April 2, 2015

Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

By Karl Oestreich

Mayo Clinic in the News Logo

Editor, Karl Oestreich; Assistant Editor, Carmen Zwicker

 

WCCO
Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Study Gives Researchers New Hope
by Angela Davis

It’s a disease with no cure and limited treatment, but this week the Mayo Clinic announced the findings of a major study that is giving Alzheimer’s researchers new hope. The study is published in the latest edition of the journal “Brain.” It describes what MayoCBS Minnesota researchers have learned about proteins in the brain that fuel the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease. WCCO’s Angela Davis talked with a neurologist about the significance of this breakthrough. For decades, doctors have known two proteins, amyloid and tau, that contribute to memory loss, but their relationship has been focus of debate. Dr. David Knopman is a part of a team of neurologists at Mayo Clinic’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

Reach: WCCO 4 News is the most-watched newscast in the Twin Cities, in 5 out of 7 newscasts.

Previous Coverage in March 26, 2015 Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

Context: By examining more than 3,600 postmortem brains, researchers at Mayo Clinic’s campuses in Jacksonville, Florida, and Rochester, Minnesota, have found that the progression of dysfunctional tau protein drives the cognitive decline and memory loss seen in Alzheimer’s disease. Amyloid, the other toxic protein that characterizes Alzheimer’s, builds up as dementia progresses, but is not the primary culprit, they say. More information can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Public Affairs Contact: Kevin Punsky

 

Star Tribune
Health beat: Cancer drug costs are an ill lacking a cure
by Jeremy Olson

Dr. Vincent Rajkumar has little incentive to care about the skyrocketing cost of cancer drugs. Prescribing them like a drunken sailor won’t change his Mayo Clinic salary. Warning patients about sticker prices Star Tribune Health Varietywon’t change their demand for drugs that offer hope of survival. But after seeing cancer drug costs escalate 10- to 20-fold in the last 15 years, the hematologist decided enough is enough. Calling it a “moral obligation,” Dr. Rajkumar and a Houston colleague wrote an article in Mayo Clinic Proceedings challenging the rising costs and calling out drug companies for practices that extend patents and inflate profits.

Reach: The Star Tribune Sunday circulation is 518,745 copies and weekday circulation is 300,277. The Star Tribune is the state’s largest newspaper and ranks 16th nationally in circulation.

Context: Increasingly high prices for cancer drugs are affecting patient care in the U.S. and the American health care system overall, say the authors of a special article published online in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. “Americans with cancer pay 50 percent to 100 percent more for the same patented drug than patients in other countries,” says S. Vincent Rajkumar, M.D., of Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, who is one of the authors. “As oncologists we have a moral obligation to advocate for affordable cancer drugs for our patients.” More information on the study can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Public Affairs Contact: Joe Dangor

 

Reuters
Building Pathways: How a Native Oncologist Makes a Difference With Cancer Care, Prevention

Judith Kaur first began to think of herself as a healer at five years old. She says her grandmother, Ada, introduced her to nature and medicine by listening to animals outside and picking plants in the yard…Today, Dr. Judith Salmon Kaur (Choctaw/Cherokee) is oneReuters of only two American Indian medical oncologists in the country. Now an oncology professor at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Rochester, Minnesota, she also directs the clinic's Native American outreach programs.

Reach:  Thomson Reuters is the world’s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world newsbusiness newstechnology 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.

Context: Judith Kaur, M.D., is a Mayo Clinic oncologist who is affiliated with Mayo Clinic's Breast Diagnostic Clinic. Dr. Kaur is the medical director for the Native American Programs of the Mayo Comprehensive Cancer Center. All three Mayo sites are involved in outreach to American Indians and Alaska Natives through these programs. More information on Dr. Kaur's research can be found here.

Public Affairs Contacts: Sharon TheimerJoe Dangor

 

FOX News Latino
Opinion: Angelina Jolie’s transparency sheds light on standard but unknown procedure for high-risk women
by Jamie Bakkum-Gamez gynecologic oncologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

On Tuesday, Angelina Jolie Pitt publicly announced that she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to decrease her risk of developing ovarian cancer, a highly Fox News Latinolethal cancer that at present has no screening test to detect it at an early, curable stage. Jolie Pitt has shared that she inherited a mutation in the BRCA1 gene. Women with a BRCA1 gene mutation have a remarkably high lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer of 40-50 percent as well as a nearly 80 percent lifetime risk of breast cancer.

Reach: Fox News Latino is a news website for Latinos in the United States. The website receives more than 207,000 unique visitors each month.

Additional Coverage:

Nature, Gene counsellors expect resurgence of 'Jolie effect' 

KTTC, Plainview woman living with BRCA1 gene takes preventative action 

Context: Jamie Bakkum-Gamez, M.D., is a Mayo Clinic oncologist and gynecologic surgeon. More information, including a video interview with Dr. Bakkum-Gamez, can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Public Affairs Contact: Joe Dangor

 

US News & World Report, Drinking Water Helps Prevent Kidney Stones — Drinking plenty of water will lower your risk of kidney stones, researchers report. "This analysis shows that drinking water is an effective way to cut one's risk for developing kidney stones in half," Kerry Willis, chief scientific officer at the National Kidney Foundation, said in a foundation news release.…"Increased fluid intake had long been suggested as a simple strategy for preventing kidney stones. This large meta-analysis provides further support for this intervention to reduce the risk of kidney stones," Dr. Wisit Cheungpasitporn, of the Mayo Clinic, said in a foundation news release.  Additional coverage: Renal & Urology News

Chicago Tribune, PBS' 'Cancer' an epic, vital story Ken Burns just couldn't refuse by Scott Collins — Edward Herrmann had collapsed at the studio in New York, and no one knew why. The actor had arrived to record his narrator part for Ken Burns' latest documentary epic for PBS, "Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies." The three-part, six-hour film, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, traces the story of the disease from its earliest accounts in ancient Egypt to the latest scientific breakthroughs and their impact on real-life patients…One of those characters is Mukherjee himself, who served as an advisor on the film. Educated at Stanford and Harvard Medical School, he is an oncologist who teaches at Columbia University and has been a visiting professor at the Mayo Clinic. Additional coverage: LA Times

Wall Street Journal, Patients Bounce Back Faster From Surgery With Hospitals’ New Protocol by Laura Landro…Rules on fasting before surgery are based on assumptions that anesthesia reactions might cause patients to throw up during a procedure and hamper breathing, but research has shown clear liquids within two hours actually decreases that risk, according to John Abenstein, president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist.

