Howard G. Smith, MD, AM
PENTA Medical Network
+1-617-488-9699
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RoundUp - 4th Week of February 2026
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HEALTH REPORTS
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Vegan Diet Reduces Diabetics’ Insulin Need
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVMfya2jeMp/
Insulin-dependent Type 1 diabetics cut their daily insulin requirement by consuming a low-fat vegan diet. This the finding of a new study from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine published in the journal BMC Nutrition.
The study analyzed data from 58 type 1 diabetics randomly assigned to consume either a vegan or a portion-controlled diet. Those on the vegan diet required 28% less insulin than usual while the control group experienced no benefit. The vegan diet cut the insulin need by 12 units per day with a 27% savings.
Those on vegan diet experienced other benefits. They lost 11 pounds on average over the 3 months and clocked cholesterol as well as kidney functional improvements. They researchers speculate that these benefits are due to improved insulin sensitivity.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260212234212.htm
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40795-025-01175-2
#diabetes #insulin #vegan #dieting
diabetes, insulin, vegan, dieting
Ditching Physical Therapy All Too Common
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVMgF3-Diz3/
Three out of four surgical patients admit they don’t complete their prescribed physical therapy homework. Problem is: that omission stalls their recovery. That’s according to data from a SSRS probability-based national survey analyzed by rehabilitation specialists at the Ohio State University.
The survey of 1,006 U.S. adults with prescribed therapy shows that only 24% complete all of their assigned at-home physical therapy exercises. Another 28% complete 75–99% of the exercises, 27% complete 50–74%, 11% complete 25–49%, 8% complete only 1–25%, and 2 percent skip all therapeutic exercise.
Age mades a difference: 30% of adults 65 and older complete all assignments compared with just 12% of adults under 30. The most common reasons for skipping exercises? Forgetting — according to 40%. Another 33% blame lack of time, while 22% call the exercises boring or repetitive.
Physical therapists emphasize that the 1 to 3 hours spent weekly in clinic isn’t, on its own, sufficient to speed and complete recovery. That requires consistent daily movement and strength-building at home. Skipping exercises delays healing, prolongs pain, and even jeopardizes optimal surgical outcomes.
#physicaltherapy #rehabilitation #homeexercise #surgery
physicaltherapy, rehabilitation, homeexercise, surgery
Sugary Drinks Agitate Teens
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVMgWsMmDEm/
Sugary drinks are linked to higher anxiety levels in teens and twenty somethings. That’s the finding from food science researchers at Britain’s Bournemouth University published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.
Their meta-analysis of 9 on-point studies collectively studying thousands of adolescents demonstrates that higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is consistently associated with a 34% greater risk of experiencing anxiety symptoms. The beverages studied included carbonated drinks, energy drinks, sweetened teas and coffees, sugary juices, and flavored milks.
One in every 5 Americans experiences an anxiety disorder. If that person is you or your teen and you or they love drinking any of the drinks I just mentioned, know that the tendencies to worry, panic, or experience distress could originate in that liquid you or they love to swallow.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jhn.70217
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-sugary-linked-anxiety-young-people.html
#sugar #anxiety #teens #twentysomethings
sugar, anxiety, teens, twentysomethings
Girls Experience Autism Spectrum Disorders As Often As Boys
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVMgqu8jx5R/
Autism is considered a condition that mostly affects boys. A new Swedish study concludes that, by early adulthood, autism diagnoses in males and females are nearly equal. This research now appears in The British Medical Journal.
This observational study tracked 2.7 million Swedes born between 1985 and 2022 and followed for up to 37 years. For males, the highest autism diagnosis rate occurs between ages 10 and 14 years. For females, the peak appears later between ages 15 to 19. By age 20, the male-female diagnosis rate is about equal. And that is a far cry from the long-accepted 4-to-1 ratio reported in earlier childhood-based studies.
These findings suggest that autism spectrum disorders may be under-recognized and under-diagnosed in girls during childhood rather than less common. Other research suggests that girls are better able than boys to mask social difficulties leading to the delayed diagnosis. Apparently, autism in females presents differently than in males and may not be identified until adolescence or adulthood. Earlier recognition could reduce mistaken diagnoses of anxiety, mood, or personality disorders.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41638711/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260210082921.htm
#autism #asd #girls #boys
autism, asd, girls, boys
Studying Gas-Passing
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVMg57wD-s3/
Medical science has reached a new height. We now have the first wearable device that can actually measure human flatulence, farts, in real time. The research fartologists are actually University of Maryland cell and molecular biologists who now publish their gaseous findings in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
Their study tested “smart underwear” with a wearable sensor that measures the hydrogen gas produced by bacterial fermentation in the gut. Farts also contain an abundance of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, but these are provided by swallowed air and not generated in the gastrointestinal tract.
In the 19 healthy adult subjects who wore the smart underwear about 11 hours a day for one week, researchers found flatulence occurs on average about 32 times per day. Individual variation was wide from as few as 4 events to as many as 59 per day. Compare this finding with older medical estimates of about 14 farts per day plus or minus. The device demonstrated 94.7% sensitivity in detecting increased hydrogen production after participants ate inulin, a prebiotic fiber known to stimulate the production of gut bacteria.
This precise gas monitoring won’t cure cancer, but it is possible that a gastrointestinal cancer may have a very specific flatulence signature. This technology will help establish a normal baseline for flatulence, something that has never existed before. Because the hydrogen in flatus is produced by gut bacteria, these measurements will provide insight into the effects of diet and microbiome activity on many digestive disorders.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590137025001268
#flatulence #farts #gastrointestinal
flatulence, farts, gastrointestinal
A Wrist Alert For Impending Depression
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVMhLW0DgZa/
A simple wrist-worn wearable device predicts when depression could hit, and it does so weeks to months before symptoms appear. That’s according to psychiatrists at McMaster University, with findings published in JAMA Psychiatry.
