August 12, 2016

Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

By Karl Oestreich

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

Editor, Karl Oestreich;  Assistant Editor: Emily Blahnik

 

Buzzfeed
What You Should Know About Zika If You’re Going To The Olympics
by Anthony Rivas

So much so that athletes from around the world — mostly golfers, but also basketball players and cyclists — have given up their chance at winning gold over concerns that they might get infected. Meanwhile, lots of other spectators getting ready to fly down are probably wondering,BuzzFeed Logo “Is it really worth the risk?” …For men and women who don’t plan on having kids anytime soon, “the impact of the Zika virus on you is probably going to be very minimal,” Tosh said. In fact, about 80% of people who become infected “have absolutely no symptoms whatsoever.”

Reach: BuzzFeed receives more than 15.7 million unique visitors each month to its website and targets pop culture and social media enthusiasts.

Additional coverage:
HealthDay, Zika Won't Pose Risks at the Olympics: Health Experts
Hospitals & Health Networks, Clinical Vaccine Trials Underway; Rio Olympics See Few Mosquitoes by Matt O’Connor

Context: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an emergency travel advisory after health officials in Florida identified local transmission of Zika virus in a Miami neighborhood. The CDC advisory recommends pregnant women and their partners avoid nonessential travel to Lynwood, a neighborhood in Miami, Florida where the Zika virus is active. Mayo Clinic infectious diseases specialist Dr. Pritish Tosh says, "It is somewhat unprecedented for a travel advisory to be issued to a very specific neighborhood. That's a testament to the strength of the epidemiology that has been going on, and how well the CDC and other health authorities have been working at this." More information, including a video interview with Dr. Tosh, can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Contacts: Bob Nellis, Deb Balzer

 

Chicago Tribune
Dirty baby: Just how clean does your child need to be?
by Bill Daley

Cleanliness may be next to godliness, or so the old rhyme scolded us, but is it healthiest — particularly for babies and children? "People are very Chicago Tribune Logoconcerned, almost preoccupied, with their child touching a surface that is not clean," said Dr. Angela C. Mattke, a pediatrician at the Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester, Minn. "Early exposure to their environment full of germs, bacteria and viruses is not a bad thing." "Not everything a child touches should be sterilized," she added. "You don't have to wash their hands every time."

Reach:  The Chicago Tribune has a daily circulation of more than 384,000 and a weekend circulation of more than 686,000.

Context: Angela Mattke, M.D. is a pediatrician with Mayo Children's Center which is rated in all US News & World Report pediatric specialty categories and is the only children’s hospital in the five-state region to rank in all 10 specialties.

Contact: Kelley Luckstein

 

Chicago Tribune
Crawling: The next best core workout?
by Alison Bowen

Your next best exercise doesn't involve equipment, running, jumping or even standing. "Make the floor your friend," says Danielle Johnson, a physical therapist at the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program in Rochester, Minn. As a working mom, Johnson is always looking for ways toChicago Tribune Logo challenge exercise norms. "We're looking for things that are a little outside of the box sometimes," she said. Crawling is one of those things. She said it's an "amazing core exercise" that also benefits the legs, shoulders, arms and chest.

Reach:  The Chicago Tribune has a daily circulation of more than 384,000 and a weekend circulation of more than 686,000.

Context: The Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program is a comprehensive, whole-body wellness experience guided by medical research and evidence-based medicine to offer guests trusted solutions to improve quality of life. The program is research-driven around diet, exercise and resiliency, and, when all of these are connected, they encompass the power needed to make sustainable changes. For more information, visit https://healthyliving.mayoclinic.org/.

Contact: Kelley Luckstein

 

Wall Street Journal
At the Rio Olympics, Women Athletes Bump Against a Gold Ceiling
by Kevin Helliker and Matthew Futterman

Sports scientists say there is no physiological reason for shortening courses for female athletes or, for that matter, games such as tennis, where women play the best out of three sets versus best of five for men. In WSJ Bannerfact, some research suggests women are built to go farther than men, if at a slower pace. While that remains unproven, the notion that women have inferior endurance capacities has been debunked. “That’s totally anachronistic,” says Michael Joyner, a former competitive marathoner who studies sports science at the Mayo Clinic.

