The Evidence Speaks Series is a recurring feature highlighting the latest in Advancing Health research. This series features summaries of select publications and is designed to keep media and the research community up to date with the Centre’s current research results in the health outcomes field.
To ensure this research is quick and easy to share, you are welcome to save the social cards and use as you see fit.
Female emergency department patients with alcohol withdrawal have better long-term outcomes compared to their male counterparts
Scheuermeyer F, Barbic S, Socias ME, Slaunwhite A. Sex differences in the 1-year outcomes of emergency department patients with alcohol withdrawal. Can J Emerg Med. 2025.
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) impacts up to 20% of the global population, with many people presenting at the emergency department (ED) with alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Historically, males have exhibited higher alcohol use, with more frequent ED visits, hospitalisations, and increased mortality, but these sex-based differences may be narrowing. However, there’s limited research on sex-based differences in emergency room utilization and long-term outcomes for AUD and withdrawal, impacts current screening and treatment strategies. Advancing Health scientists, Drs. Frank Scheuermeyer, Skye Barbic, and Amanda Slaunwhite worked to fill this gap through an analysis of sex-based differences in 1-year ED revisits, hospital admissions, and mortality in patients with alcohol withdrawal.
The study included 1,019 patients (273 female), identified from three Canadian university-affiliated EDs, a provincial referral centre, and two community sites. Sociodemographic, comorbidity, and treatment factors were similar between the male and female groups, except the female group had higher rates of depression and a slightly longer average ED stay by 22 minutes. At the one-year mark, similar proportions of female and male patients re-attended an ED and were admitted to the hospital. However, the number of ED revisits were significantly higher among male patients, and after 1 year, 1 female (0.4%) and 19 male patients (2.6%) died. The results of the study showed that despite similar demographics, acute illness and proportion of revisits at the 1-year mark, female patients had better outcomes than male patients.
The research team suggested that the difference in outcome could be attributed to differences in unmeasured factors like severity of daily or weekly alcohol consumption patterns, improved recovery after the initial ED visits, or supportive social groups. Clinical implications of this study include sex-specific screening, tailored management approaches for patients with high visit counts, post-discharge supports, and specialised treatment programs.
Novel gene editing technique allows cystic fibrosis to be corrected in 50% of lung cells in a 2D model
Tafech B, Carlaw T, Sadhnani G, Schmidt K, Morin T, Leung J, Weiner J, An K, Balász A, Ross C, Beule D, Mall MA, Fuchs H, Kulkarni J, Cullis PR, Hedtrich S. Lung tissue-optimized gene editing in human cystic fibrosis models following topical application of lipid nanoparticles. J Control Release. 2025.
Cystic fibrosis is a debilitating genetic disease which causes the body to produce an extremely thick and viscous mucus. While this impacts many organs in the body, it’s particularly pronounced in the lungs, where this mucus makes breathing more difficult while also creating an environment prone to respiratory infections. Long term, this can lead to lung failure and death.
While extremely damaging, cystic fibrosis is caused by a mutation in only a single gene, CFTR. With recent advances, it is theoretically possible to use the gene-editing technology CRISPR to correct the malfunctioning genes in lung cells. In practice, however, it has proven very difficult to get this gene editing “cargo” through the very thick mucus and into the lung cells of cystic fibrosis patients. Researchers, including Advancing Health scientist Dr. Colin Ross, conducted experiments in a 2D model of lung cells to see if this barrier could be overcome. They tested different designs of “lipid nanoparticles,” tiny spheres created from fat molecules that act like trucks to deliver the gene-editing cargo. They also evaluated different ways of packaging the CRISPR technology and other elements of the nanoparticle design, such as helper lipids, which make the nanoparticle more stable, and immunosuppressors, which keep the body’s immune system from attacking the delivered gene editing materials. Through iterative testing, they were able to find a combination of elements which, altogether, provided an unprecedented level of efficacy, successfully editing 50% of the lung cells in a 2D model. While this was shown to be significantly less effective in a more realistic 3D lung cell model, this is a promising next step in developing a potential cure for cystic fibrosis, and shows the necessity of further research in this area.
Aerobic minutes and step numbers remain lower than guideline-recommended in inpatient stroke rehabilitation
Yan Y, Eng JJ, Hung SH, Bayley MT, Best KL, Connell LA, Donkers SJ, Dukelow SP, Ezeugwu VE, Milot M-H, Sakakibara BM, Sheehy L, Wong H, Yao J, Peters S. Aerobic minutes and step number remain low in inpatient stroke rehabilitation. PLOS One. 2025.
Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability, with many patients experiencing deficits in motor function, which in turn reduces walking activity. This makes regaining walking independence a key goal in rehabilitation therapy.
Beyond its usual health benefits, aerobic activity can improve motor control, cardiovascular function, and walking endurance. Advancing Health scientist Dr. Hubert Wong joined a team of researchers who conducted a study to quantify aerobic minutes and step counts in physical therapy sessions across 12 Canadian sites and identify the characteristics of participants who reached the guideline recommendations. The study drew on data from the usual care arm of a physical rehabilitation clinical trial, which involves 5 days per week of 30–60 minutes of physical therapy.
The team conducted a secondary analysis of participant data collected from wrist-based heart monitor (to measure aerobic minutes) and an ankle-based step counter (to measure step numbers). Participants completed an average of 10 aerobic minutes and 985 steps in one midpoint session (2-weeks post admission into the rehabilitation program) with the relationship between step number and aerobic minutes staying negligible. Patients who managed ≥20 aerobic minutes per day were mostly male (73 per cent) with subcortical strokes. The results of the study also showed that the number of steps in a session of physical therapy appears to have increased in the past several years, with studies from fifteen years ago finding the average steps to be between 63 and 357 steps.
Data from this study show that the current volume of aerobic exercise among patients in stroke rehabilitation programs remains below the recommended 20–60 minutes of aerobic exercise. The team suggests that future studies should explore how factors like therapist preferences and resource limitations are impacting adherence to guidelines, and in the long term, patients’ post-stroke recovery.
