Published as a Letter to the Editor in the Westmount Independent, 16 April 2024 The Police Report (April 2, 2024, p10) headline “‘Flash mob’ thieves rob Sherbrooke boutique…” left me confused. Are the perpetrators thieves, or are they robbers? Fortunately, the body of the article helped to clear up the…
Read morePublished as a Letter to the Editor in the Westmount Independent, 2023-12-12. City Council has decided to reduce public meetings to one per month (November 28, p. 1), but will continue to hold “general committee” meetings, closed to the public, mid-monthly. How does this respect the Quebec Cities and Towns…
Read moreAnd, does “Mendelian Randomization” help answer this question? It is not uncommon for press reports of newly published studies in medicine, the social sciences, or economics, to describe a finding of a correlation between two variables as causative, that is, one variable causes the other. Often, the authors of the…
Read morePublished as a Letter to the Editor in the Westmount Independent, 2023-5-30 The Police Report on p. 3 of the Independent’s May 23 edition uses the word “overdose” in relation to incidents where individuals suffer serious and sometimes fatal effects from using opioids. “Overdose” suggests that the person either knowingly…
Read morePublished as a Letter to the Editor in The Suburban, 2022-11-30 Robert Libman, in his excellent opinion piece (Suburban 2022-11-23, p A13) alludes, among other issues, to the health and safety concerns posed to CSL residents living near the CP rail yard. In addition to the illness-promoting effects of noise…
Read moreLet’s remove card readers from one route as a pilot
Read moreThese datasets are included in the VhamNN and HamNN repositories on GitHub. It should be noted that the formula for balanced accuracy is different for binary classification problems and multiclass classification. HamNN Classification Results with Publicly Available Datasets Filename classes discrete attibutes continuous attributes total instances missing values (%) best…
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Thoughts on selling my tandem bicycle
Read moreThese cute little animals are prairie voles. Don’t they look happy, cuddled up to each other, sharing a warm nest and some yummy food? Now here’s a montane vole. This is a separate species, but closely related to the prairie vole. Cousins, you might say! Sort of hard to tell…
Read moreRecently, while watching the Netflix miniseries, “Inventing Anna” I was struck by how one of the characters, journalist Vivian, interpreted the “suicide attempt” by Anna Delvey. Vivian took it to mean that Anna was a person with real feelings, including hurt and pain, and possibly emotionally damaged as a child.…
Read moreWhile governments and journalists blame selfish vaccine refusers for the high rates of hospitalization and ICU bed occupation of unvaccinated people, there are likely causes other than the vaccine itself.
Read moreFor the final instalment, I share my grocery shopping list and some typical meals (with photos!). There’s also a discussion of gout, which is somewhat of a special case. And some final words. Thank you for reading!
Read moreWhile we’ve been told repeatedly to avoid stress because it will make us ill, the principle of hormesis suggests that the dose of a stressor determines whether it helps or hurts us.
Read moreSome medications used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus have anti-inflammatory effects. In today’s instalment, I discuss two of these classes of drugs and how they work.
Read moreMetformin, a medication which costs pennies a day, lowers insulin levels and has been shown to have powerful effects against a host of disorders including cancer, cardiovascular disease, brain and kidney disorders, obesity, as well as inflammation. But there is reason to believe that many players in the health care industry, prefer that you not know this.
Read moreSome dietary supplements may be useful to take in a methionine and protein restriction diet that is plant-based; this includes omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, magnesium, choline, melatonin, and boron.
Read moreWhile I discourage the use of most dietary supplements, there are exceptions. One is Vitamin B12 (cobalamin). Read this instalment to find out why.
Read moreCertain behaviours increase our risk of suffering from inflammation, and should be avoided if possible.
Read moreGetting out of bed at the same time every day improves sleep, stabilizes mood, and helps control inflammation! It is also important to sleep an adequate amount (typically 7 hours) as both short and long sleep increase mortality.
Read moreA number of beverages including coffee and green tea, have anti-inflammatory effects, and we might want to increase our consumption.
On the other hand, modern diets are often loaded with ultra-processed foods and with food additives that contribute to inflammation. We may want to try to eliminate these.
Read moreWe can reduce inflammation by eating less of certain foods. This includes animal-based foods, high-protein foods, and possibly, fruit! Find out why.
Read more“We are what we eat” expresses the idea that food and drink have an enormous influence on health and wellbeing. This instalment goes into the science of the foods we should eat more of to reduce inflammation.
Read moreInstalment 1: The nitty-gritty. What is inflammation? What causes it? Do-it-yourself approaches to controlling inflammation. How to identify strategies that reduce inflammation.
