Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/yIqurbhKfAw

That’s the bottom line of the ISCHEMIA study, an international effort coordinated by cardiologists at Stanford and New York Universities.  Presented last week at the American Heart Association’s meetings, the study had nearly 5200 participants in 37 countries.

Patients with stable coronary blockages do no better with invasive surgery, either angiographic stent placement or open chest arterial bypass grafts, than those treated conservatively using medications.  The one exception: patients with chest pain, angina, achieved more relief from surgery.

There are rare cases when surgery is absolutely necessary.  When an operation is recommended to you, ask if there is an alternative.  If you are told, “No,” get a second opinion.

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2019/11/invasive-heart-treatments-not-always-needed.html

#Coronaryarterydisease #stents #CABG #angina

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/yIqurbhKfAw

That’s the bottom line of the ISCHEMIA study, an international effort coordinated by cardiologists at Stanford and New York Universities.  Presented last week at the American Heart Association’s meetings, the study had nearly 5200 participants in 37 countries.

Patients with stable coronary blockages do no better with invasive surgery, either angiographic stent placement or open chest arterial bypass grafts, than those treated conservatively using medications.  The one exception: patients with chest pain, angina, achieved more relief from surgery.

There are rare cases when surgery is absolutely necessary.  When an operation is recommended to you, ask if there is an alternative.  If you are told, “No,” get a second opinion.

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2019/11/invasive-heart-treatments-not-always-needed.html

#Coronaryarterydisease #stents #CABG #angina

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/sKbA3LbiCVg

Parents tightly managing their kids’ academic and social paths produce offspring with faulty academic and social skills, poor self-control, and emotional problems.  Family studies researchers at West Virginia University draw these conclusions from surveys of 302 young adults.

The investigators add that the parents who herd their children into the right preschools, elite grade schools, the most selective colleges, and 6 and 7 figure jobs do so for bragging rights.  The study terms these manipulated kids “hothouse children” comparing them to orchids bred under carefully controlled conditions.

Parents who truly love their kids give them guidance and the skills to focus on their life targets.  Then, they step back and applaud their self-directed accomplishments.

Kristin L. Moilanen, Mary Lynn Manuel. Helicopter Parenting and Adjustment Outcomes in Young Adulthood: A Consideration of the Mediating Roles of Mastery and Self-Regulation. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2019; 28 (8): 2145 DOI: 10.1007/s10826-019-01433-5

#Helicopterparents #parents #competence #selfcontrol

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/sKbA3LbiCVg

Parents tightly managing their kids’ academic and social paths produce offspring with faulty academic and social skills, poor self-control, and emotional problems.  Family studies researchers at West Virginia University draw these conclusions from surveys of 302 young adults.

The investigators add that the parents who herd their children into the right preschools, elite grade schools, the most selective colleges, and 6 and 7 figure jobs do so for bragging rights.  The study terms these manipulated kids “hothouse children” comparing them to orchids bred under carefully controlled conditions.

Parents who truly love their kids give them guidance and the skills to focus on their life targets.  Then, they step back and applaud their self-directed accomplishments.

Kristin L. Moilanen, Mary Lynn Manuel. Helicopter Parenting and Adjustment Outcomes in Young Adulthood: A Consideration of the Mediating Roles of Mastery and Self-Regulation. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2019; 28 (8): 2145 DOI: 10.1007/s10826-019-01433-5

#Helicopterparents #parents #competence #selfcontrol

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/h0lSb9JaTLA

Cleaning products and disinfectants can increase your risk of developing handicapping chronic obstructive lung disease, COPD, by up to 38%.  Harvard and NIH researchers followed more than 73,000 US nurses occupationally exposed to such toxic chemicals over a 6 year period.

The nurses were using chemicals including bleach, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, ammonia, and glutaraldehyde to clean both surfaces and medical instruments.  A history of smoking or asthma did not impact the recorded risks.

COPD is the 3td leading cause of death worldwide, and up to 20% of cases are linked to occupational toxins.  You probably use many products that crippled these nurses at home.  When you do, limit your exposure and ventilate well.

Orianne Dumas, PhD1,2; Raphaëlle Varraso, PhD1,2; Krislyn M. Boggs, MPH3,4; et al.  Association of Occupational Exposure to Disinfectants With Incidence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Among US Female Nurses.  JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(10):e1913563. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.13563.

#disinfectants #COPD #lungdisease #bleach #hydrogenperoxide #ammonia

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/h0lSb9JaTLA

Cleaning products and disinfectants can increase your risk of developing handicapping chronic obstructive lung disease, COPD, by up to 38%.  Harvard and NIH researchers followed more than 73,000 US nurses occupationally exposed to such toxic chemicals over a 6 year period.

