December 19, 2007
U of S VIDO finds new link between stress and disease susceptibility
Posted December 19, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 19th, 2007
2007-12-01-OTHER
Saskatoon, SK-Shedding light on the link between stress and disease, scientists at the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) have uncovered for the first time signs of stress in proteins and other compounds found in blood that can help predict disease susceptibility.
In a study in cattle, the researchers found that psychological and physical stressors cause detectable changes in these blood compounds. These "biomarkers" can then be used to predict disease outcomes.
"Our results could someday enable doctors or veterinarians to predict whether a disease will develop and how severe it might be from a body fluid sample such as blood," said principal investigator Palok Aich. "These findings will help improve treatment plans for possible disease outcomes."
The research is published today in Omics: A Journal of Integrative Biology.
It's well known that exposure to viruses or bacteria causes disease in some individuals but not in others. This study helps clarify how the stress level of an individual affects the infection process and disease severity.
The team worked with a stress-linked cattle disease-bovine respiratory disease (BRD), which causes more than half of feedlot deaths. In blood samples, the researchers found a link between stress biomarkers and disease severity.
BRD involves interaction of viral and bacterial infections, making it a perfect model to study the link between stress and disease.
"In BRD and certain human diseases such as influenza, the combination of a bacterial infection after an initial viral infection can be deadly," said Philip Griebel, a VIDO senior scientist and co-investigator. "The better we can recognize the signs suggesting a poor disease outcome, the better we can manage or even prevent an illness."
In the long term, changes in certain biomarkers could also help identify disease-susceptible animals in feedlots or ranches for early intervention and treatment, and help determine handling methods that minimize stress.
Aich says more research is needed to link biomarkers to a specific stressor and to understand which stressors contribute the most to enhanced disease susceptibility.
The team also includes VIDO/InterVac director Andrew Potter, former VIDO director Lorne Babiuk, Gabrielle Schatte of the U of S's Saskatchewan Structural Sciences Centre, and Andrew Ross of the National Research Council of Canada's Plant Biotechnology Institute.
Funding was provided by the Saskatchewan government through its Agriculture Development Fund, the Ontario Cattlemen's Association, Genome Prairie, Genome British Columbia, and Inimex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
The U of S's VIDO is a world leader in the research and development of vaccine and immunity-enhancing technologies for humans and animals. VIDO is leading construction of the International Vaccine Centre (InterVac), which will be the largest Containment Level 3 vaccine research centre in Canada dealing with both human and large animal diseases. InterVac will enhance a life sciences research cluster unique in North America. www.vido.org
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For more information, contact:
Tess Laidlaw
VIDO Communications Officer
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1506
tess.laidlaw@usask.ca
Palok Aich
VIDO Scientist and Project Leader
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1541
palok.aich@usask.ca
Philip Griebel
VIDO Senior Scientist and Program Manager
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1506 (VIDO Communications)
philip.griebel@usask.ca
December 18, 2007
University of Saskatchewan Board of Governors Approves Tentative Agreement
Posted December 18, 2007
The University of Saskatchewan’s Board of Governors has approved the tentative agreement with CUPE 1975.
More than 1,800 members of the CUPE 1975 employed at the University of Saskatchewan and 600 from the University of Regina voted last week in favour of ratifying the tentative deal.
The University of Regina's board of governors will vote to approve the contract today.
It has been agreed the two outstanding issues, performance increments and additional funding for the benefit plan, will be decided by an arbitrator.
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For additional information, contact:
Lori Auchstaetter
Resource and Project Advisor
Human Resources
University of Saskatchewan
Telephone (306) 291-7274
December 01, 2007
Tentative Agreement Reached
Posted December 01, 2007
The University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina are pleased to report that a Tentative Agreement has been reached with CUPE 1975.
During nearly two days of conciliation in Regina, the Universities fully explored the two outstanding issues through the conciliator, Doug Forseth. The Universities proposed that the unresolved issues be sent to a binding arbitration process with an immediate return to work agreement negotiated by the parties.
Part of the settlement involves employees returning to work on Monday based on the negotiated return to work agreement. Both parties have committed to moving quickly to ratify this agreement.
It will take a few days for normal operations to resume at the Universities and we appreciate your continued patience. We look forward to the medical/dental clinics and other University operations resuming full services as quickly as possible.
Additional information will be provided as soon as it becomes available.
Collective bargaining updates as well as operational and other updates can be viewed at http://www.blogs.usask.ca/updates.