Reach: The Wall Street Journal, a US-based newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company, has an average circulation of 2.3 million daily which includes print and digital versions.

Related coverage:
ABC News, Olympic Swimmer Katie Ledecky Blows Competition Out of the Water
Business Insider, Why Katie Ledecky's Olympic world record Sunday night is even more amazing than you think
Business Insider, Here's an exact breakdown of why 6'4" Michael Phelps has the perfect body for swimming
Business Insider, The internet is driving athletes to do crazy things no one knew were possible
Tech Insider, People are stronger and faster than ever before, but the reason why isn’t what you think

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

Contact: Rhoda Fukushima Madson

 

TIME
What Is Cupping? Here’s What You Need to Know
by Alexandra Sifferlin

…There is a difference between how cupping is practiced in traditional Chinese medicine and how it is used in Western medicine, says Dr. Brent Bauer, director of the Mayo Clinic Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program. Bauer says a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner would likely offer cupping as part of a larger integrative health check, which might include recommendations around nutrition and otherTime magazine logo health things, and not just as a one-off therapy. “It’s kind of an American phenomena, I think, to consider cupping by itself,” he says.

Reach: Time magazine covers national and international news and provides analysis and perspective of these events. The weekly magazine has a circulation of 3.2 million readers and its website has 4.6 million unique visitors each month.

Additional coverage:
HealthDayDoes 'Cupping' = Success for Olympic Athletes?
Live ScienceMichael Phelps' Weird Bruises: Does Cupping Therapy Really Work?
Jakarta Post, Phelps puts spotlight on cupping
CCTV-AmericaIt works for Michael Phelps, so we tried “cupping” for the first time

Context:  Brent Bauer, M,D., is director of the Mayo Clinic Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program. As director of the program, Dr. Bauer has broad and varied research interests. Since its founding in 2001, the program has promoted a collaborative spirit that enables researchers from both within and outside Mayo Clinic to share resources, ideas and expertise regarding research in this exciting realm.

Contact: Kelly Reller

 

WCCO-Radio
Mayo Clinic ranks #1 in latest US News and World Report Rankings

Interview with Dr. John Noseworthy and Dave Lee.

WCCO-AM Dave LeeReach: WCCO radio, a CBS owned and operated affiliate in Minneapolis, boasts one of the largest coverage areas in the country as it reaches into portions of North and South Dakota during the day. At night, the station’s signal typically reaches across many U.S. states and Canadian provinces.

Additional coverage:
KTAR-TV, US News & World Report grades Phoenix’s Mayo Clinic top hospital in Arizona
Arizona Daily Star, U.S. News & World Report ranks Tucson hospital third in state
Healio, Mayo Clinic ranked as top hospital for neurology and neurosurgery
WIBW-TV, New ranking proves patients are in good hands at Stormont Vail Health 

Previous coverage in August 5, 2016 Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

Context: Mayo Clinic was named the best hospital in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of top hospitals published online today. In addition, Mayo Clinic is ranked No. 1 in more specialties than any other hospital in the country. Mayo Clinic took the No. 1 spot in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota. It also ranked No. 1 in the Phoenix metro area and in the Jacksonville metro area. More information can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Contact: Rhoda Fukushima Madson

 

Twin Cities Business
Mayo’s New Blood Test Could Predict Chances Of Experiencing A Heart Attack
by Sam Schaust

Mayo Clinic launched a new type of blood test on Wednesday that is the first-of-its-kind in the U.S. With the new test, measurements are taken from blood concentrations of plasma ceramides, a class of lipids highly linked to cardiovascular disease events, such as a heart attack. It’s believed the test could even predict the chance of a cardiovascular event as much as a year before it occurs. “Through our strongTwin Cities Business Magazine Logo collaboration with Zora Biosciences, we hope our new test will improve the evaluation of individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease,” said Jeff Meeusen, co-director of Mayo’s Cardiovascular Laboratory Medicine Group.

