November 15, 2013

Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

By Karl Oestreich

 

 

November 15, 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

Wall Street Journal
Special Project: Trials, A Desperate Fight to Save Kids & Change Science
by Amy Dockser Marcus

… In October 2007, the Hempels flew to Minneapolis with the twins to see Marc C. Patterson, an expert in NPC disease at the Mayo Clinic. Many young patients and their parents had passed through his office in Rochester, Minn. Without a cure for NPC, Dr. Patterson said, doctors could treat only symptoms, prescribing medicine for seizures or asthma drugs to ease breathing… Chris and Hugh Hempel sat on a couch, the twins on their laps clutching stuffed dogs, as Dr. Patterson began speaking about the idea of scientists and families working together to accelerate the search for a treatment.

Circulation: The Wall Street Journal, a US-based newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company, is second in newspaper circulation in America with an average circulation of  2.23 million copies on week days. The Wall Street Journal Trials was a six-year project. Marc Patterson, M.D., is a Mayo Clinic Niemann-Pick Type C expert. Dr. Patterson is a Mayo Clinic neurologist who is affiliated with the Mayo Clinic Children's Center and also Mayo Clinic medical genetics.

Public Affairs Contact: Kelley Luckstein

Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia hospital joins Mayo Clinic network by Carla Caldwell, St. Francis Hospital in Columbus has joined the Mayo Clinic network, reports the Ledger-Enquirer. St. Francis, which is close to completing a $110 million expansion of its Manchester Expressway campus in Columbus, becomes the only Georgia hospital in the Mayo Clinic Care Network, the Ledger-Enquirer reports.

Reach: The Atlanta Business Chronicle is a weekly publication with a circulation of more than 36,700. It's website receives more than 1.9 million unique visitors each month.

Additional Coverage: Lexington Herald-Leader, Marietta Daily Journal, The Olympian, Star Tribune, Sun Herald, Telegraph, Vida en el Valle, WAGA, WTVM Ga., Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Miami Herald, Atlanta Business Chronicle, La Crosse Tribune, Winona Daily News

Context: Building on its reputation for delivering high-quality and compassionate care to the communities in which it serves, St. Francis in Columbus, Ga., becomes the most recent member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, representatives from Mayo Clinic and St. Francis announced today. The Mayo Clinic Care Network shares Mayo Clinic's knowledge and expertise with health care systems interested in working together to enhance the quality and delivery of health care for their patients. St. Francis is the first organization in Georgia to join the Mayo Clinic Care Network.

News Release: St. Francis in Georgia Joins Mayo Clinic Care Network

Public Affairs Contact: Kevin Punsky

News4Jax Fla.
Survivors, researchers battle to end breast cancer
by Mary Baer

The battle to cure breast cancer is a fight that happens every day in a lab at the Mayo Clinic. "The important thing to me is that people need to know that advances are really being made today that are helping people today, but we need to continue this path," explained Dr. Edith Perez.

Reach: WJXT is an independent television station serving Florida’s First Coast that is licensed to Jacksonville.

Context: E. Aubrey Thompson, Ph.D. is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and a consultant in the Department of Cancer Basic Science at Mayo Clinic in Florida. Edith Perez, M.D., is deputy director at large, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. She also serves as director of the Breast Cancer Translational Genomics Program and the Breast Program at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

Public Affairs Contact: Paul Scotti

KMSP FOX9
INVESTIGATORS: Back from the dead
by Shelby Capacio

In a health crisis, the difference between life and death can depend on where catastrophe strikes -- but there is one Minnesota town that leads the nation when it comes to saving people from sudden cardiac arrest. Wayne Demydowich is a veteran distance runner, and the 13-mile run on a damp morning with a teeth-chattering chill would span a punishing 3 hours that would put tremendous stress on his heart…Once Demydowich was pulled from the car, first responders realized he was experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. "The heart is in a state of mechanical and electrical chaos," explained Dr. Roger White, of Mayo Clinic.

Reach: Minneapolis-St.Paul is the 16th largest television market in the United States with 1.7 million TV homes. FOX 9 News (WFTC) typically has good viewership for its 9 p.m., newscast, but lags behind its competitors at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.

Context: Roger White, M.D., is a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist who has saved countless lives through groundbreaking work in cardiac resuscitation at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. His discoveries helped pave the way for the placement of defibrillators in airports and other public places, better CPR practices and education, and faster emergency response times.

Public Affairs Contact: Glenn Lyden

Additional Mayo Clinic News Highlights This Week:

Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Bacteria in our gut, by Norman Swan… Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota have been teasing out the story. Here's Purna Kashyap. The bacteria we have living inside us have an enormous effect on our health. They can be affected by our diet, our environment and whether we've been on antibiotics or perhaps even our genes.

USA Today, Experts dismiss doctor's cancer claims by Liz Szabo, Cancer specialists question some of the success stories claimed by Stanislaw Burzynski and his patients, saying some were misdiagnosed or benefited from conventional treatments before seeing him...When doctors look for reasons why a patient does well on a therapy, they look for the most plausible explanation, said Jan Buckner, a professor and chairman of oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Burzynski's therapies have never been proven effective in a definitive clinical trial, according to the National Cancer Institute.

