December 22, 2017

Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights for December 22, 2017

By Karl Oestreich

 

 

 


CNN
, 10 health questions that had you Googling this year by Jacqueline Howard — Another popular health question this year was "What causes hiccups?" which topped the list of trending health-related questions in the US, according to Grippi. Hiccups are involuntary contractions of the diaphragm muscle that separates your chest from your abdomen, and those contractions may result from a large meal, alcoholic or carbonated drinks, or sudden excitement, according to Mayo Clinic.

Harvard Business Review, Most Doctors Have Little or No Management Training, and That’s a Problem by Jennifer Perry — Rising pressure to achieve better medical outcomes with increasingly limited financial resources has created an acute need for more physician leaders…The dyad model can help break down silos, improve the way clinical and operations leaders work together, and coordinate care. And this has produced good results at a number of organizations, including the Mayo Clinic (two leaders shared the top job until 2015), Cigna Medical Group, and Carle Foundation Hospital.

NBC News, The uncharted emotional territory of gifting DNA tests to family by Sarah Elizabeth Richards — People generally don’t understand the risk of genetic diseases well, says Bruce Sutor, a psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota who specializes in counseling patients about Alzheimer’s and other dementias. “It’s important to know if your family member is in the right mental place to receive the news because some people are likely to jump to the worst possible conclusion,” he says. “They respond with fear and think that if they test positive their lives will be destroyed.”

CBS News, Model who lost her leg to TSS says she could lose other one by Ashley Welch — According to the Mayo Clinic, toxic shock syndrome, or TSS, is a life-threatening complication of certain types of bacterial infections. It has been associated primarily with the use of super-absorbent tampons. It is very rare, with only 337 cases in the U.S. reported in 2015. Additional coverage: WCVB Boston, WFLA, Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionWashington Post

Bloomberg, Months After Approval, Breakthrough Cancer Drug Given to Just Five Patients by Michelle Cortez — Two months after Gilead Sciences Inc.’s breakthrough treatment was approved in the U.S. to treat a deadly form of blood cancer, only a tiny handful of patients have actually gotten the costly therapy, while others linger on waiting lists...The 15 centers that responded to Bloomberg included MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston; Stanford University in California; and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. On top of the five patients who got treated, about a dozen additional patients who have started a weeks-long process to get Yescarta, that begins with having their immune-system cells collected and sent to Gilead. Additional coverage: SFGate

US News & World Report, FDA Issues Tougher Warning on MRI Dye Tied to Brain Effects by Amy Norton and E.J. Mundell — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday called for tougher warnings and "additional research" into a dye commonly used with standard MRIs…One study on the issue was presented Nov. 29 at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. It involved nearly 4,300 older adults and found no evidence that gadolinium exposure was related to faster mental decline over several years, according to a team led by Dr. Robert McDonald, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "This study provides useful data that at the reasonable doses 95 percent of the population is likely to receive in their lifetime, there is no evidence at this point that gadolinium retention in the brain is associated with adverse clinical outcomes," McDonald said in a news release from the meeting.

US News & World Report, Every Stroke Is Different. What That Means for Treatment by Michael O. Schroeder — When a person has a stroke, they experience a sudden deficit, or difficulties doing certain things, explains Dr. Robert Brown, chair of the division of stroke and cerebrovascular disease and professor of neurology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. And, of course, these symptoms vary. "At the onset of a stroke, people will have the abrupt onset of weakness in the face, arm or leg – oftentimes in combination – difficulty speaking, difficulty understanding others, difficulty with vision, difficulty with gait, difficulty with sensation, [or] numbness," Brown says.

Reuters, Nerve-switch surgery restores function of paralyzed arms in small study by Gene Emery — Doctors in Shanghai say they have made paralyzed arms useful again by surgically swapping a nerve coming out of the spinal cord… Dr. Robert Spinner, chairman of neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said it’s possible the benefits were caused by simply cutting the bad nerve leading to the affected arm, a much simpler procedure than the nerve transfer surgery. “These results are very exciting because this is a very big problem in America and the world. The question really is, what’s causing the effect,” he said in a telephone interview. “To cut the bad wire would be a lot easier than doing their procedure.” Additional coverage: MedPage Today, NBC News

TIME, You Asked: Why Do I Get Dizzy When I Stand Up? by Markham Heid — Experts have a name for this fleeting condition: initial orthostatic hypotension (OH). If you experience it now and then—and research suggests most people do—rest assured that, in most cases, it’s harmless…Dr. Phillip Low, a professor of neurology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has conducted research examining the causes and treatments for OH. “The heart is a pump, and when you stand up suddenly, the amount of blood going into the heart is reduced,” he says. “This can cause a temporary drop in blood pressure, and it takes a short amount of time for the corrective mechanisms to kick in and correct it.”

