Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cruood_P6zH/ By 8 years after adolescents undergo bariatric, weight loss, surgery, half of them have alcohol use disorders. Surgical investigators at Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital led a multi-center study of 217 subjects ages 13 through 19 years.  Their data shows that, on average, these surgical patients develop an 8-fold increase in hazardous alcohol c...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Crun3B6vKnm/ Eating those fries and donuts modifies your brain cells and they begin to whisper, “eat more and more.”  Penn State neuroscience and behavioral scientists now report their mouse model studies demonstrating that a high-fat diet continuing even 3 to 5 days desensitizes the brain astrocytes.   Astrocytes normally react to circulating fat and trigger...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrunDfYPiM2/ Smoking before and during a pregnancy increases by 5 fold the risk that an infant will die suddenly over the months following birth.  Rutgers University’s SIDS Center of New Jersey studied over one-half million white mother-child pairs and over 83,000 black mother-child pairs cataloging maternal smoking stats and the incidence of SIDS. The data sh...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CraLaVer1e6/ Dr. Smith and Mark Linzer MD, director of the New England Medical Center’s Syncope Evaluation Center.  Why fainting occurs.  Evaluation of fainting. #fainting #syncope #bathroom #wbznewsradio

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CraKTy_uKS8/ Dr. Smith takes a call from a listener wondering about the safety of heated waterbeds. #electromagnetic #radiation #waterbeds #electricblankets #Pregnancy #wbznewsradio

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CraJSoLtos-/ Dr. Smith interviews pediatrician Betsy Busch MD, Clinical Director for Boston Floating Hospital’s Center for Children with Special Needs.   They discuss the fact that attention deficit hyperactivity disorders are likely inherited.  They mention the presenting symptoms of these disorders. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6477889/ #atte...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CraIdNbPkSe/ The scoop on lies comes to us from a British study published earlier this month.  Investigators surveyed 194 men and women, average age 39, about the lies they tell and hear. The results: Men consider themselves good liars twice as often as women. Liars lie face-to-face followed by texts, phone calls, email, and social media. A few liars are respo...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CraHnBrJYYi/ Neurobiologists and dermatologists at the University of Miami and Harvard warn that scratching to relieve an itch may be overkill.  They base that recommendation on their analyses of mice with skin itching triggered by injection of chemicals including capsaicin and chloroquine. The data demonstrate that rubbing and stroking initially increase acti...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CraGPqWJj0W/ The FDA warns all pregnant women that use of Advil, Motrin, Aleve, Naprosyn and their generic versions ibuprofen, naproxen and even aspirin after the halfway mark of their gestations can trigger serious fetal kidney disease. NSAIDs were already a no-no during the last trimester, but that prohibition now begins 3 months earlier. Other medications s...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CraFbHRNQKs/ Consistently satisfying sleep may reduce your chances of dying from a worn out heart by 42%.  Epidemiologists at Tulane University followed a huge UK population of 408,802 patients over a 10 year period looking for correlations between sleep patterns and the development of congestive heart failure. Over those 10 years, 5221 developed heart failure...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CraErCAOsk9/ Downing cheese and red wine will keep you sharp as you go through life.  Food scientists from Iowa State University report these findings after analyzing data from 12,787 Brits 46 to 77 years of age. Participants completed Food Frequency Questionnaires and underwent testing of their ability to think on the spot using he Fluid Intelligence test.  C...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CraD3wav3Gf/ Drinking a 6 ounce cup of coffee during the first trimester will not increase a woman’s risk of gestational diabetes and drinking that same amount during the second trimester actually seems protective lowering the risk of diabetes by 47%.  University of Pennsylvania and NIH epidemiologists just published these conclusions following their study of...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CraC9W2MpZ2/ Ever more frequent heat waves promise deadly heart strain and an epidemic of heart failure.  These warnings come from a  Montreal Heart Institute review of the consequences of extreme heat events. Even beyond heat stroke with its dangerously high body temperatures, confusion, nausea and vomiting, environmental temperatures in the 100’s put a dange...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CraCMLiv6HH/ When infection occurs post-operatively, a timely selfie of the operative incision is nearly 4 times more likely to prevent a delayed diagnosis.   University of Edinburgh surgeons proved this point with the study of 233 surgical patients following their operations. Each patient was contacted on days 3, 7, and 15 post-operatively, questioned about h...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CraBO4aJh2F/ If you can’t seem to please your boss, the problem, dear Brutus, is not in your stars but in your commute.  A just published Dartmouth study tracked 275 information technology workers using their smartphones and wearables to quantify the characteristics of their commutes and their bodily reactions to them.  Their HR records served to determine the...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CraAXVsMxN5/ Playing video games triggers beneficial changes in teen brains that are associated with better cognitive function.  University of Vermont psychiatrists compared the brain functions of 679 9 and 10 year old video game players with those of 1128 pre-teens never played. The data reveals that video game jockeys exhibited  significantly better cognitiv...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrZ_9NspxP3/ Babies consuming increased amounts of breastmilk containing one particular micro-RNA molecule enjoyed a lower risk of skin, food, and respiratory allergies.  Penn State pediatricians studied 163 mothers who planned to breastfeed 4 months or more.  Samples of their breastmilk were collected over that time period and analysed for microRNA. The analy...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrZ-N0_LJQZ/ University students who consumed half a cup of walnuts enjoyed significant improvements in their self-reported mental outlook.  Investigators at the University of South Australia studied 80 undergrads with baseline assessments and updates during and after exam periods.  Half the group ate walnuts for 16 weeks and half didn’t.   The data demonstrat...

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrZ89Mmu1-o/ Frequent use of electronic devices to distract and calm preschoolers seems to paradoxically lead to a greater incidence of sudden mood shifts and more impulsive behavior.  So say University of Michigan pediatricians who studied 422 kids 3 to 5 years of age and their parents.  This so-called emotional reactivity surge occurred more often in boys.  T...

Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKi3amvErV/ Dr. Smith speaks with a WBZ Radio caller about the management of her basal cell cancer. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4581-basal-cell-carcinoma #basalcellcarcinoma #skincancer #mohs #efudex #5fu

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKhStprwou/ Dr. Smith and Susan Rist, WBZ Radio news anchor discuss the hazards created by these popular bicycle handlebars. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/386596 #bicycle #handlebars #aerodynamic #braking #wbzradio

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKgSADNHa4/ Dr. Smith and WBZ Radio sports anchor Alan Segal discuss how Fenway Park helps those with hearing challenges.  The park provides FM earphones and preferential seating.  Other sports venues likely provide similar accessibility provisions. https://www.mlb.com/redsox/ballpark/disability-access-guide#alds #hearing #hardofhearing #fmearphones #accessib...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKfLAgv63s/ Sleep deprivation will drive you to consume a wider variety of products.  Marketing researchers from the University of British Columbia’s business school draw this conclusion from several studies of buying patterns as a function of sleepiness.   Their experiments included artificial situations such as choosing candy bars on more or less sleep and...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKeeh9vcqv/ Up to 90% of cosmetics contain the nastiest superbugs on the planet.  A British study just published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology cultured skin foundation blender sponges, mascara, and lip gloss finding grossly unhygienic conditions. These contaminated products contain Staph aureus, E. Coli, and Citrobacter freundii that can trigger skin...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrKdl-OuiSG/ If you’ve had a heart attack, living with a dog can lower your risk of dying prematurely by up to 35%.  A Canadian meta-analysis just published in the journal Circulation tabulated the data from more than 3.8 million participants over 10 years. This large study shows that dog ownership prolongs lives and builds on previous work that credited dogs...