MedPage Today, Ivan Today: Disaster in the Philippines, What Responders Should Know by Ivan Oransky, The scenes of devastation in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan are heartbreaking and awful and just keep coming. Doctors Without Borders has set up a fund you can donate to, but some of our readers may be considering traveling to aid the typhoon's victims, so we contacted a number of experts for their advice. The Mayo Clinic, for example, "gives its faculty simulation-based education to prepare people professionally and emotionally for work in grueling situations (such as low-resource disaster settings)," notes Phil Fischer, MD, of the medical center's Travel Clinic. "We provide this education BEFORE disaster strikes."

Everyday Health, More Than Half of Nonsurgical Hospital Patients Get Opioids by Susan Matthews… Keith Berge, MD, an anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic, said he found the high prescription rates surprising, and that they point to the problem of increasing use of opioid medications. “There’s increased use and there follows inevitably increased diversion of these drugs to misuse,” he said, which causes more addiction and death.

Harvard Business Review, Integrating Maintenance of Board Certification and Health Systems’ Quality-Improvement Programs by Dr. Richard Berger Health care systems are transforming themselves to deliver the “Triple Aim” of providing better care and a better patient experience, improving the health of populations, and lowering the cost of care. With this in mind, the American Board of Medical Specialties and its 24 member boards in 2006 adopted new standards for physician certification and maintenance of certification (MOC).… This approach presents a problem for integrated, multi-specialty systems such as Mayo Clinic and other organizations that are adopting team-based, collaborative models for delivering care…

Winnipeg Free Press, Treatments available for seasonal affective disorder by Laurie McPherson, There are a number of common treatments for SAD. Up to 80 per cent of people with SAD have found light therapy to be helpful in reducing symptoms of seasonal depression. According to the Mayo Clinic, sitting approximately 14 inches away from a light box that produces 10,000 lux (a measurement of light intensity) for a minimum of 30 minutes each morning might be helpful.

Chicago Tribune, Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Research continues on how genetic makeup affects the body's response to medication by Alexander Parker, Ph.D., Center for Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla., DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Do genes have an effect on how medications work? My husband can take certain kinds of medicine without any trouble. But if I take the same thing, I feel groggy all day. Could that difference be somehow related to our genetics?

Chicago Tribune, Medical Edge: Lifestyle choices may help treat mild case of obstructive sleep apnea by Eric Olson, M.D., Center for Sleep Medicine, DEAR MAYO CLINIC: How does having sleep apnea affect my health? Are there treatments that I can try for sleep apnea other than a CPAP machine?

New Hampshire Business Review, N.H. ‘telestroke’ program unveiled by DHMC, A “telestroke” program, aimed at giving stroke patients better access to specialists, has been launched by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Catholic Medical Center will be the first facility in the state to offer the service, which gives patients access to a specialist at any hour – not only to physicians at Dartmouth-Hitchcock but from the nationally known Mayo Clinic as well.

Business Standard, Diabetes could also cause bone deterioration, Researchers including two Indian-origin scientists have confirmed that osteoporosis could be caused by type 2 diabetes. Senior author Sundeep Khosla, M.D. , Mayo Clinic endocrinologist, said that this is the first demonstration - using direct measurement of bone strength in the body - of compromised bone material in patients with type 2 diabetes. Additional coverage: International News Network

Post-Bulletin, A new approach to fighting Alzheimer's, Researches at Mayo Clinic in Florida are preparing to study the body's defense system to find new ways to fight Alzheimer's disease. "The investigators are working together to understand the role that innate immunity — the body's defense system — plays in Alzheimer's disease, a disorder of dementia that is rapidly increasing as the population ages," says a study announcement from Mayo. Additional coverage: BioPortfolio

Healio RheumatologyMayo Clinic forms Cardio-Rheumatology Clinic, Mayo Clinic has announced that its rheumatologists and cardiologists have joined together to create the Cardio-Rheumatology Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “Because of the recognition … that patients with rheumatic diseases are at higher risk for heart disease and that the clinical presentation of heart disease in patients with rheumatic diseases may be different and may be more subtle than it is in the general population, we have thought that it would be a good idea and we have indeed started a clinic specifically for the evaluation of patients with rheumatic diseases from a cardiovascular standpoint,” Eric Matteson, MD, rheumatology chair at Mayo Clinic, told Healio.com.

Family Practice News, Risk of CRC sharply lower after negative colonoscopy by Susan London, A negative screening colonoscopy dramatically reduces the subsequent risk of colorectal cancer, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 studies presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology. In the analysis, average-risk individuals whose colonoscopy showed neither cancer nor polyps had an incidence rate of colorectal cancer (CRC) of 0.58 per 1,000 person-years, corresponding to an estimated 10-year risk of just 0.58%, reported first author Dr. Larissa L. Fujii, a physician with the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

WEAU Eau Claire, New website to promote and measure community health improvement…The website has been in the works for nearly two years and is a collaboration between the Eau Claire City County Health Department, Marshfield clinic, Mayo Clinic Health System and the United Way of Greater Chippewa Valley.

