January 19, 2018

Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights for January 19, 2018

By Emily Blahnik

 

 

 


Reuters
, Cognitive Test Given to Trump Is a 10-Minute Routine Screening by Julie Steenhuysen — The cognitive test on which U.S. President Donald Trump received a perfect score is considered a good screening tool for mental decline in an otherwise healthy person, medical experts said…The cognitive test on which U.S. President Donald Trump received a perfect score is considered a good screening tool for mental decline in an otherwise healthy person, medical experts said. Additional coverage: New York Times, ABC Online, This Week UK, US News & World Report

Newsweek, Trump at Risk for a Heart Attack With Dangerous Weight and Skyrocketing Cholesterol by Kate Sheridan — It’s not surprising, then, that Trump has continued to take a statin and an aspirin. Both should lower a person’s heart disease risk…According to the Mayo Clinic’s Statin Choice Decision Aid, Trump’s actual risk with his statin is probably closer to 13 percent.

U.S. News & World Report, What About the Memory Test Trump Aced? It's Not for Everyone by Lauran Neergaard — Drawing a clock. Counting backward by sevens. Rattling off words that begin with "F'' before a minute's up… "The value of screening without a complaint has not been established," cautioned Dr. David Knopman, a Mayo Clinic neurologist who chairs the Alzheimer's Association's medical and scientific advisory council. And people should understand that "it's not considered definitive," he said, adding, "It's ultimately only a first pass at cognition." Additional coverage: Telegraph UK, HuffPost, Haaretz, KIRO-Seattle

New York Times, Inside the Global Relay Race to Deliver Moly-99 by Sarah Varney — …Even the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., a prestigious cancer treatment center, can be left waiting for shipments of the so-called generators that contain the imaging agent. “We’ve had days when no generator comes in at all, or it’s been cut in half,” said Andrew Paulsen, supervisor of the clinic’s radiopharmaceutical laboratory.

NBC News, How to work out in cold weather by Vivian Manning-Schaffel — During cold weather endurance exercise, Dr. Michael Joyner, an exercise researcher at Mayo Clinic, says your heart rate might be slower than usual because your pace may be slower and your heart doesn't have to pump blood to your skin to stay warm…We asked Dr. Joyner and and Ariane Hundt, fitness trainer and founder of Brooklyn Bridge Boot Camp, to share their cold weather workout tips for facing the tundra.

Los Angeles Times, VA clears the air on talking to patients about marijuana use by Michelle Andrews — No matter where the research stands, getting a complete medication or drug history should be standard procedure at any medical appointment, say medical providers. In that respect, the guidance from the VA is a positive development. "It's absolutely critical that you know what your patients are taking, if only to be better able to assess what is going on," said Dr J. Michael Bostwick, a psychiatrist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., who has written on medical marijuana use.

CNN, Eric Clapton: 'I'm going deaf' by Lisa Respers France — Legendary musician Eric Clapton says he is losing his hearing. The singer, 72, told BBC 2 he plans to continuing performing live but does have concerns about how aging affects that. "I mean, I'm going deaf, I've got tinnitus, my hands just about work," he said. "I mean, I'm hoping that people will come along and see me just because, or maybe more than because I'm a curiosity. It's amazing to myself that I'm still here." According to the Mayo Clinic, tinnitus "is the perception of noise or ringing in the ears" and affects one in five people. Additional coverage: Billboard

CNN, President Trump has common form of heart disease by Dr. Sanjay Gupta — Like most men of his age, President Donald Trump has a common form of heart disease, relatively easy to address if he increases the dose of his cholesterol-lowering medication and makes necessary lifestyle changes. Without those changes, the President has a moderate risk of having a heart attack in the next three to five years, according to the Mayo Clinic.

