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When patients with testicular cancer undergo lymph node removal surgery there is a risk that their fertility will be affected if proper nerve sparing techniques are not used. Up to 75 per cent of men will not be able to father children if they receive the surgery without these techniques.

Lawson’s Internal Research Fund (IRF) has awarded a grant to Dr. Nicholas Power, a researcher at Lawson and urologic oncologist at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), who is leading a study to identify the nerves involved in fertility that are affected in lymph node removal surgery for testicular cancer.

“Sometimes patients go through a lot to be cured of testicular cancer only to be left dealing with long-term survivorship issues such as fertility. We hope to gain new insights into how fertility can be preserved after these men receive lymph node removal surgery,” says Dr. Power, who is also an assistant professor at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.

In collaboration with Schulich assistant professors Dr. Marjorie Johnson and Dr. Brian Allman, and PhD candidate Tyler Beveridge, Dr. Power published initial results in The Journal of Urology announcing their discovery of a brand new anatomic structure, the pre-hypogastric ganglion, which needs to be spared in surgery to maintain fertility. They were also able to describe the first roadmap of retroperitoneal neuroanatomy – the anatomy of nerves in the space where surgeons locate lymph nodes most commonly affected by testicular cancer that has spread.

“There has never been a definitive anatomic study of the nerves of the retroperitoneum so it was our goal to provide the first comprehensive study of the nerves as they relate directly to patients who have testicular cancer,” explains Dr. Power. “After we published the initial results we were approached by textbook authors to use our data in upcoming editions of anatomy and surgical atlases. This will help to provide insight into nerve sparing techniques for surgeons who have not been trained at high-volume centers and ultimately improve the quality of care in testicular cancer patients overall.”

Already Dr. Power has found that using this knowledge when he performs lymph node removal surgery for testicular cancer has led to a 95 per cent success rate of preserving fertility.

The IRF will go towards their research to further investigate the actual function and physiology of the retroperitoneal neuroanatomy using a pig model.

“Lawson’s IRF provides incredible support for a field of study such as ours that is not yet at the stage of applying for a large grant. Receiving the funding gives us the independence to test out novel yet important hypotheses that will then lead us to further grants,” says Dr. Power.

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Above: Dr. Nicholas Power

The IRF is designed to provide Lawson scientists and students the opportunity to obtain start-up funds for new projects with the potential to obtain larger funding, be published in a high-impact journal, or provide a clinical benefit to patients. Funding is provided by the clinical departments of London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care London, as well as the hospital foundations (London Health Sciences Foundation and St. Joseph's Health Care Foundation).

Health researchers in London and across Canada welcomed news that the federal government will provide urgently-needed financial support for research teams whose work has been largely shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced $450 million in new funding to help Canada’s academic research community during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Research staff in Canada are the source of new innovations and ideas that help keep us healthy, protect our environment, and drive our economy. We are fortunate to have some of the world’s brightest minds. We are making sure Canadian universities and health research institutes have the support they need to sustain their research capacity through this difficult situation, and continue to attract and retain talent, for the benefit of all Canadians,” says The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. 

The investment will: 

• Provide wage supports to universities and health research institutes, so they can retain their research staff who are funded from industry or philanthropic sources and are unable to access some of the government’s existing COVID-19 support measures. This would apply even if their work has been temporarily suspended. The government will provide up to 75 per cent per individual, with a maximum of $847 per week. 
• Support universities and health research institutes to maintain essential research-related activities during the crisis, and to ramp back up to full research operations once physical distancing measures are lifted. This will cover up to 75 per cent of total eligible costs, and will support activities such as the safe storage of dangerous substances and restarting data sets that were interrupted during the pandemic. 

“Research personnel in our universities and health research institutes are significant drivers of science, discovery, and innovation in Canada. By providing these institutions with immediate support, we continue to nurture Canada’s talent pipeline and sustain our innovation capacity, while helping to mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19 on the research community,” says The Hon. Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. 