ABC News, An Apple a Day May Not Keep the Doctor Away After All, a New Study Finds by Liz Neporent — An apple a day probably won’t keep the doctor away, but it may keep you out of the pharmacy, a new study has found…The study, while entertaining, did have some limitations. The fact that all the information in the investigation was self-reported and the number of doctor visits couldn’t be explicitly linked to munching on apples are two of the more serious ones, noted Dr. Sharonne N. Hayes, cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

NY Times, Parsing Ronald Reagan’s Words for Early Signs of Alzheimer’s by Lawrence Altman, M.D. — Even before Ronald Reagan became the oldest elected president, his mental state was a political issue. His adversaries often suggested his penchant for contradictory statements, forgetting names and seeming absent-mindedness could be linked to dementia…While the new study is “very clever,” said Dr. Richard Caselli, an Alzheimer’s expert at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., further research involving larger numbers of individuals is necessary to prove the methods actually predict dementia.

NPR, Sure use a treadmill desk but you still need to exercise — First off, I need to be upfront: I have a treadmill desk. I got it about two years ago, prompted by all the studies showing the dangers of sitting all day. The idea is to get people more active and walking while working. The problem is, I don't use it. In fact, I probably only used it for a few months. I still stand all day, but I'm not walking. It turns out I'm not alone. Treadmill desks may have seen their day, according to Tim Church of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La … And there are a couple of small studies that do suggest some benefit. One study, headed by Dr. James Levine, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic's campus in Scottsdale, Ariz., found that over a 12-month period participants using treadmill desks increased their daily activity and lost weight.

Huffington Post, 5-2-1-0 For Healthy Kids -- And You! by Amy Pleimling — Mayo Clinic Health System Registered Dietitian Nutritionist — One of my favorite areas as a registered dietitian is helping kids and their parents learn how to make healthy changes to their diet in a way that is fun for the kids and realistic for everyone. Lately I have been using the popular 5-2-1-0 message. Have you heard of it?

TIME, You Asked: Why Do My Boobs Hurt? by Markham Heid — Most of the time, blame hormones. From a dull ache to a sharp stab, breasts hurt in a hundred different ways for a hundred different reasons. For many women, those myriad aches and stabs are the results of normal, healthy hormone fluctuations related to their menstrual cycles. “Pain is most common during that period of a woman’s cycle just before she menstruates, when hormones like estrogen and progesterone peak,” says Karthik Ghosh, MD, director of the breast clinic at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

The Guardian UK, Of mice and old men: is the elixir of youth finally coming of age? — It is generally accepted as one of life’s unfortunate, but inevitable facts: we might be able to disguise the wrinkles for a time, but ageing will get us all in the end. Except scientists are now questioning whether it has to be thus, or whether age is simply another disease that might one day be conquered. American researchers have suggested that the elixir of eternal youth – or at least extended middle age – may be on the horizon. After discovering two drugs that appeared to invigorate elderly mice, the scientists from Mayo Clinic, the Scripps Institute in Florida and other institutions have coined the term “senolytics” for a new class of drugs designed to delay the ageing process.

The Scientist, My Mighty Mouse by Megan Scudellari — Personal drug regimens based on xenograft mice harboring a single patient’s tumor still need to prove their true utility in medicine…Mayo’s Prostate Cancer Medically Optimized Genome-Enhanced Therapy (PROMOTE) study, inspired by BEAUTY, has had even more difficulty getting grafts of prostate cancer to take hold in mice. Since the study began in June 2013, only 6 of 80 total tumor grafts, or about 7 percent, have been successful. “There is some talk of going into 3-D cell models rather than xenografts, because it is so difficult and challenging to grow [the transplanted tumors],” says Manish Kohli, the Mayo Clinic oncologist leading the PROMOTE study. “We’re probably going to have to make a call by midsummer.”

Medscape, Med Student Suicide, Depression: National Response NeededAn Epidemic — Colin P. West, MD, PhD, codirector of the Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine Physician Well Being Program, in Rochester, Minnesota, agrees that there needs to be a national response to the problem of maintaining physician trainee and practicing physician mental health. "Training to become a physician and the work of a physician are very stressful, and we know that the well-being of physician trainees and physicians is not as good as it should be," he told Medscape Medical News.

Medscape, 'Normal' Memory Loss Worse in Men Than Women by Sue Hughes — A new study has found that being male is associated with worse memory and lower hippocampal volume throughout middle and old age in cognitively normal individuals. Other findings suggest that memory loss and brain shrinkage seen in middle-age is not related to early manifestation of Alzheimer's disease and that the APOE ε4 gene, which is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, is not predictive of normal memory and brain loss in middle or older age. The study, published online March 16 in JAMA Neurology, was conducted by a team led by Clifford Jack Jr, MD, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota.

Business Standard, Tampons may help predict endometrial cancer — The new approach, by researchers at Mayo Clinic, specifically examines DNA samples from vaginal secretions for the presence of chemical "off" switches - known as methylation - that can disable genes that normally keep cancer in check. "Unfortunately, there is no equivalent to a Pap smear or a mammogram for endometrial cancer," said Jamie Bakkum-Gamez, a gynecologic oncologist at Mayo Clinic and lead author of the study. Additional coverage: Science 2.0

New Richmond News, New Richmond first grader battling degenerative hip disease by Dave Newman — Most people have never heard of Legg-Calve-Perthes disease…First grader Gabby Tesar was diagnosed with Legg-Calve-Perthes disease several months ago. The disease is a childhood condition that affects the hip, where the thigh bone (femur) and the pelvis meet in the ball-and-socket joint…After Gabby was diagnosed at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, the Tesars then sought a second opinion at Mayo Clinic. When those two opinions conflicted, it was recommended that they go to Boston Children’s Hospital, considered the national leader in the study of Legg-Calve-Perthes disease.

