Dr. Michael Tymianski
Head, Division of Neurosurgery, Krembil Neuroscience Centre | University Health Network
Toronto, ON, CANADA
Leader in stroke treatment and research
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Biography
Having graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine in 1987, Dr. Tymianski undertook a comprehensive surgical internship at the Toronto Western Hospital that year before entering the Neurosurgery Training Program at The University of Toronto in 1988. During his residency, he entered the Graduate School of the Institute of Medical Science and worked towards his Ph.D. which he received in 1994. Dr. Tymianski became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1995. He completed clinical fellowship training in cerebrovascular surgery with Dr. Christopher Wallace at Toronto Western Hospital in 1995 and with Dr. Robert Spetzler at the Barrow Neurological Institute in 1996. Dr. Tymianski joined the Neurosurgical Staff at the Toronto Western Hospital in 1997. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Surgery, Head of the Division of Neurosurgery at Toronto Western Hospital, and Director of the Neuroprotection Laboratory at the Krembil Research Institute. He also holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Translational Stroke Research. Dr. Tymianski’s main clinical interest is in vascular neurosurgery. His main research interest is in the molecular mechanisms underlying stroke and emphasis in cerebral protection. He is married to Dawn and has four children.
Industry Expertise (4)
Research
Health Care - Services
Health Care - Providers
Health and Wellness
Areas of Expertise (5)
Stroke Prevention
Frontier Trial
Nono Inc.
Neurosurgery
Elana Procedure
Education (3)
University of Toronto: MD, Medicine 1987
University of Toronto: PhD, Medicine 1994
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada: FRCSC, Surgery 1995
Affiliations (7)
- Neurosurgeon Krembil Neuroscience Centre
- Director Neuroprotection Laboratory Krembil Discovery Tower
- Director Neurovascular Therapeutics Program
- Canada Research Chair in Translational Stroke Research
- Professor Departments of Surgery and Physiology University of Toronto
- President and CEO NoNO Inc.
- Senior Scientist Krembil Research Institute
Media Appearances (6)
One Toronto neurosurgeon's crusade to develop an effective stroke drug
The Globe and Mail online
2014-05-16
Around the time of the dot-com craze and the real-estate bubble, Big Pharma was banking its own big money on neurology’s holy grail: stroke medication. In the late 1990s and 2000s, Pfizer, Merck and other behemoths spent billions on the development of neuroprotectants, a class of drugs that defend brain cells from the brushfire-like damage wrought by stroke. In total, there were 1,026 trials. Every one of them failed. The most notorious of the bunch was NXY-059, a bland name with a devastating legacy. U.K.-based AstraZeneca spent at least $300-million to develop it, and when the company broke the news of its failure in 2006, the share price dropped 7.5 per cent, translating into $7.7-billion in lost shareholder value. The shares of Renovis, the small biotech company that developed and licensed the drug, bottomed out, dropping more than 75 per cent.
A world first - day surgery for cerebral aneurysms
Globe and Mail online
2012-02-22
Norma Silk’s uncle and great uncle both died from cerebral aneurysms, so when doctors discovered a bubble in her brain she knew it was serious. She expected to undergo a lengthy operation, but instead, the 55-year-old had her brain repaired as an outpatient at Toronto Western Hospital, where neurosurgeon Michael Tymianski has pioneered the world’s first day surgery for patients with aneurysms.
Neuro Protectant
CBC Metro Morning radio
2014-05-30
The first minutes after you have a stroke are critical, there is now a pilot project that will allow paramedics to administer an experimental stroke drug to patients on the way to the hospital. Matt Galloway spoke with Dr. Michael Tymianski, the head of neurosurgery at Toronto Western Hospital. He pioneered the drug NA-1.
Rate of strokes among younger people on the rise, report says
Globe and Mail online
2014-06-05
The number of younger people suffering strokes across Canada is rising at an alarming rate and is expected to increase more in the coming decade, posing a significant challenge to the health-care system, reveals a new report by the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
La Médecine De Demain Se Prépare À Toronto
L'Express online
2014-08-18
Dans le coin Nord Est de l’hôpital Western de Toronto, se dresse depuis quelques mois un immeuble gris flambant neuf. Conçu de manière écologique, le bâtiment favorise aussi la qualité de vie des gens qui y travaillent: garages à bicyclettes avec douches attenantes, espaces de détente, terrasses, jardins.
Promising Canadian stroke drug receives large research grant
Globe and Mail online
2014-09-12
A Phase III trial involving a promising stroke drug will receive a $6.6-million injection from Brain Canada – yet another endorsement for a Canadian medication that takes aim at the country’s third leading cause of death. The intravenous medication, called NA-1, is the $30-million, private venture of a company called NoNO Inc. Its development, nearly 20 years in the making, is unusual: It is neither in bed with a large pharmaceutical company nor has it relied on the largesse of the public purse. The brainchild of neurosurgeon Mike Tymianski of Toronto Western Hospital, the drug will be administered by paramedics to 518 stroke patients in a field program called FRONTIER, which rolls out in ambulances in the GTA, Peel Region and Vancouver next January.
Articles (5)
Natural History and Outcome After Treatment of Unruptured Intradural Fusiform Aneurysms
PubMed.gov
2014-09-01
Management of unruptured fusiform intracranial aneurysms is controversial because of the paucity of natural history data. We studied their natural history and outcome after treatment.
Postoperative visual loss following cerebral arteriovenous malformation surgery: a case report
PubMed.gov
2014-01-01
We report the case of a 46 year-old woman presenting with unilateral postoperative visual loss after right frontal craniotomy for resection of an arteriovenous malformation in the supine position. The intraoperative course was uneventful with maintenance of hemodynamic stability. Blood loss was 300 ml; postoperative hemoglobin was 12.4 g/dl. In the recovery room, the patient reported loss of vision in her right eye. Ophthalmologic examination revealed decreased visual acuity, color vision, and visual field. Assessment of the retina was normal, but the patient showed a relative afferent pupillary defect consistent with the clinical diagnosis of ischemic optic neuropathy. Postoperative computer tomogram showed normal perfusion of ophthalmic artery and vein, no hemorrhage or signs of cerebral ischemia or edema. The patient recovered most of her vision 3 months after surgery. Anesthesiologists should be aware that this condition may follow uncomplicated intracranial surgeries in the supine position, and should obtain prompt ophthalmologic consultation when a patient develops postoperative visual loss.
The aim of our study was to evaluate minimally invasive techniques for the treatment of anterior circulation aneurysms versus standard surgery, and to calculate the impact of these techniques on health resources, length of stay, and treatment costs.
PubMed.gov
2014-03-01
The aim of our study was to evaluate minimally invasive techniques for the treatment of anterior circulation aneurysms versus standard surgery, and to calculate the impact of these techniques on health resources, length of stay, and treatment costs.
BOLD MRI and early impairment of cerebrovascular reserve after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage
PubMed.gov
2014-10-01
Currently no biological or radiological marker is available to identify patients at risk of delayed ischemic deficit (DIND) after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). We hypothesized whether MR-based quantitative assessment of cerebrovascular reserve (CVR) would detect early radiological markers of vasospasm and DIND. This manuscript describes our initial experience with this population.
Modulation of NMDAR subunit expression by TRPM2 channels regulates neuronal vulnerability to ischemic cell death
PubMed.gov
2013-10-01
Neuronal vulnerability to ischemia is dependent on the balance between prosurvival and prodeath cellular signaling. In the latter, it is increasingly appreciated that toxic Ca(2+) influx can occur not only via postsynaptic glutamate receptors, but also through other cation conductances.
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