. The line ups were caused by the sheer fact that you cannot immunize everyone at once. And poor organization at the local level for the vaccination rollout.
For the first few weeks, vaccination clinics were going full bore immunizing the high risk groups. It is only now that there is some shortages due to the interruptions in the production line to make the unadjuvanted version.
Even as late as Oct 24th, barely half of Canadians were planning on getting the shot. Only 30% of Canadians get the seasonal flu shot. Its hard to fault cities and the federal goverment for making plans based on the best available data at the time.
Regarding Australia, would you rather have the government not try and get other supplies?
All the while, mass confusion amongst the health providers and pregnant women as to what really was the advice of the government.
Really? All advice I have heard was consistent.
Rather, these women should get the advanced form of the vaccine that includes a booster to increase immune response, she said.
Last week, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada also said all evidence suggests that adjuvanted vaccines are just as safe as non-adjuvanted vaccines. But the preferred version for pregnant women is the non-adjuvanted version because there hasn't been a lot of research on the use of the adjuvant in pregnancy.
Now we hear that Aglukkaq has approved the non-adjuvanted GSK product for use by everybody. Another day...another change in plan...this ordering fiasco and not realising GSK bottling challenges is something that needs a thorough review when this is all over.
She has approved the vaccination for everyone as the non-adjuvanted vaccine has been available for sometime now, and they likely figure everyone who was going to get the non-adjuvanted one has already. They ordered more then what was needed. There are not 1.8 million pregnant women in Canada.
There has been a definite glossing over of the truth along the way. It was in September that the mantra began: “In Canada, we are lucky that the issue is not whether we will have enough vaccine for everyone who needs it, but how quickly we can immunize everyone,” said Dr. Butler-Jones, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer. While the Health Minister intoned her now all too familiar, “The Government of Canada will ensure that all Canadians who need and want the H1N1 vaccine will get it.” Aglukkaq's Butler-Jones laying tracks so that the provinces can be blamed for the failure in distribution that they new was coming. At the same time, a Minister providing an assurance bereft of any time frame against which to apply future accountability and responsibility. Typical.
You cannot immunize 33 million people at once. Over 50 million doses of vaccine was ordered, many more millions will be immunized by Christmas. The line ups (in my community anyway) were not very long after the initial rush.
Neither of these comments reflected what these officials could and should (and maybe did) know about GSK packaging shortcomings.
Yes, the one legitimate point, they should not have interrupted the the production of the adjuvanted vaccine. But that is the benefit of hindsight. Easy to see the errors.
Now lets look at the big picture.
- Canada has rolled out more vaccine per capita then any other country in the world.
- Canada has rolled out more the twice the vaccine per capita then the US
- A pandemic of fear was caused by the deaths of two young children that caused long line ups
- The perception of scandal is more media (and Liberal) generated then a reflection of widespread unease
- Nearly 2/3s of Canadians think the Government has done a fair job.
- Canada has produced about 8.5 million doses of the vaccine.
See the big picture. It is disgusting that the Liberals are trying to politicize this issue, even as their MPs try to hysterically jump the queue. I am looking at you Hedy Fry!
Might I suggest fist bumping Hedy?
This afternoon I stumbled across a blathering fool of a blogger on Liblogs. This blogger tries to make a case of incompetence on the part of the Conservative government in relation to their H1N1 vaccination program. A program that has had some issues, but when viewed in the larger context, has been pretty darn successful to date.
Let's view his ramblings point by point, I shall quote him as I go.
Health Minister Aglukkaq ordered 1.8 million doses of unadjuvanted vaccine in September. That order had to be placed to cover off the expected needs of pregnant women, which was forgotten, apparently, when the same Minister got around to placing her original order in August.
The order wasn't forgotten, it wasn't ordered. You see, there is no research that points to adjuvanted vaccines being harmful to either the mother or the fetus. None, zip, zero. Why did we order unadjuvanted vaccines then? Because there is no evidence that it doesn't hurt the mother or the fetus. There hasn't been enough research yet to be medically certain.
It was decided that it was better to err on the side of caution, that being said many pregnant women received the adjuvanted version as they were in the high-risk groups.
The August "order" was among the last placed worldwide.
So what? Placing an order in March for a vaccine that is not ready to be produced is no more efficient. Canada has a contract, we jump the queue, and go to the front of the line in terms of production.
The 1.8 million dose order for non-adjuvanted vaccine then disrupted and delayed GSK's "bottling" of adjuvanted vaccine, which was intended for use in the broader population. This delay caused line ups and general mayhem along the vaccination distribution system as there was a shortage of vaccine, which exists to this day.
At the same time, GSK wasn't able to get the non-adjuvanted product ready quick enough anyway and the government had to order 200,000 doses from another supplier in Australia.
Sigh. When the immunization programme started, cities had thousands and thousands of vaccine doses. The line ups were caused by the sheer fact that you cannot immunize everyone at once. And poor organization at the local level for the vaccination rollout.
For the first few weeks, vaccination clinics were going full bore immunizing the high risk groups. It is only now that there is some shortages due to the interruptions in the production line to make the unadjuvanted version.
Even as late as Oct 24th, barely half of Canadians were planning on getting the shot. Only 30% of Canadians get the seasonal flu shot. Its hard to fault cities and the federal goverment for making plans based on the best available data at the time.
Regarding Australia, would you rather have the government not try and get other supplies?
All the while, mass confusion amongst the health providers and pregnant women as to what really was the advice of the government.
Really? All advice I have heard was consistent.
Rather, these women should get the advanced form of the vaccine that includes a booster to increase immune response, she said.
Last week, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada also said all evidence suggests that adjuvanted vaccines are just as safe as non-adjuvanted vaccines. But the preferred version for pregnant women is the non-adjuvanted version because there hasn't been a lot of research on the use of the adjuvant in pregnancy.
