Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/zYZvlJq3Il4

Want a mental boost in 20 short minutes?  It’s a simple as getting off your couch and visiting a nearby park.  If you prefer, you don’t even need to exercise to get the benefit.

Researchers at the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s Department of Occupational Therapy document a significant improvement in emotional well-being for those who choose to visit one of three local parks.  They tabulated the results and found that the benefits would accrue even to those unable to pursue physical activities due to disability.

If you think about it, you’ll be surprised to find just how close a green space is to your home or work.  Get over there, clear your mind, and take a 20 minute or longer mental vacation.

Hon K. Yuen, Gavin R. Jenkins. Factors associated with changes in subjective well-being immediately after urban park visit. International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1080/09603123.2019.1577368

#greenspace #urbanpark #relaxation

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/V_o6df79H60

Teen hypertension doubles the risk of end stage renal failure later in life.  A study just published in JAMA Internal Medicine looked at more than 1.5 million candidates for Israeli military service.  Of this group, nearly 8000 were found to have elevated blood pressures.

Those with hypertension were predominately male and half were overweight or obese.  They were followed for nearly 20 years.  Teen hypertension doubled the risk of eventual kidney failure, a need for dialysis, and a possible kidney transplant even for those who were not overweight.

Elevated blood pressures in children have become more common as the rate of childhood and adolescent obesity skyrockets.  Pediatricians now recommend that every child over the age of 3 years should have their blood pressures checked annually.  

If their pressures are elevated, they should be measured at every visit and treated aggressively initially with lifestyle changes such as weight reduction, dietary modification, exercise, an stress management.  For severe or persisting elevations, a regimen of anti-hypertensive medication should be prescribed.

Leiba A, Fishman B, Twig G, et al. Association of Adolescent Hypertension With Future End-Stage Renal Disease. JAMA Intern Med. Published online February 25, 2019. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.7632

Riley M, Hernandez AK, Kuznia AL. High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents.

Am Fam Physician. 2018 Oct 15;98(8):486-494.

#teen #hypertension #obesity, bloodpressure

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/zYZvlJq3Il4

Want a mental boost in 20 short minutes?  It’s a simple as getting off your couch and visiting a nearby park.  If you prefer, you don’t even need to exercise to get the benefit.

Researchers at the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s Department of Occupational Therapy document a significant improvement in emotional well-being for those who choose to visit one of three local parks.  They tabulated the results and found that the benefits would accrue even to those unable to pursue physical activities due to disability.

If you think about it, you’ll be surprised to find just how close a green space is to your home or work.  Get over there, clear your mind, and take a 20 minute or longer mental vacation.

Hon K. Yuen, Gavin R. Jenkins. Factors associated with changes in subjective well-being immediately after urban park visit. International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1080/09603123.2019.1577368

#greenspace #urbanpark #relaxation

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/V_o6df79H60

Teen hypertension doubles the risk of end stage renal failure later in life.  A study just published in JAMA Internal Medicine looked at more than 1.5 million candidates for Israeli military service.  Of this group, nearly 8000 were found to have elevated blood pressures.

Those with hypertension were predominately male and half were overweight or obese.  They were followed for nearly 20 years.  Teen hypertension doubled the risk of eventual kidney failure, a need for dialysis, and a possible kidney transplant even for those who were not overweight.

Elevated blood pressures in children have become more common as the rate of childhood and adolescent obesity skyrockets.  Pediatricians now recommend that every child over the age of 3 years should have their blood pressures checked annually.  

If their pressures are elevated, they should be measured at every visit and treated aggressively initially with lifestyle changes such as weight reduction, dietary modification, exercise, an stress management.  For severe or persisting elevations, a regimen of anti-hypertensive medication should be prescribed.

Leiba A, Fishman B, Twig G, et al. Association of Adolescent Hypertension With Future End-Stage Renal Disease. JAMA Intern Med. Published online February 25, 2019. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.7632

Riley M, Hernandez AK, Kuznia AL. High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents.

Am Fam Physician. 2018 Oct 15;98(8):486-494.

#teen #hypertension #obesity, bloodpressure

xvid https://youtu.be/ToiYYvmAGmQ

Our cells, like our homes, fill up with garbage very fast.  The latest research from Harvard Medical School reveals that vigorous exercise and even some fasting will help our cells with their housekeeping duties of removing damaged, toxic, and unnecessary proteins.

Previous studies have shown that the signal for flushing your cells is the messenger molecule cyclic-AMP.  This new discovery that exercise triggers the dumping junk proteins from the cell is almost certainly explained by that fact that exercise bumps up your adrenalin and that, in turn, triggers a burst of cyclic-AMP.

Since cell garbage plays a key role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as well as storage diseases like amyloidosis, it may well be that prevention of these dread diseases can be added to the list of exercise’s benefits.

#exercise #cellcleansing #cAMP #Alzheimers #Parkinsons

Jordan J. S. VerPlank, Sudarsanareddy Lokireddy, Jinghui Zhao, Alfred L. Goldberg. 26S Proteasomes are rapidly activated by diverse hormones and physiological states that raise cAMP and cause Rpn6 phosphorylation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019; 201809254 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1809254116

#exercise #cellcleansing #cAMP #Alzheimers #Parkinsons

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/85jJpOtXbxQ

Food with lots of sugar and fat is associated with significant psychologic distress.  This conclusion comes from a study of nearly quarter million Californians participating in the California Health Interview Survey.

