STAT, A ‘Shark Tank’-funded test for food sensitivity is medically dubious, experts say by Allison Bond — Dr. Martha Hartz, an allergist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., says she frequently evaluates patients who’ve already forked over the cash for the testing. “Anytime I see a patient who’s had these kinds of tests, we get them to toss it aside,” Hartz said. “It has no relevance to anything. It is just not a test that should done.” When a person sees the doctor to learn about possible food intolerances, they’ll likely be irked to find that the cash they spent on food sensitivity testing ordered online or at an “alternative” practitioner’s office was money down the drain. “Most patients in the end, when we have done our workup and come up with a plan,” Hartz said, “are actually quite frustrated that they spent all this money on a useless test.”

STAT,  Experts clash on whether hitting the gym helps the brain, by Sharon Begley. “I wouldn’t go to the bank with the claim” that exercise can keep MCI from progressing to dementia, said Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the Mayo Clinic, who led the guidelines panel telling neurologists to recommend exercise. “Absolutely not. But we thought it was a reasonable thing to say, especially since [exercise] doesn’t have a lot of risk. To be honest, we’re looking for something positive to tell people.”

CNN, The people who feel no pain — Scientists are still trying to find a cure for this rare nervous system disorder. Dr. Christopher Klein is interviewed.

NBC News, 'How exercise helped me recover from an illness when medicine failed' by Dempsey Marks — …By the time I arrived at the Mayo Clinic, I had improved. I had gained some strength and appetite. And I was able to eat certain solid foods, so long as the portions were small and I chewed slowly and thoroughly. I spent a week at the Mayo Clinic, undergoing tests and meeting with the world’s leading doctors. Then, I received shocking results. While I still had major stomach issues, doctors could see encouraging digestive changes.

New York Times, Blood Test to Detect 8 Cancers Early Gives Promising Results — The work was financed by many foundations, the Mayo Clinic, the National Institutes of Health and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which provides The Associated Press with funding for health and science coverage. Many study leaders have financial ties to gene testing companies, and some get royalties for patents on cancer detection methods. Additional coverage: Star Tribune, ABC News, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CBS News, CNBC, Chicago Tribune

New York Times, Trump Passed a Cognitive Exam. What Does That Really Mean? by Gina Kolata — Screening tests like these cannot rule out declines in reasoning or memory, or difficulties with planning or judgment. The test is just too blunt an instrument, and for many high-functioning people, too easy. “You wouldn’t make a diagnosis in either direction based on a screening exam,” said Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. (He emphasized that he was speaking in general terms, not specifically about President Trump’s case.)

BuzzFeed, This Is What Will Happen To Your Body If You Eat A Tide Pod by Caroline Kee — It should be obvious that the stuff inside laundry detergent pods isn't good for you. But how does it actually affect the body and what are the health risks? We spoke to Jana L. Anderson, pediatric emergency medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to find out…"What's inside the pod will depend on the type — some have softener or bleach — but most are full of a very alkaline detergent," Anderson tells BuzzFeed News.

Prevention, The Mediterranean Diet Might Improve Acid Reflux Better Than Drugs by Kelsey Kloss — “The Mediterranean diet is beneficial for most individuals and we’re very supportive of it here at the Mayo Clinic,” says Mary Wirtz, RDN, a wellness dietitian at the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program. “I wasn’t overwhelmingly surprised by this study because I think there are still a lot of benefits of the Mediterranean Diet we haven’t learned about yet.”

Health, Is It Too Late to Get the Flu Shot? by Sarah Klein — “We need more research so we can develop an influenza vaccine that works 100% of the time, for 100% of people,” says Pritish K. Tosh, MD, a Mayo Clinic infectious disease physician and researcher. “But we do have a vaccine that is effective in preventing influenza infection and also, in those who get infected, in preventing complications such as hospitalization and even death. While the research is ongoing to create a better vaccine, we need to use the one that we already have.”

CBS News, Parkinson's disease: What to know about Neil Diamond's diagnosis by Ashley Welch — Neil Diamond announced Tuesday that he is retiring from touring due to his recent diagnosis of Parkinson's disease…According to the Mayo Clinic, researchers have identified specific genetic mutations associated with Parkinson's disease, though these are rare unless many family members are affected by the disease.

