docsam

Alteration of gametophyte and sporophyte generations

2010-07-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

All living species in their life cycle go through 2 phases or generations- the gametophytic and sporophytic-for cytogenetics we call it the N and 2N phases where N refers to the complement or set of chromosomes.

After browsing through one of my old books on botany I found graphs throughout this book showing alterations and dominance of these 2 cycles or phases. Basically there was a shift from dominance of the gametophytic or N generation found in the lower forms of life to the sporophytic or 2N degeneration in the higer forms of life like the gymnosperms and angiosperms. I cant imagine an animal kingdom sporophyte being a "parasite" first before shifting or evolving to the dominant phase in the higher forms of life but it would appear that this evolutionary shift also occurred in the animal kingdom.

Unfortunately, there is no way to include these cycles (diagrams) in a more descriptive blog because the book was published over a century ago. Still, this is a most fascinating piece of evolution and survival.

Please follow the postings on my new blog for future updates.

Neural crest embryology

2010-07-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

My recent internet search reconfirms the comments made in my earlier blog that the islet cells in the pancreas were of neural origin and therefore the treatment and/or management of any pathology of these cells including cancer should be approached from the category of "Diseases of the Nervous System ". Also surgeons doing islet transplantation should be aware that they are doing transplants of brain tissue - except in a location where lymphocytes are readily available to trigger the homograft rejection reaction.

Some of other adult tissues which have their origin in the neural crest of the developing embryo include melanocytes situated in the basal layer of the ectoderm and the medullary or chromaffin cells of the adrenal gland which produces adrenalin. Embryologists consider the medullary cells to be modified neurons which have lost both their axons and dendritic components! For example hypersecretion of epinephrine and norepinephrine by the medullary cells (chromaffin cells) of the adrenal glands are called pheochromacytoma tumors . These tumors may also be located in other tissues or glands besides the adrenal.

By searching the internet the reader will note that there are many other cells and tissues which are derived from the neural crest including post gangiolic cells of the parasympathetic nervous system, craniofascial cartilage, enteric neurones and glia cells.

Xmas 2008

2008-12-29T13:09:00.000-08:00

Only half of our family of 6 celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas day in Winnipeg. Marge's brother Sam joined us for both events but not my brother Bill. Our son Sam who now lives in Toronto where Marusia and Richard also reside (the other half of the family), did make an unexpected trip to Winnipeg on Boxing day on business matters for his uncle Bill. Most of the gifts received and given out by the family were monetary. Marusia surprised her dad with a monetary gift to my endowment fund at the U of M. medical library.

A major event occurred in the Hrushovetz family in September 2007, namely my brother Bill sold the remaining acre of the Michael Hrushovetz 50 acre estate. He had to vacate within a year, i.e by Sepember 2008. As a result during this 12 month period my wife and son Steve spent most of this period assisting my brother in disposing of the numerous items he had accumulated on the farm- you don't get rid of articles, like farm machinery, tools, household furniture etc which have gathered dust and rust over the past 80 odd years in one weekend - What a fascinating history awaits production. I hope to produce this video with Marusia's professional help.

Health and happiness to all bloggers in 2009.

On Charitable Donations...

2008-11-27T13:31:00.000-08:00

On Saturday November 5 2008, I attended a University of Manitoba Medical College function where one of my classmates, namely Dr. George Yee made a substantial donation to his alma mater. The funds were earmarked for innovated teaching methods for undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The purpose of this blog is not to comment on the details of this financial donation, which is well documented U of M website. Rather I want to mention that Crown corporations, and other " not for profit" organizations, seem to have overlooked the fact that there are other types of charitable donations which are not monetary. To use the words of the MasterCard commercial - "priceless". For example, the donation of ideas, or the reference to personal experience and/or the gift of ones collection of scientific articles, books, etc. Such donations may also be considered as charitable. We also see examples of this "priceless " category where retired employees volunteer to sit on Charitable Boards to offer their advice.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-10-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

Our daughter is in from Toronto and has helped me return to my blog. Here is the latest update. Raining all weekend and watching on TV the American and Canadian election campaigns.

Have sent emails with ideas to some Canadian candidates for suggestions. Hope they consider them. Also sent email to U of M medical school following recent faculty of medicine breakfast to share some of my ideas and reflections on CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine)

Contrast agents imaging and Kidney disease

2008-02-22T09:17:00.000-08:00

According to a recent Life Extension update (22Feb,2008) the risk of experiencing contrast induced nephropathy (kidney damage) following CT scans and/or angiograms can be as high as 1 in 10, increasing to 1 in 4 in those patients with diabetes and/or heart failure. The authors recommend especially for the latter group of patients that they discuss this risk with their doctor and decide whether they should take a N-Acetylcysteine tablet before the Xray procedure.

A Blog for MUGS

2008-01-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

Our new president of MUGS Tom Cherveny who is also the web master for our club asked me to give a short presentation at our January 2008 meeting on how to create a blog. I agreed but have decided to expand the demonstration to include iWeb and podcast features which require a dotMac account.

Following the presentation I will add a blog to let you all know how the presentation went. I might add that I am somewhat uncomfortable making any presentations re: Mac computers as I am a novice at this game.

docSam

Obesity and Life Styles

2007-12-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

I just prepared a blog on this topic which was prompted by reading an article in the Winnipeg Free Press where the CEO from PepsiCo Canadian division came to Winnipeg to present the Pepsi's "Canadian Bottler of the Year Award " to Arctic Beverage a soft drink bottling company located in Flin Flon.

It is well known that soft drinks have very little nutritional value and depending on the amounts consumed may be harmful to ones' healthy leading to obesity and many illnesses including heart disease, some forms of cancer and adult onset (and childhood) diabetes as well as tooth decay.

It is hoped that such bottling companies include an educational program with their sales cautioning buyers about the health hazards of excess consumption. With the sale of tobacco and alcohol products, we have laws preventing their sales to minors. It may be necessary to introduce the same legislation for soft drinks and associated fast food products. Sounds like I should have included this statement regarding regulation with my letter to the editors.

Letter to Editor re: Obesity and Bottled Soft Drinks

2007-12-01T19:07:00.000-08:00

Further to my previous blog post, here is the entire contents of my Letter to the Editor of the Winnipeg Free Press in response to the article on Obesity and the Sales of Bottled Soft Drinks:

Reports from vital statistics on overweight and obesity in Canada found that for the 10 year period (1994-2003) about 30% of adults became overweight or obese. The figures for children were even more alarming and indicate that for the 10 year period 1987-2001 children ages 7-13, the increase was an alarming 200-300%.

Since scientific studies have linked overweight and obesity with increase risks of a broad range of illnesses including diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer it was most gratifying to read that many school divisions in Manitoba have already banned in their schools the sale of soft drinks and items like potato chips and other snack foods.

What was not so gratifying to read was the recent article in the Free Press, where the head of PepsiCo’s Canadian division came to Winnipeg to present to Arctic Beverages - a native owned beverage company located in Flin Flon - the “Canadian Bottler of the Year" award. He praised the owners for having posted double-digit sales growth. Such financial success is not surprising since the distributional area for the company covers roughly 20% of the geographic area of Canada undoubtedly targeting many native communities. Even more disturbing, the article also mentions that the president of a “sister company” which sells potato chips and other snack foods is contemplating a partnership with this soft drink company.

I wonder whether the bottling company and/or the provincial health authorities have gathered any vital statistics on obesity and overweight for this geographic area?

- Dr. S. B. Hrushovetz

Anti-Aging Courses

2007-07-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

As you may know, I founded the Kildonan Institute of Gerontology in 1974, and served for 20 years as its Chief Medical Research Director. In this capacity, I delivered a series of lectures on topics related to life extension and anti-aging.

I am working on converting these lectures into a series of Anti-Aging podcasts. Here are the proposed topics:

Brain Power- 8 Hours. Dr. S.B. Hrushovetz
Aging of the brain is the number one cause of disease, disability, dissatisfaction and death in the elderly. This is because its your brain which directly and indirectly controls the function of every system of your body. In Canada 8% of people age 65 and 35% of those over the age of 85 are affected by some type of dementia. By the middle of the next century it is estimated that 50% of the elderly , i.e. those over the age of 65 will be older than 85 and the medical cost of treating dementia in the elderly population will bankrupt the healthcare system. Prevention is our only savior. This lecture series will not only discuss the causes of dementia but also outline how you at all ages can become smarter (enhancement of intelligence) as well as how to prevent you from becoming dumber (maintenance of intelligence ).

Nutrition and Supplements- 8 Hours. Dr. S.B. Hrushovetz.
The physiology of digestion and assimilation of the seven classes of nutrients will be outlined. Over 50 essential chemicals have now been identified. The nutrition guide based on recommended daily allowances (RDA's) will be reviewed. The role of nutrient supplements in health promotion and life extension (anti-aging) will be critically reviewed.

Environmental Factors and Cancer- 8 Hours. Dr. S.B. Hrushovetz
One in four deaths in Canada are from cancer, over 80% of which are due to environmental influences and therefore are potentially preventable. The course will identify some of these common environmental factors or carcinogens under 4 categories: diet, air pollution especially tobacco smoking, radiation including X-Rays, UV, and electromagnetic, and finally a miscellaneous group including drugs, alcohol, hormones, and oncogenic or tumor causing viruses. Strategies of how you can minimize your exposure as well as how to neutralize some of the potential oncogenic properties of these carcinogens will be outlined.

Life Entension/Wellness Program.- 8 Hours. Dr. S.B. Hrushovetz
This anti-Aging lecture series has 3 goals: to outline the causes of why we age and how the process may be slowed, stopped, or even reversed; secondly by means of a workshop on "Biological Markers of Aging" to permit you to determine if you are aging faster or slower than others in the same age group; and finally to assist you with your doctor and/or healthcare advisor in formulating your own personal life extension or anti-aging program so that you can add-of high quality- "life to your years and years to your life".

Radical Healing- 8 Hours. Dr. S.B. Hrushovetz
A recent Canadian survey suggests that over 80% of patients are "toying with Alternative Medicine. The purpose of this course is to extend the horizons of your understanding of health and wellness and what works and what does not work in Alternative Medicine. Chiropractic, naturopathy, homeopathy, herbology, acupuncture, Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese medicine, iridology, reflexology and other healing arts will be discussed.

