January 31, 2014

Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

By Karl Oestreich

Mayo-Clinic-in-the-News-300x80Mayo 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

Modern Healthcare
Symptoms, diagnosis and a prescription: How we can modernize healthcare in America
by Dr. John Noseworthy

Modern Healthcare

It is a tough time in many ways for our country—and for patients. The slow economy, the rapid growth in our aging population, the rising cost of healthcare and the new healthcare law have come together to make this a time of great change in how healthcare is delivered and paid for in the U.S.

Reach: Modern Healthcare, published by Crain Communications, is a healthcare news weekly that provides hospital executives with healthcare business news. The magazine specifically covers healthcare policy, Medicare/Medicaid, and healthcare from a business perspective. It also publishes a daily e-newsletter titled Modern Healthcare’s Daily Dose. The weekly publication has a circulation of more than 70,000 and its online site receives more than 29,700 unique visitors each month.

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

Public Affairs Contacts: Sharon Theimer,  Karl Oestreich

Reuters
U.S. says results encouraging for healthcare delivery reforms
By David Morgan

The Obama administration on Thursday reported what it called encouraging results from efforts to reduce healthcare costs and improve the quality of care for more than 5 million Medicare beneficiaries under Obamacare. As part of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, the Reutersefforts center around more than 360 accountable care organizations (ACOs), which are networks of doctors, hospitals and other providers specially organized to help move Medicare away from traditional fee-for-service medicine..."Today's report reflects important steps. More work is needed to modernize our antiquated Medicare payment system and base payment on evidence-based quality measures and proven patient outcomes," said Dr. John Noseworthy, chief executive of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, which is not part of the government's program.

Reach: Thomson Reuters is the world’s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing newsworld newsbusiness newstechnology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal financestock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, videomobile, and interactive television platforms.

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

Public Affairs Contact: Sharon Theimer

MPR
Mayo Clinic CEO John Noseworthy on the State of the Union

By Tom Crann

Minnesota got a brief shout-out in the State of the Union speech last night when President Obama pointed to the founder of Punch Pizza for the company's minimum wage practices. But Dr. John Noseworthy, President and CEO of the Mayo Clinic, was also at theMPR-News-300x45 address. Noseworthy spoke with MPR News' Tom Crann the State of the Union, the Affordable Care Act and the Mayo Clinic's 150th anniversary.

Reach: Minnesota Public Radio operates 43 stations and serves virtually all of Minnesota and parts of the surrounding states. MPR has more than 100,000 members and more than 900,000 listeners each week, which is the largest audience of any regional public radio network.

Additional coverage: KAALPost-Bulletin, KTTCKIMT, C-SPAN

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

Public Affairs Contact: Sharon Theimer

KSTP
Mayo Clinic Celebrates 150th Year Anniversary
by Ellen Galles

The Mayo Clinic is celebrating 150 years. In that time, the clinic has brought the world dozens of medical breakthroughs like cortisone and the heart-lung machine. But some of the most KSTP-TV Eyewitness News Logimportant medical breakthroughs could be yet to come…Doctors like Anthony Windebank are researching to see if stem cells can be used to regenerate vital organs in patients who have heart disease, kidney disease and Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Reach: KSTP-TV, Channel 5, is an ABC affiliate serving the Twin Cities area, central Minnesota and western Wisconsin, the 15th largest market in the U.S.

Additional Sesquicentennial coverage: Post-BulletinKSTP morning show, Politico

Context: On Jan. 27, 1864, English-born Dr. William Worrall Mayo first notified the public about his medical practice in Rochester, Minn., planting the seeds of what would eventually become an international medical organization with more than 59,000 expert physicians, scientists and health care professionals, attracting millions of patients from across the globe.

This year marks 150 years of continuous service to patients, and Mayo Clinic is launching a yearlong recognition that will honor a legacy of medical accomplishments and a model for the future of health care.

Mayo Clinic News Network: Mayo Clinic Commemorates 150th Anniversary in 2014

Public Affairs Contact: Kelley Luckstein

Florida Times-Union
Progress for Jacksonville, but big hurdles ahead, quality-of-life report says
by Steve Patterson

…“We see Jacksonville’s potential and have raised our expectations. This community demands to reach a higher standard,” said William Rupp, CEO of Mayo Clinic, who chaired the committeeFlorida Times-Union newspaper logo behind JCCI’s 29th annual progress report.

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

Context: William Rupp, M.D. is a Mayo Clinic vice president and CEO of Mayo Clinic in Florida.

Public Affairs Contact: Kevin Punsky

Additional Mayo Clinic News Highlights This Week: 

USA TODAY, Testosterone therapy doubles heart risk in older men by Liz Szabo, Taking testosterone therapy doubled the risk of heart attack among men over age 65 and nearly tripled the risk in younger men with a history of heart disease, a new study shows…Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota not involved in the new study, describes the heart risks posed by testosterone therapy as substantial.

