Dr. Howard Smith Reports

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

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/VgrYfoKJD6I

As our families add children, we parents turn to our older children and encourage them to be the new arrival’s big brother or sister.  The latest intelligence from psychologists at Britain’s University of Warwick reveals the worrisome intelligence that the older siblings instead tend to bully the younger ones.

The researchers tabulated data from nearly 6900 British children who were studied at ages 5, 7 and 12 years.  A total of 28% of the children were involved in sibling bullying, and many were both bullies and victims.  Bullying occurred more often in families with 3 or more children, and the eldest child or older brothers were most often the bullies.

Bullying tends to be rampant in any situation where humans live in close proximity, know which buttons to push, and compete for parental attention and other limited resources.  Older children often resent the younger ones who came along to rob them of their only child privilege.  

Parents must guard against sibling violence by insuring equal resources for each child.   They should nurture an abundance of self-esteem in each child.  Most of all, parents should emphasize that family members are on a team and should work together, play together, and have each other’s back. 

Slava Dantchev, Dieter Wolke. Trouble in the nest: Antecedents of sibling bullying victimization and perpetration.. Developmental Psychology, 2019; DOI: 10.1037/dev0000700

#family #bullying

https://youtu.be/jO3AfALckJE

A Danish study published in BMJ Open reports that short, standard acupuncture sessions will significantly reduce moderate to severe menopausal symptoms.

Investigators at the University of Copenhagen using a crossover protocol administered weekly acupuncture therapy for 5 consecutive weeks to a treatment group while the controls received no treatment.  Then, the controls received the acupuncture and the initially treated subjects were merely observed.  

The assessors who questioned participants about their symptoms were unaware of the treatment received.  The tabulated results showed that the acupuncture therapy significantly diminished hot flashes, sweats day and night, sleep issues, emotional symptoms, skin, and hair complaints.

If you are suffering from menopause-related symptoms and are unable to get relief from conventional Western medicine, do seek out a qualified acupuncture specialist.  Complementary and alternative therapy can be very effective.

Lund KS, Siersma V, Brodersen J, et al Efficacy of a standardised acupuncture approach for women with bothersome menopausal symptoms: a pragmatic randomised study in primary care (the ACOM study) BMJ Open 2019;9:e023637. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023637

#acupuncture #menopause #hotflushes #sweating

https://youtu.be/jO3AfALckJE

A Danish study published in BMJ Open reports that short, standard acupuncture sessions will significantly reduce moderate to severe menopausal symptoms.

Investigators at the University of Copenhagen using a crossover protocol administered weekly acupuncture therapy for 5 consecutive weeks to a treatment group while the controls received no treatment.  Then, the controls received the acupuncture and the initially treated subjects were merely observed.  

The assessors who questioned participants about their symptoms were unaware of the treatment received.  The tabulated results showed that the acupuncture therapy significantly diminished hot flashes, sweats day and night, sleep issues, emotional symptoms, skin, and hair complaints.

If you are suffering from menopause-related symptoms and are unable to get relief from conventional Western medicine, do seek out a qualified acupuncture specialist.  Complementary and alternative therapy can be very effective.

Lund KS, Siersma V, Brodersen J, et al Efficacy of a standardised acupuncture approach for women with bothersome menopausal symptoms: a pragmatic randomised study in primary care (the ACOM study) BMJ Open 2019;9:e023637. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023637

#acupuncture #menopause #hotflushes #sweating

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/VgrYfoKJD6I

As our families add children, we parents turn to our older children and encourage them to be the new arrival’s big brother or sister.  The latest intelligence from psychologists at Britain’s University of Warwick reveals the worrisome intelligence that the older siblings instead tend to bully the younger ones.

The researchers tabulated data from nearly 6900 British children who were studied at ages 5, 7 and 12 years.  A total of 28% of the children were involved in sibling bullying, and many were both bullies and victims.  Bullying occurred more often in families with 3 or more children, and the eldest child or older brothers were most often the bullies.

Bullying tends to be rampant in any situation where humans live in close proximity, know which buttons to push, and compete for parental attention and other limited resources.  Older children often resent the younger ones who came along to rob them of their only child privilege.  

