Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/_DFUFfgGHsc

If a parent constantly corrects an infant, that child’s brain becomes more sensitive to angry vocalizations.  Investigators at Britain’s University of Manchester studied 40 six month old infants and their mothers utilizing the novel neuroimaging technique of Near Infrared Spectroscopy.  This permits the study of a baby’s brain activation by maternal vocalizations without the noise of MRI.

Infants as young as 6 months can differentiate happy and unhappy vocal rhythms.  The researchers found that those babies whose mothers repeatedly corrected them developed nerve networks that preferentially respond to angry vocalizations.

This study underscores the exquisite sensitivity of infant humans.  Parents need to monitor their own and each other’s interactions with their children and realize how much their behavior imprints their offspring in both negative as well as positive ways.  

Good parenting is creating a safe, happy environment for your child by constructing boundaries in a playful and positive manner.

Chen Zhao, Georgia Chronaki, Ingo Schiessl, Ming Wai Wan, Kathryn M. Abel. Is infant neural sensitivity to vocal emotion associated with mother-infant relational experience? PLOS ONE, 2019; 14 (2): e0212205 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212205

#anger #parentalcorrections #happy #helicopterparenting

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/6Gp35HxNfKI

If you burn your candle at both ends during the week and think that you can catch up on sleep over the weekend, think again!  A study from the University of Colorado shows that you won’t catch up on sleep and that your irregular sleep pattern will torpedo your glucose metabolism and internal time clock.

The study assigned health young adults to one of three groups: a group with only 5 hours of sleep at night with no weekend catch-up; a group with only 5 hours of sleep for 5 nights followed by the chance to snooze forever on the weekend; and a control group who slept 9 hours each night.  The researchers studied the subjects’ sleep patterns via sleep studies, their weight gain, insulin sensitivity, and body circadian rhythms.

The results revealed that the sleep-deprived group only recaptured a little more than one hour of the more than 12 hours of lost sleep when they were able to sleep in over the weekend.  Of even more importance, they could never recapture all the lost critical deep or slow wave sleep.  They gained more weight than the well-rested group and suffered reduced insulin sensitivity, a risk factor for diabetes.

So..... to avoid flogging your body, try to get 8 or 9 hours of sleep a day on a regular basis.  Those weekend hours on the couch won’t repay your sleep debt, and they rob your loved ones of your sterling presence.

Christopher M. Depner, Edward L. Melanson, Robert H. Eckel, Janet K. Snell-Bergeon, Leigh Perreault, Bryan C. Bergman, Janine A. Higgins, Molly K. Guerin, Ellen R. Stothard, Sarah J. Morton, Kenneth P. Wright. Ad libitum Weekend Recovery Sleep Fails to Prevent Metabolic Dysregulation during a Repeating Pattern of Insufficient Sleep and Weekend Recovery Sleep. Current Biology, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.01.069

#sleepdeprivation #weekendsleep #insulinsensitivity #deepsleep

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/BnAb8oU9ZdY

Keeping your head, hands, and body busy in middle age pays off big later in life.  The latest pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is that your risk of dementia drops by nearly 35 to more than 50 percent.  

This finding comes from Sweden’s University of Gothenburg’s study of 800 women who were followed from their mid-forties well into their nineties.

The physically active women were 34 % less likely to develop dementia than their inactive peers.  Their activities included intense exercise such as running and swimming but also lighter physical pursuits such as biking, walking, bowling, or gardening.

The more intellectually active women enjoyed a 46 percent lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and a 34% lower incidence of any dementia.  Their activities were reading writing, needlework, attending shows and concerts, singing in a choir, and painting.

I end each of my news reports with the suggestion that a smile on your face, an active mind, and your body in motion are the best medicines.  This study is a testimony to the value of both physical and intellectual activity and suggests that such pursuits will keep you smiling throughout your life.

