SPECIALTY MEDICINE N EWS docs hope to lasso recognition

Rodeo health professionals want boys to ride bulls after suffering complain about something, you their brand of medicine recog- a head injury. They would also can bet they’re in agony.” nized, say organizers of the first like to build a force platform to There are 35 members on international rodeo medicine measure real-time data on bull the Canadian team, including conference. stomping and other causes of in- certified athletic therapists, mas- About 70 rodeo physicians jury. This data can be used to sage therapists, chiropractors and other health care profes- design protective gear. and sports medicine physicians, sionals from across Western Few studies have been done many with experience in ortho- North America gathered in Cal- on the unique injuries suffered pedics. Members of the team at- gary July 7–8, ahead of the city’s during . These injuries tend the 19 largest professional Stampede, to share ideas on the range from sprained ankles to rodeo events. treatment and prevention of ruptured tendons, as cowboys Team president Dale Butter-

DOI:10.1503/cmaj.1041148 rodeo-related injuries. Organiz- tangle with animals exerting wick, a senior instructor at the ers hope the completely different forces than University of Calgary Sport event will foster humans on a playing field. Medicine Centre, led a landmark collaborative re- “A football player might get 5-year analysis of professional search to make tackled, but that’s not the same rodeo injuries (American Journal the most of lim- as being stomped by a 2000- of Sports Medicine 2002;3[2]:193- ited funding. pound bull,” orthopedic sur- 8). The analysis found that the Attendees de- geon Dr. Laurie Hiemstra says, worst events were veloped a consen- from Calgary. (32.2 injuries per 1000 rides) and sus on how to Hiemstra, a professor at the (24.5 injuries per manage concus- University of Calgary Sport 1000). About 30% of the injuries sions, which they Medicine Centre, was roped into were serious, including fractures, hope will be volunteering with the Canadian ruptures, dislocations and con- adopted by rodeo Pro Rodeo Sports Medicine cussions. associations. One Team 3 years ago. Concussions accounted for

Canapress of the recommen- “These guys are the toughest 8.6% of all reported injuries; Ride ‘em: Research is needed on dations concerns athletes I’ve ever met,” Hiem- higher than previously reported. how to prevent injury. not allowing cow- stra says. “If they come in and — Dina O’Meara, Calgary

INFECTIOUS DISEASE SARS vaccine undergoing animal testing

Canadian researchers have de- The second vaccine was de- could be available in about 2 veloped 2 potential SARS vac- veloped by researchers at Mc- years, depending on the final cines now undergoing animal Master University using an ade- test results and whether “the testing. novirus vector, a common-cold disease rears its ugly head Both prototypes have pro- virus that has been engineered again,” Babiuk added. Another duced antibody responses in an- with DNA from the SARS virus. outbreak would likely re- imals, a first step toward the The vaccines were tested on searchers to fast-track the eventual development of a hu- mice and ferrets at the Southern process, he said. man vaccine, said Dr. Lorne Research Institute in Alabama, a Several other SARS vaccine Babiuk, director of the Univer- Level 3 laboratory. candidates are currently under sity of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine “Both showed early signs of development in Canada, but all and Infectious Disease Organi- being able to provide protec- are in earlier test phases, zation (VIDO). But it isn’t tion” in animals, said Jack Gauldie said. Canadian re- known yet whether the antibod- Gauldie, director of the Centre searchers began work on a vac- ies will effectively block the for Gene Therapeutics at Mc- cine just over a year ago, after an replication of the SARS virus, Master. While the vaccine can- outbreak of the potentially Babiuk said. didates have generated immu- deadly respiratory disease. De- One of the prototypes is a nity, some aspects of the veloping a market-ready vaccine conventional killed-virus vac- immunity may be damaging, he usually takes about 10 years, but cine developed by researchers at cautioned. Further tests on researchers are hoping to reduce the BC Centre for Disease Con- other animal models are likely, the time substantially in the case trol, the University of BC and he said. of SARS. — Rosanna Tamburri,

DOI:10.1503/cmaj.1041149 VIDO. A human SARS vaccine Oakville, Ont.

320 JAMC • 17 AOÛT 2004; 171 (4)