VICE, Why It Matters If HPV Caused Your Head or Neck Cancer by Shayla Love — “For decades we would say head and neck cancer, particularly in its advanced stages, has a relatively poor outcome,” says Eric Moore, an otolaryngologist and surgeon at The Mayo Clinic. According to Moore, people with traditional head and neck cancer will eventually die from that cancer 50 percent of the time—even with treatment. "But, this cancer behaves so much differently than that," he says. "For the most part, about 90 percent of the people who develop HPV-related tonsil- and tongue-based cancer will survive their cancer and be cured with treatment. It’s such a drastic difference, it’s changed the whole way we think about this particular cancer, how people are going to live after their treatment, and what the long-term side effects of that treatment going to be.”

Forbes, How To Deal With Stress: Practical Strategies For Today's Professionals — A Mayo Clinic report details some of the impact that long-term stress can have on your health and mood, including issues with high blood pressure, anxiety, loss of mental focus, and chest pain or headaches. Fortunately, you have options: Whether it’s by creating healthy habits, learning when to stop work to get some rest, or knowing how to delegate, there are several practical strategies today’s professionals can implement to combat the negative effects of stress.

KAAL, Hospital IV Bag Shortage Worsens as Flu Season Spikes — The United States is facing a large IV shortage and its hit close to home. It started when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and got worse as the flu season kicked in… "This year it's particularly a severe year. It looks like it's going to be a particularly severe year for influenza,” said Dr. Thomas Bryce, Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist at Mayo Clinic…Mayo Clinic said in a statement, “Mayo Clinic has had a multi-disciplinary team monitoring real and potential product shortages associated with the destruction in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria hit the island. With a few exceptions, product availability, for the most part, has not been interrupted.”

Post-Bulletin, On further review, it's RSV by Anne Halliwell — RSV is a common, contagious virus that infects the respiratory tract. According to Mayo Clinic's website, most children experience it by age 2. In older children and adults, the symptoms mimic the common cold. But infants are hardest-hit by the virus and may have difficulty breathing or poor feeding.

Post-Bulletin, Study: Mayo physicians add more than $5 billion to economy by Brett Boese — A new study has found that Minnesota physicians generate $30.5 billion in economic activity and support 171,000 jobs. Though the study does not break those numbers down by city or region, Rochester is one of the state's top beneficiaries. Mayo Clinic's main campus employing roughly 17 percent of the state's physicians. The new report titled "The Economic Impact of Physicians in Minnesota" was issued last week by the Minnesota Medical Association and the American Medical Association. The study quantifies the economic boost associated with 13,401 active physicians working around the state. That includes 2,237 at Mayo's Rochester campuses, according to Mayo spokeswoman Duska Anastasijevic, and more than 2,700 across Mayo's southern Minnesota venues.

Post-Bulletin, Rochester falls to #9 in 2018 Best Places To Live rankings by Brett Boese — "Always appearing high on our Top 100 Best Places to Live list is Rochester, home to the Mayo Clinic and all the international talent and guests it attracts," Livability wrote in its description of Rochester. "Mayo is currently developing a 'Destination Medical Center' construction project in Rochester that could lead to 40,000 new jobs and 100,000 new residents over the next 20 years. Meanwhile, the University of Minnesota is planning to expand its Rochester satellite campus to bring more young people into town, and the city's downtown area continues to attract millennials and young professionals. Thanks in large part to the Mayo Clinic, Rochester also is known for its civic-minded residents who are eager to get involved in many community-enhancing projects."

Post-Bulletin, Greenspace: DMC series imagines a sustainable future by Ryan Faircloth — A monthly speaker series organized by Destination Medical Center aims to get Rochester residents talking about sustainability. The inaugural event of the DMC sustainability series was held last month, covering Rochester's current sustainability status and future session plans. Events will be held on the second Wednesday of each month through December. The DMC sustainability series' second event was held last week and focused on net zero energy buildings. Next month's event, slated for Feb. 14, will highlight Mayo Clinic's recommissioning program, which ensures building systems and operations are operating properly through tune-ups.

