Dr. Howard Smith Reports

•Sensitive blood biopsy detects cancer and its recurrences earlier Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8qrkwgAyZS/ Using spinal fluid and blood, liquid biopsies are under rapid development to improve cancer therapy.  Geneticists at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have perfected an ultra-sensitive, machine-learning liquid biopsy technique for detecting and analyzing cancer DNA...

•Testing cerebral spinal fluid, CSF, for brain cancer genes avoids brain biopsies Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8qqy5zN10a/ Modern cancer chemo- and immunotherapy requires genetic analysis of a patient’s cancer cells and is called precision or personalized therapy.  In the case of brain cancer, open biopsies to obtain tissue for gene testing is invasive and time-consuming.  Harvard neuros...

•3D biopsies could detect cancer earlier Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8qqE3Bp96U/ Johns Hopkins pathologists have developed a novel three dimensional tissue biopsy method.  Conventional biopsies are two dimensional, but the Hopkins researchers computer-aggregated the images from hundreds of sequential tissue layers to produce a 3D picture of tissues.  This technique is similar to that ut...

•High tech stool test could save you a colonoscopy Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8qpILUM7wd/ I’ve mentioned the FIT test in past reports.  The letters stand for fecal immunological test, a screening test that detects the presence of blood hemoglobin in stool.  The FIT is a Yes/No test, and if it’s YES, it’s time for a colonoscopy.  Now Taiwanese investigators report in JAMA that a sensiti...

•Future insulin may be sensitive to blood sugar levels Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8p83oENKLZ/ The insulin of today must be injected in accordance with a diabetic person’s current and expected blood sugar levels.  The insulin molecules of the future may regulate themselves according to the amounts of sugar in the blood surrounding them permitting the injection of a constant amount of dr...

•Low back pain?  Better get on the hoof Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8p7kl3Oupw/ So your lower back is killing you.  Eighty percent of Americans not only feel your pain but also have it.  Australian physical medicine researchers suggest that a regular walking program could help you.  In a randomized trial, they tested about 700 subjects with documented, significant back pain.  The treatm...

•The butterflies in your stomach can dissolve food Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8p6v9qRXVP/ Study after study now show that there is a strong connection between your gut and your brain.  The latest evidence support that link come from psychologists  at Rome’s Sapienza University.  The researchers trigger strong emotions in their 30 subjects by showing them videos that triggered disgust,...

Nuts may help you lose weight  Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8p58YXJZAk/ When you diet to take off those pounds, you want you food plan to work as effectively as possible.  When you deprive yourself of those foods you love, you want to do so for as short a period of time as necessary.  Enter Australian nutritionists who find that nuts do both.  Their meta-analysis of 7 on-point studies re...

Wolfing down that fast food might make you more anxious Vidcast:   https://www.instagram.com/p/C8p4cnQubTL/ Bad news for the Big Mac and fries fans.  University of Colorado-Boulder physiologists report that a high fat diet, 45% of calories in fat, triggers anxiety, at least in their rodent subjects but very likely also in humans.  The extra fats appear to turn on genes that produce the neurotransm...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8L7RsdsOGL/ The Food and Drug Administration and Suntegrity Skincare are recalling multiple shades of Suntegrity Impeccable Skin Sunscreen Foundation due to fungal contamination with an aspergillus species.  Recalled are lots 115BU, 107IV, 107NU, 109NU, 117BU, 113SA, 114SA, 106BR, and 101MO. Do not use this sunscreen skin product.  Return the product to your...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8L6YrcsKBM/ The Food and Drug Administration and Classic Delight LLC are recalling a raft of ready to eat sandwiches, subs, muffins, burgers, waffles, bagels and biscuits under the Classic Delight, Nutrisystemm and Wakefiel brands.  Reason is that these items are contaminated with listeria monocytogenes. This bacterium causes a severe and sometimes fatal syst...

