Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/aRoE1Ecok84

Soccer playing seems to increase the risk of developing ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This is the conclusion of an Italian study that reviewed the medical records of all professional soccer players in the Italian leagues between 1959 and 2000.   Players were followed for at least 16 years after their playing days ended.

The data showed that nearly twice as many soccer players as expected  developed ALS, and nearly 5 times as many younger players 45 years or less fell ill.  The average age at ALS diagnosis in the general population is just over 62 years but the average age at which soccer players developed the disease is age 40.

Since ALS development is associated with a history of head injury, soccer heading is the likely

culprit.  Parents, please listen up!  If your child is playing soccer at any age, insist that they not do any heading.  Ask their coaches to enforce a strict no-heading rule.  

Soccer is called football in Europe and for good reason.  Ball handling should be restricted to the feet.  

Your child’s brains are worth more than some grandstanding with fancy heading during a game.  With accomplished foot-play, your team’s score may actually be higher.

#Soccer #heading #head injury #ALS #amyotrophiclateralsclerosis #healthnews

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Vidcast: https://youtu.be/aRoE1Ecok84

Soccer playing seems to increase the risk of developing ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This is the conclusion of an Italian study that reviewed the medical records of all professional soccer players in the Italian leagues between 1959 and 2000.   Players were followed for at least 16 years after their playing days ended.

The data showed that nearly twice as many soccer players as expected  developed ALS, and nearly 5 times as many younger players 45 years or less fell ill.  The average age at ALS diagnosis in the general population is just over 62 years but the average age at which soccer players developed the disease is age 40.

Since ALS development is associated with a history of head injury, soccer heading is the likely

culprit.  Parents, please listen up!  If your child is playing soccer at any age, insist that they not do any heading.  Ask their coaches to enforce a strict no-heading rule.  

Soccer is called football in Europe and for good reason.  Ball handling should be restricted to the feet.  

Your child’s brains are worth more than some grandstanding with fancy heading during a game.  With accomplished foot-play, your team’s score may actually be higher.

#Soccer #heading #head injury #ALS #amyotrophiclateralsclerosis #healthnews

https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/GetDigitalAsset/12892

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/nbRiz8yLIUQ

If 100 patients visit the emergency room, more than one-third of them will suffer a dangerous interaction between a medication prescribed by the ER staff and those drugs they are already taking.  This study from New Jersey’s Rutgers University sounds a warning and pinpoints those drug combinations most likely to cause issues.

Three medication combinations that resulted from an ER visit and could cause serious issues were:

1. Oxycodone/acetaminophen, better known as the common pain med Percocet, PLUS fluoroquinolone antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin (Cipro) or levofloxacin, (Levaquin) can together trigger seizures, delusions, and hallucinations.
2. Percocet again PLUS the common diuretic and high blood pressure med hydrochlorthiazide can lead to blood pressure drops and a risk of falls.
3. Lisinopril, frequently prescribed alone or with hydrochlorthiazine for high blood pressure, PLUS ibuprofen, Advil or Motrin, may cause kidney damage.

When you see any doctor but particularly one in an ER less than completely familiar with your history and medication list, be certain to review which drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, that you are taking.  The sad fact is that, by the time you are ready to leave the ER, you’ve already spent way too much time so the few additional minutes it will take to review your medications with the staff is time well spent.

#druginteractions #emergencyroom #ER #ED #Percodan, lisinopril #ibuprofen #hydrochlorthiazide

Tara Jawaro, Patrick J. Bridgeman, Jude Mele, Grant Wei. Descriptive study of drug-drug interactions attributed to prescriptions written upon discharge from the emergency department. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2019. 

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/nbRiz8yLIUQ

If 100 patients visit the emergency room, more than one-third of them will suffer a dangerous interaction between a medication prescribed by the ER staff and those drugs they are already taking.  This study from New Jersey’s Rutgers University sounds a warning and pinpoints those drug combinations most likely to cause issues.

Three medication combinations that resulted from an ER visit and could cause serious issues were:

1. Oxycodone/acetaminophen, better known as the common pain med Percocet, PLUS fluoroquinolone antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin (Cipro) or levofloxacin, (Levaquin) can together trigger seizures, delusions, and hallucinations.
2. Percocet again PLUS the common diuretic and high blood pressure med hydrochlorthiazide can lead to blood pressure drops and a risk of falls.
3. Lisinopril, frequently prescribed alone or with hydrochlorthiazine for high blood pressure, PLUS ibuprofen, Advil or Motrin, may cause kidney damage.

