Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/HKIK6qwIJo8

One enduring challenge in human organ transplantation is detecting rejection crises early enough to save the transplanted organ with the administration of anti-rejection drugs such as high dose steroids.  Typically, rejection is diagnosed with biopsies. By the time a biopsy shows conclusive changes, much of the organ is often destroyed.  A new technique being developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology may change all that.

The diagnostic tool employs nanotechnology to build an ingenious probe that acts as an early warning beacon for organ rejection.  It is a nanoball with iron oxide in the middle, a sugar coating of dextran,  and some polyethylene glycol or antifreeze to prevent the body from quickly degrading it.  The ball is covered with amino acid florescent spikes.  These nanoballs are injected into the transplanted organs and remain there.

As the transplant patient’s T cells bulk up to mount a rejection of a heart, liver, or kidney, they begin to produce the toxic enzyme granzyme B.  Even in tiny amounts, this enzyme will begin to release the small fluorescent molecules from the nanoball.  When they pass out in urine, they make it glow under black light.

This probe system can serve not only as an early warning signal for rejection but as a sensitive monitor for the effectiveness of anti-rejection therapy.  So far, the nanoballs work well in mice.  Next, the system will be perfected in men.

#transplantation #rejection #nanotechnology #fluorescence #healthnews #healthtips

Quoc D. Mac, Dave V. Mathews, Justin A. Kahla, Claire M. Stoffers, Olivia M. Delmas, Brandon Alexander Holt, Andrew B. Adams, Gabriel A. Kwong. Non-invasive early detection of acute transplant rejection via nanosensors of granzyme B activity. Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2019; DOI: 10.1038/s41551-019-0358-7

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/HKIK6qwIJo8

One enduring challenge in human organ transplantation is detecting rejection crises early enough to save the transplanted organ with the administration of anti-rejection drugs such as high dose steroids.  Typically, rejection is diagnosed with biopsies. By the time a biopsy shows conclusive changes, much of the organ is often destroyed.  A new technique being developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology may change all that.

The diagnostic tool employs nanotechnology to build an ingenious probe that acts as an early warning beacon for organ rejection.  It is a nanoball with iron oxide in the middle, a sugar coating of dextran,  and some polyethylene glycol or antifreeze to prevent the body from quickly degrading it.  The ball is covered with amino acid florescent spikes.  These nanoballs are injected into the transplanted organs and remain there.

As the transplant patient’s T cells bulk up to mount a rejection of a heart, liver, or kidney, they begin to produce the toxic enzyme granzyme B.  Even in tiny amounts, this enzyme will begin to release the small fluorescent molecules from the nanoball.  When they pass out in urine, they make it glow under black light.

This probe system can serve not only as an early warning signal for rejection but as a sensitive monitor for the effectiveness of anti-rejection therapy.  So far, the nanoballs work well in mice.  Next, the system will be perfected in men.

#transplantation #rejection #nanotechnology #fluorescence #healthnews #healthtips

Quoc D. Mac, Dave V. Mathews, Justin A. Kahla, Claire M. Stoffers, Olivia M. Delmas, Brandon Alexander Holt, Andrew B. Adams, Gabriel A. Kwong. Non-invasive early detection of acute transplant rejection via nanosensors of granzyme B activity. Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2019; DOI: 10.1038/s41551-019-0358-7

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/TjHd38TFH9A

A Danish study just 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.

=#acupuncture #menopause #hotflushes #sweating #healthnews #healthtips

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

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/TjHd38TFH9A

A Danish study just 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.

=#acupuncture #menopause #hotflushes #sweating #healthnews #healthtips

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

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/q7JCrK5kziY

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.

#colorvision #blindness #smoking, blindness #healthnews #healthtips

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

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/q7JCrK5kziY

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.

#colorvision #blindness #smoking, blindness #healthnews #healthtips

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

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/DU53tdHmq6Q

We now know that drinking two or more artificially sweetened beverages a day may trigger strokes, heart disease, and untimely death for middle-aged women.  This from a study of more than 80,000 post-menopausal women participating in the Women’s Health Initiative.

Those women who did drink the two a day regularly, when compared with controls who never drank beverages with “fake sugar,” were 23% more likely to have a stroke, often due to clot formation, 29% more likely to have a heart attack, and 16% more likely to die for any reason.

The study did not identify which artificial sweeteners may be more dangerous than others.  The bottom like is that there are few reasons to drink these “fake sugar” drinks.  Many of us drink so-called diet drinks to avoid weight gain, but I recently reported a study that shows such beverages will not help you with weight loss so don’t bother.

