HealthDay, AHA: Exercise After Heart Attack May Improve Survival — The study supports exercise as "one of the most important medicines people can take before cardiac events but, in particular, after them as well," said Dr. Randal Thomas, medical director of the cardiac rehabilitation program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The study sends a clear message that "any amount of activity" can benefit survivors, although regular activity should be the goal, said Thomas, who was not connected with the new research. "Sometimes people think, 'Oh, I'll exercise for a few weeks and once I'm all better, I'll go back to my old ways of living.' But this really is a good study to show that maintaining those healthy changes can make a big difference," he said. "We tell patients it's never too late to start to get those benefits."

USA Today, Google's top trending searches in 2018: World Cup, Hurricane Florence, Mac Miller, Kate Spade by Dalvin Brown — Singing surgeons featured in video.

KTTC, DMC gives tour of Discovery Square’s life sciences building by Ala Errebhi — It’s been about a year since ground-breaking at Discovery Square in Downtown Rochester. On Tuesday, we got a look at the soon-to-be complete life sciences center. It’s part of Discovery Square, and its goal is to attract science researchers and related businesses. And it has indeed attracted businesses; they’re at full capacity with a wait-list should any one of them back out…Mayo Clinic has about one-third of that space spoken for. Additional coverage: KAAL

KIMT, Mayo Clinic Foundation gets donations from Kid's Cup by Isabella Basco — The Mayo Clinic Foundation received more than $51,000 in funding from the Kid's Cup Golf Tournament. The money will go to child life, psychology and a clinic for children with special needs. They will use the money to purchase toys for the children. "We see a lot of kids with developmental delay and a lot of children with autism spectrum disorder," Annie Redlin, a nurse care coordinator said. "So it helps them with coping, transitions, it helps provide time with the parents to talk with the providers so the children can play with toys. It's a great distraction."

KIMT, Balloon Brigade looks to brighten pediatric patients' holiday season by Calyn Thompson — For families with kids in the hospital, the holiday season can be an especially tough time. On Monday, an effort is underway to brighten the day for the patients at Mayo Clinic Children's Center. It's called the Balloon Brigade, where over the next two weeks Hy-Vee will give away 3,000 balloons to pediatric patients. "We want our patients and families to feel special and not forgot what their normal life is outside of the clinic and outside of the hospital," Marne Hoyer, a child life specialist at Mayo Clinic Children’s Center, said. Additional coverage: Post-Bulletin, KTTC

KROC-Radio, Rochester Mayor Presents His Final Medal of Honor Awards by Andy Brownell — Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede today experienced another emotional final event of 16-years in office. He hosted his last Mayor’s Medal of Honor luncheon at the Mayo Civic Center and honored a dozen local citizens for their contributions to the community. Brede’s last Mayor’s Award was presented posthumously to a Mayo Clinic physician who died in October after a battle with cancer. Dr. Richard Brubaker retired in 2000 after a 30-year career at Mayo.

Star Tribune, Minneapolis-based MyMeds launches Mayo Clinic partnership by Neal St. Anthony — MyMeds, started informally years ago by a doctor frustrated over patients who wouldn’t take their prescription medicine, is getting traction. Northeast-based MyMeds this week struck a collaboration with Mayo Clinic Global Business Solutions, “marking a major step in the healthcare sector’s efforts to combat patient non-adherence to doctor-prescribed medications.” Medication non-adherence, patients not taking their medications properly, is one of the costliest healthcare challenges plaguing employers, health plans and health systems across the industry. It’s estimated that about $300 billion of the annual $1 trillion tab for prescription medicine in the United States is wasted. “As a doctor, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges – both medical and from a cost-perspective – that result from patients missing their medications or misunderstanding their prescriptions,” said CEO Rajiv Shah, the founder and an owner of MyMeds. “This [Mayo] collaboration supports patients by providing accurate, easy to understand information while helping address this significant issue affecting everyone in healthcare.” Additional coverage: MedCity News

Pioneer Press, Mark Dayton: ‘This isn’t how I planned on going out as governor’ by Bill Salisbury — In his first news conference since undergoing back surgery nearly two months ago, Gov. Mark Dayton said Thursday he is feeling “better,” but added, “This isn’t how I planned on going out as governor.” Dayton, 71, looking gaunt while seated before the media in his Capitol reception room, said he is recovering from lung damage caused by complications after his most recent back surgeries at Mayo Clinic, but “whether it will be a permanent recovery remains to be seen.” His health problems have prevented him from taking a final bow after finishing his eighth year as governor early next month.

