Patients with psychosis may experience communication difficulties because non-language parts of the brain are trying to manage communications tasks, new research from Western and Lawson Health Research Institute shows.
Crystal Mackay
Dialysis patients four times more likely to die from COVID-19 infection
Patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis are particularly vulnerable to contracting and dying from COVID-19, a Western-led study found.
Bats may hold the key to vaccines for future pandemics
Western researchers are joining forces with Royal Ontario Museum bat biologists to create a 'vaccine bank' that could be used in the next pandemic.
Most instructions for inserting COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swabs don’t go deep enough, research finds
There are wide discrepancies in the instructions for how deep the nasopharyngeal swabs used to test for COVID-19 are to be inserted up Canadian noses, new research has found. As an otolaryngologist, Dr. Leigh Sowerby is an expert in the anatomy of the head, neck and...
Expert Explainer: Art Poon, PhD, on coronavirus ‘variants of concern’
As new coronavirus variants emerge, scientists are keeping a close eye on how the virus continues to evolve. Recent studies suggest some newer vaccines that are effective at preventing infection with the original virus did not perform as well against the South African...
‘Brain training’ may help treat PTSD, clinical trial finds
Neurofeedback, also called ‘brain training,’ consists of exercises where individuals regulate their own brain activity. In a new study from Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute, researchers have found that neurofeedback may be an effective treatment for individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
More evidence needed to inform policy on sending kids back to school
Are kids in schools driving community transmission of COVID-19, or is it the other way around? This uncertainty could be clarified by conducting cluster randomized trials when students return to class, according to a new publication from an international team of...
How do social media and loss of sleep affect young people’s mental health?
How exactly does sleep influence mental health and how does social media play a role? Researchers at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry are working to understand the relationship in two recently published papers.
New research underscores the importance of the measles vaccine
As vaccines for COVID-19 begin to be distributed across the globe this week, new research from Western University underscores the importance of vaccination against the measles virus, another pathogen that has caused numerous outbreaks in the recent past as well....
Molecule found in green tea may block negative effects of chronic cannabis use
Since the legalization of medical and recreational cannabis in Canada, experts have sounded the alarm on the negative effects of THC on adolescents’ developing brains. This main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis can have long-term cognitive and behavioural effects...
Experts available to comment on COVID-19 pandemic’s emerging challenges
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues across the globe, experts from Western University are available to media to comment on emerging challenges, vaccine policy and the way forward. ** Kate H. Choi Associate Professor of Sociology, Acting Director of the Centre for...
Liver cancer ten times more likely in men with common genetic disorder haemochromatosis
Men who have haemochromatosis, one of the most common genetic disorders in North America, are ten times more likely to develop liver cancer, according to a new study. Led by a team at the University of Exeter in collaboration with Dr. Paul Adams from Western...