This announcement follows a tremendous effort by organizations and individuals across Canada over the course of this pandemic to secure support for hospital-based research. From outreach and meetings to letters and media interviews, many advocacy-based initiatives were undertaken to bring this important issue to the attention of key decision-makers. HealthCareCAN spearheaded these efforts, working tirelessly on behalf of the national health research community. 

Lawson is extremely thankful to the federal government for recognizing the critical importance of protecting Canada’s research enterprise and providing urgently-needed financial support. “While we know financial pressure remains, this will help to keep research teams intact while research has been interrupted and provide assistance for when research activities gradually resume,” says Dr. David Hill, Lawson Scientific Director. 

A special thank you to local MP Peter Fragiskatos for London North Centre who took up this issue in Ottawa. His strong leadership and representation made the key difference in successfully securing this new funding. 

“Tackling the COVID-19 crisis in Canada has required an all-hands on deck approach and Canada’s health researchers have answered the call by suspending all other crucial hospital-based research to meet the challenge,” adds Dr. David Hill. “With this federal support we can now work to ensure that we can maintain other critically needed research on other diseases even as we pursue what promises to be a lengthy battle against COVID-19.” 

Background: 

• Canadian healthcare-based research is a $3 billion annual sector of the economy and employs 50,000 highly skilled researchers and other staff across the country. 
• Health research is one of Canada’s great national achievements and biomedical research conducted in Canada is at the forefront of current essential research and clinical trials around COVID-19. 
• This work is fundamental to life in a society and a key driver for progress, innovation and the economy. Canada’s health researchers are global leaders in driving improvements in disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. 
• Ontario’s research hospitals have long been the engines of health invention and discovery in provincial and national innovation. From Ottawa, London, Toronto, Kingston, Sudbury and Thunder bay, the more than 20,000 researchers and staff at these hospitals are driven by their passion to improve health. 

See also: 

• Prime Minister announces support for research staff in Canada – Government news release 
• Canada’s health research enterprise welcomes federal support – HealthCareCAN media release 
• OHA Media Statement re: Federal Government Supporting Ontario’s Hospital-Based Research Enterprise 

A recent study suggests the use of probiotics to prevent respiratory tract infections in Canada could result in nearly $100 million per year in savings.

There is growing evidence that probiotics can reduce the risk of respiratory tract infections and lower their frequency, as well as reduce the duration of an infection, antibiotic use and absences from work. Replicating a research model used in France, researchers examined the potential clinical and economic impacts in Canada.

Sponsored by The Alliance for Education on Probiotics, the study included researchers from Lawson Health Research Institute (Lawson), Western University, Laval University and Utrecht University. It incorporated two separate scenarios from two meta-analyses. A meta-analysis combines data from multiple studies using a statistical approach.

Results from the study showed that regular probiotic use could eliminate between 573,000 to 2.3 million days per year of respiratory tract infections, resulting in 330,000 to 500,000 fewer sick days for Canadians and 52,000 to 84,000 fewer antibiotic prescriptions. This would translate to $1.3 to $8.9 million in health system savings. When accounting for productivity losses due to illness, it could save $61.2 to $99.7 million.

Respiratory tract infections are highly contagious infections of the sinus, throat or airways, including influenza or ‘the flu.’ Currently, 5 to 20 per cent of the Canadian population experience at least one respiratory tract infection per year. It’s estimated that respiratory tract infections represent 2.9 per cent of all health care costs in Canada.

“If we could reduce the burden of respiratory tract infections, it would benefit both patients and Canadian taxpayers,” says Dr. Gregor Reid, Director for the Canadian Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotic Research at Lawson, and Professor at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.

The research showed that children under the age of 10, individuals living in a community setting (including office work in open spaces) and those not vaccinated against influenza would benefit the most.

Respiratory tract infections are typically viral in nature. Existing treatments rely on symptom control while an estimated 26 per cent of patients are also prescribed antibiotics. These antibiotics are largely unnecessary since antibiotics are not effective against viruses. “Antibiotics are often prescribed even when an infection is likely to be viral. Antibiotics can have serious side effects like destroying many beneficial bacteria in the human body,” says Dr. Reid. 

