Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/X6ZxecLbkxI

Medical marijuana is now legal in 33 of 50 states, and most users look to weed as medicine in order to relieve chronic pain.  Investigators from the University of Michigan reviewed data from state registries and found that more than 800,000 persons are licensed medical cannabis users.  This number likely underestimates the actual number of users.

Cannabis is accepted therapy for chronic pain, nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, and Muscular Sclerosis spasticity.  The available data shows, though, that almost two-thirds of those seeking medical marijuana licenses do so for chronic pain.

Due to federal foot-dragging, cannibis remains classified as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act.  It continues to be erroneously labeled as as a drug with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.  In theory, but usually not in practice, you could be prosecuted for its possession and use.

If you feel that cannabis might help you and you’re in a state where it’s ben legalized, ask your doctor to refer you to a medical marijuana specialist, usually an expert in pain management, for a consultation.

#medicalmarijuana #marijuana #cannabis #pain #chemotherapy #muscularsclerosis #MS #healthtips #healthnews

Kevin F. Boehnke, Saurav Gangopadhyay, Daniel J. Clauw, Rebecca L. Haffajee. Qualifying Conditions Of Medical Cannabis License Holders In The United States. Health Affairs, 2019; 38 (2): 295 DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05266

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/X6ZxecLbkxI

Medical marijuana is now legal in 33 of 50 states, and most users look to weed as medicine in order to relieve chronic pain.  Investigators from the University of Michigan reviewed data from state registries and found that more than 800,000 persons are licensed medical cannabis users.  This number likely underestimates the actual number of users.

Cannabis is accepted therapy for chronic pain, nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, and Muscular Sclerosis spasticity.  The available data shows, though, that almost two-thirds of those seeking medical marijuana licenses do so for chronic pain.

Due to federal foot-dragging, cannibis remains classified as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act.  It continues to be erroneously labeled as as a drug with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.  In theory, but usually not in practice, you could be prosecuted for its possession and use.

If you feel that cannabis might help you and you’re in a state where it’s ben legalized, ask your doctor to refer you to a medical marijuana specialist, usually an expert in pain management, for a consultation.

#medicalmarijuana #marijuana #cannabis #pain #chemotherapy #muscularsclerosis #MS #healthtips #healthnews

Kevin F. Boehnke, Saurav Gangopadhyay, Daniel J. Clauw, Rebecca L. Haffajee. Qualifying Conditions Of Medical Cannabis License Holders In The United States. Health Affairs, 2019; 38 (2): 295 DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05266

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/zOaEiNnJBCY

Driven entrepreneurs and students often steal needed hours of sleep to find extra time.  A collaborative study by business researchers coordinated by Oregon State University shows that, when sleep is limited, mindfulness can come to the rescue and turbocharge your ailing brain.  

Studying more than sleep-deprived 400 entrepreneurs across the US, the researchers report that as little as 10 minutes of mindfulness practice a day on a sustained basis can provide the same mental clarification benefits as an extra 44 minutes of sleep.

If you’re expecting a stretch of intense work, train your body and mind by developing expertise in mindfulness meditation.  Planning ahead to minimize those all-nighters won’t hurt either.

#mindfulness #sleepdeprivation #entrepreneurs #healthnews #healthtips

Charles Y. Murnieks, Jonathan D. Arthurs, Melissa S. Cardon, Nusrat Farah, Jason Stornelli, J. Michael Haynie. Close your eyes or open your mind: Effects of sleep and mindfulness exercises on entrepreneurs' exhaustion. Journal of Business Venturing, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.12.004

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/zOaEiNnJBCY

Driven entrepreneurs and students often steal needed hours of sleep to find extra time.  A collaborative study by business researchers coordinated by Oregon State University shows that, when sleep is limited, mindfulness can come to the rescue and turbocharge your ailing brain.  

Studying more than sleep-deprived 400 entrepreneurs across the US, the researchers report that as little as 10 minutes of mindfulness practice a day on a sustained basis can provide the same mental clarification benefits as an extra 44 minutes of sleep.