CBC, A look at the cognitive test that Trump aced — and why it's 'not considered definitive' — So who really needs a cognitive assessment? They're usually offered only if there are concerns about memory or other cognitive functions — concerns noticed either by the patient, a relative or the doctor. "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. "It's ultimately only a first pass at cognition." The Montreal Cognitive Assessment — MoCa for short — is one of a list of similar tests that all aim to tap into specific functions.

Runner’s World, Runner’s Dystonia: Mysterious Malady Causes Mind and Muscle to Lose Touch by Cindy Kuzma — Essentially, brain signals controlling the muscles needed for running spill over into surrounding areas, activating muscles that work at cross purposes. “The result is the limb goes into a funny posture because too many muscles all fire together,” says Jeremy Cutsforth-Gregory, M.D., a movement disorders specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and author of a recent research paper on the condition.

Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Mayo Clinic plans Minneapolis 'mini camps' for Super Bowl week by Katharine Grayson — Mayo Clinic will host football-themed mini-camps at its downtown Minneapolis sports medicine center during Super Bowl week. The free camps will run participants through many of the drills and exercises that pro football teams use to assess athletes. Mayo also will provide camp-goers with nutrition and training tips, the Rochester, Minn.-based health care provider said in a statement.

Post-Bulletin, Council commits to housing effort by Randy Petersen — The Rochester City Council has committed to spending $250,000 during the next two years to support the creation of affordable housing in Rochester. While details for governing the newly formed Coalition for Rochester Area Housing remain uncertain, council members voted 6-0 to set aside the funds for future efforts. The coalition was announced in December as a partnership between Rochester Area Foundation, the city, Olmsted County and Mayo Clinic. Additional coverage: KTTC

Post-Bulletin, A for access by Brett Boese — A new report has declared that Minnesota is a national leader in efforts to reduce tobacco use, but local officials warn that much work remains in the overall tobacco impacts. "Treatment works," said Dr. Michael Burke, program supervisor of the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center. "The state of Minnesota supporting that is great, but we should be a straight A state." Adult and youth cigarette smoking rates are near historic lows, sitting at 15.2 percent and 8.4 percent. However, the study found that tobacco use for the groups are higher at 18.4 percent and 19.3 percent.

Post-Bulletin, Our View: Mayo's overseas investments assist core missions — Mayo Foundation has one of the largest portfolios of investment assets of any nonprofit health care and education-related foundation in the country. A few years ago, Harvard University was at the top, with gross assets of $56 billion. Mayo was far down the list but in the top 20 at $8.5 billion, according to the website Business Insider, based on 2014 data. Mayo also has one of the largest chunks of its assets invested overseas, which provides diversified returns as well as tax advantages. The Post Bulletin reported on Jan. 5 that Mayo had $2.69 billion in investment assets overseas in 2016. That information came from the IRS Form 990 that Mayo filed in November.

Post-Bulletin, 'The real deal' by Brett Boese — Tired and sick, Dave Asp's body is slowly failing him — but his mind is working overtime to complete his latest marathon and finish what his physician calls "a story of human triumph." The 70-year-old elite endurance athlete from Red Wing has been batling melanoma since May 2014. Undaunted, Asp, a veteran psychologist in addition to a competitive athlete, continued competing for three more years while simultaneously creating Mayo Clinic's first melanoma support group and writing a book about his cancer journey…Mayo Clinic oncologist Svetomir Markovic, a world renowned physician whom the Asps call "Dr. Melanoma," gushes about his patient's upbeat attitude. He calls him "an Ironman in every sense of the word." Markovic has been so impressed that he agreed to write the foreword in Asp's book and ordered 40 copies to distribute among patients and staff.

Post-Bulletin, Mayo doctor answers your questions on water consumption by Anne Halliwell — Does your New Year's resolution include taking better care of yourself? If so, you've probably promised yourself that this is the year you'll start drinking more water. Donald Hensrud, director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, answered some common questions about water — how much we need, how to make sure we get more, and why no one, ever, should drink "raw water."