Jenna Najar, Svante Östling, Pia Gudmundsson, Valter Sundh, Lena Johansson, Silke Kern, Xinxin Guo, Tore Hällström, Ingmar Skoog. Cognitive and physical activity and dementia. Neurology, 2019; 10.1212/WNL.0000000000007021 DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000007021

#exercise #intellectualactivity #dementia #reading #writing

Vidcast:  ttps://youtu.be/mJ67PSiq78Y

Mothers who smoke, vape, or use oral and patch nicotine products may be exposing their unborn children to the risk of attention deficit and hyperactivity issues,ADHD, later in life.  A study from Finland just published in the journal Pediatrics studied over 1,000 children and matched controls born 10 years ago.  

The researchers studied serum samples from mothers collected during the first and second trimesters and measured the levels of cotinine, a biomarker for nicotine.  Then the mothers were divided into 3 groups according to serum nicotine levels during pregnancy.

Those mothers with the highest nicotine levels were more than 3 times more likely to have children suffering from ADHD.   Prior to this definitive study, there was no solid proof that the association was with nicotine.

If you love your children-to-be, don’t consume nicotine in any form by smoking tobacco, vaping, chewing nicotine gum, or placing patches during pregnancy.  Don’t expose your developing child to nicotine period!  Then, after you deliver, if you love your life, health, and family, don’t smoke or vape.

Andre Sourander, Minna Sucksdorff, Roshan Chudal, Heljä-Marja Surcel, Susanna Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki, David Gyllenberg, Keely Cheslack-Postava, Alan S. Brown. Prenatal Cotinine Levels and ADHD Among Offspring. Pediatrics, 2019; e20183144 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2018-3144

#nicotine #cotinine, ADHD #attentiondeficithyperactivitydisorder #vape #Nicorette #nicotinepatch

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/BnAb8oU9ZdY

Keeping your head, hands, and body busy in middle age pays off big later in life.  The latest pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is that your risk of dementia drops by nearly 35 to more than 50 percent.  

This finding comes from Sweden’s University of Gothenburg’s study of 800 women who were followed from their mid-forties well into their nineties.

The physically active women were 34 % less likely to develop dementia than their inactive peers.  Their activities included intense exercise such as running and swimming but also lighter physical pursuits such as biking, walking, bowling, or gardening.

The more intellectually active women enjoyed a 46 percent lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and a 34% lower incidence of any dementia.  Their activities were reading writing, needlework, attending shows and concerts, singing in a choir, and painting.

I end each of my news reports with the suggestion that a smile on your face, an active mind, and your body in motion are the best medicines.  This study is a testimony to the value of both physical and intellectual activity and suggests that such pursuits will keep you smiling throughout your life.

Jenna Najar, Svante Östling, Pia Gudmundsson, Valter Sundh, Lena Johansson, Silke Kern, Xinxin Guo, Tore Hällström, Ingmar Skoog. Cognitive and physical activity and dementia. Neurology, 2019; 10.1212/WNL.0000000000007021 DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000007021

#exercise #intellectualactivity #dementia #reading #writing

Vidcast:  ttps://youtu.be/mJ67PSiq78Y

Mothers who smoke, vape, or use oral and patch nicotine products may be exposing their unborn children to the risk of attention deficit and hyperactivity issues,ADHD, later in life.  A study from Finland just published in the journal Pediatrics studied over 1,000 children and matched controls born 10 years ago.  

The researchers studied serum samples from mothers collected during the first and second trimesters and measured the levels of cotinine, a biomarker for nicotine.  Then the mothers were divided into 3 groups according to serum nicotine levels during pregnancy.

Those mothers with the highest nicotine levels were more than 3 times more likely to have children suffering from ADHD.   Prior to this definitive study, there was no solid proof that the association was with nicotine.

If you love your children-to-be, don’t consume nicotine in any form by smoking tobacco, vaping, chewing nicotine gum, or placing patches during pregnancy.  Don’t expose your developing child to nicotine period!  Then, after you deliver, if you love your life, health, and family, don’t smoke or vape.