Twin Cities Business, Easily Affordable Whole-genome Sequencing is Goal of Latest Mayo Collaboration by Don Jacobson — The Mayo Clinic has struck a collaborative and financial arrangement with a startup medtech firm seeking to overcome a cost barrier now standing in the way of much more widespread availability of whole-genome sequencing. If Boston-based Veritas Genetics is successful in delivering on its promise of being able to sequence a patient’s entire genome as well as provide an analysis for under $1,000 per test, it could result in many more people moving beyond current basic genetic testing, or genotyping, in which only specific genetic mutations associated with certain conditions are looked for.

Twin Cities Business, Commercially Promising Stem Cell Research Projects Land State Funding by Don Jacobson —  Regenerative medicine – the practice of replacing, restoring or regenerating damaged cells, tissues or organs – is widely viewed as one of the most promising of avenues of biotech business growth in Minnesota. And in seeking to advance that goal, a state-funded scientific board has announced grants to some of the most promising local research projects in the field… Dr. Joseph Lillegard, Mayo Clinic and Pediatric Surgical Associates. Lillegard’s research involves using transplanted liver cells delivered by viruses to fight HHHGHHereditary Tyrosinemia Type 1 (HT1), a metabolic disorder caused by an enzyme deficiency… Alexander Revzin, Mayo Clinic Medical School. Revzin, a biomedical engineer, is working on a high-throughput platform for generating bioactive microgels, which can, in turn, facilitate the in vitro differentiation of transplanted stem cells in the body.

KTTC, Twins Winter Caravan visits Mayo Clinic Children's Center by Sarah Gannon — Kids at the Mayo Clinic Children's Center got to visit with former and current members of the Minnesota Twins, Tuesday afternoon. The Minnesota Twins teamed up with Pads for Peds to create a fun afternoon for Mayo Clinic pediatric patients. The Minnesota non-profit has donated i Pads to other children's hospitals in the past. "It turned out to be such a hit," said Brian Walker of Pads for Peds. "It turned out to be such a great value that we thought it was right in our wheel house and was something we could do and really touch a lot of lives." Additional coverage: KIMT

Post-Bulletin, Team Draft raises lung cancer funds, awareness by Anne Halliwell — Linda Wortman, a former Mayo Clinic patient, is using the NFL to raise lung cancer awareness in Minnesota. Wortman's team, named "Run Like L," raised a little more than $50,000 and won the Team Draft Lung Cancer Survivors Super Bowl Challenge, now in its fourth year. Donations will remain open through the Super Bowl, Wortman said -- the Minnesota team beat another couple from Colorado by only a narrow margin, so they hope to keep the friendly competition up through early February.

KTTC, Ten-year-old boy comes to Mayo Clinic in search of answer for brain affliction by Linda Ha — Ten-year-old Landon Solberg from North Dakota is facing a mysterious foe. Doctors in Fargo found swelling and fluid on Landon's brain.The family is now at Mayo Clinic where doctors inserted a permanent shunt to drain the fluids. Tomorrow, Landon's medical team at Mayo is set to perform a biopsy, the final step to confirm their suspicions of a midline glioma. Despite the battle before him, Landon continues to stay positive…Doctors at Mayo Clinic will perform proton radiation treatment five times a week for six weeks.

Post-Bulletin, Interest, but no signed tenants yet at Discovery Square complex by Jeff Kiger — Construction of one of early Destination Medical Center projects — the first Mortenson Co. building - is rolling along. However, Mayo Clinic is the only confirmed tenant leasing space at this point in the complex being built in the DMC Discovery Square subdistrict in downtown Rochester. The 89,000-square-foot complex is being built at the corner of Fourth Street Southwest and Second Avenue Southwest. I recently checked in with Mortenson and the DMC Economic Development Agency staff about how the marketing of the building is going.

KIMT, Slippery Sidewalks Send Some to the Emergency Room by Brooke McKivergan — People were hospitalized due to injuries from slipping and falling on the ice. Iowa State gave some tips for walking safely on the ice…KIMT reached out to Mayo Clinic but they say it is hard to pinpoint specific numbers on these types of injuries.