Post-Bulletin, DMCC committee readies report to Legislature by Randy Petersen — The report includes details of DMC efforts in 2017, including the fact that the first state funds — nearly $2.7 million — for the project were released after the effort topped $200 million in private development. Of the $297.7 million in certified private investment documented since DMC efforts started, more than $239 million were Mayo Clinic investments. The remaining investments were connected to other projects in the DMC district, ranging from window replacements for existing buildings to new construction.

Post-Bulletin, Gubernatorial forum planned for Feb. 22 in Rochester by Brett Boese — Rochester will be the site of a gubernatorial candidate forum next month that will focus on affordable housing, Mayo Clinic, Destination Medical Center and rural health care, among other things. The Feb. 22 event was announced this morning by SEIU Healthcare Minnesota in conjunction with the statewide alignment called "Our MN Future," which is comprised of 22 labor, faith and community groups, including CURE, ISAIAH, Faith in Minnesota and others.

Post-Bulletin, STEM stewardship: Local group partners with museum to advance children in science by Anne Halliwell — Within a minute, the square table in the classroom at the back of the Children's Museum of Rochester was full of small children wielding glue sticks and glitter. Their efforts were guided by four volunteer educators, members of the Mayo Clinic chapter of SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science). On Sunday, the group sponsored child-friendly, educational experiments in partnership with Minnesota Children's Museum Rochester…Mayo Clinic has had a chapter of SACNAS for about two years. The group's main goal is to address diversity and inclusion the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Post-Bulletin, Six impacts of a snowy Monday by Randy Petersen — Dr. Heather Heaton in the Emergency Department of Mayo Clinic Hospital, Saint Marys Campus, said weather-related accidents led to more patients Monday, Typical injuries were related to slips and falls on ice, but noted other issues can cause concern. "During winter storms, people who need to venture out should do so with extreme caution and be mindful of other vehicles around you on the road," she said. "If you're going to be outdoors for a long period of time, dress in layers and keep skin covered to prevent frostbite."

KTTC, Mayo Clinic talks sex trafficking ahead of Minnesota Super Bowl by Jacob Murphey — Mayo Clinic briefs a portion of its staff Thursday on sex trafficking. A Mayo spokesperson says the discussion comes as a response to the heightened awareness around trafficking with the upcoming Super Bowl.  Mayo's medical director of the Child and Family Advocacy Center will speak to staff to give them a better understanding of how to recognize and approach a traffic victim.

KTTC, 4th graders send Mayo Clinic patient a message by Linda Ha — After a 4th-grade classroom at Gage Elementary heard about 10-year-old Landon Solberg's medical journey on KTTC, the students wrote him letters hoping to send light and encouragement his way. Solberg's medical team at Mayo Clinic performed a biopsy today to confirm their suspicions of a diffuse midline glioma. The North Dakota family says Landon will begin proton radiation treatment five times a week for six weeks at Mayo. Additional coverage: Valley News Live

KTTC, Mayo Clinic unveils new, stronger MRI machine by Erin O’Brien — A new piece of equipment at Mayo Clinic could give new hope to people with undiagnosed diseases. Mayo Clinic is unveiling its new "7-Tesla" MRI scanner this week… "There's a real wow factor that when our physicians come in and see the images off the new scanner and compare them to images off our older scanners they are really impressed and really believe that this scanner is going to make dramatic improvement in the way we take care of patients at the Mayo Clinic," said Dr. Kirk Welker, part of the Neuroradiology MRI Committee.

KTTC, Widespread influenza spike across Minnesota by Linda Ha — In Southeast Minnesota, there have been 54 flu-related hospitalizations reported since October. "For a number of reasons, related to the virus, related to the vaccine efficacy, this does appear to be a more severe influenza season than we've seen in the past," said Pritish Tosh, Infectious Disease Physician & Researcher at Mayo Clinic. "We do plan for surges in patients, not only in out-patient settings but also coming to the hospital. Our census in the hospital and medical services have been very high."

KIMT, Winter Weather & Skin Care by Amy Fleming — "When the temperature drops, the humidity tends to drop with it," says Dr. Dawn Davis, a Mayo Clinic dermatologist. "And, so, naturally your skin dehydrates." Davis says hands are especially vulnerable to cracks and cuts that can put you at risk for infection.  "So the use of winter clothing is very helpful to help slow or delay or prevent evaporation off the skin surface," says Dr. Davis.

