May 3, 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

US News & World Report
Have Anxiety? There's an App for That
by Rachel Pomerance

Exposing new populations to mental health treatment provided the rationale for an app called Anxiety Coach, released last fall by the Mayo Clinic. Using the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy, the app guides users to face their fears and eventually become free of them. Select, for example, "talking in public," and the app provides a to-do list of activities to tackle, such as purposefully mispronouncing a word in conversation or complimenting a stranger. "You gradually face your fears and learn through your own experience it's unlikely to happen, and when things don't go well, you can handle it," says Stephen Whiteside, director of the Pediatric Anxiety Disorders Program at the Mayo Clinic and co-creator of Anxiety Coach.

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

Additional Coverage: Detroit Free Press

Previous Coverage from April 12 Weekly News Highlights

Context: Children who avoid situations they find scary are likely to have anxiety a Mayo Clinic study of more than 800 children ages 7 to 18 found. The study published this month in Behavior Therapy presents a new method of measuring avoidance behavior in young children. “This new approach may enable us to identify kids who are at risk for an anxiety disorder,” says lead author Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D., a pediatric psychologist with the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center. “And further, because cognitive behavior therapy focuses on decreasing avoidance behaviors, our approach may also provide a means to evaluate whether current treatment strategies work the way we think they do.”

News Release: Children Who Avoid Scary Situations Likelier to Have Anxiety, Mayo Clinic Research Finds

News Release: Mayo Clinic Debuts Anxiety Coach App for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

Public Affairs Contact: Nick Hanson

Star Tribune
Mayo Clinic study finds explanation for postmenopausal belly fat
by Allie Shah

Scientists have long known that lower estrogen levels after menopause can cause fat storage to shift from the hips and thighs to the abdomen. Now, a groundbreaking study, co-authored by the Mayo Clinic, has determined why: Proteins, revved up by the estrogen drop, cause fat cells to store more fat…Even though the research doesn’t provide weight-loss solutions, it may bring a sense of relief to millions of middle-aged women who have been fighting an often losing battle against the dreaded “post-meno belly.” “It doesn’t mean you’re absolutely doomed,” said Dr. Michael Jensen, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic and one of the study’s authors, “but it does mean it’s going to be harder, probably” to lose weight.

Circulation: The Star Tribune Sunday circulation is 514,457 copies and weekday circulation is 300,330. The Star Tribune is the state’s largest newspaper and ranks 16^th nationally in circulation.

Additional Coverage:  MedCity News (Star Tribune)

Context: People who are of normal weight but have fat concentrated in their bellies have a higher death risk than those who are obese, according to Mayo Clinic research presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich. Those studied who had a normal body mass index but central obesity — a high waist-to-hip ratio — had the highest cardiovascular death risk and the highest death risk from all causes, the analysis found. A news release highlighting the study is here. Michael Jensen, M.D., a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist, is one of the authors on the study.

Previous Coverage: CBS This Morning

Public Affairs Contacts: Nick Hanson, Traci Klein

HealthDay
General Anesthesia Not Linked to Raised Risk for Dementia

Despite previous concerns, older people who receive general anesthesia are not at greater risk of developing long-term dementia or Alzheimer's disease, a new study says.  The study, by researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., involved 900 patients over the age of 45 who had dementia, a disease that affects brain functions such as memory, language, problem-solving and attention. All of the participants were residents of Olmsted County, Minn., from 1985 to 1994…"It's reassuring we're adding to the body of knowledge that there is not an association of anesthesia and surgery with Alzheimer's," study senior author Dr. David Warner, a pediatric anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic, said in a Mayo news release.

Reach: HealthDay distributes its health news to media outlets several times each day.

Additional Coverage:
WCCO Radio
Mayo Study: No Link Between Anesthesia And Dementia

Philadelphia Inquirer, US News, Medical Daily, HealthCanal, Medical Xpress

Context: Elderly patients who receive anesthesia are no more likely to develop long-term dementia or Alzheimer's disease than other seniors, according to new Mayo Clinic research. The study analyzed thousands of patients using the Rochester Epidemiology Project — which allows researchers access to medical records of nearly all residents of Olmsted County, Minn. — and found that receiving general anesthesia for procedures after age 45 is not a risk factor for developing dementia. The findings were published Wednesday, May 1, online in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Researchers know that some elderly patients have problems with cognitive function for weeks, sometimes months, following surgical procedures, says senior author David Warner, M.D., a pediatric anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic Children's Center.

News Release: No Link Between Anesthesia, Dementia in Elderly, Mayo Clinic Study Finds

Public Affairs Contact: Nick Hanson 

WEAU Eau Claire
New PSA stresses how to stay safe in the sun

After our long winter, we all deserve to get out and soak up the sun! But doctors say there is such a thing as too much sun. According the Centers for Disease Control, one person dies of Melanoma every hour in the U.S and a growing number of those people are under 30. That's why Mayo Clinic Health System started a new campaign today to warn people about the dangers of too much sun. “Have fun in the sun but be smart anyone can get skin cancer, even young people," were the words used in the Mayo Clinic Health System PSA.