Post-Bulletin, Too much of a good thing? Mayo hosts summit on sports injuries — On Saturday, Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine hosted its first-ever Baseball & Softball Summit. About 100 physicians, trainers, physical therapists and coaches attended in person or joined via webcast for a daylong discussion of a wide range of topics. Dr. David B. Soma, a Mayo Clinic pediatrician who specializes in sports medicine, and Chad E. Cherney, a physical therapist for Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine, were two of the presenters.

Post-Bulletin, Mayo professor to discuss insulation of Earth's atmosphere by Brett Boese — A Mayo Clinic professor will discuss the Earth's level of atmospheric insulation at an upcoming forum in Rochester. Dr. Leo J. Maguire, an associate professor of ophthalmology, will discuss "a primer on humanity's audacious experiment with the insulation of Earth's atmosphere" during the Mayo Foundation Chapter of Sixma Xi Public Lecture. It will be held 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Leighton Auditorium and is open to the public. "He is fascinated by the dilemma that our world civilization is dependent on the availability of vast amounts of energy to power it, but the fuels that power civilization have increased the insulation in the Earth's atmosphere by 40 percent since 1980, and that percentage is increasing rapidly," the Mayo Foundation wrote in its news release.

KSTP, Minnesota Hockey Mulls Doing Away with Checking at Some Lower Bantam LevelsMinnesota Hockey, an affiliate of USA Hockey, sent an email survey to parents in the state recently asking if they'd be interested in adding a possible no-check game option for some Bantam players. "Based on research and recommendations of Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine's recent Ice Hockey Summit: Action on Concussions III, and trends in the hockey community, Minnesota Hockey is in the process of evaluating how it can further enhance the safety of its players," wrote Dave Margenau in the survey. In ice hockey, 13- and 14-year-old boys can play in bantam leagues, the first level in youth hockey in which checking is allowed.

First Coast News, Debunking flu myths as flu season worsens in Florida by Shelby Danielsen — The number of flu cases is on the rise and so is the severity of the symptoms. In many cases across the country, it’s been deadly. The lab at Florida’s Mayo Clinic is seeing an unprecedented number of influenza patients, with about three times the number of flu lab tests this year. For January, 32 percent of those tests rated positive for the flu, normally that’s under 10 percent. Dr. Vandana Bhide, the assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, said it’s not too late to get the vaccine and urges everyone to get it as soon as possible. “January and February is at the height of the influenza season,” Bhide said. “It will prevent people from getting really sick, and even death.”

KEYC Mankato, Local MCHS Hospitals Recognized For Quality Care by Kelsey Barchenger — 14 Mayo Clinic hospitals across the nation, including a few right here at home receive high marks for quality care. The rating comes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The score measures both inpatient and outpatient quality. Mayo Clinic Health System in Rochester and Austin & Albert Lea received five stars. While, MCHS in Mankato and New Prague were among those receiving a four star rating. MCHS in Fairmont was also recognized with a three star rating.

KEYC Mankato, Staying Committed To Healthy Eating In 2018 by Kelsey Barchenger — Kristi Wempen, Clinical Dietitian with Mayo Clinic Health System joined KEYC News 12 this Midday with some advice for those who have committed to a healthy diet for their New Year's resolution.

Owatonna People’s Press, Peak of the season? Flu numbers continue upwards by Annie Harman – With the first pediatric flu death in the state reported last week, the flu is continuing to climb its way to the peak of its season here in Minnesota…We still have 12 weeks left in the flu season,” said Pauline Hill, an RN, MSN with Infection Prevention and Control – Southeast MN region for the Mayo Clinic Health System located in Owatonna.

WQOW Eau Claire, New health concerns parents should be aware of by Camille Walter — A new video challenge has blown up with teenagers across the country daring others to eat the laundry detergent pods. Doctors are telling them to simply stop, because chemicals in the pod are extremely harmful to your body. "Well, when you ingest the pod your saliva breaks down the outer casing and it's what's in the pod that's very damaging. That can cause gastric erosion so it wears away the lining of the stomach and then you get burns, gastric burns or ulcers. Then it leads to diarrhea. You can have explosive diarrhea, you can have vomiting, I mean just not fun consequences," said Dr. Sue Cullinan, with Mayo Clinic Health System.