First Coast News, Jacksonville teen wakes from coma after two weeks, remains hospitalized by Kenneth Amaro — The cellphone video is grainy and it is shaky, but it shows is a teenage girl waking up from a coma. "I mean we are seeing a miracle," said Alaina Van Der Velden. Bill and Alaina Van Der Velden were told to prepare for the worst and to start saying their goodbyes. "A week ago, it was very grim," she said. But on Thursday, their 17-year-old daughter woke up in her bed at the Mayo Clinic. She came out of the coma the same as she slipped -- inexplicably. Additional coverage: FOX News

Florida Chamber of Commerce, Series on Free Enterprise: Mayo Clinic Helping Those Seeking “Hope & Healing” — In our latest Series on Free Enterprise podcast we sat down with Dr. Gianrico Farrugia, the outgoing CEO of Mayo Clinic of Florida, who was recently selected as the CEO of Mayo Clinic’s nationwide operations. Dr. Farrugia discussed the impact healthcare innovations have on Florida’s economy and international competitiveness, future innovations at Mayo Clinic, the cost of healthcare, and most importantly the need to raise the standard of care for every patient. “Mayo [Clinic] is really proud to be part of a vibrant Jacksonville community, we are very focused on the needs of the patients who need us the most,” said Dr. Farrugia “Most patients come to us who seek hope and healing for really complex medical problems and they often come to us after spending months or even years seeking health care elsewhere.”

Phoenix Business Journal, Arizona Mayo Clinic CEO to join Minnesota-based health care giant by Angela Gonzales — After serving as CEO for Mayo Clinic in Arizona for eight years, Dr. Wyatt Decker is retiring, briefly, before moving on to a new job. "I've been in the job eight years now," Decker said. "That's a good run for a CEO." He was approached by Optum Healthcare, which is part of Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH), to take a senior executive role. "Optum provides solutions and analytics for practices all over the country and all over the world, but primarily in the U.S.," Decker said. "I will be working with them to help create the future of health care through Optum. This is a very exciting opportunity that will allow me to help design and create and disseminate solutions for health care." His last day at Mayo Clinic will be Jan. 2 and he will start his new job with Optum on Jan. 3. He said he will retain his home in the Valley and split his time between Arizona and Minnesota. Additional coverage: Post-Bulletin, Becker’s Hospital Review

KAZT Arizona, Safe Surgical Procedure Tips from Mayo Clinic — Did you know that nail polish, mascara, and even contacts can affect your surgery? If you're getting ready to go to the hospital for a procedure, you'll need to know what to do and what not to do so that you will be ready. Dr. Natalie Strand, anesthesiologist with Mayo Clinic, joins Pat McMahon with more great information.

Arizona ABC 15, The pros & cons of taking apple cider vinegar for your health by Alicia Smith — Experts at Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic point out using apple cider vinegar can interact with certain supplements or drugs – including diuretics and insulin. So, people with diabetes should be cautious. And studies of apple cider vinegar consumption for weight loss in humans have not shown consistent or compelling results.

Red Wing Republican Eagle, Q and A: Take a deep breath and enjoy the holidays by Michael Brun — With all the decorating, shopping, cooking and get-togethers, the holiday season can leave a person breathless. Though these activities are all in good fun, the added commitments can also bring on additional stress this time of year. Sarah Stinson is a licensed professional counselor and supervisor of the Integrative Medicine and Health program at Mayo Clinic Health System in Red Wing. We asked her about ways to de-stress this month, including simple deep breathing techniques. Here’s what she had to say… Additional coverage: Mitchell Daily Republic

KEYC Mankato, Mayo Clinic Health System Donates $6,500 to JZ Cancer Fund — Mayo Clinic Health System has donated $6,500 to the Jonathan Zierdt Cancer Fund. The gift will be used to fund the JZ Caring Box, which provides a specially designed care package for cancer patients, their families and caregivers. Each JZ Caring Box contains items to provide support and comfort, and access to information and resources. Since January, Mayo Clinic Health System has distributed nearly 800 Caring Boxes to area patients.

Albert Lea Tribune, Match day looks to fill some local Salvation Army kettles — Volunteers from Mayo Clinic Health System will ring bells for the Salvation Army red kettle campaign from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at Hy-Vee in Albert Lea and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Shopko in Austin. According to a press release, Mayo Clinic employees with their family and friends will not only participate, but Mayo Clinic Health System will match up to $1,000 in Salvation Army red kettle donations at both Austin and Albert Lea locations.

