June 26, 2014

Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

By Karl Oestreich

Mayo Clinic in the News LogoMayo 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
Obesity Is Undercounted in Children, Study Finds
by Sumathi Reddy

…A new study finds that the commonly used body-mass-index measure may fail to identify as many as 25% of children, age 4 to 18 years, who have excess body fat. The meta-analysis, scheduled for publication online in the journal Pediatric Obesity on Tuesday, reviewed 37 separate studies involving a combined The Wall Street Journal newspaper logo53,521 participants. "BMI is not capturing everybody who needs to be labeled as obese," said Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, director of preventive cardiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., who headed the study with Asma Javed, a pediatric endocrinology fellow.

Additional coverage:

KAAL, Mayo Study Finds Fault with Youth BMI Measurements
WJXT Fla., KTVZ Oreg., ANSA Italy


Wall Street Journal Lunch Break
Video: Obesity Undercounted in Children, Study Finds

A new study finds that the commonly used body mass index measure A new study finds that the Wall Street Journal Live Logocommonly used body mass index measure may leave out as many as 25% of children with excess body fat. Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, co-author of the study and director of preventive cardiology at the Mayo Clinic, joins Lunch Break with Tanya Rivero.

Context: Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D. is a Mayo Clinic cardiologist. Dr. Lopez-Jimenez's research program has studied obesity and cardiovascular disease from different angles, from physiologic studies assessing changes in myocardial mechanics and structural and hemodynamic changes following weight loss, to studies addressing the effect of physicians' diagnosis of obesity on willingness to lose weight and successful weight loss at follow-up.


Wall Street Journal
How to Keep Your Muscles Strong as You Age
by Laura Landrow

...For now, however, the best medicine available to maintain muscle mass and strength is less complicated and costly—namely, exercise and a healthy diet. Yet about 60% of people over 65 are insufficiently active or overtly inactive, and many have poor nutrition, says Nathan LeBrasseur, a researcher who directs the Muscle Performance and Physical Function Laboratory and the Healthy Aging and The Wall Street Journal newspaper logoIndependent Living Initiative at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Dr. LeBrasseur estimates that most people will lose approximately 30% of muscle mass over their lifetime, and as much as 50% by the time they reach their 80s or 90s.

Context: Nathan LeBrasseur, Ph.D. is a Mayo Clinic researcher and is affiliated with Mayo Clinic's Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. More information about his work can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

 

Wall Street Journal
How Bad Sitting Posture at Work Leads to Bad Standing Posture All the Time
by Jeanne Whalen

Good posture means aligning ears over the shoulders, shoulders over hips, and Wall Street Journal Life and Culture logohips over the knees and ankles…Many deskbound office workers have started standing and walking in this position, too, says Andrea Cheville, a rehabilitation physician at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. To counteract kyphosis, it is important to stretch the pectoral muscles and strengthen the trapezius muscles in the upper back, which hold the shoulder blades back, Dr. Cheville said. Remembering to keep the ears and head over the shoulders, and not jutting forward, is also important.

Context: Andrea Cheville, M.D., Mayo Clinic Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, is an expert on exercise in the elderly and also focuses on the delivery of supportive care services to optimize the functionality and quality-of-life for patients with cancer in all disease stages.

Wall Street Journal
Can Data From Your Fitbit Transform Medicine?
By Elizabeth Dwoskin

Many runners and fitness fanatics have been quick to embrace wearable wireless tracking devices for Wall Street Journal Tech Logomeasuring physical activity and calories burned. Now, a growing number of physicians are formally studying whether such "wearables" can improve patients' health by spurring people to get moving…David Cook, an anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, who, along with colleagues, used Fitbit Inc.'s namesake gadget to track activity levels of cardiac-surgery patients. The researchers found that patients who moved more the day after surgery were more likely to be discharged sooner. The findings prompted the hospital to dispatch physical therapists to study patients who weren't moving as much, said Dr. Cook.

Context: David J. Cook, M.D. is a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist.

Reach: 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 223 million copies on week days.  Its website has more than 4.3 million unique visitors each month.

Public Affairs Contact: Traci Klein

The Atlantic, Study: An Intellectual Life Could Protect Against Dementia by Julie Beck...There is a prevailing idea, though, that staying mentally active could help keep the disease at bay. A new study out of the Mayo Clinic, published in JAMA Neurology, lends some more credence to this theory. The longitudinal study looked at nearly 2,000 Minnesotans aged 70 to 89 and followed up with them every 15 months for an average of six years. Of these people, 277 had mild cognitive impairment (the rest were cognitively normal) and 20 to 30 percent of them had the APOE4 gene, which gives a person a 67 percent chance of developing Alzheimer’s…“Doing cognitive activities at least three times a week was highly protective,” says Dr. Prashanthi Vemuri, an assistant professor of radiology at the Mayo Clinic and lead author on the study…Additional coverage: KCAL Los Angeles, WMBD Ill., Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CBS News, FOX News, KPHO Ariz.

