March 5, 2015

Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

By Karl Oestreich

Mayo Clinic in the News Logo

 

 

Editor, Karl Oestreich; Assistant Editor, Carmen Zwicker

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 Laura Wuotila with this subject line: SUBSCRIBE to Mayo Clinic in the News.

 

Health magazine
Watch a Blind Grandfather ‘See’ His Wife and Family Again Thanks to a Bionic Eye
by Rachel Swalin

After losing his vision to a degenerative eye disease, a 68-year-old Minnesota grandfather of 10 can now make out the forms of his wife and family for the first time Healthin a decade, NBC News reported. And it’s all thanks to one fascinating piece of technology…Raymond Iezzi Jr., MD, a Mayo Clinic researcher and ophthalmologist, had been treating Zderad’s grandson, who’s in the early stages of the disease, which is caused by genetic defects and is often passed on through families. Knowing Zderad’s eyesight had been lost to the disease, Dr. Iezzi suggested that the grandfather take part in a clinical trial for a device called the Second Sight Argus II, better known as a bionic eye. “Tell your grandfather I’d like to see him,” Dr. Iezzi told the boy, according to a Mayo Clinic release.

Reach: Health magazine has a monthly circulation of 1.3 million and Health.com delivers information that puts health into context in peoples' lives.

Additional coverage: Huffington Post, Tienes Que Verlo. La Tercera Tendencias

Previous Coverage in February 26, 2015 Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

Context: It’s a medical story, a science and technology advancement and a romance wrapped into one moment: when a man who is blind sees his wife again for the first time in a decade. Allen Zderad began to have serious vision problems about 20 years ago due to retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease affecting the retina. There is no effective treatment or cure. It ended his professional career and after a decade he was effectively blind, unable to see anything other than very bright light. He adjusted, even continuing woodworking by developing his sense of touch and spatial relationships. But he was unable to see his family, including ten grandchildren or his wife, Carmen. More information can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Public Affairs Contact: Bob Nelllis

 

Jacksonville Business Journal
A vision for improving quality, driving down costs: Meet the new leader of Mayo Clinic Jacksonville
by Colleen Michele Jones

It's easy to see why Dr. Gianrico Farrugia was chosen to lead Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville Business Journal newspaper logoJacksonville, replacing Dr. Bill Rupp who retired last December. By turns warm and personable, intense and passionate, Farrugia practically lights up when talking about the future of the renowned institution, particularly here in Northeast Florida.

Reach:  The Jacksonville Business Journal is one of 61 newspapers published by American City Business Journals.

Context: Gianrico Farrugia, M.D. was named Mayo Clinic vice president and chief executive officer (CEO) ofMayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, Florida, in August 2014.

Public Affairs Contact: Kevin Punsky

 

WBUR Here & Now
View From The Top: CEO Of The Mayo Clinic

U.S. News & World Report recently named the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, the number one hospital in the country this year, a first for the hospital. The Mayo WBURClinic is world famous for a model that pays doctors salaries instead of fees, to head off the possibility of physicians ordering unnecessary tests to pad their incomes. Physicians also work on teams for better communication, and to keep costs down. The Mayo Clinic has been center stage in the debate over the Affordable Care Act and “bending the curve” on the high cost of healthcare in the U.S. Here & Now’s Robin Young speaks with Dr. John Noseworthy, president and CEO of the Mayo Clinic, who says “it’s that team-based, patient-centeredness that drives us forward.”

Context: John Noseworthy, M.D. is Mayo Clinic President and CEO.

Reach: A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with public radio stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it’s happening in the middle of the day, with timely, smart and in-depth news, interviews and conversation.

Public Affairs Contact: Brian Kilen

 

Wall Street Journal
A Fast Track to Treatment for Stroke Patients
by Laura Landro

…Bart Demaerschalk, a neurologist and medical director of Mayo Clinic’s Center for Connected Care in Phoenix, says remote consultations are “the next best thing toWall Street Journal Life and Culture logo having a live stroke team, and in terms of time we are just as fast.” The Mayo Clinic Telestroke Network has three hubs in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota which serve 38 “spoke” hospitals in nine states.

Reach: The Wall Street Journal, a US-based newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company, has the largest print circulation in America with 1.4 million (60 percent) of a total of 2.3 million. Its website has more than 4.3 million unique visitors each month.

Context: Bart Demaerschalk, M.D. is a Mayo Clinic neurologist. In stroke telemedicine, also called telestroke, doctors who have advanced training in the nervous system (neurologists) remotely evaluate people who've had acute strokes and make diagnoses and treatment recommendations to emergency medicine doctors at other sites. Doctors communicate using digital video cameras, Internet telecommunications, robotic telepresence, smartphones and other technology.

Public Affairs Contact: Jim McVeigh

 

Star Tribune
Mayo Clinic reports 36 percent rise in operating income for 2014
by Christopher Snowbeck

Operating income jumped by more than one-third last year at Mayo Clinic, as the Star Tribune Business section logoRochester-based hospital and clinic system posted its strongest performance in more than 25 years. The volume of patients seeking care from Mayo Clinic was strong, including sicker patients who stayed longer than anticipated, said Chief Financial Officer Kedrick Adkins Jr. At the same time, tight control on expenses meant that Mayo Clinic provided the care without a significant increase in labor costs, Adkins said.

Reach: 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 16th nationally in circulation.

Additional coverage: KTTC, Modern Healthcare, HealthLeaders Media, Post-Bulletin, BringMeTheNews, La Crosse Tribune Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

Context: Mayo Clinic reports a strong 2014 performance, including providing direct care for more than 1.3 million people, contributions of $410 million to its pension plan as a commitment to employees, and plans for a $1.5 billion investment to fund information technology infrastructure. “Whether viewed through the lens of quality, patient outcomes, research advances, operational performance or sharing our knowledge with the world — by all measures, we had an extraordinary year,” says John Noseworthy, M.D., president and CEO, Mayo Clinic. “That success allowed us to reinvest in our people, our infrastructure and our mission so we can better serve our patients.” More information about Mayo's 2014 performance can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Public Affairs Contact: Karl Oestreich

HBO (YouTube) Vice Special Report: Killing Cancer Full Episode (HBO)— Here at the renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, doctors are fighting myeloma or bone marrow cancer with a virus that in the past has killed over 200 million people. It was developed by a team led by Dr. Stephen Russell.

Bismarck Tribune, Conjoined twins rise to separate challenges — Born within a year of each other, the Carlsen and Fitterer twins are just like any active 8- to 9-year-old girls, but, more than eight years ago, the North Dakota natives defied the odds. Both Abbigail and Isabelle Carlsen, and Abygail and Madysen Fitterer were born conjoined…Overall, the Carlsen twins have been in good health, according to Amy Carlsen, who said they haven't needed to go back to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for a checkup since the heart surgery. "You would never know," she said. "All children are miracles, but they're the miracles here."

