Howard G. Smith, MD, AM
PENTA Medical Network
617-488-9699
If the top menu is not working correctly on your phone's or tablet's mobile browser, touch the tab at the middle of the bottom to reveal an alternative menu, a one-touch phone button, and a one-touch email button.
HealthNews RoundUp - 4th Week of September 2022
==========================
REPORTS
==========================
Bad Dreams Linked To Later Dementia
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/fVqQK_LKH1g
If you experience nightmares during middle age, you are about 4 times more likely to develop dementia as you age. Neurologic researchers from Britain’s University of Birmingham studied 605 adults aged 44 to 57 years who were followed up for as long as 13 years with cognitive testing.
The analysis also showed that this tendency toward dementia was more prominent in men than in women. The men having nightmare-disrupted sleep were nearly 5 times more likely to suffer eventual dementia while women with similar nighttime scares were only 41% more likely.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(22)00370-4/fulltext
#nightmares #dementia
nightmares, dementia
Child Melatonin Poisonings On The Rise
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/0yFhcPGxbJQ
Over the past decade, the numbers of melatonin poisonings in children and adolescents have soared more than 5-fold. As of 2020, melatonin was the most frequently ingested substance by children.
These are just 2 of the startling findings by a CDC study that reviewed cases between 2012 and 2021. Also during the same time span, 4,000 children required hospitalizations and 287 landed in the intensive care unit for melatonin overdoses.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises against self-medicating your kids when they won’t waft off to dreamland. More effective is a regular bedtime and waking schedule and the elimination of excess screentime as well as blue light during the evening hours.
#melatonin #sleep #overdose #insomnia
melatonin, sleep, overdose, insomnia
CoVid Infection Bumps Up Alzheimer’s Risk
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/zHa_PchIJ7s
Those over age 65 have a 69% higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia by one year after a CoVid infection of any severity. This the conclusion of a Case Western Reserve retrospective cohort study of more than 6.2 million older adults.
The relative risk of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis rises with age from 59% for those 65 to 74 to 69% for those 75 to 84 and up to 89% for those 85 years and over. The over risk is higher for older women at 82% than older men at 50%. The Alzheimer’s risk if higher for both Black and White elders at about 61-62% than for Hispanics at only 25%.
The bottom line: the risk of dementia is yet another reason to avoid EVER contracting CoVid. You achieve that goal by vaccination, selective masking, and safe dining practices.
https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad220717
#CoVid #alzheimers #dementia #vaccination #masking
CoVid, alzheimers, dementia, vaccination, masking
Long CoVid Update
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/mlNLAfkg9yQ
About 7.3% of all Americans are suffering from Long CoVid.
This according to a City University of New York-Cornell Medical population-representative study of 2,042 US adults.
A full one-quarter of those who confirmed that they have Long CoVid report the disease is having a significant negative impact on their day-to-day activities and work. Long CoVid was more prevalent in females than males, in those with comorbidties, and in those who were not vaccinated or boosted.
Take home point: get vaccinated and boosted and do all you can do to avoid contracting CoVid.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.09.12.22279862v1.full.pdf
#CoVid #longcovid #women #vaccination #boosting
CoVid, longcovid, women, vaccination, boosting
Pomegranates Kill Your Appetite While Saving You
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/7SQvxkPnuZM
You’ve no doubt heard that pomegranates are chock full of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and those cancer-killing antioxidants. A Scottish study now adds appetite-suppression to the pomegranate’s beneficial powers.
Twenty-eight subjects with a mean age of 35 years were randomized to receive a 3 week priming course of pomegranate extract or a placebo. On the test day, the test subjects and controls all consumed a breakfast and lunch also with pom juice. Those subjects who had the pom prime over the previous 3 weeks, felt fuller, more satiated, and, later, less hungry than the group without a pom prime and only pom juice at the meals.
Regular pomegranate juice will likely keep you healthy, in part, because it may kill your appetite and keep you at a healthy weight.
https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/11/17/2639
#pomegranate #satiation #obesity #antioxidant
pomegranate, satiation, obesity, antioxidant
Walk Your Baby To Sleep
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/B1fm8Emghm4
Walking with your crying baby will induce calm and promote sleep better than merely sitting and holding the child. Japanese social scientists report this conclusion after studying the responses of 21 infants as their moms tried to calm them and induce their sleep by either walking them, sitting with them, or placing them in a crib with or without rocking.