Reuters, Keeping the aging brain active may also keep it sharp: study by Kathryn Doyle, Challenging the mind early with education and stimulating work, and later in life with reading, socializing and computer use, may help keep it thinking clearly into old age, according to new research…“We knew that lifetime intellectual enrichment can delay the onset of cognitive decline, but here we were able to estimate how much it helps you,” said lead author Prashanthi Vemuri, a radiologist at the Mayo Clinic and Foundation in Rochester, Minnesota. Additional coverage: Daily Mail UK, Orlando Sentinel, HealthDay, Health.com, Grand Forks Herald, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, ABC News Australia, Senior Journal

Bloomberg, Feeding the Brain’s Curiosity Helps Delay Alzheimer’s by Nicole Ostrow, People genetically prone to Alzheimer's who went to college, worked in complex fields and stayed engaged intellectually held off the disease almost a decade longer than others, a study found…"Keeping your brain mentally stimulated is a lifelong enterprise," David Knopman, a study author and a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said in a telephone interview. Additional coverage:  Orlando Sentinel, Chicago Tribune

Spine Surgery Today, Mayo Clinic study to use stem cells to help slow ALS progression…“We use fat-derived mesenchymal stem cells from the patient’s own body. These cells are modified in the laboratory and delivered through a spinal tap into the fluid around the patient’s nervous system to promote neuron survival,” Anthony Windebank, MD, deputy director for discovery in the Center for Regenerative Medicine, at Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minn., stated in a press release from the Mayo Clinic.

BusinessWeek, After That Prescription, Let's Test Your Memory by Sonali Basak, “Teaching someone how to perform a cognitive assessment is not a trivial matter,” says David Knopman, a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. “It takes some training and background in knowing about neurology.” Knopman is a member of the scientific advisory board of the Alzheimer’s Association, which bills itself as the largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s research. The group doesn’t support the in-store tests.

HealthDay, Former NFL Players May Be Plagued With Chronic Headaches by Dennis Thompson, Some retired NFL players live with nearly constant headaches, and their misery is frequently punctuated with skull-splitting migraines, a new study reports…"I'm not surprised by these findings," said Dr. David Dodick, director of the Sport Neurology and Concussion Program at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz. "Headache is the most common symptom of concussion, and persistent headache is one of the most common symptoms of repeated concussions." Additional coverage: Summit Medical Group, Yahoo! News, US News & World Report, Newsday, MSN, Health magazine, DoctorsLounge

USA Today (AP), Heart issue derails Baylor ex's unlikely NBA bid, Isaiah Austin's attempt to play in the NBA despite his partial blindness has ended because of a rare genetic disorder that affects his heart. The former Baylor center, who left school early to enter this week's NBA draft, has been diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, which affects the body's connective tissue… According to the Mayo Clinic, complications from Marfan syndrome can weaken the aorta, the artery that supplies blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Additional coverage: KARE 11, Vida en el Valle, Washington Post

New Yorker, Death On The Basketball Court by Brian Mossop, Around midnight on New Year’s Eve, 2002, Kayla Burt, a sophomore guard on the University of Washington’s women’s basketball team, had just finished watching movies with friends and was getting ready for bed. The last thing that Burt recalls from that night was that, while brushing her teeth, she found herself chewing on the brush instead of going through the usual motions. Then everything went black. Burt collapsed as her heart stopped beating…Frustrated by the prospect of dealing with a premature career-ending and life-threatening condition, Burt decided to go to the Mayo Clinic to see Michael Ackerman, a cardiologist who specialized in long QT syndrome and other genetic abnormalities of the heart. Surprisingly, Ackerman informed Burt that she did not have long QT syndrome. In fact, he could not find one thing wrong with her heart.

USA Today, If you don't snooze, you lose, health experts say, Most people know when they don't get enough sleep: They're grumpier, have trouble concentrating and may even eat more. But too little shut-eye does more than affect your mood. It can wreak havoc on your health, research shows…There are a lot of physiological changes that occur with sleep, says Timothy Morgenthaler, a consultant at the Mayo Clinic Center for Sleep Medicine in Rochester, Minn. "One of the main hypotheses is that one primary function of sleep is to help eliminate metabolic waste products of the mental processes in your brain. Sleep clears those waste products out and replenishes the energy inside brain cells."  Additional coverage: KARE 11

MedPage Today, USPSTF Finalizes AAA Guidance by Todd Neale, The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published its updated recommendations for screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).…MedPage Today asked vascular surgeons to comment on the USPSTF guidance, and the accompanying video includes thoughts from Larry Kraiss, MD, chief of the division of vascular surgery at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Vik Kashyap, MD, chief of of the division of vascular surgery at UH Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Peter Gloviczki, MD, a vascular surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

PRI.org, Pre-surgery routines might be doing more harm than good for patients…But doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota are questioning the necessity and the benefits of these protocols. Dr. Robert Cima, chair of the surgical safety and quality committee at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, says there is little science to support this protocol. Patients might evenrecover more quickly without it.