If you love the cold, fizzy feeling in your throat, you are better off drinking seltzer or sparkling water.

#artificialsweetners #dietdrinks #dieting #stroke #heartattack #death #healthnews #healthtips

Yasmin Mossavar-Rahmani, Victor Kamensky, JoAnn E. Manson, etal. Artificially Sweetened Beverages and Stroke, Coronary Heart Disease, and All-Cause Mortality in the Women’s Health Initiative. Stroke, 2019; DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.118.023100

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/DU53tdHmq6Q

We now know that drinking two or more artificially sweetened beverages a day may trigger strokes, heart disease, and untimely death for middle-aged women.  This from a study of more than 80,000 post-menopausal women participating in the Women’s Health Initiative.

Those women who did drink the two a day regularly, when compared with controls who never drank beverages with “fake sugar,” were 23% more likely to have a stroke, often due to clot formation, 29% more likely to have a heart attack, and 16% more likely to die for any reason.

The study did not identify which artificial sweeteners may be more dangerous than others.  The bottom like is that there are few reasons to drink these “fake sugar” drinks.  Many of us drink so-called diet drinks to avoid weight gain, but I recently reported a study that shows such beverages will not help you with weight loss so don’t bother.

If you love the cold, fizzy feeling in your throat, you are better off drinking seltzer or sparkling water.

#artificialsweetners #dietdrinks #dieting #stroke #heartattack #death #healthnews #healthtips

Yasmin Mossavar-Rahmani, Victor Kamensky, JoAnn E. Manson, etal. Artificially Sweetened Beverages and Stroke, Coronary Heart Disease, and All-Cause Mortality in the Women’s Health Initiative. Stroke, 2019; DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.118.023100

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/lqthcPqYONM

The gold standard for a school-aged child’s sleep is a good 9 to 11 hours depending on age.  Can you or your children actually tell how long they slept?

A study from the University of Arizona just published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine answers yes!  Researchers compared the sleep tallies from questionnaires completed by children and others by their parents with the actual numbers derived from sleep studies, so-called polysomnograms, completed at the children’s homes.

The kids were the best at estimating their sleep duration.  They overestimated their sleep duration by an average of only 32 minutes while their parents overestimated it by 36 minutes.  Both children and parents did better estimating the time it took to fall asleep.  The children overestimated by an average of only 4 minutes and the parents by 2 minutes.

A good night’s sleep is key for recharging you brain and revitalizing you body.  Be sure to ask your kids how long they slept and encourage them to put down their devices in plenty of time to get the rest they require.  We should all do the same.

#sleep #sleepstudy #healthnews #healthtips

Daniel Combs, James L. Goodwin, Stuart F. Quan, Wayne J. Morgan, Chiu-Hsieh Hsu, Jamie O. Edgin, Sairam Parthasarathy. Mother Knows Best? Comparing Child Report and Parent Report of Sleep Parameters With Polysomnography. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2019; 15 (01): 111 DOI: 10.5664/jcsm.7582

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/press-release/national-sleep-foundation-recommends-new-sleep-times

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/lqthcPqYONM

The gold standard for a school-aged child’s sleep is a good 9 to 11 hours depending on age.  Can you or your children actually tell how long they slept?

A study from the University of Arizona just published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine answers yes!  Researchers compared the sleep tallies from questionnaires completed by children and others by their parents with the actual numbers derived from sleep studies, so-called polysomnograms, completed at the children’s homes.

The kids were the best at estimating their sleep duration.  They overestimated their sleep duration by an average of only 32 minutes while their parents overestimated it by 36 minutes.  Both children and parents did better estimating the time it took to fall asleep.  The children overestimated by an average of only 4 minutes and the parents by 2 minutes.

A good night’s sleep is key for recharging you brain and revitalizing you body.  Be sure to ask your kids how long they slept and encourage them to put down their devices in plenty of time to get the rest they require.  We should all do the same.

#sleep #sleepstudy #healthnews #healthtips

Daniel Combs, James L. Goodwin, Stuart F. Quan, Wayne J. Morgan, Chiu-Hsieh Hsu, Jamie O. Edgin, Sairam Parthasarathy. Mother Knows Best? Comparing Child Report and Parent Report of Sleep Parameters With Polysomnography. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2019; 15 (01): 111 DOI: 10.5664/jcsm.7582

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/press-release/national-sleep-foundation-recommends-new-sleep-times