Dr. Howard Smith Reports

  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 prost...

  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...

  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 fun...

  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 allergi...

  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, an...

  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 pelv...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/mFT9bvU8Zng   Drugs in the proton pump inhibitor (PPI) family negatively impact the memory and thought processing of breast cancer survivors by a factor of 20 to nearly 30%.   This the conclusion of an Ohio State University behavioral medicine study of some 88 patients.   PPI users reported 20% more difficulties concentrating and 28% more impaired memory.   Users of t...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/SBiSuettNcg   America’s favorite edible oil, known to drive obesity, fatty livers, and diabetes, now appears to negatively impact a key brain center.   Molecular biologists at UC-Riverside report their latest mouse model studies of soybean oil, frequently used to fry fast foods and nourish livestock.   The oil interferes with critical gene actions in the hypothalamus...

    Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/jUevWu4tDsQ   Reporting from NYC, here are this weeks health news capsules as of January 19, 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 Expres...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/-WNqh7g7GLc   Regularly eating hot peppers reduces deaths due to cardiovascular disease by over 40% and deaths from strokes by over 60%.   An Italian study just published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology followed nearly 23,000 men and women tabulating their eating habits and serious disease over more than an 8 year follow up.   Chili pepper eaters...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/FmLGGpsgAGU   Focused protons kill cancers with fewer side effects and unplanned hospitalizations to treat complications.   A new study from the University of Pennsylvania reviewed data on nearly 1500 cancer patients with a variety of tumors undergoing simultaneous radiation and chemotherapy.   Those receiving proton beam suffered 42% fewer side effects and two-thirds...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/_0E5ElQsAbQ   Mindfulness training with a smartphone app can effectively suppress a conditioned fear reaction.   A Scandinavian collaborative study of 26 predominately female subjects 35 yrs of age on average employed the Headspace meditation app to deliver mindfulness exercises.   The experimental fear trigger was a mild electric shock in association with an associat...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/vFZPVymQHhU   Loneliness is one of the big three that will kill you.   The other two are smoking and obesity.   A newly published study from UC-San Diego outlines the causes and cures for loneliness.   The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 30 older adults, and pinpointed 2 causes of loneliness and one effective remedy.   Loss is the primary trigger for lo...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/cpOEm4MaL74   Look no further than the corner convenience store for the cause of an obesity wave now sweeping our nation killing boomers and millennials.   A George Washington University review article now reports the causes.   Highly processed meats, snacks, and desserts contain emulsifiers that harm gut bacteria, raise blood sugar, and cause overeating.   Real food...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/QqBcMTR5v4E   Those with increased exposures to urban air pollution in the form of nitrogen dioxide are a greater risk for developing schizophrenia.   This conclusion comes from a Danish study of more than 23,000 men and women just published in JAMA Network Open .   Those children exposed to higher levels of air pollution from birth to 10 years of age were significant...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/SH-X2A-Tc64   A British survey of some 1000 millennial men and women shows that most like the concept of reducing meat consumption but find it inconvenient.     Seventy-three percent think eating plant-based food is more ethical, 70% rate it more environmentally-beneficial, and 50% consider it healthier.   However, up to 80% feel it takes too much effort and 60% rate...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/vwVsXQfh5-0   Virtual gaming can provoke damaging shoulder fatigue, neck inflammation, and eye strain.   Oregon State University industrial engineers studied 20 male and female GenZ and millennial gamers for repetitive-type injuries as they pointed and painted in VR.   The gamers extended hands led to shoulder discomfort after only 3 minutes as well as later eye strai...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/CEVbxm64OJ0   When adults enjoy play with infants, a bi-directional neural bond forms that creates an intensely rich interaction.   Neuroscientists at Princeton University explored this phenomenon by studying 18 children 9 to 15 months of age.   As the babies interacted with adults sharing toys, rhymes, and stories, their brain waves were recorded.   Child-adult brain...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/xLOIonn4-SQ   Feeling down may be the root of your inability to stop smoking for good.   This the conclusion of Harvard researchers who reviewed a national survey of more nearly 11,000 persons but also conducted a detailed study of nearly 1300 locals and habitual smokers shown sad video clips.   Those in the national sample who rated themselves as sad tended to be smo...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/kx4IZRogQ78   Regular tea drinkers live 26% longer than non-drinkers and have significantly lower risks of heart disease and stroke.   This from a Chinese study just published in the European Journal of Cardiology .   The investigation focuses on nearly 101,000 healthy middle-aged Chinese participants.   Regular tea drinkers have a 39% lower risk of any heart disease...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/eHMN3NQAGFI   The all-nighters you throw to complete that project or cram for that exam seem harmless, and you seem fine after a good subsequent sleep.   No so says a new Swedish study that shows sleep deprivation triggers deposits of the tau protein synonymous with Alzheimer’s disease.   The researchers studied 15 healthy Gen Z men who normally enjoyed a good night’s...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/RJ4GkeblYuw   A huge problem is the lack of comprehensive care and services after any hospitalization elective or not.   A Canadian study of 700 persons shows that top 3 patient complaints are: insufficient home care services, services not in place before discharge, and the dumping of the burden for arranging services on the recovering patient.     US national hospita...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/1YUDCkhva2g   If you tend to sleep poorly and are prone to migraine headaches, beware that a doozie may strike you two days later.   This warning comes from a Harvard study of 98 young persons 35 yrs on average who wore wrist devices to quantitate their sleep and kept headache diaries.     The data shows that a night with 6 and a half hours or less of fragmented sleep...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/TdNB8BS7RGY   More than 2 million teens 15 through 19 years underwent uncomfortable bi-manual pelvic exams and Pap tests over a recent 6 year period.   More than half the pelvics and nearly two-thirds of Paps were unnecessary according to a just published CDC/UC-San Francisco study.     FYI: A routine pelvic is not recommended for young women unless pregnant or sympto...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/rFJpY1FDVCQ   The polyphenols and fiber in just two apples a day can lower cholesterol and normalize other lipids and vascular function.   This conclusion comes from a British and Italian Study just published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition .   Study participants were 40 overweight men and women with mildly elevated cholesterol who consumed 2 Renetta app...