Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

VidCast: https://youtu.be/BfUxLso3b5I Restricting childrens’ sedentary screen time in favor of more physically active pursuits is the latest weapon in the war against childhood obesity.  New Canadian research just published in the journal BMC Obesity reminds us that parenting practices are key factors in their offsprings’ screen time. Nearly 40 families with at least one child 18 monthS to 5 years of age were studied.  Parental device use and television viewing during meals as well as the offering of extra screen time as a reward resulted in excessive screen times for the children.  Kids are sponges, and they quickly see if you follow your own advice.  Get your head out of your phone and offer a good example.  To reward healthy behavior, offer physical activities such as the playground, sports play with you, and healthy treats rather than always suggesting extra screen time and sugary treats. Lisa Tang, Gerarda Darlington, David W L Ma, Jess Haines. Mothers’ and fathers’ media parenting practices associated w

VidCast: https://youtu.be/seKiQCg_VEw Excess abdominal fat, particularly visceral fat around the bowels that creates a pear-shaped belly, can substantially raise your risk of heart disease even more than just being overweight or obese.  A new study published in the journal Neurology now associates pear-shaped bellies with smaller brains.   The study reviewed over 9600 middle aged people and looked at the association between various weight parameters and brain volumes as determined by MRI imaging.  Those with the smallest volumes of brain gray matter, the so-called thinking tissue, were those overweight with pear-shaped bodies.  Overweight subjects without the expanded mid-sections had less reduction in gray matter compared with those of normal weight.  Reduced gray matter is associated with less cognitive ability and eventually dementia. These results only show an association, and we don’t yet know if obesity and excess abdominal fat make your brains shrink or if those with small brains are unhealthy eaters. 

VidCast: https://youtu.be/cdG-7SCuuSk Women experiencing serious post-menopausal symptoms including hot flashes and flushing are frequently prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT).  One uncommon but life-threatening risk associated with this therapy is venous thromboembolism, the formation of blood clots in leg or other veins that can travel up into the heart and lungs or beyond. British epidemiologists studied nearly 6000 women 40 to 79 years of age who had used HRT and compared them to over 21,000 who had not.  The only hormonal drugs not associated with any increased risk of thromboembolism were hormone patches, and with some patches the risk of clots was actually lower than for those women not using HRT. Women at higher risk for vein clots including those who are older, overweight, immobile, or having a family history of clotting should consider patch rather than oral estrogen therapy. #hormonereplacementtherapy #HRT #venousthromboembolism #VTE #estrogenpatch #healthnews Vinogradova Yana, Coupland Ca

VidCast: https://youtu.be/BXJr5-3AZ80 Terrifying flashbacks and horrifying visual memories are suffered by those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  German and Swedish researchers now publish data in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology that demonstrates suppression of these hallucinations by playing  Tetris. Their studies showed that 75% of those who played Tetris while experiencing triggers that normally would provoke the flashbacks experienced a 64% reduction in those scary visions.  The investigators explain the effect by proposing that the flashbacks and Tetris compete for the same brain regions.  Apparently Tetris wins. If you or yours have PTSD, playing Tetris may be a winning strategy whether or not the game is won. #PTSD #posttraumaticstress #Tetris #healthnews #healthtips Henrik Kessler, Emily A. Holmes, Simon E. Blackwell, Anna-Christine Schmidt, Johanna M. Schweer, Anna Bücker, Stephan Herpertz, Nikolai Axmacher, Aram Kehyayan. Reducing intrusive memories of trauma using a vi

VidCast: https://youtu.be/Xue5gu5TAe8   Everyone assumes that Vitamin supplements in reasonable quantities are safe and beneficial.  Investigators at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital now show that for Vitamin E and cancer that assumption is dead wrong.  The word dead is significant.   The enzyme that controls how the body uses Vitamin E comes in 3 genetic variants.  It turns out that women with the met-met variant who taking Vitamin E had a 14% lower cancer incidence while those with the val-val variant and taking the Vitamin E had a 15% higher incidence of cancer. We’re only beginning to understand human genetics, and most of us do not know which specific gene variants we have.  Until we do, we should all be cautious about taking any supplements except to correct deficiencies.  The smart money remains on eating a balanced, healthy diet and avoiding supplements. #Vitamin E #women #cancer #healthnews #healthtips Hall, K et al. COMT modifies alpha-tocopherol effects in cancer prevention: gene-supplement i