NY Times, A Decision Deferred: Turning Off the Pacemaker by Paula Span, Nobody really knows exactly how many Americans are walking around with pacemakers and defibrillators. But with surgeons implanting at least 225,000 pacemakers and 133,000 defibrillators each year, “there probably are a couple of million” out there now, said Dr. Paul S. Mueller, a Mayo Clinic general internist and bioethicist.

USA TODAY, Scott Stallings beats PGA Tour field then flu bug by Steve DiMeglio, Scott Stallings celebrated his win in last week's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines – with an IV…"If I could endorse the Mayo Clinic for any possible reason, I would endorse them. They were a life saver because my wife and I were in really rough shape," said Stallings, now a three-time PGA Tour winner. "If you asked me (Tuesday), I'd say there is no way I'm playing in the tournament. But the Mayo Clinic got me hooked up with some good doctors and nurses, all kind of IVs and fluid and stuff like that. I'm a completely different person." Additional coverage: Pioneer Press, NY Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

HealthDay, Doctors May Need to Revise How They Evaluate Breast Biopsy Results by Kathleen Doheny…The new research challenges that thinking, suggesting that the two types of abnormalities actually behave in similar ways. "We were not so sure what to do with ALH before," said study researcher Dr. Lynn Hartmann, a professor of oncology at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minn. "This is suggesting, treat it the same as ADH. What we are saying is, it doesn't matter which kind [of abnormality]."

Medical Daily, Breast Cancer Risk In Cases Of Abnormal Biopsy: New Study Challenges Current Notions, Could Change Patient Care by Susan Scutti…Now a new study finds two types of breast tissue abnormalities have the same potential to progress to breast cancer, which is contrary to the existing understanding..."We work in the area of atypical hyperplasia because it is the most important pre malignant lesion in the breast,"  Dr. Lynn C. Hartmann, professor of oncology at the Mayo Clinic, told Medical Daily in an email.

Urology Times, Breast cancer drug may play role in bladder cancer by Richard Kerr… “These findings show it is critical for pathologists to recognize this type of bladder cancer and that providers should be aware of and order the appropriate tests,” said lead author John Cheville, MD, of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. “This will be essential for any clinical trial examining the effectiveness of trastuzmab in treating MPUC.”

Renal & Urology News, Bladder Cancer Linked to HER2 Breast Cancer Gene by Delicia Yard…HER2 amplification is more frequent in micropapillary urothelial carcinoma than in typical urothelial carcinoma, and patients with micropapillary carcinoma who have HER2 amplification have worse cancer-specific survival than those who do not, John C. Cheville, MD, a pathologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues summarized in their paper forModern Pathology.

Medscape, Survey: US Oncologists Happy With Career, Very Happy by Nick Mulcahy, Overall career satisfaction is “high” among oncologists in the United States, according to a new survey published online this week in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The large majority of the 1117 oncologists who responded to the survey were satisfied with their career (82.5%) and choice of specialty (80.4%), report the authors, led by Tait Shanafelt, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.

Medscape, Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Who Needs SLNB?, For the first time, researchers have identified which patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) should be considered for a sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy… "Clinicians may use this information to help identify patients with high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma for whom sentinel lymph node biopsy may be considered as a tool to help identify microscopic nodal metastases," study author Christian L. Baum, MD, from the Department of Dermatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told Medscape Medical News.

Reuters, Geron shares fall after cancer drug study update by Vrinda Manocha, Shares of Geron Corp fell as much as 20 percent after the company said that enrollment had ceased in an early stage trial of its blood cancer drug and that about 20 of 79 patients enrolled in the study had dropped out. Geron did not say why the patients had dropped out of the trial or if the sponsor, the Mayo Clinic, had stopped the study prematurely. Additional coverage: Chicago Tribune, AP, MSNBC, Daily Finance

FOX9, INVESTIGATORS: Radiation and records, Former Airman Nathan Edward Morris must run a medical drill once every four months. Blood is drawn, an MRI is taken and the oncologist will read the results Morris believes can be linked back to what might be called friendly fire from 11 years ago. "I was radiated in my first duty assignment in the Air Force," Morris stated.The tumor is so invasive that only a surgeon at the Mayo Clinic was willing to operate on it last July…Morris finds himself back at Mayo Clinic so often. The system of sashaying patients from appointment to appointment is incredibly slick and is specifically designed so the sick don't have to wait for days to get results -- but every minute spent waiting is one that makes Morris "nervous."

HealthDay, Shoulder Replacement May Help for Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis by Maureen Salamon, Scientists from the Mayo Clinic found that 93 percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients who underwent a total shoulder replacement -- in which both sides of a shoulder joint are replaced -- needed no further surgery on the joint a decade later…"We were most happy to see the consistency of pain relief and improvement of function among patients," said study author Dr. John Sperling, an orthopedic surgeon at the clinic in Rochester, Minn. Additional coverage: Health24, US News & World Report

Tampa Bay Tribune,
Daughter of fallen Tampa detective gets on liver transplant list, TDemetra Bell Jones' name was added this week to a liver transplant list at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, her family says. Hundreds of donors, most of whom never met her, helped get her there by giving $79,839 toward her medical bill…Mayo Clinic softened on a prepayment demand and its charity arm agreed to offset half of Jones' out-of-pocket costs, which could lower her copay on the $314,000 surgery to $89,750, family said.

