November 11, 2016

Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights

By Karl Oestreich

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 Emily Blahnik with this subject line: SUBSCRIBE to Mayo Clinic in the News. Thank you.

Editor, Karl Oestreich;  Assistant Editor: Emily Blahnik

 

WRVO Public Radio NY
The whole story on whole grains

The current diet trends to eat low-carb or go gluten-free have resulted in many people giving up a food group long believed to be part oWRVO NY NPRf a healthy diet — whole grains. This week on WRVO's health and wellness show "Take Care," hosts Lorraine Rapp and Linda Lowen speak with Dr. Donald Hensrud, medical director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program and editor of the bestseller, The Mayo Clinic Diet. Hensrud discusses the benefits of eating whole grains. More of this interview can be heard on "Take Care," WRVO's health and wellness show Saturday at 6:30 a.m. and Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

Reach: WRVO-FM is a non-commercial station owned by State University of New York and an affiliate member station of NPR.

Context: The Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program is redefining healthy living. It’s a comprehensive, whole-body wellness experience guided by medical research and evidence-based medicine to offer guests trusted solutions to improve quality of life. Donald Hensrud, M.D. is the program’s medical director.

Contact: Kelley Luckstein

 

KJZZ
Mayo Clinic Opening Medical School Campus In Valley
by Naomi Gingold

The Mayo Clinic medical school is opening a satellite campus here in the Valley. They are having their official ribbon-cutting ceremony this week KJZZ NPR -AZ Logoand reviewing applications for their first class of students. Dr. Michele Halyard is a radiation oncologist at Mayo and has become the dean of the medical school here. KJZZ asked her about the new school and its progress.

Reach: KJZZ-FM is a commercial station owned by Maricopa Community Colleges in Tempe, AZ. The format of the station is news and jazz. KJZZ-FM's target audience is news and jazz music listeners, ages 18 to 64, in the Tempe, AZ area.

Context: Mayo Clinic School of Medicine has a four-year campus in Minnesota and a four-year campus opening in Arizona in 2017. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine students acquire experiences across a spectrum of patient populations in multiple practice settings. Michele Halyard, M.D., a Mayo Clinic radiation oncologist, is dean of the medical school.

Contact: Jim McVeigh

 

NY Times
After a Suicide Attempt, the Risk of Another Try
by Jane Brody

My family is no stranger to suicide and suicide attempts, and we are not alone. To recount just two instances:The New York Times newspaper logo A 20-year-old nephew, after receiving a very caring letter from his sister-in-law explaining why she could not be his lover, went to his room, shot himself in the head and died … Now a new study reveals just how lethal suicide attempts, as a risk factor for completed suicide, are. The study, led by Dr. J. Michael Bostwick, a psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic, tracked all first suicide attempts in one county in Minnesota that occurred between January 1986 and December 2007 and recorded all the deaths by suicide for up to 25 years thereafter. Eighty-one of the 1,490 people who attempted suicide, or 5.4 percent, died by suicide, 48 of them in their first attempt. The findings were reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Reach: The New York Times has a daily circulation of nearly 649,000 and a Sunday circulation of 1.18 million.

Context: While a prior history of suicide attempt is one of the strongest predictors of completed suicide, a Mayo Clinic study finds it is more lethal than previously known. Researchers find that suicide risk was nearly 60 percent higher than previously reported when based on a population-based cohort focusing on individuals making first lifetime attempts and including those whose first attempts were fatal. This risk was dramatically higher for attempts using firearms. The population sample was identified through the Rochester Epidemiology Project. “We hoped to address the shortcomings of earlier studies by including two groups previously overlooked by other studies,” says J. Michael Bostwick, M.D., a psychiatrist on Mayo Clinic’s Rochester campus and the lead author of the study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. “Our study enrolled individuals whose first-ever suicide attempt presented to medical attention. Not only did we include those who survived this initial attempt, but we also included those who died on their first attempt rather than ending up in the emergency room. These are large groups that have been routinely ignored in calculation of risk.” More information can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Contact: Duska Anastasijevic

 

WCCO
‘Cancer Avatars’ Giving Hope To Patients
by Rachel Slavik

What if doctors could know the exact therapy needed to treat ovarian cancer? — It could save precious time and also help patients avoid the side CBS Minnesotaeffects of ineffective chemotherapy drugs. Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Rochester are testing that theory on reoccurring ovarian cancer…Dr. John Weroha, a clinical oncologist at the Mayo Clinic, is the lead researcher on a clinical trial for recurring ovarian cancer treatment. “The clinical trial we’re running is an attempt to help patients once they develop a platinum-resistant reoccurring cancer,” Dr. Weroha said.

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

Context: Saravut "John" Weroha, M.D., Ph.D. is a Mayo Clinic medical oncologist. Oncologists provide care for people with cancer. Mayo Clinic oncologists collaborate with experts in all other departments to provide coordinated and integrated, multidisciplinary care to people with cancer. Mayo Clinic oncologists actively contribute to care and research in the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, designated by the National Cancer Institute as a comprehensive cancer center.