Additional Coverage: KEYC Mankato, HealthCanal

Context: Have fun in the sun, but be sun smart. That's the message two cartoon-style moles deliver to kids of all ages in new public service announcements released by Mayo Clinic as part of Skin Cancer Awareness Month in May. Melanoma is on the rise, particularly among teens and young adults. It can be deadly. In the public service messages, available for use on television, radio, online and other platforms, two moles — animal moles, that is — illustrate the importance of four, key skin cancer prevention and early detection tips...

YouTube: Mayo Clinic: Have Fun in the Sun, But Be Sun Smart - Skin Cancer Prevention PSA

News Release: Have Fun in the Sun, But Be Sun Smart

News Release: Mayo Clinic: Melanoma Up to 2.5 Times Likelier to Strike Transplant, Lymphoma Patients

News Release: Mayo Clinic Study Finds Dramatic Rise in Skin Cancer in Young Adults

Public Affairs Contacts: Sharon Theimer, Susan Barber Lindquist, Micah Dorfner

KAET Arizona
Breast Cancer Collaboration
Host: Ted Simons

Arizona State University and Mayo Clinic and T-Gen have joined forces to fight breast cancer. The three have formed the Breast Cancer Interest Group or Big Group to help research some of the toughest breast cancers to treat. Joining us now is Dr. Karen Anderson, a member of the Big Group. She has a joint appointment at ASU and Mayo Clinic.

Reach: Eight, Arizona PBS is a PBS station that has focused on educating children, reporting in-depth on public affairs, fostering lifelong learning and celebrating arts and culture. Its signal reaches 86 percent of the homes in Arizona. With more than 1 million viewers weekly, Eight consistently ranks among the most-viewed public television stations per capita in the country. Eight is a member-supported service of Arizona State University.

Context: The Breast Cancer Interest Group (BIG), a collaboration between researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Arizona State University (ASU). The collaboration focuses on using the state-of-the-art genomics infrastructure and a high-quality breast cancer tumor biorepository. The focus of the group is to investigate molecular pathways to identify treatment targets for patients with triple negative breast cancer and endocrine-resistant breast cancer.  Mayo Clinic researchers are involved in many studies related to breast cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Mayo physicians often inform eligible patients about opportunities to participate in research studies and clinical trials related to advancements in the treatment of breast cancer.

Public Affairs Contact: Jim McVeigh

Arizona Republic
Cancer patients have more options, more decisions to make
By Ken Alltucker

When he was diagnosed with bladder cancer nearly five years ago, Louis Amaniera did exactly what the doctor ordered. He followed instructions, kept appointments, took prescribed drugs and readied his body for surgery. He had questions, but those questions never reached his lips...“In the past, (care) was based on what type of disease you had,” said Dr. Ruben Mesa, director of Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Arizona. “Now it has moved much more to what we know about you and what we know about your cancer.”

Circulation: The Arizona Republic reaches 1.1 million readers every Sunday. The newspaper’s website Arizona Central, averages 83 million pages views each month.

Context: Ruben Mesa, M.D., is a chair of Hematology/Oncology at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center with a multisite presence. Its three campuses — in Scottsdale, Ariz., Jacksonville, Fla., and Rochester, Minn. — give the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center a broad geographic reach, enabling it to serve diverse patient populations around the world. The campuses are also home to outstanding, internationally recognized physicians and scientists who collaborate across the full spectrum of cancer research, from basic biology to treatment, as they seek ways to reduce the burden of cancer.

Public Affairs Contact: Julie Janovsky-Mason

Star Tribune
Minnesota Legislature makes welcome progress on Mayo

 …The Legislature seems to have found a way to say yes to Mayo Clinic’s call for help in building what it calls a Destination Medical Center in Rochester. Similarly structured provisions to help Rochester pay for the public infrastructure demands of a major Mayo expansion have landed in the House and Senate tax bills. The House bill won floor approval last week; the Senate bill is expected on the floor today. Barring an unforeseen hiccup, Gov. Mark Dayton and a tax conference committee should be able to reach an accord with Mayo and its local government partners before the Legislature adjourns on or before May 20.

Circulation: The Star Tribune Sunday circulation is 514,457 copies and weekday circulation is 300,330. The Star Tribune is the state’s largest newspaper and ranks 16^th nationally in circulation.

Context: On Jan. 30, 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.

Additional Destination Medical Coverage: Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal,  The Bond Buyer, Businessweek, Toronto Telegraph, Austin Daily Herald, Star Tribune, KAAL, Post-Bulletin, Post-Bulletin (Poll), Post-Bulletin, Post-Bulletin, Post-Bulletin, Post-Bulletin (Opinion), Post-Bulletin, Post-Bulletin, MPR

Previous Destination Medical Coverage 

Public Affairs Contacts: Bryan Anderson, Karl Oestreich

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