/oss/taxonomy/term/2064/all en /oss/article/general-science/infatuated-chemistry <p>The fact that virtually everything in our life, be it digesting our food, using medications to treat disease, producing the clothes we wear, and even the grinding of our mental gears can be described in terms of chemical reactions is fascinating enough.  But what has probably enthralled me the most, is that all these chemical reactions that involve various molecules engaging with each other, can be explained and understood without anyone ever having seen a molecule!</p> Wed, 03 Apr 2024 16:45:45 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9896 at /oss /oss/article/medical/placebos-are-harmless-right-not-always <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the</em> <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-placebos-are-harmless-right-not-always"><em>Montreal Gazette.</em></a></p> <hr /> <p>My last column on the<a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-placebo-effect-is-real-and-complicated"> placebo effect</a> generated the same comment from two people. They suggested the next article should be on nocebos — that is, placebos that cause harm.</p> Fri, 22 Dec 2023 11:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9768 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking/placebo-effect-real-and-complicated <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the</em> <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-placebo-effect-is-real-and-complicated"><em>Montreal Gazette.</em></a></p> Fri, 08 Dec 2023 12:11:09 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9755 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking/bare-facts-about-coated-aspirin <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the</em> <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-the-bare-facts-about-coated-aspirin"><em>Montreal Gazette.</em></a></p> Fri, 27 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9702 at /oss /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition/when-it-comes-taking-medicine-its-not-only-matter-what-also-how <p>Serendipitous discoveries are legendary in science. Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, Perkin’s of mauve, Silver’s of post-it notes, Roentgen’s of x-rays, Fahlberg’s of saccharin, Plunkett’s of Teflon, Spencer’s of microwave cooking, Becquerel’s of radioactivity, Goodyear’s of vulcanized rubber, de Mestral’s of Velcro, Benedictus’ of safety glass, and Pfizer’s discovery of Viagra all were accidental findings in the sense that they were not the result of a search for a particular goal. To their credit, all these scientists were able to capitalize on their chance observation. Dr.</p> Wed, 27 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9655 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-medical/potential-treatment-prevent-long-covid <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the</em> <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-a-potential-treatment-to-prevent-long-covid"><em>Montreal Gazette.</em></a></p> <hr /> <p>The cruelty of COVID is that many people recover only to be left with long-term symptoms. What we have taken to calling long COVID seems to affect about 10 per cent of people post infection. Symptoms tend to resolve slowly over months, if not years, but apart from suggesting patience there was not much medicine could offer. Until now.</p> Fri, 16 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9543 at /oss /oss/article/medical/generic-drugs-and-ambivalent-attitudes <p>Generic drugs offer low-cost alternatives to brand-name drugs and account for <a href="http://www.pmprb-cepmb.gc.ca/view.asp?ccid=1468">over ¾</a> of the prescriptions filled in Canada. Despite this, many people have lingering doubts, fears or negative perceptions of generic equivalents. Why?</p> Fri, 31 Mar 2023 20:11:47 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9461 at /oss /oss/article/history/sweet-story-conversation-heart <p>Everybody celebrates Valentine’s Day differently. Whether you plan to pick up a bouquet of roses or wear purple in protest of the gushy holiday, there’s no wrong way to spend February 14<sup>th</sup>. Personally, I picked up some “conversation hearts” to share a sweet treat (and message) with my friends.</p> Fri, 03 Feb 2023 22:00:30 +0000 Cat Wang, B.Sc. 9378 at /oss /oss/article/medical/hype-hope-and-leqembi <p>The word “qembi” roughly translates as beautiful, elegant or healthy and was somewhat ambitiously chosen as the root for “Leqembi,” the Alzheimer’s disease drug that recently made a big media splash thanks to receiving “accelerated approval” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the first regulatory agency in the world to do so.</p> Wed, 11 Jan 2023 11:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9356 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health-and-nutrition/antivirals-are-coming <p>I continue to be amazed by science. The ability to predict to the second when an eclipse will occur at a specific location in the world, the know-how to build a jetliner that requires the cohesive working of over four million parts and the production of computers with all their marvellous functions are astounding examples of human ingenuity. To say nothing about reaching into your pocket for the smartphone that in a fraction of a second will provide an answer to almost any question you may have. Mind-boggling.</p> Fri, 12 Nov 2021 21:02:21 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8921 at /oss /oss/article/health-technology/costly-reprogramming-immune-system-fight-cancer <p>Alternative medicine, with its universal boogeymen and safe panaceas, gives us a simplistic (and wrong) view of the world. Medicine, on the other hand, often demands that we make tough choices. Chemotherapy may kill cancer cells but it also kills any rapidly dividing cell, which means hair loss and nausea. A new type of intervention for cancer was approved by Health Canada a year ago and is now being covered by the Quebec public drug plan.</p> Fri, 18 Oct 2019 17:42:21 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 7965 at /oss /oss/article/health/aspirin-take-or-not-take-question <p class="note"><strong>Take-home message:</strong><br /> - One in four adults over 40 take a daily aspirin to prevent heart disease, despite guidelines suggesting not to.<br /> - Contrary to popular belief, in patients with no history of heart attack of stroke the benefit from aspirin is quite small and largely offset by bleeding risk.<br /> - The most recent 2019 guidelines from the American College of Cardiology recommend against routine aspirin use in patients over the age of 70 without heart disease or those at increased risk of bleeding.</p> Fri, 06 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 7845 at /oss /oss/article/you-asked/why-can-i-taste-saline-when-its-injected-my-iv <p>Someone recently asked me if I had ever heard a patient complain that they could taste saline and medications when injected into their IV. Truth is, I had never heard of this before, but apparently it is quite common for patients to complain of a funny taste in their mouth when their IV lines are flushed with pre-prepared syringes of saline in order to keep them open and avoid clotting.</p> Tue, 18 Sep 2018 15:24:30 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 7360 at /oss /oss/article/health-news/question-evidence <p>When we take a medication, we trust there is evidence that it will work. When we apply a cosmetic, we trust there is evidence that it is safe. When we put on a sunscreen, we trust there is evidence that it filters ultraviolet light. But evidence is not white or black; it runs the gamut from anecdotal to incontrovertible.</p> Sat, 26 Sep 2015 10:15:28 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2285 at /oss /oss/article/health/grapefruit-growers-dont-know-whether-laugh-or-cry <p>As you might expect, the situation is more complicated than it first seems.</p> Wed, 15 Feb 2017 20:27:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1454 at /oss