Reach: Twin Cities Business is a monthly business magazine with a circulation of more than 30,000 and more than 74,000 readers. The magazine also posts daily business news on its website.

Additional coverage:
Clinical Lab Products, Mayo Clinic Launches Blood Test to Assess Heart Attack Risk

Context: Mayo Clinic has launched a new type of blood test that will be used to predict adverse cardiovascular events in patients with progressing coronary artery disease (CAD). The test measures blood concentrations of plasma ceramides, a class of lipids that are highly linked to cardiovascular disease processes. Researchers say this test is especially useful for patients with CAD when it does not improve with treatment or for young patients with premature CAD. The new test will help clinicians identify at-risk individuals and is available to Mayo Clinic patients and health care providers worldwide through Mayo Medical Laboratories (MML). MML is the reference laboratory of Mayo Clinic, offering advanced laboratory testing and pathology services to more than 5,000 health care organizations in more than 60 countries. MML collaborated on the test with Zora Biosciences Oy, a diagnostics discovery company based in Finland that specializes in cardiovascular disease. More information can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Contact: Gina Chiri-Osmond

Vice, A NASA Scientist's Bizarre Theory for Why Astronauts Lose Their Vision in Space by Kate Lunau — …At the Mayo Clinic, researchers will soon begin recruiting women to participate in a clinical trial. They’re hoping for 80 altogether, divided into four groups, including women with PCOS, with intracranial hypertension (an unexplained increased pressure in the skull, that also affects many women with PCOS, and is known to cause vision changes), and a healthy control. I talked to Dr. Alice Chang, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic who is principal investigator of this particular trial, and working with Smith. When he approached the clinic about doing it, “it was a little embarrassing, as a PCOS researcher, that [vision changes] were not at the forefront of our minds,” she told me.

Huffington Post, In the Raw: To Cook or Not to Cook? —“Detoxification” is a popular concept, but there is little scientific evidence that a raw food “detox” eliminates toxins from the body. For one thing, a detox tends to focus on the gut and the liver, but toxins can collect anywhere in the body, not just these two places. As the Mayo Clinic point out, “Detoxification (detox) diets are popular, but there is little evidence that they eliminate toxins from your body.”

US News & World Report, The Future of Aging by Katherine Hobson — When cells undergo mutations or other damaging disruptions, normally the defect is fixed or the cell dies. But sometimes it slips into a kind of twilight zone, no longer dividing but not dying, either. Senescent cells can sometimes produce pro-inflammatory proteins that can damage other cells, says Dr. James Kirkland, a professor of aging research and director of the Kogod Center on Aging at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. And they’re strongly associated with diseases of aging like cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes and dementia. Kirkland and his colleagues wondered what would happen if senescent cells were removed. In mice, they’ve shown that certain drugs called senolytics can do just that – and slow the progression of age-related changes and even partially reverse them. In a study published last year, the researchers found that a commercially available cancer drug and the supplement quercetin, an antioxidant, improved cardiovascular function, exercise endurance and osteoporosis, plus increased healthspan when used together.

Reuters, Mediterranean diet may help maintain brain health by Carolyn Crist — Elderly people who follow a Mediterranean-style diet may benefit from better brain health and a lower risk for cognitive impairment later in life, according to a new U.S. study. “It suggests that a healthy dietary pattern and specific dietary components have impact on biomarkers of brain pathology,” senior researcher Rosebud Roberts of the Mayo Clinic’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Rochester, Minnesota, told Reuters Health by email. Roberts and colleagues analyzed data from 672 participants in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging. At the start, none of the participants had dementia, and they weren’t in hospice or terminally ill. Residents from Olmsted County, Minnesota, entered the study in 2004, at ages 70 to 89. Participants described their diets in a survey and underwent tests for memory, executive function, language, visual-spatial skills and cognitive impairment. Additional coverage: Economic Times, Daily Mail

FOX News, Are you contributing to the rise of superbugs? by Lacie Glover — When bacteria are exposed to antibiotics, but not enough to kill the entire colony, only the strongest are left. Those remaining bacteria divide and continue to replicate, making the post-antibiotic colony stronger than the original and resistant to the antibiotic. However, the issue is a lot more complicated than that, says Dr. Robin Patel, director of the Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The sheer number of bacteria strains that exist make the issue complex. “We’re talking about a lot of different kinds of bacteria and a lot of different types of antibiotics at the same time,” Patel says.