La Crosse Tribune, Mayo-Franciscan charts surgeries after huge restocking of sterile supplies by Mike Tighe — The dust has cleared at Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare, allowing the La Crosse hospital to resume surgeries that had been suspended because of potential contamination of sterilized equipment. Surgeries resumed at five to seven a day this week, rising to the upper teens Thursday and expected to approach 20 today, chief administrative officer Joe Kruse said during a press conference and tour of the facility Thursday. Additional coverage: WKBT La Crosse, WXOW La Crosse

WXOW La Crosse, Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare on Badger-Coulee decision by Kevin Millard — Joe Kruse, the CAO of Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare in La Crosse issued a statement Thursday afternoon regarding the decision by the PSC on its choice of routes for the Badger-Coulee Transmission Line project."Mayo Clinic Health System - Franciscan Healthcare would like to thank the Public Service Commission for its thoroughness in making this decision. As a large consumer of energy, we are supportive of efforts to meet future energy needs of the Midwest. Our concern about the "west" option (which routes through Onalaska) was its potential to impede emergency and patient flow to and from the Sand Lake Road parcel, which is under development for a future care facility. We look forward to moving forward with developing plans that will create smooth entrance and exit for patients."

Forest Lake Times, Forest Lake resident gifted with partial sight…Dr. Raymond Iezzi, who’d spent the last 17 years developing retinal prosthesis devices and testing them on animals, saw Zderdad as a perfect candidate for a bionic eye device created by Second Sight Inc.…On Jan. 15, Zderdad went to the Mayo Clinic and had a tiny implant placed behind his left eye. The implant works by sending light waves to the optic nerve, bypassing the damaged retina. Wires attach to a prosthetic device made to be worn like sunglasses. The device sends a series of pulses to Zderdad that allow him to see some shapes and lights.

Post-Bulletin, Mayo reports $39 million in 2014 DMC investment…Doug Holtan, Mayo Clinic's vice chairman of the department of facilities and support services, reported the figures to the DMC Corp. board at a Thursday morning meeting. Mayo is on track to meet the $200 million threshold by 2017, he said, though much of the organization's spending was not eligible to be counted as DMC investments.

Daily Mail UK, Mexico double-transplant patient files 3rd visa application — A young Mexican man who is urgently trying to travel to the Mayo Clinic for a double-organ transplant filed a third U.S. visa application Thursday after being turned down twice. Jose Chua, 20, of Hermosillo, applied for a humanitarian visa after previously seeking a tourist visa and being rejected, said the head of a U.S.-based nonprofit group assisting with his case. Keven Forbes, director of the U.S.-based Consejo de Latinos Unidos, which helps uninsured people get access to medical care, said that once Chua is allowed to enter the U.S., the group plans to press a formal complaint with the U.S. government.

Post-Bulletin, Cardio3 reports losing $18 million in 2014 — The Belgium-based biotech firm building a manufacturing facility in downtown Rochester reported today that it lost $18.1 million in 2014, up from the $15.9 million it lost in 2013…Mayo Clinic owned 2.69 percent of Cardio3, as of March 3. Mayo Clinic first acquired equity in Cardio3 in 2007, when it licensed stem cell research by Mayo Clinic's Dr. Andre Terzic and Dr. Atta Behfar. Its cardiopoiesis technology repairs patients' hearts by re-programming their own stem cell to regenerate cardiac tissue.

NBC Show, The Slap, Rosie (S1, E7)…During the cross examination, Thanasis builds to a controversial angle and brings up Rosie's alcoholic intake at the party in reference to regular breastfeeding of Hugo. She admits to breastfeeding Hugo at the party, and Thanasis reminds the court that the Mayo Clinic recommends waiting several hours to allow the wine to metabolize before breastfeeding. Before Rosie manages to fully react, he switches subjects to supervision - and mentions her abandonment of Hugo from five years ago. Thanasis finishes his line of questioning and leaves Rosie reeling, in near collapse.

Alligator, Researcher warns against ‘chairman’s curse’ during talk by Zee Krstic —  Staying healthy in a world of nine-hour workdays and confined cubicles is as easy as fixing your hair or chewing gum — as long as you break free from a stationary, desk-bound lifestyle, said one researcher. Dr. James Levine, an endocrinology researcher and professor at a Mayo Clinic in Arizona who focuses on obesity studies, shared his thoughts on sedentariness and the future of obesity in his lecture, “Is Your Chair Trying to Kill You?” on Thursday.

KEYC Mankato, Poison Prevention During Spring Cleaning… According to poison control, 50% of exposures happen with children six-years-old and under. Nationwide more than 11,000 children have been exposed to laundry packets since January of 2014 which is why Senator Amy Klobuchar is co-sponsoring a bill to regulate safety standards. Mayo Clinic Health System Mankato Physician, Laura Breeher says, " Hand sanitizer, bleach, laundry detergent, toilet bowl cleaner, we think 'Oh we use that every day or once a week,' so we don't worry about them so much but for a child any exposure to any chemicals can be dangerous."

Waseca County News, Are you nuts for nutrition? by Anne Harguth, a Mayo Clinic Health System registered dietitian — If you knew that eating a handful of nuts every day could help prevent heart disease, cancer, high cholesterol and Alzheimer's disease, would you do it? If you knew that certain nuts could help you live stronger and longer, would you add them to your daily diet? Nuts make a great snack. They are easy to store and inexpensive.

KTTC, Rochester woman shares experience dealing with epilepsy — Moe's history of complex partial seizures led her to move from Dodge County to Rochester to go to Mayo Clinic and see an epileptologist, a doctor who specializes in epilepsy. She decided to get surgery on a part of her brain to control her epilepsy, but while her seizures have stopped, she has experienced some complications.