Read moreWhile inflammation serves an important purpose in helping us survive and recover from injury, pain from inflammation can also cause a lot of misery and suffering. So, to decrease pain, what can we do to keep inflammation under control?
Read more(Published on The Suburban’s website, 2021-7-28) The other day, I was looking for a set of earbuds, you know, the ones that come with Apple iPhones and have a microphone built in to one of the earphone cords. My latest iPhone no longer has an earphone jack, and I needed…
Read moreIntroduction As a geriatric psychiatrist, now mostly retired, I’ve been sceptical throughout my entire career about the existence of the entity labeled “schizophrenia”. And for many years, when the subject came up, I might tell bits and pieces of my relationship to this disorder. But the idea of putting this…
Read moreMistletoe, a parasitic plant, is commonly used in Europe as a complementary treatment in cancer patients, improving quality of life and possibly prolonging survival. Although there are several mechanisms that may be responsible for its beneficial effects, the relatively recent discovery of microRNA (miRNA) as a biological regulator suggests another…
Read moreWhen I began my training to become a psychiatrist in 1981, my view of the world and the people in it underwent a radical transformation. I became aware of how power is exercised within relationships. When one person is an employee and the other a boss, it’s generally pretty clear.…
Read moreSleep deprivation, especially REM sleep deprivation, not only treats depression rapidly and effectively, but it may even induce mania. This provides the basis for the theory that insufficient sleep, again primarily insufficient REM sleep, is an important cause of mania. Accordingly, to treat an acute manic episode, we need to…
Read moreDoes the orientation of a motorcycle engine’s crankshaft and other rotating parts (eg, gears, clutch, driveshaft) affect the motorcycle’s handling? Reviews of motorcycles often mention how “light” certain bikes feel when being ridden, even for very heavy motorcycles. BMW is one brand often cited; Moto Guzzi riders are fanatically attached…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Westmount Independent, published on 2021-2-16: I received in the mail, from the City of Westmount’s Traffic Advisory Committee (TAC), a poll addressed to the residents of Lansdowne between de Maisonneuve and Sherbrooke, soliciting our opinions on a proposal to move on-street parking from the…
Read moreHenry Olders, P.Eng, MD, FRCPC Affiliate Member, Dept of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada Abstract It is believed that nursing home residents experience more disease severity and higher mortality from COVID-19, compared to community-dwelling elderly with similar comorbidities. Among the possible explanations for this phenomenon is the difference in vitamin…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, posted online 2018-12-15 as a response to the Editorial “Take turmeric with a grain of salt” by Kirsten Patrick and Matthew B. Stanbrook CMAJ October 29, 2018 190 (43) E1270; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.181358 Wow, I’m impressed! The CMAJ has really gone…
Read moreLetter to the editor of the Westmount Independent, published in the 2020-8-25 issue I support the suggestion by Richard Lock at city council on August 3 to switch parking from the west to the east side of Lansdowne Ave. between Sherbrooke and de Maisonneuve. Not only would this provide more…
Read moreLetter to the editor of The Suburban, published in the 2020-9-16 issue. A couple of days ago, I was listening to a radio programme (“The Current” with host Matt Galloway, on CBC Radio One). The 7 Sept 2020 episode was a national call-in show, “How concerned are you about schools…
Read moreMore government is rarely the answer. Legault should use the tools he already has to bring about significant improvements. Published by the Montreal Gazette as an op-ed piece on 2020-5-20: Premier François Legault has suggested that private nursing homes could be “nationalized” in response to problems brought to light by…
Read moreHenry Olders, P.Eng, MD, FRCPC Affiliate Member, Dept of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada Abstract For many, the current COVID-19 pandemic creates fear and anxiety, to some extent because we lack control. The virus is invisible, even people we are close to could infect us, apparently healthy people may get…
Read moreThe following was published as a Letter to the Editor by the Westmount Independent on 2018-10-23, with the above title: With reference to the article by Martin Barry, “Westmount has no say on cell tower installation, says city official” (2018-10-9, p3) I would like to take issue with the interpretation…
Read moreThis Letter to the Editor was published in the Montreal Gazette on 2018-11-16. Re: “The new Champlain Bridge won’t be ready on time” (Montreal Gazette, Oct. 26) Over the past couple of years, I’ve observed the construction of the new Champlain bridge when I’ve crossed by bicycle from Westmount to…
Read moreThis letter to the Editor was published in the Montreal Gazette, 2018-10-17. Re: “Don’t drive even five hours after smoking pot: study” (Montreal Gazette, Oct. 16) While this study confirms the fears of many that marijuana use leads to impairment of tasks requiring concentration and rapid reaction times, the good…
Read moreThis talk, titled “Why we get old and die, and what to do about it” was presented in the amphitheatre of the Redpath Museum, on 2018-10-11. Download a pdf of the slides and my speaker notes. Handout for the presentation.
