Neuroscience researchers at Western University have developed the first open-access repository for raw data from mouse cognitive testing. Called MouseBytes, the database gives researchers a platform to share rodent cognition data using touchscreen cognitive testing...
Crystal Mackay
Lung images of twins with asthma add to understanding of the disease
Two lung imaging studies from Western University, including one performed in non-identical twin patients with life-long asthma, have shown that airway defects in the lungs of asthmatic patients are like thumbprints – they have a unique pattern and maintain that...
The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry establishes new Office of Military Academic Medicine
With the aim of becoming a world leader in military medicine, the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University today announced the establishment of the Office of Military Academic Medicine. The Office builds upon a long-standing relationship...
Common muscle relaxant linked to severe confusion in patients with kidney disease
One in 25 patients with very low kidney function were admitted to hospital with severe confusion and other cognitive-related symptoms a few days after being prescribed a common muscle relaxant. A new study from ICES Western, Western University and Lawson Health...
Community-driven project improves patient outcomes for diabetes in Indigenous communities
A Western University based project has led to significant improvements in health outcomes for people living with diabetes in Indigenous communities across Canada. The FORGE AHEAD project was launched in response to data showing the incidence and prevalence of type 2...
Physician opioid prescribing significantly increases risk of addiction
Researchers at Western University and ICES Western have shown that men who filled a prescription for opioids after minor surgery were at significantly higher risk of persistent long-term opioid use and hospitalization for opioid overdose, than those who did not. The...
Using probiotics to protect honey bees against fatal disease
Probiotics, beneficial microorganisms best known for promoting gut health in humans, are now being used by Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute scientists to save honey bee colonies from collapse. A new study published in the Nature journal ISME J...
Researchers unlock potential to use CRISPR to alter the microbiome
Researchers at Western University have developed a new way to deliver the DNA-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 into microorganisms in the lab, providing a way to efficiently launch a targeted attack on specific bacteria. Published today in Nature Communications, this study...
Cannabis study reveals how CBD offsets the psychiatric side-effects of THC
Researchers at Western University have shown for the first time the molecular mechanisms at work that cause cannabidiol, or CBD, to block the psychiatric side-effects caused by tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis. It has been...
Commonly used drug for Alzheimer’s disease increases risk of hospitalization for muscle breakdown
A new study has found that a drug commonly used to manage symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias — donepezil — is associated with a two-fold higher risk of hospital admission for rhabdomyolysis, a painful condition of muscle breakdown, compared to similar...
Lost in translation: researchers discover translator gene may play a role in disease
A molecule called tRNA, or transfer ribonucleic acid, is an essential component of the human genome that acts as a translator. It reads the genetic code and translates it into proteins – one of the key building blocks of the human body. When researchers and clinicians...
Media Advisory: Western University hosts See the Line concussion symposium August 15
When Ken Dryden stood at the podium at See the Line last year, he asked the community to take action on the prevention of concussions. To answer that call, Western University’s See the Line concussion education symposium this year features experts who are working...