SELF, 8 Things You Need to Know About Excruciatingly Painful Cluster Headaches by Zahra Barnes — Many people with cluster headaches get at least one a day for periods of a few weeks to a couple of months, although these periods can even last for years, according to the Mayo Clinic. In between these on-and-off bouts of intense pain, cluster headache sufferers experience longer spells of remission.

SELF, How to Stop a Cut From Bleeding So You Can Get Back to Your Life by Korin Miller — Pressure on the wound helps to slow blood flow, which allows your body to more easily form a clot. The bleeding should stop or slow down significantly within a few minutes. After that, you can gently run water over the wound and wash the area—not the wound itself—with soap. Apply an antibiotic cream to further avoid infection. Next up, you should cover the cut with a Band-Aid or gauze and tape (you should change this once a day, per the Mayo Clinic).

Wall Street Journal, John McCain Returns Home to Arizona From Washington by Siobhan Hughes — Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), who has been battling an aggressive form of brain cancer, has returned to Arizona for physical therapy and will be back in the Senate in January, missing a tax vote scheduled for this week. Mr. McCain’s office announced his new plans late Sunday, saying the senator would undergo physical therapy and rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic, which first diagnosed a brain tumor known as a glioblastoma over the summer. He could be seen in the Capitol in a wheelchair before he started missing votes. Additional coverage: Las Vegas Sun, WDEF News 12, CNN, Sacramento Bee, CBS News, WLKY Louisville, AZ Family, Daily Mail

Chicago Tribune, Even light activity is healthier than previously thought, new studies show — An independent expert not connected to the new research, Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, said, "Both papers show very important findings. When we assess the protective effects of physical activity and exercise using objective methods, the benefit is larger than we had thought." Lopez-Jimenez is chair of the division of preventive cardiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he's also research director of the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center. Additional coverage: Kankakee Daily Journal

Miami Herald, Have a cell phone against your ear? You should consider putting it down by Barbara Anderson — Smartphone habits may force doctors to ask patients a few more questions when diagnosing vision or neurological problems. “I think if a person experiences a temporary loss of vision in one eye, that’s potentially a very important problem for which they should seek medical attention,” says Mayo Clinic neurologist Dr. Dean Wingerchuk. “But, it doesn’t always mean there’s an abnormality.”

Bustle, Can Going Out With Wet Hair Make You Sick? This Is Why The Old Wive’s Tale Has Stood The Test Of Time by Kyle Rodriguez-Cayro — Wet hair has a bad reputation of causing health issues, but most researchers agree that being cold — whether due to wet hair or a lack of a jacket — doesn’t actually contribute to contracting the common cold. “In order to get an infection you need to be exposed to an infectious agent,” Dr. Pritish Tosh, an infectious diseases physician at the Mayo Clinic told HuffPost. “There are several things that circulate during periods of cold weather — influenza, different cold viruses. That’s what you need to get infected. Going out with wet hair is not going to cause an infection.” This means that while wet hair in freezing temperatures or snow will definitely cause discomfort, you’re more like to get sick because of your environment.

Star Tribune, Nonprofit 100 by Patrick Kennedy — Healthcare leads as we look at the top 100 nonprofits of 2017. 2. Mayo Clinic: A medical education and research center and integrated healthcare system.

Star Tribune, Garrison Keillor: A few thoughts, in limerick, from a Mayo Clinic O.R. by Garrison Keillor — Coming to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, I’m surrounded by men and women in blue who did well in high school math and chemistry, and here I am, who frittered away those years writing limericks and parodies and barely made it to graduation, depending on science for survival. It’s an awakening for a gent of 75. I used to look down on science nerds as dull and unimaginative and now I am grateful for their competence. I’m here for the implantation of a pacemaker, my heart having decided to sometimes hesitate 3.8 seconds between beats. At 5, you faint and fall down and bang your head on the desk.

Twin Cities Business, Mayo’s New Collaboration Continues Its Work with Digital Health Startups by Don Jacobson — Mayo Clinic’s interest in digital health startups was on display again this month when a Singapore-based maker of an artificial intelligence platform announced it has launched a new collaboration and financial association with the Rochester institution. Mayo researchers and the clinic’s venture capital arm in recent years have shown a preference for digital health firms focusing on wearable technology. For instance, Mayo Clinic Ventures participated in a financing round last year for wearable nicotine drug delivery device maker Chrono Therapeutics.