Crookston Daily Times, Mexico double-transplant patient eyes US humanitarian entry to Mayo Clinic — A young Mexican man who is urgently trying to travel to the Mayo Clinic for a double-organ transplant has filed a third application for entry into the United States after twice being denied a visa.

KIMT, Inside Hope Lodge — Each year, more than a million people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer. Many of those people have to travel dozens, even hundreds, of miles to get the treatment they need. After battling breast cancer for nearly a year, Teresa Shaw is in the home stretch.

LaCrosse Tribune, Our View: Institutions put safety ahead of profit — There are plenty of stories and plenty of editorials to be written about corporations that put profit over people, secrecy over transparency, the easy way instead of the right way. Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare focused on the right thing the past few days when some dust settled where it wasn’t supposed to. Whether the cause was a cleaning procedure or a blown gasket in the light fixture, dust was discovered in a 7,000-square-foot sterile processing distribution room.

Grand Forks Herald, Book Notes, "Mayo Clinic: Going Gluten Free" by Joseph A. Murray — New from Mayo Clinic is this essential guide to living gluten-free. Whether diagnosed with celiac disease or just deciding if a gluten-free diet is right for you, "Mayo Clinic: Going Gluten-Free" will help you create and maintain a gluten-free lifestyle.

USA Today, Teaching hospital key to state’s future — Fifty years after opening its doors, the University of Mississippi Medical Center is booming — constructing a new medical school, expanding the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital and partnering with the Mayo Clinic. "UMMC could not be playing a bigger role nationally," said former vice chancellor Dr. James Keeton.

Florida Times Union, Augustine child saved by heart transplant at 8 months, family now promotes organ donation fundraising ride — The event’s main sponsor is Jacksonville’s Mayo Clinic, which has had a partnership with the foundation since 2009. Mayo performs about 1,000 transplants a year at its Jacksonville, Minnesota and Arizona clinics, according to its website.

Post-Bulletin, What will be rescued next by Mayo Clinic efforts to save local buildings?  — Over the years the Mayos (brothers and clinic) have built the 1938 Mayo Civic Center, preserved the Mayo Foundation House and refurbished the old Crawford Library. More recently, they have helped rescue the Mayowood mansion, the Assisi Heights motherhouse, and now the Chateau Theatre. Is it thinkable, and in some way a possibility, that part of the old Lourdes High School building will be next on the Mayos' list?

The Mary Sue, Tampons Could Be Useful In The Detection Of Endometrial Cancer — Menstruation may still be largely hidden away from the public despite its massive prevalence in that public/the lives of so many people with uteri, but tampons could be receiving their call to action. Gynecologist oncologist Jamie Bakkum-Gamez and her team of researchers at the Mayo Clinic are saying that endometrial cancer can be detected through DNA samples found on tampons, and that it could save lives when added to the various other ways (pap smears, mammograms, etc) used to screen for cancer.

Delaware News Journal, You were wondering: How do you use a female condom — A female condom is a birth control device that has a soft, loose-fitting pouch with a ring on each end to block sperm from entering the uterus. You can insert the condom inside the vagina up to eight hours before sex. Source: The Mayo Clinic.

KARE 11, New study suggests many hockey helmets unsafe — A new scientific study is suggesting that many hockey helmets, used in all levels of the game, may be unsafe. The study comes from Virginia Tech and the same scientists who rated the safety of football helmets. Some of the results were published Sunday by ESPN … Dr. Michael Stuart of the Mayo Clinic is one of the nation's leading experts in youth hockey concussions. Stuart hopes more research can lead to better equipment, but notes that no helmet can prevent concussions, which is an injury that happens inside the skull.

KAAL, Globetrotter Performs for Young Patients at Mayo Clinic by Megan Stewart— A professional basketball player in Rochester for a show stopped by Mayo Clinic on Monday to visit children patients. Buckets Blakes of the Harlem Globetrotters performed for the patients at St. Mary's. He showed off the Globetrotters' signature ball handling skills for the children, who are unable to attend the Globetrotters' game at Mayo Civic Center on Friday. "What I don't think people understand is that the kids inspire us more than we inspire them," Blakes said. Additional coverage: KTTC, 5 The Fox

Medscape, Platelet-Rich Plasma for Pain: Evidence Still Lacking by Nancy Melville…Biological Growth Factors — The basis of interest in PRP is the suggestion that the biological growth factors from the plasma can promote healing in various tissues and treat joint pain. However, in a separate talk on the issue, Tim J. Lamer, MD, an associate professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine in the Division and Multidisciplinary Spine Center at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, noted that ongoing efforts to produce convincing evidence from randomized, controlled trials have been made — and continue to come up short.

USA Today (The Clarion-Ledger), Teaching hospital is key to state's future — Fifty years after opening its doors, the University of Mississippi Medical Center is booming— constructing a new medical school, expanding the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital and partnering with the Mayo Clinic. "UMMC could not be playing a bigger role nationally," said former vice chancellor Dr. James Keeton.

Science Times, Focus of Alzheimer's Research Should Be Shifted, Study Says —  Alzheimer's is a devastating neurological condition that affects many people, usually in their old age. It is signified by memory loss, dementia, among other cognitive difficulties. A new study from the Mayo Clinic has given scientists potentially vital information in the attempt to find a cure.

Science 2.0, Spontaneous Coronary Artery Disease Is Inherited, Finds Study…Researchers used the Mayo Clinic SCAD Registry of 412 enrollees to identify five familial cases of SCAD, comprised of three pairs of first-degree relatives (mother-daughter, identical twin sisters, sisters) and two pairs of second-degree relatives (aunt and niece, and first cousins). Researchers believe this is the first study to identify SCAD as an inherited disorder…“I was taught that SCAD was rare and the causes entirely unknown, but through our partnership with SCAD survivors and their families, clues are emerging that may change that,” says Sharonne Hayes, M.D., senior author and cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Florida Times-Union, Augustine child saved by heart transplant, family now promotes organ donation fundraising ride by Beth Cravey — Four-year-old Grace Ohlin-Tobuck of St. Augustine is too young to understand all the big medical words associated with the congenital defect doctors found in her heart before she was born…“You have no transplant without an organ donation,” said Ashley Crofton, a Mayo health systems engineer who is the clinic’s primary ride liaison and captain of the ride’s 210-member Team Mayo Clinic. “It was an important cause.”

