Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/BZa4b6iu7Xs

Calling addictive substance abuse a disease negatively impacts the addicts’ efforts to get sober.  This is the conclusion of a study from the University of North Carolina just published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.

The researchers studied 214 men and women with substance abuse problems.  One group received growth mindset messaging and the control group received addiction as a disease messaging.  

The growth message was a positive one that addicts can employ multiple strategies to combat their propensity to use.  It empowered those receiving it to seek help.  In contrast, the disease messaging tended to paralyze addicts efforts to stop and suggested that conquering the addictive behavior may be nearly impossible.

If you or someone you know is addicted to any substance or negative behavior, encourage them to think positively about their self-help capabilities and urge them to get professional help.

Jeni L. Burnette, Rachel B. Forsyth, Sarah L. Desmarais, Crystal L. Hoyt. Mindsets of Addiction: Implications for Treatment Intentions. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 2019; 38 (5): 367 DOI: 10.1521/jscp.2019.38.5.367

#Addiction #selfhelp #counseling #substanceabuse

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/BZa4b6iu7Xs

Calling addictive substance abuse a disease negatively impacts the addicts’ efforts to get sober.  This is the conclusion of a study from the University of North Carolina just published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.

The researchers studied 214 men and women with substance abuse problems.  One group received growth mindset messaging and the control group received addiction as a disease messaging.  

The growth message was a positive one that addicts can employ multiple strategies to combat their propensity to use.  It empowered those receiving it to seek help.  In contrast, the disease messaging tended to paralyze addicts efforts to stop and suggested that conquering the addictive behavior may be nearly impossible.

If you or someone you know is addicted to any substance or negative behavior, encourage them to think positively about their self-help capabilities and urge them to get professional help.

Jeni L. Burnette, Rachel B. Forsyth, Sarah L. Desmarais, Crystal L. Hoyt. Mindsets of Addiction: Implications for Treatment Intentions. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 2019; 38 (5): 367 DOI: 10.1521/jscp.2019.38.5.367

#Addiction #selfhelp #counseling #substanceabuse

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/UFtArWv0Arw

Premature infants who listen to music enjoy enhanced neural development.  Swiss neuroscientists at the University of Geneva report the positive effects of specially composed and performed music on developing neural networks of premies.

The musical selections varied with time of day and were designed to lend an auditory structure to the infant’s first days out of the womb.  The instruments that produced the most consistent reactions from the babies were the snake charmer’s flute, the harp, and bells.

The double blind study used MRI imaging before and after the musical exposure to assess the effect.  The group of premies treated to the music showed stronger connections between the parts of their brains that perform cognitive tasks, manage social relationships, and manage emotions.

If a premie has recently joined your family, consider adding lilting flute, harp, and orchestral bell music to their environments.

Lara Lordier, Djalel-Eddine Meskaldji, Frédéric Grouiller, Marie P. Pittet, Andreas Vollenweider, Lana Vasung, Cristina Borradori-Tolsa, François Lazeyras, Didier Grandjean, Dimitri Van De Ville, Petra S. Hüppi. Music in premature infants enhances high-level cognitive brain networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019; 201817536 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1817536116

#Premies #music #flute #harp #bells #neuraldevelopment

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/UFtArWv0Arw

Premature infants who listen to music enjoy enhanced neural development.  Swiss neuroscientists at the University of Geneva report the positive effects of specially composed and performed music on developing neural networks of premies.

The musical selections varied with time of day and were designed to lend an auditory structure to the infant’s first days out of the womb.  The instruments that produced the most consistent reactions from the babies were the snake charmer’s flute, the harp, and bells.

The double blind study used MRI imaging before and after the musical exposure to assess the effect.  The group of premies treated to the music showed stronger connections between the parts of their brains that perform cognitive tasks, manage social relationships, and manage emotions.

If a premie has recently joined your family, consider adding lilting flute, harp, and orchestral bell music to their environments.

Lara Lordier, Djalel-Eddine Meskaldji, Frédéric Grouiller, Marie P. Pittet, Andreas Vollenweider, Lana Vasung, Cristina Borradori-Tolsa, François Lazeyras, Didier Grandjean, Dimitri Van De Ville, Petra S. Hüppi. Music in premature infants enhances high-level cognitive brain networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019; 201817536 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1817536116

#Premies #music #flute #harp #bells #neuraldevelopment

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/RghCkNItbYQ

Obesity in the teen years increases the chances of heart weakening and heart failure in middle age by a factor of eight.  But wait, that’s not the worst news.  Even mildly overweight adolescent guys risk heart disease in their 40s and 50s.

These conclusions come from a study of nearly 1.7 million Swedish military recruits who were weighed at age 18 as they entered service and were followed for up to 46 years.  The effects on the heart were proportional to weight.  For each 1 unit increase in body mass index or BMI, the risk of dilated cardiomyopathy leading to heart failure increases some 15%.  Women were not studied since they were not joining the military at the time the study began.

This study is a wake up call that the current trend toward overeating and obesity will have some horrific consequences.  There are some effective treatments but no cure for a worn out heart except cardiac transplantation and donors are scarce!  Someday, we’ll grow new cardiac tissue from stem cells and be able to transplant partly humanized pig hearts.

Josefina Robertson, Maria Schaufelberger, Martin Lindgren, Martin Adiels, Linus Schiöler, Kjell Torén, John McMurray, Naveed Sattar, Maria Åberg, Annika Rosengren. Higher Body Mass Index in Adolescence Predicts Cardiomyopathy Risk in Midlife: Long-Term Follow-Up Among Swedish Men. Circulation, 2019; DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.039132

#Adolescence #overweight, obsesity #heartfailure #cardiomyopathy

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/RghCkNItbYQ

Obesity in the teen years increases the chances of heart weakening and heart failure in middle age by a factor of eight.  But wait, that’s not the worst news.  Even mildly overweight adolescent guys risk heart disease in their 40s and 50s.