MPR, Concierge service to help Mayo Clinic serve more Chinese patients by Liz Baier — On the second floor of downtown Rochester's newest building, the H3 Plaza, workers install baseboard trim to prepare for the city's first international concierge service. In a couple of months, the space will house the offices of MediSun, a Chinese company setting up a door-to-door service for Chinese patients traveling more than 6,000 miles for treatment at Mayo Clinic.

BuzzFeed, The Invention That Could End Obesity by Joel Oliphint — A Michigan surgeon invented an apparatus that he believes tricks the brain into thinking the stomach is full. His Full Sense Device could be a lifesaver for millions of obese Americans and raises questions about how hunger — our most basic human impulse — even works. Even if the Full Sense Device is approved and becomes an alternative to bariatric surgery, the question remains as to whether it’ll be able to provide lasting weight loss. Dr. Steven Bowers, a surgeon with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, says the device is interesting, but he puts it in the same group as any other temporary, endoscopic weight-loss device. “It’s not astonishing that you can get the weight off people,” Bowers says. “The tricky part is the weight maintenance afterwards.” Additional coverage: A Breaking News, Scoopnest

NPR, From Naked Mole Rats To Dog Testicles: A Writer Explores The Longevity Quest… When my guest, journalist Bill Gifford, turned 40, his friends gave him a cake shaped as a tombstone with the words, may youth rest in peace, on it. As he reflected on his creeping memory lapses and the weight he'd gained, Gifford got interested in the timeless quest to turn back the aging clock, or at least slow it down. GIFFORD:… But a team of researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota created a very, very fancy genetically engineered mouse that you could tag their senescent cells and then flush them out with a special drug. And so they did this study and they, you now, they wiped out all the senescent cells and the mice were sort of miraculously rejuvenated by this. You know, their health problems - they had cataracts and stuff like that - all that went away. So if you could somehow get to the point where we could all flush our senescent cells out, we'd be golden, they think.

MPR, Foreign-trained doctors could soon have easier path in MN by Liz Baier — For three years, Abdelsalam Elshaikh has worked as nursing assistant at Charter House, a Mayo Clinic retirement community that houses a short-term rehabilitation center. Every night, his duties include wheeling patients recovering from hip and knee surgery to the dining room. Elshaikh, a medical school graduate from Sudan, longs to do the kind of work he spent years preparing for. But as a foreign-trained doctor, he must overcome a complicated, lengthy and expensive process that could take him years to finish. Additional coverage: Duluth News Tribune

Post-Bulletin, Jeff Bolton: DMC is committed to Rochester's bright future — It is an honor to serve as the new board chairman of the Destination Medical Center Economic Development Agency. As I have taken on this new role, I am both impressed by what has been accomplished and excited about future opportunities that will result for Rochester, our region and the entire state as we bring to life the vision of DMC — to provide the ideal patient, companion, visitor and community member experience to become the world's premier destination for health and wellness.

USA Today College, 3 surefire tips for managing stress as a college student Live a healthy lifestyle… Another thing you may want to consider is breathing techniques. They’ve been known to relax people and reduce stress. Mayo Clinic has a list of different relaxation techniques you may want to try, such as thinking of a peaceful setting while undergoing focused breathing or by relaxing each muscle in your body one at a time.

Chicago Tribune, An active lifestyle makes life and death better by James Fell — People are living much longer than they did a century ago, but in many cases this comes despite terrible lifestyles; it's medical advancements that increase longevity for those disinclined to help themselves. Conversely, the physically active don't just live longer, they live better; plus they have "compressed morbidity."…"People get into middle age, and their health begins to ratchet down, often due to specific diseases that frequently occur due to poor lifestyle: hypertension, diabetes, obesity and coronary artery disease," said Dr. Mike Joyner, a physician-researcher and expert in exercise physiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Being sedentary is a common cause for a lot of these diseases.

Cancer Network, MRI Screening for Breast Cancer — Today, ahead of the Miami Breast Cancer Conference held in Miami, Florida, we are speaking with Sarah McLaughlin, MD, associate professor of surgery who specializes in breast cancer at the Mayo Clinic in Florida, about MRI screening for breast cancer, which she will be discussing at the conference.

Irish Times, London Letter: Clinic pioneers treatment for gut illness… Not always a cure Antibiotics work for some, though the cure often destroys the patient’s entire natural gut flora. Some people end up with C difficile coming back again and again. Four years ago, the Mayo Clinic in Arizona performed its first colonoscopic faecal transplant on a patient seriously ill with C difficile, using stool donated by his brother. “Unbelievably, the patient left the hospital 24 hours after the procedure, after having been bedridden for weeks,” says Dr Robert Orenstein of the Mayo Clinic. “That opened my eyes to the possibilities for helping others.”

Forum Newspaper Red Wing — Ten tips to survive nausea during pregnancy by Emily Linklater, D.O. who is a physician at Mayo Clinic Health System in Red Wing and specializes in women’s health. She is certified by the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Positive pink line on pregnancy test? Check. Small flutter on early ultrasound? Check. Nausea and vomiting? Double-check.

Clinical Oncology, HER2+ Breast Cancer: Can We Identify Patients Who Can Skip Trastuzumab? by Kate O’Rourke — Stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes may be useful as a biomarker to identify HER2-positive breast cancer patients who can skip trastuzumab, according to a study presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (abstract S1-06)… “There are two main findings from our study,” said lead author Edith Perez, MD, the deputy director of Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Mayo Clinic, in Jacksonville, Fla. “First, patients with high levels of tumor-infiltrating immune cells did well with chemotherapy alone. Second, the level of tumor-infiltrating immune cells had no impact on the benefit of adding trastuzumab to chemotherapy.”

Post-Bulletin, Report on hospital errors focuses on botched test results by Mike Klein — The number of adverse medical events reported last year increased both statewide — from 258 in 2013 to 308 in 2014 — and at Mayo Clinic Hospital - Rochester campus — from 29 to 44, according to the 2015 Minnesota Adverse Health Events report released today….Still, overall safety has improved under the law because problem areas are identified and solutions are found and shared, according to Dr. Timothy Morgenthaler, Mayo Clinic patient-safety officer. Additional coverage: KTTC, KAAL, KEYC

Medscape, Work-Related Pain Common Among Staff in Cath Labs by Michael O’Riordan…The survey-based study, which was led by Dr. Nicholas Orme (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN) and published February 23, 2015 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, included 1543 employees, average age 43 years old, in the Mayo Clinic Health System who work in the various interventional laboratories. Overall, 24% of those surveyed were in the cardiology department and 76% worked in radiology. Roughly half of those who responded were technicians/technologists, 20% were registered nurses, 15% were physicians, and 7% were residents or fellows.