Vids https://www.instagram.com/p/C8L5uDmpccy/ The Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Daikin Comfort Technologies now recall Amana, Daikin, and Goodman branded air conditioning and heat pump units.  The information plates on these units misstate the electrical ratings leading to dangerously incorrect wiring and fires. About 12,100 units have been sold. Immediately contact Daikin at 833-324-...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8L5BOkNZGf/ The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Southern Telecom now recall Lomi Roll-On Waxing Kits.  The roll-on warmers in these kits can overheat creating fire, burn, and shock hazards. About 19,500 of these kits were sold at Ross, DD's, Bealls, and Burlington stores nationwide. Stop using these kits and contact Southern Telecom at 888-959-0944...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8L4W7wOogG/ The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Nap Queen Sleep have recalled. Nap Queen Sleep Victoria Hybrid Mattresses.  They fail to meet federal flammability standards for mattresses leading to fire and burn risks. About 117,200 of these mattresses have been sold at stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com, Walmart, Home Depot, Wayfair, Target,...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8L3kzGplyI/ The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Bambu Lab are recalling Bambu Lab A1 3D printers.  If this printer’s heatbed cable is bent or damaged, a short-circuit occurs with sparks and a burn the insulation layer with shock and fire hazards. About 12,800 printers were sold at Micro Center stores nationwide and online at us.store.bambulab.com. Stop...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8L2QXrO9oW/ The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Black & Decker are recalling Black and Decker CRAFTSMAN V20 Cordless Tillers/Cultivators.  Unclear assembly instructions can lead the user to attach the cutting portion of the units upside down leading to possible lacerations. Unclear assembly instructions can lead the user to attach the cutting porti...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8L1joDPxVr/ The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Spectrum Brands Pet Care are recalling FURminator deShedding Ultra Premium Dog Conditioner as these 1 gallon containers are contaminated with bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa.  This bacterium is a serious risk for those with weak immune systems or medical device implants. About 102,000 bottles we...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8L00rOt3KM/ The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Good Earth Lighting are now recalling Good Earth Rechargeable Integrated Lights.  The batteries within the lights overheat and ignite the units elastic housing leading to fires and burns. More than 1.2 million of these lights were sold in the US and 37,800 were sold in Canada at at hardware and home impro...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8L0CaytRwE/ The Consumer Product Safety Commission and SA Consumer Products are recalling Sanctuary and Sports Afield Biometric Firearm Safes since they can be readily opened by anyone leading to possible injuries and death. About 133,370 safes were sold at Costco, at Costco.com, and at firearm and sporting goods stores. Stop using the biometric features of t...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8LzD5huNLI/ The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Kawasaki are recalling the gasoline engines in Bad Boy Mowers as well as in BigDog, Bobcat, Cub Cadet, Hustler, John Deere, and Kubota brand lawn and garden equipment as they overheat leading to fires and burns. About 68,500 engines are impacted in the US and about 900impacted  engines are  impacted in Ca...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8Acp7INddu/ This technology has at least 3 applications. Drug manufacturers wanting to pre-estimate clinical effectiveness and side effects of new medications.  Medical device manufacturers wishing to see how a new cardiac valve or hip prosthesis might fare in the body.  Contract research organizations looking for guidance as they design and implement clinica...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8Abp8MRWVR/ Magnetic resonance scanners are typically huge, heavy, and expensive machines.  The typical commercial units occupy an entire room, weigh 6 to 13 tons, and cost north of $1 million.  Now the Hyperfine company has received FDA clearance to further develop its Swoop scanner, a portable so-called low power unit that can be brought to a patient’s room...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8Aa4cQpkLd/ Eating within 3 hours of bedtime makes you 46% more likely to develop colon adenomatous polyps that can be pre-cancerous lesions in 5-10% of cases.  This from Chicago’s Rush University Medical College investigators who surveyed 664 colonoscopy patients. The data showed that late eaters were 5.5 fold more likely than those avoiding any but early ev...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8AaG_Junkq/ Fish oil supplements have been recommended for patients with known heart disease. As a result, 1 in every 5 Americans over age 60, even those without a history of cardiac problems, are regularly consuming fish oil in various forms.  Problem is that these supplements turn out to be harmful to those without known heart disease. Chinese epidemiologis...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C8AZO1buuj0/ E. coli, the same family of bacteria that lives in all of our large bowels and sometimes leads to serious infections, can be genetically transformed to create a vaccine against the dreaded HIV virus that causes AIDS.  Swedish microbiologists have successfully utilized the CRISPR-cas9 editing technique to add an HIV genetic sequence to the genome o...