Twin Cities Business, How Foreign-trained Doctors are Filling the Health Care Gap in Greater Minnesota by Joey Peters — Consuelo Lopez de Padilla and Amro Abdelatif are among them. Both completed medical school in other countries and now live in Rochester, working at the Mayo Clinic, though not as physicians. They’re also both struggling to get matched into U.S. residency programs. Lopez de Padilla came to Minnesota in 2001 after completing medical school and a residency in internal medicine in her home country of Venezuela, lured by the chance to do a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Mayo Clinic studying rheumatology and immunology. Initially, Lopez de Padilla planned to return to her home country to practice medicine. Instead, she met her future husband. Along with marriage came kids, and the prospects of returning to Venezuela grew more distant by the year. She currently works at Mayo Clinic as a research associate in the musculoskeletal gene therapy lab.

Pioneer Press, Minnesota woman unexpectedly awakes from coma, leaves hospice in time for Christmas by Kevin Wallevand — Sheila Lewis was in a coma, and then hospice. But this Christmas, the northwestern Minnesota grandmother of eight and longtime daycare provider is celebrating a remarkable recovery that baffled her family and medical providers. “When I was on my death bed, people would say, ‘You get better and we will do this and that,'” Lewis said. “I guess I get to go to Vegas.”...Lewis was dying. Her family transferred her to Mayo Clinic.“When world-renowned doctors at Mayo say they have never seen a case like your mom’s — they didn’t even know what they were dealing with,” Arends said…But Lewis was not ready to go. Even after she was taken off life support, she lived. And so the family brought her to Fargo in mid-October to die in hospice care at her daughter’s home. Then something changed. They all were planning to say goodbye, but Lewis started asking for things. “Did she just talk?” said Brandt. “This has been six weeks we haven’t heard her voice. She was on life support. Is she talking?” Additional coverage: Duluth News TribuneWDAY

Post-Bulletin, Mayo to allow visible body art, with some exceptions by Jeff Kiger — Many Mayo Clinic doctors, nurses and other employees will be free to roll up their sleeves and show their ink in 2018 with a new policy allowing tattoos to be visible. Mayo Clinic is loosening up its "Dress and Decorum Policy." Currently, employees with tattoos are supposed to keep them covered at work or face discipline. That will change on Jan. 1. "Tattoos may be visible if the images or words do not convey violence, discrimination, profanity or sexually explicit content. Tattoos containing such messages must be covered with bandages, clothing, or cosmetics. Mayo Clinic reserves the right to judge the appearance of visible tattoos," according to the new version of the policy. Additional coverage: Becker’s Hospital Review

Post-Bulletin, 'Out of the bad, something good happens' by Holly Galbus — Significant life changes — a job loss, the death of a loved one, divorce or separation, an empty nest, a move, or serious health diagnosis — have affected many this year. And they bring a wide range of reactions. "Change creates uncertainty," said Dr. Craig Sawchuk, clinical psychologist at Mayo Clinic. "And the most common reaction is anxiety. There may also be a sense of sadness of grief, and, less commonly, anger or shame and guilt." And as the holidays approach, these feelings may heighten, as we notice the change even more. While it may be tempting to try to avoid change and the uncomfortable feelings it arouses, Sawchuk recommends embracing change. "The more we fight it, the worse the feelings become," he said. "Change is inevitable, so lean into it, go with the flow."

Post-Bulletin, 'My way of giving back and understanding' by Taylor Nachtigal — After Staci Mack's friend died of colon cancer, 'Why?' was a question that never left her. Now, she's found a career where she'll be a small part of working toward answering that question each day. Mack isWhen a Minnesota woman is diagnosed with breast cancer at Mayo Clinic those tests and the resulting diagnosis are entered into her medical records. That information is coded, triggering its delivery to a cancer registrar, who then picks through the file and inputs the data into a national registry. taking classes online through Rochester Community and Technical College's new program to become a cancer registrar…"It basically tells a story about how a patient was diagnosed," said Sara Holton, one of the program's instructors, and a operations manager at Mayo Clinic's Cancer Quality Program, of the data they input into the registry.

Post-Bulletin, Our View: Prototyping can help nurture DMC innovations — Prototyping may seem like a gimmick, one that's custom-made for people who just want to play with the taxpayers' infrastructure and confuse people with painted crosswalks and inflatable igloos. But the Rochester Downtown Alliance and Destination Medical Center sponsored a "Popups + Prototypes" talk by Katherine Darnstadt of Chicago-based Latent Design last week, and it focused on the economic and societal rationale, which makes sense. Prototyping is designing and building small-scale projects in the city as a way to test new ideas. For the past year and a half, Patrick Seeb and his cohorts at DMC's Economic Development Agency have used the method to enliven public spaces downtown.