Post-Bulletin, Dodge County says yes to Mayo Clinic emergency call service by Gretta Becay — Dodge County Sheriff's dispatchers will now be able to transfer emergency callers to trained personnel for pre-arrival medical advice, thanks to a unanimous vote by the Dodge County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday. The board agreed to approve a contract with Mayo Clinic for the pre-arrival emergency care service, which is needed because Dodge County's dispatchers are not trained and certified in medical dispatch procedures…

WKBT La Crosse, Parents stress importance of door alarms after toddler’s death —  A Tomah family continues to mourn the loss of their two year old daughter who died of hypothermia over the weekend. The girl's mother says two year old Raelyn Sheetz and her five year old step sister went outside to play in the middle of the night last week while their parents were sleeping. The five year old went back inside but the two year old wanted to stay outside… Raelyn was flown to Mayo Clinic in Rochester for treatment. She died at the hospital days later. "She donated her kidneys to a 47 year old woman and her liver to a 66 year old woman,” said Mazur. "The organ donation is something that's been helping me; that basically she didn't die without a purpose,” said Mazur’s fiancé Branden Cragle. Additional coverage: WBAY Green Bay

Post-Bulletin, Rochester airport wasn't gobbled up by DMC — Dear Most Enlightened One: I recently read an article -- yes, in another publication -- about Delta changing flight schedules between "the Mayo Clinic-operated Rochester airport and Detroit" and I was taken a bit aback. I didn't realize that DMC included Mayo taking over the airport as well…Mayo has been deeply involved in the airport since the days of Dr. Will and Dr. Charlie. Back when Rochester was a city of about 20,000, the first airport was built in what's now the southeast part of town by the Mayo Foundation.

KTTC, New bill set to reimburse — by Mike Sullivan — Governor Dayton put pen to paper Thursday, signing in a $15.5 million Deficiency bill. As part of that bill, $2 million will be distributed to the four Minnesota hospitals that were designated as Ebola treatment centers in 2014. One of those will be Mayo Clinic Saint Marys Campus. The hospital began making sure their staff was prepared to handle an Ebola case back in October.

Huffington Post — A Tale of Two Midwestern States and Their Wealthy Governors by John Tures — Minnesota and Illinois share a common region, a similar economy, and even the same athletic conference (the Big 10). They both have billionaire governors…and everyone, it seems, is "Minnesota Nice"--so much so that the crime rate is among the nation's lowest. The home of the famed Mayo Clinic is one of America's healthiest states, and the environment is among the cleanest.

Vanity Fair, The Inside Story of Ari Emanuel’s Big, Risky WME-IMG Merger — When Ari Emanuel, the 53-year-old co-C.E.O. of the powerhouse talent agency William Morris Endeavor (known as WME), wants something, he doesn't quit until he gets it… Emanuel's quest to own IMG began in earnest in the summer of 2004, when he and others had dinner with private-equity mogul Teddy Forstmann…The two men discussed how Forstmann's firm, Forstmann Little & Company, might make an investment in Emanuel's agency…a sudden deterioration in Forstmann's health changed the calculus. In early 2011, not feeling well, he went to the Mayo Clinic, where he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the same virulent form of brain cancer that killed Teddy Kennedy. Soon sharks were circling, figuring correctly that when Forstmann died the company would again be for sale.

KIMT, School district ready to launch kiosks by Jeron Rennie — A futuristic approach to health care is ready for use in a local school district. In October, Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin unveiled telemedicine kiosks. In December, they announced they had partnered with Austin Public Schools for two more kiosk locations… Mark Ciota, CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System – Albert Lea and Austin, said it comes at a lower cost than stopping at urgent care or the emergency room.

KARE11, Runners go to crazy lengths to keep streaks alive by Boyd Huppert — When Steve DeBoer broke his ankle the doctor put him in a walking boot and advised him to apply only as much weight as he could tolerate. The doctor didn't realize who he was dealing with. "The next day I took off the walking boot, taped up my ankle, and tolerated a one mile run," DeBoer says.. DeBoer, a 60-year-old dietitian at the Mayo Clinic, is currently ranked 3rd in the country with a running streak nearing 44 years.

Austin Daily Herald, Telemedicine: Making healthcare more accessible by Senator Dan Sparks— Telemedicine has been used by doctors’ offices and hospitals in Minnesota at varying levels for several years. The technology allows rural patients the ability to get the attention and care they need from experts, without traveling long distances. I had the opportunity to meet with Mayo Clinic’s CEO, chief administrative officer and chief nursing officer in Austin to talk about how Mayo is using advancing technology to better treat its patients in our local area.

Austin Daily Herald, District health hits the web; Health kiosks for school staff open Monday by Jenae Hackensmith…Two Mayo Clinic Health Connection kiosks at Ellis Middle School and the former Home Health Care and Hospice building, 408 Fourth Ave. NW, are ready to see their first patients Monday morning…“We’ve enjoyed working with the school district and their leadership because we think they share our passion for this pilot project,” Mayo Austin and Albert Lea CEO Dr. Mark Ciota said at an open house Thursday.

MedCity News, The Google-Mayo Clinic deal is a tactic. What delivers true patient empowerment via the web? by Dr. Mark Krivopal…Enter Google. Last week, Google announced that it is teaming up with Mayo Clinic doctors to provide Google searchers with a better at-a-glance experience for medical terminology and condition research. This partnership is only further evidence of what we’re seeing across the healthcare industry: the use of big data and analytics to not only improve the patient’s experience, but also give them a sense of autonomy when it comes to their personal health care.

WRVO Public Media, Let there be no light before bed — If reading in bed is something you've always done, you may want to think twice about using your smartphone or tablet for your nighttime reading. This week on “Take Care,” WRVO's weekly health and wellness show, hosts Linda Lowen and Lorraine Rapp speak with Dr. Lois Krahn, a psychiatrist with the Sleep Disorders Clinic at Mayo Clinic Arizona, about how too much screen time could be disturbing your sleep.

Medscape, New Guidance on Managing Anticoagulant-Associated ICH…Best Evidence Yet…Commenting on the study for Medscape Medical News, Alejandro A. Rabinstein, MD, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said, "the findings regarding anticoagulant reversal and [BP] control, measures to try to minimize the risk of hematoma expansion, are mostly confirmatory results of practice [and] the best evidence yet showing that rapid reversal of anticoagulation in warfarin-related hemorrhage is effective."

James Plaindealer, Local Woman Deployed to CDC for Ebola by Ryan Anderson — Vonnie Gratz, a longtime emergency nurse practitioner for Mayo Clinic Health System, was deployed recently to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta; while there, she worked in the CDC Ebola call center with CDC epidemiologists fielding calls from health care providers in the US and military branches.

Post-Bulletin, Heard on the Street: Mayo Clinic partnership aims to cut testing costs — Mayo Medical Laboratories has announced a partnership with Seattle Children's Hospital to find ways to help the children's hospitals around the country decrease costs and potential errors associated with unnecessary laboratory testing. "Mayo and Seattle Children's have collaborated on this important issue for years," says Don Flott, director of utilization management at Mayo Medical Laboratories.