The study showed that nearly 17 percent of Californians had psychological distress associated with frequently consuming unhealthy foods.  Other factors such as gender, age, and socioeconomic status were less important.

This represents more proof that “you are what you eat.”  To maintain your weight and your health, stick with clean foods: fruits and vegetables with the addition of chicken and fish as protein sources.

Jim E. Banta, Gina Segovia-Siapco, Christine Betty Crocker, Danielle Montoya, Noara Alhusseini. Mental health status and dietary intake among California adults: a population-based survey. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1080/09637486.2019.1570085

#junkfood #fats #sugars #neurosis #psychologicdistress

xvid https://youtu.be/ToiYYvmAGmQ

Our cells, like our homes, fill up with garbage very fast.  The latest research from Harvard Medical School reveals that vigorous exercise and even some fasting will help our cells with their housekeeping duties of removing damaged, toxic, and unnecessary proteins.

Previous studies have shown that the signal for flushing your cells is the messenger molecule cyclic-AMP.  This new discovery that exercise triggers the dumping junk proteins from the cell is almost certainly explained by that fact that exercise bumps up your adrenalin and that, in turn, triggers a burst of cyclic-AMP.

Since cell garbage plays a key role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as well as storage diseases like amyloidosis, it may well be that prevention of these dread diseases can be added to the list of exercise’s benefits.

#exercise #cellcleansing #cAMP #Alzheimers #Parkinsons

Jordan J. S. VerPlank, Sudarsanareddy Lokireddy, Jinghui Zhao, Alfred L. Goldberg. 26S Proteasomes are rapidly activated by diverse hormones and physiological states that raise cAMP and cause Rpn6 phosphorylation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019; 201809254 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1809254116

#exercise #cellcleansing #cAMP #Alzheimers #Parkinsons

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/85jJpOtXbxQ

Food with lots of sugar and fat is associated with significant psychologic distress.  This conclusion comes from a study of nearly quarter million Californians participating in the California Health Interview Survey.

The study showed that nearly 17 percent of Californians had psychological distress associated with frequently consuming unhealthy foods.  Other factors such as gender, age, and socioeconomic status were less important.

This represents more proof that “you are what you eat.”  To maintain your weight and your health, stick with clean foods: fruits and vegetables with the addition of chicken and fish as protein sources.

Jim E. Banta, Gina Segovia-Siapco, Christine Betty Crocker, Danielle Montoya, Noara Alhusseini. Mental health status and dietary intake among California adults: a population-based survey. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1080/09637486.2019.1570085

#junkfood #fats #sugars #neurosis #psychologicdistress

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/XaMm0m4v-NQ

Regularly smoking more than one pack a day may reduce your ability to see colors.  A study from New Jersey’s Rutgers University compared the visual prowess of more than 60 regular smokers with a similar number of controls who smoked fewer than 15 cigarettes in their whole lives.

Those smoking 20 plus cigarettes a day, every day, reported significant degradation in their red-green and blue-yellow color vision and could not easily see contrasting images.  The researchers have not yet pinpointed which chemical toxins in cigarettes damage the retina, but they also point out that a cigarette smoking habit yellows your eye lenses and doubles the risk of age-related macular degeneration.

Here is yet more proof that smoking is bad for your body.  If it doesn’t kill you, and it will, it may suffocate and blind you.

Thiago P. Fernandes, Steven M. Silverstein, Natalia L. Almeida, Natanael A. Santos. Visual impairments in tobacco use disorder. Psychiatry Research, 2019; 271: 60 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.11.024

#colorvision #blindness #smoking #blindness

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/5C8p2QDuUm4

Our shoulders take a lot of abuse, and the latest statistics reveal a 6-fold increase in shoulder replacement surgery over the past 20 years.  You’re probably thinking...so what.  We can replace any joint at will, and there is already a good track record for hip and knee replacements.

The problem is that joint replacements don’t last.  They wear out, like any mechanical device.

The latest study from the University of Oxford’s orthopedic surgeons reveals that nearly one in four young men will require ultimately a revision of their shoulder surgery, and the artificial shoulders fail most often during the first 5 years after placement.  Trying to revise shoulder replacements can be complicated and risky.  Living bone and metal replacement parts don’t always play nice with each other.

Shoulder replacements aren’t the only artificial joints that fail or wear out.  Hip and knee replacements each only last about 10-20 years.  

The overwhelming driver of replacement joint failure is being overweight or obese, and the extra pressures on the prosthesis cause the bone around it to break down.  Once that occurs, repair is difficult if not impossible.

Since replacement joints will not carry you through a long life, protect your own joints while you are younger.  Avoid excess weight-bearing exercise such as stair climbing or jogging on hard surfaces without protective footgear.  The best way to keep your joints in tip top shape at any age is by controlling your weight.

Craig, RS, Lane, JCE, Carr, AJ, teal.  Serious adverse events and lifetime risk of reoperation after elective shoulder replacement: population based cohort study using hospital episode statistics for England.  BMJ 2019; 364: 1298 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l298

https://national-implantregistries.kaiserpermanente.org/Media/Default/documents/RevRISKcalc-handout-6-11-1.pdf

#shoulderreplacement #revisionsurgery #obesity