KAAL
, Assisi Heights Welcomes Largest Solar Power Field in Southeast Minnesota by Laura Lee, As many businesses and homes search for alternative renewable energy, more and more turn to solar power. Assisi Heights is no exception and turns out they now have the largest solar panel farm in Southeast Minnesota. Solar power is now officially up and running at Assisi Heights. Project coordinators also turned to an expert on solar power, Don DeCramer who is an engineer at Mayo Clinic.  DeCramer implemented the solar panels at Mayo Clinic. "As you watch, other organizations are looking into this," he says, "this is a very nice installation."

MPR, Destination Medical Center Corp. approves $8.2 million budget by Liz Baier, A public group that will help guide future growth in Rochester has approved its first operating budget of $8.2 million for this year. The Destination Medical Center Corporation will focus on city development to support growth at the Mayo Clinic, which has launched a 20-year, $5 billion plan to remake its flagship campus. Patricia Simmons, chair of Mayo's private economic development agency, said most of the money will pay for planning, architecture and engineering consultants, as well as legal and marketing services. Additional coverage: KTTC, Minneapolis/ St. Paul Business Journal

Post-Bulletin, Can Rochester use sales tax for DMC planning? By Edie Grossfield, State officials may nix Rochester's plan to use money from its local-option sales tax to pay for Destination Medical Center planning costs, leaving the city scrambling to come up with a new source for the $7 million.

Albert Lea Tribune (MPR), Mayo Clinic expansion boosts hotel development in Rochester…The six-story, 108-room hotel across the street from Mayo Clinic Hospital, Saint Marys Campus, is one of the first signs of commercial development in Rochester since the Legislature approved the Destination Medical Center initiative last year.

MPR, Mayo Clinic expansion fuels new hotel construction in Rochester by Liz Baier, On one of the coldest days of winter, construction workers Jack Sullivan and Jeremy Sommer used a crane to hoist a huge slab of concrete flooring for the fourth floor of a new Homewood Suites, an extended stay hotel, slated to open this summer. The six-story, 108-room hotel across the street from Mayo Clinic Hospital - Saint Marys Campus is one of the first signs of commercial development in Rochester since the Legislature approved the Destination Medical Center initiative last year.

KTTC
, Mayo Clinic changing health care plans for employees, For the first time in ten years, Mayo Clinic is changing its own health care plans for its employees and the cost will be going up. CEO Dr. John Noseworthy told Mayo Clinic employees via email Thursday that after extensive study their health care options will change next January. Employees will still have three choices in health coverage -- a "Mayo Basic", "Mayo Select" and "Mayo Premier" plan. Additional coverage: FOX47

KARE11
, Heart attack survivor shares her story for the Minnesota Go Red campaign, If you think heart attacks only happen to senior citizens or men, think again. Ana Gregg, Twin Cities 2014 Go Red For Women spokesperson, is a heart attack survivor and stopped by KARE 11 News at 4 to share her remarkable story…SCAD is not very well understood but happens most frequently to young, healthy women. The Mayo clinic is now doing a study on it.

Huffington Post,
Changes in Modern Medicine: What Can We Expect? By Marcelle Pick, I continually strive to improve standards of care for my patients, and that is usually an expectation of medical providers in general. But when an article in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings was published earlier this year reversing 146 established medical practices, it gave me pause for thought. Medicine is not static, we know that. But how do we wrap our heads around the periodic reversals that come when studies show alternative answers to practiced norms?

US News & World Report, How to Stay Focused In Long, Boring Meetings by Laura McMullen, Take breaks. Focusing for an hour to an hour and a half can be exhausting for our brains, says Amit Sood, author of "The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living" and professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. After about that amount of time, he says, “our brain gets depleted and starts making errors and may get irritable” – a formula for a not-so-productive meeting. Short breaks, even if they’re only a couple minutes, offer some much needed rejuvenation.

Chicago Tribune
, Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Returning to smoking not a safe way to reduce symptoms of ulcerative colitis by Edward Loftus, Jr., M.D., Gastroenterology, DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I recently quit smoking and ended up with a moderate ulcerative colitis flare. Could a short return to nicotine help with my symptoms? Are there any other recently discovered treatments for flare-ups?

Chicago Tribune, Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Stay within guidelines of moderate drinking to avoid related health problems by Terry Schneekloth, M.D., Psychiatry and Psychology, DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I enjoy a glass of wine each night with dinner and sometimes have another before bed. My husband is concerned and thinks I should take a break from it to make sure I'm not becoming addicted.

Chicago Tribune, Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: There are several choices available to treat degenerative hip disease in a younger patient by Mark Spangehl, M.D., Orthopedics, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Ariz., DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I'm 36 years old and have had constant pain in my right hip for two years. Last year, I was diagnosed with moderate degenerative hip disease. Medication managed my pain initially but is no longer effective. My doctor says the next step is a steroid shot or a procedure that involves going in and "cleaning the roughness." What does this mean?