Read moreBig pharma has been taken to task on multiple occasions for selectively publishing studies showing benefits for their products and “burying” research with negative outcomes. So it’s surprising that there is now a trend to publish studies showing negative or null results. In fact, a journal specifically devoted to publishing…
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If Montréal Mayor Plante truly wants her administration to be remembered for something remarkable AND positive, here’s an idea: build an aerial cable car system for urban transport.
Read morePublished on linkedin.com on 2015-11-18 In Montreal these days, with later sunrises and early sunsets, many cycling commuters are going to and from work in the dark. I don’t know if this is particular to Montreal, but many of these cyclists have no lights on their bicycles, and additionally wear…
Read moreThe following email was sent to Dr. Andreas Wagner, the author of the book “Arrival of the Fittest” on 2017-1-7: Dear Dr. Wagner, I was attempting to explain your theory to a friend recently, and thought that it would it be easier if I re-read your excellent book first. After…
Read moreWhy is it that our national, publicly funded broadcaster, CBC/Radio Canada, chooses to provide lower-quality over-the-air (OTA) television signals than everyone else? When analog OTA signals were discontinued in 2012, CBC/Radio-Canada chose to downgrade its OTA broadcasts to 720p from 1080i, although clearly they had the equipment to provide higher…
Read moreArticles supplied: Arends J, Bachmann P, Baracos V et al. ESPEN guidelines on nutrition in cancer patients. Clin Nutr. 2017;36:11-48. Stobäus N, Müller MJ, Küpferling S, Schulzke JD, Norman K. Low Recent Protein Intake Predicts Cancer-Related Fatigue and Increased Mortality in Patients with Advanced Tumor Disease Undergoing Chemotherapy. Nutr Cancer.…
Read moreIntroduction After a great deal of experimentation and trial and error, I’ve come up with a workflow to help in academic writing for the web. Ulysses is a great tool for this, but its footnote capacity does not integrate well with a reference manager like Bookends. The latter is also…
Read moreSlides and notes for the presentation, “Why we get old and die, and what to do about it” can be found here. Update 2020-07-23: This handout needs to be updated to include recent research suggesting that dietary fructose is something to be avoided because it raises insulin levels. Executive Summary…
Read moreThis is the text of a talk given to members of the Westmount Rotary Club, 2017-6-14 The diseases of aging include cancer, heart disease, dementia, arthritis, cataracts, osteoporosis, and stroke. Oh, and type 2 diabetes. It is likely that all of us have relatives or friends with these afflictions. Possibly…
Read moreThe following was submitted as a letter to the editor of the Montreal Gazette, on 2018-1-28. I’m writing this in Ottawa, where we are spending a weekend. Looks like the city saves a ton of money by not removing snow from side streets, so on-street parking can be a nightmare!…
Read moreNotes and References
Read moreMy wife and I recently bought a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid vehicle. It suits our needs very well, as most of our trips are within its 40km all-electric range, but when we take longer trips, for example to Ottawa, we don’t experience range anxiety because the switch to…
Read moreClicking on this icon will download a small .ics file. Most browsers are set to open your default calendar app, or to ask you in which calendar app (eg, Outlook, Google, Calendar) you would like to add the event to. Note that any icon can be used for this.