WKBT La Crosse, Experts say to use proper shoveling technique to avoid injury — "All too often folks are going to be utilizing too much horizontal reach and a lot of forward bending and twisting and turning, and what's going to happen then is that puts your back in position of weakness and doesn't allow larger, stronger muscle groups do the work that really does need to do the work, which is actually your legs and your hips," said Mayo Clinic Health System Ergonomics Specialist Brian Langenhorst.

WKBT La Crosse, Emotional barriers may be to blame for lack of motivation to work out by Ryan Hennessy — Exercise is an important part of losing weight and finding the motivation to exercise can be difficult. Health coordinators at Mayo Health Systems say there may be emotional barriers that are holding you back. These emotional barriers include things such as fear of failure, commitment to exercising, or not meeting goals. Health promoters at Mayo Clinic Health System said in many cases, people expect too much from themselves.

WKBT La Crosse, Experts say keeping 'Food Diary' can help dieters achieve weight loss goals by Ryan Hennessy — Millions of people set a new year's resolution to eat healthy and lose weight, and dietitians at Mayo Clinic say keeping a food diary can help dieters accomplish their goals. This includes logging food eaten as well as the quantity of food. Officials suggest keeping the diary throughout the day instead of logging all food at the end of the day. Dietitians at Mayo Clinic Health System say there's more than one way to keep a food diary.

WKBT La Crosse, New study finds millennials likely to pursue nursing by Jordan Fremstad — Mayo Health says more young students are finding meaning in the health profession. "They are looking for more of a purpose and without question nursing provides a purpose," chief nursing officer at south west Wisconsin Mayo Clinic, Jason Fratzke, said.  Fratzke said young minds are vital to changing medicine and technology.  "It's fresh eyes it's fresh ears," Fratzke said. "We definitely like people coming in from the outside with new perspective."

WXOW La Crosse, Police: Developing community relationships key to NRO program by Sam Shilts — Over the past four years, the City of La Crosse has taken a unique approach to community policing with their neighborhood resource officer program. Businesses like the Mayo Clinic Health System have recently donated large sums to aid those programs in the Washburn area and La Crosse Police are looking to add 2 more NRO's in the Powell-Poage-Hamilton neighborhood. When it comes to why the neighborhood resource officer program is effective, officers said it has everything to do with breaking down personal barriers.

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, Rising amount of daily sunshine may ease seasonal affective disorder by Elizabeth Dohms — Family medicine physician Dr. Kyja Stygar at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire said though no specific data is available for how many suffer from SAD in the Chippewa Valley, depression rates are higher in Northern states than in the South. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 1 percent of Floridians and 9 percent of those in New England and Alaska have the disorder.

WEAU Eau Claire, Number of flu cases continues to rise — Both Gundersen Health System and Mayo Clinic Health System Franciscan Healthcare say they have experienced a number of cases involving the flu so far this season. In Eau Claire, HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital has had 21 confirmed hospitalizations and HSHS St. Joseph's Hospital in Chippewa Falls has seen 5. Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire has seen 49 flu cases in Eau Claire County and 12 hospitalizations so far in January alone. Doctors recommend eating healthy, exercising and getting plenty of sleep to help build a strong immune system to help fight off the flu.

