Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/B8MTjm8lgMQ Building on increasing evidence that the bacteria residing in our gastrointestinal system influence our brain function, a team of biotechnologists at Arizona State University report beneficial effects of gut bacterial manipulation on the behavior and GI symptoms of autistic subjects. Their latest report in the journal Scientific Reports catalogs the long-term success of Microbiota Transfer Therapy that is essentially the transfer of highly selected GI bacteria from healthy donors. Autistic persons typically have not only behavioral issues but also gastrointestinal issues.  The Arizona group conducted longitudinal studies of 18 subjects who had undergone an intense regimen of gut bacteria transfer, known as microbiota transfer therapy or MTT, two years previously. The results show that the MTT therapy course was associated with a continuing improvement in both psychological and gastrointestinal symptoms.  The 2 year post-therapy assessment showed a 47% reduction of autisti

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/3YqEXRoSpzw Usin whitening strips to wipe away those coffee and nicotine stains from your dental enamel makes your teeth sparkle.  But…..the chemical reactions that occur beneath the surface could trigger a time bomb.   This warning comes from biochemical studies at New Jersey’s Stockton University that were presented last week to the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. All commercial whitening strips contain hydrogen peroxide.  After it whitens the surface enamel, the peroxide penetrates deeper into the protein-rich dentin layer that makes up most of your tooth.  These new studies show the that hydrogen peroxide fragments the dentin collagen explaining why previous studies detected a diminution in the total amount of dentin collagen present.  The concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the whitening strips is sufficient to totally destroy the dentin collagen. There are no studies to indicate whether dentin collagen can regenerate.  Until such information surfaces,

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/IUS_Wp0n4yk CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the disease caused by repetitive head trauma is typically only diagnosable by autopsies.  It was discovered by post-mortem brain examinations of professional football and soccer players that sustained repetitive head trauma.  CTE may soon be routinely diagnosable in the living.   Radiologists at Boston University’s med school, the Harvard Medical School, and the Mayo Clinic now report a study of  26 former NFL players using the latest PET scanning technique. These new positron emission tomography studies using unique injectable contrast agents can now detect depositions of tau proteins in the brain. Compared with healthy controls who had not sustained head injuries, the NFL players with cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms had significantly higher deposits of tau protein on imaging.  The more years of tackle football a player had under his belt, the greater the accumulation of tau protein in the brain. This study marks the beginni

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/z99bXE9KVcI The drugs in question are those that make men’s urine flow and their hair grow.  Many men take finasteride, better known as Proscar and Propecia, to shrink their prostates to improve urine flow and others take the same medicine help hair grow on their scalps.   A new study from Scotland’s University of Edinburgh reveals that this drug and its cousin dutasteride (Avodart), technically known as 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, can make the body less sensitive to insulin and induce type 2 diabetes. The investigators reviewed health records from 55,000 men in the UK each of whom been taking these drugs over an 11 year period.  They discovered that this drug increases a man’s chances of developing diabetes by about 33%. Finasteride and dutasteride are effective and popular.  Experts agree that these medications may be continued, but they add the sound medical advice that dictates close followup and surveillance of the users carbohydrate handling capabilities.  In simple terms, lo

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/YuySgR0brbM If you are trying to teach yourself new skills, either physical or mental, give your brain a short break during the learning process.  Neurophysiologists at the National Institutes of Health make this recommendation after analyzing the brain activity of volunteers as they master the task of reproducibly pressing a series of keys. The scientists noted that brain wave activity which signals the cementing of behaviors into memory was more intense during short rest periods between skill practice sessions.  The subjects performed incrementally better when their initial mastery and practice sessions were interrupted by short rest periods compared with intense practice sessions followed by a night off and re-testing in the morning. So, if you are trying to perfect a skill, learn it and practice it for awhile, then take a break, and the return to practice.  After several cycles, you should be able to optimize your performance and make it reproducible. Marlene Bönstrup, Iñaki Itur