Contact: Joe Dangor

The Lancet, Claudia Lucchinetti: clinician, scientist, and leader by Mary Beth Nierengarten — “Bring your tissue samples and violin.” With those words from Hans Lassmann, Claudia Lucchinetti packed up and moved to the Center for Brain Research at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria to study experimental neuropathology. It was the mid-1990s, and Lucchinetti had just finished a neurology residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, USA, after completing her medical degree at Rush Memorial in Chicago, IL, USA.

The Lancet, Brian Weinshenker: poking holes in time and space by Adrian Burton — SciFi fans should stop reading now. Brian Weinshenker, Professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine (Rochester, MN, USA) since 1999, is not about fantasy wormholes and warp drives. It’s the universe of neurology, especially multiple sclerosis, that he has been altering. Despite being a member of the international panel that has issued the last three iterations of diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis, “I always believed that the time-honoured principle of diagnosing it via ‘dissemination in time and space’ [ie, the appearance over time of at least two lesions involving more than one area of the central nervous system] was flawed”, he says, “and many of the observations I have made over my career have poked holes in this principle and emphasised the need to consider differential diagnosis based on clinical probability.”

Forbes, The Vicious Cycle Of Sleep Deprivation And Overeating by Alice G. Walton — This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the connection between sleep deprivation and poorer eating the next day. A Mayo Clinic study a few years ago found that when people are sleep deprived, they make different (worse) food choices than when they’re well rested. In fact, in that study, participants ate about 550 calories more when they got two-thirds the amount of sleep as controls who slept a full night. Others have found similar connections.

Today.com, 'You'll never play sports again': Teen makes miraculous recovery by Gabrielle Frank — On July 8, 2014, Jessica Nelson's life changed forever. She was driving back to her home in Tracy, Minnesota, and was the only car on the gravel road. The last thing she remembers is driving down the road. She learned what happened next from the authorities: Her car went into a ditch and flipped five to seven times. ..So she and her family decided to get another opinion. In October 2014, her doctor referred her to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, where they had another idea: Remove three and a half inches of the infected bone and then apply a Taylor Spatial Frame to her leg to lengthen the bone. But Nelson's life would change dramatically.  "The doctor told me that I would never play competitive sports again," said Nelson, who lived for playing basketball and volleyball.

Wall Street journal, Could Cottage Cheese Ever Be Cool? By Ellen Byron — While cottage cheese has more protein and less sugar than Greek yogurt, some nutrition experts recommend it with some caution. “The main health drawback to cottage cheese is sodium,” says Lisa Dierks, a dietitian at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. About a half cup of low-fat cottage cheese contains 406 grams of sodium, compared with plain, low-fat Greek yogurt’s 34 grams. “You have to look at how that fits into the rest of your dietary plan,” she says. “Most Americans already eat too much sodium.”

New Yorker, Mary Keitany And The Power Of Not Knowing by Nick Pachelli — … Keitany is best known as the second-fastest women’s marathoner ever: she finished the 2012 Virgin London Marathon in two hours, eighteen minutes, and thirty-seven seconds—three minutes slower than the world record, set by Paula Radcliffe in 2003. She also won the Virgin London Marathon in 2011 and set a world record, since surpassed, in the Ras Al-Khaimah half-marathon—all things she accomplished between the births of her two children. “She is sort of the Kenyan Ingrid Kristiansen,” Michael Joyner, a Mayo Clinic physician whose research has focussed on distance runners, told me. “Kristiansen used to go out, have children, and come back and run fast. And there’s a theory that, when people are pregnant, they get a big expansion in their blood volume . . . which could translate to improved endurance performance over time.”

Yahoo! Style, Is seasonal depression real? There are tons of ways to cope with the winter blues by Steph Barnes — …For most of us, the change isn’t too major but according to the Mayo Clinic, those with SAD may experience symptoms like depression, hopelessness, anxiety, loss of energy, social withdrawal, oversleeping, loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed, appetite changes (especially an increase in cravings for foods high in carbohydrates), weight gain, and difficulty concentrating.

CNN.com, What is Parkinson's disease? by Jacque Wilson — Parkinson's disease is a "progressive disorder of the nervous system," according to the Mayo Clinic, that primarily affects a patient's movement. It often starts with a small tremor in the hand or muscle stiffness and gets worse over time. There is no test for Parkinson's, so it is occasionally misdiagnosed.

The Guardian, What can we expect from the hospital of the future? by Vickie An — Lorna Ross of the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation says solutions for more accessible, efficient and affordable healthcare experiences for patients shouldn’t rely solely on smart devices, but also on human-centric designs. That’s why her team works closely with practitioners and patients to look for opportunities and test solutions to spur innovation across Mayo Clinic’s locations. We use experimentation to build people’s tolerance for change,” says Ross, the center’s director of design. “These mechanisms we use to get people unstuck are important because healthcare is a fundamentally conservative community. Things don’t change very fast, so design is probably one of the most effective ways of [giving someone] confidence to let go of what’s known and safe and to embrace something that’s risky.”