Medscape, CardioStim 2014, Day 3: Treating Atrial Fibrillation: Drugs, Ablation, or Neither? By John Mandrola, In the era of catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation, antiarrhythmic drugs will become obsolete. This was the title of a pro/con debate here at CardioStim 2014 . Dr Douglas Packer (Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN) took the pro side while Dr Paulus Kirchhof (University of Birmingham, UK) opposed…s a modifier, obsolete means something is no longer used and out of date. Dr Packer began by admitting, as many debaters at medical sessions do, that his opponent had the easier task and that his side was doomed.

TIME, 5 Ways to Stop Getting Completely Burned Out at Work by Martha White…Tackle fixable problems. If you can identify a source of burnout — say, a grueling commute or feeling like you’re not getting feedback you need — try to fix it. “Discuss specific concerns with your supervisor. Perhaps you can work together to change expectations or reach compromises or solutions,” the Mayo Clinic suggests.

TIME, 6 Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally by Alexandra Sifferlin, Exercise Breaking a sweat can keep you protected from hypertension. Getting at least 30 to 60 minutes of exercise many days a week can lower blood pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic. Even exercise like walking can be good for your heart.

CNN, Free pregnancy tests to be placed in Alaska bars, In an effort to combat fetal alcohol syndrome, researchers are planning to install free pregnancy test dispensers in the bathrooms of some bars…Depending on what stage of her pregnancy she's in and how often a woman drinks, fetal alcohol syndrome can cause, among other things, abnormal facial features, brain damage, hyperactivity, difficulty with judgment and motor skill impairment, according to the Mayo Clinic. Additional coverage: News4Jax

CTV Canada, Montreal researchers test non-invasive angina treatment by Marlene Leung, A group of Montreal researchers is testing a new way to treat blocked heart vessels, in the hopes of making the treatment more common in Canada. Thousands of Canadians suffer from untreatable angina, a medical condition where the patient feels chest pains due to blocked arteries in the heart…Dr. Gregory Barsness, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has been treating patients with EECP for over a decade. "It provides durable effectiveness in treating these patients, so it really is an underutilized but appropriate therapy," he said.

Prevention, Germ Grenade, Watch out for that gleaming stethoscope around your doctor's neck. The diaphragm (the round part that touches your skin) was found in a new study to be a hot spot for MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), the dreaded drug-resistant bacteria people pick up in hospitals. There are no MD guidelines for disinfecting 'scopes between patients, so you'd be well within reason to suggest a wipe down before your checkup begins. Source: Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Ebony, App to the Rescue, Use of an online and smartphone program designed to help individuals undergoing cardiac rehabilitation after suffering a heart attack reduced the emergency room visits and hospital re-admissions of a group of study subjects by 40 percent. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found only 20 percent of those using the app required subsequent ER visits or readmittance to the hospital.

Huffington Post, 5 Sneaky Reasons You're Crying All The Time by Abigail Wise…In addition, somewhere between 20 and 40 percent of women report experiencing premenstrual syndrome in the days before their menstrual cycle begins. In addition to bloating and headaches, crying spells are one of the most common symptoms of PMS, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Becker’s Hospital Review, Top 55 Hospitals Patients Would Definitely Recommend by Heather Punke, Here is a list of 55 hospitals with 91 percent or more of patients who reported "yes, they would definitely recommend this hospital" in the HCAHPS survey…Mayo Clinic Hospital (Phoenix) — 92 percent…Mayo Clinic (Jacksonville, Fla.) — 92 percent.

CNBC, Top States: Big differences in health "uninsured" rate…But Todd Van Tol, a partner in Oliver Wyman's health and life-sciences practice, said he strongly expects there to be differences in the short term between various states regarding the percentage of eligible people who buy coverage from the Obamacare exchanges…Van Tol said Minnesota's Department of Employment and Economic Development, in addition to pointing out the presence of the Mayo Clinic in that state, has been "highlighting the fact that they have a 92 percent insured rate."

Star Tribune, Health beat: Delicate questions in genetic testing by Jeremy Olson… This has an ethical simplicity, because doctors don’t want to play God and decide what information patients should receive. But researchers at the Mayo Clinic have been interviewing patients and discovering that they would prefer a more nuanced approach. “[Patients] say that being able to have a say in what they learn or don’t learn is really kind of important,” said Jennifer McCormick, a Mayo expert on bioethics and genetics.

