News from Canada

Mij said:
First brain-heart guidelines calls for integrated care for heart, brain and mental health

Ottawa, March 30, 2026 — A new Canadian clinical practice guideline developed through the Canadian Cardiovascular Harmonized National Guideline Endeavour (C-CHANGE) and led by researchers at the Ottawa Heart Institute is calling on clinicians to treat heart, brain and mental health conditions together rather than in isolation.

I'm glad they are finally acknowledging that the brain is connected to the rest of the body.
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Hopefully this goes in the direction of de-psychologising psychiatric conditions and not in the direction of psychologising cardiovascular and neurological conditions.
 
Sanofi becomes market authorization holder for Nuvaxovid in Canada, expanding COVID-19 vaccine choices for Canadians

News provided by
Sanofi-Aventis Canada Inc.
Apr 09, 2026

  • Nuvaxovid, a non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, will be made available in Canada by Sanofi for the fall 2026-2027 season
  • Provincial and territorial availability will be confirmed pending ongoing discussions and provincial assessments
  • Transfer of market authorization from Novavax follows the strategic agreement signed between the two companies in May 2024
  • This underscores Sanofi's commitment to public health and vaccine innovation in Canada
TORONTO, April 9, 2026 /CNW/ - Sanofi today announces it has become the market authorization holder in Canada for Nuvaxovid, a non-mRNA protein-based COVID-19 vaccine. Nuvaxovid represents another step in Sanofi's commitment to building a diverse portfolio of best-in-class vaccines and addressing respiratory diseases for Canadians across their lifespan.

Sanofi will make Nuvaxovid available in Canada for the fall 2026-2027 season.

"With the launch of Nuvaxovid, a non-mRNA protein-based COVID-19 vaccine, Sanofi is now able to offer Canadians greater choice when it comes to COVID-19 protection. The availability of Nuvaxovid means that every Canadian will have the opportunity to access their personal COVID-19 vaccine choice," said Delphine Lansac, General Manager, Canada, Vaccines at Sanofi. "Canadians have clearly expressed a need for a non-mRNA option when it comes to COVID-19 protection. With this transfer, Sanofi can now respond to that need."

Nuvaxovid is a non-mRNA, protein-based vaccine for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 in individuals 12 years of age and older.1 It has been shown to have a favourable tolerability profile suitable for seasonal vaccination2-4. The vaccine uses a well-established protein-based technology platform and has also demonstrated efficacy of approximately 90% in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 based on pivotal phase 3 clinical studies

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Testing for Parkinson's disease vaccine underway at University of Alberta

"Researchers at the University of Alberta are working to develop a vaccine for Parkinson’s disease and have entered the testing phase.

“We’ve been interested in the misfolded proteins that are thought to cause Parkinson’s disease,” said biochemistry professor Holger Wille. “There’s one particular protein, it’s called alpha-synuclein, which is known to be a big player in Parkinson’s disease.”
 
Facts:
  • Alpha-synuclein aggregates perturb dopaminergic transmission and induce presynaptic and postsynaptic dysfunctions.
  • Distinct cell types can be differentially affected by alpha-synuclein aggregates over the course of the disease in preclinical studies.
  • Immune response to alpha-synuclein misfolding contributes to disease progression.
  • Parkinson’s Disease (PD), Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), Pure Autonomic Failure (PAF) and REM sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) show synuclein-related neuroinflammation and share clinical, neurochemical and morphological features.
  • New therapies targeting alpha-synuclein include passive and active immunization and modulators of protein aggregation.
 
I'm not sure whether this link belongs here. I know there's a thread for iCanCME but I wasn't sure if that's where this blog post belongs. Please move if needed!

I saved this link a week or two ago and have forgotten where I found it - maybe Tom Kindlon posted it?

From Clinical Trials Ontario, posted on April 7, 2026:

"Welcoming Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) Into the Clinical Trials Space"
Clinical Trials Ontario said:
This Talk Clinical Trials blog has been written by Sabrina Poirier, a patient advocate for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and other complex chronic illnesses, and co-founder of the ICanCME Research Network. Drawing on her lived experience with ME, Sabrina shares her perspective on how the clinical trials community can better understand and engage with people living with ME.


Many of us living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) see research as hope. We count on those in the clinical trials community to help bring safe and well-designed studies to reality – and ideally in collaboration with people like me who have lived experience.

This blog is intended to help you – no matter the role you play in the clinical trials space. Maybe you’re a trialist, on a research ethics board (REB), or a member of a research team. We hope that learning more about ME will help inform your critical work.
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The blog post is long so I was not able to read it carefully. I just skimmed it.

But this seemed like a good faith effort to help researchers understand the issues.
 
Montréal naturopath fined for illegally practicing medicine following a patients suicide

"A naturopathic practitioner from Montreal West has been fined $15,000 for illegally practicing medicine despite not being a medical doctor.

It comes following the suicide of one of her patients.

Kadeja Lefebvre pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of providing a medical diagnosis, prescribing medicine, and not holding a medical licence.

Her patient, Amelie Champagne, was a 22-year-old Eastern Townships woman who was convinced she suffered from Lyme disease. She later died by suicide, claiming she couldn’t live with the illness.

The naturopath did not have any medical training and did not have any test results proving Champagne had Lyme disease. Despite that, Lefebvre prescribed high-priced naturopathic remedies, which caused serious side effects for Champagne.

A coroner recommended that the College of Physicians investigate Lefebvre’s treatment methods. It recommended 11 charges. Lefebvre accepted a plea deal on three of the charges and has agreed to pay a $15,000 fine. She was not present in court, but was instead represented by her lawyer.

Quebec’s College of Physicians said it was satisfied with the ruling, saying in a statement: “We ask patients to be suspicious of miracle treatments, and they should always question the training and competence of someone before seeking such treatments.”

Read more . . .

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