October 11, 2013

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.

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Karl Oestreich, manager enterprise media relations

NY Times
Researchers Press for Broad Ban on Hockey Fights
by Jeff Klein

Researchers at a Mayo Clinic conference on concussions in hockey called Wednesday for a ban on fighting at all levels of the sport, eight days after a Montreal Canadiens enforcer was hospitalized because of a fight on opening night of the N.H.L. season…Dr. Michael Stuart, a director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center and the chief medical officer for USA Hockey, cited the opening-night fight in calling for professional and junior hockey to replace five-minute fighting penalties with automatic ejections and suspensions.

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.

Additional Coverage:
Globe & Mail, U.S. researchers press for ban on hockey fights

USA Hockey, USA Hockey Actively Involved in Safety of Game

KFAN, Dan Barreiro: Dr. Michael Stuart joins Dan to talk about the physicality of youth hockey

KSTC, Program Aims to Prevent Serious Hockey Injuries

KTTC, Mayo Clinic holds second Concussion Summit 

Post-Bulletin, Summit participants say it's time to get fighting out of hockey

Context:  Mayo Clinic's Sports Medicine Center held Ice Hockey Summit II: Action on Concussion on Oct. 8–9, 2013. The summit brought together top scientists, trainers, coaches, officials, retired professional players and manufacturers from across the United States, Canada and Europe to discuss concussion-related issues, including the science of concussion, impact on youth athletes and hockey community response.

"This is an opportunity for experts across the hockey world to come together to make the sport safer for our athletes," says Michael Stuart, M.D., co-director, Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center. "Hockey players at all levels are bigger, stronger and faster. Therefore, we must improve our ability to diagnose, treat and prevent traumatic brain injury."

News Release: Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center to Host Second Concussion Summit

Mayo Clinic News Network: Youth Hockey Players: "Heads Up, Don’t Duck"

Mayo Clinic News Network: Water Sports and Concussions (pkg)

Public Affairs Contact: Bryan Anderson

USA Today
What is postpartum depression?
by Elizabeth Weise

…Q: What is postpartum depression? A: It is a mood disorder that some women get after giving birth. It is characterized by unhappiness, an inability to sleep and eating difficulties, says Roger Harms, an obstetrician with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "It is not 'bad character.' You can't pull yourself up by your bootstraps to get over it. It's a real disease that is recognized as a medical condition that requires treatment," he says.

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.

Additional Coverage: CNN

Context: Roger Harms, M.D., is a Mayo Clinic obstetrician and gynecologist. The Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota supports women throughout their lifelong journey from childbearing age to menopause and beyond. Mayo Clinic's team-based approach includes you as a partner in care and healing. Doctors, surgeons, certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners and physician assistants staff the department, and many also participate in research and education.

Public Affairs Contact: Nick Hanson, Kelley Luckstein

US News & World Report
Researchers Find Genes Linked to High Risk of Eating Disorders
by Allie Bidwell

… Leslie Sim, a clinical child psychologist at the Mayo Clinic, says these findings could provide relief to families and parents, who often blame themselves for a child's eating disorder. "We're really starting to see this as a true biological illness, where essentially we're seeing these kids sharing these temperament predispositions that likely places them at risk," says Sim, who serves as the clinical director of the Mayo Clinic's eating disorders program.

Reach: US News reaches more than 10 million unique visitors to its website each month.

Context: Obese teenagers who lose weight are at risk of developing eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, Mayo Clinic researchers imply in a recent Pediatrics article. Eating disorders among these patients are also not being adequately detected because the weight loss is seen as positive by providers and family members. In the article, Mayo Clinic researchers argue that formerly overweight adolescents tend to have more medical complications from eating disorders and it takes longer to diagnose them than kids who are in a normal weight range. This is problematic because early intervention is the key to a good prognosis, says Leslie Sim, Ph.D., an eating disorders expert in the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center and lead author of the study.

