Howard G. Smith, MD, AM
PENTA Medical Network
617-488-9699
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HealthNews RoundUp - 3rd Week of January 2023
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REPORTS
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Eating Mediterranean Style Makes All Genders More Fertile
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/XjpWoP5PkX4
The Mediterranean diet, rich in healthy fats and anti-inflammatory nutrients but devoid of red and processed meats fights the inflammation that degrades menstrual regularity, embryo implantation, and sperm quality.
Australian public health researchers extoll the virtues of the Med diet in an excellent review appearing in the journal Nutrients. The level of body inflammation, as measured by levels of circulating C-Reactive Protein or CRP, is inversely proportional to the success of both natural reproduction and in vitro fertilization. The Med Diet is one of several ani-inflammatory diets which include the Healthy Nordic Diet and the Okinawan Diet. All of these feature monounsaturated fats, flavonoids, Vitamins C and E, and polyphenols.
What are these diet’s benefits? Consuming these healthy diets seems to improve egg and embryo quality, implantation success, and successful gestations though not all studies confirm these benefits. On the male side, anti-inflammatory diets compared with Western diets high in fat, sugar, and red meat improve sperm count and concentration as well as sperm membrane composition.
Bottom line: if you’re a couple trying to get pregnant, consider the MedDiet.
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/19/3914
#pregnancy #fertility #mediterraneandiet #inflammation #westerndiet
pregnancy, fertility, mediterraneandiet, inflammation, westerndiet
Women’s Hygiene Products Trigger Preterm Births
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/RPF8j9SV70Y
Chemicals frequently found in women’s personal hygiene products, are closely associated with preterm birth. Columbia Medical Center systems biologists report this finding after analyzing vaginal fluid samples from 232 women in their 2nd trimesters. Thirty-four percent or 80 of the group went on the suffer preterm births.
Using mass spectrometry techniques, the investigators identified some 635 chemicals. Four of them in particular, diethanolamine, DEA, ethyl betaglucoside, tartrate, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, EDTA, were closely associated with preterm births. These chemicals are all found in women’s personal hygiene and cosmetic products.
Pregnant women should avoid use of personal hygiene products, minimize use of cosmetics, and beware of all home and workplace chemicals.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-022-01293-8
#preterm #hygiene #DEA #EDTA #ethylbetaglucoside #pregnancy #womenshealth
preterm, hygiene, DEA, EDTA, ethylbetaglucoside, pregnancy, womenshealth
Nearly One in Four Hospitalized Patients Suffer Harm
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/KrBb0JCMGkw
A Harvard Medical study analyzed 2808 hospital admissions to 11 Massachusetts hospitals during 2018.
The data showed that, of the 24% of admitted patients suffering injuries, 32% were serious leading to substantial intervention and prolonged recovery. Furthermore, 23% of the incidents were preventable. The most common causes these episodes were medication-related events in 39%, surgical incidents in 30%, general patient care issues such as falls and pressure sores in 15%, and preventable infections in 12%.
Hospitals do perform miracles but they can be dangerous places. How to avoid the disasters? You and your family and friends, acting as advocates for you, need to be on lookout for things that just don’t seem right. When problems surface, speak up and demand action from your medical teams and the administrators in charge using the hospital ombudsman.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMsa2206117
#hospital #injuries #safety #adverseevents #advocacy
hospital, injuries, safety, adverseevents, advocacy
Politics Can Be Sickening
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/8OLlvO8kSOw
Do you develop headaches, become anxious, and feel depressed as you watch the news and digest the political commentary on cable channels? You’re not alone.
Psychologists from the University of Toronto in collaboration with NYU epidemiologists studied 3,208 Americans in 4 different studies as they observed US politics on broadcast and social media. Participants felt some negative emotions on 81% of days and stronger negativity on 45% of days. To protect themselves, Americans attempted distraction on 80% of days and emotional suppression on 70% of days.
When politics and political wars are sickening you, shut off Fox News and MSNBC, read a good book, or watch a heart-warming drama or side-splitting comedy.
https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/psp-pspa0000335.pdf
#politics #stress #distraction #anxiety #depression
politics, stress, distraction, anxiety, depression
Cyclic Sighing Beats Meditation For Stress Control
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/WN8jgIPJ1qE
Breathing with prolonged exhalation beats other breathing techniques as well as mindless meditation for elevating your mood and extinguishing anxiety. Stanford University neurobiologists and psychologists studied 108 persons with a mean age of 28 years. Two-thirds were females.
Four techniques were tested by each of 4 groups for 5 minutes each day for 28 days. The Cyclic Sighing group respired with a prolonged exhalation pattern taking twice as long to expel air as inhale it. The Box Breathing group breathed with inhalation and exhalation phases of equal duration. The Cyclic Hyperventilation group performed 30 in and out breaths followed by a 15 second pause with empty lungs. The Mindful Meditation group closed eyes and concentrated on their foreheads keeping other thoughts out of their minds.