Andre Sourander, Minna Sucksdorff, Roshan Chudal, Heljä-Marja Surcel, Susanna Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki, David Gyllenberg, Keely Cheslack-Postava, Alan S. Brown. Prenatal Cotinine Levels and ADHD Among Offspring. Pediatrics, 2019; e20183144 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2018-3144

#nicotine #cotinine, ADHD #attentiondeficithyperactivitydisorder #vape #Nicorette #nicotinepatch

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/SCayESaafFI

Regularly eating breakfasts versus skipping them lifts a teen’s grade average from a C to an A.  The UK’s University of Leeds investigators tabulated the breakfasting habits of 294 16-18 year olds with their scores on standardized tests.  The test scores were converted to letter grades.

Of the participant group, 53% ate breakfasts regularly but 29% never ate them.  The participants grades on General Certificate of Secondary Education achievement tests, so-called GCSE exams, provided a measure of their academic prowess.

Far too many students at all grade levels in both the UK and the USA arrive at school deprived of a nourishing breakfast.  Families must make this meal a priority.

Katie Adolphus, Clare L. Lawton, Louise Dye. Associations Between Habitual School-Day Breakfast Consumption Frequency and Academic Performance in British Adolescents. Frontiers in Public Health, 2019; 7 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2019.00283

#Breakfast #grades #highschool #math #English #parentingtips

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/SCayESaafFI

Regularly eating breakfasts versus skipping them lifts a teen’s grade average from a C to an A.  The UK’s University of Leeds investigators tabulated the breakfasting habits of 294 16-18 year olds with their scores on standardized tests.  The test scores were converted to letter grades.

Of the participant group, 53% ate breakfasts regularly but 29% never ate them.  The participants grades on General Certificate of Secondary Education achievement tests, so-called GCSE exams, provided a measure of their academic prowess.

Far too many students at all grade levels in both the UK and the USA arrive at school deprived of a nourishing breakfast.  Families must make this meal a priority.

Katie Adolphus, Clare L. Lawton, Louise Dye. Associations Between Habitual School-Day Breakfast Consumption Frequency and Academic Performance in British Adolescents. Frontiers in Public Health, 2019; 7 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2019.00283

#Breakfast #grades #highschool #math #English #parentingtips

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/YYp0nHFGiSo

Omega-3 fatty acid fish oil supplements can significantly improve attention deficit symptoms for children who have deficiencies of this essential contributor to brain development.  This the conclusion of a collaborative British-Chinese double-blind, controlled study of 92 children and adolescents with ADHD.

The children given the EPA fatty acid supplements showed improvements in focused attention and hit reaction time.  Not surprisingly, only those subjects with the lowest baseline levels of fatty acids improved.  

There is a clinical test for omega-3 fatty acid levels though its not perfect.  If you have a child with ADHD, consult your doctors about the test.  Do be certain though that your child’s diet includes fish, flaxseed, or fish oil supplements. 

Chang, J.P., Su, K., Mondelli, V. et al. High-dose eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) improves attention and vigilance in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and low endogenous EPA levels. Transl Psychiatry 9, 303 (2019) doi:10.1038/s41398-019-0633-0

https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/supplement/eicosapentaenoic-acid-epa

https://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/omega-fatty-acids-test

#ADHD #fishoil #omega3s

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/YYp0nHFGiSo

Omega-3 fatty acid fish oil supplements can significantly improve attention deficit symptoms for children who have deficiencies of this essential contributor to brain development.  This the conclusion of a collaborative British-Chinese double-blind, controlled study of 92 children and adolescents with ADHD.

The children given the EPA fatty acid supplements showed improvements in focused attention and hit reaction time.  Not surprisingly, only those subjects with the lowest baseline levels of fatty acids improved.  

There is a clinical test for omega-3 fatty acid levels though its not perfect.  If you have a child with ADHD, consult your doctors about the test.  Do be certain though that your child’s diet includes fish, flaxseed, or fish oil supplements. 

Chang, J.P., Su, K., Mondelli, V. et al. High-dose eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) improves attention and vigilance in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and low endogenous EPA levels. Transl Psychiatry 9, 303 (2019) doi:10.1038/s41398-019-0633-0

https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/supplement/eicosapentaenoic-acid-epa

https://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/omega-fatty-acids-test

#ADHD #fishoil #omega3s