News Release: Obese Teenagers Who Lose Weight at Risk for Developing Eating Disorders

Mayo Clinic News Network: Lead author of the study Leslie Sim, Ph.D., L.P., talks about the research

Public Affairs Contact: Nick Hanson

Huffington Post
Rising Demand For Cataract Surgery Raises Cost Questions

The high costs and demand for medical procedures are putting a hefty price tag on independence for people over 50. Case in point: more and more post 50s are heading to their ophthalmologists for cataract surgery and the demand shows no sign of leveling off, a Mayo Clinic study found.

Circulation: The Huffington Post attracts over 28 million monthly unique viewers.

Additional Coverage: KAAL, Spire Healthcare, Post-Bulletin,  HealthCanal

Context: As baby boomers enter their retirement years, health care costs for complex and debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer's disease are expected to soar. Not drawing as much attention is the likelihood of similarly rising expenses for common age-related medical procedures. A Mayo Clinic study looked at one of those — cataract surgery — and found that more people are getting the vision-improving procedure, seeking it at younger ages and having both eyes repaired within a few months, rather than only treating one eye. The demand shows no sign of leveling off, raising the need to manage costs and ensure access to appropriate cataract treatment, the researchers say.

"Cataract surgery rates are rising in all age groups between 50 and 90, but the greatest increase is in the 70- and 80-year-olds. And part of that is that our older population, or the aging baby boomers, are working longer, they want to be more active, they have more demands on their vision," says senior author Jay Erie, M.D., a Mayo Clinic ophthalmologist. "That's why they're looking for surgery sooner — so that they can remain independent, remain active, continue to work."

News Release: Cataract Surgeries on the Rise as Boomers Age, Raising Access, Cost Issues

Mayo Clinic News Network: Cataract Surgeries on the Rise as Boomers Age

Public Affairs Contact: Sharon Theimer

Star Tribune
Tevlin: Nurse brings mission to make sure no one dies alone to Mayo

Sandra Clarke was working the night shift as a nurse in a West Coast hospital, checking in on a half-dozen patients as she made her initial rounds… The dying man asked if the busy nurse could stay with him for a little while. “I told him, ‘As soon as I was done checking on the other patients, I’ll come back to see you,’ ” Clarke recalls…Clarke returned to the room, only to find the man dead…“His arms were stretched out, as though he were reaching out for someone,” said Clarke. Clarke came up with the idea of a volunteer organization, No One Dies Alone (NODA), in which patients in their last days are assured bedside company as they die. Tuesday, Clarke met with the approximately 150 volunteers at Mayo Clinic/Methodist Hospital in Rochester to share stories of how the idea has comforted the dying while enriching the lives of those who witness death.

Circulation: The Star Tribune Sunday circulation is 518,745 copies and weekday circulation is 300,277. The Star Tribune is the state’s largest newspaper and ranks 16^th nationally in circulation.

Additional Coverage: KAAL

Context: Sandra Clarke, the creator of the program, No One Dies Alone, was at Mayo Clinic this week to check up on Mayo's program, which was created two years ago. Since the inception of the program at Mayo Clinic, Mayo has guided more than 50 people at the end of their lives.

Public Affairs Contact: Nick Hanson

WCCO
With 2/3 Of CDC Furloughed, There’s No One To Study The Flu
by Angela Davis

…On Thursday, the Mayo Clinic issued a statement explaining why doctors there are so concerned about the closure of the CDC, and what it means for this flu season…Dr. Gregory Poland is an infectious diseases expert at the Mayo Clinic, and he’s worried.

