August 16, 2012

Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

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August 16, 2012

Mayo Clinic in the News is a weekly highlights summary of major media coverage. If you would like to be added to the weekly distribution list, send a note to Emily Blahnik with this subject line: SUBSCRIBE to Mayo Clinic in the News.

Thank you.

Karl Oestreich, manager enterprise media relations

NY Times
The Power of Music, Tapped in a Cubicle
by Amisha Padnami

The guy in the next cubicle is yammering away on the phone. Across the room, someone begins cursing loudly at a jammed copy machine. The headphones on the other end of your desk suddenly look very appealing. Would anyone mind if you tapped into your iTunes playlist for a while?  Some workers like to listen to music when they find themselves losing focus. They may also plug in their earbuds to escape an environment that’s too noisy — or too quiet — or to make a repetitive job feel more lively. In biological terms, melodious sounds help encourage the release of dopamine in the reward area of the brain, as would eating a delicacy, looking at something appealing or smelling a pleasant aroma, said Dr. Amit Sood, a physician of integrative medicine with the Mayo Clinic.  Additional coverage: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Circulation: The New York Times has the third highest circulation nationally, behind USA Today (2nd) and The Wall Street Journal (1st) with 1,150,589 weekday copies circulated and 1,645,152 circulated on Sundays.

Context: Amid Sood, M.D. is a Mayo Clinic internist who is often sought out for his expertise and perspective on the role that alternative medicine is integrated into patient care.

Public Affairs Contacts: Sharon Theimer, Traci Klein

USA Today
Take a stand against sitting disease
by Nanci Hellmich

You probably won't find it in medical dictionaries, but a problem that has come to be known as sitting disease is rampant in the USA. The term captures how many people are glued to their seats for hours at the office, in their cars and in front of the TV … Endocrinologist James Levine, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., talks about sitting disease and how to get out of the chair and move more. Levine did some of the original research on the topic and is still investigating it — from a treadmill at his desk.

Circulation: USA TODAY has a circulation of 1.8 million and a readership of 3.1 million. USA TODAY websites have 26.3 million unique visitors a month.

Context: James Levine, M.D., Ph.D., is a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist who is often sought out by journalists for his expertise. Basing his techniques of non-exercise activity on years of Mayo Clinic research, he offers cost-effective alternatives to office workers, school children and patients for losing weight and staying fit. Author, inventor, physician and research scientist, Dr. Levine has built on Mayo’s top status as a center of endocrinology expertise and has launched a multi-nation mission to fight obesity through practical, common-sense changes in behavior and personal environment.

Public Affairs Contacts: Bob Nellis, Traci Klein

KARE 11
Rare kidney cancer nearly took dreams of fatherhood
by Lindsey Seavert

Thirty-five-year-old Mark Stankey is celebrating a miracle never thought possible just a few years ago after surviving a rare type of kidney cancer, possibly shared by only a few other adults in the world. His cancer remission after treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester was already an answered prayer, but this week, he became a father.

Reach: KARE has won the demographic of viewers 25 to 54 years-old in almost every Nielsen ratings sweeps period since the late 1980s, while placing second overall in households at 5, 6, and 10 p.m. since May 2006, trailing rival CBS affiliate WCCO.

Context: This is a touching Mayo Clinic patient story about a man who was treated with a rare type of cancer and was able to have his first child through in vitro fertilization.

Public Affairs Contacts: Nick Hanson, Katie Streater

Australian Broadcasting Corp
Panzi Hospital in the Congo
by Norman Swan

The Panzi Hospital is in Bukavu, the capital of the Sud-Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It specialises in treating victims of violence, the large majority of whom have been sexually abused. Dr Denis Mukwege is its Director and is the recipient of the UN 2008 Human Rights Award. Dr Deborah Rhodes from the Mayo Clinic talks about her involvement with the Panzi Hospital.

Australian Broadcasting Corp
Breast imaging technology
by Norman Swan

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, have studied a new gamma camera for breast imaging. This device can detect small cancers in dense breast tissue and therefore may be better suited than mammography in screening and evaluating high-risk women.

Reach: ABC Radio Australia is the international radio and online service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Dr. Norman Swan is producer and presenter of the Health Report.