Business Insider, This year's deadly flu season is reaching its peak — here's how to tell if you're contagious by Hilary Brueck — James Steckelberg, a Mayo Clinic doctor who's an expert on infectious diseases, told Business Insider that it was tough to dole out concrete advice for how long to stay home, as everybody reacts a little differently to the flu. But his advice jibes with the CDC's: Wait until you've been fever-free without the help of drugs for 24 hours before returning to your office or school. That means no more chills, sweats, or flushed appearance. Additional coverage: Yahoo! UK

MedPage Today, High-Sensitivity Troponin Can Point to Impending Heart Failure by Nicole Lou — In an editorial comment accompanying the study, Allan Jaffe, MD, and Wayne Miller, MD, PhD, both of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, also highlighted the unexplained heterogeneity, saying that "rather than helping to clarify how to proceed based on the findings of the meta-analysis, uncertainty is extended. This marked heterogeneity may be why the increase in c-statistic for the analysis is so small (0.03)." Additional coverage: TCTMD

MedPage Today, Children with Psoriasis Carry High Comorbidity Risks by Judy George —These risks are independent of obesity status: in non-obese children with psoriasis, the risk of comorbidities was 40% to 75% higher than in children without psoriasis, reported Megha M. Tollefson, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and colleagues. But even in children without psoriasis, obesity was a much stronger contributor to comorbidities. "In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that psoriasis is more than a 'skin-deep' condition and that it may frequently be associated with other systemic comorbidities, even in children," the researchers wrote online in JAMA Dermatology. "While the association in adult patients is well established, the patterns and predictors of the risk of comorbidities in children with psoriasis are still not clear.

Montreal Gazette, Getting your house in order after the holidays by Rita Demontis — Holidays are stressful at the best of times – but when the party’s over, it’s over, and, for many, the real stress starts the moment you decide to take down the decorations. The Mayo Clinic reports stress, depression and the holidays “can ruin the holidays and hurt your health.” What to do is be realistic, plan ahead and seek support. Be practical of what you want – and be prepared.

Elite Daily, A Gluten Free Diet Better For You? Kim & Kourtney Kardashian Don't Agree On It by Julia Guerra — …There are some risks in choosing to go gluten-free when you don't necessarily have to. Derrick Woodward, M.D. told Mayo Clinic that cutting out certain kinds of foods that contain gluten can also mean cutting out vitamins and nutrients like iron, calcium, and fiber, so it's really important to make sure you're getting these essentials from other healthy sources (such as beans, veggies, and fruit).

News-medical.net, Experts call for action to reduce burnout among kidney specialists — In the first article, Amy Williams, MD (Mayo Clinic of Medicine) notes that half of surveyed nephrologists experience burnout. Dr. Williams stresses that individual physicians cannot tackle burnout alone: healthcare systems, academic institutions and organizations, including dialysis organizations, must improve work environments, influence policy and support physicians' wellbeing at all career stages.

Hartford City News Times, New Year's Resolution - get moving: Mayo Clinic Radio — Dani Johnson, a physical therapist at the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, has tips to get you moving in the new year. This interview originally aired on Jan. 13, 2018.

Science Newsline, Most Patients with Unknown Spinal Cord Disease Later Given Specific Diagnosis, Study Shows — A study by Mayo Clinic researchers found that most patients with suspected spinal cord inflammation of unknown cause have an alternative, specific diagnosis. The research is published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "Our review draws attention to the critical need to properly diagnose spinal cord disease to initiate appropriate therapy early on and avoid unnecessary and potentially harmful treatments," says B. Mark Keegan, M.D., Mayo Clinic neurologist and senior author.

Reader’s Digest, 8 Myths You Need to Stop Believing Before You Can Get Abs by Lisa Hannam — According to Mayo Clinic, you can determine the intensity you should be working out at by figuring out your maximum heart rate (HR). Generally speaking, that is 220 minus your age. And moderate exercise would be about 50 to 75 percent of that. But again, that is just a general guideline. The more you work out with a HR monitor or HR tracker, the more you will be in tune with your HR targets for intensity.

Becker’s Hospital Review, 13 most interesting health IT partnerships this week by Julie Spitzer — 8. Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic entered into an agreement with DNA sequencing company Veritas Genetics to integrate whole-genome sequencing into clinical care.