KTTC, Ed Asner to perform at Rochester Civic Theatre — The Rochester Civic Theatre Company announced Thursday night that seven-time Emmy winner Ed Asner will perform in Rochester in March. Asner is starring in the one-man show, "A Man and His Prostate," which The Civic says is "a funny show based on a serious subject." "'A Man and his Prostate' is a comedy which raises awareness about men's health and prostate cancer," said Mayo Clinic's Department of Urology Chair Dr. Brad Leibovich.

KIMT, Mayo Clinic Gives Shared Value Award by Annalisa Pardo — Eat, Play, Grow" is an initiative to help families make healthier food choices and incorporate more physical acitivity in their daily routines. It is a collaboriative effort among several local organizations including the Olmsted County, and Rochester's Minnesota Children's Museum. The "Eat, Play, Grow" initiative will be awarded $30,000 to continue their efforts in the community.

South Florida Reporter, Don’t Become A ‘Holiday Heart’ Victim — The holiday season is a time of celebration and excess, but too much salt, caffeine andalcohol can lead to a little-known condition called “holiday heart” that can have drastic consequences. “Holiday heart” may sound like another joyous part of the holiday season. “But, in the cardiology world, ‘holiday heart’ actually refers to this effect of the stress of too much alcohol, too much salt, higher blood pressure on the heart,” says Dr. Amy Pollak, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist.

FOX 13 Tampa, Woman thanks 'medical angels' who helped save her life by Joette Giovinco — Debbie Taylor's November 2017 trip has come full circle. Her journey began at Tampa International Airport last month.  Two weeks into her month-long trip to Vietnam, she got sick and decided to come home.  Six hours after boarding a plane from Shanghai, China to Detroit, Debbie collapsed. When flight attendant's asked for help, retired firefighter and EMT David Patrick responded without hesitation…They, and a team of three other doctors -- including Xun Zhu M.D., an anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota; Jie Zhou, M.D., an anesthesiologist in Louisville, Kentucky; and DeXin Zheng, M.D., a respiratory therapy specialist -- began pumping oxygen into her lungs through this mask for five hours.

Florida Times-Union, Hair loss during chemotherapy not inevitable anymore by Michele Gillis — Jacksonville Beach resident Vikki Korves Vikki Korve was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. In an effort to not lose her hair and keep things as normal as possible for her 10-year-old son as she underwent chemotherapy, Korves went on the search for a solution...“I was thrilled to hear that Mayo Clinic was bringing DigniCap to Jacksonville,” said Korves. “I had read about the DigniCap system while looking into cold capping as a possibility to save my hair during chemotherapy. Knowing Mayo chose this system, I knew I could count on all the patient support I would need to have the best outcome possible.” Korves was four treatments into her chemotherapy when the DigniCap became available at Mayo Clinic where she was getting treatment.

ABC 15 Arizona, Mayo Clinic Cardiologists explain how the help treat the most common birth defect — As one of the most common birth defects, congenital heart disease can affect people in varying degrees from simple to complex. Congenital heart disease can occur when there is one or more abnormalities in the heart's structure, altering the way that blood flows through to a person's heart. While people who have congenital heart disease are born with the condition, some may not show any indicating symptoms, while others might not even experience symptoms until later on in life…For more information on how you can take action for your health, visit MayoClinic.org/Arizona.

Neurology Today, Disparities in Care: Understanding the Overlap of Brain Health and Cardiovascular Disease in American Indians by Paul Wynn — Vascular neurologists at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix have witnessed the differences in culture and values among American Indians firsthand. The team is collaborating with Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation in Tuba City, AZ, that includes Navajo, Hopi, and Southern Paiute tribes. Under the program, Mayo Clinic's neurology department is providing immediate telestroke services to patients who present to local emergency departments with symptoms and signs of an acute stroke. The team has worked closely with the clinical and administrative leaders of the hospitals in Tuba City to understand the cultural differences of the community and identify the best way to introduce the program to the tribes, said Bart Demaerschalk, MD, MSc, FRCPC, professor of neurology and chair of the cerebrovascular diseases division at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix.

Healio, Fluid, pain and nausea management may lead to rapid rehabilitation after TJA — Rapid rehabilitation may be possible by appropriately managing fluids, pain and nausea in patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty, according to a presenter here. In his presentation, Mark W. Pagnano, MD, noted surgeons should encourage patients to drink clear liquids up to 2 hours before surgery, as patients who are well hydrated have a more predictable response to anesthetic agents, as well as show a lower risk for hypotension, nausea and pain. He said more liquids may also help minimize blood loss and the need for transfusions.“The clinical symptoms that you and I have traditionally attributed to anemia are most often a volume problem, not a red blood cell problem, and most patients can tolerate hemoglobin of 8 or even slightly lower,” Pagnano said in his presentation

Medscape, Alcohol Abuse: Craving Scores, Early-Age Drinking Predict Relapse Risk by Nancy A. Melville — In a previous study, researchers with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, found that a higher score on the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS) upon admission to a treatment program and on discharge was associated with a significantly increased risk for relapse. For the new study, conducted while Dr Stohs was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, the researchers sought to further determine whether scores on the PACS, when the PACS was administered up to a year following treatment, as well as other factors also relate to alcohol relapse risk.