KIMT, Emergency plan in place at Mayo Clinic by Jon Bendickson — Since some staff could not come in because of the winter storm, a strategy was in place to ensure patients were cared for.

KIMT, Safe Shoveling Tips by Brooke McKivergan — Health professionals at Mayo Clinic have released a few pointers for safe shoveling. They say that heart attacks increase during the winter time especially when people are out shoveling the snow. Those at Mayo say to not do anything that will put any extra stress on your heart before shoveling. Things like smoking, or drinking caffeine right before will cause more strain.

KAAL, Minnesota Twins Visit Mayo, Donate iPads — The Minnesota Twins stopped by Mayo Clinic Saint Marys Tuesday morning to bring a smile to some of the hospital's youngest patients. Kids and their families met the players, took pictures and got autographs. The stop was part of the Twins Winter Caravan. They also donated 30 iPads for patients to use during their hospital stay.

WXOW La Crosse, Bears In The Air donates more than 400 new stuffed animals to local hospitals — Some new stuffed animals are finding a new home Wednesday. The Bears in the Air program donated more than 200 new donated stuffed bears, monkeys, and even a unicorn to the Pediatric Unit at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse.

WXOW La Crosse, Widespread influenza spike across Minnesota — In Southeast Minnesota, there have been 54 flu-related hospitalizations reported since October. "For a number of reasons, related to the virus, related to the vaccine efficacy, this does appear to be a more severe influenza season than we've seen in the past," said Pritish Tosh, Infectious Disease Physician & Researcher at Mayo Clinic. "We do plan for surges in patients, not only in out-patient settings but also coming to the hospital. Our census in the hospital and medical services have been very high."

WKBT La Crosse, Flu hospitalizations up at La Crosse hospitals by Mal Meyer — Doctors at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse say this is the worst flu season since the H1N1 pandemic in 2009. Since the flu season began, the La Crosse location has had about eight patients at any given time requiring hospitalization. "Unfortunately the vaccines are not as effective against this particular strain as the other strains," said Dr. Raj Palraj, infectious diseases physician for Mayo Clinic Health System.

WEAU Eau Claire, Area hockey player saved thanks to quick-thinking teammates by Brooke Schwieters — The ‘Mighty Docs’ is a hockey team that started with a group of doctors from Mayo Clinic Health System. Now the team is coed and has players from many different professions, but it still maintains its goal of giving back, and this past Sunday, it was to help one of their own teammates in an urgent situation. “It's more than just the game,” a motto the ‘Mighty Docs’ has carried with them for the past eighteen years, focusing on charities like the American Cancer Society and raising money for their local hockey arena. "We have a great time out on the ice. We have varying levels of skill. We have players that have played their entire life and players that didn't start playing until they were in their 40's and even some in their 50's,” says Ryan Flaig, a player on the Docs.

WLFN La Crosse, Turn 100 into $411, Mayo Clinic Diet — Talked with Adrian Brambila about his LinkedIn video turning $100 into $411. And Jamie Proschinske from Mayo Clinic and I talked Mayo Clinic Diet.

WXOW La Crosse, Mayo Clinic's "Raising Healthy Kids" education series begins Thursday by Peter Lenz — Mayo Clinic Health System's presentation series "Raising Healthy Kids" starts on January 22. The series focuses on aspects that impact the health and wellness of children, and how to overcome them. "We want kids to be able to face situations and be able to do everything they want to do, we don't want their lives limited by anxiety disorders,'" explains the first presenter in the series, Clinical Therapist Janice Schreier.

WKBT La Crosse, Study finds women now outnumber men in the medical field by Ryan Hennessy — "I do think it has had a significant effect on the curriculum in medical schools, on how things are taught, on things like teamwork. There's had to be a lot of changes that have happened in the last 30 years that I think have a lot to do with the fact that there's more women in medicine now," said Cherri Olson, associate director at the La Crosse Mayo Family Residency Program. While Mayo has seen an increase in women medical school applicants, they say they generally try to keep the number of men and women students equal.