The nurses were using chemicals including bleach, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, ammonia, and glutaraldehyde to clean both surfaces and medical instruments.  A history of smoking or asthma did not impact the recorded risks.

COPD is the 3td leading cause of death worldwide, and up to 20% of cases are linked to occupational toxins.  You probably use many products that crippled these nurses at home.  When you do, limit your exposure and ventilate well.

Orianne Dumas, PhD1,2; Raphaëlle Varraso, PhD1,2; Krislyn M. Boggs, MPH3,4; et al.  Association of Occupational Exposure to Disinfectants With Incidence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Among US Female Nurses.  JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(10):e1913563. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.13563.

#disinfectants #COPD #lungdisease #bleach #hydrogenperoxide #ammonia

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/aaIi2jdCaVU

The high fat, low carb diet that is keto triggers activation of special lung T lymphocytes that make mucus webs which sideline  influenza viruses.  This finding is now reported by Yale immunobiologists using a mouse model.

The keto diet facilitates influenza virus death and better experimental animal survival compared with a high carb diet.  A line of mice incapable to producing the mucus-generating T cells saw no benefit from the keto diet.

With the flu season upon us, do get the vaccine.  Add to its protection by going keto and increasing your intake of fatty fish, beef, full-fat milk and cheese, avocado, peanut and almond butters, and healthy fatty oils.

Emily L. Goldberg, Ryan D. Molony, Eriko Kudo, Sviatoslav Sidorov, Yong Kong, Vishwa Deep Dixit, Akiko Iwasaki. Ketogenic diet activates protective γδ T cell responses against influenza virus infection. Science Immunology, 2019; 4 (41): eaav2026 DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.aav2026

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ketogenic-diet-101

#ketogenicdiet #influenza

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/aaIi2jdCaVU

The high fat, low carb diet that is keto triggers activation of special lung T lymphocytes that make mucus webs which sideline  influenza viruses.  This finding is now reported by Yale immunobiologists using a mouse model.

The keto diet facilitates influenza virus death and better experimental animal survival compared with a high carb diet.  A line of mice incapable to producing the mucus-generating T cells saw no benefit from the keto diet.

With the flu season upon us, do get the vaccine.  Add to its protection by going keto and increasing your intake of fatty fish, beef, full-fat milk and cheese, avocado, peanut and almond butters, and healthy fatty oils.

Emily L. Goldberg, Ryan D. Molony, Eriko Kudo, Sviatoslav Sidorov, Yong Kong, Vishwa Deep Dixit, Akiko Iwasaki. Ketogenic diet activates protective γδ T cell responses against influenza virus infection. Science Immunology, 2019; 4 (41): eaav2026 DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.aav2026

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ketogenic-diet-101

#ketogenicdiet #influenza

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/jTrtQsWO7y4

Next week’s bingeing on that pie with ice cream and whipped cream piled high could trigger inflammatory bowel disease or worsen the disease you already have.  A mouse study from Canada’s University of Alberta reports that sugar in the gut feeds renegade bacteria like E. coli that trigger inflammation and destructive immune responses.

It only took two days of the sugary diet to give the experimental animals a bellyache.  Patients with inflammatory bowel disorders like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis report similar experiences.

The good news is that your holiday sugar gorge may be neutralized by downing high fiber fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans and nuts that produce short-chain fatty acids.

Michael Laffin, Robert Fedorak, Aiden Zalasky, Heekuk Park, Amanpreet Gill, Ambika Agrawal, Ammar Keshteli, Naomi Hotte, Karen L. Madsen. A high-sugar diet rapidly enhances susceptibility to colitis via depletion of luminal short-chain fatty acids in mice. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-48749-2

#Sugar #inflammatoryboweldisease #crohns #ulcerative colitis #fiber #shortchainfattyacids

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/jTrtQsWO7y4

Next week’s bingeing on that pie with ice cream and whipped cream piled high could trigger inflammatory bowel disease or worsen the disease you already have.  A mouse study from Canada’s University of Alberta reports that sugar in the gut feeds renegade bacteria like E. coli that trigger inflammation and destructive immune responses.

It only took two days of the sugary diet to give the experimental animals a bellyache.  Patients with inflammatory bowel disorders like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis report similar experiences.

The good news is that your holiday sugar gorge may be neutralized by downing high fiber fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans and nuts that produce short-chain fatty acids.

Michael Laffin, Robert Fedorak, Aiden Zalasky, Heekuk Park, Amanpreet Gill, Ambika Agrawal, Ammar Keshteli, Naomi Hotte, Karen L. Madsen. A high-sugar diet rapidly enhances susceptibility to colitis via depletion of luminal short-chain fatty acids in mice. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-48749-2

#Sugar #inflammatoryboweldisease #crohns #ulcerative colitis #fiber #shortchainfattyacids