Channel NewsAsia, Burned your mouth with festive treats? Here's how to help it heal — This is no time to get shoddy on your dental hygiene either. Brush your teeth as usual but be gentle or use a soft toothbrush, said Dr Alice Bruce, dermatologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Top it off with a saltwater rinse, which is more soothing than mouthwash, two or three times a day. Make the rinse by mixing one cup of warm water with half a teaspoon of table salt, said Dr Bruce. The good news is, the rate at which skin produces new cells in the mouth is much faster than anywhere else on the body, said Dr Bruce. Your mouth should be pain-free in two to three days, and in about a week, the wound should be gone.

Pain Medicine News, Pain Experts: Opioids Useful in Some Patients For Managing Chronic Pain — There are more than 10 million Americans on opioids for chronic pain,” said Kurt Kroenke, MD, professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, in Indianapolis. “We all agree there is a national problem with prescription opioid use, including thousands of overdose deaths each year. However, most of the patients on chronic opioids do not misuse their medications, yet many are being pressured to discontinue their opioids, despite having taken them appropriately for years.” Dr. Kroenke and Andrea Cheville, MD, professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., are co-authors of a viewpoint article titled “Management of Chronic Pain in the Aftermath of the Opioid Backlash.”

Alzforum, First Genome-Wide Association Study of Dementia with Lewy Bodies — To obtain sufficient samples for GWAS, Bras and collaborators enlisted volunteers at 22 centers across 10 countries in Europe, North America, and Australia. “We all agreed to join forces. It’s the only way we could have succeeded,” said Bras. Co-first authors Rita Guerreiro, also at UCL, and Owen Ross, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, analyzed DNA from 1,743 white patients of European ancestry. The researchers calculated that, overall, genetic variants account for about 36 percent of the risk for DLB in this sample. This is roughly the same as for PD, but much less than that for late-onset AD (Keller et al., 2012; Aug 2017 news).

Alzforum, Aβ, Tau Absolved of Causing Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson’s — …At the same time, it remains possible that co-morbid Alzheimer’s pathology leads to dementia in PD, Winer noted. He plans to follow this PD cohort to see if those who accumulate amyloid go on to develop dementia. Kejal Kantarci at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, suggested that the AD pathology seen in the six PD patients in this study might not yet have reached the threshold required to affect cognition (see comment below).

Alzheimer’s News Today, Top Scientists Starting Consortium to Improve Trials of Potential Alzheimer’s Therapies by Margarida Azevedo — “Combining brainpower to solve this intractable problem is necessary because everyone will be affected, or will know someone affected, by this disease in their lifetime,” Paul Aisen, director of the Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, said in a press release. He is spearheading the consortium effort, along with Ronald Petersen of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and Reisa Sperling of the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. The consortium will start by building a network of 35 Alzheimer’s trial sites at universities across the United States. The government’s National Institute on Aging will advise the three founders on the effort.

Clearfield Progress, Clinical Trials in Thoracic Surgery — Dr. Dennis Wigle talks about the use of clinical trials in general thoracic surgery to advance the care Mayo Clinic provides.

Clearfield Progress, Tips for avoiding holiday hazards — Dr. Michael Boniface, emergency medicine physician at Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, Florida, shares more about typical holiday hazards, along with tips to avoid injuries.

Daily Herald, BYU Alzheimer's research could mean big things for future treatment by Braley Dodson — The project started in 2012. The hope is the research can lead to medications that can help reduce the risk of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. There is currently no cure or preventative treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. BYU was the lead institution on the research and collaborated with the University of Utah, Utah State University, the Mayo Clinic and the Washington University School of Medicine.

WKBT La Crosse, Look out for symptoms of holiday depression by Ryan Hennessy — Symptoms of seasonal depression include losing pleasure in things that you normally enjoy, feeling hopeless, being unable to concentrate, or lack of appetite. Those at the Mayo Clinic say it is important to seek help if you experience symptoms. "If you're experiencing some of these depressed mood symptoms, it's very important to seek out assistance. That can be done through a doctors appointment, counseling, or if it's more urgent, definitely go to the emergency room and get the help that you need. This can be for yourself or if you're noticing it in a loved one," said Mayo Clinic clinical therapist, Denise Weber.