WKBT La Crosse, New Shingles vaccine is proving to be more effective by Ryan Hennessy — There is a new shingles vaccine that is proving to be more effective than the previous one. The shingles virus is a reactivation of the chickenpox virus in the body that normally results in a painful blistering rash. Doctors at Mayo Clinic Health System say this new vaccine is showing to be roughly 90 percent effective, which is much better than the last vaccine that was about 50 percent effective. If you're 40 years of age or older in the US there's a 99 percent chance that you had chicken pox as a child whether you know it or not. Almost all adults in the US are susceptible to shingles," said infectious disease physician Raj Palraj.

WKBT La Crosse, Doctors say online opioid database is helping by Madalyn O’Neill — "It's just become a part of our routine now,” said Dr. Cheri Olson, Family Medicine associate director at Mayo Clinic Health System. While checking the database means a few extra steps for doctors like Olson, she said it's worth it. "Physicians love it in terms of what it can tell us about the patients,” she said. “It is an overdue thing."

WEAU Eau Claire, Cervical Health Awareness Month: HPV Vaccines by Courtney Everett — Every year in the United States, HPV causes more than 30,000 cancers in men and women. Dr. Sandeep Basu says that about 74 percent of new HPV infection occurs in young people ages 15-24…Dr. Sandeep Basu, M.D of Mayo Clinic Health System says, "10% of people infected can later in life develop cervical cancer, head and neck cancer, other cancers. It’s one of those instances where it’s strong connection between an infections leading to a cancer.

WTMJ Milwaukee, Tweet helps Racine woman find kidney donor by Julia Fello — A Racine woman has Twitter to thank for finding her kidney donor. Her daughter Fernanda Meier tweeted about her story for four years, without her even knowing. It caught the attention of Maura Lopez, who lives in Portland. Four weeks later, they all met at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to undergo transplant surgery. Additional coverage: Little Things

Healio, Irrigation and debridement, component retention seen as viable option for treating hip infection — Daniel J. Berry, MD, and colleagues managed 90 hips with acute periprosthetic hip infection using either irrigation and debridement and retention of well-fixed implants with a modular head and liner exchange or with irrigation and debridement alone. Th McPherson criteria was used to stratify patients. Researchers defined failure as the failure to eradicate infection, subsequent removal of any component for infection, unplanned second wound debridement for ongoing deep infection or the occurrence of periprosthetic joint infection-related mortality.

Healio, Blood cancer precursor increases cancer risk, decreases life expectancy — “MGUS is asymptomatic and is usually discovered when a physician is doing a number of blood tests on a patient,” Robert A. Kyle, MD, professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told HemOnc Today. “We found that approximately 1% of patients with MGUS will progress to multiple myeloma, amyloid light-chain amyloidosis, lymphoma or Waldenström macroglobulinemia each year. These are serious malignant conditions that require therapy.”

Healio, Brentuximab vedotin shows promise in Hodgkin lymphoma, concerns remain by Stephen M. Ansell — Standard chemotherapy is effective for approximately 75% of patients, but the remaining subset will likely progress and require additional treatment, according to Stephen M. Ansell, MD, PhD, chair of the lymphoma group at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and HemOnc Today Editorial Board member. “The reason that folks were enthusiastic about the results, or potential results, was that response rates were high, and the problems with bleomycin lung toxicities were not an issue,” Ansell told HemOnc Today.

Medscape, MGUS in 3% of Population: What to Do? by Roxanne Nelson — Despite its high prevalence in the general population, there is "surprisingly limited evidence to inform best clinical practice both at the time of diagnosis and during follow-up," say the authors of the Blood paper, Ronald S. Go, MD, and S. Vincent Rajkumar, MD, both from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. They point out that the number of Americans aged 65 years and older is projected to double by 2050, so the number of individuals diagnosed with MGUS could climb to well over a million within the next 3 decades.