In one of my recent blogs I briefly discuss the changing demographics in Canada and the impact these changes will have on our health care and other social programs. Governments at all levels seem to be ignoring these facts. Their current priority is zeroing in on global warming instead.

Baby boomer's dilemma

2007-07-23T17:55:00.001-07:00

We are told that many of our Canadian baby boomers are approaching retirement with insufficient funds in their RRSP's. But that's the least of their problems. Its other demographics that concern me.
In the late 1970's the percentage of elderly in our population (those over 65) was only 12%.Indeed the fastest growing segment of our population are those over the age of 85. Today in some areas of Canada the percentage of elderly is approaching 20% and if the present trend continues it could reach over 30% by 2050! Also when the percentage of elderly was only 12% they consumed over 30% of the health care budget.If that ratio remains the same then at 24% the elderly would consume over 60% of the budget. When if we also add the demographics of the ratio for working to retirees which was 4:1 in the 1970's and has fallen to around 1:1 at present who will generate the money to pay for these extra healthcare costs? Healthcare in Canada seems to be approaching a crisis.
Are the baby boomer's partially to blame for this crisis?. They certainly are a unique segment of our population -not only marrying later in life but having fewer children. Legalizing abortion by the Canadian government also played a factor in changing these demographics. Between 1965-2000 anywhere from 35,000 to 125,000 abortions were done annually. Today it is estimated that still about 100,000 are performed annually.
I leave it to the reader to be the juror.

Ken's Cottage Party

2007-07-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

One of our friends, a retired judge, invited a group of us to an afternoon gathering at his cottage on Star Lake, one of 200 lakes in Whiteshell Provincial Park. The event was on Saturday July 14, 2007 from 1:00-6.00 pm. Ken gave us excellent directions so we did not have any difficulty reaching his cottage. We had been there once before probably about 20 years ago.

When we arrived, Ken gave us a tour of his summer retreat. The modern new kitchen had an island counter excellent for buffet entertaining, which was later demonstrated at mealtime. He incorporated the flagstones from the old entrance into new fireplace in the living room. What I found interesting were the ceiling flood lights which were incorporated into a beam. In fact the whole house was a masterpiece of varnished logwood beams.

Off the kitchen was another room which opened directly on the large deck measuring almost the entire width of the cottage. From the deck one could get glimpses of the lake. There was a path which one could take to the lake and the dock where Ken had a shed large enough to accommodate his 2 canoes which were on shore near the permanent deck. I took some movie on my canon Sony HDV.

Ken announced mealtime with an old school bell. His younger son and his wife (www.sueanddwight.com) were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. We sang them "Mnohaya Lita" (God grant you many years") a traditional Ukrainian song in Ukrainian and Polish. I have the Ukrainian version on video.

After a wonderful day spent with old friends, we departed for Winnipeg around 6.30 pm.

Scientific Evidence and Global Warming

2007-04-22T18:04:00.001-07:00

Recently we heard from "scientists" attending the Brussels conference pontificating on the warming of our planet due to greenhouse gases. The late Roy Walford in his textbook The 120 Year Diet (pp. 33-37) states evidence that falls into 4 categories: testimonial, argumentative, correlational and experimental. However the purpose of this blog is not to discuss evidence in relation to medicine as Walford did, but rather to comment on the current political issue of global warming, greenhouse gases, Kyoto, the environment etc. I will, however, use Walford's examples so the reader can appreciate the difference between these four categories.

The least reliable of Walford's 4 categories is testimonial: the kind doctors often use and call clinical anecdotes. Such scientists -frequently doctors - preface their remarks with "In my clinical experience...." and then they give their conclusions.

The second category - argumentative - is the type lawyers would use although alsp very common in the medical field, especially by gerontologists. For example they rationalize: we know that free radicals are known to cause damage to biological macromolecules like DNA (our genes) causing mutations which can lead to cancer and if they attack protein molecules (like collagen) they produce cross linkages resulting in skin wrinkles and loss of flexibility in our joints. All of these are dreaded symptoms of the aging process. In addition, Vitamins like C and E and minerals like zinc and selenium and others are known as free radical scavengers (antioxidants). Gerontologists argue that taking such nutrient supplements should neutralize the damaging effects of free radicals in the body, and therefore reduce the cancer rate and/or retard the aging process. Unfortunately there is very little scientific evidence that these antioxidants actually do reduce the cancer rate or retard the aging process.

The rationale for the third category: correlation - is that when two things occur together all or most of the time, there may be a direct causal relationship between them. As Walford further remarks, the correlation can be "very seductive". I recall in the late 1970's while attending a medical lecture given by a British scientist who showed us a graph on which were plotted over time the incidence of heart attacks and the sale of colored televisions in England - this graph showed a direct correlation, between the sale of colored TVs and the incidence or heart attacks. Indeed, in one of the years when there was a dip in the number of TVs sold, there was also an identical dip in the rate of heart attacks! Insurance companies use similar data in calculating their premiums and/or adjudicating their claims.

Fourth or final category: repeatable experimentation. This is the double blind experiment with controls - moral and other factors, it may be difficult to perform such scientific experimentation. I recall reading that doctors did not have the gold standard evidence when they began coronary bypass surgery - only argumentative evidence. Recent correlational evidence suggests that coronary bypass surgery may indeed not prevent a person from getting future heart attacks. I still don't think anyone has done this scientific experiment.

In a related complaint of angina - even excluding the placebo effect - some medical researches have found no difference in symptomology with the standard coronary bypass surgery and the fake operation in which the sternum was separated and the wound closed up again with no surgery to the coronaries!

Now to global warming. It is possible that many of the delegates attending the recent global environment conference in Brussels were formulating policies based on evidence which was not experimental. Using Walford's categories, it would appear that most of their policies were based on evidence which belonged to the correlation category, maybe some even belonged in the argumentative category. Here is the logic: it is my understanding that lawyers often use argumentative evidence in defence of their clients, and since many lawyers are politicians and since this Brussels-Kyoto conference was for both scientists and politicians, it is not unreasonable to assume that many lawyers would therefore be present at this Brussels conference. Since they use the argumentative-based approach in their legal profession in court, is it not reasonable to argue that they might also use it at this prestigious and costly Brussels conference?

I hope that the participants at this conference and those planning to attend the followup scheduled for later this summer will review the evidence they have, and categorize it, and then make a responsible interpretation when formulating their policies. In short, they should "do their homework and get their act together."

Footnote: Unless we can devise repeatable controlled experiments, we should be cautious in drawing conclusions and formulating policies from evidence which is not scientific. If not underway already, the biosphere like the one in Tuscon Arizona might be an ideal place to conduct such controlled scientific experiments on global warming. However the scientist would require a second biosphere as a control - one in which they do not introduce the environmental component they are studying. However it is more complicated than that. Since in the environment each component does not act separately it would require additional biospheres for each environment factors that one wishes to study. Actually it is even more complicated than that. Suppose the climatologist wishes to know what effect A has on global warming when factors B & C which are also at play are controlled separately or together or not at all. One quickly realizes that the permutations and combinations soon become astronomical, becoming a statistical nightmare. The fact that some of these experiments may take decades or even centuries to prove adds another dimension to the problem, and creates a dilemma for gerontologists studying life extension.

Existing Canadian museums of human rights.

2007-04-21T16:43:00.001-07:00

On the front page of todays Winnipeg Free Press there was a photo of PM Stephen Harper with reference to federal support for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and a caption in bold letters directing the reader to details in section B where on its cover page is a full half page colored photo of dignitaries involved in this project. This write up is so detailed that it required an additional page.
In contrast in the section AROUND CANADA on page 11 there is another headline (in Black and White) entitled " Hundreds flee flood " . The total length of this article is only 11 lines. It reads in part " ... Rising floodwaters has forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from a northern Saskatchewan reserve (Red Earth )and prompted a state of emergency , one of a dozen across the province ..."
In an earlier blog I had discussed the wisdom of building a Canadian museum for human rights. Some professionals might argue that the manner in which we have treated the aboriginal in Canada would put our behavior in the realm of violation of human rights. If such an assessment is indeed correct than we already have a museum of human rights violations- indeed there are probably hundreds of such living museums in Canada. There is no need to build anymore- especially since the estimated cost for building the proposed Canadian Museum for Human Rights museum is $265 million with an annual maintenance cost in excess of $20 million. Directing such moneys to the elimination of our "living museums of human rights violation" would seem to be more humane- than reliving the past.

Costly museums and internet

2007-03-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

OPAS visionary seminar
I enjoyed meeting you-Ithink he was a professor of history- at the 2004 OPAS visionary seminar recently held at the University centre at the U of M.
Further to our luncheon discussions I would like to reiterate my thoughts that with the progress made in the internet information highway especially web sites access globally, universities have an excellent opportunity to advise and probably dampen the enthusiasm for building costly museums with equally costly maintenance costs. In the future potential tourists may find it too costly not only financially but in time to visit these centers.
With a few clicks of the mouse on their portable lap top they would be able to visit the Loueve in Paris, Cistine chapel in Rome, pyramids of Egypt, etc.
The money saved by governments for these costly buildings and their maintenance could be directed to updating and expanding the “tourist links ‘

Problems with blogging

2007-03-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

When I use Safari as my web browser I have difficulty opening my blog to review previous posts.
Computer suggests that I try using Firefox as the search engine instead. Problems are resolved. Thanks computer.

New Blog format

2007-03-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

To My Viewers
Welcome to my new Blog format. I hope I can make them more informative with photos and links. Learning new skills is more challenging especially for octogenarians and those using the Mac computer when most of their friends use that XXX other computer system. I have just transferred one of my "stickies " to this blog.