KJZZ Arizona, Mayo Clinic's Health Network Could Expand To Tucson — The Mayo Clinic’s health network could be expanding in Arizona — Tucson Medical Center may be joining. Keith Cannon is a Hospital Internist at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, and Associate Medical Director of its affiliated practice network, known as the Mayo Clinic Care Network.

Post-Bulletin, Lower insurance rates for a longer drive? by Heather Carlson…While the number of MNsure plans being offered in Southeast Minnesota has risen dramatically — jumping from six to more than 30 — the area continues to have some of the highest premiums in the state. For example, the lowest monthly cost silver plan for a 40-year-old in Southeast Minnesota is $282. By comparison, the lowest priced comparable plan in the Twin Cities for a 40-year-old is $181 per month. Some have chalked up the higher rates in Southeast Minnesota to what's been dubbed the "Mayo effect." The idea is that Mayo Clinic is able to negotiate higher rates with insurers because of its dominant presence in the region.

BringMeTheNews, UMD conditioning coach ‘out of the penalty box’ after successful liver transplant — The strength and conditioning coach and equipment manager for the University of Minnesota Duluth’s women’s hockey team had a successful liver transplant at the Mayo Clinic Saturday afternoon. Julianne “Montana” Vasichek, 32, was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2002 and primary sclerosing cholangitis — an incurable disorder that affects the bile ducts in the liver — in 2007. Additional coverage: Duluth News Tribune, WDIO TV

Local 10 News Fla., With pain management alternatives, Doctors hope to improve patients' surgical experience by Andrea Torees — Exparel uses Bupivacaine, a local anesthetic. During a lecture, Mayo Clinic's Dr. Valerie Lemaine compared the drug's slow release delivery to a pomegranate, because of its use of liposomes, tiny bubbles that can be filled with the anesthetic. Exparel is also known as  Liposome Bupivacaine and for its generic Bupivacaine Liposome Injectable Suspension.

Livescience, The State S.C. ,  Bionic Eye Lets Blind Man See Again.

OncLive, Early Intervention Essential for Proper Lymphedema Management by Lauren Green — Moving early to diagnose and treat lymphedema after breast cancer treatment can reverse this side effect or prevent it from becoming more severe. Yet, a consistent way of defining lymphedema, measuring it, and identifying those most at risk remains elusive. While debate and research on these issues continue, clinicians should nevertheless make early education, assessment, and intervention a priority, urged Sarah McLaughlin, MD, during her presentation at a Miami Breast Cancer Symposium mini-symposium on Thursday.

Family Practice News, Study linked gastric phenotypes, hormone levels to obesity by Amy Karon — prospective study linked obesity to faster gastric emptying time, higher fasted stomach volume, lower postprandial levels of the appetite-modifying hormone peptide tyrosine tyrosine, and higher postprandial levels of glucagonlike peptide–1, researchers reported in the March issue of Gastroenterology. By understanding how patients’ obesity relates to these types of specific, quantifiable measures, clinicians might better tailor treatments based on their mechanisms of action, said Dr. Andres Acosta and his associates at Mayo Medical School, Rochester, Minn.

TIME, Your Definitive Guide to Losing Body Fat…A Mayo Clinic study published last March found that Caucasian women with waist sizes above 37 inches were more likely to die from heart or respiratory disease. Another sign of trouble: Your numbers are off, meaning you’ve got low HDL (good) cholesterol and elevated blood glucose and triglyceride levels.

Pioneer Press, Minnesotan with Alzheimer's helped guide Oscar-winning actress in 'Still Alice'…Alice Howland, a linguistics professor who is bewildered when, at age 50, she starts getting lost on her daily jogs; Oltz, 50, is one of the early-stage advisers for the Alzheimer's Association... "Finally, I underwent neuropsychological testing to see if I had memory issues deeper than what I was showing. I didn't do well; I showed some major deficiencies. They sent me to the Mayo Clinic for more testing, including a spinal tap and a brain PET scan. They could see the plaque and tangles; I was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's."

Business Journals, 9 principles that will put more women in the corner office by Dana Manciagli — According to the Center for American Progress, women hold 52 percent of professional jobs but only 14.6 percent of women reach CEO status. I asked Shirley Weis, recently retired from her position as the Chief Administrative Officer at Mayo Clinic, how she was able to make the leap into the CAO position of an organization with 60,000-employees and a budget of more than $9 billion.

Riviera Maya News, 5 reasons drinking coffee may not be bad after all by Marlo Heresco…People who enjoy freshly brewed coffee on a regular basis should note that while there are health benefits to drinking coffee, there are also health risks that come with drinking large amounts, however, research from Mayo Clinic shows that the health benefits just may outweigh the health risks. Donald Hensrud, MD, a preventative medicine specialist at Mayo Clinic points out that “there are no recent study connections between drinking coffee, an increased risk of heart disease, or cancer.”

Daily Journal Ill., Heartfelt homecoming for Courtney — Courtney Kidd returned to her parents' home in Bradley on Thursday for the first time in nearly six months and exactly three months after a double-organ transplant…"It was like being a little kid and waiting for Santa the night before Christmas," she said. Courtney arrived at the Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic in early October and, on Nov. 24, underwent a heart and liver transplant surgery.

FlavorWire, Could Cancer Be Cured in Our Lifetime? VICE’s ‘Killing Cancer’ Offers an Optimistic Look Into the Future…Killing Cancer is a 40-minute documentary that premieres tonight (February 27) on HBO, a week before the debut of VICE Season 3, and delves into some of the most exciting current research into how cancer might be controlled — or maybe even cured. Smith takes us from Ottawa to the Mayo Clinic to Houston, Texas to look at three separate experimental trials (that all seem to be in the very early stages — phase 1 or 2‚ which come long before phase 3 and FDA approval).

Diabetes Insider, Does Anesthesia Cause Brain Damage in young Children? by Paola Celedonio…Mayo Clinic Children’s Center pediatric anesthesiologist, Dr. Randall P. Flick, of Rochester, MN, argues, “On the one hand, we don’t want to overstate the risk, because we don’t know what the risk is, if there is a risk.” Dr. Flick has conducted previous studies regarding children and anesthesia which suggest a link to some learning problems. He continues, “On the other hand, we want to make people aware of the risk because we feel we have a duty to do so.” The goal, he adds, is “informing without alarming.” Additional coverage: Houston Chronicle, US News & World Report

Post-Bulletin, DMCC board members tour city with DMC plans in mind by Jeff Kiger — When talking about transportation in Rochester, all roads lead to parking. Destination Medical Center Corp. board members boarded two trolleys before their meeting Thursday for a first-hand perspective on the massive DMC proposal. During the hour long tour, they saw where the rubber will meet the road in the proposed transformation of the city.

FOX News, The truth about testosterone therapy and when to consider treatment…Last month, the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings released a review on testosterone therapy and cardiovascular risk, finally putting misconceptions about testosterone therapy to rest. A few poorly conducted, but well-publicized, studies suggested that testosterone therapy was unsafe and increased the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Wichita Eagle, Clinical studies offer hope for participants, future generations…Based at Via Christi Hospital St. Francis, Wichita NCORP is one of 34 community sites selected in 2014 by the National Cancer Institute to receive a five-year federal grant for $1.7 million each year. The program works with MD Anderson in Texas, the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and Johns Hopkins hospital in Maryland to bring clinical trials to patients in the Midwest.

