Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/3U6IEG03FJA

Cmon’ get happy by biting off a few squares of bittersweet chocolate.  A British study just published in the journal Depression and Anxiety makes that delicious suggestion.

The study looked at more than 13,600 Americans and analyzed their chocolate consumption and their likelihood of reporting depressive feelings.  Individuals who reported eating any dark chocolate were 70% less likely to report feeling down.  Even those who ate an abundance of milk chocolate benefitted.

The next time you anticipate a “downer derby” or find yourself in the midst of one, pull out those dark chocolate bars and enjoy.

Sarah E. Jackson, Lee Smith, Joseph Firth, Igor Grabovac, Pinar Soysal, Ai Koyanagi, Liang Hu, Brendon Stubbs, Jacopo Demurtas, Nicola Veronese, Xiangzhu Zhu, Lin Yang. Is there a relationship between chocolate consumption and symptoms of depression? A cross‐sectional survey of 13,626 US adults. Depression and Anxiety, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/da.22950

#Dark chocolate #depression #happiness

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/3U6IEG03FJA

Cmon’ get happy by biting off a few squares of bittersweet chocolate.  A British study just published in the journal Depression and Anxiety makes that delicious suggestion.

The study looked at more than 13,600 Americans and analyzed their chocolate consumption and their likelihood of reporting depressive feelings.  Individuals who reported eating any dark chocolate were 70% less likely to report feeling down.  Even those who ate an abundance of milk chocolate benefitted.

The next time you anticipate a “downer derby” or find yourself in the midst of one, pull out those dark chocolate bars and enjoy.

Sarah E. Jackson, Lee Smith, Joseph Firth, Igor Grabovac, Pinar Soysal, Ai Koyanagi, Liang Hu, Brendon Stubbs, Jacopo Demurtas, Nicola Veronese, Xiangzhu Zhu, Lin Yang. Is there a relationship between chocolate consumption and symptoms of depression? A cross‐sectional survey of 13,626 US adults. Depression and Anxiety, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/da.22950

#Dark chocolate #depression #happiness

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/PUVfy3CCAVY

Frequent contact with friends helps 50 and 60 somethings avoid the scourge of later dementia. A team from University College London draws that conclusion after tracking more than 10,000 subjects over a 32 year period.

The participants documented the number and frequency of their social contacts via interviews.  Their mental status was captured via cognitive testing.

Daily social contacts were particularly valuable for those in their 60s with a significant 12% drop in dementia incidence.  The same trend held for those in their 50s and 70s with the numbers failing to reach statistical significance.  

We can now add a card game a day or a meal with friends a day to that proverbial apple if you want to keep the doctor far away!

Andrew Sommerlad, Séverine Sabia, Archana Singh-Manoux, Glyn Lewis, Gill Livingston. Association of social contact with dementia and cognition: 28-year follow-up of the Whitehall II cohort study. PLOS Medicine, 2019; 16 (8): e1002862 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002862

#Socializing #dementia #middle age

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/PUVfy3CCAVY

Frequent contact with friends helps 50 and 60 somethings avoid the scourge of later dementia. A team from University College London draws that conclusion after tracking more than 10,000 subjects over a 32 year period.

The participants documented the number and frequency of their social contacts via interviews.  Their mental status was captured via cognitive testing.

Daily social contacts were particularly valuable for those in their 60s with a significant 12% drop in dementia incidence.  The same trend held for those in their 50s and 70s with the numbers failing to reach statistical significance.  

We can now add a card game a day or a meal with friends a day to that proverbial apple if you want to keep the doctor far away!

Andrew Sommerlad, Séverine Sabia, Archana Singh-Manoux, Glyn Lewis, Gill Livingston. Association of social contact with dementia and cognition: 28-year follow-up of the Whitehall II cohort study. PLOS Medicine, 2019; 16 (8): e1002862 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002862

#Socializing #dementia #middle age

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/J9_peIVpHWo

Providing genetic testing and counseling to those with a family history of melanoma drove them to reduce their UV exposure by a whopping 50%.  This result comes from  a collaborative university study just published in the journal Nature.

The investigators provided genetic counseling to all of the 128 participants who had one or more relatives treated for melanoma.  Those from families known to harbor the CDKN2A, a melanoma trigger, gene also underwent genetic testing.

All participants having genetic counseling clocked a significant reduction in UV exposure and associated skin pigmentation whether they received formal genetic testing or not.  Knowledge is power, and knowing your family medical history may be lifesaving in so many ways.

Tammy K. Stump, Lisa G. Aspinwall, Danielle M. Drummond, Jennifer M. Taber, Wendy Kohlmann, Marjan Champine, Pamela B. Cassidy, Tracy Petrie, Ben Liley, Sancy A. Leachman. CDKN2A testing and genetic counseling promote reductions in objectively measured sun exposure one year later. Genetics in Medicine, 2019; DOI: 10.1038/s41436-019-0608-9

#Melanoma #genetics #UV

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/J9_peIVpHWo

Providing genetic testing and counseling to those with a family history of melanoma drove them to reduce their UV exposure by a whopping 50%.  This result comes from  a collaborative university study just published in the journal Nature.

