Dr. Howard Smith Reports

A study just published by NYU shows that hemoglobin A1C testing in neighborhood barbershops can effectively screen black men for diabetes.   A total of 900 black men in Brooklyn were offered free testing at their trusted black-owned barbershops.   One-third consented to participate, and 9% of those were found to have undiagnosed diabetes and 28% more had pre-diabetes.   A disproportionate number o...

Clostridium difficile is a nasty bacterium that pops up in the gut after antibiotic therapy for other infections.   This highly contagious germ can trigger life-threatening colitis.   The treatment for seven infections has been the powerful antibiotic vancomycin and for milder infections metronidazole.   The first additional antibiotic be developed for this dangerous condition in 30 years, fidaxom...

  A British cobbler who accidentally demolished his right thumb had it replaced surgically with his big toe.   The surgeons took 10 hours to complete the operations needed for this transformation.   He has returned to repairing shoes.   Magical piece of good news.

  Numbers of infected, hospitalized, and perished continues to rise quickly.   Get the latest stats from Bloomberg:   https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-wuhan-novel-coronavirus-outbreak/ and bookmark the page. As of this recording, DATE, TIME: ConfirmedCasesWorldwide: X; DeathsWorldwide: X. Official name to date 2019-nCoV Genetically similar to SARS coronavirus and thought to have originated...

Purell Warned By FDA to stop making unproven marketing claims.   Boasts that it improves school attendance and can prevent flu, norovirus, MRSA, and even Ebola are BS.   The manufacturer says that the CDC and WHO recommend using alcohol hand sanitizer to prevent infection spread.   In reality, this recommendation only holds if soap and water aren’t available since hand washing is more effective th...

Beepa’s Goulash being recalled by Beeps of Beloit, WI. Undeclared milk that could cause allergic reaction.   Sold in WI and northern IL. Return to point of purchase or call company at 860-362-1703.   Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/10Z8JeCAGuM

Harris Teeter’s Fresh Food Market Mushroom Barley Soup is being recalled by Bakkavor Foods USA.   May contain undeclared milk and a danger if you’re milk allergic.   Turns out some Chicken Wild Rice Soup containing milk was packaged as Mushroom Barley soup.   Sold in Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington DC.   Return to point of purchase or...

Cotija Cheese (Quesa Cotija) by Quesos La Ricura LTD recalled due to E. Coli contamination.   The bug has the dangerous shiga toxin that causes severe diarrhea but also hemolytic uremic syndrome with kidney damage especially in young children.   Sold in NY, NC, PA, GA, FL.   Return to point of purchase or call company (516) 932-5756.   Vidcast: https://youtu.be/g8lr6Gbkx5g

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/dLeTpUalcco Fluctuating and diminishing hormones in association with menopause trigger word-finding challenges.   A preliminary multisite study directed by neuroscientists and gynecologists at the University of Illinois studied 14 menopausal women with verbal memory tests, symptom diaries, and functional MRIs.   The data confirm previous observations that menopausal w...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/BmPJ8Abr5uY   Only 5% of children and teens with chronic fatigue syndrome, technically known as myalgic encephalomyelitis, ever receive a proper diagnosis.   Investigators from DePaul University and the Lurie Chicago Children’s Hospital studied a random group of over 10,100 kids 5 to 17 years.   The reasons affected children aren’t identified includes poor healthcare...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/FJjR42mC2iU   The trick to avoiding bloat when eating a high fiber diet is to reduce protein in favor of carbs in the form of whole grains and other healthy carbs.   This the conclusion of a Johns Hopkins study of some 164 subjects consuming high fiber, heart-healthy diets.   Their data reveals 40% less bloating when a high-fiber diet is carb-rich versus protein-rich....

  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 pneumo...

  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...

  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...

  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...

  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 psoria...

  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,...

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 us...

  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 no...

  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...

    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,...

  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...

  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 adver...

  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 co...

  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...