VidCast: https://youtu.be/WIVM5wcPtQA   Fasting intermittently while on restricted intake was the most effective path to weight loss for the obese.  That’s the result of Australia’s Adelaide University’s study of 88 overweight or obese women on controlled diets over a 10 week period.   The data showed that those who ate only 70% of their normal caloric requirement and fasted for 3 non-consecutive days a week lost more weight than those who either ate only the restricted-calorie diet or those who only fasted. Dieting for weight reduction must be done carefully.  Fasting without proper supervision can be dangerous. #dieting #obesity #fasting #healthnews #healthtips Amy T. Hutchison, Bo Liu, Rachel E. Wood, Andrew D. Vincent, Campbell H. Thompson, Nathan J. O’Callaghan, Gary A. Wittert, Leonie K. Heilbronn. Effects of Intermittent Versus Continuous Energy Intakes on Insulin Sensitivity and Metabolic Risk in Women with Overweight. Obesity, 2019; 27 (1): 50 DOI: 10.1002/oby.22345

VidCast: https://youtu.be/aoeVuKJMH8U   Doctors who regularly prescribe marijuana have some practical advice for you, and I’ll pass it on.  The Annals of Internal Medicine solicited this information and here are the pearls: AS A PAIN MED:  not the first thing to try;  if you try begin with low doses, avoid smoking it in favor of edibles and topicals; begin with CBD (cannabidiol) rather than the psychoactive THC (tetrahydrocannabinol);  choose tested compounds;  listen to your body. AS A DANGEROUS DRUG:  still a controlled substance and not covered by insurance;  not standardized;  off-limits during pregnancy and lactation; should be avoided by cardiac patients;  should be removed from dangerous drug list. #marijuana #pain #opiods #CBD #THC #pregnancy #healthnews #healthtips https://www.mdlinx.com/internal-medicine/top-medical-news/article/2019/01/08/7552735/  

VidCast: https://youtu.be/yRHTi8fPcow To remain happy in the mainstream of life, check your hearing.  Researchers in Columbia’s ENT department studied over 5,000 New Yorkers with hearing tests but also screening for depression.  They found that even a mild hearing loss doubles your chances for depression. If you have a severe hearing loss, you are 4 times more likely to be depressed. Almost everyone over 70 has at least a mild loss.  It is easily diagnosed and treated with amplification or surgery.  If you or someone you know is missing conversations and instructions, drag them to get a hearing test.  I say drag, because most of us resist the idea of a personal hearing loss as a sign of aging. Here’s good news: you can test the benefit of amplification by using your smartphone with an earphone as an amplifier.  Also be aware that hearing aids will soon be available over-the-counter at reasonable prices. #hearing loss #depression #hearingaids #healthnews #healthtips Justin S. Golub, Katharine K. Brewster, Adam

Hearing Loss Fuels Depression 10 Things To Know About Marijuana Starve Your Appetite For Better Weight Loss This Vitamin Can Kill You…Or Save You Which Video Game Cancels Post-Traumatic Stress Safest Medicine For Menopausal Hormone Replacement Bad Eating Shrinks Your Brain Monkey See Monkey Do When It Comes To Screen Time Eating Good Carbs is Lifesaving The Wrong Sleeping Pill Can Burn You TRY A LITTLE KINDNESS: Teens return disabled Veteran’s Lost Wallet. Entire Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/p3rnvkcPUM0

An 80 pound, 11 year old immigrant boy saved a 34 year old man twice his weight from drowning in a Minnesota apartment swimming pool when no other swimmers were around.     Advaik Nandikotkur, an Indian boy only 3 years in this country, was at the pool with his parents, both non-swimmers, when another apartment resident began drowning.  His father was unable to reach the panicked man with a flotation device, but Advaik quickly plunged into the water and pulled the victim to safety. His uncle, untrained in CPR, began working on the drowned man with maneuvers he had seen on   TV and in the movies.  The victim began to recover before the EMTs arrived and took him to the hospital.  Thanks to Advaik’s swift and selfless actions, he made a full recovery.   The near-drowning victim later thanked Advaik for what the St Paul police lauded as heroic actions, but the shy boy underplayed his role.  We can also thank the accuracy of those TV and motion picture CPR rescues for “training” his uncle and contributing to the h