Phoenix Magazine, Active Adult Living…As one of the country's best places to retire, the Valley offers myriad choices for every personality… You are never far from world-class medical centers in the Valley… If you know you will need to make regular visits to the Freedom Pain Hospital or Mayo Clinic, for example, it may be convenient for you to move to a north Scottsdale community.

Digital Journal, Mayo Clinic in Arizona Joins Major Health Systems in the Healthier Hospitals Initiative, Mayo Clinic in Arizona Joins Major Health Systems in the Healthier Hospitals Initiative commits to Help Health Sector Reduce Environmental Footprint and Improve Health Outcomes.

LaSalud, Mayo Clinic lanza BioBanco en Arizona, expandiendo así la investigación sobre obesidad, Mayo Clinic nuevamente amplió sus esfuerzos en la investigación genómica con el establecimiento en la sede de Arizona de un biobanco que sustentará estudios sobre obesidad, metabolismo y diabetes, áreas de especial inquietud entre la población latina. El “Biobanco Sangre por Salud” consiste en una sociedad entre Mayo, Mountain Park Health Center y la Universidad Estatal de Arizona. Los biobancos son un componente integral del Centro de Mayo para Medicina Individualizada.

Men’s Health, Fend Off Disease with Coffee by Rachael Schultz This news should perk you up: Three to four cups of coffee a day can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 25 percent compared to drinking less than two cups, according to new research from the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC)...Just know your limits: More than 28 cups a week—four a day—increases your risk of death, according to a recent study from the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Twins Baseball, Inbox: Is Mauer to first the right move? By Rhett Bollinger, It's hard to argue with the decision, because Mauer met with both team doctors and doctors from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and they determined it's in his best interest to move away from catching to prevent any future concussions. When it comes to brain injuries, it makes sense to trust the doctors' take on the situation. Additional Coverage: Star Tribune, Post-Bulletin, Sports on Earth, Star Tribune Blog, FOX News, Washington Post

Cardiology Today, Study of PCI patients to examine genotype-based medication choices, A trial is underway to investigate whether antiplatelet therapy prescription based on a patient’s CYP2C19 genotype affects outcomes in patients undergoing PCI, according to an announcement from the Mayo Clinic…The standard of care is to prescribe clopidogrel (Plavix, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi-Aventis) to patients undergoing PCI, but some patients have a variation in the CYP2C19 gene that may reduce ability to activate clopidogrel, Naveen Pereira, MD, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist and principal investigator of TAILOR-PCI, stated in the release.

ABC News (AP), Bird Flu Strain Infects Human for 1st Time A strain of bird flu that scientists thought could not infect people has shown up in a Taiwanese woman, a nasty surprise that shows scientists must do more to spot worrisome flu strains before they ignite a global outbreak, doctors say… "They gave a third of the usual dose and yet had antibodies in over 80 percent," said an expert not connected with the work, Dr. Greg Poland of the Mayo Clinic. "This is encouraging news. We've struggled to make vaccines quickly enough against novel viruses," he said. Additional Coverage: Huffington Post, Star Tribune

MPR, Minn. MDs, researchers favor new statin guidelines by Lorna Benson, For nearly a decade, many physicians and patients have lived by the mantra of driving down so-called "bad" cholesterol… Dr. Randy Thomas, director of the Cardiovascular Health Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, said the new guidelines are a dramatic shift in thinking.

KSTP Twin Cities, New Technology Helps Twin Cities Couple Have Baby by Jessica Miles, The desire to have a baby was huge, but the odds were stacked against a Twin Cities couple. Brian had testicular cancer. After surgery at Mayo Clinic, he had his sperm frozen. Soon after, he met his wife Tina and they wanted to have a baby. But Tina was 38-years-old, her eggs far from the optimal age…"When they are in the embryoscope, the temperature is the same, the concentration of gases in there nourishing the embryos is the same and we don't have to ever disturb the environment and we think that keeps the embryos protected better," says Dr. Jani Jenson. a fertility expert at Mayo Clinic. Additional coverage:  KAAL

Nature, Regenerative medicine: Rebuilding the backbone by Mike May… Growth accelerators cannot always be used, however, because BMP is considered off-limits for some groups, such as cancer patients. “Anything that increases the rate of division of the healing cells might do the same for cancer cells,” explains Michael J. Yaszemski, a spine surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. And cost is also an issue. “BMP is incredibly expensive right now,” Yaszemski says.

