Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/h4g91zw2wLw   Breathing in diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) can increase your chances of pneumococcal pneumonia.  A study from Britain’s University of Liverpool shows that DEPs engorge and inactivate respiratory macrophages, the scavengers that protect our bodies from germs.   The researchers report that animals and tissue cultured cells are more susceptible to pneumococcal infection in the presence of DEP macrophages.  Germs that normally live peacefully in the nasal passages become emboldened once the macrophage police are sidelined.   About 37% of the world’s population is exposed to excessive air pollution, and DEPs including carbon, ash, metallic particles, and sand are major contributors to the pollution.  Protect yourself by avoiding these nasty diesels.   Rebecca K. Shears, Laura C. Jacques, Georgia Naylor, Lisa Miyashita, Shadia Khandaker, Filipa Lebre, Ed C. Lavelle, Jonathan Grigg, Neil French, Daniel R. Neill, Aras Kadioglu. Exposure to diesel exhaust particles increase

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/A-fBIfKZUjM   Yes, we have a coronavirus pandemic.  And yes, the counts of those stricken is rising exponentially with deaths sadly climbing as well.  Currently there are nearly 4600 cases with 106 deaths worldwide.   But wait, we already have a serious pandemic, and we have it every year.  Influenza infects one BILLION around the world every year, and it kills as many as half a million.  For the US this season, the CDC estimates 140,000 hospitalizations and 8200 deaths.  We control influenza only somewhat with vaccines and antivirals.   Like influenza, coronavirus is most dangerous for the young, old, frail, or immunocompromised.  It’s estimated mortality rate is 4%.  That for influenza is 6%.  Relax.   https://www.ifpma.org/global-health-matters/flu-can-cause-up-to-650000-deaths-a-year-globally/   https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm   https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-wuhan-novel-coronavirus-outbreak/   #coronavirus #influenza #pandemic  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/sEWgKmC3dC8   Now that green is good, University of Michigan environmental engineers report that year-old urine contains nutrients growing plants require but is free of environmentally dangerous micro-organisms and genetic material.   They studied the urine of more than 100 men and women after 12-16 months of aging in sealed containers.  During that time, the rising ammonia levels lower urine acidity, kill any bacteria, and destroy any extracellular DNA.  This aged urine is safe and contains levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that effectively nourish plants.   Aged urine will be an excellent alternative to industrial fertilizers that often stimulate algae blooms.  Green is good; yellow may be better.   Heather E. Goetsch, Nancy G. Love, Krista R. Wigginton. Fate of Extracellular DNA in the Production of Fertilizers from Source-Separated Urine. Environmental Science & Technology, 2020; DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b04263   #urine #fertilizer #plants  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/Tgk12aBsrSo   Different type fonts and styles appeal to different generations and philosophies.  You say:  “what the hxxx is he talking bout.  A Virginia tech study of political yard signs, logos, and websites concludes that a candidate’s chosen fonts and use of bold, italic, or regular type can help target a message with greater precision.   Analyzing 987 subjects, 37 years on average, the researchers report that elaborate fonts likes Times New Roman appeal to older and more conservative minds while younger and progressive individuals like streamlined san serif fonts such as Century Gothic.  In type styles italic is the most liberal followed by regular and finally a more conservative bold.   This has application beyond politics.   Katherine Haenschen, Daniel J. Tamul. What’s in a Font?: Ideological Perceptions of Typography. Communication Studies, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1080/10510974.2019.1692884   #typography #fonts #bold #italic #conservative #liberal  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/MBqNURsBkRg   Kids of regular smokers who continued puffing while pregnant were at least 40% more likely to develop scaly, psoriatic skin by age 11.  Children of smokers using nicotine replacement instead of cigarettes still had a 36% higher risk.   Public health researchers at the University of Copenhagen tabulated data on about 26,000 children.  The risk of psoriasis was related to the numbers of cigarettes smoked rising to nearly 300% for women smoking 16 or more each day.   The investigators feel that nicotine as well as other chemicals in smokes may trigger that autoimmune process that leads to those thickened, itchy patches on children’s heads and extremities.  Ladies considering motherhood: stop now!   Groot, Jonathan et al.  Prenatal, infantile, and childhood tobacco exposure and risk of pediatric psoriasis in the Danish National Birth Cohort offspring.  Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Volume 0, Issue 0. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2019.09.038   #sm