March 04/2007- War and terrorism
I fail to see the difference- they both try to kill their enemy there is only a difference of magnitude. Nations or large religious groups execute well organized wars while terrorists employ guerilla or surprise attacks on a small section of the population. Goals are similar- for wars its to conquer a nation or liquidate another army, for terrorists its to demand and/or seek freedom or " human rights ? "rights for a small group.Both sacrifice human lives. - only difference is that in wars the casualty numbers are often unpredictable , for terrorists the numbers are targeted and specific. Both involve the loss of innocent life- In wars its called collateral damage- for terrorists its so called justice

docSam

Paradigm shift in HealthCare

2007-02-15T21:17:00.000-08:00

Just when the shift in the HealthCare System from the Allopathic model to the holistic health movement was gaining momentum the provinces introduced the regional health authority bureauocratic model. Insertion of this formidable barrier between the patient and his or her doctor has not only proven very costly but appears to have delayed this paradigm shift. More importantly it may even be severely weakening the patient / doctor relationship so important in the natural healing process

Cultural revolutions

2007-01-01T20:38:00.000-08:00

Last night I saw several hour long features on the construction of the dam on the Yantaze River- the largest of its kind in the world. Although it will provide China with 10% of its electrical power, I believe they commented that it will also create a lake the size of Arkansas- the weight of which will be sufficient to change the rotational axis of the earth changing time. But what impressed me the most was the loss of the villages, their way of life and the centuries of history , culture and artifacts which will be lost.
During Mau's 1949 cultural revolution the universities, cultural centres , temples together with professionals were destroyed . Temples and precious intricate artifacts destroyed forever by the invading red armies and professors humiliated or sent to camps for "retraining"
The sand and silt left behind along the river was an excellent way to preserve the history of the regional national culture over the last 5 millenia or more. Water, on the other hand is a poor preserver. The pottery, bronze artifacts , ceramics and other archival material will not only be untretrivable from below such high levels of water but will be lost forever.The documentory showed families which had lived in the same home for over 12 generations.
Canada is not excempt from such political destructive revolutions. Look at the way we treated our aboriginals. Beginning with the fur trade, then the boarding schools and yes the creation of large lakes with dams to generate hydropower and similar losses of their culture. Rationale is the same. Hydropower is cheap, and environmentally friendly when compared to electricity generated by burning coal.
What I find ironic is that such political leaders which make decisions to introduce such schemes are honoured for such " revolutions"
We say its important to study history because then we become knowledgeable of the mistakes we make and can thus avoid repeating them. But do we learn ?

Florida Nov/06 Trip

2006-12-07T08:02:00.000-08:00

On Dec02/06 we returned to Winnipeg from Ft. Lauderdale.- on Westjet. Although most Winnipeggers might find the route inconvenient - direct flight to Calgary with a departure the next afternoon to Winnipeg - for us it was an opportunity to briefly visit with our son Sam who lives in Calgary. The only inconvenience was leaving sunny Florida dressed in shorts with temperatures in the 80's to change to Parkas and come to Winnipeg where temperatures were in the minus 20's.

Anti-aging Medicine

2006-11-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

My wife and I are vacationing in Fort Lauderdale at our snowbird's cottage. Today after paying our municipal taxes at the Broward center, and briefly shopping at the massive flea market on Sunrise Blvd., we dropped down to the Life Extension Foundation located on Commercial Blvd. I have been a member of the Life Extension Foundation since 1982 and make my annual pilgrimage to the center. It used to be located on Hollywood Blvd, then on 84th before moving to its present expanded office on Sunrise. I checked at their desk to find when my annual subscription was due (not until April 2007). I then picked up the last 3 issues of the monthly magazine even though I receive them regularly in Winnipeg.
In the Nov/2006 issue I was impressed with the editorial by Dale Kiefer of Dr. Philip Lee Miller. Dr. Miller gave up a busy medical internist practice to establish a Longevity Institute in the California's silicon valley. Prior to the transformation and opening of his anti-aging medical care center he sought advice and training at the Whitaker Wellness Institute. During the interview although Dr. Miller agreed that we will still need hospitals and " crisis intervention approaches" to medicine we also need a "new paradigm " - where anti-aging medicine would be taught in our medical schools. The aim of physicians should not just be curing the disease but also that of restoring function. He calls his approach " integrated functional medicine " .He further emphasizes that anti-aging medicine must go beyond just preventive medicine like regular exercise, proper nutrition and plenty of sleep.
As we age the level of many of our hormones decline and must be restored in a balanced fashion so that our patients can not only add years to their life (longevity) but also life to their years (wellness ).
I also am a disciple of Saul Kent's Life Extension Revolution, and a subscriber to Dr. Whitaker's Wellness Newsletter. For several years I produced a half hour long monthly TV production on Health and Longevity in Winnipeg. I also incorporated some aspects of complementary medicine in my practice.

Islet/retinal cell transplant?

2006-11-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

While enoying the Florida sunshine during the month of November I checked my emails from Winnipeg and was impressed with the Life Extension Newsletter where they discuss restoring vision for victims of macular degeneration with embryonic stem cell transplants into the posterior chamber of the eye.

In a earlier blog I rationalized that since pancreatic islet cells appear to be of neural origin (neural crest) that maybe such cells could be transplanted into the brain where the body is less capable of mounting a homograft rejection.

Since the olfactory nerve like the retinal (optical) nerve has direct connection to the brain, it may be possible to transplant islet cells in the vicinity of the olfactory nerve through a surgical approach using the roof of the mouth-thus avoiding the brain itself. (viz vicinity of the olfactory nerve- or maybe even adjacent to the vascular rich pituitary area)

If such surgery is possible, loosing one's sense of smell may be a minor sacrifice to avoid the repeated daily injections of the insulin hormone which human physiologist admit does not control satisfactorily blood sugar levels throughout the day for many victims with a varied life style.

In the interum, endocrinologists might explore possible to use a hormonal nasal spray rather than the present insulin injections.

Strategy for war on cancer

2006-10-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

Ever since President Nixon declared a war on cancer in 1974, victory has still not been achieved. Indeed vital statistics show that the annual death rate in 2005 had almost double what it was in 1974-over 600,000 compared to 380,000. This in spite of the billions of dollars being spent annually by the nations of the world. Could the failure of this war lie in our tactics or strategy?
Before I address this issue let us turn to another war we are engaged on, namely a war on terrorism. It seems that here too we also are not achieving victory in spite of the billions being spent on the latest weaponary -planes, guided missels, tanks etc. and of course human lives. The enemy or enemies embarrass us with their simplistic weaponary of guerilla tactics and suicide bombers.
Similarily in the war on cancer we attack the enemy ( tumors ) with our most sophisticated weapons: surgery( cut out the tumor); - chemotherapy (cell killing agents ); and radiotherapy (burning tactics )
Our oncologists should instead be finding more about our enemy yhe tumor cells behaves- tumor biology. Instead like the generals who fight terrorists our goal seems to be one of annihilation. Granted we cant talk and negogiate with cancer cells but we should be able to find out the biology of tumors- why for example after cell division cancer cells do not undergo cell differentiation and maturation into their respective tissue but rather just re-enter the division or mitotic cycle.
It is estimated that each year 20 % of our medical knowledge becomes obsolete. When you combine the limited dedication most practicing physicians make to acquiring new medical knowledge after graduation together with the learning curve of scientists who are employed in the laboratories of drug companies on the biology of cancer it is not surprrising that we have not won the war on cancer -only a few battles.
One specialist in the field of Alternative Medicine (Dr. David G. Williams ) claims that "Over 50 % of todays health advice is out of date". I will only mention a couple of areas cited by him.
High cholesterol doesn't cause heart attacks (atherosclerosis is an inflammatory process), therefore taking statin drugs to lower cholesterol should not be practiced and some might even consider it a form of malpractice. Hormone replacement therapy (postmenopausal women ) is still widely practiced even though it not only increases the risk for breast cancers, but also blood clots, heart attacks and even strokes. There is a non surgical treatment for cataracts that patients are not informed about because many doctors don't know about it.

Reunion discussion: the importance of embryology

2006-09-18T07:27:00.002-07:00

This past weekend we had the 46th year reunion of our University of Manitoba Medical Class of 1960 in Winnipeg. At our final event - breakfast at Earl's in Polo Park - I was sitting next to the wife of one of my classmates, Wilson R. an endocriniologist who practices in London, Ontario. His wife said that this past summer Wilson received a special award in Edmonton for his work on diabetes.

After expressing my congratulations to Wilson who was sitting across the round table from me I mentioned that as an alumnus of the University of Alberta (where I received my M.Sc. in Biochemistry from in 1952) that I had the opportunity some 2 years ago to hear one of their transplantation team speak on the research they were doing in Edmonton on islet cell transplantation. (see my earlier blog) I further mentioned that I had commented at the presentation that although the islet of Langerhan beta cells reside in the pancreas, they are actually nervous tissue since embryologically they were derived from the neural crest - much like the chromaffin cells of the adrenal gland. (see my other blog).

WhenWilson commented that newborns with congenital Rubella syndrome (babies born to mothers who are exposed to Rubella during their pregnancy) often also have diabetes as part of their Rubella syndrome, I was glad because it added further support to my theory. I strongly believe we should be treating Diabetes as a neurological disease, just like polio - a disease which causes muscular weakness and paralysis because of its cytotoxicity not to myotomes but to neurons.

Prostate-Is it a growing problem?

2006-09-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I saw an infomercial about an elderly man who in describing his urinary complaints of frequency and a decrease flow of urine as having a "going problem ". When he went to his doctor was told that he had a "growing problem " and not a "going problem ". The infomercial very cleverly did this by adding 2 letters specifically inserting a "r" before the "0" and a "w" after it. They also included a diagram of the enlarging prostate gland around the urethra which they intimated was compressing the urethra and was responsible for the symptoms.
If in fact this is the etiology of the frequency, urgency and decreased stream flow, then why dont the urologists do what cardiovascular surgeons do when they have a narrowing and/or blockage of the coronary vessels- insert a bypass. A urethral bypass might prove less traumatic than a TUR (trans urethral resection ).

Canadian Ratio Doctors to patients

2006-08-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterdays Winnipeg Free Press had an article on the election of the president of the Canadian Medical Association Dr. Brian Day. What caught my attention was not the headlines that he is a Private-care doctor but rather the fact that there are 62,000 doctors in Canada belonging to the CMA.
The latest vital stratistics in Canada places the population at just over 33,000,000. Even if we accept that only 60,000 are actively practicing some medicine that gives a ratio of approximaely 1 to 600 patients. In some countries the ratio is much lower 1 into 1000 or even 1 t0 2000 people. If these data are accurate then pray tell me why are the faculties of medicine in Canadian medical schools increasing the student enrolment in Medicine ( U of Manitoba has increased the enrolment to over 100 students ) ?

Toronto AIDS Conference- ? 50M

2006-08-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

This week over 25,000 scientists, politicians, journalists and whoever are currently attending a "War on Aids " meeting in Toronto. Even if the average cost for each delagate to attend this conference is only $2000.00 the total cost is a staggering 50 M- yes 50 million dollars !
Individuals, governments and charitable bodies including philanthropists like Bill Gates and others who contribute large funds for AIDS research might wish to assess whether they are getting their money's worth for their buck.

