HealthDay by Steven Reinberg Hot flashes, a common curse in menopause, can be especially bothersome after breast cancer. But a new study suggests an existing medication may help. The drug is oxybutynin (Ditropan XL), long used to treat urinary incontinence. The study found that women taking the medicine had an [...]

Albert Lea Tribune Patients who visit Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea now have greater access to enhanced technology for breast cancer screenings. The medical center recently installed its second mammography machine, but the first to provide 3-D scans. The new technology allows radiologists to see breast scans, reduce [...]

MPR by Angela Davis, Julie Siple, Manda Lillie Dr. John Noseworthy retires from the top post at Mayo Clinic this month after setting some major changes in motion. Noseworthy has been Mayo's president and CEO since 2009. During his tenure, he helped seal the deal on the so-called Destination Medical [...]

Reuters, Asian longhorned tick spreading in U.S by Lisa Rapaport — The Asian longhorned tick has spread across nine states since it first appeared in the U.S. last year, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)...“At this time there is no evidence that the [...]

Reader’s Digest by Kristin Crothers The classic example of a disease that originates in the gut microbiome is infection by C. difficile, a bacteria that causes diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, and in severe cases, kidney failure. It often develops in people who have taken heavy-duty antibiotics that killed off the [...]

Post-Bulletin by Anne Halliwell Mayo Clinic nurses are in the middle of a campaign to protect infants’ heads — in more ways than one. In November and December, Mayo’s Family Birth Center and Neonatal ICU have given out an additional, purple cap along with the normal pink or blue one [...]

News4Jax Dr. Claire Haga from Mayo Clinic to talk about how the holidays can put too much stress on your heart. Reach: WAWS-TV/30 is the Fox affiliate. WTEV-TV/47 is the CBS affiliate in Jacksonville, Florida. Context: Claire Haga, M.D. is a Mayo Clinic family medicine physician. Contact:  Kevin Punsky

Star Tribune by Connie Nelson We’re in the thick of it now: The decorations are up, the Muzak has switched to all carols all the time and the cards are starting to arrive in the mail. From now until early January, we’ll be greeted with “Happy holidays!” But happiness isn’t [...]

Wall Street Journal, Doctors Rethink the Cause—and Treatment—of Diverticular Disease by Laura Landro — Researchers are also learning more about the role of obesity in the risk of diverticulitis, and recommend maintaining a healthy body-mass index—the measure of body fat in relation to height and weight. But in a Mayo [...]

Wisconsin Public Radio by Colleen Leahy Acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, is an extremely rare illness that causes muscle weakness and paralysis. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that less than two in a million children will contract AFM every year. But there’s been an uptick in cases over the [...]

Post-Bulletin by John Molseed In the span of eight weeks, Dr. Denise Krivach, a former Abbott Northwestern radiologist, went from making retirement plans in the woods of Montana to being barely able to care for herself. Doctors in Montana diagnosed her with dementia. But that didn’t seem right to her. [...]

Star Tribune by Jeremy Olson Peter Grahn has faced the same question for a dozen years since he dived as a reckless teen into a southwest Minnesota lake, slammed headfirst into the shallow bottom, and floated — face down and motionless — on the surface. Will I ever walk again? [...]

Star Tribune by Joe Carlson If your heart is working normally, its left ventricle is pushing out 55 to 70 percent of its total blood volume with each beat. If this “ejection fraction” falls below 40 percent, you may have at least mild heart failure and may feel winded walking [...]

USA Today by Lois Krahn, M.D. Napping is not just for babies. Healthy adults can benefit from a quick 40 winks, too. Like our younger counterparts (aka our kids), adults see benefits such as increased alertness, improved mood, reduced fatigue, better performance and greater relaxation. But there are some things [...]

New York Times, Why Don’t We Have Vaccines Against Everything? by Donald G. McNeil Jr. — ...And as with weaponry, fear changes everything. In epidemiologically quiet times, the anti-vaccine lobby sows doubts; when Ebola or pandemic flu strikes, Americans clamor for protection. There are two obstacles to faster progress, said [...]

Post-Bulletin by Matthew Stolle Rene Cole has been waiting at Mayo Clinic Hospital- Saint Marys, for a heart transplant for 230 days. Her friend, Becca Imhoff, has been waiting for 446 days. At the mercy of events beyond their control, the two women savor the little moments of control and [...]

KTTC by Ala Errebhi Mayo Clinic has received a grant from the National Cancer Institute to help cancer patients quit tobacco. This is a two-year, $500,000 grant that will expand tobacco cessation treatment services for cancer patients. According to Mayo, this grant will ensure that all cancer patients who use [...]

New York Times by Nicholas Baker In animal studies over the last few decades, scientists have begun to understand the specific cellular and molecular processes that cause the deteriorations of old age…In an essay in the journal JAMA last month, Tamara Tchkonia and Dr. James L. Kirkland of the Mayo [...]

Star Tribune by Connie Nelson In Minnesota, we have road construction season (sometimes known as spring and summer) and cold and flu season (aka fall and winter). But how much do we really know about the common cold? It’s common, for one thing. Most adults get two to three colds [...]

Reuters, New drug options, risk factors added to U.S. heart guidelines by Deena Beasley — The new guidelines are fairly “conservative” in recommending that the newer drugs be used only after other options, said Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, adding “I think that [...]

Bloomberg by Reade Pickert When the doctors at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, saw Jay Alix for an annual exam 25 years ago, they had no idea he would go on to donate millions of dollars to the nonprofit. The corporate turnaround specialist is pledging $200 million to what will [...]

USA Today, How Daylight Saving affects your sleep and overall health by Ashley May — Daylight Saving Time ends and clocks will “fall back” an hour this weekend, giving Americans the feeling of an extra hour in the morning, which could negatively affect their health. “Ever since the institution of [...]

Florida Times Union By Matt Soergel The Mayo Clinic has named the new leader for its rapidly growing Jacksonville medical center and its 6,400 employees. Kent Thielen, a radiologist whose career has been spent at the Mayo Clinic’s headquarters in his home state of Minnesota, will become a Mayo vice [...]

KEYC Mankato by Ryan Sjoberg Friday was a big day for Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont. The clinic will now offer urgent care instead of express care to better meet patient's needs. "Urgent care is focused on a broader scope than our express care setting was," explained Mayo Clinic [...]

First Coast News by Juliette Dryer Tanis Milicevik and her family love to travel, but for so many years they were unable to plan ahead. Would she be well enough? Would she be getting cancer treatment? Milicevik was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma 10 years ago when the younger of [...]