Forbes, Embracing Less To Get More In Health Care by Roy Smythe…Patients may receive advice, doctors may generate prescriptions, etc., on the basis of a quick email exchange. In addition, the access patients now have to medical information online may at times supplant the need for any keystrokes whatsoever – beyond those that get you onto the WebMD, or Mayo Clinic websites. Whether currently embraced or not, the days of “pay at the front desk on your way out” for less complex problems are likely to be a thing of the past relatively soon.

Washington Post, Her mother seemed to have classic dementia. Or did she? — When my mother, Pauline, was 70, she lost her sense of balance. She started walking with an odd shuffling gait, taking short steps and barely lifting her feet off the ground. She often took my hand, holding it and squeezing my fingers…Bryan Klassen, an assistant professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic, is not convinced. He thinks NPH is extremely rare and is not being missed. “We believe it’s overhyped,” he said, adding that the surgery is dangerous “and a lot of the time the results are underwhelming.”

Mankato Times, Minimizing the Negative Effects of Daylight Saving… Starting Sunday, March 8 at 2 a.m., we’ll all lose an hour. Altering your sleep schedule, or having poor sleep habits to begin with, can have a greater effect on your health than you may think. “With Daylight Saving Time, we lose an hour of sleep, which causes significant fatigue in most people and can linger for days or weeks,” says Martha Yanci Torres, M.D., neurologist and sleep specialist at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato. “To minimize the impact, you can make gradual adjustments.”

Mankato Free Press, Urgent care vs ER: know the differences by Nate Gotlieb — It's always in a person's best interest to establish a relationship with a family physician, said Dr. Ruth Bolton, regional director of Mayo Clinic Health System Urgent Care. But people also need to know where to go when they need immediate care, she said.

USA Today, Runners go to crazy lengths for decades-long streaks — When Steve DeBoer broke his ankle the doctor put him in a walking boot and advised him to apply only as much weight as he could tolerate. The doctor didn't realize who he was dealing with. "The next day I took off the walking boot, taped up my ankle, and tolerated a one mile run," DeBoer says…DeBoer, a 60-year-old dietitian at the Mayo Clinic, is currently ranked 3rd in the country with a running streak nearing 44 years.

Washington Post, Google has developed a technology to tell whether ‘facts’ on the Internet are true by Caitlin Dewey…Increasingly, information intermediates like Google have begun to take that suggestion seriously. Just three weeks ago, Google began displaying physician-vetted health informationdirectly in search results, even commissioning diagrams from medical illustrators and consulting with the Mayo Clinic “for accuracy.”

Yahoo! News, Why These 4 Cold-Weather Conditions Are Easy To Miss by Cassie Shortsleeve… When the thermometer drops, cold wind can rip away the boundary layer of warm air around your body, replacing it with, well, more cold air. And even above freezing temps, wind can still cause harm, says Paul Horvath, MD, an emergency medicine doctor at the Mayo Clinic Health System in EauClaire, Wisconsin. Cold air sucks your skin of its hydration, which causes the blood vessels to dilate.

Red Wing Republican Eagle, Local falls noted in hospital accidents report — Two patients fell and sustained serious injuries last year at Mayo Clinic Health System in Red Wing, according to an adverse health events report released Thursday for Minnesota hospitals. The annual Minnesota Department of Health report tracked 29 "serious reportable events" between Oct. 7, 2013, and Oct. 6, 2014… "At Mayo Clinic we pay attention to these issues as they come up and our highest priority is the care and safety of our patients," said Dr. Reinold Plate, medical director for Mayo Clinic Health System’s southeast region.

HealthDay, Heart Valve Repair Surgery May Ease Mental Health Symptoms, Too — People with a serious heart valve defect have less depression and anxiety after they undergo surgery to repair the problem, a new study finds."Early surgery in patients without symptoms or [abnormal heart function] has been previously considered as providing no direct patient benefit, but our study results show how wrong this concept is," study co-lead author Dr. Maurice Enriquez-Sarano, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said in a journal news release. Additional coverage: US News & World Report, Medical Xpress, Medical News Today, Science Daily,

American Layer magazine (PDF), Airborne Emergencies — How frequent flyers spending long hours sealed in a pressurized aluminum tube hurtling through space week after week is bound to take its toll on the human body. So we checked with Dr. Lawrence Steinkraus, chief of the aviation/aerospace medicine section at the Mayo Clinic on some common medical issues that frequent fliers need to look out for. Online story

Grand Forks Herald, Faith, others help couple cope with ‘devastating’ diagnosis of baby's heart defect…A complex and rare heart defect that is present at birth, or "congenital," HLHS affects normal blood flow through the heart because the left side of the heart is critically underdeveloped, according to MayoClinic.org.… About a week after their second ultrasound appointment, the Turners met with an obstetrician from Mayo Clinic, Dr. Carl Rose, who visits Altru Clinic in Grand Forks regularly. They were overwhelmed by all the information on HLHS they had to absorb. Jay was overcome with "fear and terror," he said. "Something was wrong, majorly, and I couldn't fix it. I couldn't protect my family."

Scientific American, How Designers Can Improve Health Care For Everyone by Samantha Dempsey, fellow, Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation… And Krissa Ryan, during her time as a service designer at the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation, reduced hospitalizations in specific dialysis units by 40 percent by aligning clinical and patient goals through interview-based personas.

International Business Times, What Is Personalized Medicine And Why Is Obama Supporting It With A $215 Million Pledge? by Amy Nordrum — The Obama administration is proposing to create a large database of patient information, including genetic profiles and medical histories, to further research into “precision medicine,” which aims to create customized treatments based on a patient’s genetic makeup and lifestyle choices.... A $215 million allotment spread across multiple agencies may get the effort started, but it will likely require future investment to make real progress on the administration’s goals. Gianrico Farrugia, chief executive officer of the Mayo Clinic in Florida, told Bloomberg the effort is “a good start.”

KAAL, Health Care Entrepreneurship Program Kicks-Off in Rochester — Rochester is becoming a hub for developing healthcare services in the digital age. Mayo Clinic has teamed with Techstars, a nationally known start-up investment company, to offer a first of its kind program to bring health care entrepreneurs to Rochester. Additional coverage: KTTC, Post-Bulletin, KIMT

LA Times, Intent on surviving another decade? Ace this test…Put a person on a standard-issue treadmill, crank up the speed and the incline, measure the maximum metabolic equivalents of task she achieves and the percentage of maximum predicted heart rate she can endure, and you have two key bases on which to predict a patient's 10-year survival prospects, says a study published Monday in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Additional coverage: ABC News Good Morning America

Duluth News Tribune, Children keep Hermantown man's legacy alive by John Lundy… Bordson is Boston’s mom and was the fiancée of Jacob Stephen “Jake” Carlson, 30, who died Feb. 12 after a 2½-year battle with a rare and particularly insidious form of cancer…Everything that could be done to fight the cancer was done, Sande said. That included consultation with a University of Minnesota oncologist with expertise in desmoplastic small round-cell tumors and major surgery at the Mayo Clinic. The latter unfortunately wasn’t able to remove all of the cancer, Sande said.