Post-Bulletin, Atlanta storm puts damper on Mayo Clinic nurse's vacation by Brett Boese, his was the last place longtime Mayo Clinic employee Denise Thorson expected to spend her vacation. The nurse of 34 years ended her 21-day Florida vacation a week early to spend time with her grandchild in Rochester. Instead of cradling her kin, she got stuck in a wild Atlanta ice storm Tuesday that left her cuddling her dog in the backseat of the car at a Kwik Trip parking lot across from two hotels that were already full of stranded travelers.

CNN
What's water weight? by Serusha Govender…The verdict: Water weight isn't as "real" as weight from muscles and fat, but it does exist -- and there are health choices you can make to keep it at bay. Look, there's no way you're going to suddenly gain three pounds of fat overnight. "Water weight is real for some people," says Katherine Zeratsky, a specialty nutritionist and dietician with the Mayo Clinic and coauthor of "The Mayo Clinic Diet."

Modern Healthcare, Physician compliance not a given with evidence-based protocol changes by Sabriya Rice…a new study from the Mayo Clinic on stroke patients offers some insight into a collaborative approach that worked. A report on the initiative released Monday found use of one standardized protocol across 20 medical centers helped significantly reduce death rates among victims of stroke. “By treating every patient in the exact same way and preparing for each issue we may encounter, we were able to reduce patient mortality by about 50%,” said study author Dr. Douglas Chyatte of the Mayo Clinic Health System.

Slate, Do Not Fear Your Birth Control by Jessica Grose…Most of the recent stories in this genre have had to do with the daily hormonal birth control pill Yaz and the monthly hormonal vaginal ring NuvaRing…I asked Dr. Petra Casey, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Mayo Clinic and the director of their complex contraception practice, about whether women should be concerned about any of these products.

WXOW La Crosse, Study shows blindness by glaucoma is less than it was by Ellen Barrett, Research analyzed by Mayo Clinic shows the risk of blindness due to glaucoma is half of what is used to be. Glaucoma is not one, but multiple eye conditions that damage the optic nerve. According to Doctor Robert Freedland, Ophthalmologist at Mayo Clinic Health Systems in La Crosse, glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the country and the world.

Glaucoma Today eNews, Advances in Glaucoma Diagnosis and Therapy Have Decreased Progression to Blindness by Half… The probability of blindness due to glaucoma has decreased by nearly half since 1980, according to a study published in Ophthalmology…"This study has shown that the risk of developing blindness from glaucoma has dropped by about half over the past 40 years," Arthur J. Sit, SM, MD, an associate professor of ophthalmology at the Mayo Clinic and coauthor of the study, told Glaucoma Today.

HealthDay, Risk of Glaucoma Blindness Drops by Half: Study, Better eye care seems to have brightened the long-term outlook for people with glaucoma. The likelihood of blindness in glaucoma patients 20 years after diagnosis has fallen by at least half in the last generation, according to a new study…"This is a testament to the skill and effort of the researchers, physicians and other care providers working in eye care over that period," study senior author Dr. Arthur Sit, a Mayo Clinic ophthalmologist, said in a Mayo news release.

Reuters, Anti-VEGF drugs making a difference in vision, longterm care by Shereen Jegtvig, A treatment introduced less than 10 years ago has already made a difference in the number of Americans losing their vision and being admitted to nursing homes, according to a new study…"We used to say it was better to have the dry form because it tended to be milder and slowly progressive as opposed to the wet AMD, which has a rapid onset and much more severe vision loss," Dr. Michael Stewart told Reuters Health. Stewart, who chairs the ophthalmology department at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, was not involved in the new study. Additional coverage: WSAU, WTBX, Daily Mail, Yahoo New!, Orlando Sentinel, MedCity News

La Crosse Tribune, Coulee Region hospitals cope with saline IV shortage by Mike Tighe…Two factors are to blame for the national shortage of saline IVs, used widely to hydrate patients: Major influenza outbreaks in some areas of the country have drained the stock, and production has lagged at the three major producers, which had predicted lower supplies even before flu season. “We are, like everyone else, being somewhat impacted by it,” said Rick Thiesse, spokesman for Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare in La Crosse.

Digital Journal, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic Health System Announce New Payment Contract, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, the state's leading nonprofit health plan, and Mayo Clinic Health System, a family of clinics, hospitals and health care facilities owned by Mayo Clinic, today announced a new, three-year agreement that is designed to promote quality care while lowering overall costs. Additional coverage: Healthcare Payer News

Red Wing Republican Eagle, Celebrate 150 years of quality care, Mayo Clinic is a world leader — some say the world leader — in health care.  Certainly the fact that U.S. presidents come to the Minnesota medical complex for checkups and care proves that Mayo Clinic has many of the nation’s best physicians. When world leaders become ill, many fly to the Mayo Clinic to tap its medical care, research and education.