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/PVtH56EdCSQ Nasty bacteria are everywhere, and petting zoos turn out to have some of the nastiest.  An Israeli study of some 8 randomly selected petting zoos in that country reveals that an alarming number of animals are carrying drug resistant E. coli that can and do spread to human visitors. These results were presented this week at a meeting of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. The microbiologists collected some 380 samples from about 230 animals of varied species in the petting zoos and found that 12% of the animals were colonized with one or more strains of dangerous and antibiotic resistant E. coli.  These germs cause terrible diarrhea and urinary tract infections. Most of the bacteria were predictably in feces, but nearly a quarter of the positive cultures came from the nimasls’ skin, fur, and feathers. Most petting zoos I’ve visited in the US do have hand washing stations.  Even so, infants and toddlers who tend to lick and suck on their f

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/rBYdLg2PUlg Patients admitted to an ICU for any medical problem, whether it directly affects the mind or not, is likely to be discharged with a thought disorder properly labeled a neuropathy.  Neuroscientists at Ontario’s Western University report this result after studying 20 patients who entered their hospital’s ICU with non-neurologic problems. Each patient was assessed with psychometric tests upon discharge, and 100% of them demonstrated cognitive defects in two or more spheres including attention, decision-making, logical reasoning, and memory.  This is not surprising since any illness such as cardiovascular disease, infection, or traumatic injuries severe enough to land you in the ICU may certainly have secondary effects on your brain. If you or a family member is in the ICU or has been there, a post-discharge visit to a neurologist should be considered.  Also be certain that the patient in question has proper supervision during the weeks following hospital discharge in order t

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/NsMPlTzykEk Psychologists have been debating over the past century whether or not smiling will actually make you feel happier.  Most thought that smiling was indeed a picker-upper until 3 years ago when a landmark study questioned that premise. Psychologists at the University of Tennessee now provide a more definitive answer to the question by performing a meta-analysis of 138 studies that collectively reviewed findings on more than 11,000 subjects.  The tabulated results show statistically that smiling makes a person feel just a little bit happier, frowning has the opposite effect, and scowling induces an overlay of anger. So the next time that you are in a funk, think happy thoughts and beam a smile.  Remember too, that if you are having negative thoughts about someone, your expression could give it away.  To keep your feeling to yourself, use your innate acting skills to suppress that frown.\ Nicholas A. Coles, Jeff T. Larsen, Heather C. Lench. A meta-analysis of the facial feedba

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/jBofMI-f1Kw A long, healthy life with continued mobility depends on healthy, toned muscles, and many turn to weight lifting to achieve that goal.  Turns out, though, that not all types of weight lifting exercises do the trick. A study presented just last week at the congress of the European Society of Cardiology shows muscle power rather than muscle strength is the important skill to develop.  Muscle strength is the mere ability to lift or move a given weight while muscle power is that ability plus the capability of moving the weight quickly and efficiently. Brazilian researchers studied more than 3800 non-athletic persons 41-85 years of age.  Using a rowing exercise test, they determined the maximal muscle power in watts per kg that each subject could exert.   Then each subject was observed over time for health issues.  During the average 6.5 year followup period, those with better than average muscle power had the best survival.  Those with below average muscle power were 5 to 10 t

Vidcast:https://youtu.be/6TU_86VpCwU The turn of the century has not been good for kids choking on and swallowing foreign bodies.  Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System just published in the journal Pediatrics shows that twice as many kids are choking on and swallowing foreign bodies now compared with 20 years ago. A majority of ingestions involved infants and toddlers 1 to 3 years of age.  The most frequent objects ingested were coins at 62%, then toys at 7%, jewelry at 7%, and batteries also at 7%.  Almost 90% of the batteries ingested were the button batteries, and these are the most dangerous type of foreign body ingestion since the batteries can leak caustic chemicals that damage gastrointestinal or respiratory lining tissues. Preventing these potential tragedies is easy: Store items such as spare change, batteries, high powered magnets, and medicines out of sight and out of reach.   Don’t disable child-proof packaging. Follow age recommendations when buying toys, and use the chok