Their study followed 93 Canadian adults with histories of major depression. Each wore an actigraphy-based wrist device, similar to a fitness tracker, for one to two years, generating more than 32,000 days of movement data during sleep and daytime activity.
Those with irregular sleep patterns have nearly twice the risk of a significant depressive relapse. The strongest warning signal is a movement similarity between daytime activity and sleep. Other good predictors are increased wakefulness as well as progressively more erratic sleep schedules prior to relapse episodes.
This data suggests that a depression relapse is preceded by subtle biological and behavioral changes rather than sudden mood shifts. Passive monitoring of sleep and movement could alert both patients and their mental health team sthat their depression risk is rising resulting in earlier intervention.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2844602
#depression #wearable #sleep #activity
depression, wearable, sleep, activity
Exercise Wards Off Dementia
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVMhbjwkUaq/
Exercise protects your brain from Alzheimer’s dementia by strengthening your brain’s natural defense mechanisms. That’s the finding of a collaborative preclinical study by neuroscientists at University of California San Francisco and Duke University. The results are published in the journal Cell.
Using aging mice the equivalent of 70 human years, the researchers demonstrate that physical activity stimulates the liver to release an enzyme called GPLD1 that strengthens the blood-brain barrier. This prevents the normal pattern where this barrier normally becomes more permeable with age permitting heightened brain inflammation and deterioration in cognition.
These results are promising and, hopefully, will be duplicated in human clinical trials. In any event, regular physical activity is already known to support general cardiovascular and neurologic health and should be a part of your day..
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260219040752.htm
#exercise #dementia #alzheimers #bloodbrainbarrier
exercise, dementia, alzheimers, bloodbrainbarrier
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FUTURE MED
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Helping Spinal Cords Heal
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVMhrgcjtgO/
Neuroscientists at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center report that the neural support cell, the astrocyte, plays a crucial role in spinal cord healing following injury. The publish their preclinical mouse study in the journal Nature.
The astrocyte senses a cord injury whether near or far and releases a protein signal known as CCN1. CCN1 then activates the nervous system’s vacuum cleaner, the microglial cell, which effectively digests post-injury fatty debris left when damaged nerve sheaths deteriorate. If this debris remains, it can inhibit proper healing and functional return.
These mouse experiments demonstrate that, when the CCN1 signal is active, debris is cleared more efficiently and healing improves. When CCN1 is removed, debris builds up, inflammation spreads, and recovery is worse.
These same repair signals and the processes they activate are also seen in human spinal cord tissue. This opens the door for a biochemical enhancement of spinal cord healing that will yield more normal function……someday soon.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260212234218.htm
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09887-y
#spinalcord #injury #astrocyte #ccn1
spinalcord, injury, astrocyte, ccn1
Mini Lab-Grown Spinal Cords Test Repair Therapy
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVMh-JLjONk/
Regenerative nanomedicine researchers now report the successful regrowth of spinal cord nerve fibers while minimizing the interference of scar tissue. This from Northwestern University and published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
Investigators there engineered millimeter-scale human spinal cord organoids from stem cells and incorporated in them functional neurons. They added astrocytes and microglial immune cells in order to study repair and inflammatory processes. Using this model, the team studied two types of traumatic injury models: a laceration injury and a compression injury.
Batches of these damaged mini spinal cord organoids were treated with two types of therapeutic peptides; fast-moving supramolecules; and slower-moving versions containing the same biological signals. The slow movers drive neural regeneration while the fast movers stifle excess inflammation.
The results are striking: the treated mini-spinal cords show substantial neural regeneration with nerve extension regrowth and the notable absence of glial scar tissue. These peptide agents had shown remarkable benefits in prior animal studies. A single injection given 24 hours after severe injury enabled mice to walk again within four weeks. This lab-grown spinal cord model demonstrates the reason for this success.
Spinal cord injuries cause permanent paralysis because scar tissue blocks effective nerve regrowth. Using lab-grown mini-spinal cord tissue, this study shows that molecular therapy can reduce inflammation, shrink scar tissue, and trigger functional nerve growth. Once these techniques are refined and subjected to clinical trials, the possibility of restoring limb use after otherwise devastating spinal cord injuries could come…..someday soon.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260216044003.htm
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-025-01606-2
#spinalcord #paraplegia #quadraplegia #peptides #organoids
spinalcord, paraplegia, quadraplegia, peptides, organoids
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WARNINGS
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More Lung Cancer In Never Smokers
Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVMiQvSjXbc/
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the US. This cancer is on the rise among people who have never smoked, and more women than men are affected. It’s a distinct disease that demands its own screening strategy. That’s the warning from investigators at University College London, published in the journal Trends in Cancer.
Their concern stems from a meta-analysis of major global cancer datasets and prior screening trials. Heightened risk involve a combination of genetics, gender, family history, air pollution, radon or radiation exposure, and second hand smoke. This latter exposure increases lung cancer risk for these non-smokers by approximately 20 to 25 percent.
Diagnosing and treating lung cancer early enough to prevent mortality requires screening. In the case of heavy smokers, CT lung imaging yields a 20 percent reduction in mortality, but never-smokers typically do not qualify for this screening study under current guidelines.
The bottom line: never smokers, and that is now close to 90% of us, should undergo periodic lung imaging if there is an adverse genetic marker such as EGFR mutations, a strong family history, a history of air pollution exposure including exposure to second hand smoke, or documented radon exposure. Ask your medical team to see if you qualify and then get the imaging.
https://www.cell.com/trends/cancer/fulltext/S2405-8033(25)00315-2
#cancer #lung #smoking #pollution #screening
cancer, lung, smoking, pollution, screening