When you see any doctor but particularly one in an ER less than completely familiar with your history and medication list, be certain to review which drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, that you are taking.  The sad fact is that, by the time you are ready to leave the ER, you’ve already spent way too much time so the few additional minutes it will take to review your medications with the staff is time well spent.

#druginteractions #emergencyroom #ER #ED #Percodan, lisinopril #ibuprofen #hydrochlorthiazide

Tara Jawaro, Patrick J. Bridgeman, Jude Mele, Grant Wei. Descriptive study of drug-drug interactions attributed to prescriptions written upon discharge from the emergency department. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2019. 

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/NXClddt3bzI

Mothers who smoke, vape, or use oral and patch nicotine products may be exposing their unborn children to the risk of attention deficit and hyperactivity issues,ADHD, later in life.  A study from Finland just published in the journal Pediatrics studied over 1,000 children and matched controls born 10 years ago.  

The researchers studied serum samples from mothers collected during the first and second trimesters and measured the levels of cotinine, a biomarker for nicotine.  Then the mothers were divided into 3 groups according to serum nicotine levels during pregnancy.

Those mothers with the highest nicotine levels were more than 3 times more likely to have children suffering from ADHD.   Prior to this definitive study, there was no solid proof that the association was with nicotine.

If you love your children-to-be, don’t consume nicotine in any form by smoking tobacco, vaping, chewing nicotine gum, or placing patches during pregnancy.  Don’t expose your developing child to nicotine period!  Then, after you deliver, if you love your life, health, and family, don’t smoke or vape.

#nicotine #cotinine, ADHD #attentiondeficithyperactivitydisorder #vape #Nicolette #nicotinepatch

Andre Sourander, Minna Sucksdorff, Roshan Chudal, Heljä-Marja Surcel, Susanna Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki, David Gyllenberg, Keely Cheslack-Postava, Alan S. Brown. Prenatal Cotinine Levels and ADHD Among Offspring. Pediatrics, 2019; e20183144 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2018-3144

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/NXClddt3bzI

Mothers who smoke, vape, or use oral and patch nicotine products may be exposing their unborn children to the risk of attention deficit and hyperactivity issues,ADHD, later in life.  A study from Finland just published in the journal Pediatrics studied over 1,000 children and matched controls born 10 years ago.  

The researchers studied serum samples from mothers collected during the first and second trimesters and measured the levels of cotinine, a biomarker for nicotine.  Then the mothers were divided into 3 groups according to serum nicotine levels during pregnancy.

Those mothers with the highest nicotine levels were more than 3 times more likely to have children suffering from ADHD.   Prior to this definitive study, there was no solid proof that the association was with nicotine.

If you love your children-to-be, don’t consume nicotine in any form by smoking tobacco, vaping, chewing nicotine gum, or placing patches during pregnancy.  Don’t expose your developing child to nicotine period!  Then, after you deliver, if you love your life, health, and family, don’t smoke or vape.

#nicotine #cotinine, ADHD #attentiondeficithyperactivitydisorder #vape #Nicolette #nicotinepatch

Andre Sourander, Minna Sucksdorff, Roshan Chudal, Heljä-Marja Surcel, Susanna Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki, David Gyllenberg, Keely Cheslack-Postava, Alan S. Brown. Prenatal Cotinine Levels and ADHD Among Offspring. Pediatrics, 2019; e20183144 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2018-3144

Vidcast: ttps://youtu.be/ZflFG8eshQg

Of the two chief components of marijuana, the THC, the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol, appears to drive a greater overall therapeutic effect compared to CBD, the cannabidiol.  This new information comes from the University of New Mexico and studies employing the cannabis tracking smartphone app ReLeaf.

The app gathered some 20,000 user sessions over 3 years. It digitally associates relief of various symptoms with the use of particular cannabis products that each have differing THC and CBD  concentrations.   The tabulated data reveals that those products with more THC did a superior job  relieving a variety of symptoms.  The pattern of symptom relief from THC suggested that its superiority did not stem from merely getting high.