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/RjgMACy-N8U Should you eat fruit with toast or eggs and ham for your first meal of the day if you’re a type 2 diabetic.  The answer comes from the University of British Columbia, and the eggs win hands down. Researchers there studied 23 adults with non-insulin dependent diabetes and randomly fed them a meal plan that contained identical numbers of calories and differed only in the content of the breakfasts.  One plan had the higher fat and protein egg breakfast and the other the typical breakfast with the majority of calories from carbohydrates.  The lunches and dinners were the same.  The study had a crossover design in which each subject experienced each meal plan.  Their blood glucose levels were continuously monitored throughout the day. When the subjects were fed the higher fat and lower carb egg breakfast versus the higher carb cereal, fruit, and toast breakfast, they experienced a significantly lower sugar peak mid-morning after the meal.   Additional benefits of the protein a

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/P7jQ9uSWZbAThis is Health News You Should Use, the latest medical discoveries and some commonsense advice that you can use in a practical way to keep yourself and your family healthy.     Here are this weeks stories: Baby Sleeper-Rockers Kill Phone App Relaxes PTSD Victims Flossing Helps Prevent Dementia Medical Applications For Cannabis Teen Screen Time May Not Be Harmful Gluten-Free Restaurant Food Isn’t US Clinical Guidelines Lead To Costly Care Reading To Babies Gives Them A Million Word Jump By Kindergarten The Sugar Rush Is A Myth Improve Your Mood In 12 Short Minutes Drug Abuse Triggers Strokes In Younger Persons E-Cigs May Cause Seizures Pregnant Women’s Commuting Harms Babies Parents Favor Age Limits For Tackle Football Walnuts May Help Fight Breast Cancer TRY A LITTLE KINDNESS: Give Kids A Say In Family And School Charitable Giving   For more information#you’ll find all the references for the stories and a copy of show notes on my website at: https://www.drhowardsmith.com/a

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/u65P0vJGT3Q Children as young as four can learn the principles of responsible philanthropy, and they are more than willing participants in the decision-making process. This is the finding from a study at Britain’s University of Kent. A group of 150 children aged 4 to 8 years were presented information about a series of charitable causes worthy of their donations.  They delved into the details about the needs of each, and they were each provided with a sum of 100 pounds to donate to one or more charities. The children of all ages demonstrated remarkable understanding of detail and wisdom in their choices.  Most donations went to the poor and homeless (28%), assisting wildlife (26%), and helping needy children (27%).  Fewer funds went to medical research (12%) and international charities (7%) as it was more difficult for the kids to understand and relate to these causes. A key parenting principle is given children a role in decision-making for themselves and for their families.  You pr

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/IvZRlvtWJ-o Walnuts can suppress the expression of genes in breast cancers.  In so doing, the nuts may be able stop breast cancer from growing locally and and spreading. Oncologist researchers from Marshall University just published a study in the journal Nutrition Research that conclusively demonstrates in both women with breast cancer and in a mouse model injected with human breast cancer cells that consuming walnuts daily throws a logjam into the tumor cells’ metabolism.  The human subjects ate 2 ounces of walnuts for 2-3 weeks between their diagnostic biopsies and definitive surgery.  The mice consumed an equivalent amount. The results show that walnuts affect the expression of some 456 breast cancer cell genes that in turn inhibit cell proliferation, reduce cell vitality, and promote cell destruction.  Studies are now underway enrolling larger groups of patients to prove that walnuts and their anti-oxidative prowess can indeed stop breast cancers in their tracks and prevent thei

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/KpcGVJYjk-g The majority of American parents believe that young children should not be playing tackle football.  A study recently published in the journal Pediatrics tabulated the results of a nationwide survey. Over 1000 parents completed the survey.  Sixty-one percent definitely favored restrictions and another 24% were leaning toward bans on tackling for younger children for a total of 85% considering restrictions. Meanwhile, on the political front, a 6 states have proposed bills to regulate tackle football for children under the age of 12.  Bills have been filed in New York, Illinois, California, Maryland, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.  So far none of them have passed into law, and the bills in California and Illinois have been withdrawn.  The New York and Maryland bills were defeated. Finally, consider these two facts.  ONE. The sad cases of adolescent athletes and multiple studies show that head injuries produce lasting and in some cases progressive damage to the brain, partic