While all of those pursuing controlled breathing showed better mood improvement than those meditating, the cyclic sighing group had the most mood elevation and anxiety suppression. The next time you need a pick-me-up, consider closing your eyes and breathing in normally but taking twice as long to exhale.
#breathing #cyclicsighing #medication #stress #anxiety
breathing, cyclicsighing, medication, stress, anxiety
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FUTURE MED
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Stopping Breast Cancer Spread
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/HJqsTYYKtI0
Breast cancer cells break off from a primary tumor, penetrate blood vessels to reach the bloodstream highway that takes them to distant organs, and thereby metastasize. Israeli researchers have already identified the cellular “drills” that facilitate this penetration and named them invadopodia. Now they announce discovery of a peptide protein that blocks invadopodia formation by mimicking the natural protein Pyk2 and blocks its interaction with the coractin protein necessary for invadopodia formation. Now they work on perfecting this coractin-blocking protein into a clinical drug.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41388-022-02481-w
#breastcancer #metastasis #invadopodia #pyk2 #coractin
breastcancer, metastasis, invadopodia, pyk2, coractin
Anti-CoVid Nasal Spray
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/uGkZdBEn-u4
From Johns Hopkins biomolecular engineers comes a new type of nasal spray capable of preventing Covid’s entry into the body. The special sauce in the spray are so-called supramolecular filaments bearing ACE2 receptors biologically similar to those to which CoVid attaches to make entry into human cells. The spray coats the nasal lining cells through which CoVid attempts to enter our bodies and capably prevents that invasion. Some ancillary good news: this type of spray can also prevent influenza.
#CoVid #nasalsprauy #filaments #ace2 #influenza
CoVid, nasalsprauy, filaments, ace2, influenza
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BUSINESS OF HEALTH
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Gene Therapy For Bladder Cancer
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/gErB1wj_36w
Localized bladder cancer that has not invaded the bladder muscle is often treated with tumor removal followed by topical chemotherapy or passive immunotherapy. Now, the FDA has just improved gene bladder cancer therapy offered by Ferring Pharmaceuticals. And its FerGene spinoff. The therapy, to be marketed under the Adstiladrin brand, uses an adenovirus carrier to introduce a gene into bladder lining cells that turns them into micro-factories capable of cranking out the cancer cell killer interferon-alpha-2b.
#genetherapy #bladdercancer #ferring #interferonalpha2b #fda
genetherapy, bladdercancer, ferring, interferonalpha2b, fda
A Personalized mRNA Melanoma Vaccine
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/_bmcDkp7_5Q
The skin cancer melanoma is a vicious disease that metastasizes and kills. Moderna, the CoVid mRNA vaccine company, has now partnered with Merck, the maker of the checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda, to create a novel immunotherapeutic regimen that cuts the risk of Stage 3/4 melanoma recurrence or death by 44%. This impressive result was demonstrated in a Phase 2 study headed by NYU oncologist Jeffrey Weber, MD, PhD. Moderna’s mRNA melanoma vaccine is individualized for each patient. It contains mRNA that codes for the patients own tumor proteins. The vaccine then stimulates a vigorous immune response to a patient’s own melanoma while the checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda blocks the melanoma’s attempts to thwart a vigorous immune attack.
#melanoma #vaccine #checkpointinhibitor #moderna #merck #immunotherapy
melanoma, vaccine, checkpointinhibitor, moderna, merck, immunotherapy
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CPSC Recalls
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FDA Recalls
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Artificial Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate Products Have The Real Thing
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/sOZIhv2dQwg
The FDA and Corim Industries are recalling Cocoa de Aroma, Smart Sips, Jersey Charm, and Colonial Coffee peanut butter hot chocolate products. These products normally have peanut butter artificial flavoring. Batches of these products unfortunately have real peanut butter contamination. Those with peanut allergies could develop serious and life-threatening allergic reactions should they ingest these products. Affected are only those batches with Best By dates between January 11, 2023 and January 11, 2025. If you bought these products, return them to the place of purchase for a refund. For additional information, call Corim at 1-732-840-1670.
#corim #peanutbutter #hotchocolate #allergies #recall
corim, peanutbutter, hotchocolate, allergies,recall
Fullei Fresh Alfalfa Sprouts Carry E.coli
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/Gd4x-zJ_rCI
The FDA and Fullei Fresh are recalling the company’s alfalfa sprouts. These sprouts are contaminated with Shiga toxin-producing E.coli. This bacterium produces a serious and dangerous gastroenteritis for young children, older persons, and those with weak immune systems. Healthy adults and older children experience more muted symptoms. The affected lot is #336. The sprouts were sold in Florida between December 9th and 23rd 2022. If you purchased this product, do not consume it. Dispose of it. For more information and any refunds, contact Fullei Fresh by phone at 1-305-758-3880 or by email at sales@fulleifresh.com.
#alfalfasprouts #ecoli #gastroenteritis #infection #recall
alfalfasprouts, ecoli, gastroenteritis, infection, recall