Romper, What's The Difference Between Spit-Up & Vomit? Experts Explain The Symptoms by Kelly Mullen-McWilliams — According to BabyCenter, babies spit up so much because they're still new to the world of eating, ingesting, and digesting. Essentially, they're swallowing pockets of air with that breast milk or formula and coughing it up as a result. The medical term for spitting up is reflux, and on average, babies have the most reflux around 4 months. Mayo Clinic even calls spitting up "a rite of passage" for babies — at least, it's certainly a test for your washing machine.

Romper, Can You Take A Prenatal Vitamin & Vitamin C? Here's How To Handle Your Supplements by Cat Bowen — According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C is 60 milligrams per day. That's just one kiwi fruit or three quarters of a cup of pineapple. Most prenatal vitamins contain the entire RDA of 60 milligrams, so it's unnecessary to take both a vitamin C supplement and prenatal vitamin together. The Mayo Clinic explained that a megadose of vitamin C equates upwards of 2,000 milligrams (2 grams) of vitamin C each day, and the risks of a megadose are along the lines of nausea and gastric upset.

CBC, Minding our mood: How to keep our goal of staying positive this year by Nicole Mahabir — The Mayo Clinic writes that "positive thinking lowers the rate of depression, increases longevity, gives greater resistance to the common cold, and produces better coping skills during times of stress." An optimistic approach also creates a broader outlook in terms of seeing what is possible or achievable in life.

ALS News Today, Easing the Nerve Cell Traffic Jam May Be a Way to Treat ALS, Research Suggests by Patricia Inacio — Mayo Clinic researcher Wilfried Rossoll said in a press release that the research showed TDP-43 can cause the traffic jams seen in ALS “and potentially other neurodegenerative diseases with TDP-43 pathology, such as frontotemporal dementia.” He was the study’s lead author. Researchers detected the changes in skin cells of ALS patients with both inherited and non-inherited forms of the disease, and in the nerve cells of ALS patients with TDP-43 mutations.

Irish Times, Asthma: what happens in your lungs, and why you shouldn't underestimate it by Muiris Houston — A recent US study concluded the FeNO test has moderate accuracy for patients aged five and older. “Asthma can sometimes be difficult to diagnose, and FeNO can be helpful to make therapeutic decisions more evidence based,” said lead investigator Dr M Hassan Murad of the Mayo Clinic. “Future research is needed to determine how FeNO can be used with other biomarkers with hopefully better accuracy that can provide a more definitive diagnosis.”

FOX News, Model's second leg amputated due to toxic shock syndrome from tampon by Jennifer Earl — Model Lauren Wasser’s life changed at the age of 24 when a life-threatening condition – caused by a tampon – took her right leg and the toes of her left foot. Five years later, the fashion model is still suffering the same infection, known as Toxic Shock Syndrome, which is caused by toxins released by bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (staph) or Streptococcus pyogenes (strep). After enduring months of excruciating pain, the now 29-year-old had her second leg amputated on Thursday…"About half the cases of toxic shock syndrome associated with Staphylococci bacteria occur in women of menstruating age; the rest occur in older women, men and children," according to the Mayo Clinic.

FOX News, Sleep apnea treatment uses 'snake-like' surgical robot by Lindsay Carlton — Sleep apnea is not just a snorer’s disorder, but a serious and sometimes fatal condition. It’s estimated that 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, a disorder that causes your breathing to stop or get very shallow while you sleep. It occurs when the muscles in the back of the throat relax and the airway narrows or closes as one breathes in. “This may lower the level of oxygen in your blood,” Mayo Clinic explains in its website. “Your brain senses this inability to breathe and briefly rouses you from sleep so that you can reopen your airway. This awakening is usually so brief that you don't remember it.”

mHealthIntelligence, Mayo Clinic to Explore The Use of Telemedicine for Stent Surgeries by Eric Wicklund — A projected shortage of cardiologists is pushing the Mayo Clinic to consider telemedicine for conducting some minimally invasive coronary interventions, such as inserting stents. The Minnesota-based health system recently announced a multi-phase, multi-year partnership with Waltham, Mass.-based Corindus Vascular Robotics, funded by a $3.3 million charitable grant, to develop a telemedicine platform by which a remote doctor can perform percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs).