Probiotics are defined as “live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.”

“People are increasingly making probiotics a part of their daily diet or dietary supplements for their proven health benefits,” explains Dr. Reid “The fact that probiotics can also be used to prevent respiratory tract infections makes them even more important.”

Dr. Reid notes that several probiotic products can be effective in preventing respiratory tract infections, as outlined in the Clinical Guide to Probiotic Supplements. These include probiotic yogurts and oral capsules.

The study, “The Clinical and Economic Impact of Probiotics Consumption on Respiratory Tract Infections: Projections for Canada,” is published on PLoS One.

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Above: Dr. Gregor Reid (Photo credit: Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry)

As the world’s most important single species of pollinators, honey bees perform many ecosystem functions. They are critical to the global food supply. 

Honey bee populations are declining at alarmingly high rates here in Ontario and around the world. 

“If the bees disappear, humanity is in big trouble” states Dr. Gregor Reid, Lawson researcher and professor at Western. He is also the leading scientist for the study. “Imagine walking into the grocery store and a third of the food wasn’t there. That is what would happen.”

Pesticide exposure, infection and habitat loss are the main factors suspected to be causing the decline in honey bee populations. Pesticides in particular make infections more severe and exacerbate the consequences of nutritional deficiencies in habitat loss – making those problems even worse.  

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Since current industrialized agricultural practice rely on pesticides to maintain high crop volume, their complete removal from the equation is not currently feasible. 

“We need an alternative solution that interferes with this process where high level of pesticides cause issues like infections and habitat loss to have more severe consequences for the honey bees,” says Dr. Reid. “Supplementing honey bees with probiotic bacteria is that solution, we believe.” 

“It may sound overly dramatic to state the research will ‘save the world’s honey bees’, but that is the goal, and other groups around the world are trying to follow this lead.”

The group of researchers from Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University are supplementing honey bees with a nutritional food item containing three carefully chosen strains of beneficial or probiotic bacteria to improve the overall health of the hive and specifically address infection and nutritional needs. 

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“We are creating what we call a BioPatty. In addition to normal nutrient substances, we infuse it with a select recipe of probiotics,” explains Dr. Graham Thompson, the regional bee expert and professor at Western University who helped set up the field-testing site and manages of the honey bee hives. “Our goal is to make the bees healthier and their immune system more vigorous. This helps them stay efficient and do their important jobs, and not be so vulnerable to the stressors of living in an urban and industrial world.”

The team’s previous scientific findings in a fly model, showed that these bacterial strains could reduce the toxic effects of pesticides and increase resistance towards infection. In May 2018, they moved their research from the lab and into the field thanks to OMAFRA funding, and started to test their BioPatties in a local apiary. 

American Foulbrood caused by the pathogen Paenibacillus larvae, attacked the hives. This is one of the most serious honey bee diseases. Infection outbreaks nearly always lead to complete colony collapse and loss of the hive.  “But the hives that were given the probiotics were the only ones not to be destroyed, so that was an encouraging early result,” says Brendan Daisley, a PhD student with Dr. Reid who was involved with the development of the research and coordinates sample processing and data collection. 

“These results have far-reaching implications as American Foulbrood, despite its geographically-suggestive name, infects honey bees worldwide. It causes a tremendous financial burden to apiary owners and famers alike, who rely on honey bees directly or indirectly as a means of livelihood,” explains Daisley. 

The probiotic approach might reduce the need for antibiotics that are so commonly used in many apiaries. 

This work is taking place in London, Ontario and the study will continue over the next three years. Going forward, the researchers are planning to work with collaborators in a number of other countries around the world to determine the feasibility of large-scale implementation of probiotics for honey bees. 

Related stories

• Probiotics could improve survival rates in honey bees exposed to pesticides 
• CTV London: For The Bees
• CTV London: New research shows that probiotics can protect honey bees from pesticides