FierceHealth IT, Telemedicine doesn't speed stroke evaluations by Susan Hall — Assessment for stroke took slightly longer using robotic telepresence, but this option still could be effective when the hospital has no vascular neurologist on site, according to research published at Telemedicine and e-Health…The study compared the assessments of 98 patients evaluated using robotic telepresence with 98 whose care was supervised by a vascular neurologist in house at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix. The subjects were identified from a stroke alert database.

Bustle, Tampons Could Help Detect Endometrial Cancer, Study Shows, Which Sounds Way Better Than Current Screening Procedures by Claire Warner…Currently, according to the American Cancer Society, the best way to detect the cancer is to keep an eye out for any weirdness going on downstairs, like abnormal vaginal bleeding or discharge, which means that it’s frequently already in the early stages when it’s detected. Thanks to Jamie Bakkum-Gamez’s work at the Mayo Clinic, though, that stands to change.

FOX News, Mexican double transplant patient gets 90-day humanitarian pass from DHS — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security gave a 90-day humanitarian pass to a 20-year-old Mexican man seeking a double heart and liver transplant, his mother said Monday…The so-called "humanitarian parole" can be renewed while Chua is in the U.S. If Chua, who plans to seek treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is accepted for the transplant, the wait for organs could be long. Additional coverage: The Guardian, Business Insider UK, NY Daily News, CBS News, Huffington Post, Washington Post, Star Tribune

Neharnet, Spanish Hospital Conducts Complex Face Transplant — A Spanish hospital said Monday it has successfully carried out the world's most complex face transplant, reconstructing the lower face, neck, mouth, tongue and back of the throat of a man terribly disfigured by disease. A team of 45 physicians, nurses, anaesthesiologists and other health professionals carried out the 27-hour operation in early February at Barcelona's Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, the hospital said in a statement…The man had been examined in several other hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic and Harvard Medical School in the United States, which had considered him to be inoperable but the Barcelona hospital ruled surgery was his only treatment option. Additional coverage: Yahoo! News

ABC 15 Arizona, How much water should you drink as temperatures rise? —  People all over the state are bracing for yet another round of above average temperatures Monday…According to the Mayo Clinic, men in a temperate climate should drink around three liters of water per day and women should drink about 2.2 liters.

5 WIN (Mich.), Borgess researchers hopeful about new direction in Alzheimer's research by John McNeill — A new study published by researchers at the Mayo Clinic says Alzheimer’s researchers have been looking at the wrong agent and that stirred up new hope that they might find a treatment. There are two abnormal proteins found in the brains of Alzheimer’s victims. Dr. Phillip Green at the Borgess Geriatric Assessment Center says for years they have focused on the Amyloid protein as the first trigger, but treatments based on that theory have had limited success. Mayo Researchers now say suppressing the Tau protein may hold the key.

Post-Bulletin, Our View: First DMC priorities need to start taking shape — Discovery Square, which will include the current BioBusiness Center, likely will be one of the biggest DMC drivers for job growth as it lures medical innovators and researchers. At the same time, it could be one of the most challenging aspects for DMC's early years. Bill George, DMCC board member and former chairman and CEO of Medtronic, has said it will take time to recruit investment in Discovery Square, noting Mayo Clinic staff will need to do some "heavy lifting" to recruit companies.

Albuquerque Business First, Lovelace, Mayo Clinic Collaboration slingshots more health coverage options into NM by Sal Christ — Starting this summer, business owners and individuals in New Mexico will have another health coverage provider to consider as a result of a new collaboration between Lovelace Health System and Mayo Clinic Health Solutions. The result of conversations that started last summer, the agreement allows Mayo Clinic Health Solutions to offer third-party administrative services for what's known as self-funded health care plans — health care coverage that employers self-fund versus buying health insurance plans through a payer such as Cigna or Blue Cross Blue Shield — with Lovelace Health System as the local service provider.

MedPage Today, Best Apps for Hospitalists by Shannon Firth — Need help finding the cheapest pharmacy for an uninsured patient? Want some visuals to explain atrial fibrillation? You guessed it, there's an app for that. Medicine and tech converged at a packed afternoon workshop on high-tech tools Monday during the Hospital Medicine 2015 conference here.…Four clinician guides -- Amit Pahwa, MD, of Johns Hopkins, Anuj Dalal, MD,of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cheng-Kai Kao, MD of the University of Chicago, and Roger Yu, MD, of the Mayo Clinic -- led the workshop on mobile apps to guide point-of-care decision-making and to educate and communicate with patients.

WBUR Boston, Medicated (And Unmedicated) Women Are Talking by Alicair Peltonen — My post, “The Medicated Woman: A Pill To Feel Better, Not Squelch Feelings,”on mental health and medication, was shared on Facebook more than 15,000 times and now has over 200 comments, so I thought it was worth a follow-up…Here’s what it says on the Mayo Clinic website: A decision to use antidepressants during pregnancy is based on the balance between risks and benefits. Overall, the risk of birth defects and other problems for babies of mothers who take antidepressants during pregnancy is very low.

KETV Neb., Lead exposure: Tips to protect your child by Mayo Clinic News Network—Young children are at the greatest risk of health problems related to lead exposure, including serious brain and kidney damage. Children age 3 and under are especially vulnerable because their ways of playing and exploring — such as crawling and putting objects in their mouths — increase their risk of contact with lead, and of lead entering their bodies through breathing or swallowing.