Daily Mail, Could a botox jab really cut your risks of getting dementia? Leading plastic surgeon reveals a boosted self-esteem can help ward off Alzheimers by Leah Hardy — A study by the Mayo Clinic in the U.S. published in 2001 found that women who had facelifts lived more than ten years longer. The study looked at 250 women who had facelifts between 1970 and 1975 at an average age of 60. When followed up 25 years later, 76 of the women had died, at an average age of 81.7 years; 148 were still alive, with an average age of 84 (the average life expectancy for women in the U.S. at the time was just 73.2 years).

HealthDay, Water: Can It Be Too Much of a Good Thing? by Dennis Thompson — There's no one-size-fits-all rule. But, the Institute of Medicine recommends that men consume approximately 13 cups (3 liters) of fluids a day. For women, the recommendation is about 9 cups (2.2 liters). But, the Mayo Clinic notes that it's best to think in terms of "fluid" consumption each day, not "water" consumption, because all fluids count toward the daily total, as do fluids found in foods.

HealthDay, Brain Scans May Imrove Dementia Diagnosis, Treatment by Donald Rauf — A new study shows that MRI brain scans can help doctors tell which people with certain thinking and memory problems might go on to develop dementia with Lewy bodies rather than Alzheimer's disease. "Identifying people with mild cognitive impairment at risk for dementia with Lewy bodies is critical for early interventions with the potential treatments emerging in the field," said study author Dr. Kejal Kantarci. She's a radiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "Early diagnosis also helps target appropriate treatments, including what medications not to give. For example, as many as 50 percent of people with Lewy body disease have severe reactions to antipsychotic medications," she noted. Additional coverage: US News & World Report, WebMD

Nature, How to defeat dementia by Elie Dolgin Experts say that the coming wave can be calmed with the help of just three things: more money for research, better diagnostics and drugs, and a victory — however small — that would boost morale. “What we really need is a success,” says Ronald Petersen, a neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. After so many failures, one clinical win “would galvanize people’s interest that this isn’t a hopeless disorder”.

Science, Primed for pain by Kelly Servick — If you can't reliably diagnose hyperalgesia, it's hard to predict its long-term effects, says Michael Hooten, an anesthesiologist at the Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minnesota. His group found evidence in 91 patients tapering off opioids that those whose doses were higher at the start, forcing them to make greater reductions over the 3-week program, had worse measures of heat pain hyperalgesia. But the team wasn't able to track these patients long-term to ask the bigger questions: How long until their pain thresholds bounced back to normal? Do hyperalgesic patients who manage to quit taking opioids ultimately see improvements in pain? Are hyperalgesic patients more or less prone to addiction or relapse?

Reader’s Digest, Is It Clinical Depression or Everyday Sadness? How to Tell the Difference by Nichole Fratangelo — Depression, which affects an estimated one in 15 adults in any given year, according to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), is also likely not circumstantial. “It isn’t the same as depression caused by a loss, such as the death of a loved one, or a medical condition, such as a thyroid disorder,” Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, MD, told the Mayo Clinic. Sadness from a loss tends to come in waves compared to clinical depression, which is constant. And whereas with grief over a loss, people usually maintain their self-esteem, with depression there are often feelings of worthlessness and self-loathing.

New York magazine, Why the Fastest Runners Are Astonishingly Chill by Drake Baer — Part of the reason the greats “make it look easy” is because they embody a certain chill excellence. Mayo Clinic sports scientist Michael Joyner points to Michael Phelps in the Rio Summer Olympics 4x100 relay, who executed “the best turn ever” in his leg of the race. Phelps pushed off the wall and stayed underwater, executing “dolphin kicks” that propelled the U.S. toward gold.

Live Science, Kendall Jenner's Fear: What Is Sleep Paralysis? by Sara G. Miller — Model and reality-TV star Kendall Jenner recently revealed that she's afraid to go to sleep because of a condition called sleep paralysis…Episodes of sleep paralysis are usually brief, lasting just a few seconds or minutes, according to the Mayo Clinic. Sleep paralysis is common in people with narcolepsy, the Mayo Clinic says. But people who do not have narcolepsy also may experience the phenomenon, especially in young adulthood, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Irish Times, Is ‘athlete’s heart’ a health worry after retirement? by Liam Gorman — A number of studies carried out by the Mayo Clinic in Arizona give further support to this view. According to researchers James O’Keefe, Peter McCullough and others in a 2012 paper: “The benefits of regular physical activity to the individual and to society as a whole far outweigh potential risks. At the same time, long-term training for and competing in extreme endurance events may predispose to cardiovascular issues that are not seen in more moderate forms of physical activity.”