Wisconsin Public Radio, Mayo Clinic Researchers Find Possible Link Between Gluten, Type 1 Diabetes by Maureen McCollum, Researchers at Mayo Clinic have found that gluten may play a role in developing Type 1 diabetes.  With Type 1 diabetes (also known as juvenile onset diabetes) the immune system attacks the pancreatic cells that produce insulin. The pancreas then produces little to no insulin, affecting energy production in cells… Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist and study co-author Dr. Joseph Murray says the findings may not help people who have already been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

HealthCanal, Mayo Clinic Studying Genomics of Antiplatelet Heart Medication, Which antiplatelet medication is best after a coronary stent? The costly and potential life-or-death question lingers after most of the 600,000 angioplasties performed every year in the United States… "The current standard of care after angioplasty is to prescribe clopidogrel for one year, regardless of a person's individual genotype, even though we have known for several years that variation in the CYP2C19 gene may diminish the benefit from the drug," says Naveen Pereira, M.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist and principal investigator of TAILOR-PCI

Chicago Sun-Times, Restaurant owner who nabbed iPhone thief also faced down cancer by Diana Novak, After months of radiation, the first thing Chicago restaurateur Jason Chan said he could taste was his mother’s rice dumpling soup…Chan, co-owner of sushi restaurant Juno, is not only the martial arts expert who made headlines after he caught an alleged iPhone thief. More than a year ago, he was trying to open the Lincoln Park restaurant he co-owns with chef B.K. Park when he was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer…Dr. Dan Price, a head and neck surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said patients who have radiation through their mouths often lose their ability to taste normally for the rest of their lives.

Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal, Mayo CEO: Obamacare is just 'insurance reform' by Katharine Grayson, The Affordable Care Act may help more people get health insurance, but it doesn't do a lot to improve the quality of care they will receive, Mayo Clinic CEO Dr. John Noseworthy said in an interview with Fortune magazine. "The Affordable Care Act is really insurance reform," he said. "It gets people covered with insurance, but nothing in the Affordable Care Act really addresses the varying complexity of illness and certainly not the varying quality of the work that's done."

9 News Colo., NASCAR's Trevor Bayne says he has multiple sclerosis, Determined to learn exactly what caused his mystery illness in 2011, Trevor Bayne made repeated visits to the Mayo Clinic over the last two years, asking questions about his health and medical history. The youngest winner in Daytona 500 history wasn't sick and he wasn't suffering from any of the symptoms - nausea, fatigue, double vision and numbness in his arm - that had sidelined Bayne for five races in 2011. Additional Coverage: Chicago Tribune, KARE11, NBC Nightly News, USA Today, ABC News Good Morning America, CNN, ABC News, CBS News, Florida Times-Union, Newark Advocate, FOX News Radio, Journal & Courier, Lexington Herald Leader, Houston Chronicle, Victoria Times Colonist, Sports Illustrated, London Free Press, Philly.com, ABC33 Ala., Sports Glory, AP, FOX Sports,

Waukesha Freeman, Innovations target risk of lymphedema after cancer treatment, In the past few years, surgeons have made strides in preventing lymphedema, a potential side effect of breast cancer surgery in which a blockage in the lymphatic system causes fluid buildup and swelling in the arm… "There are a lot of people working on different things," said Dr. Sarah McLaughlin, a breast surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. But as much as researchers would like to see advances in this area, she said, it’s important to wait until new approaches are backed up by reliable data.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Father’s fight with esophageal cancer inspires daughter by Tory Parrish, Jackie Smith remembers her father suffering from heartburn for most of her life…Emanuel F. Smith, a longtime volunteer coach with the Carlynton Little Cougars youth football team, died from adenocarcinoma, which, according to the Scottsdale-based Mayo Clinic, is the most common of the two main types of esophageal cancer in the United States, and it primarily affects white men.

Chicago Daily Herald, Report: Two get Legionnaires' Disease at Naperville fitness club, Two people contracted Legionnaires' Disease from a hot tub at an LA Fitness in Naperville, according to a report by WBBM. The Mayo Clinic website describes Legionnaires' Disease as a severe form of pneumonia cause by a bacterium known as legionella. Legionella is the same bacteria health authorities found in the hot tub at the fitness center on Freedom Drive.

Medscape, Postop CT Scans of May Fail to Detect Bowel Obstruction by Diedtra Henderson, Pricey computed tomography (CT) scans may fail to accurately identify patients with serious complications among gynecologic surgery patients at high clinical probability for suffering postoperative complications. Mariam M. AlHilli, MBBCh, from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Surgery, and the Department of Health Sciences, Division of Biostatistics and Information, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, and coauthors report the findings of their retrospective cohort review online November 6 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

St. Peter Herald, St. Peter hosts Senate hearing on mental health patient flow by Jessica Bies, Dr. Bipinchandra Krishna, of Mayo Clinic Health System — Mankato, urged senators to streamline the commitment process by shortening the amount of time it takes the court to process commitment requests. Krishna, who heads up inpatient and outpatient behavioral health at MCHS-Mankato, said currently it takes two to three weeks.

Senior Voice America, Elderly scams and being a good sport during footbal season!, Dr. Jay Erie, Mayo Clinic, shares information on a new study on Cataract Surgery.

Senior Voice America, What’s the difference between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis? Dr. Shreyasee Amin, Mayo Clinic, will be here to answer those questions and more today.

