Webinars

Patients suffering from chronic pain are frequently treated with opioids, antidepressants, antiepileptic drugs and anti-anxiety medications. However, response to these medications is highly variable. Many patients do not experience adequate pain control with opioids leading to increased opioids consumption, and raising concerns about drug dependence or abuse. Clinical response to antidepressants and opioids, as well as the risk of adverse side effects and addiction, is dependent on a patient’s inherent ability to metabolize these medications. Dr. Ruslan Dorfman will explain how pharmacogenetic testing can help patients and their healthcare providers to identify which medications are more likely to work and suggest safer drug doses.

Dr. Dorfman is a founder and CEO of GeneYouIn Inc, agenetic testing company that has developed a proprietary genome analytics platform called PillCheck^TM. Dr. Dorfman is a molecular geneticist by training, and is passionate about pharmacogenetics of chronic pain and genetics of rare diseases. Prior to founding GeneYouIn in 2012 he worked at Sick Kids Hospital, and developed the Personalized Medicine Strategy at the Mount Sinai Hospital. He has published more than 30 manuscripts on genetics of Cystic Fibrosis, disease modifying genes, and pain genetics. Dr. Dorfman has expertise in clinical study design, statistical analysis, pharmacogenetics, genomic annotation and healthcare strategy.

Dr. Andrea Furlan, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, will provide an overview of the use of opioids such as codeine, tramadol, morphine and oxycodone. Learn about how opioids work to relieve neuropathic pain and how patients with neuropathic pain can take these medications and minimize the risks of adverse events. Dr.  Furlan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and staff physician and scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. She is also Associate Scientist at the Institute for Work & Health in Toronto. She was the team leader for the development of the Canadian Opioid Guideline, and is now involved with Guideline's National Faculty in dissemination and implementation of the guideline across Canada. She developed the Opioid Manager, a point-of-care tool for physicians using opioids for chronic pain, which is available in many EMR platforms and as an App for iPad/iPhone. Dr. Furlan is a co-Chair of Echo Ontario for Pain and Opioid Stewardship. Watch archived webinar. 

Interventional treatments for neuropathic pain can range from nerve blocks to spinal cord stimulation. Learn about different kinds of interventions, how they work and which are used most effectively for different types of neuropathic pain from Dr. Norman Buckley. Dr. Buckley is the Scientific Director of the DeGroote Pain Clinic at McMaster University and has been extensively involved in the development and organization of the acute postoperative pain service for adult and pediatric patients, and the pediatric sedation services. Watch archived webinar.

Dr. Jason Busse will discuss a systematic review of treatment for central post-stroke pain (CPSP). Treatment of CPSP is challenging and many patients do not experience sufficient pain relief. Part of the difficulty in finding sufficient treatment is the results of a lack of complete understanding of the mechanism of CPSP, its causes as well as the co-existing psychological and emotional aspects of chronic pain. Watch archived webinar. 

Dr. Dwight Moulin, Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences and Department of Oncology, University of Western Ontario, will be providing an overview of advances in the treatment and management of neuropathic pain. Watch archived webinar. 

Dr. Anthony Levinson presents PainHQ - the new neuropathic pain web resource, designed to provide you and your loved ones with the most recent evidence, treatments and resources.  Learn about what this new site has to offer, including webinars, e-learning videos, personal stories and expert blogs.