MedPage Today, Amyloid Scans Change Dementia Diagnoses by Kate Kneisel — Amyloid brain scans can change diagnosis and treatment choice in patients with cognitive impairment, but debate about clinical utility is far from over, researchers reported. …In an accompanying editorial, Richard Caselli, MD,and Bryan Woodruff, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., posed this question: "Does the ability to modestly increase diagnostic confidence in distinguishing between several equally degenerative diseases and, in turn, jockey marginally effective symptomatic medications justify this added cost to an already expensive disease?" Additional coverage: Managed Health Care, MD Alert, ALZ Forum, Psych Congress

Popular Mechanics, Are Organic Bananas Really Necessary? — From a health perspective? No, organic bananas not necessarily necessary. It may surprise you to learn that, despite the impression fostered by the world’s inveterate granola gobblers, tofu touters and alfalfa advocates, there’s no solid science demonstrating that organic produce is any healthier than the regular stuff. “There’s never been enough evidence to point either way,” says Cathy Deimeke, a dietitian and nutritionist at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. “It’s just not clear.”

Modern Healthcare, Transformation Hub: Why automating data entry can counter physician burnout by Meeri Kim — … A study published in July by the Mayo Clinic Proceedings explored the relationship between clerical tasks, the electronic practice environment and burnout. Doctors who used EHRs and computerized physician order entry (CPOE) had lower levels of satisfaction because of the amount of time spent on clerical tasks and reported higher rates of burnout. “There are several broad categories of contributors to physician burnout, including greater work hours and effort, poor work efficiency and support, and loss of meaning in work,” said Dr. Colin P. West, professor of medicine, medical education and biostatistics at the Mayo Clinic, who co-authored the study. “Although the promise of the electronic medical record has been to allow more efficient, higher-quality care, often clerical tasks and electronic medical records negatively affect all of these contributors.”

Modern Medicine, Is outsourcing the key to solving physician burnout? by Richard Best — As patients assume more payment responsibility, they are also demanding more from their physicians, looking for a highly service-oriented experience that includes responsive communication, cutting-edge technology and convenient access…Unfortunately, a troubling situation is emerging as a result of the constant change and mounting pressure—physicians and practice staff are being pulled in different directions, causing elevated stress, fatigue and burnout. In fact, a recent study by the Mayo Clinic shows that more than 50 percent of physicians experience one or more symptoms of burnout. According to one interpretation, “physician burnout is bad and slowly getting worse.”

Twin Cities Business, Mayo Clinic Ups Investment In High-Profile Anti-Aging Startup by Don Jacobson — Mayo Clinic Ventures has upped its investment in a buzzworthy San Francisco biotech company seeking to commercialize anti-aging research performed at the Rochester clinic’s Paul F. Glenn Laboratories for Senescence Research. Unity Biotechnology, co-founded by lab director Jan van Deursen, announced in late Octobr it had completed a mammoth $116 million Series B funding aimed at continuing the research and paving the way for human clinical trials on van Deursen’s method of targeting “senescent” human cells to battle osteoarthritis—and potentially a much wider range of age-related maladies.

Twin Cities Business, Mayo Collaboration Seeks To Tap New Health Info From Consumer-Generated ECGs by Don Jacobson — The expertise of a Mayo Clinic cardiologist who co-invented a new way of gleaning hidden health information from electrocardiograms has been wedded to a Silicon Valley digital health start-up with a device that can generate ECGs for consumers using a smartphone. One goal of the collaboration announced in October between Mayo and AliveCor of Mountain View, California—which includes an equity stake in the company—is to apply proprietary machine learning algorithms developed by Dr. Paul Friedman to ECGs generated by users of AliveCor’s Kardia Mobile device.

MedPage Today, Second Round of Left Main PCI vs CABG Trials Ends in Draw by Kelly Servick — In an editorial for NOBLE, surgeon Michael Mack, MD, of Baylor Scott & White Health in Plano, Texas, and interventionalist David Holmes, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., concluded, "If a patient is a good surgical candidate, CABG should remain the mainstay of treatment. ... In patients who are not good surgical candidates, PCI [percutaneous coronary intervention] is a reasonable alternative to CABG, albeit with a higher incidence of subsequent clinical events."

City Pages, Igor Vovkovinskiy is literally the world's biggest Minnesota Vikings fan by Mike Mullen — Igor Vovkovinskiy was born in Ukraine. But by age seven, Vovkovinskiy had already outgrown the medical care available in that country. He was then six feet tall and 200 pounds, and nowhere near fully grown. Vovkovinskiy moved with his family to southeastern Minnesota to receive regular treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He now stands seven feet, eight inches tall, and is recognized by the Guiness Book of World Records as the tallest person living in the United States.

News4Jax, Mayo Clinic News Network: The stages of prostate cancer — Whether to test healthy men with no symptoms for prostate cancer is controversial. Medical organizations don't agree on the issue of screening and whether it has benefits. Some medical organizations recommend men consider prostate cancer screening in their 50s, or sooner for men who have risk factors for prostate cancer. Other organizations advise against screening. Discuss your particular situation and the benefits and risks of screening with your doctor. Together, you can decide whether prostate cancer screening is right for you.