NY Times, The Healing Power of Your Own Medical Records by Steve Lohr…Other medical groups are beginning to allow patients online access to the notes taken by physicians about them, in an initiative called OpenNotes. In a yearlong evaluation project at medical groups in three states, more than two-thirds of the patients reported having a better understanding of their health and medical conditions, adopting healthier habits and taking their medications as prescribed more regularly. The medical groups with OpenNotes programs include Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania, Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic and the Veterans Affairs department. By now, nearly five million patients in America have been given online access to their notes.

Faribault Daily News, Against the odds: Faribault man beats stage four pancreatic cancer by Camey Thibodeau — Weight loss and foot pain were the first signs that something was not right with Carl White. The pain began moving up into his left leg, making it hard to walk, and Carl also noticed that his appetite had waned…Three days later, Carl saw a pancreatic specialist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester who confirmed that he had stage four pancreatic cancer that had spread to his liver…The doctor told Carl and Diane that at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, they had never seen a complete response such as his. The doctors were shocked and one told Carl that he was a miracle. According to the doctor, Carl was 99.99 percent cancer-free.

Post-Bulletin, Karolin Hofer: Fear keeps many from organ donation — Next month is Donate Life Month, which is why concerned staff at Mayo Clinic's Transplant Center compelled us to inform readers to gear up beforehand. I'm so sorry I couldn't find anything like national "Organ Donor Day" for this month. I scanned the holidays of March, and found titles like Peanut Cluster Day, Turtle Neck Soup Day, plus various "dessert days" which aren't even suitable to mention in this goose-bump-raising health topic.

Post-Bulletin, City, Chamber, Mayo Clinic renew push for business diversity in Rochester by Jeff Kiger — In an effort to link local businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans to major contracts with customers like Mayo Clinic, Rochester officials are launching a revitalized Supplier Diversity Initiative program. The City of Rochester, the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce, Rochester Area Economic Development Inc. and Mayo Clinic are joining forces to help educate area firms about the benefits of being certified as a diverse business.

MD Linx, Mayo Clinic study suggests acute injured kidneys can be considered for transplant — The shortage of kidneys needed for organ transplantation in the U.S. can be alleviated in part by using select kidneys with Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), resulting in safe and positive outcomes, according to research conducted at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Results of the single–site study, led by Raymond Heilman, M.D., Chair of the Division of Nephrology, suggest that acutely injured kidneys from deceased donors can be considered for transplantation — reconsidering previous thinking that such kidneys should be discarded. Additional coverage: BioPortfolio, Medical Xpress

FOX News, Man with cerebral palsy completes Ironman Kona, conquers Mt. Kilimanjaro by Melinda Carstensen — Ever since 39-year-old Bonner Paddock was a child, he has carried what he calls “the dark rider” with him every step of the way. When Paddock was 11, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP). Since then, he has tried to ignore this companion’s presence— even as it persisted to make his muscles ache and his body to move with an abnormal gait where his toes, rather than his heel, hit the ground when he propels forward…Types of CP vary, and the condition can be concentrated to one part of the body— in Bonner’s case, from his lower back to his feet— or it can impact the whole body. According to the Mayo Clinic, people with spasticity have exaggerated reflexes and stuff muscles.

Dallas Business Journal, Methodist Health System receives statewide performance award by Bill Hethcock — Methodist Health System has received the Texas Award for Performance Excellence from the Quality Texas Foundation…As a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, Methodist affords access to world-class Mayo Clinic specialization for patients treated at system hospitals. Using digital technology to consult and share knowledge, physicians have access to the latest evidence-based medical information and can connect with Mayo specialists for complex medical cases. Methodist is the first health care system in Texas to join the Mayo network.

Fountain Hills Times (Ariz.), A little of this and a little of that — April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month and I will be having my columns on that topic most of this month. Can you believe it will be four years this August since I had my Deep Brain Stimulation surgery at the Mayo Clinic?…Dr. Lyons of the Mayo Clinic, who performed my surgery, told me he and other doctors who do the surgery have been talking to the manufacturer of the DBS device that they want to see improvement in the life of the battery.

Myeloma Beacon, Survival Of Nonsecretory Multiple Myeloma Patients Improves Over Last Decade…Study Design — The authors searched the Mayo Clinic multiple myeloma database to identify nonsecretory myeloma patients diagnosed between January 1973 and June 2012. Patients were identified as having nonsecretory myeloma if their serum and urine immunofixation did not show any monoclonal protein at diagnosis and at all subsequent check-ups.

usda.gov, USDA’s Week in Review…Dora Flores, President, USDA Running and Walking Club: Employees love it. They want to get connected, not to the leader, but to the person. They like to talk about regular daily stuff with them. It’s not about work only. They feel the morale goes up. They’re happy. I think it’s wonderful. NARRATOR: The Mayo Clinic says taking time for a brisk walk helps maintain a healthy weight, prevents or manages various conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, strengthens your bones, lifts your mood and improves balance and coordination.

Prevention, The 3 Biggest Superbug Threats To Your Health—And What You Can Do To Protect Yourself by Sarah Klein — Mayo Clinic and a member of the Mayo Vaccine Research Group. Antibiotics worked tremendously well at first and saved millions of lives in the process, he says—but a few select bacteria could always mutate to survive our attempts to outsmart them.

MedPage Today, Experts Weigh In on IgG4 Disease by Nancy Walsh — The diagnosis of IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) requires biopsy confirmation and should not be based on the simple finding of an elevated serum concentration of the IgG4 antibody, according to an international consensus statement…"This is a relatively new area of research, and there are no large trials that have definitively addressed many of the questions we have about the management of IgG4 related disease," commented Eric L. Matteson, MD, who chairs the department of rheumatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Yahoo! Avril Lavigne And 6 Other Celebrities Touched By Lyme Disease — Grammy-nominated singer Avril Lavigne has revealed that she is battling Lyme disease. Lavigne alluded to experiencing “health issues”late last year. She told People magazine that she felt lethargic for months, even becoming bedridden, until doctors finally diagnosed her months later with severe Lyme disease… However, symptoms can progress over the next weeks or months to include joint pain and neurological problems, including meningitis, paralysis, muscle problems and weakness, according to the Mayo Clinic.