Walking the babies calmed them and induced slower heart rates within 30 seconds, and the effects worked best when the holding and walking continued for 5 minutes. Almost half the babies fell asleep. Problem is, if the baby is laid down in the crib or bassinet after the 5 minutes, one-third awaken. By holding the babe for another 8 minutes after the 5 minute walk, they will fall asleep and stay that way.
#infants #sleep #parenting #walking #5to8
infants, sleep, parenting, walking, 5to8
=====================
FUTURE MED
=====================
Mask Detects Viruses You Might Breathe
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/xkvyybF93Gc
Chinese researchers have developed a wearable in a mask format that detects CoVid and influenza viruses in the air around you. Ion gel-gated sensors, mounted on the facemark, sensitively measure the presence of viral proteins that they contact. They produce a signal that is amplified and wirelessly transmitted to a smartphone to warn the mask wearer. If such detector masks can be commercially produced, you may someday be warned in real time to beat a hasty exit from a space that is polluted with potential disease.
https://www.cell.com/matter/fulltext/S2590-2385(22)00477-5#%20
#virus #wearables #mask #CoVid #influenza
virus, wearables, mask, CoVid, influenza
Blood Test Detects Tough To Diagnose Cancers
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/AeWBdbS5mgY
The quantitative measurement of cell-free DNA methylation patterns, the so-called Gallieri test, offers real promise as a screen for cancers that currently popup unannounced and kill way too many of us. These include cancers in the liver, small intestine, uterus, pancreas, bone, bile ducts, lung, ovary, as well as lymphomas and plasma cell myelomas.
The test was evaluated in over 6600 persons and it detected 99.5% of all cancers. The bad news is that this diagnostic procedure currently has a 30% false positive rate. It blows the whistle too often and leads to many unnecessary biopsies and tests. Nonetheless, further refinement of the process should improve the test specificity and allow the detection of many now deadly cancers at earlier stages when medical and surgical therapy can effectively eradicate them.
#gallieri #dnamethylation #cancer #pancrea #liver #ovary #uterus
gallieri, dnamethylation, cancer, pancrea, liver, ovary, uterus
Blood Test Predicts Severe CoVid
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/kRgzAcvwbX4
A new gene assay called CovGENE predicts whether a CoVid-infected person will develop a severe, life-threatening case more than 90% of the time. University of Virginia investigators performed genetic analyses on 39 of their own patients and used analyses carried out on 100 patients at 2 other medical centers.
CoVid patients with severe respiratory failure showed a characteristic genetic immune cell signature that correlated with worse clinical outcomes. The CovGENE developer, AMPEL Biosolutions, is now seeking to partner with a diagnostic test company to develop their technology into a simple PCR type test.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.989556/full
#CoVid #covgene #ahrf
CoVid #covgene, ahrf
=====================
BUSINESS
=====================
Abbott’s Left Ventricular Assist Device Grants 5 More Years To Heart Failure Patients
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/-wEP9j8wqrU
When the heart muscle begins to wear out and lose its life-supporting function but a transplant is not available or appropriate, an assist from a prosthetic pump is the only option to save a patient. Abbott’s HeartMate 3 implantable pump has now been shown in the MOMENTUM 3 study of more than 1000 patients to effectively pump blood while not damaging it, a common complication of other models. The HeartMate’s white glove blood handling and avoidance of stroke-producing blood clots is the result of using of magnetic forces to suspend the pump’s rotor. The result: 58% of patients using the pump live 5 years or more.
#heartfailure #abbott #lvad #stroke #clots
heartfailure, abbott, lvad, stroke, clots
Breathalyzer CoVid Diagnosis
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/r2Op7LBY5h8
An international collaborative research group has demonstrated that a commercially-available breathalyzer, the TERA.Bio system, can diagnose CoVid. It does so by detecting the spectral signature of CoVid19-specifiic volatile organic compounds in the exhaled breaths of the infected.