Parents must guard against sibling violence by insuring equal resources for each child.   They should nurture an abundance of self-esteem in each child.  Most of all, parents should emphasize that family members are on a team and should work together, play together, and have each other’s back. 

Slava Dantchev, Dieter Wolke. Trouble in the nest: Antecedents of sibling bullying victimization and perpetration.. Developmental Psychology, 2019; DOI: 10.1037/dev0000700

#family #bullying

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/guaG2awiXAM

Intense focus on the here and now that is at the heart of mindfulness techniques will help control cravings for pain killers as well as the pain that necessitates their use.  Rutgers University investigators studied 30 patients with opioid addiction due to chronic pain who were participating in a methadone withdrawal program.

The addition of mindfulness exercises led to a 30% reduction in the participants narcotic cravings as well as their nagging pain.  Their stress levels declined while their positive thoughts escalated.

Complete, lasting withdrawal from narcotics using methadone maintenance is only about 50% successful.   Mindfulness therapy might just be the secret sauce to drive that statistic toward 100%.

Eric L. Garland, Adam W. Hanley, Anna Kline, Nina A. Cooperman. Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement reduces opioid craving among individuals with opioid use disorder and chronic pain in medication assisted treatment: Ecological momentary assessments from a stage 1 randomized controlled trial. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2019; 203: 61 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.07.007

#Opioids #methadone #mindfulness

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/HmUUF6hRgGw

A pregnant woman under emotional or physical stress is more likely to give birth to a male.  Epidemiologists and obstetricians at New York’s Columbia University report this association after analyzing data from 187 women. 

In a general population, the chance of birthing a boy is 51%.  For women suffering emotional stress, marked anxiety, and depression, that percentage drops to 40%.  Physical stress including blood pressure and weight problems, drops the chance to 31%.  Stress also diminishes normal fetal heart rate changes and triggers birth complications.

 The antidote to all this stress is love, social support, and professional care.   If you’re pregnant, see that you get it.  If you care for those who are pregnant, give it!

Kate Walsh, Clare A. McCormack, Rachel Webster, Anita Pinto, Seonjoo Lee, Tianshu Feng, H. Sloan Krakovsky, Sinclaire M. O’Grady, Benjamin Tycko, Frances A. Champagne, Elizabeth A. Werner, Grace Liu, Catherine Monk. Maternal prenatal stress phenotypes associate with fetal neurodevelopment and birth outcomes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019; 201905890 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1905890116

#Sexratio #stress #pregnancy

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/3V6fqO7M0sg

Capuchin and Rhesus monkeys think outside the box better than people when it comes to problem solving.  Psychologists at Georgia State University pitted 29 monkeys against 60 college students in a computer game contest.

The monkeys figured out shortcuts to victory faster and used them more often than the students.  Other experiments show that chimpanzees and baboons also perform better than humans, who tend to rely more on familiar strategies demonstrating less so-called cognitive flexibility.

We humans are often victims of our learned biases about vaccines, climate change, race, and politics.  Be a monkey’s uncle, and make the most of your innate brainpower by opening your mind and unleashing your imagination.

Julia Watzek, Sarah M. Pope, Sarah F. Brosnan. Capuchin and rhesus monkeys but not humans show cognitive flexibility in an optional-switch task. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-49658-0

Monkeys, problemsolving, creativity

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/guaG2awiXAM

Intense focus on the here and now that is at the heart of mindfulness techniques will help control cravings for pain killers as well as the pain that necessitates their use.  Rutgers University investigators studied 30 patients with opioid addiction due to chronic pain who were participating in a methadone withdrawal program.

The addition of mindfulness exercises led to a 30% reduction in the participants narcotic cravings as well as their nagging pain.  Their stress levels declined while their positive thoughts escalated.

Complete, lasting withdrawal from narcotics using methadone maintenance is only about 50% successful.   Mindfulness therapy might just be the secret sauce to drive that statistic toward 100%.

Eric L. Garland, Adam W. Hanley, Anna Kline, Nina A. Cooperman. Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement reduces opioid craving among individuals with opioid use disorder and chronic pain in medication assisted treatment: Ecological momentary assessments from a stage 1 randomized controlled trial. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2019; 203: 61 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.07.007

#Opioids #methadone #mindfulness