Read moreEvery weekday morning, and often at other times, there is a line of cars backed up on Lansdowne south of Sherbrooke, waiting to turn left or right onto Sherbrooke. Not only is it extremely frustrating for drivers to wait through several cycles of the stoplights at Sherbrooke and Lansdowne, but…
Read moreThe following was published as an opinion piece in the Montreal Gazette, on 2017-11-14: I am excited by Valérie Plante and Projet Montréal’s election promise to improve public transportation in Montreal, and am sure that it will generate many excellent proposals. Here’s one that deserves attention: free public transportation. Let’s…
Read moreThe following was published in the Letters to the Editor section of the Westmount Independent (p24), on 2017-10-3, under the heading “Insist on definition of ‘private’ council meeting this election.” To the Editor: Observers of the process of governance by our elected municipal government in Westmount have remarked on the…
Read moreIn his letter “Excessive number of stop signs in Hampstead contribute to pollution” (Letter to the Editor, The Suburban, 2017-8-16), Leslie Satenstein decries the brake and tire dust as well as unnecessary fuel use, occasioned by the large number of stop signs along Fleet/Van Horne, in Hampstead. His annoyance is…
Read moreThe letter to the editor below, was published in the Suburban, on 2017-8-16, with the title “All municipal council meetings must be held in public by law“: I wholeheartedly agree with Michael Shafter (Letter to the Editor, The Suburban, 2017-8-9) that we need more transparency at the municipal level (in…
Read moreThis was a very condensed version of my talk, “Why we get old and die, and what to do about it”. As ex-mayor Peter Trent is reported to have said when informed of the title, “Sounds depressing, like some of Leonard Cohen — music to slash your wrists to. But…
Read moreMy hypothesis is that the scrotum, which in mammals, is often exposed, relatively hairless, and with thin skin and little subcutaneous tissue, may have evolved for perhaps a different reason than simply to provide a lower temperature for spermatogenesis. Consider that humans produce about 25,000 sperm every minute. Why so many?…
Read moreThis letter to the Editor was published in the November 2001 issue of Parkhurst Exchange, p7 Gentlemen: In the June 2001 issure of Parkhurst Exchange, your consultant AS reported no serious side effects from the longterm use of pantoprazole, to his knowledge. Gastric acid suppressive therapy in general has been…
Read moreThis article was published in the journal “Psychiatry” in Jan 1989. The citation is: Olders H: A Computer on my Desk? Do I Have a Choice? Psychiatry 1989 Jan; 3(1): 7-11, 21-24 Download article as pdf file
Read moreThis presentation was given jointly by Dr. Carol Brebion and myself at Clinical Grand Rounds, Department of Psychiatry, SMBD – Jewish General Hospital, on 1997-10-9. Notes Slides
Read moreThis talk was given at Palliative Care McGill Rounds, at the Montreal General Hospital, on 2004-2-11, and at Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Rounds, SMBD-Jewish General Hospital, on 2004-2-19. Presentation slides with notes
Read moreThis talk was to the inpatient psychiatry team (4 East) at the SMBD-Jewish General Hospital, on 1998-11-5. Notes Slides
Read moreThis lecture was given yearly from 1987 to 1991 to McGill psychiatry residents as part of the Diploma Course, Continuing Care seminar (Block H). Handout
Read moreA handout for Family Medicine residents at the SMBD-Jewish General Hospital, as part of a course I taught as the Chief Resident in Psychiatry. Handout
Read moreBelow is the text of a welcoming speech I made, as Program Director of the Psychogeriatrics Programme, to a group of foster home proprietors, at an annual event called the Proprietors’ Day Seminar, put on by the Psychogeriatric Residences Team at Douglas Hospital. Merci beaucoup, Dr Tahta, pour votre introduction.…
Read moreThis presentation was given at the 4th Annual Inter-Hospital Stroke Team Conference, SMBD – Jewish General Hospital, on 1998-10-23. Notes Slides
Read morePresentation given to “Friends for Mental Health”, a self-help group of friends and relatives of the mentally ill; Dorval, Québec, on 2000-11-15. Slides and notes
Read moreTalk to the Senior Citizens’ Forum of Montreal, on 1993-5-31. mental health & the elderly
Read morePresentation to Family Physicians at Clinical Day, “Psychiatric Issues in Family Medicine”, McGill University Department of Family Medicine, Hotel Europa, Montréal, on 1998-5-15. Handout Slides
Read moreThis presentation was given to the physicians at Ste. Anne’s Hospital, in Medicine Rounds, on 2006-1-31. Download a pdf of the presentation slides and notes here.
