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

Usin whitening strips to wipe away those coffee and nicotine stains from your dental enamel makes your teeth sparkle.  But…..the chemical reactions that occur beneath the surface could trigger a time bomb.  

This warning comes from biochemical studies at New Jersey’s Stockton University that were presented last week to the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

All commercial whitening strips contain hydrogen peroxide.  After it whitens the surface enamel, the peroxide penetrates deeper into the protein-rich dentin layer that makes up most of your tooth.  These new studies show the that hydrogen peroxide fragments the dentin collagen explaining why previous studies detected a diminution in the total amount of dentin collagen present.  The concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the whitening strips is sufficient to totally destroy the dentin collagen.

There are no studies to indicate whether dentin collagen can regenerate.  Until such information surfaces, the smart money is on avoiding use of whitening strips so that you don’t find your teeth crumbling.

Experimental Biology. "Teeth whitening products can harm protein-rich tooth layer: Researchers show active ingredient in whitening strips damages dentin." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 9 April 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190409135928.htm.

#Whiteningstrips #dentalenamel #dentin #collagen 

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/IUS_Wp0n4yk

CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the disease caused by repetitive head trauma is typically only diagnosable by autopsies.  It was discovered by post-mortem brain examinations of professional football and soccer players that sustained repetitive head trauma.  CTE may soon be routinely diagnosable in the living.  

Radiologists at Boston University’s med school, the Harvard Medical School, and the Mayo Clinic now report a study of  26 former NFL players using the latest PET scanning technique. These new positron emission tomography studies using unique injectable contrast agents can now detect depositions of tau proteins in the brain.

Compared with healthy controls who had not sustained head injuries, the NFL players with cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms had significantly higher deposits of tau protein on imaging.  The more years of tackle football a player had under his belt, the greater the accumulation of tau protein in the brain.

This study marks the beginning of testing for CTE in living patients.  The study authors caution that the technique is not yet ready for prime time as more and larger confirmatory studies must be completed.  

If you do know of a patient with a history of repeated head trauma who is evidencing symptoms of deteriorating brain function, it may be possible for that patient to join a study and receive imaging that could lead to treatment once that is available.

Robert A. Stern, Charles H. Adler, Kewei Chen, Michael Navitsky, Ji Luo, David W. Dodick, Michael L. Alosco, Yorghos Tripodis, Dhruman D. Goradia, Brett Martin, Diego Mastroeni, Nathan G. Fritts, Johnny Jarnagin, Michael D. Devous, Mark A. Mintun, Michael J. Pontecorvo, Martha E. Shenton, Eric M. Reiman. Tau Positron-Emission Tomography in Former National Football League Players. New England Journal of Medicine, 2019; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1900757

#CTE #chronictraumaticencephalopathy #tau #dementia #football #soccer

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/z99bXE9KVcI

The drugs in question are those that make men’s urine flow and their hair grow.  Many men take finasteride, better known as Proscar and Propecia, to shrink their prostates to improve urine flow and others take the same medicine help hair grow on their scalps.  

A new study from Scotland’s University of Edinburgh reveals that this drug and its cousin dutasteride (Avodart), technically known as 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, can make the body less sensitive to insulin and induce type 2 diabetes.

The investigators reviewed health records from 55,000 men in the UK each of whom been taking these drugs over an 11 year period.  They discovered that this drug increases a man’s chances of developing diabetes by about 33%.

Finasteride and dutasteride are effective and popular.  Experts agree that these medications may be continued, but they add the sound medical advice that dictates close followup and surveillance of the users carbohydrate handling capabilities.  In simple terms, long term user’s docs should check them for diabetes periodically.

Li Wei, Edward Chia-Cheng Lai, Yea-Huei Kao-Yang, Brian R Walker, Thomas M MacDonald, Ruth Andrew. Incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in men receiving steroid 5α-reductase inhibitors: population based cohort study. BMJ, 2019; l1204 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.l1204

#Finasteride #dutasteride #diabetes

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/YuySgR0brbM

If you are trying to teach yourself new skills, either physical or mental, give your brain a short break during the learning process.  Neurophysiologists at the National Institutes of Health make this recommendation after analyzing the brain activity of volunteers as they master the task of reproducibly pressing a series of keys.