Now we hear that Aglukkaq has approved the non-adjuvanted GSK product for use by everybody. Another day...another change in plan...this ordering fiasco and not realising GSK bottling challenges is something that needs a thorough review when this is all over.
She has approved the vaccination for everyone as the non-adjuvanted vaccine has been available for sometime now, and they likely figure everyone who was going to get the non-adjuvanted one has already. They ordered more then what was needed. There are not 1.8 million pregnant women in Canada.
There has been a definite glossing over of the truth along the way. It was in September that the mantra began: “In Canada, we are lucky that the issue is not whether we will have enough vaccine for everyone who needs it, but how quickly we can immunize everyone,” said Dr. Butler-Jones, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer. While the Health Minister intoned her now all too familiar, “The Government of Canada will ensure that all Canadians who need and want the H1N1 vaccine will get it.” Aglukkaq's Butler-Jones laying tracks so that the provinces can be blamed for the failure in distribution that they new was coming. At the same time, a Minister providing an assurance bereft of any time frame against which to apply future accountability and responsibility. Typical.
You cannot immunize 33 million people at once. Over 50 million doses of vaccine was ordered, many more millions will be immunized by Christmas. The line ups (in my community anyway) were not very long after the initial rush.
Neither of these comments reflected what these officials could and should (and maybe did) know about GSK packaging shortcomings.
Yes, the one legitimate point, they should not have interrupted the the production of the adjuvanted vaccine. But that is the benefit of hindsight. Easy to see the errors.
Now lets look at the big picture.
- Canada has rolled out more vaccine per capita then any other country in the world.
- Canada has rolled out more the twice the vaccine per capita then the US
- A pandemic of fear was caused by the deaths of two young children that caused long line ups
- The perception of scandal is more media (and Liberal) generated then a reflection of widespread unease
- Nearly 2/3s of Canadians think the Government has done a fair job.
- Canada has produced about 8.5 million doses of the vaccine.
See the big picture. It is disgusting that the Liberals are trying to politicize this issue, even as their MPs try to hysterically jump the queue. I am looking at you Hedy Fry!
Might I suggest fist bumping Hedy?
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Should Helmets be Mandatory?
With the recent tragic death of Natasha Richardson in a ski accident, the debate on helmets once again comes to the forefront. Currently (in Ontario at least) helmets are mandatory for all children under the age of 18 when biking, scootering, rollerblading etc. It is not for skiing or snowboarding to the best of my knowledge.
The question is simple really, should helmets be mandatory for everyone regardless of age when they partake in sports and activities like:
The libertarian streak in me says hell no, you shouldn't mandate helmets. What's next. Mandate everyone gets their full servings of fruit and vegetables? And of course their exercise?
The fiscal conservative in me says, hey, why the hell should I pay the health care costs of some idiot who bashed their head doing a risky activity and not wearing a helmet. A helmet could have prevented the injury, or at least reduced its severity.
At the end of the day, I am going to vote for mandatory helmet laws. This position may not be popular with many readers of the Blogging Tories, but it is the most common sense. Unlike healthy eating or exercise, it will be much simpler to ensure skiers and their ilk wear helmets, you can't get on the lift without your helmet. You get spotted on the hill without your helmet your pass is canceled and off you go.
I, as a hardworking tax payer don't want to see my scarce tax dollars treating injuries that can be mitigated by wearing the proper safety equipment. If someone really wants to not wear a helmet, they can self-insure themselves in case of accident or injury.
Am I right or wrong? Tell me what you think.
The question is simple really, should helmets be mandatory for everyone regardless of age when they partake in sports and activities like:
- skiing
- snowboarding
- biking
- rollerblading
- skateboarding
- etc
The libertarian streak in me says hell no, you shouldn't mandate helmets. What's next. Mandate everyone gets their full servings of fruit and vegetables? And of course their exercise?
The fiscal conservative in me says, hey, why the hell should I pay the health care costs of some idiot who bashed their head doing a risky activity and not wearing a helmet. A helmet could have prevented the injury, or at least reduced its severity.
At the end of the day, I am going to vote for mandatory helmet laws. This position may not be popular with many readers of the Blogging Tories, but it is the most common sense. Unlike healthy eating or exercise, it will be much simpler to ensure skiers and their ilk wear helmets, you can't get on the lift without your helmet. You get spotted on the hill without your helmet your pass is canceled and off you go.
I, as a hardworking tax payer don't want to see my scarce tax dollars treating injuries that can be mitigated by wearing the proper safety equipment. If someone really wants to not wear a helmet, they can self-insure themselves in case of accident or injury.
Am I right or wrong? Tell me what you think.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Breast Cancer Breakthrough?
After 10 years of work a breast cancer vaccine is entering human trials. This vaccine will not prevent a woman from getting breast cancer like the HPV vaccine would help prevent a woman from getting HPV.
Instead, the breast cancer vaccine would be a supplemental treatment option. It works by mimicking the antigens found on the surface of cancer cells and eliciting an immune system response.
You can read more about this vaccine here.
Breast cancer is a leading cause of death among women, hopefully the vaccine can help save our mothers, wives, and sisters from death or disfigurement.
Interestingly enough, this vaccine was funded with 6 year, 2.9 million dollar grant from the US Department of Defense.
Instead, the breast cancer vaccine would be a supplemental treatment option. It works by mimicking the antigens found on the surface of cancer cells and eliciting an immune system response.
You can read more about this vaccine here.
Breast cancer is a leading cause of death among women, hopefully the vaccine can help save our mothers, wives, and sisters from death or disfigurement.
Interestingly enough, this vaccine was funded with 6 year, 2.9 million dollar grant from the US Department of Defense.
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