WKBT La Crosse, Local cancer patients, families receive personalized quilts — A pair of families who have had a rough year are having their spirits lifted this holiday season. Mayo Clinic Health System in Sparta recently chose two families who have seen loved ones diagnosed with serious medical conditions as their 'Christmas Families.' They both received a personalized hand-made quilt as a way to provide some comfort while receiving treatment. Mayo's 'Christmas Families' also received $200 in gift cards which were made possible through monetary donations.

What to Expect blog, Report: Women Are Stressed, Worried About Money, and Putting Themselves Last — But Here's How We Can Change That by Alanna Nunez — Another simple way to reclaim our health? Speaking up and using your voice to amplify the things that are important to you. "There was a time when women were grouped as a 'minority,' as in, 'women and other minorities,'" Stephanie Faubion, director of the women's health clinic and office of women's health at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told Everyday Health. "But we are not a minority, and we all have powerful stories to tell."

Niagara Frontier Publications, NFL teams with Comcast NBCUniversal & Mayo Clinic for 3rd annual '1st and Future' super Bowl start-up competition — The National Football League, Comcast NBCUniversal and Mayo Clinic have opened the submission process for "1st and Future," the NFL's annual Super Bowl start-up competition designed to spur novel advancements in athlete safety and performance. "1st and Future" will be held at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis on Feb. 3, 2018, the day before Super Bowl LII. Beginning today, entrepreneurs and innovators may submit entries in three categories - advancements in protective equipment, technology to improve athletic performance, and new therapies to speed recovery - for the chance to pitch their idea to a panel of judges and an exclusive audience, including NFL team owners and executives, and representatives from the Minneapolis Super Bowl host committee, Comcast NBCUniversal and Mayo Clinic.

Markets Insider, Mayo Clinic to begin Prospective Clinical Study with Medibio Technology for Expanded Market Opportunities — Medibio Limited (MEB or the Company) (ASX:MEB) (OTCQB:MDBIF), a mental health technology company that has pioneered the use of objective biometrics to assist in the screening, diagnosing, monitoring and management of depression and other mental health conditions, is pleased to announce the first prospective clinical trial with Mayo Clinic under a 5-year Master Clinical Trial Agreement that was signed in October of this year.  This initial study, undertakes the prospective diagnosis and longitudinal monitoring of both unipolar and bipolar depression, along with the depressive subtypes (melancholic and atypical).

Mankato Times, The Future of Health Care Starts Today by James R. Hebl M.D. — For many Americans, the topic of health care can be murky, confusing and even a little unsettling. Political factors, insurance reform, technological advancements, the rising cost of pharmaceuticals and physician shortages are all factors that contribute to this uncertainty. Although each of these topics has played a role in defining the current state of health care, we need to begin focusing on a deeper, more fundamental view of health care that will lead us to a future that provides an enhanced experience for patients and their families, ensures high-quality care with every medical encounter and mitigates the growing cost of health care across the country. This future state can be achieved, but only if we embrace a shift in how we as patients seek care and how we as providers deliver that care. — James R. Hebl, MD, regional vice president of Mayo Clinic Health System

KEYC Mankato, Mayo Clinic Joins Program to Increase Childhood Literacy by Sean Morawczynski — Mayo Clinic in Mankato is the most recent participant in a growing childhood literacy program called "Reach Out and Read". The program provides children with a free book as a part of their regularly scheduled checkups beginning at six–months–old and continuing through age 5 with an emphasis on low–income families. Parents are encouraged to read aloud to help with their child's brain, speech and vocabulary development. "Parents who get involved reading with a young child really helps them with their early childhood experience, which is a big plus," said Dr. Shabbir Khambaty, the lead pediatrician at Mayo Clinic Health Systems in Mankato.

Olean Times Herald, St. Clair Hospital and Mayo Clinic partner up — St. Clair officials said the one-year-old collaboration between the hospital and the Mayo Clinic has been highly successful. After a lengthy process St. Clair Hospital became a member of the Mayo Clinic Care network. Through that network St. Clair has access to the Mayo Clinic’s medical knowledge and clinical expertise. Becoming part of the Mayo Clinic network provides invaluable resources to St. Clair, including consultations, a database for clinically vetted information on the evaluation and treatment of various medical conditions and more.

The Gazette, UnityPoint Health keeps more patients in town through Mayo network — In 2013, UnityPoint Health-Cedar Rapids began a yearlong process to join the Mayo Clinic Care Network, a program that allows health care providers to receive consultation and other benefits from the Mayo Clinic. UnityPoint Health in Cedar Rapids joined the network, which includes a group of more than 40 providers from around the world, in mid-2014. UnityPoint-St. Luke’s is the only Iowa hospital in the network. The Mayo Clinic Care Network has been well-received by patients and physicians alike, said Dr. Todd Langager, a St. Luke’s cardiologist who was a part of the team to bring UnityPoint into the network. “We believe that there’s been a strong value to this,” he said.