Huffington Post, What's 'Normal' When It Comes To Sweat? By Amanda Chan…Firstly, keep in mind that everyone sweats. Dr. Mark Denis P. Davis, M.D., a professor of dermatology at the Mayo Clinic, explains that perspiration is "a normal body function involving the release of fluid from the sweat glands of the skin."…Dr. Robert Fealey, an assistant professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic, explained that the latter "can be caused by stress or excitement," and usually only occurs on the palms (clammy hands, anyone?), soles, armpits and forehead, though some people may experience emotional sweating all over their bodies.

Huffington Post, Kids' Weight In Kindergarten Is A Strong Predictor For Obesity Later In Childhood (STUDY) by Catherine Pearson… "While some very obese children do need to lose weight, the vast majority of children can 'grow into' their weight," Dr. Esther Krych, a pediatrician at the Mayo Clinic Children's Center who did not work on the new study, wrote in an email to The Huffington Post.

Pioneer Press, Do parents turn kids into picky eaters?, …Thousands of articles and blogs online, as well as hundreds of books, cater to families with “picky or finicky” eaters…The Mayo Clinic even offers 10 strategies for helping “picky eaters.” These include respecting a child's appetite (or lack of one), sticking to routines with meals and snacks, being patient with new foods, making it fun and being creative, letting children help, setting a good example, minimizing distractions, not offering dessert as a reward and not making a separate meal for children who reject the first option.

KTTC, Noseworthy to attend State of Union as Klobuchar's guest, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced Monday that Mayo Clinic President and CEO Dr. John Noseworthy will be her guest at President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday. "Dr. Noseworthy's attendance at the State of the Union will shine a spotlight on the pioneering work being done at Mayo and underscore the need to invest in innovation and research, STEM education, and workforce training," Klobuchar said in new release. Additional coverage: Star Tribune, Post-Bulletin, WXOW La Crosse, Hometown Source, Bemidji Pioneer

Star Tribune, Mayo Clinic CEO praises Obama's call to restore research funding, With the Mayo Clinic still smarting from federal budget cuts that slashed grant funding last year, CEO Dr. John Noseworthy is hopeful that President Obama’s State of the Union speech signals a brighter future for medical research…The president said such a move could undo damage done by the sequester and shutdown of 2013, which forced many researchers to postpone their work. “I was very pleased to hear [the president’s plan],” said Noseworthy, who attended the State of the Union as the guest of U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Additional coverage: Wopular

Star Tribune, Dayton heads back to Mayo Clinic next week for surgery on damaged hip; could limit his travel, Gov. Mark Dayton will have hip surgery next week at Mayo Clinic and may be limited in his travel for up to three months. Dayton's office announced the procedure Tuesday. It will be the 67-year-old governor's third procedure at the Rochester clinic since taking office, following back surgery in December 2012 and a platelet injection last October to help heal a torn hip muscle. Additional coverage: WCCO, MPR, KAAL, KARE11, Northlands News Center

Xconomy, With Record $275M Gift, Sanford-Burnham Unveils New 10-Year Plan by Bruce Bigelow, San Diego’s Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute says today it has landed a $275 million pledge from an anonymous donor, just as the institute is embarking on a new 10-year strategic plan…The idea is to take advantage of the institute’s existing and new partnerships with healthcare organizations such as the Mayo Clinic, Florida Hospital, and Sanford Health. Additional coverage: KPBS

WJXT Fla., Couple prepare for the Fight for Air Climb, Dr. Margaret Johnson, the Pulmonology Chair for Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, gives some insight into the importance of the lung cancer screening and why it could be beneficial for longevity. Additional coverage: WJXT Fla.

Wall Street Journal (news release), BrainStorm Signs Definitive Agreement with Mayo Clinic for ALS Clinical Trial and NurOwn Manufacturing, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (OTCQB: BCLI), a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies for neurodegenerative diseases, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota to conduct its Phase II clinical trial of NurOwn(TM) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), pending FDA approval. In addition, Mayo's Human Cell Therapy Laboratory will manufacture the NurOwn cells for their clinical trial participants.

KIMT, Talking about medical myths by Jeron Rennie…The University of Minnesota – Rochester brought in a Mayo Clinic expert for their weekly “UMR Connects” event…He said there is also plenty of research that shows that the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine does not lead to Autism. He said a lot of anti-vaccine platforms do not say that. “Some of it’s good information and a lot of it’s not good information, so in my mind, it’s up to scientists and physicians and public health officials and the experts that do have the correct information, it’s our duty to get out there and engage with the public,” said Dr. Rick Kennedy, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Mayo.

FOX47, Oregon boy seeks answers to medical mysteries at Mayo by Mary McGuire, It's a natural reflex that we all do hundreds, if not thousands of times in a day without a second thought- blinking. But for one little boy with a rare brain and spinal chord condition, that is nearly impossible. 3-year-old Corban Durant and his family traveled to Mayo Clinic this week from Portland, Oregon to seek answers to the many medical mysteries the little boy is battling.