Read moreThis presentation was made at the Mental Health 60+ Monthly Teaching Rounds, at CLSC René-Cassin, on 2005-11-8. Download a pdf of the slides and notes here Handout (english) Handout (français)
Read moreIn Montreal, the federal government is building a new bridge over the St. Lawrence river, to replace the aging Champlain bridge. There has been plenty of discussion about whether tolls should be charged to users of the new bridge. It goes without saying that actual users are highly reluctant to pay tolls,…
Read moreOn July 6, 2013 an unattended freight train carrying crude oil rolled down a hill and derailed in the downtown area of the city of Lac-Mégantic, resulting in a huge explosion causing the loss of 47 lives. Many Canadian cities are concerned about the possibility of a similar disaster in their…
Read moreYesterday we heard that the tusks from 7,000 dead elephants, which had been confiscated by Kenya from illegal poaching of ivory, was set afire. Kenya’s President is hoping that this will help end the illegal trade which kills elephants. But what is the consequence of reducing the supply of ivory for which…
Read moreThe Q&A response to the question “What could multiple hyperdensities on brain MRI in the absence of migraine indicate?” (Parkhurst Exchange, April 2010, p28) did not include B12 deficiency as a possible cause. There are a number of case reports (1-4) reporting the finding of white matter hyperintensities on T2-weighted…
Read moreWhile catching up on my reading, I came across an item in “Consultant’s Corner” which piqued my interest, and I am writing to bring both your readers and your consultant up to date. In the Aug 2007 issue of the Canadian Journal of CME, a question was submitted by a…
Read moreThe article “Age-related macular degeneration” Oct 2008, p52) lists the risk factors for AMD as age, genetics, history of smoking, Caucasian race, and diet low in antioxidants. Not mentioned was the association between a lower risk of AMD and higher fish and/or omega-3 fatty acid consumption. Augood C, Chakravarthy U,…
Read moreI believe that there are many people in Canada who feel as I do, that the existing governmental structures are serving the needs of ordinary Canadians less and less. My proposal is that we create a new federal political party, and invite individuals like Marc Garneau and Andrew Coyne to…
Read moreWhen I was a medical student at McGill in the late 1970s, we learned a straightforward explanation for the cause of Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes in adults, accounting for about 90 per cent of all diabetes cases. We were told the insulin resistance responsible for…
Read moreGout is caused by an excess of uric acid (urate) in the system, which can then form crystals in various places, including the joint of the big toe. Crystals in the joint cause inflammation and pain. Excess uric acid can be due to excessive dietary intake of purines, insufficient urinary…
Read moreMonday, March 30, 2015 Executive Summary This is an abstract of the literature on the use of psychostimulants to treat psychiatric conditions in adults and the elderly. The results are presented primarily in two sections: the first section reports on studies in which psychostimulants, primarily methylphenidate (MPH) were used as…
Read moreVersion française General principles for dealing with difficult patients who are cognitively intact As caregivers, we often find ourselves extending ourselves for our patients, “going the extra mile”. This works well when the patient is appreciative of our efforts: we feel good about ourselves. But if our efforts are not…
Read moreEnglish version Principes généraux relatifs aux traitements des patients difficiles dont la fonction cognitive est intacte En tant que soignant professionnel, nous devons souvent nous dévouer “corps et âme” pour nos patients. C’est très valorisant de savoir à quel point nos patients apprécient et qu’ils nous témoignent leur reconnaissance. Toutefois,…
Read moreI’ve been reading a most interesting book, titled “Deadly medicines and organized crime: how big pharma has corrupted healthcare,” by Dr. Peter Gøtzsche. Dr. Gøtzsche, a specialist in internal medicine and professor at the University of Copenhagen, co-founded the Cochrane Collaboration in 1993 and established the Nordic Cochrane Centre. The…
Read moreTo facilitate following a methionine restriction diet, I’ve put together a Filemaker “solution” (Filemaker’s name for a database using their platform) which will provide you with the methionine content for the majority of the items in the USDA nutrients database, version SR27. The solution also includes the content of cysteine,…
Read moreWith the Mike Duffy trial figuring prominently in the news these days, The NDP is renewing calls for abolition of the Senate. Instead of outright abolition of the “House of sober second thought” perhaps a major restructuring should be considered. Here is one suggestion: Reduce the size of the senate,…
Read moreYesterday I attended an all-day symposium at the Montreal Neurological Institute, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre. I went to hear talks by David Van Essen, Principal Investigator, The Human Connectome Project; Henry Markram, Director, The Blue Brain Project, and Coordinator, The Human Brain Project; and Robert…
Read moreGrandison, R. C., M. D. Piper, and L. Partridge (2009) Nature 462:1061-1064. Amino-acid imbalance explains extension of lifespan by dietary restriction in Drosophila. Dietary restriction extends healthy lifespan in diverse organisms and reduces fecundity. It is widely assumed to induce adaptive reallocation of nutrients from reproduction to somatic maintenance, aiding…