Gas prices in Canada and USA

2006-08-03T18:36:00.000-07:00

Because we use the metric system in Canada , many Canadians are unaware of the high prices we pay for fuel when compared to our southern neighbours. Here are some quick calculations.
Currently in Winnipeg regular gas sells at 117.9 cents/litre. For this calculation lets round it off to 118 .
1 gallon of Canadian gas contains 4.55 litres
Therefore the cost of 1 gallon of gas in Canada is 4.55 X 118 = 5.3690 or $5.36
The cost of gas in the USA is around $3.00/gallon.
Even if we make corrections for the difference in the size of the American gallon and that the Canadian dollar is currently valued at 89 cents US there is still more than a dollar difference in the cost of fuel between our 2 countries.
This would not be so painful to accept if the Americans paid the same prices that we do for for the gas that they import from us.
We should not be surprised that the number of American visitors to Canada is on the decline.

Timing and Cancer therapy

2006-06-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

I just heard the 10.00 p.m. news on CNN- about a testimonial success treatment of giving cancer therapy when your normal body cells are dormant (sleeping) and cancer cells are active and dividing. Dr. Gypta gave the commentary.
I don't know why people should consider this such a unique technique. When I was director of the Winnipeg Clinic Research Institute Laboratory and was invited by the Horner drug company to give a talk at a symposium in Montreal in 1967 during Expo I spoke of the importance of "Analysis of stages of the cell cycle in Chemotherapy"
Analysis of stages means determining in a tumor as well as normal body tissue the proportion of cells in different stages of the cell cycle, i.e G1, S (DNA synthetic ) stage, G2 or post DNA synthetic, M or mitotic when the cells are undergoing cell division which can be visualized with an ordinary microscope and G0 or the stage of differentiation . With most cancer very few - if any cells enter the G0 stage, instead after cell division (M stage) they renter G1 and proceed through the S,G2 and M stages.
I had devised a method to do this analysis based on the combined techniques of DNA cytophotometry and cellular autoradiography using tritiated thymidine.
So you see Anderson Cooper the technique is not that new. Unfortunately in biology and other sciences, advances may sit undiscovered for years- like Mendel and Genetics. In my case I could not promote the technique because within a year after I gave the presentation the Board of Directors headed by Dr. P.H. Thorlakson dissolved the private research lab which was associated with the Winnipeg Clinic. In order to survive financially I had to abandon research and go into medical practice. The technique was published in the Can. Med. Assoc. J.

Gene dosage and Disease

2006-06-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

I shall zero in on 3 areas. Mongolism, Sex chromosomes and Huntingtons

Human karyotype consists of 46 chromosomes.There are 22 pairs of autosomes or body chromosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosomes- XX for females and XY for males
Mongolism is present in individuals who either have an entire extra chromosome 21 -or part of this autosomal chromosome. Therefore in Mongolism genes whose loci are on chromosome 21 are therefore present in triplet. To my knowledge there is no specific gene mutation which occurs in mongolism , rather symptoms are a manifestation of this gene dosage. The "Rag doll effect" is an overload of the gene for protein metabolism specifically involving the incorporation of lysine into the protein molecule , while the gene for the enzyme Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) upsets the balance of the chain of enzymes scavanging free radicals- SOD converts free radicals to the free radical hydrogen peroxide which catalase converts H2O2 to water and free oxygen. But catalase cannot handle this excess load of hydrogen peroxide produced by the excess SOD enzyme resulting in an excess of hydrogen peroxide in the body. This ROTS (reactive Oxygen Toxic Species ) is responsible for premature aging and the brain damage associated with mongolism. There are other effects of gene dosage effect. It is not surprising that clinicians now prefer using the clinical description Down's syndrome. Again let me repeat that there is no specific gene and/or mutation for mongolism but rather just the presence of an imbalance of 3 copies of the genes rather than two copies.

Genetic load is also well known for the sex chromosomes. In males recessive genes on the X chromosome will show symptoms like hemophilia and not in females (cf. Queen Victoria's geneolgy) unless of course the recessive gene is present in the homozygous state (i.e. on both X,s)- In Turner's- females with XO karyotype have unusual female diseases and could also manifest any diseases regardless of whether a gene is dominant or recessive. Kleinfelter's syndrome in males (XXY) because of the presence of 2 X's have many female features including poorly developed external genitalia and a low sperm count.

Huntington's chorea-The so called "gene" is located on chromosome #4. Here the scientists examine the genetic code itself- the triplets which code for specific amino acids. They find that while in normal subjects the number of repetitions of the triplet does not exceed 32, affected patients may have as many as 60,with age of onset and severity related to repition number (Werner's)

I recall when I got my PH.D. in Cytogenetics in Toronto in 1955, Watson and Crick had just deciphered the genetic code and mechanism of replication and translation. At the time I was employed with the Canadian Dept of Agriculture in Edmonton. In Plant Cytogenetics trisomy was the rage and cytogeneticists were incorporating whole chromosomes into wheat and other species to improve yield and other qualities of their crops. Lejeune had not yet demonstrated that mongolism was due to the presence of an extra chromosome- indeed clinical cytogenetics was in its infancy. since prior to 1956 most biologists believed that the human karyotype consisted of 48 and not 46 chromosomes. Now rather than introducing whole chromosomes we have the techniques to incorporate single genes into the human genome.

Need for Winnipeg's Museum on human rights

2006-05-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

Short qualifying answer is: " I would place such a museum near the bottom of a list for museums".
I would however recommend expanding our existing museum of man and nature and other Winnipeg museums supplemented with the digital world using the internet- vide infra.
Lobbing and campaigning for the Human Rights museum in Winnipeg is well underway and with their aggressive promotion tactics it will soon become a reality. So I guess my comments may be redundant. However I will express them anyway. That's what Blogs are all about.
It does surprise me though that no one has really questioned the need for such a museum. In Washington I have visited the Smithsonian Institute and found it very informative from seeing the apparel worn by reputed famous people (Alfonso's leather jacket) to the aircraft used by Lindberg in his transatlantic flight. Briefly its a museum to show the accomplishments by the human race over the centuries in various fields of endeavour. I cant recall areas of the museum devoted to slavery and other discriminations conducted by the Americans over the centuries. If such were present then they were rather inconspicuous and not their main theme. Why do we want a museum to record the bad or evil things we do or have done in the past ?
Displaying in museums these evil and/or unethical activities executed by humans against other humans to the inquisitive and imaginative minds of our youth can only have a negative effect of dampening their enthusiasm and creativity.
Rather than spend over 300 million dollars for this Winnipeg museum plus an annual maintenance costs estimated in the tens of millions, the promoters of this Winnipeg museum would better serve the public with our money by converting the museum to the digital world. I understand that Microsoft is doing just that with specific American university libraries- indeed book publishers are now not only urged but soon will be making dual formats of their books- the ordinary books for the shelves of book stores and another for the digital world- where you can read the book in the comfort of your home with just a few clicks of the mouse.

Anti-cancer Properties of Grapes

2006-05-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

Over the past few days I have been eating red grapes with seeds. I actually crunch and swallow the seeds. I recall from my organic biochem lectures that seeds especially from grapes and other fruits are a good source of cynanide. Cyanide is not only a neurotoxic agent is is also very cytotoxic. Then the idea suddenly hit me. From my medical practice days I recall one patient who had a massive ulcerating inoperable cancer of the tongue. She presented me with a vial of a solution which she was receiving from Germany which I injected intramuscular at weekly intervals over a 9-12 month period. It was called laetrile and the active component was cyanide. This was a very interesting patient. When I was on holidays for 2 weeks she went to the hospital emergency Dept. were the doctor who saw her discontinued the laetrile . It is unknown whether this regime change was responsible for her death which occurred within a month.
Now it is generally accepted that wines especially red wines have anticancer properties by not only protecting individuals from getting cancer but also by killing the cancer cells because of their anti-tumor properties. The active pharmaceutical in grapes appears to be flavones and the mechanism of protection is through the free radical scavenging and/or anti-oxidant neutralization mechanisms.
There appears to be some disagreement on which wines have better anti-tumor properties- the red or white. Maybe the dilemma resides not in the concentration of flavones but the cyanide content. The wine industry may unknowingly be crushing seeds and releasing cyanide into those fermenting juices. It might be beneficial to do a cyanide test of the latter.
In the meantime I will continue to eat grapes with seeds as well as seedless grapes so as to avoid cyanide poisoning, as well as alternately sipping the red as well as white wines.

Neuroscience talk on Alzeimer's

2006-04-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

Ada Ducas, Librarian at the Medical School , reminded me a few days ago that this was Brain Awareness week, and the Neuroscience department at the University arranged for a guest speaker. They selected Dr. Carl W. Cotman a professor at the University of California in the Departments of Neurobiology . His topic was of brain aging specifically Alzheimer's. It was the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba who were sponsoring him. The talk was given at the Medical School (Theater C) as a noon lecture on Friday April 7th. He also gave a talk to the public on Thursday evening. I did not attend this meeting.
There were also many posters in the Brodie rotunda showing research being done at U of M. medical school. These were very technical and most of the information was well above my head. Similarly a major portion of Dr. Cotman's talk was very technical. However the portion relating to IRS - insulin receptor sites - and not the internal revenue service. discussed the information that not only do the brains of Alzheimer's patients produce less insulin but that the receptor sites for this hormone are less receptive to insulin.
After the presentation and during Q & A period I asked the question: in the light of such correlation in Alzheimer's with insulin is he willing to accept the comment made by some investigators that Alzheimer's may be considered Type 3 diabetes?. He was non committal. I then mentioned that many investigators overlook the embryological origin of insulin and the islet cells in the pancreas. They are derived from the neural crest - just like the adrenal gland which produces epinephrine. Therefor we should look at the pathology of diabetes- especially type I diabetes - a disease of brain tissue. He apparently was not aware of the embryological origin of islet cells
There was another observation which disturbed me. I looked at the large number of people not only at the noon meeting but within the campus buildings, I also quickly viewed the many posters and was impressed with their high technical calibre of them. These posters each had several authors indicating the large number of people in this one department alone. Were are we all going with this ? Even the person who introduced our speaker, mentioned that he had published over 700 papers not to mention many books. He mentioned that it would take over 3 hours just to read the titles and spend 30 seconds on each paper while searching the internet.
If every department at the universities were to expand in this exponential fashion, we will very soon not have sufficient library space to even house their publication. Providing research facilities and the moneys to support the same would be prohibitive. It seems to me the present trend is unsustainable.
Maybe its time to sit back and re-evaluate the purpose of all this technical research and training of postgraduates studies at our universities before the financial burden chokes us.

