Media Coverage 1999

Toronto Star
December 31, 1999

"Two centenarians whose lives span three centuries"

Baycrest Terrace resident Dina Zbar, 100, and Wagman Centre member William Katz, 102, make the front page of the historic last edition of the Toronto Star in the 20th century.

Canadian Press, CTV National, Global TV, CBC Newsworld, National Post, Toronto Star
November, 1999

"Older Canadians get too few heart drugs"

Baycrest geriatrician and researcher Dr. Paula Rochon is interviewed about her published study which finds that many older seniors in Ontario are not getting the life-saving drug beta-blocker after they've had a heart attack.

CBC Newsworld, Canadian Press,
November, 1999

"Dementia guide aimed at caregivers"

Bianca Stern, director of Occupational Therapy, talks to the media about Caring For Your Loved One, a new Baycrest guide to help people who are looking after someone with dementia, such as Alzheimer's. After the media attention, the first print run sells out in eight weeks!

BBC News, STERN, National Post, Globe & Mail, CBC-TV, Reuters
October 1999

"Old brains can learn new tricks"

Rotman scientist Dr. Randy McIntosh is interviewed by media around the world about his published research which finds that older brains recruit different areas to perform the same 'thinking tasks' as younger brains.

CBC Radio This Morning
October 18, 1999

"Feeling depressed, not thinking straights"

Rotman scientist Dr. Helen Mayberg is interviewed by CBC Radio about her breakthrough research which shows for the first time how two key areas in the brain interact with one another when depression is affecting cognitive ability.

Globe & Mail,
August 1999

"Will new anti-dementia drugs bring your aunt back?"

Baycrest geriatrician and researcher Dr. Paula Rochon was interviewed by the Globe & Mail for a story on the effectiveness of anti-dementia drugs.

CTV National News, Globe & Mail, Reuters
August 1999

"Study calls for lower dose pills for seniors"

A Baycrest study is calling for drug manufacturers to make lower doses of commonly prescribed drugs for seniors. Dr. Paual Rochon was interviewed by major media about her study which tracked low-dose prescribing of a hypertension drug over a one-year period in Ontario. She found a troubling "mismatch" between prescribing practice and the tablet dosages available in the marketplace. Many frail seniors are forced to split their pills at home which can cause frustration, non-compliance, or dosage error.

Global TV, Toronto Star
July 1999

"Three Century Club announced"

The Ontario Government was at Baycrest in July to announce The Three Century Club, an Ontario 2000 initiative to honour those seniors whose lives have spanned three centuries as of Jan. 1, 2000. Three Baycrest centenarians were on hand to cut a special cake with Citizen, Culture and Recreation Minister Helen Johns.

Toronto Sun
June 1999

"Don't ever forget it!"

Baycrest psychologist and memory expert Dr. Angela Troyer is interviewed by the Sun about normal memory changes during aging. Dr. Troyer runs a Memory and Aging workshop at Baycrest for older adults who may be concerned about memory loss.

Toronto Sun
June 1999

"Research on humour very serious"

The Toronto Star profiled Dr. Prathiba Shammi, the University of Toronto doctoral student and Rotman researcher whose recently published research on humour and the right frontal lobe made headlines around the world.

enRoute Magazine
May 1999

"The Temple of Memory"

The May issue of Air Canada's enRoute magazine featured a lengthy cover story on Toronto's "Temple of Memory" - Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest. The Rotman is world renowned for its research on aging's impact on memory. Drs. Donald Stuss and Morris Moscovitch were interviewed.

Canadian Press, Global TV
May 1999

Social worker Paula David is interviewed by Canadian Press after spearheading the first-ever multi-disciplinary, international conference on Caring for the Aging Holocaust Survivor. Global Television did a story on the Conference, interviewing a Holocaust survivor and her daughter in Toronto.

CBC The National, Globe & Mail, U.S. News and World Report
May 1999

"Feeling depressed, not thinking straight?"

Rotman scientist Dr. Helen Mayberg was interviewed by major media in Canada and the United States after her published research showed for the first time how two key areas of the brain interact with one another when depression is affecting cognitive ability. Her ground-breaking study was conducted at the University of Texas Health Science Centre at San Antonio before she came to the Rotman Research Institute last January to assume the Sandra A. Rotman Chair in Neuropsychiatry.

Canada AM, Discovery Channel, National Post
April 1999

"Humour and the Right Frontal Lobe"

Media in Canada, the U.S. and around the world, including the BBC, interviewed doctoral student/Rotman researcher Prathiba Shammi and Baycrest's vice president of research Dr. Donald Stuss about Dr. Shammi's published study showing that damage to the right frontal lobe can affect one's sense of humor. Even more intriguing, people with this kind of brain damage prefer simple slapstick humor.

CBC The National "Magazine"
Jan. 5, 1999

"In Search of Memory"

Baycrest scientists/ memory experts Drs. Morris Freedman (Alzheimer's) and Cheryl Grady (PET imaging), and psychologist Dr. Angela Troyer (who runs a memory and aging workshop for adults) are interviewed about changes to memory as we age.

CTV National News
Dec. 20, 1998

American Study Links Depression in Seniors with Higher Risk of Cancer

Baycrest psychiatrist Dr. David Conn responds to the startling findings.

CBC at 6 "Close Up"
Dec. 9, 1998

"Mercy Killing"

Baycrest's Dr. Michael Gordon, a respected authority on the bio-ethical issues surrounding euthanasia, comments on the dangers of legalizing "mercy killing".