P R AC T I C AL T R A V E L L E R by
C a mi lle C hi n
A wheel beauty When the Airstream Trailer Company went into full-throttle production in 1932, there were 48 companies in the biz. Five years later, there were 400. Out of those, only Airstream remains, and looking at the totally tricked-out, sausage-shaped, rivetedaluminum-shell RVs, it’s little wonder why. Getting inside one of these beauties, however, takes cash, and a good amount of it. But now, instead of having to buy one, the most style-minded road tripper can rent one — for the first time ever. Airstream 2 Go is North America’s exclusive, factory-authorized source for current-model rentals like the Airstream 23, for four people, or the Airstream 28, for six. Both include a bathroom with shower, a refrigerator, gas grill, microwave and AC plus kitchen utensils, bedding and towels, a flat-screen TV with DVD player and camping chairs. Rentals are available in LA and Vegas, but there are plans to expand across the US. A minimum five-day rental is required; rentals include a GMC Yukon Denali SUV for towing. Take-it-and-go rates start at US$3850; custom-planned itineraries (from partner outfitter Off the Beaten Path) start at US$4600. tel: (800) 780-9880; airstream2go.com.
JULY 2013 • Doctor’s
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P RA CT I CA L T RAVEL L E R
Park it here
FRED LABOUNTY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Yellowstone National Park.
Strolling through a park is truly one of summer’s simple pleasures. More than 282 million people agree because that’s how many folks visited national parks in the US last year. It was the sixth highest annual visitation in the history of the National Park Service, despite nearly two million fewer visitors because of park closures caused by Hurricane Sandy. (NY’s Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island of the National Parks of New York Harbour will reopen on July 4; Ellis Island remains closed). Want to know where most people are “parking it?” Check out 2012’s top 10 list below. Can’t make it to one? Get the new America’s National Parks: A Pop-Up Book, which features 18 popular parks, six as pop-ups. nps.gov. 1. Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina/Tennessee (9,685,829) 2. Grand Canyon in Arizona (4,421,352) 3. Yosemite in California (3,853,404) 4. Yellowstone in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho (3,447,729) 5. Rocky Mountain in Colorado (3,229,617) 6. Zion in Utah (2,973,607) 7. Olympic in Washington (2,824,908) 8. Grand Teton in Wyoming (2,705,256) 9. Acadia in Maine (2,431,052) 10. Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio (2,299,722)
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Pr Cipralex® and PrCipralex MELTZ® are indicated for the symptomatic relief of major depressive disorder (MDD). The efficacy of Cipralex (escitalopram oxalate) in maintaining an antidepressant response, in patients with MDD who responded during an 8-week, acute-treatment phase while taking Cipralex (escitalopram oxalate) and were then observed for relapse during a period of up to 36 weeks, was demonstrated in a placebo-controlled trial. Physicians who elect to use Cipralex and Cipralex MELTZ for extended periods should periodically re-evaluate the usefulness of the drug for individual patients. Cipralex and Cipralex MELTZ should not be used in combination with an MAOI or within 14 days of discontinuing treatment with an MAOI. Similarly, at least 14 days should elapse after discontinuing Cipralex treatment before starting an MAOI. Cipralex and Cipralex MELTZ should not be used in combination with the antipsychotic drug pimozide. Cipralex has been found to cause a dose-dependent prolongation of the QT interval. Cipralex and Cipralex MELTZ are contraindicated in patients with known QT interval prolongation or congenital long QT syndrome. As with other SSRIs/SNRIs, Cipralex and Cipralex MELTZ can cause mydriasis and should be used with caution in patients with raised intraocular pressure or those with narrowangle glaucoma. Adverse events that occurred in Cipralex (escitalopram oxalate)-treated patients in the course of shortterm, placebo-controlled trials with an incidence greater than, or equal to, 10% were headache and nausea. In a study comparing Cipralex MELTZ tablets (escitalopram base) to Cipralex tablets (escitalopram oxalate), the adverse event profile was consistent with that observed in controlled clinical trials, with the exception of “feeling cold” which occurred in 2 of 30 subjects administered the Cipralex MELTZ 20 mg tablet. Cipralex and Cipralex MELTZ are not indicated for use in patients under 18 years of age. In these patients, the use of SSRIs and other newer antidepressants may be associated with behavioural and emotional changes, including an increased risk of suicidal ideation and behaviour over that of placebo. In both pediatrics and adults, there have been reports of severe agitation-type adverse events coupled with self-harm and harm to others with SSRIs and other newer antidepressants. The agitation-type events include: akathisia, agitation, emotional lability, hostility, aggression, depersonalization. In some cases, the events occurred within several weeks of starting treatment. An FDA meta-analysis of placebo-controlled clinical trials of antidepressant drugs in adult patients aged 18 to 24 years with psychiatric disorders showed an increased risk of suicidal behaviours with antidepressants compared to placebo. Patients currently taking Cipralex and Cipralex MELTZ should NOT be discontinued abruptly, due to risk of discontinuation symptoms. A gradual reduction in the dose is recommended. The possibility of fracture should be considered in the care of patients treated with Cipralex and Cipralex MELTZ. Elderly patients and patients with important risk factors for bone fractures should be advised of possible adverse events which increase the risk of falls, such as dizziness and orthostatic hypotension, especially at the early stages of treatment but also soon after withdrawal. A possible effect on bone mineral density with long-term treatment with SSRIs/SNRIs cannot be excluded. Cipralex and Cipralex MELTZ may increase the risk of bleeding events by causing abnormal platelet aggregation. Bleeding events related to SSRI and SNRI use have ranged from ecchymoses, hematomas, epistaxis, and petechiae to lifethreatening haemorrhages. Patients should be cautioned about the risk of bleeding associated with the concomitant use of Cipralex or Cipralex MELTZ and NSAIDs, ASA, or other drugs that affect coagulation. Caution is advised in patients with a history of bleeding disorder or predisposing conditions (e.g. thrombocytopenia).