Scientists faking research

2006-03-20T10:09:00.000-08:00

This recent March 2006 article in Winnipeg Free press mentions that more than a dozen research scientists were found not only faking research but were also destroying data as well as plagiarizing.
I ask you if scientists are willing to resort to such unethical tactics in order to receive funds for research grants, what is to stop them from also "doctoring " their expense accounts. Probably of more fundamental concern Is the image that they present to the naive and budding scientists- who are their understudies.
Maybe it is time that we also had a "Gomery-type " commission investigating our university profs- items like quality and quantity of research and teaching, their expense accounts, their perks like educational leave, selection for emeritus professorship, etc. etc. etc.

Manitoba Hx Med Society

2006-03-17T20:17:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday Mar 14/2006 I attended a meeting of the Manitoba History of Medicine Society. There were 5 presentors- All Medical students. Their 10 minute presentations were trial runs for papers they would be presenting at the University of Calgary later this month at the History of Medicine Days Symposium.. I was very much impressed not only with their knowledge but also their skills of presentation. All used computers for their power point presentations
Of interest was that 4 of the 5 students were females. Not surprising one of these female students discussed " female doctors of the 1900s" : A second student spoke on "Hand hygiene: past and present ", 3rd on "Organ Transplantation " while the 4th female student reviewed "The development of Rheusus (prophylactic ) treatment". The 5th student- lonely male- spoke on the " Discovery of Curare".
It was the topic on RH prophyllaxis which interested me. Back in 1965 when I established the Winnipeg Clinic Research laboratory as a department of cell biology to study cancer and aging, I became interested in Dr. Jack Bauman's prophylaxis for erythroblastosis fetalis - Up to that time when maternal blood tests showed that the pregnant mothers possessed high titres of RH antibodies,his team would undertake fetal intrauterine blood transfusions hopefully to salvage a live fetus. I reasoned that because the fetus has a poorly developed immune system that after such transfusions they should accept- later in life - blood and other grafts from their donors without creating an immune response. It is often overlooked by clinicians that blood transfusions are really similar to organ transplants - we use live blood cells. Since I was acquainted with the lymphoblastic transformation phenomenon commonly used to test for immunological tolerance. I had been using it Saskatoon while employed with the U. of Saskatchewan in the Department of Cancer Research as well as in Winnipeg in my own private laboratory (Western Cytogenetic Laboratory ) for doing chromosomal or karyotypic analysis.
So I would visit the RH Lab, where the staff would search their clinical records to find both the donor and recipient of the blood. I would mix them together and see if the cells underwent blast transformation. Unfortunately the Winnipeg Clinic Research Lab dissolved before I could complete the study. Preliminary studies did suggest that there was very little evidence of blast transformation suggesting that fetus later in life would accept blood from their donors. It would have been more convincing if skin or other types of homografts could have been tested. Unfortunately Dr. P.H.T.Thorlakson and other directors of the Research lab dissolved the Research Institute within 3 years after it was established. These comments were made at the meeting.

creating pathogenic viruses

2006-03-03T08:07:00.000-08:00

While browsing this morning through my stack of files and folders in the basement I came across this cutting from the Winnipeg Free Press dated July 13th, 2002. The headline reads " Creation of polio virus stirs debate ". In the cutting there is a picture of Prof Arthur Schafer from the U. of Manitoba centre of of Professional and Applied Ethics
According to the article written by the Winnipeg Free Press reporter Alexandra Paul, scientists at the State University of New York in Stony Brook , not only created a polio virus from scratch, but they used it "... to infect, cripple, and kill mice ".
Although such an achievement could be ".... a useful step against terrorism " it could have more sinister effects.
i refer the reader to my blog on were I discuss the speculation journalists have made that some scientists may have used the same tools to create the AIDS virus and either inadvertently and/or deliberately introduced it into several regions of the African continent.

Hallway Maternity

2005-12-28T20:36:00.000-08:00

In Canada we not only have long delays in our public health care delivery system for operative procedures like joint replacements and life threatening coronary artery bypasses, but even for diagnostic procedures like MRI's and CT scans. As a result a new branch of Emergency Medicine has evolved called hallway Medicine.medicine
Governments have tried to resolve these expanding problems by introducing between the doctor and their patients bureaucracies like the Regional Health Authorities. It would seem that rather than solving these problems , these agencies -or should I say- these health authorities, may in fact be responsible for expanding these problems and even have the potential for creating new ones. For example by closing maternity wards at several peripheral hospitals Winnipeg may soon be adding another branch to their emergency wards called hallway maternity- if there are " no beds at the inn " i.e on the maternity wards.
Rather than expanding their "authoritarian " -role- in patient care, these regional authorities should actually be reducing their involvement so that the patient/doctor relationship in the management of a medical problem is restored.

Political Justice

2005-12-23T20:38:00.000-08:00

Fact: With over 40 carcinogenic compounds and 400 poisons in tobacco smoke it is not surprising that annually over 45,000 deaths in Canada are tobacco related deaths
Question: Why did Allan Rock and later Ann McLellan when they both held the portfolios of justice and later Health Minister that they did not pass bills in Parliament to make it illegial not only to grow tobacco but to manufacture, distribute and sell tobacco related products- more specifically cigarettes? It is especially ironic in the case of Allan Rock who saw his sister a smoker suffer and die from lung cancer- a tobacco related cancer. Indeed in the USA were tobacco related diseases claim over 500,000 annually a secretary in the Health Department put it very succinctly "Tobacco is the only product which taken as directed- namely smoking as cigarettes- can kill you"

Fact: Health benefits and cost effectiveness of disease preventative programs have been clearly demonstrated. According to a publication by Pelletier (Amr.Health Promotion 8:50-61.1993 ) and reviewed by 2 naturopathic doctors in their textbook "Encyclopedia of Naturopathic Medicine" participants in wellness orientated programs reduce their number of days of disability by 43 %, number of days spent in a hospital by 54%, and the amount of money spent on health care by a remarkable 76%. Analysis of the Romanow report would indicate that we have a "disease care system " and not a "health care system "with emphasis on the elimination of disease rather than achieving good health. Where the physician is the "all-knowing authority" rather than "a partner" in the healing process, in many cases treating the symptoms rather than the underlying cause. The provincial Regional Health authorities and the newly established central health agency by none other than our deputy prime minister have not only added 2 additional barriers to this health delivery model but by these agencies ever expanding staff and role they have dramatically increased the cost of Canada's health care delivery system.- money as I have already indicated could more profitably be used in preventative health programs especially on life extension.
Question: When are the 2 major players in the healthcare delivery system- the government (both federal and provincial) who pay for it and the physicians and paramedical staff who render the services going to make this paradigm shift from the allopathic to the naturopathic model?
Sadly the agenda of the party leaders for the upcoming federal elections are not addressing these issues.

Is Alzheimers Type 3 diabetes ?

2005-12-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

According to a recent Life Extension Bulletin (12-05-2005 ) de la Monte research group at Browns University not only discovered that the brain produces insulin but that in the early stages of Alzheimer's less insulin as well as the insulin-like growth factor is produced and further that this insulin production and number of insulin receptors drops progressively as the disease became more severe. They also showed that the levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine were directly linked to this loss of insulin production.
These findings of insulin impairment, lower levels of acetylcholine' together with, "poor energy metabolism, and its link to abnormalities that contribute to the tangles characteristic of Alzheimers" have lead this neuroscientist to postulate that Alzheimers's disease "... is possibly a Type 3 diabetes".
I can recall many of my Alzheimer's patients frequently have lucid periods. If it could be demonstrated that during such lucid periods their brain levels of insulin, were in the normal range then maybe there might indeed be some hope for such demented patients.

African AIDS Pandemic

2005-12-04T18:58:00.000-08:00

In May 1999 Dr. Leonard Horowitz gave a talk at the Winnipeg Convention Center on "Emerging Viruses And Vaccination" He alluded to the possibility that in an effort to produce a vaccine for the recent homosexual outbreak of AIDS in New York (? 1972), Americans needed to manufacture(synthesize) the virus and then to produce the vaccine in abundance. They had their NIH research facilities and the Drug Company Merck was willing to collaborate for the synthesis of the virus. What they needed was a human population for clinical trials. It is obvious that only using gays had limitations so they would have to test it in a population (heterosexual ).

Epidemiologists should not find it difficult to explain the number of cases of AIDS in Africa now exceeding 40 million- or its wide distribution. if they read Dr. Leonard Horowitz's book " Emerging Viruses Aids & Ebola. Nature, Accident or Intentional". More specifically Chapter 7 of this book records an interview with Dr. Robert Strecker. It's a real eye opener and suggests that the AIDs virus may have been accidentally and/or deliberately introduced in Africa. For example on page 99 just one quote from this interview where Robert(Strecker) says:

" The same year(referring to 1972) they(meaning NIH and WHO ) said lets test it,and then lets inject it. And then they ( meaning WHO) published their test sites which is a map of Africa where they have all their test sites, and that corresponds exactly to the outbreak of AIDS."
It is rather ironic that this past week Stephen Lewis and 2 University of Manitoba professors were honoured by the St. Boniface General Hospital Research Foundation for their contribution to AIDS research. I cannot confirm if either of these 3 recipients or anyone else at this testimonial dinner mentioned the above experimentation as I did not attend this dinner. Also because I have
only read Dr. Horowitz's book I cannot confirm the accuracy of Dr. Strecker's references regarding "field experimentations with human populations". The reader should read the book and draw his or her own conclusions.