If you’re expecting a stretch of intense work, train your body and mind by developing expertise in mindfulness meditation.  Planning ahead to minimize those all-nighters won’t hurt either.

#mindfulness #sleepdeprivation #entrepreneurs #healthnews #healthtips

Charles Y. Murnieks, Jonathan D. Arthurs, Melissa S. Cardon, Nusrat Farah, Jason Stornelli, J. Michael Haynie. Close your eyes or open your mind: Effects of sleep and mindfulness exercises on entrepreneurs' exhaustion. Journal of Business Venturing, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.12.004

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/cpb2nP4vYF0

An unexpected observation during a patient’s awake neurosurgery confirms that laughter leads to a sense of calm and happiness.  Surgeons at Emory University in Atlanta relate this fascinating, whimsical tale.

A young patient with difficult to control epilepsy was undergoing awake neurosurgery to pinpoint the seizure focus.  During the surgery, the surgeons inadventantly stimulated  a pathway called the cingulum bundle, and the patient immediately began to smile, laugh, joke, and report an extremely calming and mood elevating experience that seemed to neutralize not only pain but also any scary thoughts.  

The neuroscientists repeated this same cingulum bundle stimulation in two other seizure patients to confirm their initial observation.  They plan to use this stimulation technique in the future to calm nervous surgical patients and possibly to help treat depression.

The good news is that you can trigger laughter and its calming and pain-neutralizing aftermath with a funny book or movie, some standup comedy, and looking for the funny side of life.  Try it and enjoy!

#laughter #calm #mood elevation #epilepsy #seizure #awake neurosurgery #health news #health tips

Kelly R. Bijanki, Joseph R. Manns, Cory S. Inman, Ki Sueng Choi, Sahar Harati, Nigel P. Pedersen, Daniel L. Drane, Allison C. Waters, Rebecca E. Fasano, Helen S. Mayberg, Jon T. Willie. Cingulum stimulation enhances positive affect and anxiolysis to facilitate awake craniotomy. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2018; DOI: 10.1172/JCI120110

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/cpb2nP4vYF0

An unexpected observation during a patient’s awake neurosurgery confirms that laughter leads to a sense of calm and happiness.  Surgeons at Emory University in Atlanta relate this fascinating, whimsical tale.

A young patient with difficult to control epilepsy was undergoing awake neurosurgery to pinpoint the seizure focus.  During the surgery, the surgeons inadventantly stimulated  a pathway called the cingulum bundle, and the patient immediately began to smile, laugh, joke, and report an extremely calming and mood elevating experience that seemed to neutralize not only pain but also any scary thoughts.  

The neuroscientists repeated this same cingulum bundle stimulation in two other seizure patients to confirm their initial observation.  They plan to use this stimulation technique in the future to calm nervous surgical patients and possibly to help treat depression.

The good news is that you can trigger laughter and its calming and pain-neutralizing aftermath with a funny book or movie, some standup comedy, and looking for the funny side of life.  Try it and enjoy!

#laughter #calm #mood elevation #epilepsy #seizure #awake neurosurgery #health news #health tips

Kelly R. Bijanki, Joseph R. Manns, Cory S. Inman, Ki Sueng Choi, Sahar Harati, Nigel P. Pedersen, Daniel L. Drane, Allison C. Waters, Rebecca E. Fasano, Helen S. Mayberg, Jon T. Willie. Cingulum stimulation enhances positive affect and anxiolysis to facilitate awake craniotomy. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2018; DOI: 10.1172/JCI120110

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/3vsdF9Re_g8

Another thumbs up for aerobic exercise comes from the University of Buffalo’s Concussion Management Clinic.  They check in with the first randomized study of recovery from adolescent sport-related concussions comparing carefully calibrated exercise with the usually recommended near total rest or slow stretching.

The investigators studied 103 athletes, 13 to 18 years of age with equal numbers of girls and boys, who were seen within 10 days of their sport-sustained concussions.  Those who followed the supervised aerobic exercise program recovered 4 days faster than controls and more likely to enjoy a full recovery by 4 weeks post-injury.