Central Florida Health News, Cancer clinical trials forum explores recruitment opportunities — … “There are four major cancer centers in Florida and one agency that are doing trials and cancer treatments, have interesting developments, and discussed how to increase trials and where they see this going,” says Dr. Sikander Ailawadhi, a forum participant who practices in internal medicine in the Hematology Department at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville. Participating centers included Mayo Clinic with Dr. Ailawadhi; Moffit Cancer Center, Tampa; Shands Cancer Hospital in Gainesville; Sylvester Cancer Center, Miami; and a community practice oncology in Tampa. The five representatives sat and answered common questions and discussed trials “we are now participating in, seeing strategic clinics, getting more diverse populations, and see how this is going forward,” Dr. Ailawadhi observes.

Augustine Record, 3-D imaging improves breast cancer screening — “Digital breast tomosynthesis, also known as 3-D digital mammography, delivers a series of detailed breast images, allowing your provider to better evaluate your breasts layer by layer,” says Dr. Megan Meyers, a Mayo Clinic Health System radiologist. “ Digital breast tomosynthesis is U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved, and more than 100 clinical studies have shown that, by using this technology, doctors are able to screen for breast cancer with much greater accuracy, regardless of your age or breast density.”

Florida Times-Union, Health Notes: Mayo’s Peter Murray now president-elect of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery — Peter Murray, chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, has been elected as president-elect of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery for a one-year term. He will begin his term as president in October 2017. At Mayo, he specializes in hand surgery and microvascular surgery.

Romper, 8 Weird Things That Happen During Sex After A C-Section by Sarah Hoseini — A C-section is no joke and it is considered major abdominal surgery. The Mayo Clinic explained that doctors have to cut through a person's abdomen and uterus to deliver the baby. C-sections are most often performed when the mother or baby's life is at risk, if there are multiples, or if a woman has had one previously (although you don't have to have a c-section if you've had one before, according to What To Expect). Doctors tell women they can have sex about six weeks after delivery, according to the Mayo Clinic, but everyone's body heals at different rates.

Star Tribune, Genetic tests can be powerful, but they can also be interpreted wrong, Mayo warns by Jeremy Olson — Imagine the heartache of losing a 13-year-old son to a mysterious heart problem. And then being told that the underlying genetic cause was a ticking time bomb in 20 other relatives. And then having a defibrillator implanted in your other son out of fear and caution. And then watching that boy endure two unnecessary shocks by the device. And then, after all that, learning that the genetic test results were misinterpreted and the family wasn’t at risk after all. … “This family’s case appeared to be another case of mistaken identity, with wrong conclusions [from] the data ascertained, especially the genetic test results,” said Dr. Michael Ackerman, a genetic cardiologist and director of a genomics lab at Mayo in Rochester.

Star Tribune, A health-care milestone that should make Minnesotans proud — The 50th anniversary of a medical records database sounds like a milestone only a health-care wonk could celebrate. The reality: The enduring con­tributions of the Rochester Epidemiology Project should make all Minnesotans proud. The vision of the REP's founder, Dr. Leonard T. Kurland of the Mayo Clinic, is an important but underappreciated reason that Minnesota has long been a world-class center for medical research and care. Long before the term "data-mining" was coined, Kurland saw the public health potential of the comprehensive, well-organized medical records kept for people living in southeast Minnesota's Olmsted County. His employer cared for many of the county's residents over their lifetimes. So did other smaller, near­by providers. Kurland realized that information in these records could provide critical insights into population health.

Health.com, 8 Metabolism Secrets That Help You Burn Calories by Hallie Levine — Your metabolism It’s no wonder metabolism is a subject of fascination and speculation: The process that turns food into fuel powers all that we do. “Even when you’re sleeping, your body requires energy for things like breathing and repairing cell damage,” says Donald Hensrud, MD, medical director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program. The number of calories you need to perform such basic functions is called your resting metabolic rate (RMR)—and it can affect everything from your waistline to your energy level. Read on to learn how to keep your metabolism revved so your body is operating at just the right speed. Additional coverage: TIME, Yahoo! Beauty,

Medical News Today, Single mutation in recessive gene increases risk of earlier onset Parkinson's disease — A collaboration of 32 researchers in seven countries, led by scientists at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida, has found a genetic mutation they say confers a risk for development of Parkinson's disease earlier than usual … "We know that if you have mutations in both copies of PINK1, age at onset of Parkinson's will usually be younger than 45. This study showed that if a person inherited a specific mutation in just one PINK1 gene, the disease could develop at about age 55 or so. By contrast, the most common, nonfamilial forms of Parkinson's develop at about age 65," says the study's senior investigator, Wolfdieter Springer, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at Mayo Clinic's Florida campus. Additional coverage: Entorno Inteligente

KIMT, Medical Professionals and Scientists gather in Rochester for International Symposium by DeeDee Stiepan — More than 100 Scientists and Medical Professionals from around the world are meeting in Rochester this week, working to discover the next generation of drugs which may be used to treat cardio vascular disease. The 12th International Symposium of Mechanisms of Vasodilatation is being hosted by Mayo Clinic.