Daily Mail UK, Heart attacks increase the risk of developing CANCER: Stress and side-effects of treatment can trigger disease by Sam Webb, Having a heart attack leaves you at greater risk of developing cancer, a study has revealed…However the researchers, from the Mayo Clinic Centre for the Science of Health Care Delivery in America, said that despite better heart survival rates, the rise in cancer detection might be down to increased surveillance or side effects.

Reuters, Music breathes life into lung transplant recovery by Ben Gruber, A Broadway musician who underwent two lung transplant surgeries is breathing life into his recovery with harmonica therapy. Larry Rawdon's condition has improved to the point where he is now teaching fellow transplant patients how to exercise their lungs with music…Dr. Cesar Keller, of the Mayo Clinic says at that point, Larry Rawdon, like most IPF patients, needed a lung transplant. Additional coverage: Yahoo! News

MedCity News, How hospitals, Big Pharma are gamifying staff training with a mobile quiz platform by Deanna Pogorelc,  Patients aren’t the only ones who are poised to benefit from gamification in healthcare. In between rounds at hospitals like Mayo Clinic and Baylor College of Medicine, clinicians are answering quiz questions and participating in challenges on their cell phones and tablets. Their hospitals are working with a Harvard spinoff called Qstream to encourage continuous learning and training among their care teams.

LiveTennis.com, Juan Martin del Potro consults specialist about left-wrist pain by Hannah Wilks, World no. 4 Juan Martin del Potro’s fitness is once again in jeopardy as the Argentine consults with a specialist about recurring pain in his left wrist. L’Equipe reports that del Potro is consulting a renowned specialist, Dr Richard A. Berger, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr Berger previously conducted the surgery on del Potro’s right wrist in 2010. Additional coverage: El Siglo de Torreón, ESTO en Línea - OEM, El Informador, El Horizonte, Terra México, Elgolfo.info , Aguas Digital.com 

WBUR Boston (NPR), The Realities And Requirements Of A Living Will: A Guide… In preparing for the hour, we realized we had a lot of questions on living wills (also known as advance directives). On Point’s Emily Alfin Johnson spoke with Meredeth Beers – a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight in Boston — and Dr. Paul Mueller – Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Ethics at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine — to get some answers.

Star Tribune, For Totino-Grace wrestler, sport becomes therapy by Jim Paulsen… The mat is a haven for Lance Benick — where he has become a top-ranked wrestler and a place he can briefly forget about his mother’s brain tumor…She had suffered from persistent headaches, nausea and fatigue, and numerous doctors failed to pinpoint a reason. After months of uncertainty, she was given an MRI at a Stillwater hospital. That led to a trip to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester where she received a shocking diagnosis. “They said she had a brain tumor,” Tom Benick said. “They gave her three options: get another opinion, do a biopsy and wait for the result, or do surgery right away.

Washington Post, What makes a good Medical Mystery? The writer tells all by Sandra Boodman… What role do medical journals play? I am especially interested in cases that advance knowledge about public-health issues, particularly controversial ones…Two refused to participate, but Laura Cossolotto, who heads a group composed of families whose children have Dravet, agreed to tell the story of her daughter’s decade-long ordeal and eventual diagnosis at the Mayo Clinic. Until a genetic test revealed the errant gene, Cossolotto said she, too, had blamed the vaccine for her daughter’s life-threatening problems.

Calgary Herald, Seeing the light on SAD by Kathy Cleary, At this time of year, many are finding the long, dark days of winter have given them a gloomy outlook on life. According to the Mayo Clinic, seasonal affective disorder may be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, which is affected by a decrease in normal levels of sunlight exposure and is linked to an increased melatonin (hormone) level. Normal onset of SAD is between the ages of 18 and 30.

La Crosse Tribune, For some, deep freeze triggers winter blues by Mike Tighe…The winter blues settle in for many people when they can’t get outside and enjoy their normal activities, mental health professionals say. “We definitely see a shift in mood over the winter months, with a lack of sunlight and not being able to do things you enjoy,” said Amber Sherman, a clinical therapist at Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare.

WXOW La Crosse, Health experts reminding people to watch out for frostbite, Health experts providing a reminder to dress for the weather.  Frostbite can happen within 10 minutes in these temperatures so its important to wear gloves and wear extra layers…"Usually it starts in your extremities, your toes, and your hands just because blood is trying to shunt to the core to conserve your body temperature so those are the areas that usually get hit first," says LeighAnn Gooden of Mayo Clinic Health System.

St. Peter Herald, Potentially lethal delays: Southern Minnesota hospitals slow to send in newborn blood samples by Jessica Bies, Sometimes delays can be deadly. And when it comes to getting newborn blood samples to state labs for testing, some area hospitals are squandering valuable time. Babies that suffer from genetic disorders can appear healthy at birth, but become sick within days, making early detection essential, said Padma Yarrapureddy, a pediatric physician for Mayo Clinic Health System - Mankato.