Managed Care magazine, Final Analysis of ASPIRE Confirms Kyprolis Benefit in Myeloma — The results “further validate carfilzomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone as a standard of care regimen for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma," said Keith Stewart, MB, ChB, Mayo Clinic in Arizona and principal investigator of the ASPIRE trial. "Furthermore, these data showed that early use of carfilzomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone at first relapse provided nearly one additional year of survival for patients regardless of prior treatment with bortezomib or transplant."

LiveScience, How Do You Die from the Flu? By Sara Miller — This year's flu season is off to a killer start — literally… For example, getting sick with the flu can make certain groups of people, such as older adults and people with chronic illnesses, more susceptible to bacteria that cause pneumonia, according to the Mayo Clinic. "Pneumonia is the most serious complication" of the flu and can be deadly, the Mayo Clinic says.

Healthcare IT News, Change Healthcare buys National Decision Support Company by Tom Sullivan — Change Healthcare on Thursday said it acquired National Decision Support Company. Change CEO Neil de Crescenzo said NDSC’s cloud-based services add tools for evidence-based medicine to its product portfolio… NDSC’s CareSelect Lab, based on a partnership with the Mayo Clinic, is a clinical decision support tool that ties into EHRs and aggregates clinical knowledge to recommend best practices.

Wahpeton Daily News, Mayo Clinic Men’s Health Moment: Introduction — Mayo Clinic urologist Tobias S. Köhler, M.D., discusses options for health care providers interested in referring patients to the Men's Health Clinic at Mayo Clinic.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution, How to survive a break up with your best friend by Rose Kennedy — …The Mayo Clinic also hails the positive health benefits of having good friends, from the esoteric like increased happiness to the scientifically-proven reduced risk of depression, high blood pressure or unhealthy body mass index (BMI) for folks with close connections. When your best friend moves away (hard), deserts you (harder) or betrays you (hardest), losing those benefits can trigger a life-altering event. Just don't count on society to see it that way.

Daily Mail, Are you SURE you have the flu? Or is it just a common cold? Experts explain the red flags to look out for by Kayla Brantley — It is a myth that the flu shot can give you the flu. 'There isn't any live virus in the influenza vaccine so it's impossible to get the flu from the vaccine,' said Dr Tosh from the Mayo Clinic. 'There was a live vaccine that's not available any more, but it was impossible to get the flu from that too,' he added.

Outside, Can Stem Cells Unlock Peak Performance? by Graham Averill — Physicians promising to, say, cure macular degeneration or repair a torn tendon or relieve arthritis are taking an ethical leap. “It’s like the Wild West right now,” says Shane Shapiro, a program director at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville…“A lot of patients are getting better from this, and we’re excited, but we don’t yet know why,” Shapiro says. “We have to design better studies and replicate them. We can’t just be applying the medicine without knowing if it actually works.”

MD magazine, Beating Physician Burnout by Kevin Kunzmann — Mayo Clinic surveys from 2011 and 2014 suggest that physician burnout is a growing epidemic. In the 2011 report, 45.5% of respondents reported at least 1 symptom of burnout. By 2014, that number had swelled to 54.4% (P<.001). Physicians also reported decreasing satisfaction with work–life balance over that span, from 48.5% in 2011 to 40.9% by 2014 (P<.001). Those disconcerting trends are continuing today. In July, physician network MDVIP reported that 76% of physicians suffer from sleep loss due to stress. Another 66% said work-related stress made them feel as if they were “on a treadmill that keeps speeding up.”

GenomeWeb, Exact Sciences Adds New Protein Markers to Portfolio With Armune Acquisition by Adam Bonislawski — Exact's lead product, Cologuard, is a stool-based test for colorectal cancer, but the company is interested working on the development of liquid biopsy cancer tests through a collaboration with Mayo Clinic, and, Conroy noted, it believes the Armune acquisition could be helpful in this regard. In a study presented last year at the American Association of Cancer Research, researchers from Exact and Mayo found that a panel of four methylated DNA markers measured in patient blood could distinguish between cases and controls with sensitivity of 91 percent to 96 percent and specificity of 90 percent to 94 percent in a cohort of 311 controls and 87 cancers.

