Howard G. Smith, MD, AM
PENTA Medical Network
617-488-9699
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HealthNews RoundUp - 3rd Week of December 2022
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REPORTS
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Teens Having Weight Loss Surgery Suffer Post-op Alcoholism
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/VnCL9FxYkkI
By 8 years after adolescents undergo bariatric, weight loss, surgery, half of them have alcohol use disorders. Surgical investigators at Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital led a multi-center study of 217 subjects ages 13 through 19 years. Their data shows that, on average, these surgical patients develop an 8-fold increase in hazardous alcohol consumption and a 13-fold bump in alcohol-related problems. If your child is having or has had a gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy, be on the lookout for their possible overuse of alcohol and get them help pronto.
#obesity #bariatricsurgery #alcohol #alcoholism #gastrectomy #sleeveresection
#obesity, bariatricsurgery, alcohol, alcoholism, gastrectomy, sleeveresection
Walnuts Relieve College Stress
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/5wz74xiYFFc
University students who consumed half a cup of walnuts enjoyed significant improvements in their self-reported mental outlook. Investigators at the University of South Australia studied 80 undergrads with baseline assessments and updates during and after exam periods. Half the group ate walnuts for 16 weeks and half didn’t. The data demonstrated a protective effect of walnuts preventing stress-driven mood depression and the appearance of stress-related metabolic changes. Walnuts contain polyphenol antioxidants, sleep promoting melatonin, folate, and Vitamin E. This holiday season, you might just want to consider a gift of walnuts for your vacationing university students.
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/22/4776
#walnuts #college #stress #antioxidants #polyphenols #melatonin #sleep #depression
walnuts, college, stress, antioxidants, polyphenols, melatonin, sleep, depression
Children With Long CoVid Suffer Lasting Lung Damage
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/ZjiIH5EF2h8
Pre-teens who contract CoVid can lose half their their lung ventilation function as measured by the ventilation/perfusion ratio by 1 year following infection. A team of German radiologists and pediatricians studied 54 CoVid-infected kids 10-11 years of age half of whom had persisting CoVid symptoms and compared their lung functions with 9 healthy controls. The children’s V/Q ratio was measured at 6 months, 6 to 12 months, and more than 12 months after infection. In general, those kids with and without long CoVid had a 25% reduction in lung function during the first year following infection. Those with Long CoVid had double that deficit. Bottom line: children suffering CoVid require ongoing monitoring of their lung function.
https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.221250
#CoVid #pulmonary #vqratio #ventilationperfusionratio #longcovid
CoVid, pulmonary, vqratio, ventilationperfusionratio, longcovid
Electronic Nanny Use Is Problematic
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/3aG4NzOTVkI
Frequent use of electronic devices to distract and calm preschoolers seems to paradoxically lead to a greater incidence of sudden mood shifts and more impulsive behavior. So say University of Michigan pediatricians who studied 422 kids 3 to 5 years of age and their parents. This so-called emotional reactivity surge occurred more often in boys. The researchers also found that using tablets and smartphones for calming is also more problematic for children with a baseline higher level of hyperactivity and impulsiveness. To prevent this backfiring of electronic calming device use, select devices and apps that automatically time out and keep the child informed of their dwindling play time.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2799042
#calming #electronicnannies #tablets #smartphones #hyperactivity #impulsiveness
calming, electronicnannies, tablets, smartphones, hyperactivity, impulsiveness
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FUTURE MED
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Wearable Skin Patch Measures Hemoglobin
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/O3lUQSeRkFA
UC-San Diego have developed a skin patch that continually measures your oxygen-carrying hemoglobin not just in your skin but in deeper locations like your vital organs. The patch works by combining micro lasers and piezoelectric transducers that monitor the acoustic waves generate by the laser energy.
Too little hemoglobin as a measure of blood perfusion can indicate heart attack or extremity vascular disease. An overabundance of blood suggests bleeding or tumors including cancer. This same information is available with MRI imaging, but that requires large, non-mobile equipment and makes continuous monitoring awkward if not impossible.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35455-3
#hemoglobin #laser #piezoelectric #cancer #cardiovascular
hemoglobin, laser, piezoelectric, cancer, cardiovascular
Promising CoVid Brain Fog Treatment
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/Woc1Oxpt3-k
CoVid infections can gum up your intellectual functions resulting in problems thinking, making decisions, and remembers. Yale neuroscientists now announce that their small, preliminary study of 12 long-CoVid patients suggests that a 2 drug combo helps disperse CoVid brain fog, The alpha2A-adrenoceptor agonist guanfacine coupled with the anti-oxidant N-acetylcysteine improved patients’ working memories, abilities to concentrate and make decisions, and capacities to tackle their everyday jobs.
These drugs are already FDA-approved for treatment of traumatic brain injuries and PTSD and can be used off-label for CoVid brain fog.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-potential-treatment-brain-fog-covid.html
#brainfog #CoVid #longcovid #guanfacine #acetylcysteine #executivefunction #memory #cognitive
brainfog, CoVid, longcovid, guanfacine, acetylcysteine, executivefunction, memory, cognitive
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BUSINESS OF HEALTH
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Artificial Womb Facility To Open Someday
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/_bRmYpLoSn8
Germany’s Ectolife company has developed plans to grow custom-designed embryos for infertile couples, couples with familial genetic issues, and for women who have undergone surgical removal of their diseased uteruses. The company envisions a facility with multiple growth pods capable of incubating 30,000 healthy babies a year. The pods monitor all vital signs but also any potential genetic aberrations. Being a typical business, there will be various value-added packages including the ability to choose eye color, hair color, skin tone, strength, height, level of intelligence, and erasure of any familial genetic problems. Although the science upon which this undertaking is already established, a multitude of ethical hurdles must be overcome before such a facility can become a reality. How long will that take? At least a decade or close to 2 decades.
#ectolife #artificialwomb #geneticengineering #ethics
ectolife, artificialwomb, geneticengineering, ethics
Emailing Your Doctor Could Cost You
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/s3JZYBfE2xQ
Healthcare systems across the country are initiating fees for the email exchanges that you have with your doctor or medical team. Not every message will be billed, but those that dispense information similar to that you might receive during an office visit or a telehealth visit will incur charges. The cost to you depends upon your insurance but could be as much as $160 if you have no health insurance. Those on commercial insurance may incur a co-pay, maybe $20-$30, those on Medicare may get charged $3-$6, and those on Medicaid have no charges.
In defense of the medical establishment, the volume of email messages can be enormous. The medical teams at UC-San Francisco received about 900,000 emails in a year. With the new rules, about 13,000 of those emails would result in a charge. Thats only 1.4%.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-email-doctor.html
#email #patientquestions #healthinsurance #medicalgroups #medicare #medicaid #commercialinsurance
email, patientquestions, healthinsurance, medicalgroups, medicare, medicaid, commercialinsurance