The scientists noted that brain wave activity which signals the cementing of behaviors into memory was more intense during short rest periods between skill practice sessions.  The subjects performed incrementally better when their initial mastery and practice sessions were interrupted by short rest periods compared with intense practice sessions followed by a night off and re-testing in the morning.

So, if you are trying to perfect a skill, learn it and practice it for awhile, then take a break, and the return to practice.  After several cycles, you should be able to optimize your performance and make it reproducible.

Marlene Bönstrup, Iñaki Iturrate, Ryan Thompson, Gabriel Cruciani, Nitzan Censor, Leonardo G. Cohen. A Rapid Form of Offline Consolidation in Skill Learning. Current Biology, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.02.049

#Learning #practice #rest #skillconsolidation

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/PVtH56EdCSQ

Nasty bacteria are everywhere, and petting zoos turn out to have some of the nastiest.  An Israeli study of some 8 randomly selected petting zoos in that country reveals that an alarming number of animals are carrying drug resistant E. coli that can and do spread to human visitors. These results were presented this week at a meeting of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

The microbiologists collected some 380 samples from about 230 animals of varied species in the petting zoos and found that 12% of the animals were colonized with one or more strains of dangerous and antibiotic resistant E. coli.  These germs cause terrible diarrhea and urinary tract infections.

Most of the bacteria were predictably in feces, but nearly a quarter of the positive cultures came from the nimasls’ skin, fur, and feathers.

Most petting zoos I’ve visited in the US do have hand washing stations.  Even so, infants and toddlers who tend to lick and suck on their fingers before that can be cleansed should not touch any of the animals.  

Older children should be watched carefully, and parents should thoroughly wash everyone’s hands after the petting zoo visit.  One more thing: do not not consume any food near these animals.  The animals may be eating there but you shouldn’t since their germs could waft though the air into your lunch.

European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. "Petting zoos could potentially transmit highly virulent drug-resistant bacteria to visitors." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 April 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190414111457.htm.

#Pettingzoo #ecoli #antibioticresistantbacteria #parenting #children #gastroenteritis

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/rBYdLg2PUlg

Patients admitted to an ICU for any medical problem, whether it directly affects the mind or not, is likely to be discharged with a thought disorder properly labeled a neuropathy.  Neuroscientists at Ontario’s Western University report this result after studying 20 patients who entered their hospital’s ICU with non-neurologic problems.

Each patient was assessed with psychometric tests upon discharge, and 100% of them demonstrated cognitive defects in two or more spheres including attention, decision-making, logical reasoning, and memory.  This is not surprising since any illness such as cardiovascular disease, infection, or traumatic injuries severe enough to land you in the ICU may certainly have secondary effects on your brain.

If you or a family member is in the ICU or has been there, a post-discharge visit to a neurologist should be considered.  Also be certain that the patient in question has proper supervision during the weeks following hospital discharge in order to detect an sudden and possibly life-threatening deterioration in status.

Kimia Honarmand, Sabhyata Malik, Conor Wild, Laura E. Gonzalez-Lara, Christopher W. McIntyre, Adrian M. Owen, Marat Slessarev. Feasibility of a web-based neurocognitive battery for assessing cognitive function in critical illness survivors. PLOS ONE, 2019; 14 (4): e0215203 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215203

#ICU #neuropathy #cognitivedeficit #memory #attention

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/NsMPlTzykEk

Psychologists have been debating over the past century whether or not smiling will actually make you feel happier.  Most thought that smiling was indeed a picker-upper until 3 years ago when a landmark study questioned that premise.

Psychologists at the University of Tennessee now provide a more definitive answer to the question by performing a meta-analysis of 138 studies that collectively reviewed findings on more than 11,000 subjects.  The tabulated results show statistically that smiling makes a person feel just a little bit happier, frowning has the opposite effect, and scowling induces an overlay of anger.

So the next time that you are in a funk, think happy thoughts and beam a smile.  Remember too, that if you are having negative thoughts about someone, your expression could give it away.  To keep your feeling to yourself, use your innate acting skills to suppress that frown.\

Nicholas A. Coles, Jeff T. Larsen, Heather C. Lench. A meta-analysis of the facial feedback literature: Effects of facial feedback on emotional experience are small and variable.. Psychological Bulletin, 2019; DOI: 10.1037/bul0000194

#smiles #Expression #mood #acting

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/jBofMI-f1Kw

A long, healthy life with continued mobility depends on healthy, toned muscles, and many turn to weight lifting to achieve that goal.  Turns out, though, that not all types of weight lifting exercises do the trick.