Daily Mail, Student, 14, hospitalized for 106 days after choking on a SANDWICH which ripped his esophagus and left him fighting for his life by Jaleesa Baulkman — An esophageal tear is an uncommon, but serious condition that is usually repaired surgically. It can be life-threatening if left untreated. According to Mayo Clinic, the most common cause of an esophageal tear is injury to the esophagus during a medical procedure.

SELF, Yup, It's Possible to Breastfeed a Baby You Have via Surrogacy or Adoption by Korin Miller — The production of milk relies on the interaction of several hormones and physical changes throughout pregnancy, according to the Mayo Clinic. When you're pregnant, your body usually prepares for breastfeeding by enlarging your breasts to make room for the milk that will eventually fill them to nurse the baby. In the last few months of delivery, your levels of estrogen and progesterone are also increasing.

Williston Daily Herald, Mayo Clinic Minute: How to reduce salt in your diet — Are you setting health goals for 2018? Those with high blood pressure or who are at risk, may want to consider simply saying no to sodium. Dr. Amy Pollak, a Mayo Clinic Cardiologist says three-quarters of the amount of salt we get in our day-to-day diet is from processed foods or going out to eat. She says feel free to say no.

Everyday Health, After an ER Visit, One Woman Shares How the Keto Diet Is Helping Her Manage Type 2 Diabetes by Meredith Rutland Bauer — Most dietitians recommend gradual weight loss because it’s typically more sustainable in the long term, but the keto diet approach could be a good option for fast weight loss if done under the care of a dietitian and with clearance from your healthcare provider. “When you get into that category of restriction, one must heed caution in terms of making sure their nutrient needs are met, so usually you have to look at supplementation,” like adding in fiber and electrolytes, says Mayo Clinic Dietitian Katherine Zeratsky, RDN. “I think people find out that (like) with other restrictive diets, it’s not sustainable.”

Mountain Outlaw, Moving the Needle, Acupuncture is fast emerging as a safer way to treat pain, depression and other ills by Emily Stifler Wolfe — The 34-year-old grew up with three older brothers in a family of athletes. She had whiplash multiple times and in 2007, she injured her neck in a climbing fall. When she developed fibromyalgia while finishing her master’s in public administration at Montana State University in 2013, the pain was acute and unrelenting… The Mayo Clinic, a renowned teaching hospital and research center in Rochester, Minnesota, has used acupuncture since 2001, primarily for pain, and now has more demand than it can meet. “We have had tremendous success [with acupuncture],” said Dr. Brent Bauer, director of Mayo’s Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program. “For intractable pain, patients with a chronic long history of pain, or chronic headaches, we might still see a 30 percent significant response where everything else absolutely failed.”

Alzforum, TDP-43 Snarls Nuclear Traffic — Many proteins linked to neurodegeneration impede traffic in and out of the nucleus, and in the January 8 Nature Neuroscience, researchers add TAR DNA binding protein–43 to the mix. This predominantly nuclear protein forms cytoplasmic inclusions in neurons and glia of nearly all patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and many with frontotemporal dementia. Researchers led by Wilfried Rossoll at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, used a novel protein-labeling technique to probe the contents of those aggregates.

Star2.com, Does your child have ear pain? — Is your child complaining of an earache? It could be an infection. Children are more prone to ear infections than adults, and they can be painful. Dr Nipunie Rajapakse, a Mayo Clinic paediatric infectious diseases specialist in the United States, says, “Ear infections can be caused by both viruses and bacteria. “Some of the common cold viruses can cause inflammation of the middle ear. “There are common bacterial causes of ear infection, as well. The most common is called Streptococcus pneumoniae.”

WalletHub, The Real Cost of Smoking by State by Richie Bernardo — J. Taylor Hays, Medical Director of the Nicotine Dependence Center at Mayo Clinic is interviewed.

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