Read moreHenry Olders, MD November 6, 2013 Research Proposal: Treating Cancer-Related Anorexia-Cachexia with a Methionine Restricted Diet Anorexia and cachexia are frequent concomitants of the later stages of cancer, and contribute significantly to poor quality of life (QOL). Moreover, family members and friends of cancer patients with anorexia and cachexia are…
Read moreWhat does it mean to be conscious? Does it even have a meaning? As a psychiatrist, I am influenced by the way in which the terms “conscious”, “unconscious” and “subconscious” are used. The latter two terms generally refer to perceptions or emotions or thoughts that we are not aware of…
Read moreThe following was submitted as a letter to the editor of the Montreal Gazette, and was published in the edition of 2014-11-1. Re: “Reforming health care” (Opinion, Oct. 22) Jacques Hendlisz and David Levine point out the danger of leaders becoming disconnected from the professionals who deliver care, when health…
Read moreThe following was submitted as a letter to the editor of the Montreal Gazette, and was published on the Gazette’s website on 2014-10-23. The RCMP is reported to have taken away the passport of Martin (Ahmad) Couture-Rouleau out of concern that he would travel to Iraq or Syria. Would it…
Read moreWestern democracies are lining up to engage in bombing raids against Islamic State installations, citing the IS (aka ISIS, or ISIL) terrorists as particularly cruel and barbaric, a scourge that needs to be eliminated. We’ve seen the gruesome beheadings, and heard the warnings that Canadians may become radicalized, join IS,…
Read moreIn Canada and Quebec, the debate over the right to die with dignity, medically assisted suicide, and euthanasia is often heated. I am struck by the inconsistency, perhaps even hypocrisy, of governments that maintain that it is OK for individuals to commit suicide, but not to receive help from anyone…
Read moreThis was submitted as a Letter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette, on 2013-5-25: re: “Angelina Jolie got it right” (Friday, May 24): Dr. Labos is to be commended for his clearly written article on mastectomy for BRCA positive women. However, he did not mention that these unfortunate women…
Read moreThis is a slightly modified version of a presentation entitled “Age is Just a Number: the Psychology of Staying Young”, which was first given on 2000-4-28, as part of the Roslyn Liebling Memorial Lecture Series on Aging: Myth and Reality; sponsored by the Auxiliary of the SMBE-Jewish General Hospital; in…
Read more2012-12-19 This table presents results of using the HammingNN classifier with a variety of publicly available datasets that are frequently used for development and testing of classifier paradigms. For comparison purposes, I’ve included results from 3 other classifier paradigms. Note: you may need to widen your browser window to view…
Read moreAs a medical student in the early 1980’s, I was very excited when we were introduced to the physiology behind neurology. Having previously graduated in Electrical Engineering (Waterloo, 1970) and with several years of work experience in computer systems engineering, I immediately saw the potential for modeling neural networks using…
Read moreThis poster was presented at the Research Day of The Health Outcomes Axis of the MUHC Research Institute and the McGill Division of Geriatrics, held on 2012-5-15 at the McGill University New Residence Hall. Download a pdf of the poster here: Poster An earlier version, titled “Improved detection of Vitamin B12…
Read moreThis presentation was most recently given at the Westmount Healthy City Project, on 2015-10-29. It was also presented at: Institut universitaire en santé mentale Douglas Grand Rounds, 2013-5-23 Jewish General Hospital Department of Psychiatry Clinical Grand Rounds, 2012-4-12 McGill Geriatric Medicine Grand Rounds, Montreal General Hospital, 2012-1-24 Ste. Anne’s Hospital, Continuing…
Read moreFrom the point of view of a geriatric psychiatrist who does assessments of competence, there are a number of essential elements to consider, as well as some more nuanced issues. Let’s start with some core considerations: (1) competence is always presumed when the evidence is inconclusive; (2) competence is task-…
Read moreThis article was published in the Parkhurst Exchange, in the May 2011 issue. There is also an editorial on this topic by Steve Blitzer, MD, Medical Editor, on page 7 of the same issue.
Read moreThis lecture was given to McGill psychiatry residents as part of the Diploma Course, Geriatric Psychiatry Block, on 2011-3-15. Download a pdf of the lecture slides and notes.
Read moreI made a presentation about my classifier to Emily Coffey, at the time a PhD candidate in the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at the Montreal Neurological Institute, and her colleagues, on 2011-1-21. Download a pdf of the presentation slides and notes.
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This presentation was given to staff of CSSS Cavendish on 2010-10-6, at CHSLD Julius Richardson. download a pdf with the presentation slides and notes
Read moreThis one-page form is for charting sleep behaviour, caffeine consumption, and mood. There are spaces for charting every hour (once daily for mood), 24 hours per day, for a month. Download a pdf of the form.