Albany Herald, Suggestions for dealing with election stress by Andy Miller — Therapists say that issues raised during the campaign, including national security, terrorism, hacking threats, gun rights and sexual assault, have played into people’s fears and anxieties, the New York Times reported recently. “People are wondering, how can I feel safe? Who will take care of us?” Dr. Robert Bright, a psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, told the Times. “Everyone I talk to is very concerned about this election.” Additional coverage: Georgia Health News

PopSugar UK, Bloating Like Crazy? Try This Natural Approach by Dominque Astorino — In acupuncture specifically, the needles are used to alleviate and release blockages of this energy (qi), which can cause medical problems and even weight gain. An acupuncturist looks at "meridians" throughout the body to improve the circulation of qi — those meridians are like a map of where the energy flows...Dr. Tony Y. Chong and Dr. Mark C. Lee of the Mayo Clinic explain this as "cutaneous areas of high electrical conductivity" and the impact on "adjacent tissue."

Healthcare IT News, The not-so-precise side of precision medicine — The popularity of genetic testing doesn't come without risks, according to Mayo Clinic's recent report, The Promise and Peril of Precision Medicine. "Current genetics understanding and interpretation skills of the practicing physician in general ranks far below his or her ability to interpret other tests, such as an ECG," the authors said. "Consumers need to be instructed to not take the results at face value." Mayo's report analyzed the story of a family whose young son died suddenly. In response, the family underwent genetic testing and 20 family members were told they had a rare condition – including the couple's other son who had a heart defibrillator implanted.

Post-Bulletin, Mayo hosts international symposium this week by Brett Boese — Mayo Clinic is hosting the 12th International Symposium of Mechanisms of Vasodilation in Rochester. All 50 states have representatives at the four-day convention, while 57 people from around the globe are also attending. The event is being held on the 30th anniversary of what Mayo calls a "humble" announcement at Willow Creek School in Rochester paving the way for a Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1998. Dr. Robert F. Furchgott's theory of NO = EDRF opened the door for using nitric oxide to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, among other things.

Post-Bulletin, Mayo Clinic leads way for anti-aging firm by Jeff Kiger — … By extension, companies making progress on developing anti-aging treatments always have been very popular with deep-pocketed investors. The latest focus on making people healthier as they grow old by combating age-related maladies is attracting a lot of attention. Unity Biotechnology, a San Francisco-based biotechnology firm co-founded by Mayo Clinic molecular biologist Dr. Jan van Deursen, is drawing in big investors such as Amazon's Jeff Bezos as the research advances.

Post-Bulletin, Heard on the Street: Mayo Clinic merges two departments — Mayo Clinic is shaking things up a bit by merging two departments into one. In August, Mayo Clinic created the Business Development Department. This new entity is a mix of Mayo Clinic Ventures and the Office of Business Development. "The decision to combine these two areas is a part of the effort to guide and advance Mayo Clinic's strategic growth initiatives," according to Mayo Clinic Public Affairs.

Post-Bulletin, A flu shot is the only recommended form of flu vaccine — DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I've always been told FluMist is just as effective as the flu shot for kids, so why isn't the mist available this year? Does that mean the shot is not likely to be very effective either?...The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a yearly flu vaccine for all children 6 months and older. Mayo Clinic strongly endorses that recommendation. Depending on your child's age and health, you typically can choose between a flu shot and the nasal spray form of the flu vaccine. However, this year, only the flu shot is recommended because the spray has been relatively ineffective in recent flu seasons…Robert M. Jacobson, M.D., Community Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester.

Post-Bulletin, Answer Man: Plummer Building's froufrou gets some TLCDear Answer Man, did you see the tall construction crane alongside the Plummer Building a few weeks ago? I know you pooh-poohed the idea recently that Mayo Clinic has taken out a demolition permit on the Plummer, but does this prove you wrong? Is that site about to become a surface parking lot? Very funny. It proves me right, actually. Mayo is investing in TLC for the 88-year-old landmark. According to spokeswoman Kelley Luckstein, "Mayo Clinic continuously reviews the maintenance of all Mayo-owned buildings to see if any areas need to be refurbished. Equipment was installed on the Plummer Building (a few weeks ago) to restore some terra cotta pieces that will be removed now and then reinstalled next summer."

Knowridge Science Report, Vegans may lack essential nutrients in their diet, says — With the growing popularity of plant-based diets, the Mayo Clinic team compiled a review of recent literature to monitor and advise vegans to ensure proper nutritional intake. Nutrients of concern are vitamin B-12, iron, calcium, vitamin D, protein and omega-3 fatty acids. “We found that some of these nutrients, which can have implications in neurologic disorders, anemia, bone strength and other health concerns, can be deficient in poorly planned vegan diets,” says Heather Fields, M.D., Community and Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

Ottawa Herald, Shorter days more likely to cause depression by Susan Welte — Mayo Clinic suggests that seasonal affect disorder be taken seriously, and not just brushed off as the “winter blues.” Symptoms could include lethargy, increased appetite, a continuously sad mood and difficulty sleeping. Other depression symptoms may include a negative outlook, crying spells and “impaired memory and concentration,” according to Mayo Clinic.