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/pk5wJguNNLw Pregnant women with long work commutes may are more likely to experience a slow fetal growth rate and to deliver a low birth weight baby.  Health economists at Lehigh University drew this conclusion from New Jersey birth records and information about the lengths of the  associated maternal commutes. Each 10 miles of commuting distance over a 50 mile threshold increased the probability of intrauterine growth restriction by 43% and the probability of a low birth weight infant by 14%.  The increased risk was calculated using control mothers with a 10 mile or less commute.   So women commuting 80 miles a day would have a 42% higher risk of giving birth to a low birth weight infant. The researchers found that the adverse affects on the fetus occur due to commute-induced chronic maternal stress and, of even more importance, less prenatal care due to limited time.   Many of the women with long commutes had delayed prenatal care or none at all. This information suggests that preg

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/iasDGPN5naM The FDA has just issued a special warning that some e-cigarette users have developed seizures.  Nicotine toxicity can lower a persons seizure threshold. Seizures have previously only been reported in cases of accidental e-cigarette liquid ingestion.  Now case reports are coming in where seizures are occurring in those vaping for the first time but also in more experienced users.  Convulsions may occur after only a few puffs but may also be delayed up to one day. If you or someone you know has experienced a seizure in association with e-cigarette use, report the details immediately to both your doctor and to the FDA through their safety reporting portal: safetyreporting.hhs.gov.  https://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/NewsEvents/ucm635133.htm #Vaping #ecigarettes #seizure #nicotine

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/nu3KJdwFFJw Nearly 20% of fatal strokes occurring in younger persons are due to illicit drug use and abuse.  This is the conclusion of a new study from Australia’s National Drug and Alcohol Research Center. The investigators studied 279 persons aged 15 to 44 years who died of stroke.  The most frequent drug implicated was methamphetamine.  None of the stroke victims were taking the typical psychostimulants prescribed for attention deficits. Notable was the fact that the levels of circulating methamphetamine in the stroke victims were less than half of that found in those dying from methamphetamine overdoses indicating that even lower doses of methamphetamine may be deadly by triggering a hyper-metabolic state and intracranial bleeding. Psychostimulant drug use, both legal and illicit, is on the rise, and about 76 million people are now using them.  Given this fact, it is not surprising that the only group in which the incidence of stroke is markedly increasing is the 25 to 44 year ol

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/_EiQgYiu9d0 Since we just learned that sugar will not sweeten your mood, we look to psychologists from the Iowa State University to provide an alternative to a Hershey bar or a glass of sangria.  They just published a study in the Journal of Happiness Studies that suggests a very good alternative. The researchers had groups of college students test 3 potentially mood-elevating techniques as they walked around campus eyeballing passersby for 12 minute sessions.  A loving-kindness group made wishes to themselves that the people they saw would be happy.  A second interconnectedness group looked at others and tried to imaging how they might be interconnected in some way.  The third group made downward social comparisons thinking how much better off they were than those they saw.  A control group merely looked at the passersby objectively noting what they were wearing. Twelve minutes of thinking kind thoughts about people had a therapeutic effect, even on those with narcissistic tendencie

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/ZNIoRMpE1Po Does sugar really turbocharge you and improve your mood?  A study by British and German psychologists just published in Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews says absolutely not. The researchers performed a meta-analysis of 31 studies covering nearly 1300 adults.  The investigations looked at how the quantity and type of sugar ingested affected alertness, fatigue, mood, anger, and depression. When the numbers were crunched, the conclusions reached were: Sugar does not elevate your mood. Sugar makes most people less alert. Sugar makes you more tired and fatigued. So if you are looking for a way to energize yourself in order to complete that project, thesis, term paper, or your review for that exam, forget about sugaring up.  Instead, you might try that cocoa-caffeine cocktail I described awhile back. Konstantinos Mantantzis, Friederike Schlaghecken, Sandra I. Sünram-Lea, Elizabeth A. Maylor. Sugar Rush or Sugar Crash? A Meta-Analysis of Carbohydrate Effects on Mood. Neuros