Medscape, Exercise Proven, but Underused, for Breast Cancer Fatigue by Kate M. O’Rourke — A growing body of evidence demonstrates that exercise can help patients with breast cancer manage their fatigue, even in the metastatic setting. This message, however, is not getting to those who need it. "Fatigue in breast cancer is a big, big problem, and we don't have good answers for it. Exercise is the best recommendation we have," said Charles Loprinzi, MD, Regis Professor of Breast Cancer Research at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Becker’s Hospital Review, Financial updates from Cleveland Clinic, Ascension & 3 other health systems by Ayla Ellison — 3. Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic saw revenues climb 9.3 percent year over year to $2.97 billion in the third quarter of 2017, which ended Sept. 30. Mayo ended the three-month period with operating income of $182 million, more than double its operating income of $86 million in the same period last year.

Grand Rapids Herald Review, Holiday Hazards and Winter Safety: Mayo Clinic Radio — Holiday Hazards and Winter Safety: Mayo Clinic Radio

Healio, Exercise capacity decreases with higher BMI in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy — Carolyn M. Larsen, MD, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, analyzed data from 510 patients (mean age, 51 years; 64% men) who were seen at a tertiary referral center for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy from 2006 to 2012. Comprehensive transthoracic echocardiograms and treadmill cardiopulmonary exercise tests were performed within 1 week. Patients were categorized by BMI: less than 25 kg/m2 (n = 90), 25 kg/m2 to 29.9 kg/m2 (n = 192), 30 kg/m2 to 34.9 kg/m2 (n = 151) and greater than 35 kg/m2 (n = 77).

Healthline, Alzheimer’s Biomarkers Showing Up in Quarter of Americans Over Age 30 by Matthew Berger — …In addition to pursuing better treatments, he said, the field needs to pursue better ways of predicting disease, including identifying other biomarkers and predictors, and expanding the diversity of study subjects. His study, for instance, relied in part on data from the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging cohort, which consists of 93 percent white subjects.

Mumbai Radio, Un-desk your body — You’re probably better off standing up as you read this — a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine has found that adults who sit for more than an hour or two at a time have a higher mortality rate than their counterparts who limit their sitting to no more than 30 minutes at a time. If that doesn’t already raise uncomfortable thoughts about your desk-bound office job, this nugget of wisdom by Dr James Levine, director of the Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative, certainly will. He says, “Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV and is more treacherous than parachuting.”

Hospitals & Health Networks, Getting Teens with Chronic Pain Back to Being Teens by Maggie Van Dyke — Pain is a taboo topic at Mayo’s Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Program even though patients have had their young lives ransacked by chronic physical suffering. Many have been isolated at home because they were in too much pain to attend school or participate in sports and other activities. “After the first few days, we don’t focus on the pain, and we encourage patients not to talk or think about their pain,” says Cynthia Harbeck-Weber, PhD, clinical director. Instead, the hospital-based outpatient program focuses on getting adolescents and young adults, ages 13 to 24, back to full functioning. Each patient works with Mayo staff to develop individualized goals and find balance in their lives, and all are encouraged to go to school full-time, socialize, help with family chores and participate in extracurricular activities — in other words, live the lives of typical adolescents.

Fierce Healthcare, 3 ways to develop effective physician leaders by Matt Kuhrt — Leadership involves a change in perspective from one narrowly focused on the needs of a particular patient or physician to a broader view of an organization, according to Charanjit S. Rihal, M.D., chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Mayo Clinic. In a post for NEJM Catalyst, he points out that medical professionals have a foundation on which to build. “Medicine requires critical thinking skills that are analogous to those required for effective leadership, such as assessing complex problems, formulating diagnoses, and generating action plans,” he writes.

Healio, Stelara appears safe before surgery in Crohn’s disease — New research from the Journal of Crohn’s & Colitis showed that patients with Crohn’s disease who received Stelara before abdominal surgery showed no increase in risk for postoperative infectious complications compared with patients treated with anti-tumor necrosis factor agents. Stelara (ustekinumab, Janssen) “has been recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of Crohn’s disease,” Amy L. Lightner, MD, study author and surgeon at the Mayo Clinic, told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease. “Given that some biologics have been associated with an increase in postoperative outcomes, we sought to determine if preoperative use of ustekinumab was associated with a significant increase in postoperative outcomes.”