RedOrbit, Oxygen Therapy, Facial Hair Combination May Be Hazardous To Health by Alan McStravick, Physician researchers from the Mayo Clinic have some very bad news for the smoking hipster in your life: continuing to engage in the unhealthy habit will likely lead to the prescription of home oxygen therapy and the need to shave that super-sweet ‘Dear Watson’ stache. The study, conducted by Andrew Greenlund, MD, PhD, his wife Laura Greenlund, MD, PhD, and Mayo medical resident Bradley Anderson, MD, demonstrated how the combination of facial hair and home oxygen therapy can be just as harmful to your health as the cancer sticks that got you there.

Science 2.0, Mustaches, Home Oxygen And Cigarettes Do Not Mix, You probably knew this but a new report in Mayo Clinic Proceedings confirms that facial hair, sparks and home oxygen therapy can be dangerous…"They can have very bad facial burns and airway burns also," says senior author Andrew Greenlund, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic primary care physician who conducted the research with his wife, Mayo physician Laura Greenlund, M.D., Ph.D., and Mayo medical resident Bradley Anderson, M.D. "When fire burns the airway, then you have swelling and tissue death. It can be very dangerous." Additional coverage: Science Codex, Bio-Medicine, BioPortfolio, Medical Xpress

KIMT, Facial hair linked to oxygen tank tube fires by Adam Sallet, Groundbreaking research is once again being done by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Doctors in the Med-City have now been able to link facial hair with oxygen tank tube fires that some patients have suffered. The study, led by Dr. Andrew Greenlund, looked at the number of these fires and tried to find the source.

Courier News – Chicago Sun-Times Ill., LITH woman with kidney transplant is getting along swimmingly, Agnieszka “Agnes” Rapacz of Lake in the Hills, a mother of two teenagers, runs her own tea business, and is training for a swimming competition. By the way, she has three kidneys…The failure was caused by a virus, she was told. So Rapacz checked out the medical centers at Loyola University and the University of Wisconsin in Madison before deciding to have the transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Hamilton Spectator, Philanthropist blasts governments for wasting money instead of fixing health care by Carmela Fragomeni, In opening Hamilton's newest hospital clinic, Jackie Work did what her late father often liked to do – "take a stick and poke the bear" of government.…After months of shuffling around specialists, her father got fed up and took her mother to the Mayo Clinic in the U.S., she said. Within a short time, her mother was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder and her father's rash was found to be caused by the contraindications of his medications, which were then adjusted or changed. "It just took that co-ordination of people to look at everything as a whole and figure out what was going on. Both my parents were so impressed with the level of care they got. Not just the speed, but that the doctors worked as a team and were very communicative. My dad said we need that here," Work said.

WGN Chicago, Steve Cochran Hour Five 6/19/14, CNET Senior Editor Dan Ackerman describes the features on Amazon’s new phone, the “Fire.” Then Agnes Rapacz joins the morning crew to talk about the Transplant Games. (Mayo Clinic patient)

CNN, Heatstroke: A summer danger, Heatstroke deaths often surge in summer months as temperatures rise. Your normal body temperature is around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit; with heatstroke the body can warm up to 106 degrees F or higher in 10 to 15 minutes…Neurological symptoms, such as confusion and unconsciousness, can also result from extreme exposure to heat, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Women’s Health, 5 New Ways to Spot Skin Cancer by Meghan Rabbitt, The latest innovations in early detection… "There is a lot of new technology that dermatologists are using that adds an artificial intelligence component to these exams, helping us detect skin cancer earlier than ever," says Jerry D. Brewer, M.D., vice-chair of the dermatology research unit and assistant professor of dermatology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. And the earlier you or your derm sees a suspicious-looking spot, the better your prognosis will be if it is skin cancer.

News4Jax, Protecting your skin this summer…Dr. Anokhi Jambusaria, a physician at Mayo Clinic who is part of the new Melanoma Clinic is here. 3 what can we do to protect ourselves. How can staying in the sun long -- cause skin cancer...Are there certain types of sunscreen that are better than others? What are signs of skin cancer?

Georgia Trend, PARTNERING FOR PATIENT CAREThe Mayo Clinic Care Network, When patients visit one of the WellStar Health System facilities in the Atlanta area, their doctors will now have access to all of the expertise of the Mayo Clinic for their care. This February, Marietta-based WellStar Health System announced that it is joining the Mayo Clinic Care Network, a national network of like-minded organizations that share a common commitment to improving the delivery of healthcare in their communities through high-quality, data-driven, evidence-based medical care.

Myrtle Beach Online, Former PGA champion calls North Myrtle Beach home by Alan Blondin…With the 47th PGA Professional National Championship being played in Myrtle Beach from Sunday through Wednesday, we would be remiss if we didn’t tell the tale of North Myrtle Beach resident Roger Watson…Watson had kidney cancer that claimed one of his kidneys, and his remaining kidney is failing. He undergoes dialysis three times a week as he waits for a kidney transplant, and has been told he’s in the top group awaiting a kidney at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. “We don’t know how big that group is,” Watson said.

