Dr. Howard Smith Reports

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, and, in turn, improved the participants thought processing.  Amber light had no such positive effects.  Blue light suppresses melatonin triggering greater mental energy during the day and more restful sleep at night.  Both improve recovery following mild TBIs.

If you have had a head injury or have sleep problems, you should try morning blue light. 

William D.S. Killgore, John R. Vanuk, Bradley R. Shane, Mareen Weber, Sahil Bajaj. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of blue wavelength light exposure on sleep and recovery of brain structure, function, and cognition following mild traumatic brain injury. Neurobiology of Disease, 2020; 134: 104679 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2019.104679

#tbi #bluelight #sleep #melatonin

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 allergies.  

Local infection from contaminated instruments or materials are readily treatable, but it can cause scars and require removal of the implanted materials.  More deadly, the infection can spread to your heart valves and to your brain.  

Decorations can trigger excessive scarring or keloids particularly common in people of color.  Certain jewelry, usually cheaper, silver-plated nickel, can induce a nasty skin allergies.  Beware!

https://reference.medscape.com/slideshow/bodymodifications-6006954 

#piercings #tattoos #implants #bodydecoration

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 function was hyperactive and blood clotted in just 11 seconds in smoking mice versus 5 minutes which is typical for humans too.

Hookah smoking is on the rise due to a false perception that it is safer than cigarettes or vaping.   Hookah smoke is very toxic containing not only concentrated tobacco fumes but also organic charcoal carcinogens.

Ahmed B. Alarabi, Zubair A. Karim, Jean E. Montes Ramirez, Keziah R. Hernandez, Patricia A. Lozano, José O. Rivera, Fatima Z. Alshbool, Fadi T. Khasawneh. Short-Term Exposure to Waterpipe/Hookah Smoke Triggers a Hyperactive Platelet Activation State and Increases the Risk of Thrombogenesis. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 2020; DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.119.313435

#hookah #platelets #bloodclotting

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 function was hyperactive and blood clotted in just 11 seconds in smoking mice versus 5 minutes which is typical for humans too.

Hookah smoking is on the rise due to a false perception that it is safer than cigarettes or vaping.   Hookah smoke is very toxic containing not only concentrated tobacco fumes but also organic charcoal carcinogens.

Ahmed B. Alarabi, Zubair A. Karim, Jean E. Montes Ramirez, Keziah R. Hernandez, Patricia A. Lozano, José O. Rivera, Fatima Z. Alshbool, Fadi T. Khasawneh. Short-Term Exposure to Waterpipe/Hookah Smoke Triggers a Hyperactive Platelet Activation State and Increases the Risk of Thrombogenesis. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 2020; DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.119.313435

#hookah #platelets #bloodclotting

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 allergies.  

Local infection from contaminated instruments or materials are readily treatable, but it can cause scars and require removal of the implanted materials.  More deadly, the infection can spread to your heart valves and to your brain.  

Decorations can trigger excessive scarring or keloids particularly common in people of color.  Certain jewelry, usually cheaper, silver-plated nickel, can induce a nasty skin allergies.  Beware!

https://reference.medscape.com/slideshow/bodymodifications-6006954 

#piercings #tattoos #implants #bodydecoration

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, and, in turn, improved the participants thought processing.  Amber light had no such positive effects.  Blue light suppresses melatonin triggering greater mental energy during the day and more restful sleep at night.  Both improve recovery following mild TBIs.

If you have had a head injury or have sleep problems, you should try morning blue light. 

William D.S. Killgore, John R. Vanuk, Bradley R. Shane, Mareen Weber, Sahil Bajaj. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of blue wavelength light exposure on sleep and recovery of brain structure, function, and cognition following mild traumatic brain injury. Neurobiology of Disease, 2020; 134: 104679 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2019.104679

#tbi #bluelight #sleep #melatonin

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 pelvic muscles, and wait longer and longer before “opening their urinary faucets” improved their voiding pattern after only 6 weeks by almost 25% (24.7%).  Those on drugs alone only improved 13% while those on mind control and drugs did only 5% better than without the drugs.

Use your mind..save your money.

Burgio KL, Kraus SR, Johnson TM, et al. Effectiveness of Combined Behavioral and Drug Therapy for Overactive Bladder Symptoms in Men: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. Published online January 13, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.6398

#urgency #frequency #mindcontrol

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 pelvic muscles, and wait longer and longer before “opening their urinary faucets” improved their voiding pattern after only 6 weeks by almost 25% (24.7%).  Those on drugs alone only improved 13% while those on mind control and drugs did only 5% better than without the drugs.

Use your mind..save your money.

Burgio KL, Kraus SR, Johnson TM, et al. Effectiveness of Combined Behavioral and Drug Therapy for Overactive Bladder Symptoms in Men: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. Published online January 13, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.6398

#urgency #frequency #mindcontrol

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 these drugs including Prevacid, Nexium, and Prilosec, all available over-the-counter, complained about lower quality of life and day-to-day problem solving difficulties.

The FDA only approved PPIs for short-term use.  Breast cancer survivors and all of use should minimize their use.  Don’t forget the safe alternative: good old antacid Tums.

Annelise A. Madison, Alex Woody, Brittney Bailey, Maryam B. Lustberg, Bhuvaneswari Ramaswamy, Robert Wesolowski, Nicole Williams, Raquel Reinbolt, Jeffrey B. VanDeusen, Sagar Sardesai, William B. Malarkey, Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser. Cognitive problems of breast cancer survivors on proton pump inhibitors. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 2020; DOI: 10.1007/s11764-019-00815-4

#ppis #breastcancer #thinking #memoppi

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 these drugs including Prevacid, Nexium, and Prilosec, all available over-the-counter, complained about lower quality of life and day-to-day problem solving difficulties.

The FDA only approved PPIs for short-term use.  Breast cancer survivors and all of use should minimize their use.  Don’t forget the safe alternative: good old antacid Tums.

Annelise A. Madison, Alex Woody, Brittney Bailey, Maryam B. Lustberg, Bhuvaneswari Ramaswamy, Robert Wesolowski, Nicole Williams, Raquel Reinbolt, Jeffrey B. VanDeusen, Sagar Sardesai, William B. Malarkey, Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser. Cognitive problems of breast cancer survivors on proton pump inhibitors. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 2020; DOI: 10.1007/s11764-019-00815-4

#ppis #breastcancer #thinking #memoppi