Medical Xpress, Study finds cancer cells manipulate fat metabolism for survival — Mayo Clinic scientists have discovered a new survival strategy used by tumour cells where they switch off fat metabolism when oxygen is low...Hypoxia – a lack of oxygen reaching body tissues – is a well-known hallmark of cancer. "We know that the hypoxic parts of tumours contain fat droplets, and evidence suggests that a tumour's capacity to accumulate these droplets is linked to its ability to survive in low-oxygen conditions," explains Xiaodong Zhang, Ph.D., Research Associate at Mayo Clinic's Arizona campus, US, and lead author of the study. "But we didn't understand how and why these lipid droplets form, and that's what we set out to investigate."

Ozarks First, Arkansas Woman Donates Kidney After Seeing Facebook Post — A Perryville, Arkansas woman is taking the meaning of "give of yourself" to a new level. Samantha McAnally met the Warren family through their kids' cheerleading squads, but know they know each other through their kidneys… "I just had this little voice on my shoulder it was just like nudging me, just go, go go," said McAnally. By listening to that little voice Samantha registered to be a living donor through the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Medscape, Autoimmune Neurology: A New, Rapidly Evolving Subspecialty by Deborah Brauser — An emerging new subspecialty is gaining ground as more fellowships and a growing body of research spur interest in the field of autoimmune neurology. Unlike neuroimmunology, autoimmune neurology's focus is much broader than multiple sclerosis (MS) and includes disorders such as neurosarcoidosis, other "white matter in the brain" conditions, childhood central nervous system diseases, and even leukodystrophy, Stacey L. Clardy, MD, PhD, Department of Neurology at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, told Medscape Medical News. Dr Clardy and A. Sebastian López-Chiriboga, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, discuss the history and current status of autoimmune neurology in a paper recently published in Neurology.

Medscape, Migraine Prevention: Lowest Effective Dose of New Drug Pinpointed by Deborah Brauser — "It's always important to find the lowest effective dose and to confirm previous studies that reported on the efficacy and tolerability of galcanezumab," David W. Dodick, MD, professor of neurology and director of the headache program at the Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona, and chair of the American Migraine Foundation, told Medscape Medical News. Common treatment-related adverse events (AEs) for the galcanezumab group vs the placebo group included injection-site pain, upper respiratory tract infection, and nasopharyngitis — with most being mild to moderate in intensity. Additional coverage: MedPage Today

Cancer Network, History of EBV, Immunosuppression Did Not Affect Outcomes of DLBCL by Leah Lawrence — Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) represented only a small fraction of this type of lymphoma among a cohort of Upper Midwestern US patients, according to the results of a study published in Haematologica. In addition, positivity for EBV did not significantly affect outcomes compared with EBV-negative disease. “The lack of difference in clinical outcomes in the studied subsets should suggest to practicing hematologists that prognosis is independent of EBV status or a history of immunosuppression, among North American patients,” wrote Sean I. Tracy, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Physical Therapy Products, Only One in Three Know Concussion is a Brain Injury, Per Mayo Clinic Survey — According to a questionnaire completed by high school athletes, their parents, and coaches, most respondents say they can identify the possible effects of a concussion. However, only one-third of them note knowing that it is a brain injury. Findings from the survey, completed by athletes, coaches, and parents from three high schools in the Rochester, NY area to assess their concussion knowledge and history, appear in a new study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings…“We will use this data to guide us in our concussion education efforts,” says senior author Edward Laskowski, MD, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist and co-director of Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine in Rochester, in a media release from Mayo Clinic.

Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, Mayo Clinic Minute: Innovative research to fight kidney disease — More than 30 million Americans suffer from chronic kidney disease. It’s often referred to as the silent killer, because, in early stages of the disease, there are no symptoms. Chronic kidney disease can go undetected until it’s advanced. Dr. LaTonya Hickson, a Mayo Clinic nephrologist and researcher, is working to slow down the disease progression of one of the most common causes of kidney failure: diabetic kidney disease. Dr. Hickson says Mayo Clinic is one of the main groups investigating stem cells to see if they are able to help repair the kidney, particularly in chronic kidney disease. Additional coverage: Sierra Vista Herald, Eastern Arizona Courier

Medical Xpress, Self-reported symptoms in elderly predict readmission — Lynn S. Borkenhagen, D.N.P., from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues assessed how much self-reported symptoms predict unplanned 30-day readmission or emergency department visits among 230 high-risk, frail, elderly adults (mean age, 83.5) enrolled in a post-hospitalization care-transition program. The researchers found that 51 participants returned to the hospital within 30 days of discharge: 13 had emergency department visits and 38 were readmitted. There were no significant differences in age, sex, or Charlson Comorbidity Index between returning and nonreturning participants. However, returning participants were significantly more likely to report shortness of breath, anxiety, depression, and drowsiness. Overall Edmonton Symptom Assessment System score was also a significant predictor of hospital return.

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