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http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2002/06/12/f191.raw.html Wednesday, June 12, 2002 The Halifax Herald Limited ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Halifax gets $8.45m for brain research By Susan LeBlanc / Health Reporter Halifax will get one of the most powerful MRI machines in the world - and the promise of more cutting-edge doctors - as part of an $8.45-million investment in its renowned Brain Repair Centre. A $4.2-million MRI unit will be used to probe diseases including Parkinson's, Huntington's and Alzheimer's - with hopes that Halifax researchers can eventually find cures. At a Halifax news conference Tuesday, the National Research Council announced it is buying the machine and committing $3 million to hire staff for the centre and cover other costs. The province of Nova Scotia is chipping in $1.25 million for the two-storey building that will house the MRI machine and work space for about 10 researchers. The facility will be attached to the Halifax Infirmary, nestled between the Infirmary and the Abbie J. Lane building. Construction begins in August, and the building should be complete by next March. The investment means "we'll be able to attract the brightest minds to come to Halifax, . . . those who will be the innovators of the future, those who will find cures," said neurosurgeon Dr. Ivar Mendez, a driving force behind the centre. Though patients won't get their MRI tests done on the new machine at first, its presence will translate into better patient care because top-notch doctors will come to Halifax, he said. The lure is the MRI unit, which is three times more powerful than the two magnetic resonance imaging machines in use in Halifax now. An MRI test is a detailed look at the inside of the body through the use of a magnet. "It is going to be one of the most powerful magnets in the world - and it's occurring here in Nova Scotia," Dr. Mendez said. "It will allow us to look at regions of the brain that cannot be seen now . . . to look and peer into the brain - not only into the structure of the brain, but into the function of the brain. That is very important to assess diseases and also assess our treatment." The MRI machine will be a research tool "but eventually that type of imaging technology will come to the bedside," he said. $3.6 million for Dal medical research The "front end" of the MRI unit, including its electronic component, is now at the Institute for Biodiagnostics in Winnipeg, where staff are working out the bugs and training those who will use it in Halifax, said Dr. Ian Smith, director general of the National Research Council. He said three people have already been hired as part of the venture - one is training in Halifax, another in Winnipeg and the third in Calgary. The staff will eventually come to Halifax. Premier John Hamm said at the news conference that the announcement represents "a pivotal moment in the history of medicine." Senator Jane Cordy, representing Industry Minister Allan Rock, said the centre's presence "will benefit Nova Scotia and potentially all of humanity." The Brain Research Centre is a joint effort of about 100 Halifax researchers from neurosurgery, psychiatry, psychology and other fields. Though the groups began collaborating in 1999, this is the first investment that pulls them together, said Diane Gorsky, hired as the centre's executive director 18 months ago. Halifax is one of four sites in the world where doctors implant stem cells into the brain to repair damage. Dr. Mendez has also gained attention for his work in deep brain stimulation, which improves the quality of life of Parkinson's sufferers, said Gail Gardiner, executive director of the Maritime branch of the Parkinson's Society Canada. "We're going to bring key researchers together who hopefully will find some very important pieces in the puzzle of Parkinson's and ultimately a cure," Ms. Gardiner said. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn