September 18, 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 Laura Wuotila with this subject line: SUBSCRIBE to Mayo Clinic in the News.

Thank you.

Karl Oestreich, manager enterprise media relations

 

Reuters
Experimental Virus Being Tested as Cancer Treatment

Scientists at the Mayo Clinic are starting a second round of human clinical trials to test if an engineered strain of measles virus is an effective cancer treatment. The trial follows a successful first round of testsReuters logo where a woman went into complete remission after a massive dose of the virus eradicated cancer in her body. Ben Gruber reports.

Reach:  Thomson Reuters is the world’s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms.

Additional coverage:

NBC News (KTTC), IBM Takes On Cancer, A new collaboration between the Mayo Clinic and IBM brings the Watson supercomputer to best match cancer patients with the estimated 178,000 ongoing medical trials, suited to their needs. KTTC's Devin Bartolotta reports.

ABC News, Cancer Survivor Saved by Measles Virus Raises Funds for Expanded Trial, After battling blood cancer for 10 years, Stacy Erholtz has no signs of the disease, thanks to an experimental treatment that used an engineered version of the measles virus. Now, a year after finishing her treatment, the 50-year-old mother of three is transitioning from patient to advocate, working with the Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic to expand the tiny trial that saved her life.

AOL News, WPXI, Thanhnien News, The Northwestern, WTSP, Post Crescent, WSB Radio, Statesman, Courier-Journal, MSN UK, Bing, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Canada

Previous Coverage in May 15, 2014 Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

Previous Coverage in Sept. 4, 2014 Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

Context: In a proof of principle clinical trial, Mayo Clinic researchers have demonstrated that virotherapy — destroying cancer with a virus that infects and kills cancer cells but spares normal tissues — can be effective against the deadly cancer multiple myeloma. The findings appear in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Two patients in the study received a single intravenous dose of an engineered measles virus (MV-NIS) that is selectively toxic to myeloma plasma cells. Both patients responded, showing reduction of both bone marrow cancer and myeloma protein. One patient, a 49-year-old woman, experienced complete remission of myeloma and has been clear of the disease for over six months. More information can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Public Affairs Contact: Bob Nellis

 

Jacksonville Business Journal
Jacksonville health care facilities collaborate to save bone marrow patients' lives
by Colleen Jones

Nearly every day in Jacksonville, there is a patient going through some part of the bone marrow transplant process: diagnosis, match-making or implantation. Three health care providers recently teamed up for a Jacksonville Business Journal newspaper logocommunitywide bone marrow donor drive to benefit the Bone Marrow Transplant program of Mayo Clinic in Florida, Wolfson Children’s Hospital and Nemours Children’s Clinic…“Moments usually aren’t critical, but days are,” said Dr. Vivek Roy, medical director for Mayo’s adult bone marrow transplant program. “If we pool our resources, we find it works for us all.”

Reach: The Jacksonville Business Journal is one of 61 newspapers published by American City Business Journals.

Context: The Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program of Mayo Clinic, Nemours Children's Clinic, Jacksonville, and Wolfson Children's Hospital has been awarded a three-year accreditation renewal by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). The foundation awarded the accreditation renewal after thorough site visits at all collection, transplantation and laboratory facilities at the three locations. More information about the program can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Public Affairs Contact: Paul Scotti

 

Huffington Post
The Shrinking Middle Class of Physical Activity
by Brad Stulberg

…In other words, the vast majority of the country's economic growth is going to those who are already wealthy, the middle class is shrinking, and the gap between rich and poor is widening. There is evidenceHuffington Post Healthy Living that people who are of a higher socioeconomic status have a greater likelihood of adhering to health guidelines than those who are not. Note: This article was co-authored by Dr. Michael Joyner, who is an anesthesiologist and physiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Reach: The Huffington Post attracts over 28 million monthly unique viewers.

Context: Michael Joyner, M.D., is a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist. Dr. Joyner and his lab team are interested in how humans respond to various forms of physical and mental stress during activities such as exercise, hypoxia, standing up and blood loss.

Public Affairs Contacts: Sharon Theimer, Alyson Gonzalez

 

Washington Post
Treadmill desk to counteract the sedentary lifestyle of sitting all day
by Christie Aschwanden

As an avid runner, cyclist and skier, I get plenty of exercise, but the research shows that a five-mile run at Washington Post newspaper logothe end of the day won’t erase the health risks — such as an increased risk of diabetes, hypertension and obesity — wrought by eight hours of sedentary time, says Mayo Clinic physician and researcher James Levine, popularizer of the treadmill desk.

Reach: Weekday circulation of The Washington Post averages 518,700, and Sunday circulation averages 736,800.

Previous Coverage in Sept. 4, 2014 Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

Previous Coverage in May 15, 2014 Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

Context: James Levine, M.D., Ph.D., is a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist who is often sought out by journalists for his expertise. Basing his techniques of non-exercise activity on years of Mayo Clinic research, he offers cost-effective alternatives to office workers, school children and patients for losing weight and staying fit. Author, inventor, physician and research scientist, Dr. Levine has built on Mayo’s top status as a center of endocrinology expertise and has launched a multi-nation mission to fight obesity through practical, common-sense changes in behavior and personal environment.

Public Affairs Contacts: Bob NellisJim McVeigh

Wall Street Journal, Alzheimer's Prevention for 30-Somethings With No Symptoms by Sumathi Reddy…While Alzheimer's prevention is being widely studied, prevention programs at large medical centers are rare. Some of the field's leading experts say there isn't sufficient evidence to support making recommendations beyond eating a heart-healthy diet and exercising regularly, advice that everyone should heed. There is no cure or particularly effective treatment for Alzheimer's. "There is growing evidence that lifestyle modifications do have an impact on our cognitive aging," said Ronald Petersen, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "But to really say that we can prevent Alzheimer's disease is a bit of a stretch."

Wall Street Journal, AMA Urges Overhaul of Electronic Medical Records by Melinda Beck, It's no secret that many physicians hate the electronic-medical-records systems they use, saying they are cumbersome, poorly designed and detract from patient care. Amplifying those concerns, the American Medical Association on Tuesday is calling for a major overhaul of EMR systems to make usability and high-quality patient care a higher priority…The Mayo Clinic is changing the layout of some exam rooms so that doctors don't have to turn their backs on patients while using EMR systems, said Christopher Ross, the Mayo Clinic's Chief Information Officer, who was on the AMA's advisory committee. But he said the Mayo Clinic is seeking to select a single EMS vendor from the three it uses today and that usability will be an important criterion.

ESPN, Ben Utecht's Precious Memory, Dr. Brad Boeve, Mayo Clinic is interviewed. For former NFL tight end Ben Utecht, the inspiration for what may be his first breakthrough in the music business is born from what sadly ended his pro football career. Rick Reilly has his story.

Al Jazeera America,  Mood Switch, Jennifer has been searching for a cure for years. Her journey has now led her to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Doctors here are pioneering deep brain stimulation for psychiatric disorders. The patients that are enrolled in these studies are really the worst of the worst so these are patients who have tried everything and have failed. Dr. Kendell Lee, Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon is interviewed.

Huffington Post, The Shrinking Middle Class of Physical Activity by Brad Stulberg…In other words, the vast majority of the country's economic growth is going to those who are already wealthy, the middle class is shrinking, and the gap between rich and poor is widening. There is evidence that people who are of a higher socioeconomic status have a greater likelihood of adhering to health guidelines than those who are not. Note: This article was co-authored by Dr. Michael Joyner, who is an anesthesiologist and physiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota

The Atlantic, There Is No 'Alternative Medicine' by James Hamblin, A controversial treatment designed to remove environmental metals from the body might be effective in treating heart disease. Will one renegade doctor persuade the rest of the medical establishment to consider it?...Mainstream institutions seem to be slowly warming to the discussion. The Mayo Clinic invited Lamas to deliver a grand rounds lecture to its cardiology department last month.

The Meredith Vieira Show, Boo Maddox Story…I would just go in there and shut the door and kneel on the floor and say God please, please bring us out of this. Meredith: but in 2013, four years after Boo first got sick, and a kidney transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota saved his life thanks to a kidney donated by his mom. That's the least I could do for him. If that would get him out of the hospital and he can live a normal, healthy little boy life.

The Atlantic, What Happens When We All Live to 100? By Gregg Easterbrook, If life-expectancy trends continue, that future may be near, transforming society in surprising and far-reaching ways.... Buck is not alone in its pursuit. The University of Michigan, the University of Texas, and the University of California at San Francisco are studying ways to slow aging, as is the Mayo Clinic.

TIME, Why Millennials Should Have Kids—and Soon by Taylor Tepper…There’s also the fact that your ability to actually conceive children decreases as you age, per the Mayo Clinic, while the risks of complication—from C-sections to pregnancy loss—increase in your mid-to-late 30’s. And complications typically mean more money for health expenses.

TODAY, Woman 'miraculously' finds 'needle-in-a-haystack' liver donor, becomes his wife by Kathie Lee and Hoda, Nicole Munda was 29 years old when doctors diagnosed her with a rare liver disease. She needed to find a compatible donor or she'd die in months. Nicole's touching story, how she found more than just a donor at a NASCAR race, is from Squire Rushnell's "Godwink" series… We soon checked into the Mayo Clinic and had dual surgeries. It was a big success!

Senior Voice America, WHAT IS PREHABILITATION & LEADERSHIP, Evan asks the question…Could your blood type be the culprit to old-age memory loss? People always talk about being physically prepared for surgery, but how important is it to be mentally prepared? Dr. Juliane Bingener, Mayo Clinic, shares her thoughts on Prehabilitation.

USA Today (Kaiser Health), Hollywood's medical storylines vetted by those who know, Center at USC helps writers and producers get the big and small things right… They pride themselves on understanding TV deadlines and getting the right person on the phone quickly. The team of about a dozen — including people with backgrounds in journalism, public health and the film industry — consults with a long list of doctors and researchers from governmental and medical institutions around the country such as Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, and Children's Hospital Los Angeles, as well as USC. Additional coverage: Arizona Republic

Washington Post, Hollywood has it wrong: I’m a teenager with an illness, and it’s not glamorous at all by Lillie Lainoff …I’ve been to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and Children’s Hospital in Washington…The teenagers going through chemotherapy weren’t racing down the hospital hallways in wheelchairs; they were holding onto plastic buckets in case they threw up. I’m not saying they were never happy. I can still remember the smile of a 6-year-old girl whom I sat next to in a waiting room at Mayo, glimpses of her balding head showing through a floral-printed scarf. While most children her age seem to have boundless energy, she sat quietly.

Modern Drummer, Drummer Blog: Jazzer Bryan Tuk and metal head Justin Vigile overcome adversity and form production company Project/Two, Just two years ago, I [Justin Vigile], a Philadelphia-area metal drummer in Extractus, was in end-stage heart failure at age twenty-two. I became so sick, I was bedridden for nine months due to the condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, which led me to seek treatment by world-renowned surgeon Dr. Hartzell Schaff at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. I had open-heart surgery on January 24, 2012. (The Mayo Clinic tells the story here.)

Women’s Health, Is Breaking the Seal a Real Thing? By Alison Goldman, The question: I've known about the myth of "breaking the seal"—as in, that peeing after you start drinking means you're going to have to pee frequently for the rest of the night—for as long as I can remember (or, at least, since college). But is there any truth behind it? The expert: Daniel S. Elliott, M.D., associate professor of urology at the Mayo Clinic

FOX News, Expert: Apple’s health push poses big privacy challenges by James Rogers…Underpinning the app is HealthKit, a tool for developers that lets health and fitness apps work together. Thus, a blood pressure app could share data with a physician app. Apple is already collaborating with the Mayo Clinic, health record specialist Epic Systems, Stanford Children’s Health/Stanford Medicine and Duke Medicine to develop ways to use the Health app.

ABC 15, Study reveals 'smell test' may screen for Parkinson's Disease patients by Kate Blalock, A recent study reveals that a smell test could someday screen for people who are at risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD). Mayo Clinic said that the study, which was published in the journal Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, discovered that Incidental Lewy Body Disease (ILBD) patients with a decreasing sense of smell may develop PD.

KTTCRochester woman travels to Washington to support fight against cancer, by Nicole Goodrich, A Rochester woman who works at Mayo Clinic helping cancer patients find clinical trials went to Washington this week to ask lawmakers to make the fight against cancer a top priority. Toni Kay Mangskau talks to thousands of cancer patients and their families every year. Mangskau is one of more than 600 people from across the country who went to Washington, D.C. to ask congress for help in the fight against cancer.

MSN Canada (CP), Expert weighs in on Ford's medical future, The type of cancer Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has been diagnosed with can run the gamut from benign fatty deposits to aggressive and spreading tumours, an expert on liposarcoma says. And Dr. Mary O'Connor of the Mayo Clinic in Florida said available signs point to Ford's case being further along the severity spectrum towards an aggressive form of the disease. The fact that Ford's doctors have found a secondary tumour, that they are using chemotherapy as the first treatment option and that a 2011 CT-scan showed no evidence of this tumour all point to Ford facing a serious medical challenge, O'Connor said in an interview from Jacksonville, Fla. Additional coverage: Huffington Post Canada, iPolitics, Inside Toronto, Inside Halton

FOX Sports, New Wolves practice facility delayed six months, but will be worth wait by Phil Ervin… The team's new Mayo Clinic Square practice facility's expected completion date has been pushed back six months, thanks to some unforeseen vibration issues discovered upon gutting the downtown Minneapolis complex formerly known as Block E. And the Target Center's long-awaited face lift is still in the design process, meaning construction likely won't begin until next summer at the earliest.

News Press, NCH medical clinic offers more doctor time, for $3,000 by Frank Gluck, Collier County's largest hospital operator has opened a family medicine clinic in Naples that promises patients more time with doctors, less time fretting about test results and a long list of other health and wellness perks. The catch: It will cost $3,000 a year, above whatever insurance pays… It has a consulting partnership with the Mayo Clinic, which offers a comparable concierge service, said Zach Bostock, NCH Physician Group's chief administrative officer. Mayo did not comment by deadline Wednesday.

Post-Bulletin, Pete Giesen: Health priority targets vaccine-preventable disease, Last year, a comprehensive Community Health Needs Assessment was conducted jointly by Olmsted Medical Center, Olmsted County Public Health Services, Mayo Clinic and numerous community organizations. The assessment provides a broad view of our current and future health and identified five top priorities that will be addressed over the next five years. (Pete Giesen is the director of Olmsted County Public Health, Dr. Robert Jacobson is a Mayo Clinic physician, and Dr. Indrani Chaudhry is an Olmsted Medical Center physician.)

WCCO, Rochester Named 2nd Best Small(ish) City To Live In…According to the ranking, Mayo Clinic is to thank for Rochester’s high placement. They credit the city for its “vibrant arts culture” that attracts top physicians to the medical mecca. “Today Rochester attracts many young residents who quickly fall in love with the city’s creative vibe. In addition to excellent health care, Rochester gives residents a stable economy, recreational assets and a large collection of restaurants and unique shops,” the ranking states.

Mankato Free Press, Speaking of health: Facts about Flu by Stephen Campbell, M.D. Mayo Clinic Health System, Flu season is quickly approaching, and it’s something you and your family should be prepared for. It peaks in January and February, and every year, thousands of Americans die from seasonal influenza or flu-related complications.

KTTC, Mayo Clinic community giving campaign kicks off, Eighteen Mayo Clinic employees volunteered to paint the canvases to represent the six themes of giving in the "Lend a Hand" campaign. The themes include food and shelter, the environment, safety and security, mentoring, health and wellness and arts and culture. "There are many areas," said Jeff Bolton, chief administrative officer of Mayo Clinic. "And the one thing about this campaign is that people can contribute to the areas that are most important to them and all of their donations will go to those specific agencies if they want to earmark it to a specific agency."  Additional coverage: KIMT

WQOW Eau Claire, 9/16 Daybreak Interview: Out of Darkness Walk, Dr. David Schlagel, Mayo Clinic Health System, is interviewed. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide claims more than 39,000 lives each year in the United States. The Out of the Darkness Walk, Saturday, Sept. 20, helps raise funds to bring important research, education, advocacy and programs to the community. Suicide rates have been on the rise in the United States, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Live Science, Try Kegel Exercises for Urinary Incontinence, New Guidelines Say, by Rachael Rettner… For stress UI, the ACP recommends Kegel exercises, which are exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, or muscles that support the bladder, uterus, vagina and rectum. These are the muscles you would use to stop urination midstream, according to the Mayo Clinic. Additional coverage: FOX News, Huffington Post

BioOptics World, FLUORESCENCE/MEDICAL LASERS: Regulatory approval takes photonics-based systems to the clinic…A comfortable colo-cancer screen, Exact Sciences (NASDAQ: EXAS; Madison, WI) has received FDA approval for the first at-home, noninvasive test for colorectal cancer that analyzes both stool DNA and blood biomarkers using fluorescence. The test requires no medication, dietary restrictions, or bowel preparation, and demonstrated effectiveness in a prospective, 90-site, 10,000-patient pivotal study.1 The findings have "proven that this noninvasive test is highly sensitive in detecting both early-stage colorectal cancer and the most advanced precancerous polyps most likely to develop into cancer," said David Ahlquist, MD, a Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) gastroenterologist who co-invented the test. Mayo researchers developed the technology, and licensed it to Exact Sciences.

Ottawa Citizen, IBM unleashes supercomputer Watson on the web by Vito Pilienci…Last week, IBM announced a partnership with the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, allowing physicians to use Watson to wade through reams of clinical trials and other research to help doctors research cancer therapies. The clinic has about 8,000 active clinical trials, and there are reported to be an additional 170,000 worldwide. Additional coverage: Calgary Herald, The Province

Vox, New research shows obesity rates may not be leveling off by Julia Belluz…To figure out whether you're at a healthy size, you just need a measuring tape. According to the Mayo Clinic, you want to measure around your bare stomach, just above your hipbone, while relaxing your belly. For women, a waist measure of 35 inches or more is concerning, and for men, it's 40 inches.

ABC15 Arizona, Cutting-edge research happening at Mayo Clinic, Mayo Clinic cardiologist, David Fortuin, M.D., joined the cast of Sonoran Living Live to talk about new, cutting-edge research happening at Mayo Clinic to determine whether stem cells found in bone marrow are effective in treating patients with heart failure.

KIMT, Mayo research points out serious conditions and their connections…Mayo used data collected in Olmsted County and other areas around southern Minnesota to hone in on patients with more than one serious condition. They used the numbers and broke them down into sections like age, race, and gender. “[With] children and adolescents of course the problems we observed were things like asthma or depression in both men and women,” Neurologist, Dr. Walter Rocca with the Mayo Clinic said.

Modern Healthcare, Reform Update: UnitedHealth's Optum Labs adds universities, insurer and Merck by Melanie Evans, The research and development laboratory launched by UnitedHealth Group and the Mayo Clinic to capitalize on healthcare's data profusion and healthcare reform expanded again this week, adding two prominent universities, a Minnesota health plan and pharmaceutical giant Merck.

News Talk 1150 WHBY, ThedaCare-Mayo Clinic partnership 1 yr old,  ThedaCare started a partnership with Mayo Clinic about a year ago to let patients seek another opinion on their medical care. Ashley Ebben is the care network coordinator, and she says they've been able to do more than 200 consultations, electronically, without patients having to travel to Rochester, Minn. She says that's a little more than they anticipated.

TribLive, U.S. beacon of hope for world's transplant patients, Five hospitals refused Kwesi Aguillera's appeals as he lay fighting to breathe, his life hinging on a double transplant for his disease-scarred lungs. Rejections from Canada, Spain and Great Britain cooled his hopes. Doctors in his native Trinidad and Tobago watched helplessly, as the Caribbean republic is ill-equipped to offer the operation that can cost more than $500,000 in other countries…“We certainly don't believe that international patients somehow should have preferential treatment to the exclusion of U.S. citizens. But as a provider, we really don't look at a patient's passport,” said Dr. Brooks Edwards, the transplant center director at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Crain’s Detroit Business, Mayo Clinic collaborates with Apple on smartwatch to connect with patients, Health care providers including the Mayo Clinic are expressing interest in working with Apple on its new smartwatch and HealthKit software platform to enable people to collect and share their health information. But skeptics say most consumers have limited interest in using wearable devices to gather health information.

Washington Post, How Apple promises to safeguard your workout data  by Hayley Tsukayama…High-profile partnerships with organizations such as the Mayo Clinic and the electronic health record company Epic have made Apple's platform very attractive to developers, whose apps Apple needs to keep consumers coming back to Apple devices. "When they stepped up on stage with Epic and Mayo, they said to developer community that they will help you with access to these key health providers," said Morgan Reed, the executive director of the Association for Competitive Technology, an app developers trade group.

KM World, Cognitive computing to match patients with clinical trials, Mayo Clinic is using IBM’s cognitive computer Watson to match patients with appropriate clinical trials. The project, now in a proof-of-concept phase, is expected to be introduced into clinical use in early 2015. Steven Alberts, M.D. and chair of medical oncology at Mayo Clinic, says, “In an area like cancer—where time is of the essence—the speed and accuracy that Watson offers will allow us to develop an individualized treatment plan more efficiently so we can deliver exactly the care that the patient needs.”

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, State obesity issue gets local attention by Eric Lindquist…"The numbers are very telling. Over the last 20 years we have progressively become more and more obese as we have gotten more sedentary and eaten more processed food," said Sara Carstens, co-chairwoman of an Eau Claire chronic disease prevention task force and director of community engagement and wellness for Mayo Clinic Health System in northwestern Wisconsin. "It's a public health crisis."

Phoenix Business Journal, Mayo, ASU collaborate on biomedical campus in north Phoenix (Video) by Angela Gonzales, KUD International Inc. is working with the Arizona State Land Department to develop a 150-acre biomedical campus that eventually could create as many as 30,000 jobs. The New York developer plans to invest $1 billion to develop what could be one of the nation's largest research parks. Dr. Wyatt Decker, president and CEO of Mayo Clinic in Arizona, said he is excited about the potential of the biomedical corridor. Additional coverage: Phoenix Business Journal, Phoenix Business Journal, Phoenix Business Journal (PDF), Phoenix Business Journal PDF, Yuma News Now

Science Newsline, Worldwide Study Demonstrates Accuracy of Genetic Analyses, Physicians envision a future in which genomic data from patients is heavily used to manage care — but experts have questioned the accuracy and reliability of these analyses. Now, a study by 150 researchers in 12 countries finds real strength and agreement across RNA genomic sequencing techniques and laboratories — as well as ways to improve what little variability exists to set a new high standard. Additional coverage: Super Computing Online, Science Daily, Science Codex, Daily news EN, Imperial Valley News Calif., Medical Xpress, HealthCanal

US News, The Worst Jobs For Your Health by Jada Graves, Take these preventive measures to ensure you’re working as safely as possible… Depending on your profession, you might also want to set up a consultation with an executive health program. “We see patients from all over the world who visit us for a day to a day and a half for consultations and tests,” says Kurt Carlson, an ​internist and medical director for the ​executive and international health program at the Mayo Clinic​. “The intent is for these people to return to their primary care provider with the recommendations we’ve given them, and we make an effort to communicate the results of our evaluation with those providers.”  Additional coverage: Huffington Post, Business Insider

KTTC, Architects present revised DMC plans to DMCC board by Devin Bartolotta, Architects and planners met with the DMCC board for the third time Thursday to discuss the evolving future of Rochester…"The planners have taken a lot of information and pulled it together to really transform Rochester,” said Economic Development Association executive director Lisa Clarke. Additional coverage: KTTC, Post-Bulletin, KAAL, Finance & Commerce

KTTC, Quality of life can impact cancer recovery Mayo Clinic doctors say by Nicole Goodrich, Mayo Clinic doctors say they already knew quality of life can impact a patient's chances of survival after surgery, but doctors also wanted to find out if quality of life could impact complications after surgery…."Can we then look at 'Do they need additional help, either before or after surgery? Should we be more alert? Should they have different monitoring? Should there be interventions before surgery so that we can prevent the complications?'" said Juliane Bingener-Casey, a Mayo Clinic Gastroenterologic surgeon. Additional coverage: WXOW La Crosse

Post-Bulletin, Discrimination in health care industry common for transgender people by Jeff Hansel…If, for example, a transgender woman still has a prostate and needs a prostate exam, the doctor should do one, Zubich-Hanson said. But, too often, the patient is declined that health service because she's transgender. "Because women aren't supposed to have prostates, you instantly go, 'OK, well I can't treat this person,'" Zubich-Hanson said…"That's an unfortunate thing because primary-care people take care of people who've had heart surgery — and they don't know how to do heart surgery," said Mayo Clinic endocrinologist Dr. Todd Nippoldt, who is leading an effort to start a Transgender and Intersex Specialty Care Clinic at Mayo Clinic.

WEAU Eau Claire, Keep your children's vaccines in check this fall… Dr. Dennis Breen with UW-Health in Eau Claire said vaccinations should begin before the baby is even born. "So most important thing is that moms get vaccinated for influenza. In fact, influenza is a very dangerous disease for pregnant moms, so they need to get that. So that protects them but also passes some immunity to the child as well," said Breen.

MPR, Q&A: With supplies of respiratory drug low, hospitals look for alternatives by Lorna Benson, Some children's hospitals in the Twin Cities are running low on a drug that helps ease labored breathing. The shortage follows the outbreak of an unusual virus that has been causing severe respiratory illnesses in children across the Midwest…Officials at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester say doctors there have been treating a surge in children with acute respiratory illness, involving wheezing and difficulty breathing, since mid-August. But they say the hospital has been able to treat all patients.

Florida Times-Union, Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water: Algae, bacteria a concern for people using St. Johns River by Clayton Freeman… Algal blooms produce toxic chemicals called microcystins, which can harm humans and animals. “When it produces this toxin, it can kill marine life and cause a lot of detrimental things,” said Vandana Bhide, a doctor of internal medicine at Mayo Clinic. “If people consume the water, they can get sick and it can be very serious.”

Star Tribune, Bill George: Strong female leadership sets Twin Cities apart…On Tuesday, the George Family Foundation will honor these and other women leaders — a total of 84 — before the Guthrie’s preview showing of “The Heidi Chronicles”: Health care. Minnesota has long been a leader in health care, thanks to Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota and Abbott Northwestern Hospital. As chairwoman of Northwestern Hospital for Women, Virginia Piper led the 1970 merger that created Abbott Northwestern. She became a role model for exceptional female leaders like HealthPartners’ Mary Brainerd and Allina Health’s Penny Wheeler, as well as women leading Gillette Children’s, UMN Physicians and UMN Health.

TIME, 11 Ways to Stop Overeating After Your Workout by Amanda MacMillan…Research shows that people tend to reward themselves with rich foods and large portions after exercising, and that they often eat back all of (if not more than) the calories they just burned. There’s nothing wrong with a small snack or a filling dinner after exercising, says Emily Brown, RD, a wellness dietitian at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and former professional runner. Additional coverage: ABC News

KAAL, Zombie Apocalypse Training Exercise Prepares Locals for Epidemic…It may seem like a horrific part of the imagination, but to the surprise of many, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention actually has its own “Zombie Preparedness” section. Once again, Mayo Clinic and community partners including the U.S. Army, Olmsted County Public Health, UMR, and the Scouts are taking it to heart. They created their own Zombie Apocalypse simulation. “It shows you how you prepare a community for a biological threat,” said Dr. Ashok Patel from Mayo Clinic’s Critical Care Medicine Department. Additional coverage: KTTC, Post-Bulletin

Digital Journal, IBM’s Watson to compute clinical trials by Tim Sandle, IBM’s cognitive computer has a new task for its massive "brain". The computer will be individualizing trial plans for cancer patients at the Mayo Clinic. Watson is already deployed to aid researchers and clinicians at several institutions. Now the “cognitive computer” is now, Fox News reports, helping oncologists at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to review thousands of patient records to help sort individuals afflicted with cancer into appropriate clinical trials. Additional coverage: Imperial Valley News, The Motley Fool, NetMassimo Blog

Chicago Tribune, Advocate Health Care and NorthShore to merge  by Peter Frost, Two of Chicago's largest hospital systems on Thursday approved plans to combine, creating a 16-hospital, $6.8 billion system that promises to change the competitive landscape of health care in the Chicago region…Both systems intend to maintain their teaching relationships: NorthShore's with the University of Chicago and Advocate's with the University of Illinois, Midwestern University and Rosalind Franklin University. NorthShore also intends to maintain its clinical relationship with Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic. Additional coverage: Evanston Sun-Times

Star Tribune, Optum Labs adds new partners by Jackie Crosby, Optum Labs has brought on four more blue-chip health care organizations in its quest to use big data and a collaborative R&D spirit to improve the health care system. The organization announced it has added the Harvard Medical School, pharmaceutical giant Merck, the University of Maryland in Baltimore and Minnetonka-based Medica Research Institute to its expanding roster of partners. Founded by UnitedHealth Group Inc. and the Mayo Clinic, Optum Labs aims to improve medical care and lower the costs of treating patients by exploiting the growing mass of electronic health data.

Argus Leader, Rare disorder, hard choices for family by Jon Walker, At age 2, Natallie Baker has no shortage of difficulties. She cannot walk, talk, crawl or hold her head up. She is partially blind and eats through a tube. She endures about a dozen seizures a day because of a genetic flaw discovered soon after her birth. She needs 24-hour care at her home in southwestern Sioux Falls… Falcao, 36, with Avera since 2010, is from Brazil and had trained at the Mayo Clinic in Florida. He knew Mayo physicians at the affiliate campus in Minnesota, so he sent Natallie there on Avera's Careflight service. It was the first of her three flights to Mayo. Specialists there did a readout on her genome and spotted a mutation they didn't think anyone had seen before. Their work became the basis of a journal article in Pediatric Neurology introducing Natallie's situation as a new genetic find. Falcao was one of five authors, joining Radhika Dhamija, Elaine Wirrell, Salman Kirmani and Lily C. Wong-Kisiel from Mayo.