Budget for daycare

2005-11-29T18:55:00.000-08:00

We know that the first few years of a child's life are the most formative. It is during this period that a child learns about their family history and how to not only appreciate but practice their unique cultural diversity. Where both parents are working this responsibility is often delegated to the grandparents- a job which they are most willing and able to fulfill- after all each grandparent does contribute 25% to the genetic pool of their grandchildren.
Although some Canadians may look at the recent budgeting by the federal government of billions for universal day care as a political tactic to buy votes, others may view it as another form of cultural genocide not unlike I might add that experienced by the aboriginals with the boarding schools. The only difference is that here the government would be targeting a younger population group - the preschooler.
With the ethnic diversity of the Canadian population it would be virtually impossible for a "teacher " to address all the cultural needs of a group of children from different ethnic backgrounds unless of course each supervisor received the diverse training or you recruited several supervisors for each group. Then of course there is the problem of physical abuse. In some of our existing private and public daycare centers, hidden cameras have already been placed to monitor the alleged physical violence of the supervisors.
I am no politician but would it not be more practical- indeed more humane and probably more cost effective- for governments to reduce the tax burden for working parents so that both are not required to work to balance their budgets and would be available to fulfil one of their obligations of parenthood?

Aboriginal summit

2005-11-25T11:21:00.000-08:00

Paul Martin,provincial premiers and several aboriginal chiefs are currently meeting in an attempt to resolve the health, social, economical, and other problems of our native population.
Lets review how our governmental agencies have handled this in the past.
- First through wars, Royal charters (like the Hudson's Bay Co, later the railways, churches and other notables), and the many Indian treaties (some of which still have not been honored to this day ) our natives were placed on isolated reservations.
-Then came the literally kidnapping of thousands of native children and placing them in boarding schools were they were stripped of using their language and promoting their culture-cultural genocide
-Followed with promotion of the 3 big "D's":
1. Diseases like TB and smallpox (Some historians suggested that small pox may have been deliberately introduced with blankets)
2. Drink specifically alcohol
3. Diabetes- through promotion of sugar drinks).
Comment. I can still vividly recall my internship year at the St. Boniface General Hospital in the 1960's where I saw many Eskimo and Indian Children with their primary teeth appearing as rotten stumps, and with pus exuding from their ears canals. Even today it is not unusual to see vans full of children appearing at private dental offices to have removal of their entire set of primary teeth because of such tooth decay. Modern industries have also been devastating -hydro dams, lake pollution with mercury and other toxic chemicals,exploitation of Indian Reserve land to make golf courses etc.
Our government cannot use the excuse that they were not aware of the problems. Our former prime minister was at one time also the minister of Indian Affairs. Maybe we should not be surprised with the state of affairs of our native population if internationally similar problems exist and remain unsolved in many areas. For example by keeping the Palestian people in isolated communities, similar to what we have done with our Indians on reserves, the problem there has remained unsolved for over 30 years.

Action not more rhetoric (summits) is needed to solve the Canadian Aboriginal problem
Footnote: It would be unfortunate if the Canadian aboriginal waiting for a long overdue solution began using the same suicide bombing tactics used by Palestians. With our city "street gangs" such a scenario may indeed be possible. Lets hope not.

Hyperlipidemia and anemia

2005-11-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

Both of the above clinical conditions are diagnosed by blood tests.
In hyperlipidemia the lipids in the blood-usually the LDL fraction commonly called the bad cholesterol- is elevated while in iron deficient anemia its the hemoglobin which shows lower than normal values. Are these really diseases or are they just defense mechanisms used by the body in its attempt to restore homeostasis?
We know that it is not the cholesterol but rather the peroxidized cholesterol which damages the arterial wall in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. These lipids are peroxized by free radicals present either in the food we eat or in our body tissues.
The fundamental question which pathologists should be asking is why do the lipids have to do this job for other defence mechanisms of the body- in this case the glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dysmutase enzyme systems. Indeed we may be doing more harm to our patients by lowering their blood cholesterol. It seems to me that what our bodies are really telling us is :

" You have too many free radicals circulating in your blood and tissues and your specific enzyme defence mechanisms are overwhelmed so you now have to use an alternate neutralizing mechanism called anti-oxidant nutrient supplementation, specifically anti-oxidant vitamins- like C, E and beta carotene or minerals like selenium and zinc. Additionally I will have your liver produce more cholesterol which can be used as a donor of electrons to these hungry free radicals. Did you know that uric acid is another natural anti-oxidant nutrient which plays a similar role in the body. I suggest that you use drugs which lower blood cholesterol levels cautiously and only after careful assessment- since you may be interfering with one of your body's homeostatic mechanism"

What about iron deficiency anemia? As I mentioned in my blog for Parkinson's disease iron is an ideal source for electron donors for the voracious appetite of these free radicals. A person with anemia may be depleting his body's ability to supply the free radicals, or alternatively your body may be reasoning that if I keep the level of iron low in vital tissues like the brain that maybe there will be less tissue damage. So with anemia your body might be telling you:

"If I am sacrificing your body's store of this mineral to donate electrons to those hungry free radicals to make them stable molecules again, I wont have enough iron to form the hemoglobulin molecule of the red blood cell and you will become anemic. Don't you think you should find out why your has so many free radicals ? Maybe its not overproduction but rather that your pathway to neutralize these radicals with enzymes has become inefficient. Please use caution in giving me more iron as supplements you may only mask the problem.
Alternatively your body may be rationalizing as it does with in the case of temperature except in a negative way.
" Remember when elevated body temperature (pyrexia ) was considered a disease. Now we know it is one of the body's mechanism to achieve homeostasis whether it is locally for an area of infection like a wound or systemically where the core or body temperature can rise several degrees in an attempt to kill or stop the growth by an invading micro-organism"
It might be rewarding for us to listen to our body's more often. They are talking to us all the time if we only took time to listen.

Parkinson's Disease

2005-11-18T20:50:00.000-08:00

PD is characterized by a loss of neurons (brain cells) in the substantia nigra located in the mid brain. These neurons produce the neurotransmitter dopamine. Symptoms of PD usually only appear after the loss of dopamine exceeds 80%. The production of ROTS-Reactive Oxygen Toxic Species are the major causes of death of neurons- indeed also for most of our other degenerative diseases like heart disease,cancer, diabetes, dementia etc. These species are called free radicals. Because they lack an electron in their outer rings they take away or steal electrons from macromolecules like DNA, RNA, proteins and lipids. Although in the process they have become stable, they have produced damage to the electron donor molecules, e.g for DNA- resulting in mutations; for proteins- autoimmunity and so on.
The brain is an ideal organ for such oxidation reactions.
1. It is the organ in the body with the largest amount of polyunsaturated lipids an excellent substrate for lipid peroxidation recognized easily diagnosed by our kitchen staff as rancidity
2. It receives 20% of the blood circulation for an organ just the size of your 2 clenched fists and weighing only about 2 pounds
3. The brain also houses large amounts of iron an ideal source for donor electrons needed to initiate and catalyze the oxidative stress reaction.
ROTS are generated in one of 2 ways: intrinsically by normal metabolism or extrinsically by ingestion of alcohol,various drugs and other neurotoxins. Let us review some of the extrinsic causes.
Scientific literature has discussed the mechanism for the designer drug MPTP and why young adults can get the symptoms A drug review of such young adults showing the tremor,rigidity and other features of PD might prove interesting. I want to relate my family experience.My dad was a gardener by occupation. One wet summer season he had to dust the entire potato crop by hand- over 20 acres I cant recall which insecticide he used but I remember he did not use a mask. Within a few years he developed the symptoms of PD. A few years ago using the same duster, but spraying a potato crop on a much smaller scale , I began noticing involuntary twitching of my thumbs. As a medical doctor I had heard of the use of Eldepryl for PD and began taking it . I was surprised to notice that within a few days my twitching stopped. It has not returned and fortunately I don't have any Parkinson's symptoms- yet. Incidently the neurologist had put my dad on artane even though levodopa and I believe also bromocriptine was available at the time.

Preservation with ransom money

2005-11-17T12:02:00.000-08:00

If we were to analyze and compare the recent sponsorship scandal to the Canadian Government's handling of the ongoing health care crisis we would find some striking similarities.
In the former case the government has allocated annually billions of dollars (the sponsorship is only the tip of this iceberg) to support their strategy of how to retain Quebec in confederation, while in the case of preserving health care they have budgeted over 40 billion over the next 10 years also in their ongoing attempt to preserve the 5 pillars of our health care delivery system.
It would also appear that our senior government seems to be using this "ransom money " to treat symptoms rather than causes of these two national crisis problems.
Unless they make this shift in their strategy, they will not only continue to empty the public coffers but in the end could even loose both these battles.

Immortality

2005-11-13T20:40:00.000-08:00

Man is the longest living mammal on earth
In the Book of Genesis Chapter 6 verse 3 we read "And God said: My spirit shall not always dwell in man, since he is of flesh; yet the number of his days shall be one hundred and twenty years"
Gerontologists who are scientists that study the causes and effects of aging and the means of controlling this biological process, accept the theologian's estimate of 120 for the maximum life span. One significant difference between the 2 groups relates to achieving immortality.
For theologians with their cathedrals, pyramids, mosques, synagogues, temples or other places of worship the solution is simple. They just convince their followers with the compromise that you must first die in order to achieve "afterlife everlasting" or immortality
To some gerontologists, the requirement of death on earth is too high a price to pay. Some have even become skeptical of this theological guarantee. So in their houses of worship called laboratories rather than preach they feel the solution lies in experiments designed to extend maximum life span. There is
another group out there called longevists who experiment on themselves by taking dubious potions, like free radical scavengers and other nutritional supplements, or by becoming involved in life extension programs like calorie restriction, body temperature lowering devices, and in some cases even yielding to the most Draconian measure of suspended animation by having their entire bodies preserved in liquid nitrogen a process called cryogenics-a procedure which must be done while you are still alive. I am told that some commercial cyrogenic labs offer specials for those who only want to preserve their heads- a bargain which might appeal to the Nobel laureate's and other geniuses especially if their bodies were crippled with arthritis, diabetes, heart disease or other chronic diseases. Such individuals feel that in the future we will have developed procedures to thaw such frozen bodies and bring them back to life- like we now do with human sperm, ova and more recently with early human embryos.
At the present time the closest procedure man has developed for achieving immortality on earth is by procreation- some family trees going back for many centuries. For procreation you don't need theological guarantees from preachers and their elaborate institutions, gerontologists with their sophisticated laboratories, shiny equipment, and shelves of anti-aging drugs and nutrients. All you need is just doing "what comes naturally "

Iris scan for airport security

2005-11-01T19:34:00.000-08:00

The Government of Canada is circulating to the public a letter entitled CANPASS- Air membership. One can proceed through airport security by inserting a membership card into a slot, and provide an iris scan. To get this membership card, you register, have a photograph taken with a digital camera of your iris and of course pay a non-refundable CAN$50 annual processing fee.
At the airport you insert your card into a slot, provide an iris scan and go through security unless of course you are randomly selected for inspection.
If iridology has any scientific basis, then this "iris recognition biometric technology " may not be a reliable test for security like fingerprints and/or DNA analysis.