Context: Dr. Norman Swan interviewed Deborah Rhodes, M.D., a preventive medicine specialist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Her research focus is the evaluation and management of women at increased risk for breast cancer.

Public Affairs Contact: Dana Sparks

Reader’s Digest
A Pill to Prevent Breast Cancer?
by Cynthia Dermody

Soon the drugs known as aromatase inhibitors (AI) may even help prevent the disease. Trials are under way in high-risk postmenopausal women. It’s a tricky area, though… Edith Perez, MD, an oncologist at the Mayo Clinic, is launching a trial comparing the effectiveness of the drugs Tykerb and Herceptin. Both disable the HER2 protein that can make cancer cells grow. Some women in the study will get both drugs to see if they offer a double punch to the enemy protein. 

Circulation: Reader's Digest Canada attracts more than seven million readers each month.

Context: Edith Perez, M.D, is deputy director at large, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. She also serves as director of the Breast Cancer Translational Genomics Program and the Breast Program at Mayo Clinic in Florida. Dr. Perez is the Serene M. and Frances C. Durling Professor of Medicine, Mayo Medical School. She is often sought out for her cancer expertise.

Public Affairs Contacts: Paul Scotti, Duska Anastasijevic

FOX News
Exposure to common bacteria may be risk factor for lupus
by Alex Crees

Chronic exposure to small amounts of staph bacteria could be a risk factor for lupus, according to new research. In a recent study, Mayo Clinic researchers found that mice exposed to low doses of a protein found in Staphylococcus aureus developed a lupus-like disease, consisting of both kidney problems and autoantibodies like those found in the blood of lupus patients…"We think this protein could be an important clue to what may cause or exacerbate lupus in certain genetically predisposed patients," study co-author Dr. Vaidehi Chowdhary, a Mayo Clinic rheumatologist, said in a released statement.

Reach: FoxNews.com has more than 13 million unique visitors each month.

Context: Mayo Clinic issued a news release August 8. Chronic exposure to even small amounts of staph bacteria could be a risk factor for the chronic inflammatory disease lupus, Mayo Clinic research shows. Staph, short for Staphylococcus aureus, is a germ commonly found on the skin or in the nose, sometimes causing infections. In the Mayo study, mice were exposed to low doses of a protein found in staph and developed a lupus-like disease, with kidney disease and autoantibodies like those found in the blood of lupus patients.

Public Affairs Contact: Sharon Theimer

Florida Times-Union
New Florida law protects young athletes recovering from concussions
by Maggie FitzRoy

Lacrosse player Benjamin Buchanan ran down the field, dodging an opposing player who was trying to block him. Then, without warning, another opponent blindsided him from the right. Their helmets collided, and 14-year old Benjamin fell back and hit his head on the ground…Thanks to a computerized baseline concussion assessment that Benjamin took in January at Mayo Clinic, which established his normal range of cognitive functioning, physicians were able to determine that he did have a concussion. It can take a while, because the average concussion lasts from seven to 10 days, said Mayo Clinic family and sports medicine physician Jennifer Maynard, who is chair of the Northeast Florida Regional Sports Concussion Task Force.

Circulation: The Florida Times-Union reaches more than 120,000 daily and 173,000 readers Sunday.

Context: Mayo Clinic in Florida issued an expert alert July 18 to raise awareness of a new law that pertains to concussions and the ability of student athletes to return to play if they suffer a head injury. Mayo Clinic family and sports medicine physician Jennifer Roth Maynard, M.D., who is also chair of the Northeast Florida Regional Sports Concussion Task Force, offered her perspective to journalists.

Public Affairs Contact: Cindy Weiss

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Tags: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Breast Cancer, Cancer, Dr. Amit Sood, Dr. Deborah Rhodes, Dr. Edith Perez, Dr. James Levine, Dr. Jennifer Maynard, Dr. Vaidehi Chowdhary, Endocrinology / Diabetes, Florida Times-Union, Fox News, KARE11, Mayo Clinic in the News, New York Times, Preventive Medicine, Reader's Digest Canada, Rheumatology, Sports Medicine, USA Today

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