If you’re a regular user of the pinks, blues, yellows, and greens, the non-sugar sweeteners, a study just published in the British Medical Journal now reveals that these products will not help you lose weight.  Scientists at Germany’s University of Freiberg conducted a Cochrane review of 56 individual studies and found no convincing statistical evidence that use of fake sugar leads to weight loss for either obese children or overweight adults.   They admit that many of the available studies were of relatively short durations and that longer, longitudinal studies would be helpful.  Meanwhile, they recommend moderating the use of artificially-sweetened drinks or switching from them to water or natural juices as the safety of continuously using fake sugar has not been confirmed. Vidcast: https://youtu.be/s5FO6xh58nE nonsugarsweeteners #fakesugar #obesity #weightloss #saccharin, sweetnlow #aspartame #equal #sucralose #splensa #acesulfame #aceK #stevia #truvia #healthnews #radionews Ingrid Toews, Szimonetta Lohner

If you’re taking an antibiotic with “FLOXACIN” in its name, listen up.  The FDA wants you to know that the drug can weaken the walls of your aorta leading to deadly ruptures.   The fluoroquinolone antibiotics including ciprofloxacin (Cipro), levofloxacin (Levaquin), ofloxacin (Floxin), and moxifloxacin (Avelox) and a few others have been around for more than 30 years, and they can be invaluable for treating some nasty bacteria that other drugs won’t touch.  Although used in Europe, their approval by the FDA for use in the USA was delayed for many years by concerns about their tendency to weakening connective tissues leading to tendon ruptures.  Now, after FDA approval, they are increasingly and unnecessarily being prescribed for less critical infections such as sinusitis that other antibiotics can effectively treat.   This year, the FDA issued significant warnings and labelling changes due to an accumulation of adverse event reports.  This past July, the FDA strengthened warnings that this class of drugs can

Unpredictable income can be deadly, and that reality is all too common in today’s so-called gig economy.  A collaborative study from the Universities of Miami, Minnesota, California at San Francisco, Northwestern, and Massachusetts of nearly 400 persons 23 to 35 years of age was launched in 1990, and the subjects were monitored for 25 years.   Those relatively young persons without steady jobs and ping pong incomes were twice as likely as consistently employed persons to develop cardiovascular disease including heart attack and stroke and were twice as likely to die.  This conclusion underscores just how stressful personal economic turmoil can be.   If you are subject to income fluctuations due to participation in the gig economy, take precautions to avoid tragedy.  Live a healthy lifestyle with sensible eating, abundant exercise, avoidance of smoking and excessive drinking, and stable relationships for stress reduction.  Be on the lookout for trouble by having regular check-ups and surveillance of your healt

Repeated miscarriages, that is 3 pregnancy losses in a row each before 20 weeks of gestation, are usually thought to be due to maternal factors including uterine defects, infection, hormonal imbalances, and autoimmune disease.  A study from Imperial College, London, now suggests that flawed sperm may also play a key role in some miscarriages.   After analyzing the sperm of 50 men whose partners experienced recurrent miscarriages and compared them with sperm from 60 males whose partners had delivered successfully, the investigators found twice the incidence of DNA damage in the recurrent miscarriage group.  The damage may be done by an excess of reactive oxygen species that, in normal quantities, protect sperm from bacterial infection.   Isolated miscarriage occurs in about 15% of pregnancies, but recurrent miscarriage happens in only 1-2% of pregnancies.  If you are experiencing recurrent miscarriages, be certain that both you and your partner are studied. Vidcast: https://youtu.be/oJszVtWkY-E #Recurrentmisca

Obsessive, compulsive symptoms (OCS) in adolescents and young adults may be a sign of serious mental illness including major depression and suicidal intent.  A study at the University of Pennsylvania looked at 7,000 subjects 11 through 21 years of age and found that 20% of those with OCS had thoughts about harming themselves or others and pictured violent images.  Psychiatrists know that such children are likely to develop major mental disorders.   Teens who evidence repetitive and ritualistic behaviors including checking and rechecking things, cleaning over and over, and ordering and reordering items need to be carefully monitored for the development of mental illness.  If you see this in your teen, speak with their pediatricians about a referral to a child psychiatrist.   Vidcast: https://youtu.be/0T2vkePHt8   #Obsessivecompulsivesyndrome #depression #suicide #repetitivebehavior #cleaning #ordering #checking Ran Barzilay, Ariana Patrick, Monica E. Calkins, Tyler M. Moore, Daniel H. Wolf, Tami D. Benton, Jam

