Research Wrapup
Research Wrapup

Game changers: From research to better care

Health care is a team sport and our researchers are the ones changing the game. Meet three people adjusting to life after diagnosis — and thriving, thanks in part, to discoveries made at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute.
Erinn McQueen
Erinn McQueen
Diagnosis: Rheumatoid arthritis
Erinn McQueen is one of many rheumatoid arthritis patients who thrives for a period of time on a medication, but for reasons unknown, reaches a point when the same medication eventually ceases to work.
A patient at Sinai for 17 years, her journey began at age 21 when she was a star player on her university’s varsity soccer team. All of a sudden, she felt chronically exhausted and in pain.
At her worst, she was unable to brush her own hair or tie her own shoes. She had to undergo several surgeries to remove damaged and disfigured joints, including a hip replacement in her early 30s.
For Erinn, knowing that researchers are working on groundbreaking new treatments continues to give her hope about her future.
Dr. Kathy Siminovitch, a Senior Investigator at LTRI and the Sherman Family Research Chair in Genomic Medicine, has already discovered many of the key genetic variants (mutations and abnormalities) that cause rheumatoid arthritis.
“To understand why patients have different responses to medications and to disease, we need to define their genetic and immunologic differences,” she says.
Dr. Siminovitch’s lab team has since established a Centre for Immune Profiling and is capitalizing on new technology to search for genetic and immune cellular biomarkers that can be used to tailor, and optimize, treatment for individual patients.
“Things that were easy before my diagnosis, like climbing stairs or riding my bike, became very difficult,” Erinn says. “Ongoing research into new treatments has allowed me to enjoy these activities again, and I’m determined to live each day as best as I can. Research is a big part of why I still have hope.”
Priscilla
Priscilla
Diagnosis: Preeclampsia
St. Patrick’s Day 2017 was a day worth celebrating for Priscilla and her husband Philip: Their daughter Nyla was born at Mount Sinai Hospital, weighing 5 lbs 9 oz.
Nyla’s arrival was especially cherished because Priscilla’s previous pregnancy, in 2015, resulted in a stillbirth at 28 weeks due to severe preeclampsia, a rare but deadly complication of pregnancy that is characterized by high blood pressure and can only be fully-reversed by delivering the baby.
Dr. John Kingdom, a perinatologist and Associate Member of LTRI, became Priscilla’s doctor for her second pregnancy.
Dr. Kingdom and his colleague Dr. Rory Windrim monitored her closely, giving her resources to learn more about preeclampsia and daily low-dose aspirin to prevent or delay its onset. Then, 35 weeks into Priscilla’s pregnancy, Dr. Kingdom was able to offer her and other expectant moms at high risk for preeclampsia a breakthrough new blood test called the Placenta Growth Factor (PlGF) test, which can determine if a woman has preeclampsia in the absence of obvious symptoms. The PIGF test emerged directly from Dr. Kingdom’s research between his LTRI lab and Mount Sinai’s Placenta Clinic, and Mount Sinai is the first hospital in Canada to offer this test in real time.
Dr. Kingdom called Priscilla the night of the test to share her results: She was “in the zone” for preeclampsia.
The day before Nyla was born, Priscilla noticed some of the troubling signs Dr. Kingdom had warned her about. Concerned, Priscilla came in to Mount Sinai on March 16, and delivered Nyla via Caesarean section the following morning, just shy of 37 weeks’ gestation.
“I can’t say enough about this experience. It’s been amazing,” says Priscilla.
Bill McKinlay
Bill McKinlay
Diagnosis: Type 2 diabetes
Bill McKinlay, a superintendent and safety officer at a large construction company, is a tall, broad, energetic man of 60.
In June 2019, Bill experienced a minor stroke. Then, one month later, the big one hit: a catastrophic stroke, thought to be a result of uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes.
Bill’s second stroke resulted in the loss of his ability to walk, talk, go to the bathroom on his own, think clearly and, initially, to swallow. He was moved to Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, part of Sinai Health, where he spent six weeks working with his care team to regain the skills he lost.
What is exceptional about the care Bill received is that it focused not only on rehabilitation, but also on another critical aspect of his future: managing his diabetes.
In 2013, Dr. Dina Reiss developed a unique endocrinology consultation service for Bridgepoint. She visits patients in their rooms and helps to untangle and treat a complex array of risk factors, thus improving their overall health and prognosis.
Along with Dr. Reiss, Bill’s care team included an occupational and physical therapist, speech language pathologist, dietitian, pharmacist and specialized nurse.
When Bill was first diagnosed with diabetes, he was prescribed metformin, an oral diabetes medicine that helps control blood sugar levels. But he did not receive specialized diabetes care and had no idea of the danger he was in.
He hopes his story will be a cautionary tale to others to proactively manage their health.
“I thought I was very healthy, but diabetes doesn’t care,” Bill says. “It’s on the inside. I was a tough guy until I realized I wasn’t.”