Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 16, 2008, Winnipeg, Manitoba C m y k Page b1 weather permitting. Horses cannot be outside below 27c. Wow. . Com for More Holiday events visit leaving every half hour at air Canada Park 355 Portage Avenue at Carlton Street one Block East of Portage place. Fridays dec. 5, 12 & 19 5 30pm 8 30pm saturdays dec. 6, 13 & 20 2 00pm 5 00pm     horse drawn Carriage rides                Home sales prices plummet / b4 City & business City editor Paul Samyn 697 7292 City. Desk free press. My. Ca i Winnipeg repress. Com tuesday december 16, 2008 b 1 Send news tips and photos to tips free press. My. Ca for breaking news go to Winnipeg repress. Com w hat if you could flip a switch and Stop cancer cells from multiplying and heart cells from dying a groundbreaking study led by st. Boniface Hospital research Centre scientist Lorrie Kirshenbaum reveals How to flip a genetic switch that does just that. It could revolutionize treatment for heart disease and cancer. The study published in the journal proceedings of the National Academy of sciences us reports the discovery of a master switch that regulates the death Gene that tells cells when to live and die. Kirshenbaum said scientists already knew the Gene turns on in heart cells during a heart attack when oxygen Levels drop. He said the cells cant regenerate and patients suffer from decreased heart function and eventually heart failure. The same Gene is turned off in cancer cells which allows them to grow and multiply uncontrollably and spread throughout the body. Kirshenbaum said the study uncovered keys that bind to Dan sequences within the Gene to turn the death regulator on to Stop Tumour growth or off to prevent heart cell death. Kirshenbaum and his team tested heart and pancreatic cancer cells in the lab not on humans or animals. The breakthrough discovery could help researchers develop drugs that will preserve heart function in hear attack patients and Stop cancerous Tumours from developing or spreading. Its something weave been working on for Many years and i think it really unlocks a lot of unknown information Kirshenbaum said. Would it revolutionize the Way we look at cancer and heart cells yes i think so. It really identifies a regulatory mechanism and Speaks to the fact that we could exploit it therapeutically. Elissavet Kardamis University of Manitoba professor of human Anatomy and cell science said the findings Are a significant step Forward and help explain How the Gene works in two completely different situations. Kardamis said the research could be tested to see if the Gene can be turned on or off in cancer or heart attack patients but cautioned that it could take years to reach the bedside. The study investigated a common link Between cancer and heart disease nip 3, the Gene that controls cell death. Kirshenbaum said cancer cells have evolved in a Way that keeps nip 3 turned off and allows them to elude death. The reverse is True for hearts where the Gene turns on when oxygen Levels drop and the Organ has less ability to pump blood. Kirshenbaum said the same switch could be used As a Model to develop potentially life saving drug treatments for other diseases. What we discovered is the lock and the key he said. Its quite exciting. Jen. Skerritt free press. My. Ca c old out there heres something to warm you up. Not surprisingly readers reacted emotionally to saturdays column a Little girl a Puppy and some humanity. What i mean is it had a lot of people in tears. It also had my e mail popping All weekend and my voice mail clogged. Thatus what happens when a nine year old girl and her dad who live in a gang drug and poverty infested North end neighbourhood Rescue a Little Puppy from a Backland Bufi bin. A dumpster that also contained the charred remains of two other pups. There was much More to the Story though. What really made readers weep if the tortured puppies we rent enough was How Young Calli Vanderaa has survived in an intercity murder zone. And particularly her throwing away her list for Santa because All she wants for Christmas is More time with her dad. Her hard working single father Corey Vanderaa. Now you can understand the reaction. Including this enlightening e mail from a Friend of Betty Vanderaa the grandmother who drives from st. Vital every weekday morning to look after Calli dear Gordon Sinclair by the time i finished Reading your Story about Calli i was crying. Not Only because amid hardships and hard knocks of life a Little girl can still Blossom and grow and learn compassion but because it occurred to me i know some of these people yet i really dont know them at All. Let me explain. Betty and i worked together in a jewellery store located at st. Vital mall. We went our