WJCT Fla., Mayo Clinic Researchers Get $7.5 Million Grant For Alzheimer's Study by Karen Feagins, Researchers at Jacksonville’s Mayo Clinic will lead a group that has received a major grant to study new ways to treat and possibly prevent Alzheimer’s disease…Mayo neurologist and neuroscientist Dr. Nilufer Ertekin-Taner explains in a video from the Mayo Clinic News Network, the team wants to understand the role that innate immunity — the body’s defense system — plays in Alzheimer’s disease. Additional Coverage: Bio-Medicine, HealthCanal, News-Medical, Phys.org

Senior Journal, Add Bone Deterioration to Diabetes Complications for Older Women…Based on a Mayo Clinic study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, that's confirmed: You can definitely add skeletal problems to that list. "This is the first demonstration — using direct measurement of bone strength in the body — of compromised bone material in patients with type 2 diabetes," says Sundeep Khosla, M.D., Mayo Clinic endocrinologist and senior author of the study. "Clearly, the skeleton needs to be recognized as another important target of diabetes complications." Additional coverage: Almagest, Zee News India, Jersey Tribune

CBS News, High cholesterol treatment guidelines push high-dose statins over lower dose, combo treatments by Ryan Jaslow…The new guidelines recommend cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins to four groups of patients who have the greatest odds of preventing heart attack and stroke on the drugs…The Mayo Clinic notes they are well tolerated by most people, but can lead to side effects including muscle and joint aches (most common), nausea, diarrhea and constipation. Additional Coverage: CNN

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, DeLong art group, longtime area philanthropists being honored for charitable efforts by Christena O’Brien, Diagnosed with colon cancer, Elizabeth Boss has been undergoing treatment at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire since July. Not having health insurance has made battling the cancer more difficult, but students Tuesday at DeLong Middle School offered the Eau Claire woman a boost in the form of a gift card to Gordy’s County Markets and a toad hut…“Some patients travel a great distance to receive care here, and treatment can be exhausting, so giving the gift of gas or a meal that doesn’t need to be prepared really means a lot to people in these situations,” said Mayo center cancer guide Sarah Lewis. Additional Coverage: WQOW, WEAU

Huffington Post Canada, Is Your Daily Multivitamin Doing Anything?...Still, the review didn't find that vitamins and supplements caused any harm with the exception of beta-carotene, which was found to increase the risk of lung cancer among smokers. Still, the Mayo Clinic advises that most people who eat a balanced diet rich in a variety of healthful foods don't need to take additional supplements, unless advised by your doctor.

Huffington Post, 9 Unfortunate Truths About Juicy, Scrumptious Bacon by Renee Jacques…Bad news: Bacon has a lot of sodium. And too much sodium puts you at risk for heart disease and high blood pressure. One slice of bacon has about 190 milligrams of sodium. According to the Mayo Clinic, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend having 2,300 milligrams of sodium every day.

Post-Bulletin, New bioethics program leader at Mayo Clinic, Richard Sharp, Ph.D., and his team will "help researchers, physicians and patients address ethical questions brought about by advances in biology and medicine." Sharp leads ethics activity at the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine, Center for Regenerative Medicine, Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery and Center for Clinical and Translational Science, a Mayo announcement says.

KEYC Mankato, Local Business Donates to Breast Cancer Research, A local business wants to give back to help fight the second leading cause of cancer death in women: breast cancer. Angie's Artisan Treats, the company that makes Angie's Kettle Corn, is donating the proceeds from its "Angie's Pink Ribbon Bag" to the MAYO Clinic BEAUTY Project. … As MCHS Regional President and CEO Dr. Greg Kutcher explains, "Instead of thinking of a generic one size fits all, one pair of pants for everybody, this is really having your treatment that is customized for you."

WWSB Fla., Pulmonary rehab: Healing with music, Playing a musical instrument can be fun, but for people with lung problems it can also offer a health benefit. Music has always been a huge part of Larry Rawdon’s life… “I knew I could not just ignore what he was saying because this guy knows what he’s talking about,” Cesar Keller, MD, Professor of Medicine Medical Director, Lung Transplant Program, Mayo Clinic Florida, told Ivanhoe.

USA TODAY (Arizona Republic), Rush is on to get health care under old insurance plans, Historically, the number of patients seeking surgical procedures at the Mayo Clinic's Arizona facilities has grown 5% to 10% each year, officials said. This year, those figures have been flat. "The way that costs are shifted with people paying a higher premium or deductible, it's had some impact," said William Stone, who leads the clinical practice at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "We've seen our volumes decrease because of that." Additional pick-ups: New10 Calif., WKYC

Drug Discovery & Development, FDA Approves Sunovion's Epilepsy Drug Aptiom, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Aptiom (eslicarbazepine acetate), an antiepileptic drug (AED), for use as adjunctive treatment of partial-onset seizures.  “Patients with partial-onset epilepsy often require adjunctive treatment to achieve better seizure control,” said Joseph Sirven, MD, chair of Neurology at Mayo Clinic in Arizona and chair of the Epilepsy Foundation's Professional Advisory Board. “Aptiom is an important new treatment option with a well-established safety profile for healthcare providers and people living with epilepsy.”

Dallas Morning News, Sadler: What’s trendy in medicine, and should you get on board? By Dr. Jane Sadler…Botox for headaches: Who would have thought that we would ever purposely inject a deadly, paralyzing neurotoxin (an agent toxic to nerves) around the face and upper neck to decrease headache severity? A dilute amount of botulinum toxin in a prescribed mix may have excellent therapeutic benefits on nerve pain. Patients suffering from chronic headaches frequently request this expensive and sometimes successful procedure.…Photo caption: Dr. David Dodick of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., injects a patient with Botox to relieve her migraine headaches.

