App helps kids (and parents) get ready for surgery

Andrew Feng is a bright 6-year-old boy who loves to play the online strategy game Clash of the Clans and go trick-or-treating on Halloween. This Halloween, however, he will be undergoing surgery to remove a benign growth from one of his ribs.

Naturally, Andrew’s parents are a little anxious. This will be their son’s first operation and he might have to stay overnight at the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

Scientists examine the causes and treatment of addictive behaviour

Addiction comes in many forms: drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and gambling have been the types that traditionally plagued society.

In recent years, the proliferation of technology has led to the rise of addiction to the internet and computer gaming. Even the promotion of a healthy lifestyle has led some to become hooked on exercise.

But do all addictions operate by the same biological mechanism? And is addiction an individual's choice or a disease of the brain?

Moms With Lupus More Likely to Have Children With Autism, Study Suggests

Women with lupus are twice as likely to have a child with autism compared to mothers without the autoimmune disease, new, preliminary research finds.

However, the overall risk is still low and the findings won't change the management of women with lupus, said one expert.

"I wouldn't tell my lupus patients not to get pregnant," Dr. Yousaf Ali, acting chief of rheumatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Disabled strive for open doors to accessibility

Prevention and access to care: Priorities for the Douglas

Investment In a Quebec Public-Private Partnership to Support the Use of Personalized Medicine Solutions in the Treatment of Cancer Patients

The Government of Québec announced today a $10 million investment in the Personalized Medicine Partnership for Cancer (PMPC). This public-private partnership will be focused on establishing an integrated approach for the development and implementation of clinical biomarkers and other personalized healthcare solutions to improve the outcome and cost-efficiency of healthcare services provided to cancer patients in the province of Québec and abroad.

Study shows majority of smokers re-ignite their habit following heart attack

Addiction: abnormal communication in the brain

Addiction to cigarettes, drugs and other stimulants has been linked in the past to the brain’s frontal lobes, but now there is scientific evidence that indicates where in the frontal cortex addiction takes hold and how.  Addiction could be a result of abnormal communication between two areas of the frontal lobes linked to decision-making.  The discovery will undoubtedly stimulate clinical work on new therapies for millions of people who suffer from addiction.

McGill board demands funds be restored

McGill University’s board of governors has adopted a resolution demanding the Quebec government withdraw the cuts it is imposing on universities and restore the funding that was in place, saying the government’s action is “excessive and injurious” to the university.

National network evaluating drug safety reports early results

Prescription medications remain one of the most common causes of severe adverse reactions in clinical medicine, accounting for thousands of deaths annually in Canada.