separate ways but connected periodically and caught up. Over the years she spoke about All the difficulties Corey went through and there were Many. And that life was just not giving him a break and How that saddens her. She told me Corey moved to the North end with Calli but never once said How Tough the neighbourhood was. She matter of factly related going to Coreys House every Day so Calli can go to school near her Home. She was the one constant positive Force in Coreys and Calliss lives when so Many other negative factors influenced their lives. And like i said there were Many. Over the years she just related How hard Corey is working and How she is hoping All the negative events Stop happening to him. Calli came with her a few times and she is indeed a Bright and Lovely Young girl. Never once did it seem she was feeling sorry for herself or wanted me to feel sorry for her Only that she is trying to help her family because that is the Way it should be. Your column had helped Many other people and families Over the years and i am hoping it will do the same for Betty Corey and Calli. This is one deserving family who truly and finally needs a Little break. I for one would want to contribute something financially and am sure there Are others who feel the same Way. I just dont know How can that be arranged. Thank you Annamaria Palffy. There were Many More e mails from people who dont know the family but were still touched. And All wanted to help Corey and Calli Over Christmas in particular. There was one common denominator with almost everyone who wrote. There was no ask in the column. But readers either wanted to offer Calli the Christmas gift she did not ask for drop off a toy or treat for the Pup or give the dad a break of some kind. Ive told those who wrote to drop off or mail their offers to the free press care of me and ill make sure they re received. I would have told them to drop it by the family is House themselves but ism keeping their address confidential. As you can appreciate. I mean Given the neighbourhood. Gordon. Sinclair free press. My. Ca key to cancer found discovery May Lead to drugs for heart As Well by Jen Skerritt the father of an inmate who died of a drug overdose at Stony Mountain prison in 2006 is suing the correctional service of Canada and others at the prison claiming that their negligence and Lack of supervision led to his songs death. Raynold gerling 28, died dec. 11, 2006 in his cell. There was no evidence of foul play and an autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was a methadone overdose. Methadone is a synthetic narcotic taken orally and often used to treat people addicted to heroin or codeine. It has been used since the 1960s to subdue an addicts compulsion to use. In court documents filed dec. 8, Rudy gerling is claiming aggravated damages and costs from the Csc staff at the prison including its Warden along with the minister of Public safety Stockwell Day for the death of his son. No Dollar amount is stated in the suit. Gerling claims that the Csc failed to provide adequate training to employees failed to provide a drug free environment and that there was no procedure in place for assessing the risk in administering the methadone treatment to his son. Gerling also claims in court documents that in allowing his son Access to the methadone treatment the prisons Warden intentionally misused his Power As a Public officer. All parties named in the suit Are accused of depriving the family of Raynolds guidance care and companionship. No statement of defence has been filed and Gerlings allegations have not been proved in court. The Csc could not be reached for comment monday. Rudy gerling said in a Brief interview that the effect his songs death has had on his family has been devastating especially for Raynolds widow Lindsay. The couple had Only been married about a year before he died. Its that Way whenever a Young person Dies in those circumstances gerling said. He declined to speak at length and referred further comment to Winnipeg lawyer John Sinclair. In july 2007, the medical examiners office called an inquest into Raynolds death. A spokesperson for Manitoba Justice said that no Date had been scheduled for the probe into Raynolds death. Rudy gerling said that Manitoba Justice has set dates in the past for the inquest but it keeps getting postponed. James. Turner free press. My. Ca readers warm to family in crime plagued area Gordon Sinclair or. Corrections sued Over inmates drug death Calli Vanderaa with her rescued Pooch Jessie Phil Hossack / Winnipeg free press or. Lorrie Kirshenbaum says locally led study could ultimately Lead to drugs to preserve heart function and Stop Tumours from growing. B _ 01_ dec 16 08. Ind b1 1 2/ 15/ 08 9 29 48 pm ;