HealthDay, Poorer Women Delay Examination of Breast Lumps, Study Suggests by Mary Dallas, Younger women with limited finances are more likely than others to delay seeking medical attention after finding an abnormality in their breast, according to a new study… "Because we discovered that women who are less financially comfortable are more likely to delay seeking medical attention for breast abnormalities that later are diagnosed as breast cancer, it appears that economic disparity may be an important consideration in future development of interventions to reduce delays," said study leader Dr. Kathryn Ruddy, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

KTTC, Mayo Clinic hosts dinner for Eagles Cancer Telethon volunteers, Mayo Clinic took time on Monday to say "thank you" to all the volunteers who are part of Eagles Cancer Telethon on KTTC. Hundreds of anti-cancer activists gathered at the Siebens Building for dinner and to hear the latest pioneering work being done at Mayo Clinic in the quest to find a cure for cancer.

KIMT, Honoring vets with history by Jeron Rennie, A local hospital also took part in Veterans Day by putting a few pieces of history on display. For a week now Mayo Clinic has been showing off artifacts from different wars… “Part of our corporate culture, so-to-speak, is military. Both Mayo brothers were veterans and brigadier generals in the Army, so it's appropriate from a couple of standpoints,” said Col. Walter Franz of the Army Reserve, also a Staff Physician at Mayo.

Post-Bulletin, Rochester native launches $100 million venture fund by Jeff Kiger, A longtime venture capitalist with deep roots in Rochester and Mayo Clinic recently launched a $100 million fund to invest in enterprise technology firms. Charles Beeler, who grew up in Rochester, and partner Jeff Hinck announced Wednesday that their firm Icon Venture Partners has fully activated their new fund, Icon Venture Partners I… While Beeler's firm has not invested in any local start-ups at the moment, it has offices in the Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator in Rochester's Minnesota BioBusiness Center.

Mankato Free Press, H1N1 vaccine clinic goes smoothly, The area’s first public vaccinations against the H1N1 flu were given out Saturday morning in a free clinic for children that began with a rush of vaccine seekers but quickly gave way to a steady trickle… There were 550 doses available and an estimated 900 children who fit these criteria served by the two dozen or so Mankato Clinic and Mayo Health System locations in the area.

Evanston Review (Ill.), Mayo, NorthShore partner on new prostate cancer therapy by Todd Shields, NorthShore University HealthSystem is collaborating with Mayo Clinic on a new therapy to treat men for advanced prostate cancer. Developed at Mayo, the new therapy attempts to match new drugs with gene DNA of a patient’s tumor… The information can potentially identify an optimal drug for the individual patient, said Dr. Manish Kohli, a Mayo Clinic oncologist. Additional Coverage: Highland Park News

Red Wing Republican Eagle, Drilling down to excellence… As part of a drill, a school bus was tipped on its side and volunteers acted the parts of injured crash victims as authorities responded to the scene…The Red Wing Police Department, Red Wing Fire Department, Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota State Highway Patrol and Mayo Clinic Health System in Red Wing all participated. People were taken from the bus and loaded onto ambulances and one person was taken away in the Mayo Clinic helicopter.

MedPage Today, Rapid Response: Robust Study of VA HCV Patients, Discussant: Stacey Rizza, MD, Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., on Long-Term VA Study in JAMA

MedPage Today, Cutting Steroid Dose Safe in Stable Asthma by Michael Smith, For patients with stable asthma, there is "no measurable risk" in reducing their dose of inhaled corticosteroids, a researcher said here. And there are likely to be benefits, including less toxicity and lower cost, according to John Hagan, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

 Star Tribune, Mayo names six to new development authority by Jennifer Brooks, Mayo Clinic’s $6 billion makeover of downtown Rochester involves staggering amounts of money and equally staggering amounts of planning. Before Rochester can build, it has to decide what to build. On Friday, Mayo named six new planners to guide Rochester’s future development – including a retired Minnesota Twins executive and the dean of the Carlson School of Management… “These leaders who have agreed to serve on the…board bring a wealth of expertise and knowledge that will ensure the work of the EDA is on the highest level and fulfills the mission of the DMC initiative in a way that benefits the people of Minnesota and the Rochester community,” Mayo Clinic president and CEO Dr. John Noseworthy said in a statement. Additional Coverage: KTTC, KAAL, KIMT, Post-Bulletin, FOX47, Finance & Commerce, Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal, Twin Cities Business Magazine

KTTC, DMC Reality Check: Following the dollars by Nicole Goodrich, Using Mayo Clinic's own projections, we're looking at as much as nearly $6.3 billion. All coming into Rochester. All over the next 20 years. That's about equivalent to building a new Vikings stadium in the heart of downtown Rochester every three years for all of DMC -- or nearly six and half Vikings stadiums. "DMC is really a project that will show what kind of investment can happen in Rochester and what kind of interest there is in Rochester Minnesota," said Mayo Clinic's DMC Administrator Lisa Clarke.