A study presented just last week at the congress of the European Society of Cardiology shows muscle power rather than muscle strength is the important skill to develop.  Muscle strength is the mere ability to lift or move a given weight while muscle power is that ability plus the capability of moving the weight quickly and efficiently.

Brazilian researchers studied more than 3800 non-athletic persons 41-85 years of age.  Using a rowing exercise test, they determined the maximal muscle power in watts per kg that each subject could exert.  

Then each subject was observed over time for health issues.  During the average 6.5 year followup period, those with better than average muscle power had the best survival.  Those with below average muscle power were 5 to 10 times more likely to die.

Looking beyond survival, coordinated muscle power is more important than raw strength for getting around.  Climbing stairs requires strength in motion rather than just strength.

It is relatively easy to develop your muscle strength.  If you use weight lifting, focus on smooth, sustained motion and complete 6-8 repetitions with weights that you can handle.  Rest half a minute between reps to recharge your muscles.  

To develop muscle strength for all extremities, rowing is even better than weight lifting, since it develops smooth, coordinated weight motion.  Cycling has the same effect for the lower extremities only.

European Society of Cardiology. "Ability to lift weights quickly can mean a longer life: Not all weight lifting produces the same benefit." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 April 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190412085247.htm.

#Musclepower #strength #weightlifting #rowing

Vidcast:https://youtu.be/6TU_86VpCwU

The turn of the century has not been good for kids choking on and swallowing foreign bodies.  Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System just published in the journal Pediatrics shows that twice as many kids are choking on and swallowing foreign bodies now compared with 20 years ago.

A majority of ingestions involved infants and toddlers 1 to 3 years of age.  The most frequent objects ingested were coins at 62%, then toys at 7%, jewelry at 7%, and batteries also at 7%.  Almost 90% of the batteries ingested were the button batteries, and these are the most dangerous type of foreign body ingestion since the batteries can leak caustic chemicals that damage gastrointestinal or respiratory lining tissues.

Preventing these potential tragedies is easy:

• Store items such as spare change, batteries, high powered magnets, and medicines out of sight and out of reach.  
• Don’t disable child-proof packaging.
• Follow age recommendations when buying toys, and use the choke test cylinder to determine when a toy or toy part is safe for a child under 3 to handle.
• If an ingestion occurs, get helps quickly.  If a battery or magnet, get your child to the ED as soon as possible.  
• Call for advice from the local ED or the national poison control center at 800-222-1222.

We parents need to keep a closer eye on our kids, and remind them not to put anything but food and drink into their mouths.

Danielle Orsagh-Yentis, Rebecca J. McAdams, Kristin J. Roberts, Lara B. McKenzie. Foreign-Body Ingestions of Young Children Treated in US Emergency Departments: 1995–2015. Pediatrics, 2019; e20181988 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2018-1988

#Ingestion #parenting #battery #coins #infants #toddlers #childsafe 

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/RjgMACy-N8U

Should you eat fruit with toast or eggs and ham for your first meal of the day if you’re a type 2 diabetic.  The answer comes from the University of British Columbia, and the eggs win hands down.

Researchers there studied 23 adults with non-insulin dependent diabetes and randomly fed them a meal plan that contained identical numbers of calories and differed only in the content of the breakfasts.  One plan had the higher fat and protein egg breakfast and the other the typical breakfast with the majority of calories from carbohydrates.  The lunches and dinners were the same.  The study had a crossover design in which each subject experienced each meal plan.  Their blood glucose levels were continuously monitored throughout the day.

When the subjects were fed the higher fat and lower carb egg breakfast versus the higher carb cereal, fruit, and toast breakfast, they experienced a significantly lower sugar peak mid-morning after the meal.   Additional benefits of the protein and fat breakfasts included: less variability of glucose levels; less pre-meal hunger; and fewer cravings for sugar the rest of the day. 

Since sugar spikes drive blood vessel and kidney damage in diabetics, the good old egg beats the breakfast of champions any morning.

Courtney R Chang, Monique E Francois, Jonathan P Little. Restricting carbohydrates at breakfast is sufficient to reduce 24-hour exposure to postprandial hyperglycemia and improve glycemic variability. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2019; DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqy261

#Egg #diabetes #sugar #hyperglycemia #lowcarb #highfat