Medscape, Traction Does Not Improve Outcomes in Peyronie's Disease by Pam Harrison — Currently, the only medical treatment approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the acquired scarring disorder of the penis is collagenase clostridium histolyticum. The drug essentially dissolves the scar tissue that causes Peyronie's disease but, according to a phase 2b trial, "if you just injected the drug and didn't do anything else, the injection wouldn't offer any benefit," said Landon Trost, MD, head of andrology and male infertility at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The injections free up that scar tissue, and then the patient "models the penis," which means he "bends the penis in the opposite direction to the curvature or bends it straight out," Dr Trost explained.

Faribault Daily News, Mayo Clinic Health System celebrates move to new location by Renee Brown — All Mayo Clinic Health System staff and services have moved from the clinic on Hwy. 60 to the newly remodeled campus clinic, located at 300 State St., next to District One Hospital. … Brian Bunkers, M.D., CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System in Faribault and Owatonna, noted that the move demonstrates Mayo’s commitment to the community. The expansion will allow for future growth in outpatient services, offer increased patient capacity and reduce the need for patients to travel outside the region for care.

Kenyon Leader, Medical center to expand services to include retail pharmacy, optical shop and wellness center by Mary Phipps — Exciting things are about to get underway at Mayo Clinic Health System in Cannon Falls. Just after two years of opening the doors to a brand new, state-of-the-art medical facility, the staff, patients and community in Cannon Falls will soon benefit from the medical center’s expansion of services. “We are so fortunate to have donated funds along with continued community support which will enable us to proceed with this project,” says Glenn Christian, operations manager at Mayo Clinic Health System in Cannon Falls. “Early on we recognized the need for these additional services within our community and are excited to have the opportunity to offer them to our staff, patients and the public.”

WXOW La Crosse, Mayo researchers find link between first-time kidney stone cases and chronic kidney disease — New research from Mayo Clinic suggests having kidney stones only once can put you at risk for having chronic kidney disease. Mayo Clinic Proceedings released the findings Wednesday. The team looked at hundreds of stone formers over a few months, and found high levels of blood marker cystatin C and high levels of urine protein--both of which are connected with higher risk of chronic kidney disease.

Dunn County News, 3-D imaging improves breast cancer screening by Megan Meyers, M.D. — Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), also known as 3-D digital mammography, delivers a series of detailed breast images, allowing your provider to better evaluate your breasts layer by layer. DBT is FDA-approved, and over 100 clinical studies have shown that by using this technology, doctors are able to screen for breast cancer with much greater accuracy, regardless of your age or breast density… Megan Meyers, M.D., is a radiologist who sees patients at the HERS Breast Center at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire.

La Crosse Tribune, Experts: Detoxify from vitriol, nurture relationships to avoid post-election blues by Mike Tighe — Behavioral health specialist Josh Gerrity said, “It’s important that we just take care of ourselves through the whole process. ”That involves maintaining normal activities and friendships at work, at school or wherever you are, said Gerrity, who works in the Sparta Clinic of Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare.“To manage the adjustment, the anxiety … engage in the world and be with supportive people. Still do the things that give you joy,” he said.

WXOW La Crosse, On the Beat: Washburn officers "checking the temperature" by Dustin Luecke — Continuing our look at community policing in La Crosse, the idea of Neighborhood Resource Officers walking a beat is a collaborative effort, aimed at prevention. If that sounds more like healthcare than police work, there's a reason for that as demonstrated by the Washburn officers…Joe Kruse is the chair of administration for Mayo Clinic Health System in Southwest Wisconsin. He said Mayo employees are telling him they've noticed a change. "We have people coming and going at all hours of the day," said Kruse. "They feel safer just knowing the community policing program is in place."

WEAU Eau Claire, Diabetes Awareness — November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. Heidi Mercer, R.N., B.S.N., C.D.E., and Sara Carstens, director of community engagement and wellness, discuss Mayo Clinic Health System’s Healthy Living with Diabetes classes.

Health Data Management, Are radiologists becoming obsolete? by Joseph Goedert — With the evolution of IBM’s Watson supercomputer and other advancements in artificial intelligence, could machines replace radiologists? That’s a topic to be explored during a session at RSNA 2016, Nov. 27-Dec. 2 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Eilot Siegel, M.D., a radiologist and professor at University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Bradley J. Erickson, a radiologist at Mayo Clinic, will take opposite sides during their presentation. Radiologists are worried that technology could replace them, acknowledges Siegel.