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/OmBtKu6rAc4   More than 70% of us watch at least one horror movie every 6 months and we love exercising our brain’s fight or flight centers as well as its emotional regions.  This from a Finnish analysis of some 216 subjects watching a collection of the 100 highest-rated horror movies.   The overwhelming sensation triggered was excitement followed by fright, anxiety, nervousness, and disgust. Nearly 35% derived pleasure!  The movies that evoked the strongest responses depicted psychological horror followed by real disaster, supernatural phenomena, menacing criminals, torture, and gore.   MRI analysis of the viewer showed that slowly escalating threats trigger sensory centers, visual and auditory.  Sudden horror triggers executive evaluation and rapid decision-making.   Matthew Hudson, Kerttu Seppälä, Vesa Putkinen, Lihua Sun, Enrico Glerean, Tomi Karjalainen, Henry K. Karlsson, Jussi Hirvonen, Lauri Nummenmaa. Dissociable neural systems for unconditioned acute and sustained fear.

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/qKHCTsn6kFo   A new, more sensitive anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) blood test can accurate predict a woman’s last cycle.  Reproductive biologists at the University of Colorado and Harvard studied 1537 women from 42 to 63 years.   The new AMH testing doubled the investigators’ accuracy in pinpointing a woman’s last menstrual cycle compared with the conventional methods using bleeding patterns or less sensitive tests.   An accurate menopause determination tells women when they may stop birth control and permits better timing for uterine fibroid surgery.  The more sensitive AMH determination also fine-tunes the estimate of remaining eggs allowing women, postponing motherhood, a measure of freedom from that ticking clock in their minds.   Joel S Finkelstein, Hang Lee, Arun Karlamangla, etal. Anti-Mullerian Hormone and Impending Menopause in Late Reproductive Age: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2020; DOI: 10.1210/cline

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/S8btzVNZkdQ   High protein diets like the Adkins, Stillman, and Scarsdale drive weight loss but could also trigger life loss.  Washington University-St. Louis researchers now show why high protein diets foster atherosclerotic heart attacks and strokes.   The researchers found in mice that increasing daily protein intake from a normal 15% to 46% of calories blocked normal macrophage arterial plaque cleansing activity.  Free to accumulate, the plaques tend to break off and plug vital downstream coronary and cerebral arteries.   We’ve known that high protein diets poison arteries, but now we know why.  Lose weight with a meal plan such as Turbocharged that shuns calorie counting and is easily continued for life, a long life.   Xiangyu Zhang, Ismail Sergin, Trent D. Evans, etal. High-protein diets increase cardiovascular risk by activating macrophage mTOR to suppress mitophagy. Nature Metabolism, 2020; 2 (1): 110 DOI: 10.1038/s42255-019-0162-4   https://www.freedieting.com/turbocharge

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/CFzqNunX8z8   PFAS, polyfluoroalkyl substances, the forever chemicals used to make Teflon cookware, cosmetics, and other consumer products, contaminates your drinking water.  These chemicals are unregulated and have been linked to thyroid disease, cardiovascular problems, infertility, obesity, and cancer.     The Environmental Working Group, EWG, compiled data on tap water from 44 locations in 31 states.  The definition of a safe level keeps dropping.  Fifteen years ago when the Dupont West Virginia poisoning dramatized in the movie Dark Waters  came to light, the EPA said 500 ppt but WVA went with 150,000.  Now the EPA says 70, VT says 20, but NJ wants 14.  The EWG says 1.  Many far northern and southern states never dropped their limits.    The most polluted water was from NC, IA, NJ, Phillie, Louisville, New Orleans, Charleston, Decatur, and DC.  The safest came from Meridian, Tuscaloosa, Seattle, Memphis, LittleRock, CO, and here in New York City.  Look for the summary charts

