Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAWkQEJjdq/ Data from a wearable, in this case the Apple Watch, can predict a person’s ability to cope with adversity and manage stress.  Digital health researchers at New York’s Mt. Sinai Hospital and medical school have studied data from 329 healthcare workers, average age 37 years, 63% women and 37% men.  All had iPhones and Apple Watches and downloaded a...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAVpBnPmwc/ The Israeli startup Salignostics has developed  a pregnancy test on a card similar to the CoVid tests.  The test, called Salistick, detects the presence in saliva of human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone that surges in the body during pregnancy.  The test is 96% accurate on the first day of a missed period and 97% accurate on the second day.  Th...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAUolwvmnl/ University of Pennsylvania dental researchers in collaboration with Penn bioengineers have developed metallic nano-robotic particles that can be directed to sites of fungal infection and eradicate these dangerous yeasts.  The team has utilized catalytic iron nanoparticles called nanozymes to create microscopic robots that can be driven to infected...

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CuATUmxucVk/ The key to curing male hair loss may come from the unlikeliest source: an ugly hairy mole.  Stem cell researchers at UC-Irvine have discovered that such moles contain hair stem cell hyperactivity.  Investigating the triggers for hair growth in these moles using a mouse model, they found overproduction of a hair signaling factor called osteopontin o...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuASZwuuk9o/ Targeted low level electrical stimulation improves blood flow to  sections of the brain that lost this vital circulation as the result of  ischemic strokes.  UCLA neurologists mounted a preliminary study of 10 ischemic stroke patients.  Seven were randomized to receive individually focused very low transcranial direct current stimulation across th...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuARaSKNGBM/ Estriol, a relatively weak estrogenic compound that surges during pregnancy due to placental production, can reverse the deterioration of myelin nerve sheaths and may help control or even cure multiple sclerosis or MS.  UCLA neurologists studied the effects of estriol on brain tissue in a mouse MS model. Exposing the experimental animals with an M...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAQi-mvJJT/ CoVid viruses can damage the vagus nerve, critical for speaking, swallowing, proper digestion, and control of heart rate.  German infectious disease researchers conducted intense studies of 30 individuals with long CoVid and an average age of 44 years.  Eighty percent were women.  Two sets of controls were used: 14 who fully recovered from CoVid;...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAPOY-rmLB/ A full 20% of women who required so-called assisted reproductive technology, either IVF or ICSI, later become pregnant naturally.  University College London reproduction scientists conducted a meta-analysis of 11 human reproduction studies dating back to 1980.   These studies followed 5,180 women for over 2 to 15 years after they had either in vit...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAObRZgT7o/ Older individuals regularly using their computers, tablets, and phones to browse the web, email, and use social media enjoyed more than 50% lower risk of dementia.  NYU public health researchers followed 18,154 adults 50 to 65 years of age for 17 years.  Of the group, 65% were regular internet users. The data revealed that regular but moderate int...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuANT8wtYeB/ The odds that a football player will develop the devastating Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy appears to be triggered not by the numbers of concussions but rather by the cumulative numbers of head impacts and their severities.  This the result of a Harvard Mass. General Hospital retrospective study that reviewed the records of 631 deceased footbal...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CuAL2nZPnIt/ Head injury victims taking the blood pressure drug prazosin, branded as Minipress, experienced half as many headaches as those on an inactive placebo.  Washington state Veterans Administration healthcare researchers performed a randomized pilot study of the drug on 32 military veterans and active duty personnel.  An additional 16 received a placeb...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CtvwGXPsJbJ/ Recall by: FDA; Wawona Frozen Foods, Inc. Problem: Year old 4 lb. Packages of Wawona Frozen Foods Organic DayBreak Blend may contain the hepatitis A virus. Affected: Use By dates of 09/23/2023, 09/29/2023, 09/30/2023 and 10/18/2023 Sold: Costco stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah and Washington state. Actions: If you think that you may h...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CtvveNlLtHS/ Recall by: FDA; Willamette Valley Fruit Co Problem: These frozen fruit blends containing frozen strawberries have been found to contain the hepatitis A virus. Sold: Walmart stores in 32 states; Costco stores in Colorado, Texas, California, and Arizona; HEB stores in Texas. Actions: If you think that you may have purchased these products, check you...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctvu1anNQiv/ Recall by : FDA; Richin Trading Inc. Problem:  These mini jelly cups are small enough to create a choking risk for small children. Actions: Return these cups to the place of purchase for a full refund. Company contact: 1-626-308-3212 https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/richin-trading-inc-voluntarily-recalls-sunwave-...

To Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctvt_1YPN7H/ Recall: FDA; Frito-Lay Problem: Z front of the affected product’s jar is correctly labeled as Tostitos Avocado Salsa but the back of the jar has another product’s nutrition information and declarations.  The allergen milk is not declared on the label. Actions: If you or a family member has a milk allergy, do not consume the product.  Return it...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CtvtaIwL5W0/ Recall: CPSC; Trek Problem: The brake hose may detach from the control lever creating crash, fall, and injury hazards to the rider and bystanders. Affected: Promax Solve DSK-925 and Promax F1 DSK-927 hydraulic disc brakes. Sold:  About 96,900 were sold at Trek dealers nationwide and online at trekbikes.com. Actions: Immediately stop riding bicycle...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctvss2Csc3F/ Recall: CPSC; Huish Outdoors Problem: The weight pocket handles may break preventing a diver from dumping weights in an emergency in order to rise to the surface leading to a drowning. Affected: Oceanic OceanPro, Oceanic Excursion, and Oceanic Hera models. Sold: About 7,100 units were sold in the US and 345 were sold in Canada. Actions: Consumers...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctvr3fPAOk4/ With every company imaginable getting into the healthcare business, Uber, the ride-sharing behemoth, is no exception.   Uber is now adding the delivery of over-the-counter medications and devices as well as your prescription items to their services.  Named Uber Health, the company will not only will deliver your Tylenol, Bandaids, and blood pressu...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctvq70hsnOl/ With the flight time from Boston to Australia pushing 21 hours, the Australian airline Qantas has been studying how to make that journey more pleasant and the aftermath more bearable by instituting measures to reduce jet lag.  Working with the University of Sydney’s sleep researchers, circadian rhythm scientists, and nutrition and movement experts...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctvp9SpP5jl/ The FDA has just granted a device approval for the first topical agent that treats erectile dysfunction.  Branded as Eroxon, this Futura Medical agent is applied to the head of the penis and and triggers surface cooling, then warming.   These temperature changes stimulate nerve endings and increase organ blood flow within 10 minutes resulting in a...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CtvpDUbuH6o/ Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE is a threat to brain power and even longevity of not only professional football players but also those at the college and high school levels.  Stanford University bioengineers, in collaboration with a local company appropriately named Savior Brain Inc,. have developed football helmets that incorporate 21 liq...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CtvoP5qLcuj/ Patients who received a donor heart that had stopped and its owner died in so-called circulatory death were just as likely to survive 6 months as those who received hearts from brain-dead donors whose hearts were actively beating at the time of donation.  This remarkable multicenter study, headed by Duke University cardiac transplant surgeons, use...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CtvngjiMJsY/ Combining genetic information with conventional Prostate Specific Antigen, PSA, test results sharpens the precision and the predictive value of conventional PSA tests.  Multi-disciplinary researchers at UC-San Francisco and the Stanford Cancer Institute studied 95,768 men and discovered 128 specific genetic associations with prostate cancer.  Usin...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CtvmkKntiJ-/ College athletes experiencing concussions during play were about 90% more likely than non-exercisers to enjoy resolution of all symptoms and return to play if they resumed light exercise less than two days post-concussion.  Researchers at the University of Michigan Concussion Center headed a multisite study of 1228 collegiate athletes at 30 instit...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CtvlzWsvPs0/ Consistent and close skin-to-skin contact between mothers and low-birthweight newborns reduces risk of death during their first month of life by 32%.  Pediatricians at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences conducted a meta-analysis of 31 trials using this so-called kangaroo medical care.  Their technique also reduced the risk of severe infec...