WEAU Eau Claire, “Hello Wisconsin” — This time of year can often lead to the over-indulgence of rich and fatty foods. Health educator Katie Johnson with Mayo Clinic Health System, shows us salads are not just for summer. Below the video link, you’ll find full recipes for two hearty and flavorful winter salads - a beet walnut salad and a butternut squash apple salad.

WKBT La Crosse, Elementary students enjoy squash as part of Farm2School menu by Greg White — Local students are continuing to eat foods grown in our area. 4th graders at Northside and Spence Elementary schools in La Crosse got to eat a squash soup Wednesday. The recipe comes as part of the Farm2School program run by Get Active La Crosse. Mayo Clinic Health System's executive chef says it is important to remind students healthy food knows no season. "It's really important to teach our youth to not be afraid to cook in the kitchen and to try new ingredients and new foods because they are the people of our future," said Heather VanHorn, Executive Chef with Mayo Clinic.’ Additional coverage: WXOW La Crosse

WKBT La Crosse, Many diabetics are skimping on insulin because of the high cost by Scott Behrens — Sarah Gossett is a nurse practitioner of endocrinology at Mayo Clinic Health System. She said, "It's really frustrating that my parents can't take the medication that they need to stay alive just because of a cost. Especially if they do have insurance, I mean these are people who have worked their entire lives and have an illness that they need a medication for and they can't take it."… Making things even more dangerous Mayo Clinic said many times people feel completely normal after reducing their insulin, giving them a false sense of security.

WKBT La Crosse, Healthcare workers share tips after National Hand Washing Awareness Week by Alex Fischer — National Hand Washing Awareness Week ended on Saturday. Jenni Thrower, a registered nurse at Mayo Clinic Health System who works in infection prevention and control, said hand washing is very important for stopping the spread of illnesses, especially during the holiday season. She said hands should be washed before and during food preparation, as well as before you eat those favorite holiday dishes.

WKBT La Crosse, Cooking with N8TM: Steak with Chimichurri Sauce by Leah Rivard — Chef Heather Van Horn is featured.

WXOW La Crosse, Healthcare leadership changing hands at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse — After more than a century, healthcare leadership is changing hands inside the Mayo Clinic Health System — Franciscan Healthcare in La Crosse. During a ceremony on Wednesday, sponsorship was transferred from the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration to the Mayo Clinic. “The sisters have made incredible contributions to the community over the years,” remarked Joe Kruse, Regional Chair of Administration with Mayo Clinic Health System. “In healthcare they’ve been visionary and also have been willing to change to meet the needs of the times and I think that flexibility is something that maybe would be their legacy.” Additional coverage: WIZM-Radio, La Crosse Tribune

La Crosse Tribune, Mayo-Franciscan donates $125,000 to All Abilities Trane Park by Mike Tighe — Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare has donated $125,000 to the All Abilities Trane Park project in La Crosse, a $6 million endeavor that is the first of its kind in the Midwest. The park will allow people of all ages and abilities to play together in a safe environment without limitations. “We know that a healthy community requires more than access to quality medical care,” Dr. Paul Mueller said in announcing the donation Monday at Mayo-Franciscan’s Professional Arts Building. “That’s why our commitment to the health of our patients, co-workers, families and neighbors extends beyond the walls of our facilities,” said Mueller, regional vice president of Mayo-Franciscan. Additional coverage: WKBT La Crosse, WEAU Eau Claire, WXOW La Crosse, WIZM-Radio, FOX 25/48

La Crosse Tribune, Mayo-Franciscan, Gundersen plan service for lost infants — Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare and Gundersen Health System will co-sponsor their annual Candlelight Memorial Service for babies lost during pregnancy or stillborn, as well as infants who die very young, on Monday in Marycrest Auditorium at Mayo-Franciscan at 700 West Ave. in La Crosse…“The holidays bring families together, but when families have lost a baby, they become saddened and not sure how they should celebrate the holiday,” said Opal Hostert, Mayo-Franciscan’s Share Program coordinator.

La Crosse Tribune, Local psychologists concerned about substance abuse in parents and affect on area kids by Alex Fischer — Chelsea Ale, Ph.D., a child psychologists at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse, said drug addicted parents have trouble giving kids the consistency they need. She said kids with drug addicted parents can suffer from trauma, emotional instability, trouble sleeping and have defiant behaviors at home and at school…"It may be [about] helping that parent get on the right track so that they can provide that for their kids . . . Their hearts are usually in the right places, but addictions are very strong and really require a lot of support" said Ale.