Science Codex, Mayo Clinic study finds standardized protocol and surgery improve mortality outcomes, For patients who have experienced a large stroke that cuts off blood supply to a large part of the brain, the use of standardized medical management protocol and surgery to decompress swelling can improve life expectancy, Mayo Clinic researchers found in a recent study… "We discovered who – out of this patient group – was most at risk for mortality. Additional coverage: News-Medical, Medical Xpress, HealthCanal

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, Heart helpers assist patients with weakened, failing organs by Christena O’Brien, Heart-related problems keep attacking Everett "Dave" Evans' life. The 65-year-old Lake Hallie man lost his father, Everett, and brother Ray to heart attacks.… "Some patients with congestive heart failure become so bad that they can't really function at all, and those are the ones that are considered either for heart transplants or ventricular assist devices," said Dr. Daniel Kincaid, a longtime cardiologist with Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire.

Yahoo! Health, The Dangers of Mouthwash by Lizette Borreli… Age, family history, being overweight or obese, and physical inactivity are just some of the risk factors that may trigger HBP. People who are overweight or obese require more blood to provide oxygen and nutrients to their tissues, says the Mayo Clinic, while being physically inactive leads to higher heart rates.

Star Tribune, Decline in federal grants is threat to state research by Dan Browning, Minnesota's half-billion-dollar pipeline of biomedical research grants shrank again in 2013…The state held its own compared to other states, according to a Star Tribune analysis. But the decline has many Minnesota scientists gnashing their teeth… The University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester collectively landed 82 percent of the $2.96 billion in grants that the NIH has distributed to Minnesota entities over the past five years. The U consistently the largest Minnesota recipient was up 2 percent over 2012 but down 7 percent from the preceding four-year average. Mayo was down 5 percent year-over-year and from the prior four years.        The online Article can be found here.

Florida Times-Union, Progress for Jacksonville, but big hurdles ahead, quality-of-life report says by Steve Patterson, More high school graduations, drops in crime and more people living or working downtown are helping the First Coast chase goals set years ago, a Jacksonville Community Council Inc. report previewed Friday says. But a raft of problems on other fronts, from spiking suicide rates to poverty among children and widespread concerns about racism are dragging down a community on the edge of great advances, says the same report…“We see Jacksonville’s potential and have raised our expectations. This community demands to reach a higher standard,” said William Rupp, CEO of Mayo Clinic, who chaired the committee behind JCCI’s 29th annual progress report.

Huffington Post, Vaccines Could Have Stopped These Outbreaks (MAP) by Meredith Bennett, The map clearly shows the problems developed regions have in controlling these types of outbreaks, particularly in western and southern Africa, where epidemics like measles and cholera are extremely problematic. India, Pakistan, Indonesia and the Phillipines, in turn, have been hit hard by measles epidemics of their own… On its website, the Mayo Clinic emphatically rejects any connection between vaccinations and developmental disorders: Vaccines do not cause autism. Despite much controversy on the topic, researchers haven’t found a connection between autism and childhood vaccines. In fact, the original study that ignited the debate years ago has been retracted.

Slate, Stay With Me!, The Explainer Question of the Year: Does shouting at an injured person have any medical benefit? by Daniel Engber… “Stay with me” does make for dramatic scenes in movies, though, science notwithstanding. In 2006, a pair of researchers in neurology at the Mayo Clinic reviewed several dozen Hollywood films going back to 1970 to see how comas were portrayed. They found numerous inaccuracies, including what they called the “Sleeping Beauty phenomenon”: Patients appeared to be sleeping peacefully, with their eyes closed and otherwise in good health. (In real life, comatose patients often have a feeding tube or tracheotomy, as well as permanent muscular contractions that can make the body look deformed.) Of the movies they considered, just 7 percent gave a “reasonably accurate presentation of prolonged coma.”

Women’ s Health magazine, The Worst Time to Get Sick by Kenny Thapoung,… For the study, researchers from the Mayo Clinic reviewed 48 prior studies and found that when people went to the hospital with a heart attack during “off hours,” they had a 5 percent increased risk of death (either at the hospital or in the 30 days after they’d been discharged)—compared to if they went during the day on a weekday. “While that number seems like a relatively small risk, it can have a substantial impact on the population,” says lead study author Atsushi Sorita, M.D., who estimates that more than 4,000 deaths each year are attributable to this increased risk.

MLB.com, Mauer maintains healthy attitude about first base, The move to first base is still sinking in for Joe Mauer… Mauer, 30, sustained a season-ending concussion on a foul tip while catching on Aug. 19, and after consulting with Twins management, team doctors, doctors from the Mayo Clinic and his family, he made the decision in November to leave behind his catching mitt forever. Mauer has maintained it wasn't a difficult decision because of the health risks associated with concussions and the increased likelihood of sustaining one while catching, but the six-time All-Star said he'll definitely miss catching.

Chicago Tribune, What is the Mediterranean diet? [slideshow], There's been a lot of news about the benefits of the Mediterranean diet -- it can help delay the onset of some diabetes, it can help with problems with leg arteries, etc. But what exactly is the Mediterranean diet? Here are some tips, courtesy of the Mayo Clinic's website. Go here to read more Mayo Clinic tips on eating the Mediterranean way.