Becker’s Orthopedic & Spine, How are Minnesota hospitals combating physician burnout? 5 key points by Anuja Vaidya — Physician burnout is a pressing issue for healthcare organizations today as physicians are increasingly succumbing to the stress of their jobs. A Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic survey in 2015 showed physicians reporting at least one burnout symptom increased from 46 percent in 2011 to 54 percent in 2014, according to a Star Tribune report. Physician burnout includes emotional exhaustion and a lack of meaning in work. Common reasons for burnout include stress from adoption of new technology and declining reimbursements, according to the report.

Star Tribune, Minnesota hospitals ramp up efforts to battle physician burnout by Christopher Snowbeck — Rising concerns over physician burnout are prompting new steps by medical centers to help doctors cope with the constant stress brought on by cost pressures and a changing system that many feel is beyond their control. At the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, doctors meet over company-sponsored dinners to talk shop and swap ideas for coping with the mounting strain of the job. Buffalo Hospital in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities sponsors a series of programs aimed at helping health care providers and the broader community thrive despite stress.

Star Tribune, Redoing Rochester: Where has investment for the DMC gone so far? By Matt McKinney — It’s going to take a lot of money to redo Rochester, but that’s the bold aim of a Mayo Clinic project known as Destination Medical Center. The DMC, begun in 2013, will see Mayo expand its campus as the city of Rochester invests in new infrastructure to support more employees, more patients and more businesses. By 2033, when the plan turns 20, the city should be a shining example of public-private partnership and an international hub for health care, research and medicine. That’s the plan…

Twin Cities Business, Mayo Study Defining The Role Of Unconscious Doctor Bias In Minority Health Care by Don Jacobson — Do unconscious biases about race, gender and body shape that students bring with them into medical school carry over when they enter their residencies, thus contributing to the huge and costly disparities in the health outcomes of minorities? That’s what prominent Mayo researcher Michelle Van Ryn is trying to find out in leading a new federally funded study meant to build on the results of an earlier nationwide probe documenting how medical school training affects students’ biases about racial and sexual minorities and obese patients.

Twin Cities Business, Long-Time Mayo Portfolio Company Torax Medical Lands $25 Million Financing by Don Jacobson — Long-time Mayo Clinic Ventures portfolio company Torax Medical of Shoreview has completed its biggest equity financing round yet, with the VC arm of the Rochester health care giant again taking part. Torax, founded in 2002 by veteran medical device executive Todd Berg, announced last week it had completed a $25 million Series E financing round, its largest so far. The company’s previous record was $16 million in 2012, according to Securities and Exchange Commission records.

Cardiovascular Business, Diabetics more susceptible to hospitalization when fighting cancerous tumors by Katherine Davis — New research suggests that there is a 72 percent greater chance that diabetic patients with malignant tumors will be hospitalized. They are more likely to be admitted multiples times for longer stays in general, the study found. The study was led by Nina Karlin, an oncologist at Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic. Karlin and her team studied Mayo’s institutional cancer registry and identified 4,620 patients with cancerous tumors meeting the study’s criteria. Of that population, 732 had a coexisting diabetes diagnoses and had significantly more hospitalizations than those without diabetes. On average, patients with diabetes endured hospitals stays a half day longer. "This is the first analysis to determine that [diabetes] coexisting with solid-organ malignancies is associated with risk of hospitalization and multiple hospitalizations," Karlin said in a statement. "Such findings are thought-provoking and have significant economic implications. Further study is needed so that mitigating strategies can be developed."

Healio, Microbiome markers predict C. difficile treatment response, recurrence — Markers of specific alterations in the gut microbiota appeared predictive of response to Clostridium difficile treatment and recurrent infection in a recent study. “In this study funded by the Center for Individualized Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., we identified microbiome markers at the time of initial diagnosis that can predict response to therapy in patients with C. difficile infection,” Purna C. Kashyap, MBBS, of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., told Healio Gastroenterology. “This will allow us to identify patients who are less likely to respond to conventional treatment and hence may be candidates for [alternative] therapies such as fecal microbiota transplant.”

Healio, Guideline revisions lead to increase in HER-2–positive breast cancers, possible false positives — Changes to HER-2 testing guidelines made by ASCO and the American College of Pathologists in 2013 have significantly increased the number of patients with breast cancer who tested positive for HER-2, according to data published in Journal of Clinical Oncology. “The new guidelines were established to reduce the number of equivocal cases, where HER-2 status is uncertain, but we found that they did just the opposite,” Robert B. Jenkins, MD, PhD, Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao professor of individualized medicine research and professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said in a press release. “The number of equivocal cases went up, resulting in additional testing and a much larger number of women with cancers ultimately labeled as HER-2 positive.”

Healio, Stool DNA analysis cost effective for CRC surveillance in UC — While colorectal cancer surveillance in patients with ulcerative colitis was generally cost effective in a recent simulation study, the addition of stool DNA analysis to surveillance colonoscopy was the most cost effective. “Surveillance colonoscopy has been considered standard of care for ulcerative colitis patients, based on observational (non-randomized) studies showing reduced incidence of colorectal cancer and earlier stage of CRC detected by this practice,” John B. Kisiel, MD, of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., told Healio Gastroenterology.

Fierce Biotech, Mayo Clinic, Philips take a hike--up Mount Kilimanjaro--to learn about cardiac health by Alyssa Huntley — Royal Philips ($PHG) is taking to the skies with the Mayo Clinic. Philips is among a number of organizations that will climb Mount Kilimanjaro in a collaborative effort with the Mayo Clinic to study how the body reacts to high altitude. The aim is to apply that information to improve human health. Philips will be using a collection of its technologies over the 10-day expedition, which was scheduled to begin on August 7. Philips is hoping to better understand how to detect and prevent cardiac issues. Kilimanjaro helps in this understanding, as the lack of oxygen at high altitudes is a good mimic of oxygen deprivation experienced during a cardiac event.

Multiple Sclerosis News Today, Gut Microbiota Is Growing Focus of Multiple Sclerosis Research, Though Treatments Are Few by Ozge Ozkaya, Ph.D. — Gut microbiota is increasingly being seen an important environmental risk factor for multiple sclerosis, and strategies to correct an imbalance in intestinal flora, also known as microbial dysbiosis, are being encouraged as ways to potentially help in the treatment of MS… “Early-life maintenance of a normal microbiome could play a role in disease prevention, though it is not clear how to achieve this in an effective and sustainable way,” said Dr. Dean Wingerchuk, a professor of neurology and director of the Division of MS and Autoimmune Neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

AOL News, You've been sitting at your desk all wrong, says science — You may not realize it, but every minor tweak to your posture can make the world of difference to your long-term health. Mayo Clinic gives a full list of proper office ergonomic tips, which we've laid out below. These adjustments can feel a little strange at first, but trust us, you'll get used to it -- and your body will thank you.

Wisconsin Public Radio, Acupuncture Isn't Just For Pain, Expert Says by Jill Nadeau —Acupuncture has been used as a way to relieve pain for 3,000 to 5,000 years, but that's not it's only purpose, according to an acupuncturist. "We can really treat anything Western medicine treats, with some things it’s more efficient to use Western medicine and with other things it’s more efficient to use Eastern medicine," said Colleen Lewis, a national board certified and state licensed acupuncturist with UW Health. Lewis pointed to the Mayo Clinic headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota, which has at least six acupuncturists on staff.