The Colombian, Get fit, not hurt, when running…Plantar fasciitis involves pain and inflammation of a thick band of tissue, called the plantar fascia, that runs across the bottom of the foot and connects the heel bone to the toes. The plantar fascia supports the arch of the foot; if tension on the plantar fascia becomes too great, it can create small tears, according to Mayo Clinic. Shin splints refers to pain along the shinbone and often occurs in athletes who have recently intensified or changed their training routines. The muscles, tendons and bone tissue become overworked by the increased activity, according to Mayo Clinic.

KDAL Duluth, Vasichek Stable Following Transplant — UMD women’s hockey strength and conditioning coach Julianne Vasichek received a liver transplant at the Mayo Clinic Saturday, and is stable and breathing on her own, according to her Caring Bridge page.

WEAU La Crosse, La Crosse hospitals make life saving change for treating heart attacks — Two area hospitals have made a change in the way they handle heart attack patients… A cath lab contains equipment that allows doctors to look at the arteries and chambers of the heart. The change which went into effect last week, applies to patients at Mayo Clinic Health System or Gundersen Health System.

FOX News, Teenager with cystic fibrosis begs Chilean president to allow euthanasia — A 14-year-old Chilean girl battling cystic fibrosis got her president’s attention after making a plea on YouTube to undergo euthanasia, news.com.au reported. Valentina Maureira said in the viral video that she is tired of fighting the illness, which killed her brother when he was 6 and has negatively impacted her own life. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic, life-threatening condition that causes recurrent cell infections, and severe damage to the lungs and digestive system, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Arizona Daily Star, Banner Health wants to keep, expand Tucson services — While Banner Good Samaritan has in the past referred patients in need of a heart transplant to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Bollinger said officials will want to refer patients to Tucson, “where we can have one umbrella for the heart transplant program ... we like to keep the business within the company.”

Bennington Banner Vt., Fluoride the hot topic at Bennington Town Floor Meeting by Keith Whitcomb Jr….Al Ray, of Bennington, said the state of Minnesota mandates fluoridating town water, as do other places. He said he also contacted the Mayo Clinic, a world-renowned medical practice and research center based in Rochester, Minn., and learned it is in favor of water fluoridation. He said what's good enough for the Mayo Clinic should be good enough for Bennington.

KTTC, Study: Many women unaware breast density is linked to breast cancer — A new Mayo Clinic study shows many women are not aware of breast density's impact on their risk for breast cancer. The study was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. In the study, a survey was conducted among 2,311 women ages 40-74 across the country. About 65 percent responded.

Chippewa Herald, Boy with spina bifida to take karate test — Ty Wiberg has never been one to take no for an answer. “I think his tenacity and his ability to just keep going and keep a positive attitude when things are rough is pretty amazing,” says Michele Wiberg, the 13-year-old Chippewa Falls boy’s mother…Jane Byrd, M.D., is Ty’s Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine physician at Mayo Clinic Health System – Chippewa Valley in Chippewa Falls. She’s known Ty since birth and describes him as “an ideal young man” who’s incredibly motivated. “He is an inspiration to everybody, whether or not he had spina bifida,” Dr. Byrd says…Sherilyn Driscoll, M.D., Ty’s pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician at the Spina Bifida Clinic, sees him every six months to a year or more frequently if he’s having concerns.

HealthDay, Surgery Patients Might Not Need Sedative Before Anesthesia by Steven Reinberg…"I was not surprised with these results," said Dr. J.P. Abenstein, president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, who had no part in the study. "Lorazepam is a long-acting sedative lasting about 12 hours."…When a sedative is called for, the most commonly used drug is midazolam, which is a short-acting sedative in the same class of drugs as lorazepam, said Abenstein, who is also an associate professor of anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Classical MPR, Music with Minnesotans: Carl Lundstrom — Carl Lundstrom is an Internal Medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic. He describes his job as a cross between a detective and a conductor. He's a detective when seeking the source of his patients' problems and a conductor when he puts together an ensemble of treatments. Carl is also a cancer survivor. He says it's made him a better doctor. Choral music is at the heart of his playlist.

La Crosse Tribune, Mayo sponsors GROW La Crosse to foster healthy eating through gardening — Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare has become a corporate sponsor for GROW La Crosse to promote healthy eating through gardening programs. Mayo-Franciscan and newly incorporated GROW announced the partnership at a press conference Tuesday. GROW La Crosse previously operated as a program under the Hillview Urban Agriculture Center known as Grow Your Brain. “This corporate sponsorship fits well with Mayo Clinic Health System’s focus on promoting healthy eating and healthy lifestyles for both children and adults,” said Teri Wildt, Mayo-Franciscan’s associate director for external affairs. Additional coverage: WKBT La Crosse, WXOW La Crosse

Post-Bulletin, State offers to sweeten Cardio3 deal in Rochester — To sweeten the deal for Cardio3 BioSciences to expand in Rochester, the state has agreed to kick in $357,000 in exchange for the Belgium biotech investing and hiring at least 33 employees. The Rochester City Council recently approved a lease for Cardio3 to take over the entire fifth floor of Rochester's Minnesota BioBusiness Center. Rochester Area Economic Development Inc. is also involved in the deal…That research was led by Mayo Clinic's Dr. Andre Terzic and Dr. Atta Behfar. Mayo Clinic owned 2.96 percent of the company as of Jan. 21. Additional coverage: KIMT

HealthDay, Study Questions Close Monitoring of Thyroid Growths by Amy Norton…"But the question still is, what if that [biopsy result] is a false-negative?" said Dr. Anne Cappola, an endocrinologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Because of that, thyroid association guidelines say that people with benign nodules should get follow-up ultrasound scans after one year, and then "periodically" after that, said Dr. Hossein Gharib, a past thyroid association president and a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

KTVA Alaska, Adjustable desks help Anchorage architecture firm improve employees’ health…Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found a number of health problems can be attributed to sittingup to eight hours a day in an office. Dr. James Levine, director of the Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative, declared, “sitting is the new smoking.”

Star Tribune, On Weather with Paul Douglas, Wind Chill Today - Next Week May Feel 70 Degrees WarmerCan You Really Get A Cold From Going Outside With Wet Hair?  — The short answer is no. Here's an excerpt of a good explanation at Huffington Post: "...In order to get an infection you need to be exposed to an infectious agent," said Dr. Pritish Tosh, an infectious diseases physician and researcher at the Mayo Clinic. "There are several things that circulate during periods of cold weather -- influenza, different cold viruses. That's what you need to get infected. Going out with wet hair is not going to cause an infection..."