To determine just the right intensity of exercise, the Buffalo Concussion Treadmill Test pinpointed the level at which post-concussion patients just begin to experience headache.  Over time, the subjects could tolerate more intensity and were allowed to exercise more vigorously.

This method will likely spread to other cities and medical centers.  If your child sustains a concussion, ask the doctor about arranging a supervised exercise program during the recovery phase.

#teen #concussion #aerobic exercise #sports injury #health news #health tips

John J. Leddy, Mohammad N. Haider, Michael J. Ellis, Rebekah Mannix, Scott R. Darling, Michael S. Freitas, Heidi N. Suffoletto, Jeff Leiter, Dean M. Cordingley, Barry Willer. Early Subthreshold Aerobic Exercise for Sport-Related Concussion. JAMA Pediatrics, 2019; DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.4397

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/3vsdF9Re_g8

Another thumbs up for aerobic exercise comes from the University of Buffalo’s Concussion Management Clinic.  They check in with the first randomized study of recovery from adolescent sport-related concussions comparing carefully calibrated exercise with the usually recommended near total rest or slow stretching.

The investigators studied 103 athletes, 13 to 18 years of age with equal numbers of girls and boys, who were seen within 10 days of their sport-sustained concussions.  Those who followed the supervised aerobic exercise program recovered 4 days faster than controls and more likely to enjoy a full recovery by 4 weeks post-injury.

To determine just the right intensity of exercise, the Buffalo Concussion Treadmill Test pinpointed the level at which post-concussion patients just begin to experience headache.  Over time, the subjects could tolerate more intensity and were allowed to exercise more vigorously.

This method will likely spread to other cities and medical centers.  If your child sustains a concussion, ask the doctor about arranging a supervised exercise program during the recovery phase.

#teen #concussion #aerobic exercise #sports injury #health news #health tips

John J. Leddy, Mohammad N. Haider, Michael J. Ellis, Rebekah Mannix, Scott R. Darling, Michael S. Freitas, Heidi N. Suffoletto, Jeff Leiter, Dean M. Cordingley, Barry Willer. Early Subthreshold Aerobic Exercise for Sport-Related Concussion. JAMA Pediatrics, 2019; DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.4397

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/0e6_N7YbgPg

Thousands of young women are having unnecessary radiation exposure via mammograms prior to surgery to right-size their breasts.  A just published University of Michigan study of more than 52,000 women candidates for this surgery shows that one-third of them had mammography prior to the procedure.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons stated 5 years ago that such routine pre-op imaging should be stopped.  Such procedures in women who otherwise have no indications for breast imaging are economically wasteful and unnecessarily expose patients to radiation.

If your surgeon is recommending this preop imaging, pass on the reference I’m providing and challenge the suggestion.  It’s always good to speak up and take a role in planning your healthcare.

#breast reduction #mammography #preoperative imaging #health news #health tips

Erika D. Sears, Yu-Ting Lu, Peter R. Swiatek, Ting-Ting Chung, Eve A. Kerr, Kevin C. Chung. Use of Preoperative Mammography During Evaluation for Nononcologic Breast Reduction Surgery. JAMA Surgery, 2018; DOI: 10.1001/jamasurg.2018.4875

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/0e6_N7YbgPg

Thousands of young women are having unnecessary radiation exposure via mammograms prior to surgery to right-size their breasts.  A just published University of Michigan study of more than 52,000 women candidates for this surgery shows that one-third of them had mammography prior to the procedure.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons stated 5 years ago that such routine pre-op imaging should be stopped.  Such procedures in women who otherwise have no indications for breast imaging are economically wasteful and unnecessarily expose patients to radiation.

If your surgeon is recommending this preop imaging, pass on the reference I’m providing and challenge the suggestion.  It’s always good to speak up and take a role in planning your healthcare.

#breast reduction #mammography #preoperative imaging #health news #health tips

Erika D. Sears, Yu-Ting Lu, Peter R. Swiatek, Ting-Ting Chung, Eve A. Kerr, Kevin C. Chung. Use of Preoperative Mammography During Evaluation for Nononcologic Breast Reduction Surgery. JAMA Surgery, 2018; DOI: 10.1001/jamasurg.2018.4875