Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Hot off the wire. New studies presented at the Endocrine Society meeting March 16-20 in Chicago Headlines Pregnant women should steer clear of plastic cups and containers. Lavender and tea tree oils may produce unwanted breast growth in boys and men. Estrogen supplements may help resolve eating disorders in female athletes. Are men using too much testosterone therapy? Low sperm count may be the tip of the iceberg. Splenda could predispose you to diabetes.  

Counting steps with wearable devices leads to more vigorous short term exercise and longer term maintenance of exercise program. —- Tess Harris, Sally M. Kerry, Elizabeth S. Limb, Cheryl Furness, etal. Physical activity levels in adults and older adults 3–4 years after pedometer-based walking interventions: Long-term follow-up of participants from two randomised controlled trials in UK primary care. PLOS Medicine, 2018; 15 (3): e1002526 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002526

Soy milk contains estrogens that may harm female infants reproductive tissues. —— A longitudinal study of estrogen-responsive tissues and hormone concentrations in infants fed soy formula Margaret A Adgent, Ph.D David M Umbach, Ph.D Babette S Zemel, Ph.D , metal. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, jc.2017-02249, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2017-02249

Higher altitude living associated with depression and higher rate of suicide. —- Brent M. Kious, Douglas G. Kondo, Perry F. Renshaw. Living High and Feeling Low. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 2018; 26 (2): 43 DOI: 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000158 https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-recognizing-signs-of-suicide#2

Many heart attack victims do better when stent-placing cardiologists are away at convention. —- Anupam B. Jena, Andrew Olenski, Daniel M. Blumenthal, Robert W. Yeh, Dana P. Goldman, John Romley. Acute Myocardial Infarction Mortality During Dates of National Interventional Cardiology Meetings. Journal of the American Heart Association, 2018; 7 (6): e008230 DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.117.008230

Regular, vigorous exercise can block the aging process. —- University of Birmingham. "A lifetime of regular exercise slows down aging, study finds." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 March 2018. .

Even though new study reveals that a rectal exam of the prostate alone cannot reliably detect prostate cancer, the exam should not be omitted. —- Leen Naji, MD1, Harkanwal Randhawa, BHSc2, Zahra Sohani, MSc, PhD3, etal. Digital Rectal Examination for Prostate Cancer Screening in Primary Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis; Ann Fam Med. 2018;16:149-154.

First portion of program omitted due to file size.  Entire program on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FUpUMmrG-bU •Harriet: aortic stenosis surgery; rheumatic heart disease •Frank: coronary artery surgery; balloon versus laser versus bypass graft   PART TWO Charles Hennekins MD, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA; Professor Harvard Medical School •10 commandments of heart disease prevention •Ruth: Post-menopausal estrogen;  •Prophylactic aspirin •Smoking cessation •Weight control: direct impact, impact on lipids, diabetes •Alcohol: heavy consumption is bad; some (1-2 drinks/day) is good •Active lifestyle

Ten medical myths explained and debunked.

Reading a significant other's subtle emotions is challenging for most couples. --- Chrystyna D. Kouros, Lauren M. Papp. Couples'Perceptions of Each Other's Daily Affect: Empathic Accuracy, Assumed Similarity, and Indirect Accuracy. Family Process, 2018; DOI: 10.1111/famp.12344

Wolfing down junk food and convenience store ultra-processed goodies is associated with a higher risk of cancer. --- Consumption of ultra-processed foods and cancer risk: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort; BMJ 2018; 360 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k322  

Eating fish with abundant omega-3 fatty acids is associated with a lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis. --- American Academy of Neurology. "Eating fish may betied to a reduced risk of MS: Study recommends justhow much fish may be beneficial." ScienceDaily.  ScienceDaily, 1 March 2018.

Premies thrive on parent-delivered care versus that from nurse teams. ---- O'Brien, KarelO'Brien, Karel et al.  Effectiveness of Family Integrated Care in neonatal intensive care units on infant and parent outcomes: a multicentre, multinational, cluster-randomised controlled trials The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health; https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(18)30039-7

Simple screening permits maintenance of bone strength and prevention of handicapping loss of mobility. --- Lee Shepstone, Elizabeth Lenaghan, Cyrus Cooper, etal. Screening in the community to reduce fractures in older women (SCOOP): a randomised controlled trial. The Lancet, 2017; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32640-5

Regular vigorous exercise improves lung function, particularly for current cigarette smokers. ----- Elaine Fuertes, Anne-Elie Carsin, Josep M Antó, et. al. Leisure-time vigorous physical activity is associated with better lung function: the prospective ECRHS study. Thorax, 2018; thoraxjnl-2017-210947 DOI: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2017-210947

Breast cancer survivors are at greater risk for heart and lung disease.  Careful monitoring is necessary. --- Laxmi S. Mehta, Karol E. Watson, Ana Barac, Theresa M. Beckie, etal. On behalf of the American Heart Association Cardiovascular Disease in Women and Special Populations Committee of the Council on Clinical Cardiology; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research; Cardiovascular Disease and Breast Cancer: Where These Entities Intersect: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association; Circulation. 2018;CIR.0000000000000556, originally published February 1, 2018; https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000556

30 minutes of an 80 minute edited program discussing use of computer programs about health, how to select a health club, Bell’s Palsy, dimples, shingles, biorhythms, prostate cancer, and metastatic breast cancer. The entire 80 minute program may be accessed on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/_fhj6-wberw  

Consistent use of the word "I" reveals negative emotionality. ---------- Allison M. Tackman, David A. Sbarra, Angela L. Carey, M. Brent Donnellan, Andrea B. Horn, Nicholas S. Holtzman, To'Meisha S. Edwards, James W. Pennebaker, Matthias R. Mehl. Depression, negative emotionality, and self-referential language: A multi-lab, multi-measure, and multi-language-task research synthesis.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2018; DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000187

Even repeated mild head trauma can lead to dementia, and it speeds the development of Alzheimers dementia.  Protect your brain! ------ Jeff Schaffert, Christian LoBue, Charles L. White, Hsueh-Sheng Chiang, Nyaz Didehbani, Laura Lacritz, Heidi Rossetti, Marisara Dieppa, John Hart, C. Munro Cullum. Traumatic Brain Injury History Is Associated With an Earlier Age of Dementia Onset in Autopsy-Confirmed Alzheimer’s Disease.. Neuropsychology, 2018; DOI: 10.1037/neu0000423

You can use the many over-the-counter allergy medications to treat your own seasonal and perennial environmental allergies.  The strategy is my IPA Gameplan.  Here’s how to use it. Video Podcast: http://bit.ly/2oqD4y6