Campaigns by Medicare to reduce patient readmissions to a hospital within a month following discharge, the so-called Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, is associated with more patient deaths from heart failure and pneumonia rather than improvement in care quality.  This is the conclusion of a study of some 8 million hospitalizations over a decade beginning in 2005 was completed and recently published by Harvard cardiologists at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Mass. General Hospital.   They compared post-hospital mortality statistics before and after announcement and implementation of new financial penalties for hospitals to discourage readmission within a month after discharge.  Their findings suggested that this penny pinching resulted in some 8,000 deaths from heart failure and some 12,000 deaths from pneumonia that could have possibly been avoided.   In addition, many sick persons who did return to the hospital were not formally readmitted as inpatients as their condition demanded, but they

Celiac disease may be initiated by an agent used to improve food texture and to literally glue together meat fragments into a more substantial, steak-like product.  The agent is microbial transglutaminase, and a review of data about the causation of celiac diease just published in Frontiers in Pediatrics suggests that the increasing amounts of this substance that are finding their way into our food supply may be at fault.   Over 3 million American have celiac disease.  It is an inherited autoimmune disorder, and you are 6 times more likely to have it if a close member member is affected.    It is characterized by an attack of a person’s own immune system on their gut lining, and it’s triggered by the presence of the gluten protein found in wheat, barley, and rye.  Other factors such as stress, infection, or antibiotic use seem to initiate or exacerbate the process.   Although our own systems make transglutaminase, they do so in very small quantities compared with what we can ingest in processed foods.  The ex

Women’s who suffer from chronic peri- and post-menopausal hot flashes and night sweats, so called vasomotor symptoms or VMS, lasting close to 10 years or longer have a 13% higher risk of developing breast cancer.  This the conclusion of a Women’s Health Initiative analysis of more than 25,000 women 50 years of age and older who never had any menopausal hormone therapy and who were followed for a median of 18 years.   The good news is that, despite the higher incidence of breast cancer, those with persisting VMS did not have a less favorable outcome when treated for their cancers.  They were just as likely to become breast cancer survivors as women free of enduring hot flashes and night sweats.   If you or yours are suffering from these persisting menopausal VMS symptoms, increase your surveillence for breast cancer.  Don’t miss an opportunity for breast self-examination and be certain to follow a consistent mammography schedule. Vidcast: https://youtu.be/LwGqm2BPGBg   hotflashes #nightsweats #menopause #vms #

Ever hear of prescription digital medicine?  Who ever heard of doctors and other therapists prescribing the playing of therapeutic video games? Well that is now a reality for children with autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and it may soon be used for other patients as well.   Pediatricians at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Autism Research collaborated with the prescription digital medicine company Akili Interactive to study the effectiveness of  the company’s AKL-T02 instrument via an action video game experience designed to improve the childrens’ attention, task completion, and memory.   The so-called Project: EVO studied a group of 19 children age 9-13 years diagnosed with both autism and attention deficit and exposed them to both the digital medicine and control therapy.  This group was selected since children with both autism and ADHD tend to respond poorly to conventional drug therapy used for ADHD alone.   Not suprisingly, the kids embraced the v

Metabolic syndrome is a nasty group of problems that might kill you but certainly will make your life miserable.  If you have any 3 of these 5 issues, namely central obesity or a body like a pear, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, high blood triglycerides, or low high density lipoproteins, then you’ve got metabolic syndrome.  Metabolic syndrome is accompanied by excess body oxidation and it puts you at risk for heart attack, stroke, diabetes, fatty liver disease, and mental dullness deteriorating into dementia.   Researchers at Oregon State University now show that the type of overeating and fat consumption that triggers metabolic syndrome also causes a body depletion of Vitamin C since less is absorbed.  This critical anti-oxidant works in tandem with another anti-oxidant, Vitamin E, to put a lid on tissue inflammation.  If your Vitamin C levels are low, your Vitamin E stores then begin to drain as your body makes hopeless efforts to prevent oxidative inflammation.  At this point, the sickening cons