Veterans Affairs committee  Very well.

Veterans Affairs committee  We don't. Clearly the ones we're aware of are the ones who come for help.

Veterans Affairs committee  Again, that's a difficult question, and it's outside my realm of expertise. What is clear, however, is that if we look specifically at post-traumatic stress disorder, we know that certain individuals are susceptible to this disorder and others are not. That susceptibility is actually a biologically anchored event.

Veterans Affairs committee  Frankly, I believe that eventually it's going to be more than psychological testing. I think it's going to be biological testing. I think we're going to have biomarkers that could be genetic, epigenetic or hormonal markers. I believe that we need to develop true biological markers.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's certainly a valid area for research. I do not think there is, or at least I'm not familiar with, any research on this transition period and the difficulties linked to this transition period. But I know for a fact that we've discussed with the assistant deputy minister of Veterans Affairs Canada that this is an area in which we could collaborate on increasing support for research.

Veterans Affairs committee  Quite frankly, I could certainly get you some information on that. I can't really comment on it because it's always difficult to get information on those who don't come to us for treatment. What we do know, however, is that there are some areas, particularly the mental health area, in which, as you know, there are significantly higher percentages of disorders than there are in the normal population.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would first like to thank the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs for this opportunity to discuss the issue of combat stress and its consequences on the mental health of veterans and their families. As in all matters of health, research is critical for achieving the quality of health and health care that we wish for Canada's military veterans.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  That's one of the huge issues. There are two problems. We didn't worry a lot about the variation in the anatomy of neck veins until this happened. That's one thing. And why didn't we worry? It was because there is a huge redundancy in the number of veins and capacity for drainage, and it's normal.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  It's certainly going to benefit patients. The work is going to go faster as they benefit from one another's experience. I would say that it's a microcosm of what's going on more and more in science. There is always a mix of collaboration and competition, but there is more collaboration as we realize that we're dealing with complex issues, and that we are way better equipped to deal with them if we work together instead of against each other.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Thank you very much.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Thank you, Madam Chair.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  There are several elements to your questions. I'll try to go through them rapidly. First, I want to tell you how important it is that MPs care and how important is your statement about the need for evidence-based practice.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  It's the basis of our medical practice in this country, and at times it's tough to follow. You feel for those patients who have very few options right now. Quite frankly, the last thing I want to do is blame the patients, because I understand that. We have a role to explain to them why we believe they shouldn't go abroad at this point to get a treatment.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  You may well be right, but I can tell you that it's not acceptable; we will not condone it, and we'll try to, as I said, by working with the professional associations and colleges, impress upon these groups the importance that patients are seen and are treated. The only thing I can tell you is that the working group—as I said, most of them were actually physicians—said they would never refuse to see patients, and a lot of their patients had actually undergone treatment abroad.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Actually, there are several.... An article came out yesterday about another breakthrough study by a British group using stem cells to regenerate myelin on the demyelinated fascicles. There are several drugs in the pipeline. One was recently accepted by Health Canada. We learned at the August conference that there are several others in the pipeline that are being investigated.