Becker’s Orthopedic & Spine, Orthopedic surgeon to know: Dr. David Lewallen of Mayo Clinic by Mackenzie Garrity — David Lewallen, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Lewallen is the president of the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation. He is also the medical director of the American Joint Replacement Registry. After earning his medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, Dr. Lewallen completed his residency at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. He underwent fellowship training at Boston-based Beth Israel Hospital.

Interesting Engineering, French Surgeons Just Performed the First Double Face Transplant in History by Shelby Rogers — If this particular secondary transplant proves successful, then it could give the other transplant recipients hope that further procedures could be an option if necessary. Currently, Andy Sandness of the United States has to take a daily regimen of immunosuppressive drugs to prevent his body from rejecting the face entirely. Sandness was the first facial transplant for the Mayo Clinic. Recently, the Clinic created a video capturing the first time that Sandness met the widow of his face's donor. "When you first do something like this, it's just a big excitement to finally meet each other just to — I mean, the buildup is just so much," Sandness said. "And then there's anxiety and pressure."

Sleep Review, Long-time RLS Researchers: Dopamine Agonists May Cause Psychiatric Adverse Events, Even at Comparatively Low Doses by Dillon Stickle — Michael H. Silber, MB, ChB, a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, agrees that a black box warning is the right next step in addressing the issue of alerting patients of the risk of developing impulse control disorders. “I would have to see how they worded it, but I don’t think it would be in the least unreasonable to have these warnings in place,” Silber says. In a 2010 study, published in the journal Sleep, Silber and co-researchers conducted a prospective case-control study on the frequency of impulse control disorders in patients taking dopaminergic agents for RLS.

MedPage Today, Flavored Contrast Wins in Kids with Suspected IBD by Ed Susman — The addition of flavoring to barium concentrate (VoLumen) was tied to a significantly decreased need for "onerous" nasogastric tube administration in kids with suspected inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) undergoing CT or MRI enterography, researchers reported here. In 275 pediatric patients who received agent (Breeza), 1% required nasogastric tube (NGT) administration compared with 7% of patients given the standard barium concentrate contrast agent (P=0.0003), according to Leonard Haas, a medical student at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues.

MedPage Today, Ustekinumab Makes Inroads in Crohn's Disease by Ed Susman — Doctors turned to ustekinumab in about 19% of the cases of audited Crohn's disease when the initial anti-TNF failed in efficacy, according to Sunandra Kane, MD, MSPH, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and Lynn Price, of Spherix Global Insights in Exton, Pennsylvania. "As a result of the introduction of ustekinumab, use of both TNF inhibitors and vedolizumab (Entyvio) has decreased as Crohn's treatments in the second-line biologic setting," Kane told MedPage Today at a poster presentation at Crohn's and Colitis Congress.

Winona Daily News, A tradition of care: Winona State's nursing program celebrates 50 years since first graduating class by Kyle Farris — To meet the needs of area health care providers such as Mayo Clinic and Gundersen Health System, Winona State’s nursing program has evolved over the years to take on more students and offer more opportunities for educational and professional growth. Now, someone with an associate’s degree or certification in nursing can earn their bachelor’s from Winona State in just two years — and then stay right on campus to pursue their master’s and doctor’s degrees.

HealthNewsDigest.com, How Much Exercise Do You Need for a Healthy Heart? — There are many exercise programs that guarantee to help you get in shape and improve your cardiovascular health. But how much exercise do you really need to be heart-healthy? And what type of exercise is best? In this Mayo Clinic Minute, reporter Vivien Williams talks to Dr. Stephen Kopecky, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist, about exercise and what you need to do for good heart health.

Allure, Vitamin D Supplements: How to Tell If You Need Them This Winter by Emma Sarran Webster — The most commonly known cause of vitamin D deficiency is lack of exposure sunlight. According to Mayo Clinic, few foods contain the vitamin.

Williston Daily Herald, Cancer blood test is an important step forward — An experimental blood test to detect eight types of cancer is being called encouraging. A study published in the journal Science shows researchers developed a single blood test to screen common cancers in their early stages. Dr. Aleksandar Sekulic, deputy director for the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Arizona says the work is promising and important.

Romper, 7 Things Acid Reflex *Actually* Feels Like by Candace Ganger — According to The Mayo Clinic, acid reflux is "the backward flow of stomach acid into the esophagus — the tube that connects the throat and stomach — where you may taste regurgitated food or sour liquid at the back of your mouth or feel a burning sensation in your chest (heartburn)."