Testing a group of 70 CoVid-infected and 700 uninfected persons, the breathalyzer test achieved 92.6% sensitivity and 96% specificity when compared with the gold standard PCR test. Additional studies are continuing to study the validity and usefulness of the test for screening the asymptomatic. Stay tuned.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0273506
#CoVid #breathalyzer #diagnosis #vocs #pcr
CoVid, breathalyzer, diagnosis, vocs, pcr
Mail Order Pharmacy Saves Buck$
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/pKozJBDZ12E
There is so many “middleman” costs in today’s US health care system, at least one startup is succeeding by offering consumers FDA-approved generic pharmaceuticals at out-of-pocket prices as low or lower than those offered by their health insurance companies as copays. The online pharmacy DiRx, based in East Brunswick NJ, buys drugs directly from manufacturers and passes on the savings to the consumer. Prescriptions from your doctor are needed, but the company accepts payment by credit card and health savings accounts. DiRx provides timely shipping by first class mail or private parcel companies.
https://www.dirxhealth.com/homepage
#pharmacy #dirx #prescriptions
pharmacy, dirx, prescriptions
==========================
CPSC Recalls
==========================
Cityscape Travel Jogger Strollers Have Faulty Parking Brakes
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/5iI5xYhDPdk
The CPSC and Baby Trend have recalled Cityscape Travel Jogger Strollers, Model TJ75B12A. The parking brakes on these strollers may fail and create fall and injury hazards for the children riding within. About 310 of these strollers were sold online at Amazon.com and Babytrend.com. The affected lot # is 111444 0122 with a date of manufacture of 10/28/2020. Immediately discontinue use of these recalled strollers. You should be receiving a communication from Amazon or Baby Trend with instructions about how to return the unit for either a full refund or a $175 e-voucher for use at the BabyTrend online store. If you do not receive such a communication or if you require additional information, contact Baby Trend at 1-800-328-7363 or via e-mail at info@babytrend.com.
#babytrend #stroller #brake fall #injury #recall
babytrend, stroller, brake fall, injury, recall
Cervelo Bicycles and Replacement Stems Have Dangerous Steering
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/uN8nVGUGIgU
The CPSC and Cervélo have revealed model Year 2022 Cervélo R5 and Caledonia-5 bicycles and Cervélo ST31 LT replacement stems. The bicycle handlebars may slip in the stem creating loss of steering control, falls, and injuries to the rider as well as to bystanders. About 1800 bicycles an 182 stems were sold in the US and about 243 bicycles were sold in Canada. Stop use of these recalled bicycle models or other bicycles with the replacement stems installed. Contact your Cervélo dealer for a free repair. For additional information, call Cervelo at 1-833-416-8605or via the email ST31LTRecallSupport@cervelo.com.
#Cervélo #handlebars #steering #stems #falls #injuries #recall
Cervélo, handlebars, steering, stems, falls, injuries, recall
Thyssenkrupp Residential Elevators Have Entrapment Hazards
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/6WzEbRNZ6tk
The CPSC just settled their lawsuit with the Thyssenkrupp Access Solutions Corp. forcing the company to recall a series of their residential elevators including Chaparral, Destiny, LEV, LEV II, LEV II Builder, Rise, Volant, Windsor, Independence, and Flexi-Lift models manufactured and sold to dealers for installation in homes between approximately 1996 and 2012. The space between the exterior shaft doors and the elevator car doors is overly wide permitting entrapment of children with serious injury or death as the elevator moves floor to floor. About 16,800 elevators are implicated. If you have one of these elevators in your home, immediately stop using it and contact TKA at 1-800-285-9862 for a free inspection and installation of a space safety guard.
#thyssenkrup #elevator #entrapment #injury #death #recall
thyssenkrup, elevator, entrapment, injury, death #recall
Multiple Murphy Beds May Detach And Crush The Unsuspecting
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/4vDBh6929Wk
The CPSC and Cyme Tech have recalled Ivy Bronx, Orren Ellis, Stellar Home Furniture, and Wade Logan branded Murphy Beds. These beds may suddenly detach from the walls to which they are attached and fall onto those near the bed causing serious crush injuries or worse. About 8200 of these Murphy beds were sold online on the respective websites of Wayfair, AllModern, Amazon, Cymax, Overstock and Wal-Mart. Stop using these Murphy beds and do not pass near them. Contact Cyme Tech at 1-833-408-0501 or via email at murphybed@realtimeresults.net to arrange for a free inspection and repair of the bed.