Link between diseases and mutations

2005-10-29T12:12:00.000-07:00

In 2001 I did a book review for the Canadian Family Physician entitled "Genome. The autobiography of a species in 23 chapters " by author Matt Riddley. Each chapter represented a chromosome.
In todays blog I want to review only chapter 9 where the author discusses the links between disease and mutation.
Human Blood Types fall into 4 groups-A, B, AB, and 0. Types A and B are "co-dominant versions" of the same gene , with 0 being the "recessive form " of it. In the 1960's a correlation was found between blood groups and diarrhea. Children with type 0 very much susceptible to infant diarrhea (Vibrio bacterium), Type A or B only to some strains, while group AB were resistant. So powerful is this resistance that they are virtually immune to cholera. This may also explain the prevalence of Group O in Native North Americans where this bacterium is rarely found.
Another example- Sickle cell anemia is a recessive gene mutation which causes red blood cells (RBC) in hypoxic (low oxygen) conditions to assume a sickle shape. Individuals with one copy of the gene are largely resistant to malaria presumable because the malaria parasite cannot invade the sickle shape of the RBC to complete the human portion of its cell cycle. In homozygous individuals i.e. with 2 copies, the anemia may be fatal. Not surprisingly one finds the sickle-cell mutated gene common in parts of West Africa were malaria is endemic, and in African -Americans presumably exported with the slave trade.
Third example- Cystic Fibrosis and typhoid fever. The mutated gene that causes this disease is located on chromosome 7. People with only one copy of the CFTR gene do not get cystic fibrosis but they are immune to the dysentery and fever caused by the Salmonella bacterium. Apparently the typhoid bacillus needs the normal version of the CFTR gene to invade the intestinal cells. We all know the fate of individuals with 2 genes.
Riddley cites other examples of the relation of genetic variants (mutations ) to resistance to infection. It would appear our genome is a written record of the endemic and pandemics we have experienced. Riddley goes so far as to propose that the Human Genome Project is founded upon a fallacy when he states "The projects declared aim is to publish the average or 'consensus' sequences of 200 different people. My question is: What will the genetic map look like a century from now?

Newsletter and Two Book Reviews

2005-10-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

A recent World Health Organization (WHO) report predicts that for the year 2005, 35 million of the estimated 58 million deaths worldwide will be due to chronic diseases - conditions like cardiovascular, diabetes, and cancer. Also according to the WHO, reduction by just 2% a year in such deaths, would save over a 10 year period the lives of 36 million people. I gleaned this data from the Life Extension Newsletter.

Life Extension also publishes a monthly magazine and in one issue there was a book review on "The Perricone Weight-loss Diet" by Dr. Nicholas Perricone. Then just last night, Larry King interviewed Dr. A. Weil and his recent book "Healthy Aging ". I just had to have copies for my medical library and quickly rushed out to buy them today.

I found many similarities between the two books. Both authors are medical doctors. Both discuss the anti-inflammatory diet not only to prevent obesity but to protect the immune system from the ravages of aging. Both also have similar programs for the inevitable aging process.

Dr. Weil calls the experience of well-being "the age of aging gracefully"
Dr. Perricone: "A simple plan to lose the fat, the wrinkles, and the years."

I highly recommend these 2 books for their non-conventional approach to aging.

Assessing value for donations

2005-10-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

With the ever expanding teaching and research facilities at our universities, and increasing financial targets of charities like, Alzheimer's society, The United Way, Cancer Care, Heart and Stroke Foundation and other private and/or public research foundations especially in the health care field not only put a strain on the public's charitable portfolio but have raised the question: "Are we getting money for our Bucks ?"
These institutions are largely financed by governments which need to show a more transparent annual fiscal reporting or else the public may become reluctant in making donations to what they are lead to believe are worthy charities. It would seem a fiscal evaluation like the recent Gomery inquiry would be most helpful. I would not be surprised if such a report found some evidence of wastage, inefficiency and maybe even irrelevance or redundancy.
As a footnote and word of caution I might add that the increasing frequency and rising costs of natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes may in the future also reduce our contributions to these charities.
With our universities targeting especially their alumni for major donations it would seem that these institutions might be one of the first on the list for such fiscal inquiries.

Books and Art

2005-10-14T16:51:00.000-07:00

There is no difference between a painting and a book. Both are works of art. The buyer of a painting goes to an art gallery to assess his goods,while a book collector visits the book store to view his potential treasure by reading the authors comments and/or a published book review. Facsimiles and/or copies of both can easily be made for sale. Before purchase both potential buyers often consult respective colleagues for an independent assessment. In the final analysis the purchase is often dependent of the buyer just liking the "item ".
As the years go by and the collector view their painting or reread their book, they often become even more attached to their purchase to the point where they are reluctant to either loan and/or sell their purchase. It is not surprising to find that the donation of art (collections) as well as books (libraries) are often made only by executors, i.e. made after the individual has died.
I recently added to my library "Natural Cures "They" don t want you to know about ". by Kevin Trudeau. My wife negatively commented about my purchase not being aware of the joy and satisfaction I get in purchasing this addition to my library

Home Coming week: Alpha Delta Pi 75th and Medical Class of '60

2005-09-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

Alpha Delta Pi sorority (ADPi) Homecoming 2005 began with a luncheon at the Manitoba Legislative Bldg attended by my wife Margaret (Dolhun) - a member of the Diamond Circle signifying 50 year membership, and our daughter Mary Margaret who arrived from Toronto.

A tour of the Legislative Bldg followed. The formal dinner and dance was held at the Fort Garry Hotel on Saturday (Sept 24th), preceded by a group picture taken on the front steps of the hotel by the one and only Barney Charach. As he took the pictures, he instructed the husbands and escorts that he would let them know when to take pictures as the flash cameras shut his own flash off. At our table all gals were members of the Diamond Circle (50 year members). The orchestra was a music man. I had a couple of dances with my wife and daughter. I was the lucky one to be selected as the Sweetheart by the sorority. All the girls stood around me at the table and sang " Let me call you Sweetheart". In addition, I had the red dot on my place card and was the winner of a beautiful Inuit carving.

On Sunday the members closed their homecoming with a brunch at Elevens restaurant in Lindenwoods. I am not detailing any of the events as I anticipate my daughter Mary Margaret will do this on her blog "haikugirl" I am including a few pictures of this 75th homecoming here.
Incidentally, the Faculty of Medicine had a homecoming breakfast on Saturday for classes 1950, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 85, 90, 95, and 2000 in the Brodie atrium of the Medical College. Four members of my Medical Class of '60 including George Yee from Windsor.

SOUP lecture on Aging

2005-09-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

At the monthly SOUP meeting on Sept 01 held at Holy Family Nursing Home I gave a short lecture on Aging. There are 2 ways to estimate the aging process-Chronologically were the ordinary clock is used, and biologically were human biomarkers are used. Research on finding the best biomarkers has become the top priority for the National Institute of aging branch of NIH- for 3 reasons- a) identifying risk factors, b) predicting your remaining life expectancy and c) to determine the functional age of an individual by comparing it to the chronological age especially for those who have embarked on a life extension program to see if the program is working.
Biomarkers fall into 2 classes:1. Those you can do yourself- here i gave 4 examples: elasticity using skin fold test , reaction time -sliding ruler, static balance by standing on one foot with your eyes closed, and visual accomodation by placing a printed page in front and noting how close you can move it to your face before the print becomes blurred.
2. Those your doctor can do or order-Here I briefly discussed 10 different tests- Vital capacity, V02 Max, systolic blood pressure, creatine clearance for kidneys function , glucose tolerance, blood cholesterol, visual accomodation, hearing threshold, auto-antibodies especially for DNA, and finally the blood level of DHEA hormone. Vital Capacity and the concentration of hormone DHEA were best tests for predicting your remaining life expectancy. Mosty of the other tests were measures of potential risk factors
I showed some of my own biomarkers which were done in 1997 by the Life Extension Foundation in Fort Lauderdale Florida - my winter retreat home
After the talk several members fielded a variety of questions fielded extending the 20 minute presentation to over 45 minutes.
An overhead transparency projector aided the presentation. Unfortunately I still have not perfected my keynote software of my iBook for delivering my lectures, hopefully this technique will be perfected in time for my next presentation.

Uncle Bill's Birthday

2005-08-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

On August 5th, 2005 my brother, William Michael (Bill) Hrushovetz had his 80th birthday. My wife Margaret and our 3 children Mary Margaret Powrie of Toronto, Semeon Bohdan junior of Calgary and Stephen Michael of Winnipeg marked this event with a donation of a Park Bench to the Public Works Department of the City of Winipeg and a special ceremony which took place on August 5th from 2.00-3.00 p.m. in the Michael Hrushvetz Park located on High Point Drive of Sun Valley Drive in North Kildonan - a suburb of Winnipeg.
Shirley Timm-Rudolph a former city councillor and a long time friend of Bill chaired the ceremony She read letters of congratulation from Mark Lubosch, Mayor Sam Katz, Bonnie Michelson MLA for River East, and Joy Smith, MP for the riding of Kildonan-St. Paul and then presented Bill with the letters as well as the respective pins.

In the abscence of Mark Lubosch the city councillor for the North Kildonan ward, Lillian Thomas, the councillor for the Elmwood ward graciously volunteered to unveil the bench and plaque and thanked the family for their donation to the city. Actually it was the 3 children who thought of the idea and made the donation on behalf of their uncle. Short speeches were made by Bill's only neice Mary Margaret on behalf of herself and her 2 brothers Semeon and Steve, by Bill's brother Semeon, and a long time neighbor Don Tymko. Cecil Hopko then got the children to form a circle around "Mr Bill" and Shirley lead us all in singing Happy Birthday to Bill. When asked to speak Bill's opening remarks were "Everything has already been said, I have nothing to add." After blowing out the candles on the birthday cake, and making the first cut, the family distributed the cake with watermelon, canned drinks and ice cream.