These conclusions come from a study of nearly 1.7 million Swedish military recruits who were weighed at age 18 as they entered service and were followed for up to 46 years.  The effects on the heart were proportional to weight.  For each 1 unit increase in body mass index or BMI, the risk of dilated cardiomyopathy leading to heart failure increases some 15%.  Women were not studied since they were not joining the military at the time the study began.

This study is a wake up call that the current trend toward overeating and obesity will have some horrific consequences.  There are some effective treatments but no cure for a worn out heart except cardiac transplantation and donors are scarce!  Someday, we’ll grow new cardiac tissue from stem cells and be able to transplant partly humanized pig hearts.

Josefina Robertson, Maria Schaufelberger, Martin Lindgren, Martin Adiels, Linus Schiöler, Kjell Torén, John McMurray, Naveed Sattar, Maria Åberg, Annika Rosengren. Higher Body Mass Index in Adolescence Predicts Cardiomyopathy Risk in Midlife: Long-Term Follow-Up Among Swedish Men. Circulation, 2019; DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.039132

#Adolescence #overweight, obsesity #heartfailure #cardiomyopathy

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/sG9x8bkrmOg

Marijuana is legal throughout Canada, and a study just presented to the Canadian Neuroscience Meeting shows that teens regularly using it suffer impairment of their memory, decision-making, and impulsivity-control skills.

Neuroscientists at The University of  Montreal studied over 3800 teens entering high school and followed them during the subsequent 4 years tabulating their cannabis and alcohol use while assessing their cognitive functions.  They documented deficits in memory recall, reasoning, and self-control in weed-using students that did not appear in students preferentially using alcohol recreationally.

Urban legend has it that marijuana is safer than alcohol.  Studies such as this indicate that the jury remains out on this issue.  

Canadian Association for Neuroscience. "Growing up high: Neurobiological consequences of adolescent cannabis use: Canadian neuroscientists offer insights into the long-term effects of adolescent cannabis use." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 May 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190526135747.htm.

#Marijuana #adolescence #teens #memory #decisionmaking #selfcontrol

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/sG9x8bkrmOg

Marijuana is legal throughout Canada, and a study just presented to the Canadian Neuroscience Meeting shows that teens regularly using it suffer impairment of their memory, decision-making, and impulsivity-control skills.

Neuroscientists at The University of  Montreal studied over 3800 teens entering high school and followed them during the subsequent 4 years tabulating their cannabis and alcohol use while assessing their cognitive functions.  They documented deficits in memory recall, reasoning, and self-control in weed-using students that did not appear in students preferentially using alcohol recreationally.

Urban legend has it that marijuana is safer than alcohol.  Studies such as this indicate that the jury remains out on this issue.  

Canadian Association for Neuroscience. "Growing up high: Neurobiological consequences of adolescent cannabis use: Canadian neuroscientists offer insights into the long-term effects of adolescent cannabis use." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 May 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190526135747.htm.

#Marijuana #adolescence #teens #memory #decisionmaking #selfcontrol

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/dAJdcux1xZI

Women who use assisted reproduction techniques including in-vitro fertilization and intracystoplasmic sperm injection are 5 times more likely to suffer pregnancy-associated heart failure.  This conclusion comes from a study at Germany’s Hannover Medical School presented last week to the European Society of Cardiology.

This pregnancy-associated heart failure is due to so-called peripartum cardiomyopathy or PPCM, and this condition affects one in every 1000 pregnant women around the world.  It threatens the life of mother and baby alike.  Assisted reproduction is now added to known risk factors including twin pregnancy, many past pregnancies, very young or very old mothers, obesity, and substance abuse.

PPCM is heralded by shortness of breath, leg edema and swelling, and excessive nighttime urination.  Since these same symptoms are all too common during the late third trimester, the study authors suggest that all women who conceive with medical help have a cardiology consultation and an echocardiogram shortly before their due date or just after delivery.

European Society of Cardiology. "In vitro fertilization linked to deadly heart disease in pregnancy." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 25 May 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190525132201.htm.

#IVF #assistedreproduction #heartfailure #peripartumcardiomyopathy #obstetrics #womenshealth

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/dAJdcux1xZI

Women who use assisted reproduction techniques including in-vitro fertilization and intracystoplasmic sperm injection are 5 times more likely to suffer pregnancy-associated heart failure.  This conclusion comes from a study at Germany’s Hannover Medical School presented last week to the European Society of Cardiology.

This pregnancy-associated heart failure is due to so-called peripartum cardiomyopathy or PPCM, and this condition affects one in every 1000 pregnant women around the world.  It threatens the life of mother and baby alike.  Assisted reproduction is now added to known risk factors including twin pregnancy, many past pregnancies, very young or very old mothers, obesity, and substance abuse.

PPCM is heralded by shortness of breath, leg edema and swelling, and excessive nighttime urination.  Since these same symptoms are all too common during the late third trimester, the study authors suggest that all women who conceive with medical help have a cardiology consultation and an echocardiogram shortly before their due date or just after delivery.

European Society of Cardiology. "In vitro fertilization linked to deadly heart disease in pregnancy." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 25 May 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190525132201.htm.

#IVF #assistedreproduction #heartfailure #peripartumcardiomyopathy #obstetrics #womenshealth