Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Howard G. Smith MD, AM has been reporting health and wellness news for more than 40 years on radio and via podcasts. Harvard Medical School, MD; Harvard University, AM, Immunology; former Medical Editor, WBZ-AM, Boston. Website: http://www.drhowardsmith.com Email: drhowardsmith.reports@gmail.com

Dr. Howard Smith Reports is a health podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 1,000 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts Dr. Howard Smith Reports, a health show with 1,000 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #505

  WHO REALLY NEEDS A HEART CALCIUM SCAN?

  Sep 30, 20262 minS26

  Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd7G6ApMcyL/ An increasingly popular cardiac test is the coronary artery calcium scan. It images calcium deposits associated with the atherosclerotc plaques and could be predictive of impending coronary artery disease and heart attacks. The questions is: Should you gave one? The answer comes from a multicenter study Northwestern University Medicine study newly published in JAMA . Cardiologists analyzed data from 6,098 adults ages 45 to 79 included in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and followed them for 10 years. The study group was divided into 3 groups using the so-called PREVENT criteria: minimal risk, borderline risk, and intermediate risk. All received cardiac calcium CT scans. For borderline-risk patients, the risk of cardiovascular-events varied according to the calcium score: 1.9% with a scan score of zero, compared with 14.3% with a can score of 300 or higher . For intermediate-risk patients, the cardiovascular-event risk rate was about 4.9% when the calcium score was zero, compared with about 9.9% for scores between 100 and 300, and 11.2% for scores of 300 or higher. Bottom line: A cardiac calcium CT scan is most useful for those with a borderline risk of coronary disease. Routine scanning of people at low risk exposes them to radiation and costs without clear benefit. On the other hand, those already identified as being at high risk may not gain much additional information because treatment decisions are already crystal clear. The references for this report are available on my website. #HeartHealth #CalciumScore #HeartDisease #Cardiology #MedicalResearch

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #504

  ONE SUGARY DRINK A DAY MORE THAN DOUBLES YOUR RISK OF STOMACH CANCER

  Sep 30, 20261 minS26

  Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd7F8tMMIo7/ A decades-long study by gastrointestinal epidemiologists at Harvard’s Mass General Hospital finds that those consuming at least one sugar-sweetened beverage a day had nearly 2.5 times the risk of developing gastric, that is stomach, cancer compared with people who drank less than one sugary beverage a month. Their study, published in GastroHep Advances, included ,more than 112 thousand adults from the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. There data also pinpointed a greater risk for women: drinking more than one sugar-sweetened beverage a day was associated with a 3-fold higher risk compared with very infrequent consumption. Gastric infection wth the H. pylori bacterium, a risk for gastric cancer, is not increased by drinking sugary beverages. Additional investigations will be needed to determine if the sugary drinks actually cause gastric cancer or are only associated with its development. Meanwhile, as will all things, moderation is the best policy. The references for this report are available on my website. #SugaryDrinks #StomachCancer #CancerResearch #NutritionResearch #MedicalResearch

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #503

  MIT DEVELOPS INJECTABLE “MINI LIVERS” THAT WORK INSIDE THE BODY

  Sep 30, 20261 minS26

  Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd7FRFDNdoO/ MIT bioengineers have developed injectable “mini livers” that could someday boost the function of a failing liver without the need for a liver transplant. They combine liver cells, hepatocytes , fibroblast support cells, and tiny hydrogel microspheres. This mixture, injected into the body via a syringe, forms stable tissue grafts that attract a new blood supply and remain alive for at least eight weeks . These established organoids than produce the specialized proteins and enzymes normally made by the whole liver. The researchers call these grafts “satellite livers.” They could potentially provide additional liver function while leaving a patient’s damaged liver in place. They could also serve as a temporary bridge while someone waits for a transplant. Very exciting but still experimental and only tested in mice. Recipients of these liver organoids would require immunosuppressive drugs. Still to be determined and individualized is the number of grafts needed to provide adequate liver function. The references for this report are available on my website. #MiniLivers #LiverResearch #RegenerativeMedicine #TransplantResearch #MedicalResearch

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #502

  AN INJECTABLE SCAFFOLD HELPS THE BRAIN REPAIR ITSELF FOLLOWING STROKE

  Sep 30, 20262 minS26

  Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd7EdV4M5AQ/ Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed an experimental, injectable material that helps stroke-damaged brains grow new blood vessels, supports nerve growth, and improves post-stroke recovery. The bad news: the agent has only been tested in mice . The treatment, detailed in the journal Cell Biomaterials, uses a porous biomaterial called MAPS , microporous annealed particle scaffolds. This agent combines with tiny biological packages called extracellular vesicles derived from the brains support cells. The resultant scaffold creates a structure inside the cavity left by a severe stroke and focuses natural repair signals where they are needed. The investigators find that this therapy recruits immune cells which are usually associated with harmful inflammation after stroke. Under the conditions created by the scaffold, however, these white cells appear to contribute to tissue repair and new blood-vessel formation. The treated mice develop more axonal fibers and regain movement faster. By eight weeks, their performance cannot be distinguished from healthy control mice. What is ahead before human stroke victims can benefit from this therapy? Additional safety studies and larger-animal studies followed by a series of human clinical trials. The references for this report are available on my website. #StrokeRecovery #BrainRepair #RegenerativeMedicine #Neuroscience #MedicalResearch

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #501

  A NOVEL BRAIN SCAN MAY DETECT FOOTBALL PLAYERS’ DEMENTIA, CTE, DURING LIFE

  Sep 30, 20262 minS26

  Vidcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd7DtzFxRO2/ Canadian radiologists now report a promising method for detecting chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in living people . Presently, the disorder is only reliably diagnosed at autopsy. In a first in-human study, the investigators tested an experimental brain-imaging tracer called [18F]OXD-2314 , capable of detecting the abnormal tau protein associated with CTE and other tau-related brain disorders. The study included 10 people : seven healthy adults and three retired collision-sport athletes who were considered likely to have CTE. Their usual PET scans showed only modestly higher tracer activity in several cortical regions. But with the new tracer, tracer activity was 5 to 8 percent higher at the junction between gray and white matter , and 23 percent higher throughout white matter in the participants with suspected CTE. This preliminary study involved only three living individuals with suspected CTE. Larger clinical studies and additional testing of tissue from patients with confirmed CTE are needed to determine whether this tracer technique will ultimately become a reliable way to identify CTE during life when behavioral modification might prevent this disease’s worst complications. The references for this report are available on my website. #CTE #BrainHealth #TauProtein #BrainImaging #SportsMedicine

  ListenShow Notes

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.