News from Canada

Canadian neurosurgeons seek six patients for Musk's Neuralink brain study

TORONTO -

Canadian neurosurgeons in partnership with Elon Musk's Neuralink have regulatory approval to recruit six patients with paralysis willing to have a thousand electrode contacts in their brains.

The trial, called Can-Prime has started recruiting patients for a study that will test the safety and efficacy of a device that allows people to move cursors with their minds, a surgeon leading the trial said.
LINK

 

Neuralink gets okay for its first international trial

Elon Musk's brain-computer interface (BCI) company Neuralink has been given the green light to test its device in tetraplegic patients in Canada – the first international trial of the technology.

The CAN-PRIME study will run alongside Neuralink's recently initiated PRIME study in the US and will test the safety and functionality of its N1 implant in people who have difficulty moving their arms and legs to see if it can act as a hands-free interface between the brain and electronic devices, allowing them to be controlled with thoughts alone.

LINK

 

Note the masked person is Dr. Bernard, the President of the largest organization of family physicians in Canada. The CFPC website notes that she has Long Covid & takes mitigation seriously. Expect more Covid-aware clinician scientists in leadership ranks the next 10 years.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1887322108608319913

 

2025 Health Ministers Meeting: National health organizations push for action on primary care

*Reduce administrative burden by addressing issues such as paperwork (e.g., Disability Tax Credit form, sick notes requirements) and referral processes
LINK

 

From 2024:

The College of Family Physicians of Canada welcomes Dr. Carrie Bernard as its 2024-2025 President

"Following a recent diagnosis of post-acute Sars-COV2 infection (long COVID), Dr. Bernard is taking a break from her clinical duties"

LINK

 

The President of the largest organization of family physicians in Canada has LC and still nothing whatsoever has changed to improve things, it still doesn't exist as far as they're concerned. Good grief what a total mess. We can't even begin to repair this broken system, it's just pieces and bits of dust held together by spit and spite.

 

Steffany Colvinns shares how her diagnosis with POTS has impacted her life and how UCalgary research has benefitted her.

Patient a proponent of research

Steffany Colvinns says study involvement a benefit
LINK

 

Doctors worry patients with long COVID may be overlooked as crisis fades

Prior to the pandemic, Dr. Satish Raj, a Calgary-based cardiologist, was already treating patients with similar problems after viral infections. The condition is known as POTS.

"What was different about COVID wasn't that this type of thing had never happened before, but that it had never happened before on the scale, societally, as it happened with COVID," said Raj, a University of Calgary professor and medical director of the Calgary autonomic investigation and management clinic.

He estimates five to 10 per cent of Albertans have ongoing symptoms after a COVID infection, and up to two per cent are so debilitated they can't go to work or school.

Dr. Satish Raj teaches cardiac sciences at the University of Calgary and cares for patients with long COVID. His waitlist is nearly two years long. (Submitted by University of Calgary)

 

I wish I could read the word "Albertans" without putting the stress on the first and last syllables, so that in my head it sounds like a planet in sci-fi computer game.

 

Thanks for posting about this but it seems to be missing a link? Here's a link to the story:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/covid-five-year-anniversary-alberta-1.7452434

 

Trump threats open 'floodgate' of inquires from U.S physicians about moving north

"Some Canadian doctors are also turning down opportunities in the U.S"

"Renowned Ottawa heart surgeon Marc Ruel was planning a move to the United States last year, with the University of California, San Francisco "thrilled to announce" that he would be leading a heart division in their surgery department.

But Donald Trump's threats toward Canada were such that Ruel has now decided to remain in Canada.

"Canada is under duress right now," he told CBC. "I felt my role and duty at this point was to directly serve my country from within."

 

Merged

I felt like I was on fire': Saskatchewan woman recovering from serious case of measles

A Saskatchewan woman who contracted measles last month wants more people to get vaccinated against the disease to prevent others from getting sick.

Michelle Knorr, 55, was hospitalized late last week after fighting a high fever, body shakes, dehydration, vomiting and diarrhea for several days.

“I just kept on thinking it was the worst flu bug I had ever had in my life,” she told CTV News from her home in Kindersley.

“Once the rash hit, I knew it was a problem.”

A bright red rash extended from Knorr’s scalp all the way to the tips of her toes. It radiated heat, she said, and caused the pores in her face to stretch from the swelling.

“I felt like I was on fire,” she said.

The blotchy rash is a telltale sign of measles, which often appears a few days after the initial symptoms.