Reach: WCCO 4 News, a CBS afailiate, is the most-watched newscast in the Twin Cities

Context: Flu season is under way, but how many Americans have been hit so far, how badly, and which influenza bugs are to blame is unclear. That information is important to prevent and manage outbreaks, and it is crucial for creation of the next batch of influenza vaccines. But this flu season, the nation is flying (and coughing, and sneezing, and maybe worse) blind. That's because the agency that normally keeps the country on top of influenza outbreaks — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — is largely out of commission due to the federal government shutdown. Mayo Clinic infectious diseases expert Gregory Poland, M.D., explains what the CDC normally does and what federal furloughs mean to efforts to protect people from contagious illnesses.

Additional Coverage:
KAAL, HealthCanal, MedPage Today, KCRG Iowa, WJXT Fla., Post-Bulletin, AARP Blog

News Release: CDC Shutdown: Mayo Clinic Expert Explains What it Means for This Flu Season — and the Next

Mayo Clinic News Network:  Mayo Expert Explains What It Means This Flu Season and the Next

Public Affairs Contact: Sharon Theimer

NBC News
The phenomenon of sleep texting

…You've heard of sleep walking, but what about sleep texting. Seriously, it's a real thing… Dr. Lois Krahn, a sleep specialist at the Mayo Clinic, has seen a number sleep texting cases."People have for years done things in their sleep whether it be sleep talking which is very common, sleep walking, sleep eating, but if a device is in arms reach and a person has a tendency to have any of those unusual sleep behaviors they could sleep text or sleep email," says Krahn.

Reach: NBC News Digital reaches an audience of more than 58 million unique visitors.

Additional Coverage: NECN, WCYB Va., WECT N.C., WTWO Ind., KWWL Iowa, KXAN Texas, WAND Ill., KWQC Ill., KSL Utah, KSHB Kansas City

Previous Coverage in July 3, 2013 Weekly Highlights

Previous Coverage in June 7, 2013 Weekly News Highlights

Context: Smartphones and tablets can make for sleep-disrupting bedfellows. One cause is believed to be the bright light-emitting diodes that allow the use of mobile devices in dimly lit rooms; the light exposure can interfere with melatonin, a hormone that helps control the natural sleep-wake cycle. But there may be a way to check your mobile device in bed and still get a good night’s sleep. A Mayo Clinic study suggests that dimming the smartphone or tablet brightness settings and holding the device at least 14 inches from your face while using it will reduce its potential to interfere with melatonin and impede sleep. “In the old days people would go to bed and read a book. Well, much more commonly people go to bed and they have their tablet on which they read a book or they read a newspaper or they’re looking at material. The problem is it’s a lit device, and how problematic is the light source from the mobile device?” says co-author Lois Krahn, M.D., a psychiatrist and sleep expert at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Public Affairs Contact: Jim McVeigh

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Tags: AARP Blog, alzheimer's disease, anorexia nervosa, baby boomers, Bryan Anderson, bulimia nervosa, cataract surgery, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity, concussions, Dan Barreiro, death, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Gregory Poland, Dr. Jay Erie, Dr. Leslie Sim, Dr. Michael Stuart, Dr. Roger Harms, eating disorders, flu, Globe & Mail, gynecologist, HealthCanal, Hockey, Huffington Post, Ice Hockey Summit II: Action on Concussion, Influenza, Jim McVeigh, Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery, KAAL, KCRG Iowa, Kelley Luckstein, KFAN, KSHB Kansas City, KSL Utah, KSTC, KTTC, KWQC Ill., KWWL Iowa, KXAN Texas, Mayo Clinic, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Mayo Clinic Children's Center, Mayo Clinic in the News, Mayo Clinic ophthalmologist, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center, MedPage Today, NBC News, NECN, Neurology, New York Times, Nick Hanson, No One Dies Alone, NODA, Obesity, obstetrician, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Post Bulletin, Postpartum Depression, Psychology and Psychiatry, Sandra Clarke, Sharon Theimer, Smartphones, Spire Healthcare, Sports Medicine, Star Tribune, Twin Cities, U.S. News & World Report, USA Hockey, WAND Ill., WCCO, WCYB Va., WECT N.C., WJXT Fla., WTWO Ind.