    Vidcast: https://youtu.be/NFAUtHE-P0I   Reporting from NYC, here are this weeks health news capsules as of January 26, 2020.   They include medical, health, and wellness news and urgent bulletins as well as recalls of drugs, medical devices.   Many thanks to the health news aggregators: ScienceDaily, Reuters, Medical News Today, Medical News Bulletin, MedScape, NewsMax Health, Medical Express, Insider Health, the FDA, and the CDC.   5 FDA RECALLS + One #Coronavirus Update #TapWater Is Poisoning You Revised #CDCVapingGuidelines #ClimateChange Unleashes New Germs And Triggers Heat-Related Deaths #23andMe In Financial Trouble #Flint Residents Can Sue State Over Water Contamination Dead #SpermDonors Good News: #Cigarette Smoking At An All-time Lo More Good News: Kids Having Fewer Sick Visits and More Well Checks  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/qvb61MWakWM   Not one of the 12 tests routinely ordered by big ticket executive screening programs at top US cardiology programs are recommended for generally healthy individuals by specialty societies or the US Preventive Services Task Force.  A review of such programs by cardiologists at Washington University and St. Louis Schools of Medicine.   These programs are cash cows for the hospitals.  They charge from about $1,000 to 25 times that amount, and most insurance plans won't cover a penny.  The unnecessary testing including extensive lipid panels, cardiac stress tests, and heart CT scans that keep hospital facilities full and profitable.   Even if you can afford it, don’t be a sucker.   Ge A, Brown DL. Assessment of Cardiovascular Diagnostic Tests and Procedures Offered in Executive Screening Programs at Top-Ranked Cardiology Hospitals. JAMA Intern Med. Published online January 13, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.6607   #executivehealth #cardiacscreening  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/wcpzB6nzRZo   Almost 90 percent of in-vitro fertilization clinics fail to report complete outcome information as they are required to do by the Society For Assisted Reproductive Technology.  This according to a unpublished Brown University study presented to the IVF scientific meetings last October.   The researchers reviewed 361 IVF clinic websites looking for advertising policy adherence. One-third of the sites violated the rule prohibiting success rate reporting and half fail to publish up-to-date data.  Only 46% linked to the Society’s comprehensive database as they are required to do.   It’s apparent that better society monitoring is needed to protect unsuspecting infertile couples desperate for a child.  Meanwhile, buyer beware!   https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/921970   #ivf #infertility #falseadvertising  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/JUoQWSUNjuA   Moderate intensity aerobic exercise improves your working memory in a manner similar to caffeine.   Exercise physiologists from Canada’s Western University and the University of British Columbia tested 59 participants half of whom never drank caffeine and half of whom drank it regularly   A 20 minute session of moderate aerobic exercise on a treadmill conferred a statistically similar working memory benefit as a cup of regular coffee for non-drinkers. For regular coffee drinkers, adding exercise triggered even greater accuracy improvements.     Exercise also curtailed caffeine withdrawal symptoms in those regular consumers who were deprived of their java.    Aerobic exertion improves brain function by boosting blood flow to these vital tissues.  Do it often!   Morava, A., Fagan, M.J. & Prapavessis, H. Effects of Caffeine and Acute Aerobic Exercise on Working Memory and Caffeine Withdrawal. Sci Rep 9, 19644 (2019) doi:10.1038/s41598-019-56251-y   #exercise #caffei

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/I2f5U8Bykww   In a 2015 Harris poll, $ over 71% of parents thought tats were ok for pediatricians, 51% of millennials approved for any doctor, but only 35% of all adults felt comfortable with tattoos.     In a Hawaiian study the same year, more than half of the respondents expressed less confidence in doctors with tats or piercings.     A 2018 study of more than 900 emergency room patients suggested that patient confidence was unaffected by tattoos.     A November 2019 Medscape poll of doc, nurses, and pharmacists showed a 60% approval of tats.   What do you think?  To respond, comment on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, TicToc, Facebook, or LinkedIn.  I’ll tabulate the results and let you know.   Harris poll: https://bit.ly/2Rwkst6 Hawaiian study: https://doi.org/10.1177/0009922815616889 Emergency Room study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29967212 Medscape: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/923527   #tattoos #piercings #doctors #nurses  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/tcETWj5cQ8g   Keeping the surgeon’s knife away from your prostate in favor or using radiotherapy improves your sexual function by up to 15 % and your urine control by up to 23%.  These stats come from multi-site study of nearly 2000 men was just published in JAMA.   Groups with potentially operable prostate cancer received either watchful waiting, nerve-sparing prostate removal, or external beam radiation. After 5 years, those with better behaved tumors had better urinary, sexual, and bowel function after radiotherapy than surgery.  Even those with more aggressive tumors enjoyed better urinary and sexual performance after radiation than surgery.   Proton beams seem even better than conventional radiation.  Avoid surgery if possible.   Hoffman KE, Penson DF, Zhao Z, et al. Patient-Reported Outcomes Through 5 Years for Active Surveillance, Surgery, Brachytherapy, or External Beam Radiation With or Without Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer. JAMA. 2020;323(2):

