Lymphovenous Canada: A list of organizations which support research into lymphatic conditions

Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance
www.breast.cancer.ca

A unique Canadian alliance dedicated to funding research into breast cancer (and breast cancer related lymphedema).

Lymphatic Research Foundation
http://www.lymphaticresearch.org
A non-profit organization whose mission is to help identify, support and promote research into the causes, treatments, and potential cures for lymphedema and angiodysplasia disorders.

Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders
http://www.cord.ca
With their consent, CORD links families and individuals with the same rare disorder. CORD provides the medical community with information on rare disorders by accessing a Rare Disease Database. The CORD Networking Program is meant to encourage the formation of mutual self-help support groups concerned about a single rare disorder.

The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
http://www.rarediseases.org
The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is an American-based federation of voluntary health organizations dedicated to helping people with rare orphan diseases (which effect fewer than 200,000 people) and assisting the organizations that serve them. NORD is committed to the identification, treatment, and cure of rare disorders through programs of education, advocacy, research, and service.

NORD produces a newsletter The Orphan Disease Update and administers the following databases:

• Rare Disease Database
• Organizational Database
• Orphan Drug Designation Database

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
http://www.cihr.ca/

Created in June 2000 (replacing the former Medical Research Council of Canada), the CIHR is the major federal agency responsible for funding health research in Canada.

The CIHR takes a multi-disciplinary approach organized through a framework of "virtual" institutes, each dedicated to a specific area of focus, linking and supporting researchers pursuing common goals. Institutes bring together researchers who approach health challenges from different disciplinary perspectives, drawing on the combined strengths of these approaches. The four pillars of CIHR include biomedical, clinical science, health systems and services, and the social, cultural and other factors that affect the health of populations.

The Canadian Cochrane Networkand Centre
http://cochrane.mcmaster.ca
The mission of the Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre (CCN/C) is to foster health care decisions based on accurate knowledge (evidence-based health care). This is done by identifying and supporting people in Canada who wish to become involved with the Cochrane Collaboration (an international initiative) and by promoting appreciation, dissemination, and application of systematic reviews of health care interventions.

National Cancer Institute of Canada
http://www.ncic.cancer.ca

The National Cancer Institute of Canada acts in concert with its partner the Canadian Cancer Society, and with the Terry Fox Foundation, to provide support for cancer research and related programs undertaken at Canadian universities, hospitals and other research institutions such as the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative (CBCRI).

The U. S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)
http://www.nih.gov/

A federal agency which funds research into preventing, detecting, diagnosing, and treating diseases and disabilities. Provides a searchable data base (PubMed)on scientific research at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi

In December 2000 the NIH called for research proposals for scientific studies into lymphedema. For more information see: http://www.niams.nih.gov/rtac/funding/grants/pa/pa_01_035.pdf. Requires Acrobat reader.

See also National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, part of NIH.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI)
http://www.nci.nih.gov/

Part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute coordinates a national and comprehensive research program on cancer cause, prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment.

Tropical Disease Specialists and Research Centres:
Getting help in Canada for the treatment of tropical diseases

The World Health Organization - Division of Control of Tropical Diseases

Over 25 partners are involved worldwide to wipe out lymphatic filariasis by 2020 through prevention and research. This tropical form of lymphedema results from parasitic worms transmitted by mosquitoes. It is endemic in at least 73 countries and affects 150 million people or 1/4 of the world's population.

WHO genetic research releated to lymphatic filariasis:

• The Filarial Genome Project Resource Centre stores and distributes all filarial DNA libraries and clones;
• Up-to-date information on filarial genome research is provided through FilGenNet, the Filarial Genome Network
.

  HEALTH DATABASES

PubMed
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (MIH)'s searchable database on published scientific research. Information can be found through a word search, authors or names of articles.

Canadian Health Network
www.canadian-health-network.ca
The Canadian Health Network (CHN) is a national, bilingual Internet-based health information service. Health Canada, its founding Partner, provides funding for CHN.

The Consumer Health Information Service
http://www.tpl.toronto.on.ca/uni_chi_index.jsp

The Consumer Health Information Service supports people in gaining greater control over their own health through access to health information. Located on the third floor of the Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street, the service is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and serves the people of Ontario. Has great links to other useful health research data bases.

P.O.W.E.R. SURFERS (Patients Online for Well-being, Education and Research)
http://www.windsorpubliclibrary.com/power/home/

POWER SURFERS is a joint project between the Windsor Public Library, the Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital, the Windsor Regional Cancer Center which together have put together joint directories of cancer web sites as well as links to web sites and resources for other diseases and disorders.