(Time on Podcast: 11:40). A new sleep clinic at the MUHC is helping patients with sleep apnea sleep and breathe easier using wearable technology. Not sleeping well can have a huge impact on our day to day labs. Dr. John Kimoff is the director of the sleep lab at the MUHC. The sleep lab includes individual rooms that patients can sleep in overnight and have their sleep patterns recorded overnight. Patients that use the sleep lab include those with sleep-related breathing disorders such as apnea or hypoventilation, as well as other non-breathing sleep disorders such as narcolepsy and abnormal movements during the night. In the lab, the team can study behavior at night and correlate with recordings. There is also a home testing program. In the comfort of one’s home, wearable technologies can record breathing efforts, oxygen levels, and breathing airflow. Useful information can be obtained from these technologies and inform care plans or follow-up studies. While these wearable technologies might not be able to reliably diagnose sleep-apnea just yet, they are getting better as the technologies develop.

Listen to the Podcast

Discover what we’ve accomplished together. The MUHC Foundation’s Health Matters. July 24, 2022.

Web: http://bit.ly/3aQfvVQ
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/32HFxrc
Apple: https://apple.co/35NvItS

The post Health Matters: Sleep Apnea and Wearable Technology appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

Early Lung Cancer Screening

(Time on podcast: 11:20). 13,000 die in Quebec from tobacco use every year. Dr. Nicole Ezer discusses lung cancer screening and smoking cessation. Smoking has an impact not only on the lungs, but also on the heart and the brain. With time, smoking causes airway inflammation and lung destruction (emphysema) and reduced lung function. Smoking increases the thickness of our blood, so this can reduce a person’s oxygen levels when they smoke, even if they are only casual or occasional smokers. Because lung cancer does not cause many symptoms, it is often only detected once it is larger or has started to spread. Later stages of cancer are more difficult to treat. Ideally, if the cancer is caught earlier, treatments and surgical interventions have a better chance of success. People can be screened with a CT scan to detect abnormal spots on the lung to see if they grow over time. Candidates eligible for early lung cancer screening in Quebec are people between the ages of 55-74 who are current or former smokers. Anyone can call and be evaluated to determine if they are eligible for the screening program. This program started at the MUHC in 2018 and is has been available across the province since 2021. The hope is that this program will be available in the long term and show that early screening can catch lung cancers early and prevent death.

Quitting smoking is incredibly difficult for many. The best advice is to not give up. Most people try 2-3 times before being successful in quitting smoking. People have to be aware that there are medications and psychological support programs available to help with smoking cessation.

For information on the screening program:
Lung Cancer Screening Program / Programme de Dépistage du Cancer du Poumon  https://www.depistagecancerdupoumon.com/en/

How are you Sleeping?

(Time on podcast: 31:50) How are you sleeping? Being able to have a full night’s sleep is something many of us wish for. A sleep lab at the MUHC studies breathing related issues that may prevent us from getting a good night’s sleep. What does a good night’s sleep actually mean? Essentially, if you are able to fall asleep in a short amount of time, sleep the night, feel refreshed when you wake up, and if you don’t have sleepiness or fatigue during the day… you got a good night’s sleep. Patients with sleep apnea don’t have this feeling. This happens when our breathing is interrupted during the night. Oxygen levels go down, and the patient’s sleep becomes disrupted. Listen to the podcast to learn about some of the ways we can get a better night’s sleep.

Listen to the podcast

How are you sleeping? The MUHC Foundation’s Health Matters. January 23, 2022.

Where to listen:

Web: http://bit.ly/3aQfvVQ
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/32HFxrc
Apple: https://apple.co/35NvItS

The post Health Matters: Early Lung Cancer Screening & How Are You Sleeping? appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

Dr. Sushmita Pamidi received funding for her project co-led with Evelyn Constantin (CHHD program) entitled “Maternal sleep-disordered breathing during pregnancy and long-term health outcomes in children: the 3D pregnancy and birth cohort”. Dr. John Kimoff is a co-investigator on the grant.

Dr. Larry Lands is a co-applicant with Dr. Michael Parkins (University of Calgary) for the grant entitled “The influence of Cytomegalovirus infection on cystic fibrosis disease progression”.

View full CIHR Funding Decisions for the 2019 Spring Project Grant Competition.

The post Funding News – CIHR Project Grant appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.