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, CVTC students work with real-world scenarios…HEC training at CVTC Above: Dr. Jessie Lindemann, left, and Dr. Mandira Rajkarnikar, resident physicians at the UW-Health Clinic at the CVTC Health Education Center, work on a patient simulator during a multi-disciplinary training exercise Tuesday. In the background respiratory therapy student Kayla Bowe, left, and Kirsten Holbrook, right, a respiratory therapist at Mayo Clinic Health Systems, play the role of instructors.

CBS News, Exercise during pregnancy may improve baby's brain development by Michelle Castillo… A new study found that pregnant women who exercised for at least 20 minutes a day, three times a week, had newborns who showed higher levels of brain activity than pregnant women who did not exercise…Exercises pregnant women can take on include walking, swimming, low-impact aeroboics and cycling on a stationary bike, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Huffington Post Canada, Tout ce ce que vous croyez savoir sur votre hygiène corporelle est faux…5. Si vous vous séchez les mains avec les séchoirs, il est peut-être temps de revenir aux serviettes en papier. Au terme de plusieurs études, le Dr. Rodney Lee Thompson, épidémiologiste hospitalier à la Mayo Clinic, a fini par conclure que les serviettes en papier sont finalement plus hygiéniques que les séchoirs à mains, tout en consommant moins d’énergie.

MPR, Minnesota businesses with small group insurance plans renew early to avoid higher rates by Catharine Richert, …When banker Brian Nicklason learned that his company's insurance plan would cost 50 percent more - or about $52,000 -- in 2014, he considered switching plans. But he couldn't find anything that offered enough savings to give up the customer service he and his employees enjoyed with their current insurer…Here's my fear," Nicklason said. "Under the new plan are we going to have the same level of health quality that we have now? Can I still go to the Mayo Clinic if I want? Are we going to have those options for the quality of health care for our children and our spouses and ourselves? I don't know."

WJXT Fla., How bad are trans fats? Artificial trans fat in foods may eventually become a thing of the past. The Food and Drug Administration took a first step toward potentially eliminating most trans fat from the food supply, saying it has made a preliminary determination that a major source of trans fats, partially hydrogenated oils, is no longer "generally recognized as safe."… Joining me this morning is Dr. Vandana Bhide from the Mayo Clinic to explain, Good morning

Naples Daily News, Naples restaurateur is living life to the fullest, even as it fades… Local restaurateur Fadi Rabil can tell that story. While he has time, he is rising above the reality of statistics, and seeking to inspire others by giving back and living life to the fullest — no matter how short that life may be… He went to the doctor and had some tests, including a CAT scan. Rabil learned that the former cancer was back, and had metastasized — spread. His diagnosis: Stage 4 lung cancer, high grade. It’s incurable, with grim statistics… Suitcases sit by the door because he and Chrissy must leave the next day for a second lung surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. There is no other treatment offered, except pain pills he refuses to take.

Arizona Republic, Rush is on to get health care now, with high-deductible plans looming in 2014 by Ken Alltucker… Mayo Clinic said that historically, the number of patients seeking surgical procedures at its Arizona facilities has grown 5 percent to 10 percent each year. This year, those figures have been flat. William Stone, who leads the clinical practice at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, said the high- deductible plans are partly responsible. “The way that costs are shifted with people paying a higher premium or deductible, it’s had some impact,” Stone said. “We’ve seen our volumes decrease because of that.”

Pioneer Press, To Your Good Health: Take back surgery seriously by Keith Roach, M.D… Q My son, 55, had groin pain and was told he needed a new hip…My son sent his films to a clinic in Florida that does laser spine surgery, and they say he might be a candidate. Could you give me some information about it? I don't know of any good studies comparing one with another. But it worries me that insurance doesn't cover the surgery and that a neurosurgeon at the Mayo Clinic wrote that they don't use or recommend it at their hospital, which is the case at many other teaching hospitals.

Post-Bulletin, Painful experience triggered compassionate program by Jeff Hansel…When the pastoral-care director at her hospital overheard her talking about the project, No One Dies Alone was born...At least three Mayo Clinic staff heard Clarke speak at conferences and came back to Rochester wanting to start a program. The Mayo Program began two years ago with no outright budget, and continues that way today.

Star Tribune (AP), Rotary works to raise awareness of polio's potential to strike again, cripple years later, Bob Williams, 88, of Stevens Point, had always enjoyed walking around Lake Joanis in Schmeeckle Reserve with his wife, Mary. But in 2010, Williams noticed his legs would get tired as he and his bride of 63 years went on their regular strolls…Williams, who had contracted polio in 1954, immediately recognized the symptoms of the condition and visited his doctor to see if post-polio syndrome could be causing his fatigue. He was sent to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for testing that confirmed that he did have the condition.

Washington Post, NFL coaching may be hazardous to one’s health by Mark Maske Kubiak, 52, collapsed on the sideline as he began to leave the field at halftime of the Texans’ loss last Sunday night to the Indianapolis Colts. He was taken to a hospital by ambulance, and the team later announced he had suffered a transient ischemic attack, “also called a ministroke” according to the Mayo Clinic’s Web site.