Politico, Apple mum on HealthKit in big rollout by Ashley Gold, Apple’s failure to discuss its new health app during a big product announcement this week surprised technology specialists who had predicted that the tech giant would make a splashy entry into the health care field. But while mobile health apps are hip and happening, their widespread use in medicine is far away, experts say, and no one knows that better than Apple...“Right now there is a very limited amount of data that can be contained within HealthKit,” said Dr. John Wald, medical director for marketing at Mayo Clinic. “The types of data will be known when the app is released as part of iOS 8. In the future, I presume this will be expanded.”

FOX News, IBM’s Watson helps Mayo Clinic match cancer patients with clinical trials by Brian Mastroianni, From quiz show “Jeopardy” to health care, IBM’s Watson supercomputer will soon be used by Mayo Clinic to match cancer patients with clinical trials  in an attempt to find help for their illness. Starting early next year, the artificially intelligent computing system that can read natural language will enroll patients with colorectal, lung, and breast cancers in clinical trials, expediting what is often considered a slow and inefficient process… “Integrating Watson into the care delivery system has the potential to transform how we take care of patients,” Nicholas LaRusso, a gastroenterologist at the clinic and the Watson project lead, told FoxNews.com. Additional coverage: Genome Web

Newsweek, The Link Between Sunshine and Suicide by Victoria Bekiempis, Since the early 1800s, scientists have known about a seemingly paradoxical relationship between the seasons and suicide rates: Suicides soar in the spring, rather than winter. Even more counterintuitive, perhaps, is that this peak has a reverse correlation with spikes in rates of Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. In the words of the Mayo Clinic, SAD is “a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year...sapping your energy and making you feel moody,” and approximately 5 percent of the population develops SAD during cold months, whereas some one percent develops the condition during warm months.

Evanston Review, Advocate, NorthShore to form 16-hospital system by Monifa Thomas, Illinois’ largest health system is about to get even bigger. Downers Grove-based Advocate Health Care, one of the largest systems in the country, on Friday announced plans to merge with NorthShore University HealthSystem to create a health system with 16 hospitals, 4,438 beds and 45,000 employees. The combined system would also have a new name: Advocate NorthShore Health Partners…the merger wouldn’t affect NorthShore’s partnership with Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic, which gives NorthShore patients access to Mayo physicians at no extra cost.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Mansfield Methodist hospital now part of Mayo Clinic network, The Methodist Health System has joined a network that allows medical personnel to tap into the renowned Mayo Clinic’s expertise in treatment and clinical and business practices to improve patient care, officials announced this week.

ASU News, ASU plan to open facilities near Mayo Hospital advances, Project designed to strengthen the ASU-Mayo relationship, improve Arizona health care and aid in economic development. Arizona State University’s plans to advance health care education and practice in Arizona took an important step forward today when the state re-designated a parcel of land near the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix where ASU expects to build new educational and research facilities.

Super Mexicanos, Defectos congénitos pueden prevenirse en mujeres de origen hispano con ácido fólico y cuidado prenatal…El Dr. Nicholas Wetjen, neurocirujano del Centro Pediátrico de Mayo Clinic, explica que “La cirugía intrauterina de la espina bífida tiene el potencial de reducir las complicaciones del sistema nervioso en los niños con ese problema. Por lo tanto, es importante remitir pronto a la paciente a un centro especializado que ofrezca cirugía fetal para determinar si la madre y el bebé son aptos para el procedimiento”. Additional coverage: El Periodico

CNN Mexico, 5 estrategias para pensar positivo y mejorar el ánimo, No había nada que pudiera bajarle el ánimo al cantante Pharrell Williams en su exitosa canción "Happy". Resulta que sabía de lo que estaba hablando. Ser feliz y optimista puede prolongar tu vida, ayudarte a manejar el estrés, disminuir tu riesgo de muerte por enfermedades cardiovasculares e incluso puede ayudar a protegerte de los resfriados comunes, según la clínica Mayo.

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