#murphybed #walldetechment #crush #injuries #recall
murphybed, walldetechment, crush, injuries, recall
Tethrd One Stick GEN 2 Climbing Sticks May Fracture
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/NO3Y35GoOcc
The CPSC and Tethrd have recalled Tethrd One Stick GEN 2 Climbing Sticks. While in use, these climbing sticks may crack permitting their users to fall and sustain injuries. The defective sticks have serial numbers ranging from THSP-TONE-010000 to THSP-TONE-017749. About 7700 of these walking sticks were sold online at www.tethrdnation.com. Stop relying on these walking sticks and contact Tethrd collect at 1-612-643-9331 or via the email testing@tethrdnation.com for instructions about how to return your stick or sticks for inspection, testing, and possible replacement.
#tethrd #walkingstick #fracture #falls #injuries #recall
tethrd, walkingstick, fracture, falls, injuries, recall
Roots & Harvest Wide Mouth Pint Canning Jars Contain Glass Shards
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/BtMeHsErgpQ
The CPSC and the LEM Company have recalled Roots & Harvest Wide Mouth Pint Canning Jars. Glass fragments have been found in these jars creating laceration hazards to the lips, oral linings, and the linings of of the gastrointestinal and the respiratory systems. About 15,900 of these jars were sold at Orscheln Farm & Home stores in the Midwest. Stop using these jars and contact LEM at 1-877-536-7763 for via email at connectwithus@rootsandharvest.com to receive prepaid shipping materials and labels in order to return the jars for replacement or refund.
#rootsandharvest #canningjars #foreignbodies #glass #lacerations #mouth #gastrointestinal #recall
rootsandharvest, canningjars, foreignbodies, glass, lacerations, mouth, gastrointestinal, recall
Children’s HearMuffs Powered Earphones Come with Leaky Batteries
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/YlNJeEBiY8Q
The CPSC and Lucid Audio have recalled Children’s HearMuffs sound compression earphones. The triple-A batteries included with these powered headphones may rupture and create ear, projectile, and/or burn injuries. About 31,150 of these earphones were sold Sam’s Club, Kroger and other stores nationwide and online at www.samsclub.com and www.kroger.com Sam’s Club, Kroger and other stores nationwide and online at samsclub.com and kroger.com. This recall only involves the following models of children’s powered HearMuffs: LA-infant-AM-WH; LA-infant-ASM-WH; LA-infant-ASM-WHPlus; and LA-kids-AM-WH. Stop allowing your child to use these headphones and contact Lucid Technology at 1-833-408-0479 to receive two new, safe triple-A batteries free of charge.
#hearmuffs #batteries #noisecancellation #children #injury #burns #recall
hearmuffs, batteries, noisecancellation, children, injury, burns, recall
==========================
FDA Recalls
==========================
Family Dollar Health Products Were Improperly Stored
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/g_8AP5QPuyw
The FDA and the Family Dollar company are recalling a large group of multiply-branded Family Dollar over-the-counter health products due to improper storage at temperatures that could negatively affect their accuracy, safety, and utility. The following products are affected: ClearBlue and Veriquick Pregnancy Tests; condoms including Skyn Non-Latex, Trojan, and Lifestyles; First Response Kits; At Home Marijuana Test Strips; Clear Eyes Contact Lens Drops; Biotru Multipurpose Solution; saline including GS and Simply Saline; KY Jelly; Optifree Replenish and Disinfecting solutions; Curad firstaid bandages and kit; and dental products including Colgate, Dentemp, GS, Fixodent, and Polygrip. This recall involves all Family Dollar stores EXCEPT those in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Alaska, or Hawaii. Don’t use these products and return them to the place of purchase for a refund or replacement. For more information, contact Family Dollar Customer Service at 1-844-636-7687.
#familydollar #thermaldamage #pregnancytests #condoms #firstaid #dental #recall
familydollar, thermaldamage, pregnancytests, condoms, firstaid, dental, recall
ANKUR Golden Raisins Contain Sulfites
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/eayXVTWYRQ8
The FDA and “ANKUR” Muktanand Foods Inc. are recalling ANKUR Golden Raisins in 14 oz. packages. This product contains undeclared sulfites. Those with a sensitivity to sulfites could develop a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction after ingesting these raisins. If you purchased these raisins, return them to the place of purchase for a refund. If you require additional information, reach Ankur Muktanand Foods at 1-630-595-1118.
#ankur #raisins #sulfites #allergy #recall
ankur, raisins, sulfites, allergy, recall