Health Data Management, The rise of 3D printing in radiology by Joseph Goedert —The use of 3D printing technology in radiology is not new; Jonathan Morris, an assistant professor of radiology at Mayo Clinic and an interventional spine neuroradiologist has been using it since 2001. But it’s only in recent years that adoption really ramped up as the technology has matured, he adds. In earlier years, the computing power just wasn’t available to make comprehensive models of an aorta (the main artery of the body), a breast or other body parts. “Over the past five years, there has been improvement in radiology technology to acquire suitable images, and printers are faster, more accessible and less expensive,” Morris says.

Parkinson’s News Today, Mutation in PINK1 Gene Increases Risk for Early Parkinson’s Disease by Patricia Inacio, PhD — Researchers at Mayo Clinic’s campus in Florida have found a genetic mutation that may increase the risk for developing Parkinson’s disease earlier than usual...“We know that if you have mutations in both copies of PINK1, age at onset of Parkinson’s will usually be younger than 45. This study showed that if a person inherited a specific mutation in just one PINK1 gene, the disease could develop at about age 55 or so. By contrast, the most common, nonfamilial forms of Parkinson’s develop at about age 65,” Wolfdieter Springer, PhD, a neuroscientist at the Mayo Clinic and lead author of the study said in a press release.

SFGate, Need to clear your head? Here are 25 great Bay Area nature hikes by Katie Dowd — The Mayo Clinic recommends regular exercise, especially in times of stress or anxiety, as a way to promote overall well-being. "Physical activity helps bump up the production of your brain's feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins," it writes. "Although this function is often referred to as a runner's high, a rousing game of tennis or a nature hike also can contribute to this same feeling."

OncLive, Witzig on Emerging Agents in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma — Thomas E. Witzig, MD, hematologist-oncologist, Mayo Clinic, discusses some of the emerging agents being utilized in the treatment of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). According to Witzig, patients with DLBCL have generally been recommended treatment with 6 cycles of R-CHOP. However, over the last decade or so, research has identified several different pathways in this disease, with 4 different drugs to target those pathways. One drug, lenalidomide (Revlimid) is an immunomodulatory agent with activity in lymphoid malignancies occurring primarily through immune modulation and anti-proliferative effects. This agent has shown promise when combined with standard R-CHOP, says Witzig, and it is currently being investigated in a randomized international trial.

Univision, Los escáneres cerebrales podrían mejorar el diagnóstico y el tratamiento de la demencia by Don Rauf — Los investigadores encontraron que los escáneres de las personas que al final desarrollaron demencia con cuerpos de Lewy mostraban una falta de encogimiento en una parte del cerebro relacionada con la memoria, conocida como el hipocampo. "Identificar a las personas con un deterioro cognitivo leve en riesgo de demencia con cuerpos de Lewy es esencial para las intervenciones tempranas con los tratamientos potenciales que están surgiendo en el campo", señaló la autora del estudio, la Dra. Kejal Kantarci, radióloga de la Clínica Mayo en Rochester, Minnesota.

Prensa Libre, ¿Provocan hipertensión las gaseosas dietéticas?Por Redacción Buena Vida El mercado ofrece una variedad de edulcorantes artificiales y se dice que todos son seguros para el consumo general, explica Irvin Cohen, médico nefrólogo de Mayo Clinic en Scottsdale, Arizona.

Fucsia, Ejercicios Para Un Mejor Cerebro — … Segundo, la salud general y la función de los vasos sanguíneos se optimiza, lo que no solo es bueno para el cerebro; además, el ejercicio protege contra la presión sanguínea alta y la diabetes, que son malas para este órgano. Tercero, estar en forma facilita la autonomía personal que también protege contra el deterioro cognitivo”, afirma Michael Joyner, M.D., médico fisiólogo del ejercicio de la Clínica Mayo en Rochester, Minnesota.

El Pais Domingo, La osteoporosis no es solo de mujeres — … En general, no se hacen pruebas ni se da un tratamiento adecuado a los hombres incluso después de fracturas por traumatismos menores, "aunque su riesgo de una fractura posterior se incrementa de manera importante", afirmó Sundeep Khosla, endocrinólogo de la Universidad de Medicina de la Clínica Mayo. De hecho, según Khosla ahora hay pruebas de que incluso después de una "fractura por traumatismo mayor", como la que se podría dar en un accidente de auto, se les debería hacer un chequeo de salud ósea. "Solo porque los hombres se salvan de la pérdida ósea repentina que experimentan las mujeres en la menopausia, no significa que no sufran esa pérdida al envejecer", afirmó.

BBC Mundo, Frágiles, amarillentas o con manchas blancas: cuáles son las anomalías y problemas más frecuentes de las uñas — En ocasiones surgen manchas blancas en las uñas, una condición que se llama leuconiquia y que se debe a la decoloración de la lámina ungueal. "La leuconiquia tiene algunas variantes", le explica a BBC Mundo por correo electrónico Julio Sartori, dermatólogo de la Clínica Mayo, en Estados Unidos. Las manchas pueden ser como pequeños puntos blancos, en uno o varios dedos, un fenómeno asociado con pequeños golpes o mordeduras de la uña que suele desaparecer al cabo de unos meses y es más frecuente en niños.

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