McGill, MUHC and Douglas researchers get top marks from Quebec Scienc...(n investigating the impact of psychologi...),Health

Date:1/9/2009

n investigating the impact of psychological trauma on individuals for over 15 years, focusing on the risk factors and developing effective treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He has discovered a new use for an old medication -propranolol- the first drug that has the potential to cure PTSD. The treatment involves thinking about one's trauma under the influence of the drug. Propranolol works by partly blocking the emotional component of the trauma memory from being saved again into long term memory storage while leaving the other components of the memory intact. With this new discovery, Brunet reports patients being cured of PTSD after only six treatments.

To interview Dr. Brunet: contact Marie-France Coutu at (514) 761-6131, #2769

Morag Park - Uncovering the mysteries of cancerous cells

Dr. Morag Park, scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's institute of cancer research focuses her work on the environment surrounding tumours in the breasts. "We know that this environment is pivotal for cancer initiation and progression; different patients have distinct tumour microenvironments at a gene level," explains Dr. Park. "Our findings show that the gene profile of these distinct microenvironments can be used to determine clinical outcome who will fare well and who will not." Her team has identified a panel of 26 specific genes that could be used to accurately predict clinical outcome. The next step is to produce a reliable functional test that could be performed on patients. They expect it to be ready for clinical trials at the end of 2009.

Janusz Rak Learning the language of tumours

Dr. Janusz Rak has discovered a new fundamental mechanism of how tumour cells communicate: by releasing bubble-like structures, called oncosomes, that contain cancer-causing proteins. When the oncosomes merge into a healthy recipient cell, they can trigger specific mechanisms to make it a
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Contact: Cynthia Lee cynthia.lee@mcgill.ca 514-398-6754 McGill University Source:Eurekalert

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