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, Breast Microbiome Changes May Alter Breast Cancer Risks — According to Amy Degnim, M.D., a breast surgical oncologist at Mayo Clinic and one of the study’s co-authors, it remains unclear whether small shifts in microbial communities, the presence of a virulent pathogenic strain, or the absence of a beneficial one might be responsible for promoting the development of cancer in the breast microbiome. "Differences in the microbiome have been implicated in cancer development at a variety of body sites, including stomach, colon, liver, lung and skin," noted Dr. Degnim. "There is,” added Nick Chia, Ph.D., a microbiome researcher at Mayo Clinic, “mounting evidence that changes in the breast microbiome may be implicated in cancer development and the aggressiveness of cancer and that eliminating dangerous microorganisms or restoring normal microbiota may reverse this process.”

Neurology Advisor, Gut Bacteria and Its Emerging Role in Multiple Sclerosis — A growing body of research is unraveling a multitude of ways in which the human gut microbiome has a major impact on health…A study by a multidisciplinary team at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found that patients with relapsing remitting MS had altered fecal microbiota compared to matched healthy controls, which supports the hypothesis that patients with MS have microbial dysbiosis.

Florida Times-Union, Mayo researchers find the act of texting can create unusual electrical activity in the brain by Charlie Patton — A team of researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville found that the act of texting on a smartphone or a tablet can create in some people an unusual brain wave which resembles a seizure. “People say you shouldn’t text while driving because it’s a distraction,” said William Tatum, a Mayo neurologist. “What we found is that beyond being a distraction, texting can lead to a biological change in the brain.” Tatum, who is director of the Mayo Clinic’s seven-bed epilepsy monitoring unit, said the study that found the link between texting and altered brain waves “evolved surreptitiously.”

Sleep Review, Mayo Clinic Collaboration to Send Philips Alice NightOne HST on Mount Kilimanjaro Climb — Royal Philips will be among the organizations collaborating with the Mayo Clinic to climb Mount Kilimanjaro on a research expedition to understand how the body reacts to the rigors of high altitude and how those learnings can be applied to improving human health. Because the lack of oxygen at high altitudes mimics oxygen deprivation in the body during a cardiac event, Philips researchers hope to understand how to better detect and prevent cardiac issues. The expedition, which will last about 10 days, starts on August 7 and will be chronicled on social media through the hashtag #kiliclimb2016.

WEAU-TV, Half Moon Dragon Boat Festival raises more than $200,000 for hospice care by Abigail Hantke — Thousands turned out Saturday to watch a battle of the paddles for a good cause. The 2nd Annual Half Moon Dragon Boat Festival by Mayo Clinic Health System took place at Half Moon Lake in Eau Claire to help raise funds for hospice care. “We work really hard so that all the new lives can start their lives with dignity and that’s what we're doing with this,” said Anna Sizer, the Community Event Director for Mayo Clinic Health System. “That last stage of life, its important that we all die with dignity, and hospice services isn’t just for the patient, it’s for the whole family.”

WEAU-TV, Camp Wabi has record attendance; helping kids who struggle with weight by Abigail Hantke — According to the CDC, adolescent obesity has quadrupled in the last 30 years. That's why Mayo Clinic Health System and the Eau Claire YMCA offer Camp Wabi for kids who struggle with being overweight. Camp Wabi in New Auburn is your typical camp with kayaking, games and campfires, but it has a twist. “If you look at obesity in general they numbers are rising,” said Joni Gilles, the Mayo Clinic Health System Employee Wellness Coordinator, R.N. Gilles says the camp helps kids who struggle with being overweight.

Post-Bulletin, Walk for Victory kicks off 32nd annual Marfan conference by Brett Boese —Former Baylor University men's basketball star Isaiah Austin, the Foundation's National Walk ambassador, led the way at an event that helped kick off the three-day Marfan conference organized in collaboration with Mayo Clinic. Austin was projected as a first-round pick in the 2014 NBA draft before being diagnosed with Marfan syndrome just days before the draft, thus ending his career. Mayo Clinic founded its Marfan Clinic in 2002, and clinic director Juan Bowen said Friday's Walk for Victory is critical for Marfan patients, especially those recently diagnosed. The conference itself brings patients face-to-face with world-renowned doctors for dialogue, questions and information, often in relatively small groups. "It symbolizes that people who have this are not alone," Dr. Bowen said.