Several groups took pictures with uncle Bill on the bench. The crowd estimated at over 50, all signed the large framed picture of the plaque on the bench, a memento that will Bill long cherish. A "journalistic" report together with a few photos was submitted to the local Herald paper hoping they will publish it in the next issue due around the end of August 2005.

Edmonton in the 50's

2005-07-18T17:46:00.000-07:00

On Friday(July 15th/05) I received a phone call from Phil Campbell.We had met in Edmonton, both working with the Canadian Dept of Agriculture in Plant Pathology. I had just graduated from U of M with a B.Sc. Hons, Phil with a B.Sc. in Agriculture from U of A. Phil went to Toronto to get his doctorate while I worked on my M.Sc. in Biochem. It took me 3 years to get my degree because I worked full time. In 1952 I too went to Toronto to take my Ph.D. in Plant pathology and Cytogenetics- getting my degree in 1955- see my earlier blog of Class reunion Spring 2005
When they phoned the Campbells were staying at their daughters home. We picked them up around 8.00 pm and drove out to the Esplanade bridge (Salisbury house ) Phil and his wife Marian split a cinamon bun, Marge and I shared a salman sandwich- coffee for the men and ice tea for the ladies. We all tried their special ice cream-looked like small pellets.-Cost $29.60.
We reminesced about the good old days- Miss Brodie the spinster secretary who died of a heart attack while at work, Tom Davidson a virologist who had developed special drafting technics for virus transmission who was transferred to StCatherines, Jack Lebeau(who died of undiagnosed stomach cancer ) who for his Ph.D at Wisconsin demonstrated that the winter kill by the snow mold fungus was due to the release of cyanide by the fungus which attacked the buds of clover and grasses whileunder ice cover.Earl Sanford the director -a suspicious person who would confront you to explain even your most normal behavior. Larry Tyner my boss who had an obsession with the Warburg apparatus for measuring Oxygen consumption and emmision in different systems, Bill Skoropad an airforce veteran (gunner ) who worked with smuts and other diseases of cereals. The photographer Ted; Nick Colotelo- I never really knew what he did. He was a great friend of Mrs. Grenchenko- one of the lab techs. She had a most interesting history , living through the Stalin famines in the Ukraine in the 1930's where her husband - a chief agronomist at the U. of Karkow was sent to Siberia and never heard off again- I believe his crime was just pousing or knowing where one of the priests was living and did not inform the KNVD. They lost their son in the famine because at school the boy would share his food with other less fortunate kids- He developed typhis-There were also remineses of Toronto- Dr. Bailey head of the Botany Dept
who developed Alzheimer- his daughter would not let Phil visit him in this mental state. Klaus Rothfels - my supervisor in Cytogenetics (He was a German prisoner of war , studying in England who was sent to camps in Canada ); Don Brewer who went back to Halifax; Hazen Thompson (the African Violet root rot expert) who returned to Ottawa. Sandy Best- son of insulin guru Charles Best- Sandy work on the cytogenetics of lilies- a nice project as this plant only have a diploid chromosome number of 6 There were other names that Phil mentioned but I could not recall them. You see Phil was in his final year in Toronto while I was in my first.
We ended our reminscing shortly after 10 pm. A very enjoyable evening. I might add a footnote, Marge my wife was not too anxious to go out. I guess because the Campbells have several grandchildren- gifts with which we have not been blessed to date.
I took a few digital photos for the memoirs.

Uncle Bill's 80th birthday

2005-07-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

On August 05/2005, my brother William Michael (Bill) Hrushovetz will celebrate his 80th birthday. To mark this event his family, namely myself, my wife Margaret and our 3 children Mary Margaret, Semeon Bohdan and Stephen Michael plan to donate a park bench in Bill's honour. The bench will be placed in Michael Hrushovetz Park located in the east area of the City of Winnipeg.

The plaque on the bench will read as follows:

To celebrate the 80th Birthday of
WILLIAM M. (BILL ) HRUSHOVETZ
August 5th, 2005
From his Family with Love and Gratitude

Check later blogs for details of this event

Toronto Class Reunion Spring 2005

2005-05-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

On June 02/05 Marge and I will be in Toronto to celebrate my 1955 Class Reunion (doctorate ) from U. of Toronto. We will be staying at Marusia and Richard's home (my daughter and son-in-law ). I had visualized plans to help them complete renovating their basement- specifically the floor and ceiling. I had visions of laying down with Richard the special 2 foot square floor wooen tiles which have a bubble undercoasting to smooth out the roughness as well as provide drainage. Around the base a special angled tin to provide proper alingment for these tiles. A special cut out of the tile for the water valve on the far wall. Plans to extend these floor groved tiles into the entrance to the basement as well as under the steps. This extension will not only cut out dampness but keep the floor warm. Also plan how to accomodate the slanting floor near the drainage site.
For the ceiling tile , again the special angled border to provide proper alignment as well as a marker for how much the ceiling should be dropped; special way to put in the tile around and behind the duct system; also by the entrance.
Bathroom. Again the special angle border for alingment and avoidance of using too much tile sealent. Special way to lay the 13 inch square tiles by the toilet drainpipe and how to make the junction with the 2 foot square floor tiles at the door entrance. Also special floor drainage from the shower room to the central drainage site. Ideas for the open entrance for basement.etc.etc.etc.
When i asked Marusia during our phone conversation on the weekend she said you will be surprised when you come down in June. Also we dont want you to work on home renovations. These statements suggest to me that they have probably got someone to do the job and they are working on it
What a blow to my ego- almost enough to have me retreat to the Alzheimer's haven.

Recruits for war on Cancer

2005-05-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

To me if we are to win the war on cancer we must recruit to the cancer team scientists with a basic knowledge of biology- knowledge that I feel the current scientists are lacking or can't recall. If you don't believe me just test them for knowledge of the following:
In tumor biology-heteroploid transformation and heterokaryosis; stem line concept; analysis of stages of the cell cycle and its importance in chemotherapy
Cytogenetics/Genetics- importance of chiasma in the prevention of non disjunction and trisomy; gene location and changing phenotypic expression
Embryology- cytoclesis; importance of the presence of each primary germ layer in organogenesis. Do they know that if pancreatic anlage cells fail to make contact with embryonic mesoderm the organ will not develop. In the kidney such failure results in polycystic kidney.
Many of the organs of the body which have a high turn over - e.g. breast, lung, GI tract etc also have a high incidence of cancer. Could neoplastic transformation be nothing more than a defect in organogenesis
Maybe its time to send our generals with their forts and shining armour of sophisticated equipment back to universities to learn and/or recall Biology 101. Do teachers at these centers want to teach such a course?

Reliability of Iris scanning

2005-05-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

Iridology or iris diagnosis as defined by Dr. James Carter is based on the premise that each organ or tissue in the body has a corresponding locus and pattern within the iris. Changes in texture, pigmentation, and density of the iris pattern reflecting changes in balance and/or disease states of that organ.
Like many other airports the Winnipeg International airport will soon have the CANPASS Air security system where passengers will be screened by verifying an image of their iris from a database.
If Carter's premise is correct than a iris cardholder with a security risk can by altering the functions of one of his organs may vbe able to alter sufficiently the iris pattern from that present in his card so that he no longer will be detected as a risk and will to be able to get pass the security gate.

Ann Bandera's funeral

2005-05-12T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ann Bandera was a founding member of the Seniors group at Holy Eucharist parish (a millenium project in 1988 for Ukrainian Greek Catholics) where she was the secretary for 10 years and president for several years. After today's funeral service, a luncheon reception was held in the church basement. The parish priest Father Darren, her daughter Barbara, and Dr. Semeon Hrushovetz (docSam) current president of the club, all delivered eulogies. Crowd estimate around 200.

Is the Pap test outdated?

2005-05-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Papanicolaou (Pap) smear is a screening test for cervical (squamous) carcinoma with diagnosis based on qualitative features of the stained cells. Quantitative tests would minimize subjective errors associated with the qualitative criteria of the Pap test and can be more easily automated. Between 1965 and 1969 while Director of the Winnipeg Clinic Research Institute Laboratory, I developed a quantitative Pap test using DNA cytophotometry (refer to the publication in Acta. Cytol. 13:583-594.1969.). However, it would appear that current Cancer Care programs have overlooked this publication and are still recommending qualitative / subjective Pap tests in their screening programs.

Fiber & disease protection

2005-05-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

This week I will be presenting brief brief talks on nutrition to the seniors of Holy Eucharist Parish at their Wednesday weekly afternoon social (May 4th) and to the Sons of Ukrainian Pioneers (SOUP) at their Thursday noon monthly meeting (May 5th).
After presenting the benefits of fiber and other essential nutrients, I will briefly discuss digestion by comparing it to the mining process. Finally I will discuss how the addition of fiber may provide protection from the major diseases common to the elderly.

War on Cancer

2005-04-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

It was during Nixon's presidency in 1971 that Congress passed legislation (National Cancer Act) officially declaring a " War on Cancer "
Now over 30 years later and with billions of dollars spent annually on cancer research by the nations of the world, the annual death toll from cancer in the USA has increased from 300,000 to over 500,000, threatining to surpass heart disease as the number one killer. Current newspapers are still using the phrase "declaring a war on cancer "
In other arenas of war generals noting such statistics would have changed their battle plans.

SBH Views

2005-04-25T09:44:00.000-07:00

SBH are the initials of my name and also the acronym for Science Benefitting Humanity.
In my retirement years I find it easy and enjoyable to read, review and express comments especially of topics in the health care field. Indeed I feel it is my duty.
The reason for such feelings is that I have had the opportunity to spend over 16 years in Academia at 3 Canadian universities achieving the "alphabet soup" titles of B.Sc. (Hons. Biol), M.Sc. (Biochem), Ph.D. (Cytogenetics & Plant Pathology), M.D., and CCFP.
In addition I have had several illustrious careers including being a plant pathologist. medical researcher in cancer and gerontology, establishment of private medical research laboratories, 35 years in medical practice including over 7 years as a medical officer with the Worker's Compensation Board.
Not surprisingly my next blog will be on " The War on Cancer "

Welcome to my blog

2005-04-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

Dr. Semeon B. Hrushovetz has joined the blogging craze! You can reach me at semeon_hrushovetz@mac.com and view my website.

This week I have been housesitting in Toronto while my daughter and son-in-law have been vacationing in Las Vegas. You can read about their home reno at my daughter's blog: http://haikugirl.blogspot.com