WKMG News, How changes in weather can affect your body by Samara Cokinos — People who suffer from migraines notice changes in the weather more than most. Studies at the Mayo Clinic revealed that several weather patterns can also trigger migraines. Some of those triggers are extreme heat or cold, dry or very humid air, a drop or rise in air pressure, and windy or stormy weather.

FOX News, How are the cold and flu different? by Zoe Szathmary — Coughing, a runny nose, congestion and a sore throat are just some of the things patients with the common cold may experience, the Mayo Clinic says. Others include sneezing and a minor headache or body aches. The Mayo Clinic also recommends seeking treatment if you experience certain health conditions, like when adults have a fever higher than 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit.

SELF, Jane Fonda Reveals She Had a Cancerous Growth Removed From Her Lip by Zoe Weiner — She's going to be fine. The legendary Jane Fonda just revealed that she had a cancerous growth removed from her lip… According to the Mayo Clinic, lip cancer is usually treated with surgery, which is often a minor procedure. But it's also possible to have skin cancer on the lips or the surrounding areas.

SELF, Allergies and Asthma: They Often Occur Together — The same substances that trigger your hay fever symptoms, such as pollen, dust mites, and pet dander, may also cause asthma signs and symptoms. In some people, skin or food allergies can cause asthma symptoms. This is called allergic asthma or allergy-induced asthma. James T C Li, M.D., a Mayo Clinic allergy specialist, answers questions about the link between allergies and asthma…

SELF, Food Poisoning vs. Stomach Flu: Signs, Symptoms, and Causes of Each by Korin Miller — On the viral side, you have culprits like norovirus, which is the most common cause of foodborne illness in the U.S. and which typically hangs out in items like raw, ready-to-eat produce, shellfish, and contaminated water. Rotavirus, which usually impacts children, is another common source. On the bacterial side, you have salmonella, listeria, shigella, campylobacter, E. coli, and more, according to the Mayo Clinic. These can show up in everything from hot dogs, milk, egg yolks, alfalfa sprouts, meat, poultry, and beyond.

Women’s Health, 9 Things You Need To Know About Thyroid Cancer by Colleen De Bellefonds — Sometimes, most often in women, the thyroid gets out of whack. In fact, the majority of thyroid cancers (about 75 percent, by some estimates) occur in women, says John Morris, M.D., past president of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) and an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic. Morris explains that, while thyroid cancer and autoimmune diseases like hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid) and hypothyroidism (an underachieve thyroid) are indeed significantly more common in women than in men, no one quite understands why just yet. And, FYI, thyroid issues like hypothyroidism are linked to an increased risk of thyroid cancer.

Fast Company, Utopic Wellness Communities Are A Multibillion-Dollar Real Estate Trend — by Rina Raphael — Some wellness community projects focus on the arts. Georgia’s Pinewood Forrest connects to Pinewood Atlanta Studios–the largest purpose-built studio complex outside of Hollywood– and targets professionals in the arts, media, and entertainment industries. A few communities center around a biomedical or health organization, such as Destination Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota, which is connected to the Mayo Clinic.

Yahoo! News, Menopause: Symptoms, treatments and common questions by Sarang Koushik M.D. — Menopause is defined as not having your period for 12 months -- a change that signifies the end of all monthly menstrual cycles you will experience. It happens when sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone begin to decrease. According to the Mayo Clinic, a non-profit organization that focuses on clinical practice, education and research, menopause may occur in your 40s and 50s, but the average age in the United States is 51.

Medical Xpress, Cancer immunotherapy found safe in patients with rheumatologic diseases — "Based on our observations, immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy should be considered in select patients with pre-existing rheumatologic disease," said senior author Dr. Uma Thanarajasingam, of the Mayo Clinic. "However, there is an immediate and pressing need for prospective, and ideally multi-center trials to study rheumatic patients who go on to need immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy - both to better understand their safety profile in this under-studied patient group, as well as elucidate risk factors and biomarkers for the development of immune-related adverse effects."

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