Post-Bulletin, Will you give school-administered flu vaccine a shot? by Brett Boese — In short, students need to prepare themselves for needles for the upcoming wave of vaccines that will be offered in local schools. "We not only had the nasal spray, we preferred it," said Mayo Clinic's Robert Jacobson, medical director of Southeast Minnesota Region Immunization Program and professor of pediatrics at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. "But now the data is telling us otherwise. We're going to focus on pain reduction. We're going to work very hard with parents and kids to make this as pain free as we can." Dr. Jacobson says that pain reduction methods will be offered along with the flu shot, including a coolant spray. He remains hopeful that the change won't negatively impact vaccination numbers, which are among the best in the nation.

Post-Bulletin, Conference speaker says diversity impacts bottom line by Jeff Kiger — Growing up in Louisiana did not prepare Toni Adafin for following her children to hockey rinks. "It's too cold. Anybody in their right mind would know not to go where it's too cold," she told more than 300 people gathered for Rochester's Supplier Diversity Summit at the Mayo Civic Center. The event was sponsored by Mayo Clinic, the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce, Destination Medical Center, the Diversity Council and the City of Rochester. More than 300 people attended…

WNDU-TV, Mayo Medical School working to teach practical side of being a doctor by Maureen McFadden — A new medical school is about to change that. Christopher Bailey was one of the first to take classes in Mayo's new science of healthcare delivery curriculum. It teaches the practical side of being a doctor from dealing with insurance companies to managing stress. "Not just issues of what medication should I give and what kind of infection should I be treating," said Dr. Christopher Bailey, who graduated in 2015.   Michele Halyard says the new classes were designed with Arizona State University and include subjects like patient-centered care and emphasizing doctor and patient as a team.  Dr. Halyard said, "We really focus on teaching them how to engage in shared decision making. So, gone are the days when the physician is the king or queen and they tell the patient what to do."

Astrobiology NASA, Mayo Clinic Studies How Life Survives Extreme Environments by Elizabeth Howell — A group at Mayo, led by Nicholas Chia, an assistant professor of biophysics and surgery, is examining the mechanics of horizontal gene transfer. He first became interested in sequence homology, or how biological sequences are related to each other, while completing his doctorate degree in theoretical biophysics at Ohio State University. Prior to joining Mayo, Chia deepened his understanding of the origins of life with research funded by a predecessor research grant to the current NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) for Universal Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (The research was then under the Biocomplexity Theme of the Institute for Genomic Biology and funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.)

KEYC-TV, Mankato Salvation Army Prepares To Give Full Backpacks To Hundreds In Need by Kelsey Barchenger — Many local students will head back to school with a full backpack of supplies, thanks to the Salvation Army and its generous donors. The program provides 700 full backpacks to Kindergarten through 12th graders in need and is open to Blue Earth County and North Mankato residents only. This year Mayo Clinic Health System Mankato also stepped in to donate over $3,000 worth of supplies. Mayo Clinic Health System Mankato Community Relations Officer Christi Wilking said, "As an organization we focus on health and wellness but that fits within this bucket as far as making sure that kids have the supplies so that they can go to school and learn and participate and be part of that classroom."

WQOW-TV, Dragon Boat Festival raises money for hospice program by Clint Berge — Community members and area businesses came together to support people living in hospice care Saturday at Half Moon Beach. Mayo Clinic Health System held the second annual Dragon Boat Festival which raised money for the hospice program. Thousands of people from around the area were there to participate, and to cheer on the 52 teams competing. With the help of area sponsors, more than $200,000 was raised to help people in their final days, said Anna Sizer with Mayo Clinic Health System.