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/Tn9a1v9C038   Wolfing down 2-3 ounces of walnuts a day is an excellent way to improve your gut microbiome and keep your heart healthy.  This from nutrition researchers at Penn State.   They studied 42 overweight or obese middle aged subjects and replaced the saturated fats in their diets with either vegetable oils or good ol’ walnuts.  When their fecal samples were analyzed, the walnut eaters enjoyed a significant increase in good gastrointestinal bacteria including eubacterium eligens and lachnospiraceae.  The Eu bug normalizes blood pressure while the lach bug drops your blood pressure and cholesterol.   Walnuts won’t neutralize a pile of burgers and donuts.  They do make a heart healthy snacks so crack a can.   Alyssa M Tindall, Christopher J McLimans, Kristina S Petersen, Penny M Kris-Etherton, Regina Lamendella. Walnuts and Vegetable Oils Containing Oleic Acid Differentially Affect the Gut Microbiota and Associations with Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Follow-up of a Randomized

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ZA_KBqj9bAo   Tobacco smoke from a hookah apparatus causes blood to clot 11 times faster than normal.  A University of Texas-El Paso mouse study measured the effects on blood of hookah smoking that mimicked human exposures.   Fired by the usual charcoal, the hookah burned commercially-available, flavored tobacco the also included glycerin and molasses.   Platelet function was hyperactive and blood clotted in just 11 seconds in smoking mice versus 5 minutes which is typical for humans too.   Hookah smoking is on the rise due to a false perception that it is safer than cigarettes or vaping.   Hookah smoke is very toxic containing not only concentrated tobacco fumes but also organic charcoal carcinogens.   Ahmed B. Alarabi, Zubair A. Karim, Jean E. Montes Ramirez, Keziah R. Hernandez, Patricia A. Lozano, José O. Rivera, Fatima Z. Alshbool, Fadi T. Khasawneh. Short-Term Exposure to Waterpipe/Hookah Smoke Triggers a Hyperactive Platelet Activation State and Increases the Risk of Thromb

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/toWjhCqTov8   Body art is becoming increasingly popular and acceptable.  Even doctors and nurses, once forbidden by hospitals to have exposed tattoos or piercings, are decorating.  Younger patients seem to love it.   The dark sides to tattooing, body piecing, skin implants, earlobe stretching, scarification, and tongue splitting are infections, scarring, and allergies.     Local infection from contaminated instruments or materials are readily treatable, but it can cause scars and require removal of the implanted materials.  More deadly, the infection can spread to your heart valves and to your brain.     Decorations can trigger excessive scarring or keloids particularly common in people of color.  Certain jewelry, usually cheaper, silver-plated nickel, can induce a nasty skin allergies.  Beware!   https://reference.medscape.com/slideshow/bodymodifications-6006954    #piercings #tattoos #implants #bodydecoration  

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/8G5yKjJ9gPU   A half hour of bright blue light every morning can help recovery from a mild traumatic brain injury.  A University of Arizona study of 32 victims who suffered head injuries was just published in the journal Neurobiology of Disease.   Just 6 weeks of 30 minute morning blue light sessions normalized flawed sleep patterns that occur after brain injury, and, in turn, improved the participants thought processing.  Amber light had no such positive effects.  Blue light suppresses melatonin triggering greater mental energy during the day and more restful sleep at night.  Both improve recovery following mild TBIs.   If you have had a head injury or have sleep problems, you should try morning blue light.    William D.S. Killgore, John R. Vanuk, Bradley R. Shane, Mareen Weber, Sahil Bajaj. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of blue wavelength light exposure on sleep and recovery of brain structure, function, and cognition following mild traumatic brain injury.

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/3P0NhdAFtBs   Guys obsessed finding the next men’s room are helped by behavioral therapy as much as by drugs.  A multisite study, just published in JAMA Internal Medicine, studied  204 men with jittery bladders who literally hit the urinals 9 times a day or more   Those men completing mind control studies teaching them to suppress their urges to go, tone their pelvic muscles, and wait longer and longer before “opening their urinary faucets” improved their voiding pattern after only 6 weeks by almost 25% (24.7%).  Those on drugs alone only improved 13% while those on mind control and drugs did only 5% better than without the drugs.   Use your mind..save your money.   Burgio KL, Kraus SR, Johnson TM, et al. Effectiveness of Combined Behavioral and Drug Therapy for Overactive Bladder Symptoms in Men: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. Published online January 13, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.6398   #urgency #frequency #mindcontrol