ABC30 Calif., Growing Stem Cells In Space: Medicine's Next Big Thing?, Hemorrhagic stroke is responsible for more than 30 percent of all stroke deaths. It happens when a weakened blood vessel ruptures and bleeds into the brain. It's something Jon Galvan experienced five years ago after he almost died from a hemorrhagic stroke while atSubmit work. "I was typing away and I felt a pop in my head," Galvan told Ivanhoe. He was able to recover, but Abba Zubair, MD, PhD, Medical Director of Transfusion Medicine and Stem Cell Therapy at Mayo Clinic, Florida says not everyone is as fortunate.

The Morning Sun Mich., Assisted breathing program soon to be available at Masonic Pathways by Vicky Johnson, A new program for patients on ventilators will soon be available at Masonic Pathways in Alma. The first Michigan nursing care center in fifteen years to receive the required Medicaid approval, Masonic Pathways and Allevant Solutions, a joint venture of Mayo Clinic and Select Medical, today announced plans to initiate Assisted Breathing, a program for patients on ventilators.

Daytona Beach News-Journal, Blind batter aims to get others back in the game by Jim Haug, Willie Scales started losing his vision in 1998. Desperate for a cure, he traveled to the renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, but a corrective treatment could not be found. Why Scales went blind is still a mystery. The sudden loss of vision came as a shock.

Providence Journal R.I.Blackstone Valley Community Health Care offers new health app by Peter Elsworth, Blackstone Valley Community Health Care says it will become one of the first community health systems to adopt its own smartphone application that will allow users to track their health over time. The new application, which was developed by Axial Exchange with some content provided by the Mayo Clinic, will be launched at a community health fair.

Arthritis Today, Hip Shot? Racing Heart, Achy Knees, I have osteoarthritis (OA) in several joints, plus an irregular heartbeat. Walking at even a slow pace hurts my knees and makes my heart rate soar. How can I safely get more active?  A. I suggest you talk with your cardiologist to see if your heartbeat is in a safe range when exercising, and ask what kind of exercise would be best from a heart standpoint…Eric Matteson, MD, rheumatology chair, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

VOXXI, Hispanics at highest risk as fatty liver disease skyrockets by Hope Gillette, The issue at hand is known as fatty liver disease, a disease that occurs when obesity and a lack of physical activity cause the liver to store excessive amounts of fat. Experts from the Mayo Clinic indicate fatty liver disease, also referred to as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, can cause serious liver inflammation and scarring, much in the same way as seen among people who do drink heavily. Like other liver disease diagnoses, fatty liver disease can result in liver failure.

SC Magazine, Talk stresses IoT concerns as today's problems by Danielle Walker, As the number of devices connected to the internet skyrockets, the industry will be forced to become more judicious about securing and analyzing the influx of data, experts shared at SC Congress Toronto. In a Wednesday keynote address to security pros, Jim Nelms, CISO of the Mayo Clinic, said that the mass of Internet of Things (IoT) devices set to come online presented security challenges which must be addressed sooner rather than later.

Northwest Herald (Ill.) Transplant gives Lake in the Hills woman second chance to swim, Inside of a roughly 25-yard-long pool at Lifetime Fitness in Algonquin, Agnes Rapacz wears a swimming cap and goggles as she does freestyle laps…Rapacz’s annual checkups at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, show she is healthy and has the healthy bones of a younger person, she said. “The transplant gave me the extra kick,” Rapacz said…Dr. Thomas Schwab, the medical director of the Kidney Transplant Program at the Mayo Clinic, said it is important for transplant recipients to take care of themselves by taking their medications, eating healthy and exercising

Chicago Tribune, Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Dizziness a common problem with many possible causes by Paul Takahashi, M.D., Primary Care Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am 68 and have periodic spells of dizziness. They don't last long and I don't seem to have any other symptoms. Should I see a doctor? What might these spells indicate?

Chicago Tribune, Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Child's chronic cough may be symptom of asthma by Brian A. Lynch, M.D., Pediatrics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My 8-year-old son has been coughing off-and-on at night for a few weeks and says his chest hurts, but he never complains about this during the day. Could he have asthma? How is it diagnosed? If it's very mild, would he still need treatment?

Financial Post, Junk Science Week: Vaccinating the ‘herd’ by Lawrence Solomon, Mass vaccination advocates rely on ‘herd immunity’ to make their case. But it doesn’t exist…But even vaccinating 100% of the population wouldn’t be enough, say scientists at the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group, because the measles vaccine is a dud with some people, offering no protection at all, and its effectiveness wanes with others, even if they get boosters.