Prevention, The Upside To Coffee by Mandy Oaklander… Why is coffee so good for your liver? The authors credit coffee's bioactive compounds and antioxidants, which may inhibit cancer.  This is more good news about coffee amid a recent burst of it: An August study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found that a small amount of coffee is safe for your heart and isn’t linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Huffington Post, Struggling to Find Answers, by William Bradshaw, As those of you know who read what I write on a regular basis, I spent the last several days at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota…I am pleased to relate that my tests all turned out good for me, and I can breathe a sigh of relief for another year. But I am sorry to relate that was not the case for many people there.  At the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, one sees children and adults from all over the world seeking answers to, and help for, their various medical problems.

Huffington Post, Everything You Know About Your Personal Hygiene Is Wrong… 5. If you've been drying your hands with air dryers, it might be time to switch back to paper towels…Dr. Rodney Lee Thompson, a hospital epidemiologist at the Mayo Clinic, concluded after various studies that paper towels are actually more hygienic than hand dryers, while also using less energy to make than what is needed to produce the air in the dryer.

CBS News, Hay fever hits more kids in South due to climate, study suggests… Researchers discovered nationwide, more than 18 percent of American children and teens had hay fever, with higher rates seen in kids in the south…Hay fever, or allergic rhinitis, causes cold-like symptoms including congestion, runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing and sinus pressure. It is caused by an allergic response to indoor or outdoor allergens like pollen, dust times and pet dander, the Mayo Clinic notes.

Chicago Tribune, Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Treatment for kidney stones depends on type and cause of stones, by Vincent Canzanello, M.D., Nephrology, DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I continue to get kidney stones despite drinking plenty of water. They are quite small and I haven't had to be treated yet. But my doctor said if my symptoms get worse, I will need treatment. What would that involve?

FOX News, Football is good, not bad, for us by Daniel Flynn, A new HBO Real Sports/Marist poll reports that a third of Americans say that concern over long-term brain issues would make them less likely to allow a son to play football…But last year when the Mayo Clinic compared neurodegenerative disease rates from mid-century high school football players with their counterparts in band, choir, and glee club they discovered no real difference.

Post-Bulletin, Rochester boy's final gift helps five lives Heather Carlson, At the age of 8, Christian Yang knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. "When I grow up, I want to be in law enforcement or a firefighter. I want to help people," Christian would tell his father, Tony Yang. Christian never got the chance to fulfill those career dreams. But the Rochester boy did help the lives of five people he never met. After Christian suffered a fatal brain aneurysm on Oct. 25, his parents made the decision to put him on life support for two additional days so that his heart valves, kidneys, liver and spleen could be donated to others. Additional Coverage: Star Tribune, News & Observer, KTVU Calif., Sacramento Bee

All Voices, COPD linked to an increased risk of MCI by Debbie Nicholson, Balwinder Singh, MD, Research Physician and Master’s Scholar, Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester and colleagues examined the association of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and MCI subtype: Amnestic MCI and non-amnestic MCI, in a population-based study of elderly patients.

Renal & Urology News, Patients Aged 75+ Have Poor Outcomes After Starting RRT by Jody Charnow, Early and overall mortality is high among patients who start renal replacement therapy (RRT) at age 75 years and older, according to data presented at the American Society of Nephrology's Kidney Week 2013. Bjoerg Thorsteinsdottir, MD, of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and collaborators reviewed medical records of 390 patients aged 75 years and older starting any form of RRT at the clinic.

KSTP, Mayo Clinic Study Finds Obesity Fuels Osteoarthritis Epidemic By: Cassie Hart, New research at Mayo Clinic has linked America’s obesity epidemic with a different epidemic: arthritis. It now affects one in four American adults, according to health experts.

Fitness, Outrun Danger: Why Fit Women Get Blood Clots by Hollace Schmidt, Jenny Fletcher should have been at the top of her game… When she coughed up blood the next morning, it scared her enough to finally see a doctor. A CT scan led to a shocking discovery: Jenny had blood clots throughout her lungs, almost entirely blocking her right pulmonary artery. "The doctor told me that if I had waited one more day to come in, I might not be alive," Jenny says… "Women need to be aware of the symptoms of DVT/PE and seek medical attention immediately if they have any of them," says John A. Heit, MD, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota.

Frequency, Mayo Clinic Rheumatologist on the Increase of Arthritis in the US.

KWCH Kansas, Young people report worse fibromyalgia than older patients by Mayo Clinic News Network, It may seem counterintuitive, but young and middle-aged fibromyalgia patients report worse symptoms and poorer quality of life than older patients, a Mayo Clinic study shows…“Among the three age groups of young, middle-aged and older, symptom severity and quality of life differs,” says senior author Terry Oh, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Cannon Falls Beacon, New hospital/clinic almost enclosed, The new Mayo Clinic Health Systems of Cannon Falls clinic and hospital facility on the south end of town is nearly enclosed. Crews were finishing the green sheet rock work on the backside of the three story facility this Monday.

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