Huffington Post, 5 Ways Your Sleep Affects What You Eat…A 2012 Mayo Clinic study compared the eating habits of people who slept as much as they needed to those who only logged two-thirds of their required rest time for eight days, and found that subjects who were sleep-deprived ended up eating an average of 549 extra calories each day (which could led to the gaining of one pound per week if the habit persisted).

Post-Bulletin, (MPR), State lends a hand to foreign-trained doctors — For three years, Abdelsalam Elshaikh has worked as a nursing assistant at Charter House, a Mayo Clinic retirement community that houses a short-term rehabilitation center. Every night, his duties include wheeling patients recovering from hip and knee surgery to the dining room.

Cincinnati Enquirer, Report: Assurex Health test better than older methods by Anne Saker — Assurex Health of Mason unveiled fresh evidence Tuesday that its GeneSight genetic test works better than traditional tools in guiding doctors to the best choices among antidepressants and other such drugs to prescribe to ailing patients. The Pharmacogenomics Journal published the paper Tuesday with the research, which was conducted by C. Anthony Altar, senior vice president for Assurex Health, with four Assurex Health colleagues and Dr. Daniel Hall-Flavin, associate professor of psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic.

Minneapolis/ St. Paul Business Journal, Target cutting 'several thousand' positions, primarily from HQ by Nick Halter — Minneapolis-based Target Corp. plans to cut several thousand jobs over the next two years, primarily from its corporate headquarters. The job cuts are part of a $2 billion restructuring that will have the company spending less on employees and more on digital enhancements and opening smaller, urban stores.…In total, the company has 13,000 corporate jobs in Minnesota, Snyder said. Target is Minnesota's fourth-largest employer after Mayo Clinic, the state and the federal government, according to Business Journal research.

Idaho State Journal, Idaho man to undergo stem cell transplant for rare illness — John Burrows, 59, has suffered from a variety of ailments, including a heart attack and multiple back problems, over the past three years…When he took a turn for the worse last fall, doctors referred John and Jody to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. On their first visit in December, the couple finally got the answer they were looking for. John was suffering was POEMS syndrome, an extremely rare blood disorder that affects the nervous system and causes a host of other problems throughout the rest of the body. John and Jody recently returned from a second stint at the Mayo Clinic where he underwent chemotherapy. On Sunday, they went back to Minnesota so John can undergo a stem-cell transplant.

Yahoo! News, Can Reishi Mushroom Powder Boost Your Immunity? by Molly Shea— What The Science Says: Well… it’s hard to nail down. While scientists have studied reishi, it’s only been in the context of cancer treatment. “A strict, evidence-based review reported on five randomized clinical trials in cancer patients, [and] there was some evidence that patients treated with Ganoderma lucidum medications, combined with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, were more likely to respond compared with chemotherapy or radiotherapy alone, possibly in part due to beneficial effects on white blood cells,” Donald Hensrud, MD, medical director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, tells Yahoo Health.

KAAL, RAEDI 'Journey to Growth' Development Plan to Build Rochester's Economy by Ben Henry — The Rochester Area Economic Development, Inc. also known as RAEDI, has developed a five-year plan they call the "Journey to Growth." The plan is focused on growing Rochester’s economy. On Wednesday, different businesses including Century Link and Mayo Clinic Ventures were in attendance for the annual RAEDI meeting to discuss some of their success they have been having in the Rochester area, and how they are going to contribute to the Journey to Growth. Additional coverage: KTTC

KTTC, RST welcomes new Executive Director — Although Wednesday was the official welcome for the new Executive Director of the Rochester International Airport, he has already been adjusting to his new home in Rochester for the last couple of weeks. John Reed said he is ready to get involved in the community and get the Rochester International Airport a part of the changes that are coming to Rochester with DMC. During a news conference at RST Wednesday morning, Rochester Airport Company President Steve McNeill introduced Reed as the new airport Executive Director. Additional coverage: KIMT

Monterey Herald, Target heart rates: How do you get your heart rate on target? — When you work out, are you doing too much or not enough? There's a simple way to know: Your target heart rate helps you hit the bull's eye. “We don't want people to over-exercise, and the other extreme is not getting enough exercise,” says Gerald Fletcher, M.D., a cardiologist and professor in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Jacksonville, Fla.

MedCity News, Mayo Clinic and Gentag ink IP collaboration to commercialize biosensors for diabetes, obesity by Stephanie Baum — Mayo Clinic has inked a deal with biosensor developer Gentag that will focus on the needs of patients with diabetes and obesity, according to a statement from the provider. It marks Gentag’s first collaboration with a provider. Additional coverage: Fierce Medical Devices,

DARK Daily, ACOs Are Learning to Use Big Data — However, only a few of the largest, most sophisticated ACOs have established big data warehouses. “While other industries have been far more successful at harnessing the value from large-scale integration and analysis of big data, healthcare is just getting its feet wet,” wrote Nilay D. Shah, Ph.D. and Jyotishman Pathak, Ph.D. in an article in the Harvard Business Review (HBR). Dr. Shah is an Associate Professor in the Division of Health Care Policy and Research at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Pathak is Director, Clinical Informatics Services, at Mayo and an Associate Professor in Mayo’s Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics.

Mirror UK, Fernando Alonso 'woke up in 1995' after F1 crash, having forgotten the past 20 years of his life by Byron Young — Fernando Alonso “woke up in 1995” after his crash during pre-season testing, having forgotten the past 20 years of his life, according to reports in Spain.The former world champion has already been ruled out of the first Grand Prix of the new season in Australia on doctors' orders after spending nearly a week in hospital, and despite being seemingly back to full health, alarming reports are filtering through about Alonso's confusion when he regained consciousness…Experts from the world famous Mayo Clinic in America warned “experiencing a second concussion before signs and symptoms of a first concussion have resolved may result in rapid and usually fatal brain swelling.”

WQOW Eau Claire, Being cooped up all winter affects more than just mental health by Emily Valerio — Cabin fever is in full swing. People are ready for fresh air and a good spring cleaning. But did you know being cooped up can affect more than just our mental state? News 18 spoke with a Mayo Clinic Doctor who says this time of year it's common to see an increase in the amount of people who have the cold or flu…"Certainly if you have other medical problems like asthma or diabetes, that cold weather can impact your immunity but for the general, healthy individual...No," explains Dr. Katie Thompson.

Sage Journals, Qualitative Inquiry, Representing Ethnographic Data Through the Epistolary Form, A Correspondence Between a Breastmilk Donor and Recipient, (This is very interesting research – she is using composite characters to write letters back and forth discussing breast milk donation – donor mommy and recipient mommy. The letters provide an accessible and novel way to discuss research, therapy or other medical topics that may be difficult to accept or comprehend. Katherine Carroll, Ph.D., is new to Mayo Clinic (from Australia), and started the research there, but finished it here.)