Myeloma Beacon, Pat’s Place: Be Careful What You Wish For by Pat Killingsworth…While I initially struggled with this description – because there was no clear-cut solution for it – I slowly came to see the upside of my current situation: It allowed me to not hurry to the next treatment, but rather em­brace every day, no matter how uncertain or painful it may be. My new specialist at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, came highly recom­mended by several of my contacts at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

MedCity News, Apple Health: Will the company have the right answers for all the open questions? By Veronica Combs… How does Apple Health actually work? Apple provided virtually no details. Does the patient need the Epic MyChart app on their phone? Is there custom code integrating iOS to Epic MyChart? Is there a Mayo Clinic app that is separate from Epic MyChart? If not, how does Apple Health know that the consumer is a Mayo patient? Or a Kaiser Permanente patient?

mHealthNews, My wish list for Apple's HealthKit initiative by Josephe Kvedar, MD, Director, Center for Connected Health, A week or so ago they announced that iOS 8 would have a built-in app to collect all of your health info in one place. Then there was the announcement of the partnership with Mayo Clinic and Epic Systems. This generated even more headlines…Also, hats off to Epic and the Mayo Clinic for showing us the way on the integration of patient-generated data into the electronic health record. If the platform gets traction with Mayo clinicians and/or if they can show patient-generated data being used to improve health outcomes or lower cost, this could be a very big deal.

Billings Gazette, 14-year-old celebrates end of 8 months of chemo, Fourteen-year-old Olivia Clyde celebrated the end of eight months of chemotherapy with a party Thursday morning…Olivia held a golf club in her left hand…Olivia swung two-fisted at a candy-stuffed pinata hanging from the ceiling… The pinata had a double significance: The word “cancer” was scrawled on the outside. Since Olivia was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, or bone cancer, on Sept. 19, she has been whacking away at the disease… Last August, the bump doubled in size. She went back to Denver and was then referred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where she was diagnosed with cancer.

Endocrine Today, Thyroid cancer care no longer ‘one-size-fits-all’…In the study, Juan P. Brito, MD, a fellow of the division of endocrinology, diabetes, metabolism and nutrition at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues reported that these procedures cost an estimated $416 million per year, and patients who undergo thyroidectomies are at a 1% to 6% risk for further complications…“The advances in detection are unlikely to offer any benefit, as the death rate has not changed despite the increased trend of thyroid cancer,” Brito told Endocrine Today.

KIMT, Marksmen gather to “Shoot for a Cure” by Allie Krug, Marksmen young and old came together for a cause on Saturday. It was the annual “Shoot for a Cure” fundraiser at Coyote Creek Gun and Archery in Rochester. The goal of the event is to raise money for cancer research at St. Jude’s Hospital and Mayo Clinic. Event organizers tell that in the past couple of years the event has raised more than $160,000 for cancer research.

KPHO Ariz., Cancer patient story, Dr. Donald Northfelt and his patient were on CBS-TV discussing where research is heading re: detecting cancer with blood tests.

Globe and Mail, Exercise may help chemotherapy side effects by Adriana Barton…Some studies suggest that up to 50 per cent of breast-cancer patients experience symptoms of chemo brain. According to the Mayo Clinic, the cognitive impairments may be caused by chemotherapy as well as other cancer treatments, including radiation, hormone treatment, stem-cell transplant and surgery.

Nature, Resurrected cancer drug faces regulators by Heidi Ledford…Around the same time, another purported PARP inhibitor called iniparib, developed by Sanofi in Paris, was also failing in clinical trials. Researchers would later show that iniparib was not a true PARP inhibitor, but by then, interest in the drug class had been sapped (see Nature 483, 519; 2012). “It dirtied the waters,” says Scott Kaufmann, an ovarian-cancer researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

WJXX Fla., Mayo Clinic Finds Gene Linked to Kidney Cancer, A breakthrough for kindey cancer treatment - discovered right here in JACKSONVILLE. Teams at the Mayo Clinic say they've found a gene in the brain that's linked to kidney cancer. That gene, called is thought to be involved in producing the cancer, and helping it grow. Researchers made the find profiling 100 kidney cancer patient samples to find genes that were common.  Dr. John Copeland is interviewed. Additional coverage: Science Newsline Medicine, Science Daily, Science Codex, RedOrbit, WTLV Fla., Medical News Today

Clinical Oncology News, ACCC's Resource Centers Support Treatment of Rare Cancers, Community oncologists now have additional resources to help manage patients with uncommon cancers, panelists said at the annual meeting of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC)…More and more cancers will be viewed as rare, said Ruben Mesa, MD, a hematologist at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Modern Healthcare, Consolidation creating giant hospital systems by Melanie Evans, Large regional and national healthcare systems are getting bigger and markets are increasingly consolidating, Modern Healthcare's annual survey of hospital systems shows.  Among the nation's biggest for-profit and not-for-profit systems, dealmaking in 2013 created giants with multibillion-dollar annual revenues that rival some Fortune 500 companies. 