Scientific American, Focus Shifts to Gray Matter in Search for the Cause of Multiple Sclerosis by Julianne Chiaet, It has taken a century so far for scientists to not figure out the cause of multiple sclerosis (MS)… Most recently, scientists have placed their bets on two major ideas: The first (and far more popular) hypothesis suggests MS begins in white matter… The second hypothesis suggests that MS begins in the gray matter …“Scientists need to figure out what’s happening in the gray matter, but we don’t know how to go about looking at those neurons and for the problems with those neurons,” Mayo Clinic neurologist and immunologist Moses Rodriquez says. “Moving the findings forward requires either a chance observation or a completely novel idea about what’s going on in the neurons.”

Medical Daily, Hubby Forgot Your Birthday? Research Finds Men Are More Forgetful, Regardless Of Age by Sabrina Bachai, Many sitcoms, television shows, and movies poke fun at the fact that men often forget birthdays, anniversaries, and special events…A similar study was conducted in 2008, and involved 2,000 residents who ranged in age from 70 to 89, whose data was collected over 12 to 15 months by Dr. Rosebud Roberts and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic. “They found that men were one-and-a-half times more likely to have mild cognitive impairment than women, Live Science reported, “The prevalence in men increased from 12 percent in men ages 70 to 74 up to 40 percent in the oldest age group, ages 85 to 89.”

Austin Daily Herald, Mayo Clinic Radio now available on iHeartRadio digital radio service, The Mayo Clinic is finding a new way to reach its patients — radio apps. Mayo Clinic Radio’s programming from Mayo Clinic experts is now available via iHeartRadio, a free, all-in-one digital radio service… “The standard for innovation in health care was set by William Worrall Mayo, M.D., 150 years ago as he began building a medical practice into what is now Mayo Clinic,” said Dr. John T. Wald, M.D., Mayo’s medical director..“About the same time, pioneers like Guglielmo Marconi were discovering radio signals. Today, as we look to the future of health care (#FutureOfHealthCare), iHeartRadio, with this new technology, is a natural next step for Mayo Clinic to reach patients where they are.” Additional Coverage: Post Bulletin

Albert Lea Tribune, Report shows medical mistakes by Sarah Stultz, An annual report by the Minnesota Department of Health showed that Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin had four preventable medical errors last year… At the Austin hospital, there were two falls that resulted in death. Mark Ciota, CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin, said he regrets each instance. “This report we take seriously,” Ciota said. “Although it’s four errors out of multiple thousands (of surgeries and days spent in the hospital), they are serious injuries that I personally feel responsible for because they had a very bad, adverse effect on these families.” Additional Coverage: Austin Daily Herald

Les Echos.fr (France), (story on stem cell trial) Des cellules souches pour réparer le coeur, Le cochon intubé, qui gît les pattes en l'air au centre de ce bloc opératoire de la Mayo Clinic peut être fier de lui : l'intervention chirurgicale qu'il est en train de subir relève d'une nouvelle technique qui va peut-être changer le cours de la médecine cardio-vasculaire…A quelques pas de là, un peu plus tôt dans la journée, le Dr André Terzic, directeur du Centre de médecine régénérative de la Mayo Clinic et professeur d'Atta Behfar, et le Dr Christian Homsy, PDG de Cardio3 Biosciences, ont subi une heure durant le feu des questions de journalistes.

Le Figaro, Vers une thérapie régénératrice du muscle cardiaque…Aucune chirurgie C-Cure s'appuie sur une technologie, dite «cardiopoïétique», issue de recherches menées à la Mayo Clinic (Minnesota) par les professeurs André Terzic et Atta Behfar.

Primera Hora, Incontinencia fecal: Más común de lo que piensas… Adil E. Bharucha , MBBS , MD, un gastroenterólogo de la Clínica Mayo en Rochester, Minnesota, escucha muchas historias de sus pacientes, principalmente mujeres, acerca del pánico creado por la incontinencia fecal. La condición no es desconocida en los hombres, pero es mucho más común en las mujeres.

LaSalud, Riesgo de ceguera por glaucoma desciende a la mitad, Un estudio comparativo de gran amplitud realizado por los científicos de oftalmología en Mayo Clinic revela que la probabilidad de ceguera debida al glaucoma 20 años después del diagnóstico ha descendido a la mitad en la última generación. Los resultados se publican electrónicamente en la sección “en impresión” de la revista Ophthalmology.

Terra MexicoEjercicio ayuda en la recuperación de pacientes con cancer, A pesar de ello, de acuerdo con un estudio de la clínica Mayo publicado en el Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, muchos pacientes com cáncer rechazan realizar ejercicio y pocos lo discuten con sus oncólogos. "Como médicos, siempre decimos a los pacientes que la actividad física es importante, pero nadie había estudiado lo cómo ellos se sienten al respecto y cómo pueden escoger el mejor camino", dice la autora del estudio Andrea Cheville.

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