Health

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In their quest to track health patterns across populations, epidemiologists often call themselves “disease detectives.” Not the University of Toronto's Dr. Prabhat Jha. He uses a somewhat more radical term to describe the work that he and his team are doing. “I like to think of ourselves as epidemiological terrorists,” he said jovially. “We blow up assumptions.”

New research by two University of Toronto professors and a post-doctoral fellow, in collaboration with a colleague at the Ontario Cancer Institute, explains the molecular basis for cherubism, a bone development disorder, and may lead to the development of new drugs to treat cancer.

Chief Theresa Spence from the Northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat recently declared a state of emergency. Living conditions in the community have deteriorated to a degree that has shocked many Canadians. The conditions there have garnered national attention and an outpouring of donations. Writer Anjum Nayyar spoke to Professor Chandrakant Shah, Professor Emeritus at U of T's Dalla Lana School of Public Health who specializes in Aboriginal health, about this issue. 

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World AIDS Day is held on Dec. 1 each year. It’s an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV, commemorate people who have died and celebrate victories such as increased access to treatment and prevention services. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day. Held for the first time in 1988, it’s become one of the most recognized international health holidays.

Forty‐five per cent of Ontarians 65 years and older did not see a dentist in the last year, increasing their risk of chronic diseases and a reduced quality of life, a study by researchers at the University of Toronto, St. Michael’s Hospital, Women’s College Hospital and the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences (ICES) shows.