Minneapolis/ St. Paul Business Journal, Nice Ride plots expansion to Rochester by Mark Reilly, Nice Ride, the bike-sharing program that’s taken root in Minneapolis, is now plotting an expansion into Rochester that could dovetail with the Mayo Clinic’s expansion there.

Planet Jackson Hole, Natural medicine with Dr. Monique, The gospel truth on gluten As a naturopathic physician, my advice is that gluten sensitivity is definitely worth investigating. Regarding the sudden spike in awareness and the appearance of gluten-free options on so many menus, consider the words of Dr. Joseph A. Murray, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic: “Something has changed in our environment to make it much more common.”

American News Report, Pills for Breakfast: Countdown to the Mayo Clinic by Crystal Lindell, o I’m going to the Mayo Clinic in a little less than two weeks. In 13 days I’ll be on my way to what many people in America consider to be the best hospital in the country. It has taken me over a year to get in there. Apparently, when my original primary care doctor decided back in May, 2013 that he could no longer help me, I wasn’t quite in bad enough shape for the Mayo Clinic to prioritize my case.

Chicago Tribune, Egg labels may confuse consumers by Bill Daley...There are handy glossaries useful to reading egg cartons on websites manned byHumane Society and the Mayo Clinic . Then consider this advice from Hagen, who is also associate medical director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living wellness program: "If you have a specific concern — antibiotics, hormones, stressed warehouse raised hens producing less healthy eggs, etc. — do your homework on labels, expect to pay more, recognize that there are a lot of labeling gimmicks that are used, but on average that these eggs are likely to be what they say they are," he wrote in an email.

Dunn County News, Registered dietitian suggests healthy take on barbecuing, Dripping burgers, mayonnaise-laden potato and pasta salads, and don’t forget dessert. The summer barbecue season can be a challenging time for those watching their weight or even for those wanting to maintain a healthy diet. But don’t despair, says one Mayo Clinic Health System registered dietitian. “When we think of barbecues, what generally comes to mind isn’t necessarily healthy,” says Diane Dressel, coordinator for the health care organization’s weight management program. “The good news is that you can have a wonderful gathering of friends and family that also can be healthy.”

Post-Bulletin, Back and Forth: Have you met “Man and Freedom” at Mayo Clinic? By Harley Flathers, Millions of people who have come to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester since 1954 likely have seen the gigantic statue of a man with up-stretched arms and face tilting upward. This is "Man and Freedom" created by a sculptor from Yugoslavia, Ivan Mestrovic. Just one of several of his works, it originally was placed on the north side of the Mayo Building in 1954.

Post-Bulletin, Dear Answer Man, in the Day in History column recently, it said that Dr. Charles Mayo's body lay in state "in the lobby at Mayo Clinic" after his death 75 years ago. Where at Mayo Clinic did his body lay in state?...it seems likely that the visitation was in the Plummer Building, rather than the 1914 Building. The latter was considered the original clinic building and was demolished nearly 30 years ago to make way for the Siebens Building.

Post-Bulletin, Approval nears for anti-obesity device developed with Mayo Clinic by Jeff Kiger, FDA approval could be close for a company that's been working with Mayo Clinic on an anti-obesity device since 2005. An advisory panel for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently studied clinical trial data for the Maestro Rechargeable System, a pacemaker-like device made by St. Paul-based EnteroMedics.

Post-Bulletin, Wisconsin family hauls pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House by Bryna Godar, Sixth-grader Seth Bayles and his mom have been driving the 309 miles from Bristol, Wis., for four years to get treatment at Mayo Clinic for his rare autoimmune disease. Sometimes they stay for a day, sometimes for weeks, but usually at the Ronald McDonald House.

WKBT La Crosse, Study praises 3D mammograms, A new study is highlighting the benefits of 3D mammograms. The breast cancer screening technology takes a more in-depth look at breast cancer - and as a result, it's been able to increase detections by 40 percent, according to research by the Journal of the American Medical Association. "If your institution is at 4 or 5 cancers per 1000, adding 3D mammograms might increase that to 6 cancers per thousand," said Doctor Laurel Littrell with Mayo Clinic. "So it is a significant increase."

WKBT La Crosse, Practice underway for the Big Blue Dragon Boat Race…Racers were practicing for the upcoming Big Blue Dragon Boat race. The event, put on by Mayo Clinic Health System, raises awareness and money for breast cancer research.

