Doctors Notes

Feeling SAD? Head toward the light, advises U of T expert

rasbachn — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 20:42:22 +0000

Feeling SAD? Head toward the light, advises U of T expert rasbachn Mon, 10/30/2017 - 16:42

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Three to five per cent of Canadians suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, but there is help (photo by Amy Messere via Flickr)

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Doctors Notes

Faculty of Medicine

It’s that time of year again, when the days become shorter – especially after the clocks get turned back early Sunday morning – and people begin to feel the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Dr. Robert Levitan, a professor of psychiatry and physiology and the Cameron Parker Holcombe Wilson Chair in Depression Studies at the �ؿ�ζSM’s Faculty of Medicine, says that peak season for SAD is late January and February, but at this time in the season, he sees “a lot of patients who are oversleeping and experiencing fatigue and cravings for carbohydrates such as sweets, pasta and bread – especially women.”

These more physical symptoms set in first, followed by sad moods, which people begin to feel more towards the end of the year,

There is help for the 3 to 5 per cent of Canadians who suffer from SAD, writes Levitan in this week’s edition of Doctors’ Notes, the Toronto Star’s weekly column created by medical experts from the �ؿ�ζSM.

First and foremost, SAD sufferers should try light therapy. It’s simple, he writes: "You sit next to an ultraviolet-filtered lamp designed for SAD for 30 minutes a day. Please only use a unit that has been created with UV-filters for the treatment of SAD."

Levitan also writes that Canadian researchers have found that anti-depressant SSRI medications work as well as light, adding that doctors sometimes add a supplement called tryptophan to the light therapy.

Read the entire Doctors' Notes column

Asthma: U of T expert says breathing problems are often under-tested and over-treated

rasbachn — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 16:10:46 +0000

Asthma: U of T expert says breathing problems are often under-tested and over-treated

rasbachn Tue, 08/15/2017 - 12:10

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Asthma patients are often given antibiotics even though flare-ups like pollution won't be helped by those drugs. (photo by stephen boisvert via Flickr)

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Patients should make sure they get formal testing before taking medications

With its heat and humidity, summer is the season for breathing problems, like asthma flare-ups and aggravation of bronchitis. But Dr. Samir Gupta, an assistant professor in U of T’s Faculty of Medicine and a respirologist at St. Michael’s Hospital, says breathing issues are often under-tested and over-treated.

From asthma and bronchitis to COPD, many physicians aren't properly testing patients and often prescribe too many antibiotics, Gupta explains in the current edition of Doctors' Notes, a weekly column in the Toronto Star written by members of U of T's Faculty of Medicine.

Patients who have been told they have COPD or asthma should ask their doctor to be tested, especially before starting treatment, Gupta writes. Too often, asthma patients are given antibiotics even though the most common triggers for a flare-up – allergens, smoke, pollution or viruses – won’t be helped by those drugs.

There is help, Gupta says: overtreatment and under-testing are behind the “Choosing Wisely” movement, led by �ؿ�ζSM faculty members. They produce Top 5 lists that detail tests and treatments that are still used by doctors but aren’t supported by medical evidence.

In the case of breathing problems, for example, they look at inhaler medications, which are often prescribed without a formal test. But Gupta points out that a recent large Canadian study showed that one-third of patients who had been told they had asthma by their doctor did not have it when formally tested.

Read the entire Doctors’ Notes column in the Toronto Star

Put down the screen, put on some sun screen: U of T expert on getting children physically active

krisha — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 15:49:33 +0000

Put down the screen, put on some sun screen: U of T expert on getting children physically active

krisha Tue, 08/08/2017 - 11:49

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Screen time is not recommended at all for children under the age of two, Dr. Paul Cantarutti writes (photo by Brad Flickinger via Flickr)

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Kids should be putting down the screens, and putting on the sun screen, says Dr. Paul Cantarutti, an assistant professor at the department of family & community medicine at the �ؿ�ζSM.

The chief of the department of family & community medicine at Southlake Regional Health Centre talks about children and physical activity in the current edition of Doctors' Notes, a weekly column in the Toronto Star, which is written by members of U of T's Faculty of Medicine.

Cantarutti writes that while we know “physical activity, especially among young children, is highly beneficial, contributing to a lower risk of obesity and increased motor skill development, psychosocial health and heart health,” fewer than a third of Canadian children are receiving the minimum recommended “one hour of energetic play” by the age of five.

Research shows that more than 10 per cent of children between the ages of three and 19 are obese, and children who consistently spend over four hours watching TV on a daily basis are more likely to be overweight.

“Although technology has provided us with advancements to improve efficiency, increase our accessibility for news and entertainment, and expand our capabilities for connecting with others, Canadian health guidelines recommend that children and adolescents should still limit recreational screen time to no more than one to two hours per day,” he writes. “Screen time is not recommended at all for children under the age of two,” he writes.

Cantarutti recommends that both children and teenagers participate in at least an hour of physical activity each day, and that parents lead by example.

“Remember, it’s OK for kids to be a little bored – this encourages them to develop the skills required to fill up their time. Encourage your children to use their imaginations, to connect with friends or find new activities that might improve their physical, cognitive and social skills.”

Read the entire Doctors' Notes column in the Toronto Star

Lyme disease: U of T expert says don't let fear of tick bites keep you inside

ullahnor — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 19:55:21 +0000

Lyme disease: U of T expert says don't let fear of tick bites keep you inside

ullahnor Mon, 07/17/2017 - 15:55

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After a day outside, take a shower and check your pet and yourself for ticks, says Tara Moriarty (photo by Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images)

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The importance of regular tick checks and showering after a day outdoors

This summer is shaping up to be a very big tick season because the weather has been cool and wet, says Tara Moriarty, an associate professor in U of T's Faculty of Dentistry who is also cross-appointed to the Faculty of Medicine’s department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology.

Those are the ideal conditions for the black-legged tick that carries the bacteria causing Lyme disease, Moriarty explains in the current edition of Doctors' Notes, a weekly column in the Toronto Star, written by members of U of T's Faculty of Medicine.

If this sounds worrisome, she's got good and bad news.

“First, a reality check. Estimates from early Lyme disease vaccine trials suggest that about 90 per cent of people infected with the bacteria don’t develop major symptoms of the disease such as arthritis. Many don’t know they’re infected. Ten per cent are diagnosed with Lyme disease and receive antibiotics, and of those, another 10 per cent have a version of Lyme that doesn’t respond well to treatment. This means about one per cent of people infected with Lyme bacteria suffer the terrible, often crippling, long-lasting symptoms that make this disease so feared – but 99 per cent don’t.

Lyme disease isn’t common yet in many parts of Ontario, including the Toronto region, because traditionally our climate doesn’t allow ticks to survive the winter in large numbers, Moriarty writes. But by 2020, she predicts, all of southern Ontario extending east to Quebec and north to southern parts of Algonquin Park will be high-risk areas for Lyme-carrying ticks. And, thanks to climate warming, the GTA has developed the ideal conditions for ticks to live here year-round.