KAAL-TV, Wanamingo Girl First Child at Mayo Clinic to Survive Rare Brain Tumor by Megan Reistad — We first introduced you to Addyson Cordes four years ago. The little girl from Wanamingo was diagnosed with brain and spinal cancer at just 13 months old. Now, we're going back to visit her on the eve of her 5th birthday, a day that doctors thought might never come. "She has gone through a major brain tumor surgery. She then went through chemotherapy and then an autologous transplant, where her own bone marrow cells are given back to her and then she went through radiation therapy to both the brain and the spine," said Dr. Amulya Nageswara Rao.

Dunn County News, MCHS–Red Cedar in Menomonie names new director of Surgical and Procedural Services — Sara Elliott has been named the director of Surgical and Procedural Services at Mayo Clinic Health System–Red Cedar in Menomonie. Elliott worked on Mayo Clinic’s Rochester campus for 10 years. As a nurse and nurse manager, including eight years in the surgical arena. As new director, Elliott manages all surgical and procedural services, and employees. Elliott says she has always enjoyed working in the team environment that surgery has to offer and looks forward to collaborating with the surgical and procedural team at MCHS–Red Cedar.

KIMT-TV, Rochester Civic Theatre receives $28,000 grant from Mayo Clinic by DeeDee Stiepan — The Rochester Civic Theatre is receiving some major support from the Mayo Clinic, in the form of a $28,000 grant. The Executive Director of the theatre, Gregory Stavrou says this kind of support makes it possible for them to continue to work, not just in the theatre, but out in the community. This includes the theatre’s Arts in Health initiatives. “We’re going to have a big exhibit here this autumn, featuring work of artists from around the state exploring the issues of illness and resiliency,” Stavrou explains. He said this support from Mayo shows they are investing in the well-being of the community.

Daily Meal, 25 Foods You Didn’t Know Contained Gluten by Michael Serrur — …Celiac disease is also hereditary, but not all people have the same degree of gluten intolerance. Some people are “celiac lite,” meaning that their blood "may or may not" contain the level of antibodies qualifying them as celiac, says Dr. Joseph Murray, a professor of medicine and consultant in gastroenterology and immunology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, but that they suffer from the same gastrointestinal symptoms.

Medical Xpress, Researchers link senescent cells to most common form of arthritis — Researchers at Mayo Clinic have reported a causal link between senescent cells—cells that accumulate with age and contribute to frailty and disease—and osteoarthritis in mice. Their findings appear online in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. "Osteoarthritis has previously been associated with the accumulation of senescent cells in or near the joints, however, this is the first time there has been evidence of a causal link," says James Kirkland, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging. "Additionally, we have developed a new senescent cell transplantation model that allows us to test whether clearing senescent cells alleviates or delays osteoarthritis."

Rolling Stone, Gregg Allman Cancels Tour Due to 'Serious Health Issues' by Daniel Kreps — Gregg Allman has canceled the majority of his upcoming tour dates due to "serious health issues," the Allman Brothers rocker announced Friday. Allman is currently under his doctor's care at the Mayo Clinic… In 2011, Allman similarly cancelled a solo tour after suffering from an upper respiratory condition stemming from a successful liver transplant he had the previous year. In that case, Allman was off his feet for six weeks before returning to the road. Additional coverage: Scranton Times-Tribune, Post-Bulletin, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune

El Diario, Instan a los hombres a cuidar su salud by Pedro F. Frisneda — Otros, simplemente, visitan un hospital por primera vez cuando son llevados a una sala de emergencia en donde, muchas veces, no sobreviven por sus complicaciones de salud. Por esto, expertos como Dan Gaz, especialista en ejercicios del Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, sugiere a los hombres que se realicen chequeos médicos y que lleven una vida saludable. “Muchos hombres, cuando llegan a la edad de 40 años tienen mayores riesgos de sufrir cualquier clase de enfermedades cardíacas, y una vez que se llega a esa edad, deberían realizarse una serie de exámenes para chequear cómo esta su capacidad cardiovascular y si tienen posibilidades de tener una muerte prematura”, explica Gaz.

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