Harvard Crimson, Science, Research, and the Government by Risham Dhillon — If realized, the Personal Medicine Initiative has the potential to be as revolutionary as was the mapping of the human genome more than a decade ago, and for this reason, such a decision should be highly applauded.…Some skeptics, like Dr. Michael Joyner of the Mayo Clinic, have argued that the precision medicine effort is misleading–stating that it is perhaps better to spend this money “understanding what it takes to solve messy problems about how humans behave” because “we almost certainly have more control over how much we exercise, eat, drink and smoke than we do over our genomes.” And though this statement is true–we are not the masters of our genetic destinies–it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t spend our resources trying to understand our diseases through a personalized, genetic approach.

Boston Globe, Internet will see you now by Alex Beam — AS MY body continues to fall apart, gradually, I’ve been using the Internet to diagnose my various woes. A trivial example: I woke up a few weeks ago with a condition that I learned from eyehealthweb.com is called “puffy eyes.” I queried my son in medical school, and he texted me back one word: “Benadryl.” That was easy…The top five “natural” Google hits link to four sites we might consider reliable: webmd.com, medicinenet.com, the Mayo Clinic, and the American Academy of Dermatology. The Proactiv web page also pops up in the top five results, which probably means that the company has invested heavily in search engine optimization, i.e., jacking up their Google ranking.

Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal, Dayton wants an explanation from CEO for Target's job cuts by Nick Halter — Gov. Mark Dayton's great-grandfather started the company now known as Target Corp., and apparently, Dayton doesn't like the way the company's new leader is handling business… Target (NYSE; TGT) is Minnesota's fourth-largest employer after Mayo Clinic, the state and the federal government, according to Business Journal research.

Mason City Globe Gazette, Five years later, Connor Gordon enjoying life of teenager by Jim Cross — To watch him play sports or have a conversation, you wouldn’t know just five years ago, Connor Gordon was fighting cancer…Connor’s journey started in January 2008, as a seventh grader at St. Ansgar Junior High, when he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. He and his parents, Char and Dan Gordon, noticed a rash and bruises appearing on his body. “We went to Dr. (Mark) Haganman (at Mitchell County Regional Health Center),” said Gordon. “He did some blood tests, told us I had cancer and that I need to get to the Mayo Clinic. I didn’t know what it meant to have cancer.” The day Connor found out he had cancer, the family went home, packed their bags and headed to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

Washington Post, ‘Darkness and pain’: The death of ‘Seinfeld’ actor Daniel von Bargen — Daniel von Bargen, who died yesterday at 64, had a long, illustrious career with more than four decades of acting credits to his name…“Depression can lead to poor lifestyle decisions, such as unhealthy eating, less exercise, smoking and weight gain — all of which are risk factors for diabetes,” according to a post on the Mayo Clinic’s Web site.

Star Tribune, Legislators elect 5 to 12-member University of Minnesota Governing Board by Kia Farhang… Patricia Simmons, who represents Minnesota's 1st Congressional District on the board, won a third term. The recently retired Mayo Clinic doctor has said she only entered the race because another female candidate connected to the hospital dropped out. Additional coverage: MPR, Grand Forks Herald, KTTC, Worthington Daily Globe

Missoulian, MIT rural health care 'hackathon' on agenda in Missoula by Kim Briggeman — The "hackathon" that’s coming to Missoula on March 20-22 is all about gathering the best and the brightest ideas to solve rural health challenges – and nothing about computers or respiratory systems gone wrong… eight others are lined up for high-energy presentations to set the tone for the weekend, including Dr. Mark Lindsay of the Mayo Clinic college of Medicine and local Missoula entrepreneurs Ken Wall of Geodata Systems and Cindy Jimmerson of Lean Healthcare West.

HealthLeaders Media, Mayo readies services to draw patients from China — On the second floor of downtown Rochester's newest building, the H3 Plaza, workers install baseboard trim to prepare for the city's first international concierge service. In a couple of months, the space will house the offices of MediSun, a Chinese company setting up a door-to-door service for Chinese patients traveling more than 6,000 miles for treatment at Mayo Clinic.

Detroit News, Spring forward in a healthy way by cutting out meat… A Mayo Clinic study reports that a plant-based diet, which emphasizes fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, legumes and nuts, is rich in fiber, vitamins and other nutrients. And people who eat only plant-based foods — aka vegetarians — generally eat fewer calories and less fat, weigh less, and have a lower risk of heart disease than non-vegetarians do.

People magazine, Babysitter Charged with Murder for Shaking 10-Week-Old Baby to Death…Shaken baby syndrome is defined by the Mayo Clinic as a "serious brain injury resulting from forcefully shaking an infant or toddler." It can lead to permanent brain damage or even death, as was the case here.

Post-Bulletin, Mayo Clinic nurse charged with theft by Kay Fate — A former surgical nurse at Mayo Clinic has been charged with a felony after authorities say she diverted a narcotic pain medication for her own use for more than a year — and shot it up while at work. Connie Kay Stier, 60, of Chatfield, faces one count of theft… Stier told a Mayo official that she'd been diverting Fentanyl for about a year. She claimed she took only waste product and didn't deny patients any pain medication if they needed it. Stier had been injecting the Fentanyl only at work, the complaint says, using up to five or six times during her 12-hour shift

La Cronica de Hoy, Narcolepsia, afección que dura toda la vida…El Dr. Michael Silber, del Centro de Medicina del Sueño de Mayo Clinic, en Rochester, Minnesota, explica que la narcolepsia es un trastorno del sueño crónico que se caracteriza por somnolencia abrumadora durante el día, con ataques repentinos de sueño. Alrededor del 70% de las personas que padecen narcolepsia, también pueden presentar un síntoma conocido como cataplexia o cataplejía, que consiste en repentina debilidad muscular después de una reacción emocional positiva, sobre todo de risa. Additional coverage: La Salud, Mundo de Hoy

Univision, ¡Grasas amigas de la dieta!... Grasas poliinsaturadas Según el portal de la Clínica Mayo, consumir alimentos ricos en este tipo de grasas ayudaría a mejorar los niveles de colesterol en la sangre, reduciendo los riesgos de padecer enfermedades del corazón. Además, también podrían decrecer nuestras posibilidades de sufrir diabetes tipo 2.

Vida y Salud, Avances en el tratamiento del mieloma multiple… El análisis preliminar del ensayo clínico ASPIRE, que inscribió a 792 pacientes con recaída de mieloma múltiple y procedentes de 20 países, descubrió un prolongación “nunca antes vista” del tiempo en que los pacientes se vieron libres de todo avance de la enfermedad, comenta el investigador principal del estudio, Dr. Keith Stewart, oncólogo de la Mayo Clinic en Arizona. “Los pacientes que recibían los tres fármacos, de carfilzomib, lenalidomida y dexametasona, no mostraron ningún avance de la enfermedad durante un promedio de 26 meses”, añade el médico. “Nunca se había informado sobre nada parecido en la recaída del mieloma multiple.”

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