® Registered trademark of Lundbeck Canada Inc. Product Monograph available on request.
Doctor’s Review • JULY 2013
CIM-407-12E
Is choice important for your Cipralex patients? 速
Discover
Not an exact representation of the pill
66 SeeSee prescribing prescribing summary summary on page on page xxx xxx
P R AC T I C AL T R A V E L L E R
The great sandwich robbery Everyone knows you can’t compare apples with oranges, so when you’re trying to figure out how far your money will stretch in, say, Sweden versus Switzerland, you’ve got to compare like with like. Hotels.com did just that to give travellers a sense of the strength or weakness of currencies and the cost of living in country capitals and other big cities worldwide. Instead of comparing fruit, however, they compared a standard item on hotel menus across the globe: the club sandwich. Yup, the classic chicken, bacon, egg, lettuce and mayonnaise sandwich is the subject of their Club Sandwich Index. The average price of the sandwich in each city was calculated using the real prices paid by guests in 30 hotels across three-, four- and five-star categories. In the end, 840 hotels were surveyed. So who had the most expensive eats? Dig into the table to find out.
Every day I’m shuttling The recently retired Space Shuttle Atlantis completed 30-plus missions, deployed 14 spacecraft and docked 12 times to the International Space Station. It also flew four “top-secret” military missions. The Kennedy Space Center’s website describes it as “a vehicle that launched like a rocket, flew in orbit like a spacecraft and landed on a runway like a glider.” Now, you can see that retired rocket/spacecraft/glider in its new $100-million home at the KSC’s Visitor Complex just outside of Orlando. You can also experience high-tech simulators and 60 interactive exhibits like one that replicates a space shuttle landing using your own body and another that lets you experience working in weightlessness to get a feel for how carefully an astronaut must move to use tools in space. Admission: adults US$50, kids 3 to 11 US$40. tel: (866) 737-5235; kennedyspacecenter.com.
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Doctor’s Review • JULY 2013
PHOTOS THIS PAGE ©NGC
Capital sights
Fringe by Rebecca Belmore.
Sakahàn, on now through September 2 at Ottawa’s National Gallery of Canada, is one of the NGC’s “most ambitious contemporary art exhibitions in its history.” That’s a mighty claim when you consider that the museum was founded in 1880, 133 years ago. And the museum isn’t even saying so because Sakahàn, meaning to “light a fire” in Algonquin, features 150 recent works by 80 indigenous artists from 16 countries worldwide. Nope; while that’s impressive in itself, the NGC is making the claim because Sakahàn will take up both floors of its special exhibit space, its contemporary art galleries, and extend to other parts of the city like Murray Street in the ByWard Market, where a series of pics depicts an artist dressed in full powwow regalia as he goes about his daily, oh-so urban life. Exploring what it means to be indigenous today, Sakahàn also includes stone hands held together by a chain, a zippered shirt carved out of wood and a welcome pole made of 300 blankets donated by the public. Adults $12; youth 12 to 19 $6; kids under 12 free. tel: (613) 990-1985; gallery.ca/sakahan.
Handcuffs by Jamasee Padluq Pitseolak.
JULY 2013 • Doctor’s
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P R AC T I C AL T R A V E L L E R
Learn the ropes Cycling on flat ground is so passé. At least, that’s what the brains behind VéloVolant must have thought. Their new flying bicycle just took flight at Au Diable Vert, an awardwinning resort in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, 90 minutes south of Montreal. Connected to a high-performance cable strong enough to hold 10 tonnes or five cars and supported by sky-high maples and pines, the suspended bike (complete with seatbelt) reaches heights of up to 30 metres in the air and travels as fast as you can pedal along the one-kilometre route. It’s a first in Canada, but unlikely to be the last. The 45-minute circuit meanders along mountainsides, through ravines and over waterfalls with views that stretch to the Green Mountains of Vermont. Until November. Adults $50; kids $35. Participants must be at least 12 years old. Reservations required at velovolant.com.
Your new connect
InterContinental Osaka.
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Doctor’s Review • JULY 2013
The InterContinental Hotels Group wants to hook you up. Well, it wants to hook its Priority Club Rewards members up, but you can easily become one — for free. In honour of its 10th anniversary year, the chain of 4600 hotels is a) renaming its free-to-join loyalty program to the IHG Rewards Club and b) offering free Internet access to all members beginning in 2014. The icing on the anniversary cake is that members won’t have to book a room to use the Net; they can just pop into a lobby. Pretty exciting when you consider their hotel brands in nearly 100 countries: the InterContinental, yes, but also the Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo and soon-to-come Even Hotels. ihg.com.