Keep in mind that everyone responds to THC ad CBD in different ways.  You should try each for any particular issue you may have.  Then you can use free app ReLeaf to determine which works best for you.

As with any drug, use weed in moderation realizing that the sometimes disorienting side effects which accompany its therapeutic magic may put you in more danger than the problem for which you are using it.

#weed, cannabis #THC #CBD #pain #relaxation #ReLeaf #healthnews 

Sarah S. Stith, Jacob M. Vigil, Franco Brockelman, Keenan Keeling, Branden Hall. The Association between Cannabis Product Characteristics and Symptom Relief. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39462-1

Vidcast: ttps://youtu.be/ZflFG8eshQg

Of the two chief components of marijuana, the THC, the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol, appears to drive a greater overall therapeutic effect compared to CBD, the cannabidiol.  This new information comes from the University of New Mexico and studies employing the cannabis tracking smartphone app ReLeaf.

The app gathered some 20,000 user sessions over 3 years. It digitally associates relief of various symptoms with the use of particular cannabis products that each have differing THC and CBD  concentrations.   The tabulated data reveals that those products with more THC did a superior job  relieving a variety of symptoms.  The pattern of symptom relief from THC suggested that its superiority did not stem from merely getting high.

Keep in mind that everyone responds to THC ad CBD in different ways.  You should try each for any particular issue you may have.  Then you can use free app ReLeaf to determine which works best for you.

As with any drug, use weed in moderation realizing that the sometimes disorienting side effects which accompany its therapeutic magic may put you in more danger than the problem for which you are using it.

#weed, cannabis #THC #CBD #pain #relaxation #ReLeaf #healthnews 

Sarah S. Stith, Jacob M. Vigil, Franco Brockelman, Keenan Keeling, Branden Hall. The Association between Cannabis Product Characteristics and Symptom Relief. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39462-1

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/NYR-gRXk22Y

I’m Dr. Howard Smith reporting from NYC with the Health News Roundup for the 1st week of MARCH, 2019.  This is Health News You Should Use, the latest medical discoveries that you can use in a practical way to keep yourself and your family healthy.  

Here are the headlines for this weeks 15 top stories:

THC and not CBD Drives Most Benefit From Weed Use

Nicotine During Pregnancy Triggers Offspring ADHD

ER Visits Create Drug Dangers

Soccer May Lead To ALS

How To Get Deep, Healthy Sleep

Constant Infant Correction Sensitizes Their Brains To Anger

Music Can Block Creativity

Which Exercise Helps You Live The Longest

Smartphone Apps Can Slim You

You Night Owls Can’t Count On Weekend Catch-up Sleep

There is NO Autism Risk From MMR Vaccine

Convenience Stores Are Illegally Pedaling Cigarettes To Children

Mouthwash May Bump Up Your Blood Pressure

Cochlear Implants for Youngest Deaf Infants A Winning Strategy

TRY A LITTLE KINDNESS:  The Arts Help The Sciences

For more information, you’ll find all the references for the stories and a copy of show notes on my website at: https://www.drhowardsmith.com/mar-2019-1st-week-health-news

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/NYR-gRXk22Y

I’m Dr. Howard Smith reporting from NYC with the Health News Roundup for the 1st week of MARCH, 2019.  This is Health News You Should Use, the latest medical discoveries that you can use in a practical way to keep yourself and your family healthy.  

Here are the headlines for this weeks 15 top stories:

THC and not CBD Drives Most Benefit From Weed Use

Nicotine During Pregnancy Triggers Offspring ADHD

ER Visits Create Drug Dangers

Soccer May Lead To ALS

How To Get Deep, Healthy Sleep

Constant Infant Correction Sensitizes Their Brains To Anger

Music Can Block Creativity

Which Exercise Helps You Live The Longest

Smartphone Apps Can Slim You

You Night Owls Can’t Count On Weekend Catch-up Sleep

There is NO Autism Risk From MMR Vaccine

Convenience Stores Are Illegally Pedaling Cigarettes To Children

Mouthwash May Bump Up Your Blood Pressure

Cochlear Implants for Youngest Deaf Infants A Winning Strategy

TRY A LITTLE KINDNESS:  The Arts Help The Sciences

For more information, you’ll find all the references for the stories and a copy of show notes on my website at: https://www.drhowardsmith.com/mar-2019-1st-week-health-news