The investigators provided genetic counseling to all of the 128 participants who had one or more relatives treated for melanoma.  Those from families known to harbor the CDKN2A, a melanoma trigger, gene also underwent genetic testing.

All participants having genetic counseling clocked a significant reduction in UV exposure and associated skin pigmentation whether they received formal genetic testing or not.  Knowledge is power, and knowing your family medical history may be lifesaving in so many ways.

Tammy K. Stump, Lisa G. Aspinwall, Danielle M. Drummond, Jennifer M. Taber, Wendy Kohlmann, Marjan Champine, Pamela B. Cassidy, Tracy Petrie, Ben Liley, Sancy A. Leachman. CDKN2A testing and genetic counseling promote reductions in objectively measured sun exposure one year later. Genetics in Medicine, 2019; DOI: 10.1038/s41436-019-0608-9

#Melanoma #genetics #UV

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/jWU87b8D9No

The short answers is a resounding NO.  This conclusion comes from a study at Harvard”s Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary.

Ophthalmology researchers there tested 22 normally sighted drivers with and without yellow lenses for their ability to detect a dark-shirted pedestrian at night.  The yellow lenses did not improve the drivers response time to the pedestrian walking along in the presence or  absence of headlight glare.

So you night drivers can save the 15 to 30 bucks you were planning to spend on the glasses.  Without the crutch of a light filter, we all must rely on good old fashioned caution when driving at night.

Hwang AD, Tuccar-Burak M, Peli E. Comparison of Pedestrian Detection With and Without Yellow-Lens Glasses During Simulated Night Driving With and Without Headlight Glare. JAMA Ophthalmol. Published online August 01, 2019. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2019.2893

#Nightdriving #yellowlenses #glare

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/jWU87b8D9No

The short answers is a resounding NO.  This conclusion comes from a study at Harvard”s Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary.

Ophthalmology researchers there tested 22 normally sighted drivers with and without yellow lenses for their ability to detect a dark-shirted pedestrian at night.  The yellow lenses did not improve the drivers response time to the pedestrian walking along in the presence or  absence of headlight glare.

So you night drivers can save the 15 to 30 bucks you were planning to spend on the glasses.  Without the crutch of a light filter, we all must rely on good old fashioned caution when driving at night.

Hwang AD, Tuccar-Burak M, Peli E. Comparison of Pedestrian Detection With and Without Yellow-Lens Glasses During Simulated Night Driving With and Without Headlight Glare. JAMA Ophthalmol. Published online August 01, 2019. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2019.2893

#Nightdriving #yellowlenses #glare

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/7lh6PGR-tnY

Maybe those Hell’s Angels streaking down the road on their “hogs” aren’t guilty of unhealthy activity after all.  A new study from the Medical College of Georgia and Ohio State University shows that body vibration leads to more, beneficial anti-inflammatory macrophages in the gastrointestinal system leading to a healthier bacterial content.  We know that a healthier GI microbiome helps your immune system, your general metabolism, and your brain function.

The researchers, using a mouse model, are the first to report that whole body vibration has such beneficial effects.  Previous studies have shown that such jiggling will improve glucose metabolism, liver lipid profiles, and type 2 diabetes.

The take home point: that annoying vibration you feel when bike riding on coarse pavement or, yes, riding that souped up Harley, may just help your system compensate for the metabolic effects of that cheeseburger-deluxe with Budweiser.  For at-home whole body vibration, you can purchase a vibration plate from Amazon for $130-250.

Jack C. Yu, Vanessa L. Hale, Hesam Khodadadi and Babak Baban. Whole Body Vibration-Induced Omental Macrophage Polarization and Fecal Microbiome Modification in a Murine Model.  Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(13), 3125; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20133125

#Vibration #diabetes #microbiome

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/7lh6PGR-tnY

Maybe those Hell’s Angels streaking down the road on their “hogs” aren’t guilty of unhealthy activity after all.  A new study from the Medical College of Georgia and Ohio State University shows that body vibration leads to more, beneficial anti-inflammatory macrophages in the gastrointestinal system leading to a healthier bacterial content.  We know that a healthier GI microbiome helps your immune system, your general metabolism, and your brain function.

The researchers, using a mouse model, are the first to report that whole body vibration has such beneficial effects.  Previous studies have shown that such jiggling will improve glucose metabolism, liver lipid profiles, and type 2 diabetes.

The take home point: that annoying vibration you feel when bike riding on coarse pavement or, yes, riding that souped up Harley, may just help your system compensate for the metabolic effects of that cheeseburger-deluxe with Budweiser.  For at-home whole body vibration, you can purchase a vibration plate from Amazon for $130-250.

Jack C. Yu, Vanessa L. Hale, Hesam Khodadadi and Babak Baban. Whole Body Vibration-Induced Omental Macrophage Polarization and Fecal Microbiome Modification in a Murine Model.  Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(13), 3125; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20133125

#Vibration #diabetes #microbiome