NY Times, The Chinese Billionaire Zhang Lei Spins Research Into Investment Gold by Alexandra Stevenson… In his most recent deal, Hillhouse teamed up with the Mayo Clinic to bring one of America’s best-known health care institutions to China. Mr. Zhang hopes to upend the rickety state health care system, which is in severe need of a turnaround, using modern technology to create new services and products like a digital records management system. But challenges await Mr. Zhang. Corruption in China’s health care sector abounds; bribery investigations have ensnared Western companies like GlaxoSmithKline. State hospitals are weighed down by bureaucracy. And demand for geriatric services has soared.

Red Wing Republican-Eagle, Business notebook: Local PA wins statewide honor by Danielle Killey — Stefanie Vette of Mayo Clinic Health System recently was named the recipient of the 2015 Physician Assistant of the Year award, presented by the Minnesota Academy of Physician Assistants. “It’s an honor to be chosen for this award,” Vette said. “I truly enjoy the people here and love connecting with patients and working with my colleagues.”… “Our physician assistants and nurse practitioners work as a team with our local physicians, other consultant physicians, clinical assistants and patient appointment coordinators to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes and patient experience,” said Tom Witt, M.D., and CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System in Cannon Falls, Lake City and Red Wing.

MedCity News, An important Google Health update: Zombie infection by Chris Seper…Mayo Clinic is collaborating with Google on fact-checking this new health information. But, oddly, there was no reference to Mayo looking over this one. Instead it links to this page. And the “zombies” in the image? They’re drawings of the actual Google team working on the health project…

Men’s Health magazine, Why Every Man Should Lift WeightsIt Strengthens Bones — As you age, you lose bone mass, increasing the likelihood that you'll one day suffer a debilitating fracture in your hips or vertebrae. That's even worse than it sounds, since Mayo Clinic researchers found that 30 percent of men die within 1 year of breaking a hip.

ABC News, Recovering Joni Mitchell Has Claimed to Have Mysterious Skin Condition by Sydney Lupkin — Legendary folk singer Joni Mitchell's health scare is drawing attention to the fact that she's said in the past that she has Morgellons disease, a rare and controversial illness characterized by a crawling sensation on the skin with no apparent cause… Other symptoms include fatigue, short-term memory loss and trouble concentrating, according to the Mayo Clinic Middle-aged white women are most likely to have it, according to the site. Additional coverage: Billboard

NY Post, NYCFC fright: Defender’s heart condition can flare up at any moment —  Josh Williams wasn’t 100 percent healthy or completely recovered from his heart ailment. He didn’t even really feel like himself. But the New York City FC defender was just happy to be able to breathe without pain, much less run around on the field at practice with his teammates.… The pericardial sac that surrounds the heart contains a lubricating fluid. According to the Mayo Clinic, in pericarditis, the sac becomes inflamed and the resulting friction leads to chest pain. That’s exactly what Williams felt before he faced Orlando and again before the March 21 tilt at Colorado.

Pioneer Press, AT&T, Verizon tout investments in Minnesota networks by Julio Ojeda-Zapata… AT&T upgrades in the Twin Cities include specialized wireless setups called Distributed Antenna Systems at the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium, and on the Mayo Clinic's main campus in Rochester, Minn.

Post-Bulletin, Letter: Public safety concerns need a solution before state spends more on DMC by Randall Walker — Gov. Mark Dayton and the Minnesota Legislature have shown confidence and commitment to help Rochester become the world's Destination Medical Center. The pictures of all the building plans for the DMC are spectacular and inspiring and represent essential infrastructure for the future of care that Mayo Clinic aspires to provide. However, the Mayo Brothers understood it is the caring spirit, skills and teamwork of those who work here, not buildings, that bring people here seeking hope and healing.

El Quioso, Da EU permiso humanitario a mexicano enfermo, El Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de los Estados Unidos concedió un permiso humanitario a un joven mexicano que necesita un doble trasplante, de corazón e hígado. El documento, que el joven José Chúa recibió le otorga un permiso de ingreso temporal a Estados Unidos por 90 días…El joven, de 20 años, que nació con un solo ventrículo en el corazón y ha sido sometido a varias cirugías previas por su dolencia, acudirá a la Clínica Mayo en el estado de Minnesota para que se le diagnostique allí como paso previo al doble trasplante. Additional coverage: Noticias Mexicanas, Milenio Vanguardia La Silla Rota, VOA Noticias, Al Dia Tx

Vida y Estilo, 6 consejos para que tu hijo acceda a comer nuevos alimentos by Guadalupe Flores, ¿Estas cansada de que tus hijos no quieran comer? Anne Harguth , especialista en dietética del Sistema de Salud de Mayo Clinic conoce muy bien lo dificil que es preparar alimentos para niños quisquillosos con la comida, por ello, comparte estas sugerencias para que los pequeños prueben comidas nuevas, más sanas y hasta de apariencia extraña…Additional coverage: Diario Imagen, Salud Cronica,

Salud180, Fotogalería: 7 desventajas de tener un hijo después de los 40…2. Tener una cesárea Las mamás mayores tienen un mayor riesgo de complicaciones durante elparto, como placenta previa la cual bloquea el cuello uterino, por lo que un alto porcentaje de ellas deben dar a luz mediante una cirugía, afirman los expertos de Mayo Clinic.

El Huffington Post, Esto es lo que te pasa (o puede pasarte) mientras duermes…No son pesadillas, que aparecerán en una fase posterior, sino algo aún más siniestro, que ocurre sobre todo en la infancia y suele remitir en la adolescencia: los terrores nocturnos. Hasta un 5% de los niños los padecen, descendiendo a un 1-2% en la edad adulta. Según el doctor Suresh Kotagal, neurólogo pediátrico del Centro de Medicina del Sueño de la Clínica Mayo (EEUU), un estudio amplio reveló que hasta el 80% de los niños pueden sufrir alguna parasomnia aislada, y que no hay de qué preocuparse si se trata de fenómenos aislados.