Read moreThis article was published as an opinion piece in the 2009-2-10 edition of the Westmount Independent, under the heading “Make phase 1 report public, larger arena benefits city“. At Monday’s City Council meeting, a large audience heard Mayor Karin Marks explain that the report from the first phase of the…
Read moreThe study reported on in the article “Acute impact of immediate release methylphenidate administered three times a day on sleep in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder” (Corkum, Panton, Ironside, Macpherson, & Williams, 2008) found a significant reduction in total sleep time of almost an hour with medication compared to the no…
Read moreThis letter to the editor of the “Canadian Medical Association Journal” was published electronically on the CMAJ website, on 2008-11-18, in response to this article: Targownik LE, Lix LM, Metge CJ, Prior HJ, Leung S, Leslie WD. Use of proton pump inhibitors and risk of osteoporosis-related fractures. CMAJ. 2008;179:319-326. Article…
Read moreThis presentation was given on 2008-11-17 at Ste. Anne’s Hospital in the Department of Psychiatry Conference Series, and on 2008-11-20 to the Head Nurses at Ste. Anne’s Hospital. It had previously been presented to staff of CSSS Cavendish on 2008-10-8, at Centre d’Accueil Henri-Bradet. Download a pdf of the slides and…
Read moreThis letter to the editor of “Canadian Psychiatry Aujourd’hui” , a newspaper published by the Canadian Psychiatric Association, appeared in the October 2008 issue (volume 4, no. 5) While I enjoyed the articles on sleep in your August 2008 issue, I felt that the headlines were misleading. For example, the…
Read moreLetter to the Editor, submitted to the Montreal Gazette on 2008-8-28. Many companies provide parking at no charge for their employees. This represents a subsidy, as parking spaces involve considerable costs including initial construction, drainage, paving, lighting as well as ongoing expenses such as snow removal, security, and electricity. Never…
Read more1. introduction 1.1. Joseph Hibbeln, a prominent researcher on the application of omega-3 fatty acids in psychiatry at the National Institutes of Health, recently wrote, “It is likely that the success and failure of different clinical trials using similar doses of n-3 LCFAs were influenced by differing background intakes of…
Read moreIt was recently reported on the CBS program “60 Minutes” that diabetes might be caused by sleep deprivation [link to web article]. As frequently happens, the reporting is more striking for its sensationalism than for its depth. Here is a deeper look: First, what do we know about sleep duration…
Read moreAsymptomatic bacteriuria in nursing home patients This learning project was stimulated by an article (1) which looked at why urine cultures are ordered and why antibiotics are prescribed for institutionalized elderly. The article concluded that because there was no evidence for an association between nonspecific signs and symptoms and the…
Read moreI wrote this letter in response to an article, entitled “Omega-3 no help for Crohn’s”, which appeared in the 2008-5-6 edition of the Medical Post. My original letter, as submitted, included references, and was clear that it was a response to the Medical Post article, and not to the research…
Read moreLecture given annually between 2002 and 2008 as part of the McGill Department of Psychiatry Diploma Course, Geriatric Psychiatry Block. Most recently given on 2008-5-13. Download a pdf of the lecture slides and notes. Outline Sleep Characteristics of sleep Sleep complaints Epidemiology & Importance of Sleep Disorders Approach to the…
Read moreThis presentation was part of a conference on Aromatherapy, given jointly by Lydia Nassar, nurse in the Inpatient Stabilization Programme, and myself, at Ste. Anne’s Hospital. Click to download a pdf of the presentation slides and notes.
Read moreConference given at Ste. Anne’s Hospital on 2007-9-18, as part of the Department of Psychiatry Conference Series. Download a pdf of the lecture slides and notes.
Read moreMemorandum To: All physicians From: Henry Olders, MD Date: 2007-7-25 Subject: Methylmalonic acid test reference range As you are aware, the hospital has adopted a protocol for Vitamin B12 treatment that requires laboratory confirmation of a B12 deficiency. I have stated my position that this is bad medicine, as it…
Read moreConference given at Ste. Anne’s Hospital on 2007-2-13, as part of the Department of Psychiatry Conference Series. Download a pdf of the presentation slides and notes.
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. It appeared in the 2006-11-24 edition under the heading “Puerile bullyboy”. Dan McTeague criticises Prime Minister Harper (letters, 23 Nov 2006) for “openly” chastising China on its human-rights record and bringing up the case of Huseyin Celil, then complains that he should…
Read moreThis bilingual form is used to keep track of problem behaviours. It contains space to chart hourly, for a month. Download a pdf of the form.
Read moreThis bilingual scale helps to diagnose frontotemporal syndromes. Adapted from: Kertesz A, Davidson W, Fox H. Frontal Behavioral Inventory: Diagnostic Criteria for Frontal Lobe Dementia. Can J Neurol Sci 1977, 24(1):29-35 Download a pdf of the bilingual scale.
Read morePresentation at Ste. Anne’s Hospital: a clinical case conference, part of the Department of Psychiatry Education Series. Please note that the downloadable file does not include the clinical case history, to protect confidentiality. Download a pdf of the presentation slides and notes.
