February 8, 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.

Thank you.

Karl Oestreich, manager enterprise media relations

New York Times
Peter Hauri, Psychologist Who Focused on Insomnia, Dies at 79
by Paul Vitello

Peter Hauri, a psychologist who was among the first researchers to study the mysterious mechanics of a good night’s sleep, and who established widely used guidelines for avoiding insomnia without drugs, died on Jan. 31 in Rochester, Minn., where he had been director of the Mayo Sleep Disorders Center until he retired in 2000. He was 79…In the 2010 archive interview, Dr. Hauri was asked what had begun his interest in sleep. He replied with an impish smile, “My mother was a very famous insomniac.” And, he added, “I don’t sleep so well myself.”

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: KAAL

Context: Peter Hauri, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic psychologist, founded the American Sleep Disorders Association.

Public Affairs Contacts: Nick Hanson, Alyson Fleming

Post Bulletin
Our View: Dig into details before scoffing at Mayo Clinic's $6 billion plan

Just one day after Mayo Clinic announced it wants to pay for the lion's share of a $6 billion plan to turn Rochester into one of the world's foremost medical destinations, Lenczewski wasn't just skeptical — she was dismissive, calling the project "a massive public subsidy" that "seems pretty unlikely to ever happen." We would politely suggest that, when the state's largest employer declares its desire to bring up to 45,000 new jobs to Minnesota over a 20-year period, with a resulting $3 billion in additional tax revenue, it might behoove the tax chair at least to hold a hearing or two before she publicly scoffs at the idea.

Post Bulletin
Tony Wirt: Mayo Clinic, unlike the Vikings, isn't asking for a handout (also published in Pioneer Press)

Circulation: The Post-Bulletin has a weekend readership of nearly 45,000 people and daily readership of more than 41,000 people. The newspaper serves Rochester, Minn., and southeast Minnesota.

Additional Coverage: MPR, KAAL, KAAL, Post Bulletin, KTTC, MPR, KARE 11, HealthLeaders Media, MPR, MPR, Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal, MPR, WIZM, KIMT, Post Bulletin,  Post Bulletin, MPR, TPT, Pioneer Press, Pioneer Press, Leader-Telegram, Post Bulletin, WCCO, KEYC, Pioneer Press (AP), Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal

Context: Last week, Mayo Clinic announced Destination Medical Center (DMC), a $5 billion economic development initiative to secure Minnesota’s status as a global medical destination center now and in the future. The goal of DMC is to ensure that Minnesota and Mayo Clinic are destinations for medical care in the coming decades. This initiative is the culmination of a three-year study by Mayo Clinic to chart its future business strategy in an increasingly complex, competitive and global business environment.

Previous Coverage

News Release: Mayo Clinic to Invest More than $3 Billion to Position Minn. as World Destination for Health Care

Destination Medical Center Website

DMC Media Kit

Frequently Asked Questions About DMC

Public Affairs Contacts:  Karl Oestreich, Bryan Anderson 

ABC News
Heart Disease Trigger May Be in Your Genes
by Steven Driver, M.D.

A type of cholesterol you've probably never heard of may be linked to the third leading cause of heart disease in the country…Dr. Stephen Kopecky of the Mayo Clinic agreed. He said that when it comes to preventing heart disease, tried-and-true advice still applies. "Too often, Americans may be looking for a quick fix that will allow us to trade in our bodies for new ones after 55 years or so," he said. 

Circulation:  ABCNews.com is the official website for ABC News.

Context: Steven Kopecky, M.D., is a Mayo Clinic cardiologist.

Public Affairs Contacts: Traci Klein, Nick Hanson

Florida Times-Union
Mayo Clinic new Weaver Simulation Center provides broad range of medical training
by Charlie Patton

Using computerized manikins, animal tissue and human actors, medical personnel at the Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville are able to train 24 hours a day in preparation for medical situations that might arise. Since the start of January, that training has been done in the new J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver Simulation Center. The 9,600-square-foot center replaces a 2,600-square-foot simulation center that opened in April 2011.

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

Additional Coverage: News4Jax, WOKV, Jacksonville Business Journal

Context: Medical teams and community organizations can learn and practice medical skills in a safe, highly realistic environment with the opening of the Mayo Clinic J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver Simulation Center at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

News Release: Mayo Clinic Simulation Center Opens as State-of-the-Art Training for Medical Teams and Community

Public Affairs Contact: Kevin Punsky

Fox News
New saliva gland test may better diagnose patients with Parkinson's
by Loren Grush

It’s difficult for patients to absolutely know if they have Parkinson’s disease…But now, a conclusive clinical test may soon be available.  Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Arizona have found that examining a specific portion of a person’s saliva gland may be able to diagnose someone with Parkinson’s…“[During the autopsy] you can see the protein alpha-synuclein” – an abnormal protein associated with Parkinson’s disease – “and we find that in multiple areas of the body as well,” Adler, with the Mayo Clinic Arizona and a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, told FoxNews.com.  

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

Context: Described as a "big step forward" for research and treatment of Parkinson's disease, new research from Mayo Clinic in Arizona and Banner Sun Health Research Institute suggests that testing a portion of a person's saliva gland may be a way to diagnose the disease. The study was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in San Diego in March.  "There is currently no diagnostic test for Parkinson's disease," says study author Charles Adler, M.D., Ph.D., a neurologist with Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "We have previously shown in autopsies of Parkinson's patients that the abnormal proteins associated with Parkinson's are consistently found in the submandibular saliva glands, found under the lower jaw. This is the first study demonstrating the value of testing a portion of the saliva gland to diagnose a living person with Parkinson's disease. Making a diagnosis in living patients is a big step forward in our effort to understand and better treat patients."

News Release: Saliva Gland Test for Parkinson's Shows Promise, Study Finds

Public Affairs Contact: Jim McVeigh

To unsubscribe: To remove your name from the global distribution list, send an email to Emily Blahnik with the subject: UNSUBSCRIBE from Mayo Clinic in the News.

Tags: AAN, AASM, ABSM, American Academy of Neurology, American Sleep Disorders Association, ASDC, Associated Professional Sleep Societies, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Cardiology, Cardiology, cholesterol, Dr. Charles Adler, Dr. Steven Kopecky, Florida Times-Union, Fox News, FoxNews.com, HealthLeaders Media, insomnia, Jacksonville Business Journal, KAAL, KARE 11, KEYC, KIMT, KTTC, Leader-Telegram, Mayo Clinic, Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Mayo Clinic in Florida, Mayo Clinic in the News, Mayo Clinic J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver Simulation Center, Mayo Clinic Sleep Medicine Center, Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal, MPR, National Sleep Foundation, neurologist, Neurology, Neurology, News4Jax, parkinson's disease, Peter Hauri, Pioneer Press, Pioneer Press (AP), Post Bulletin, Psychology and Psychiatry, saliva gland, Shirley Linde, Sleep Medicine, Sleep Research Society, TPT, WCCO, WIZM, WOKV