KEYC Mankato, Dangers of Standing Flood Water by Kassandra Sepeda…Infectious Disease Specialist for for the Mayo clinic Health System Jessica Sheehy told KEYC, " If you see your kids playing out in the water just make sure they get washed off very good before they come in the house.  Any toys that they may have need to be disinfected. People that have open wounds should stay away from the standing water just because you're at an increased risk at developing infections throughout those areas." Additional coverage: Le Center Leader

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, Studies boost triglycerides' role in heart disease by Emily Miels, Preventing heart disease may be about more than reducing low-density lipoprotein, or “bad” cholesterol, according to a pair of studies published Wednesday…Susan Pope, nurse practitioner in the cardiac center at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, said a lipid profile has different parts and triglycerides are just one of the factors they look at.  “The triglyceride/HDL picture has not been as clear as the LDL picture, and this study is a potential step toward that,” Pope said.

Red Wing Republican Eagle, Colonoscopy nothing to be worried about, Colonoscopy screening rates at Mayo Clinic Health System in Cannon Falls, Lake City and Red Wing are far above the national screening rate of 55 percent. The medical centers average around 70 percent.  Although more patients like Overby get screened, the idea of a colonoscopy can be daunting for many. Some patients are concerned that the preparation of colonoscopies will be painful or difficult. Overby found that it wasn’t so bad.  "I was anxious about having this done," she said. "I was nervous when I came in, and the staff in Cannon Falls couldn’t have been nicer, reassuring me about everything."  Dr. Eric Poulin, a family medicine physician from Mayo Clinic Health System-Red Wing in Zumbrota who also performs colonoscopies in Cannon Falls, helped reassure Overby.

St. James Plaindealer, Sweeping Supermarkets for Health and Value by Ryan Anderson, During a grocery store tour June 11 at Superfair Foods, Kim Nelson, a registered dietician for Mayo Clinic Health System, pointed out the importance of examining food labels and the ways in which people with differing diets and goals need to value different aspects on those labels.

Janesville Argus, Janesville's clinic now has steady heartbeat by Kelsey Hering,The Mayo Clinic Health System in Janesville has its first full-time doctor. Dr. Jeff Wheeler, who was trained at Rochester’s Mayo Clinic, has been in the practice for five years, spending two years at Mayo Clinic Health System in Waseca full-time, and three years at both the Janesville and Waseca Mayo Health locations. Wheeler says he is excited to be the first full-time doc.

Faribault Daily News, Local providing vein consultations and procedures by Chris Houck, Joshua Froman, M.D., general surgeon at Mayo Clinic Health System in Owatonna, will now perform varicose vein consultations and in-clinic procedures at Mayo Clinic Health System in Faribault.

KEYC Mankato, Kolstad Transfers From MCHS Mankato To Twin Cities by Erick Lind, Isaac Kolstad is continuing to make strides in his recovery from a severe head injury. Now the Mankato East and MSU graduate is ready to for the next step as he has left Mayo Clinic Health System Mankato to continue his rehabilitation at an inpatient program in the Twin Cities. Additional coverage: Star Tribune

Yahoo! En Español, Medir solo el IMC puede clasificar erróneamente hasta el 25 % de los chicos obesos, Los médicos que utilizan el índice de masa corporal (IMC) para diagnosticar obesidad en los niños podrían omitir a 25 % de quienes tienen excesiva grasa corporal pero cuentan con un IMC normal, lo que representa un grave problema para la salud a largo plazo, dice un estudio de Mayo Clinic publicado electrónicamente el día de hoy en Pediatric Obesity (Obesidad Infantil). Additional coverage: Yahoo! Mexico

Periodico el Comentario, Hallan beneficios de metformina en diabéticos con cirrosis hepatica,Un nuevo estudio científico de Mayo Clinic descubrió que los pacientes con diabetes tipo dos que continuaron con su tratamiento a base de metformina después del diagnóstico de cirrosis, obtuvieron mejores tasas de supervivencia, en comparación con quienes lo suspendieron.

El Horizonte, Piojos, cada vez más resistentes a tratamientos y remedios caseros, La infestación por piojos o pediculosis, a la que son más propensos de contagio los menores en edad escolar, ha generado resistencia a algunos medicamentos o remedios caseros, informó Dawn Davis, especialista de Dermatología de Clínica Mayo. Additional coverage: MSN Noticias, Plano Informativo, La Cronica

Univision Salud, 1 de cada 4 niños con IMC normal podría ser obeso…El doctor Francisco López Jiménez, director de cardiología preventiva en la Clínica Mayo de Rochester, Minnesota, explica que si se aplica el IMC para descubrir qué niños son obesos, la medida funciona correctamente cuando se tiene un alto IMC. Pero los niños con IMC normal y mucha grasa corporal estarían en una situación de riesgo, ya que sus padres se sienten tranquilos creyendo que no necesitan ocuparse de que sus hijos bajen de peso. Additional coverage: BringMeTheNews, Science World Report, CBS Atlanta

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