To subscribe: Mayo Clinic in the News is a weekly highlights summary of major media coverage. If you would like to be added to the weekly distribution list, send a note to Laura Wuotila with this subject line: SUBSCRIBE to Mayo Clinic in the News.

To unsubscribe: To remove your name from the global distribution list, send an email to Laura Wuotila  with the subject: UNSUBSCRIBE from Mayo Clinic in the News. 

Tags: 'Normal' Memory Loss, "Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies", "Mayo Clinic: Going Gluten Free" by Joseph A. Murray, 5 The Fox, 5 WIN (Mich.), 5-2-1-0 For Healthy Kids, ABC 15 Arizona, ABC News, abnormal vaginal bleeding, access to personal medical records, Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), Al Dia Tx, Albuquerque Business First, Alligator, alzheimer's disease, American Indian medical oncologists, amyloid, An apple a day, Angelina Jolie Pitt, antidepressants during pregnancy, APOE ε4 gene, Apps for Hospitalists, Badger-Coulee Transmission Line project, Best Apps for Hospitalists, billboard, bionic eye device, BioPortfolio, brain, BRCA1 gene mutation, breasts hurt, business diversity, Business Insider UK, Business Standard, Bustle, Cancer drug costs, Cardio3, CBS News, cerebral palsy (CP), Chateau Theatre, Chicago Tribune, cognitive decline, complex face transplant, Crookston Daily Times, Daily Mail (UK), Dallas Business Journal, Deep Brain Stimulation surgery, Delaware News Journal, Diario Imagen, Discovery Square, Distributed Antenna Systems, DMC Corp. board, DMC Destination Medical Center, DMCC, DNA samples found on tampons, Donate Life Month, double-transplant patient, Dr, Dr. Andre Terzic, Dr. Atta Behfar, Dr. Clifford Jack, Dr. Colin P. West, Dr. David Knopman, Dr. Eric L. Matteson, Dr. James Levine, Dr. Jamie Bakkum-Gamez, Dr. John Abenstein, Dr. Judith Kaur, Dr. Karthik Ghosh, Dr. Laura Breeher, Dr. Lyons, Dr. Manish Kohli, Dr. Michael Stuart, Dr. Raymond Heilman, Dr. Raymond Iezzi, Dr. Richard Caselli, Dr. Roger Yu, Dr. Sharonne N. Hayes, Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, Dr. Tim J. Lamer, Dr. Tom Witt, Dr. Vincent Rajkumar, Dr. Wisit Cheungpasitporn, El Huffington Post, El Quioso, endometrial cancer, epilepsy, Faribault Daily News, fasting before surgery, female condom, Fergus Couch Ph.D., FierceHealth IT, Florida Times-Union, Forest Lake Times, Fountain Hills Times (Ariz.), Fox News, FOX News Latino, Globetrotter Performs for young patients, Hillhouse, hockey concussions, hockey helmets unsafe, Hope Lodge, Huffington Post, IgG4 Disease, Jacksonville’s Mayo Clinic, JAMA Neurology, KAAL, KARE 11, KETV Neb., KEYC Mankato, KIMT, KTTC, La Crosse Tribune, LA Times, Lead exposure, Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, Lovelace Health System, Lyme disease, Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Study, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Rochester, Mayo Clinic Care Network, Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine Physician Well Being Program, Mayo Clinic efforts to save local buildings, Mayo Clinic Health Solutions, Mayo Clinic Health System Franciscan Healthcare, Mayo Clinic Health System in Cannon Falls and Lake City and Red Wing, Mayo Clinic Health System Mankato, Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Mayo Clinic multiple myeloma database, Mayo Clinic News Network, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Mayo Clinic SCAD Registry, Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Mayo Clinic's Breast Diagnostic Clini, Mayo Clinic's Breast Diagnostic Clinic., Mayo Clinic's campus in Scottsdale, Mayo Clinic's Transplant Center, Mayo Vaccine Research Group, Mayo’s Prostate Cancer Medically Optimized Genome-Enhanced Therapy (PROMOTE), Mayowood mansion, MD Linx, Med student suicide, MedCity News, Medical Xpress, MedPage Today, Medscape, Men’s Health Magazine, Methodist Health System, methylation, Mexican double transplant patient, Milenio Vanguardia La Silla Rota, Minnesota, Morgellons disease, Myeloma Beacon, Native American Programs of the Mayo Comprehensive Cancer Center., Nature, NBC Show, New Richmond News, Noticias Mexicanas, NPR, nuts for nutrition, NY Daily News, NY Post, NY Times, OpenNotes, organ donation, organ donation fundraising, Ovarian Cancer, pancreatic cancer, Parkinson’s Awareness Month, PBS, pericarditis, Physician Assistant of the Year award, Pioneer Press, Platelet-Rich Plasma for Pain, Post Bulletin, Prevent Kidney Stones, Prevention, prostate cance, Raymond Heilman, Red Wing Republican Eagle, regenerate cardiac tissue., Renal & Urology News, retinal prosthesis devices, Reuters, robotic telepresence, Salud Cronica, Salud180, Science 2.0, Science Times, Second Sight Inc., sedentariness, Senolytics, spasticity, Star Tribune, stem cell research, Supplier Diversity Initiative program, tampons, tau protein, Telemedicine, the Assisi Heights motherhouse, The Guardian, The Mary Sue, The Scientist, The Slap, Thomson Reuters, TIME, U.S. News & World Report, Uncategorized, USA Today, USA Today (The Clarion-Ledger), USDA Running and Walking Club, usda.gov, Vida y Estilo, VOA Noticias, Wall Street Journal, Waseca County News, Washington Post, water per day, WBUR Boston, WCCO, WKBT La Crosse, WXOW La Crosse, Yahoo!, Yahoo! News

Contact Us · Privacy Policy