Read moreThis presentation was given on 2006-9-5 at Ste. Anne’s Hospital, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec. Earlier versions of this talk were presented at: • Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Rounds, Sir Mortimer B. Davis – Jewish General Hospital, 2002-6-28 • Department of Psychiatry Clinical Grand Rounds, Sir Mortimer B. Davis – Jewish General Hospital, 2002-9-12 •…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. Quebec’s Minister of Health and Social Services, Philippe Couillard, trumpets his government’s injection of $56 million in new funding for the province’s beleaguered mental health system (Gazette, “Quebec making great strides in mental health”, 2006-5-15). This is very timely, as a report…
Read morePresented at Ste. Anne’s Hospital 2006-5-9 and on 2006-6-1. Some proverbs about sleep: “One hour’s sleep before midnight is worth two hours after.” —John Rays (1627-1705): A Compleat Collection of English Proverbs, 1670 “Plough deep while sluggards sleep.” —Benjamin franklin (1706-1790): Maxim prefixed to Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1757 “The early bird catches…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. The City of Westmount, with financial support from the province, is erecting a section of transparent sound barrier (Gazette 2006-4-24, “Innovative barrier keeps view intact”, page A7) at the foot of Abbott avenue as a pilot project. If effective at significantly reducing…
Read moreThis poster has been presented at: • Research Day, Ste. Anne’s Hospital, 2006-3-23 • McGill Department of Geriatric Medicine Research Day, 2006-4-28 Download poster as pdf file An earlier version was presented at: • Canadian Sleep Society Annual Meeting, Ottawa, May 2001 • McGill Department of Psychiatry Research Day, 2001-11-2…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. It appeared in the 2006-3-8 edition under the heading “Lack of vitamin B12 also causes lesions”. The article “Brain’s ‘sleeper cells’ stalking boomers” (7 mar 2006) points out that white matter lesions in the brain predict stroke and dementia. It fails to…
Read moreThis guide to psychotropic drugs in the elderly was first used for teaching purposes with the staff of the 60+ Mental Health unit at CLSC René-Cassin. Download a pdf (français). Download a pdf (english).
Read moreThis presentation was made to the GPs at Ste. Anne’s Hospital. Download a pdf of the presentation slides and notes.
Read moreThis presentation was given on 2006-1-12 at Ste. Anne’s Hospital, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec. An earlier version of this talk, entitled “Vitamin B12 deficiency: a silent epidemic? was given at: • Department of Psychiatry Clinical Grand Rounds, Sir Mortimer B. Davis – Jewish General Hospital, 2000-11-9 • Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds,…
Read moreA lecture given at Concordia University, Montreal, for the course ”Spirituality and Aging: (Selected topics in theology), THEO 298A, Prof. Pamela Bright. Download a pdf of the lecture slides and notes.
Read moreSince my medical school days, I’ve been mulling over some ideas for artificial neural networks that adhere more closely to the physiology that I studied. Over the past couple of years, I finally implemented those ideas, using the Forth programming language on a Macintosh. The process went considerably faster than…
Read moreSalmon Oil • fatty fish (eg salmon, trout, tuna, herring, mackerel) or oils from these fish, are the only good sources for long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (DHA & EPA).• short-chain omega-3 fatty acids (ALA), eg from flaxseed, walnuts, omega-3 eggs, may be beneficial, but most will not be converted into…
Read moreRitalin • -more effective than sertraline in improving cognitive function and maintaining alertness in patients with traumatic brain injury (Lee H 20 p97) • better tolerated than sertraline (ibid.) • -found effective in hypoactive delirium, apathy, depressive syndrome (Meyers BJ 148 1738) • -accelerates antidepressant response in elderly (Lavretsky H…
Read moreAn edited version of this letter to the editor appeared in the Montreal Gazette on 2005-5-10 under the heading “Taxpayers need their own senate”. Your editorial “Can taxes ever be cut?” (May 8) correctly points out that the majority of voters pay no income tax, effectively disenfranchising those middle-income “working…
Read moreThis lecture, spread over two sessions, was delivered annually to the SMBD – Jewish General Hospital psychiatry residents from 2003 to 2005. Download a pdf of the lecture slides and notes.
Read moreConsultation-Liaison Rounds, 05-3-3, at the SMBD – Jewish General Hospital Article: Stockhorst, U., and R. Pietrowsky (2004) Physiol Behav 83:3-11. Olfactory perception, communication, and the nose-to-brain pathway. Abstract: The present paper’s aim is of to give an overview about the basic knowledge as well as actual topics of olfaction–with a…
Read moreLetter to the Editor of the Montreal Gazette. An edited version appeared in the 2005-3-3 edition under the heading “Students hurt only themselves”. The students who are striking to protest the loss of bursary funding, would be better advised to demonstrate against the quality of their education which has failed…
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