Top Alberta doctor touts once-a-month shot to counter OD brain damage

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeNewsLocal News Top Alberta doctor touts once-a-month shot to counter OD brain damage 'It may be that we need to do the things that we’ve traditionally done for people who have serious impairments, which is to protect them from themselves' Author of the article: By Jackie Carmichael Published Aug 29, 2026 5 minute read Join the conversation Discarded needles and drug paraphernalia in an alley near 101 Street and 105 Avenue in Edmonton on Sept. 2, 2020. PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM /Postmedia Article content Every minute that ticks by between an overdose and a resuscitating injection is a minute closer to a brain injury. Article content Which means that signs of “social disorder” and people obviously impacted by addiction and mental illness on plain display on some Edmonton streets, or hidden in some middle-class homes, may be suffering from traumatic brain injury. Article content Article content The symptoms of brain injuries stacked up by subsequent overdoses aren’t that different from those of advancing dementia, said Dr. Nathaniel Day, chief scientific officer at the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence (CoRE), a Crown corporation under Alberta’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction. Article content Article content Day, an addiction medicine specialist with a medical degree from the University of Alberta, is looking to a single monthly shot of an agonist drug called Sublocade to stem the devastating impacts of multiple overdoses. Article content Headline News Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content Hidden consequences Article content Day was medical director of the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program, and provincial medical director of addictions for Alberta Health Services, and for the initial rollout of Recovery Alberta. Article content A letter he co-authored in the journal Addiction this week reveals hidden consequence of the overdose crisis. Article content “People may survive an overdose, but still be left with lasting brain injury. And repeated episodes of oxygen deprivation can affect memory, judgment, impulse control, and executive function — the very abilities that people need to navigate treatment and recovery,” he said. Article content Article…