La Crosse Tribune, Luna the lab offers her skills to patients at Mayo Clinic by Emily Pyrek — A new employee at Mayo Clinic Health System has made quite the impression. Patients stop her in the hallway to greet her and roll down their windows when she walks by in the parking lot to offer a quick hello. Her photo ID says Luna Morgan, but the golden haired canine is known simply as Luna to staff and patients, joining the Mayo team last month as a facility dog. The sweet-natured yellow Labrador has quickly won over staff and patients in numerous departments with her gentle bedside manner, sleepy-eyed visage and arsenal of commands.

FOX 47, Oronoco couple remember twin daughters who died from rare condition in utero — An Olmsted County couple are remembering their twin daughters this week, one day ahead of World Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome Awareness Day. Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome, also known as TTTS, is a rare and serious condition that can happen in pregnancies when identical twins or triplets share a placenta… The Mayo Clinic is helping to raise awareness about TTTS. They will light the Plummer Building in blue Friday night in honor of families, like Reisdorfer’s, who’ve lost children because of the disease.

Modern Healthcare, Healthcare providers are teaming with chatbots to assist patients by Rachel Z. Arndt — Chatbots are already widely used in other industries—especially retail, where they're hard to avoid in online customer-service interactions, even if the customer doesn't realize what they're chatting with. And chatbots are gaining traction in healthcare, too, helping connect patients to providers and payers on an efficient, cost-effective medium: mobile devices and computers…Northwell Health, for example, is trying out chatbots to help patients navigate oncology care, and Premera Blue Cross recently launched Premera Scout, a chatbot to help patients understand their benefits. The Mayo Clinic is delving deeper into the technology by researching voice-activated bots.

MedPage Today, Neurofilament Light Tied to Cognitive Decline by Judy George — Neurofilament light protein previously has been shown to be elevated in different forms of dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although other studies have shown similar findings, "this study is the most exhaustive to date and includes a much larger sample size and a wider range of neurodegenerative diseases to compare CSF neurofilament light levels," noted Michelle Mielke, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who was not involved with the study. "It is notable that the addition of CSF neurofilament light to CSF amyloid-beta, total tau, and phosphorylated tau greatly increased the accuracy of distinguishing ALS or FTD patients compared to controls," Mielke told MedPage Today. "However, it is not yet clear how much the addition of CSF neurofilament light to the other CSF biomarkers will help with differentially diagnosing the specific type of neurodegenerative disease."

Medscape, Free Beer, Wine After Alcohol Warning at Cancer Meeting by Nick Mulcahy — Sandhya Pruthi, MD, an internist, works in a high-risk breast cancer clinic at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. "I counsel patients who ask me, 'What can I do to prevent breast cancer?' " she said. Pruthi stresses risk modification, including regular exercise, weight management, and alcohol use awareness. "I recommend having one or less drinks a day," she said. "I don't advise they stop all alcohol." Pruthi, who was in San Antonio and spoke with Medscape Medical News, also strategically uses a general health questionnaire developed for her breast clinic. Reviewing the form with a patient creates an occasion to discuss alcohol. With drinkers, Pruthi says, "I'm not here to tell you to stop drinking. I'm here to tell you [you] can modify your risk." Pruthi also believes that discussing a possible mechanism for the alcohol-breast cancer risk is very important.

Medscape, Apixaban Significantly Reduces VTE in Cancer Patients — Medscape Medical News approached Robert D. McBane II, MD, a cardiologist at the Gonda Vascular Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, for comments. McBane treats secondary thromboprophylaxis in cancer patients and was not associated with either the AVERT or CASSINI trials. While the two trials were similar in patient population, McBane noted that there were differences. In order to enroll in CASSINI, patients were required to have a normal ultrasound to be considered eligible. "It is likely that some patients enrolled in the AVERT study may have already experienced asymptomatic thrombotic events," he said. "It may explain why VTE events in CASSINI may have occurred at a lower rate [6% with rivaroxaban vs 8.8% with placebo] due to the exclusion of patients with asymptomatic clots," McBane said.

MDedge, Tamoxifen at 5 mg halves recurrence of breast intraepithelial neoplasia by Neil Osterweil — Good old tamoxifen, there’s life in the old girl yet: A 3-year course of low-dose tamoxifen – one-fourth of the standard dose – reduced the risk of breast intraepithelial neoplasia (IEN) recurrence by half, compared with placebo. And although the patient numbers were relatively small, tamoxifen at 5 mg/day also reduced the risk of contralateral breast cancer by 75%, results of the TAM01 study showed… Sandhya Pruthi, MD, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who was not involved in the study, said in an interview that, while she was impressed by both the reduction in risk and the favorable side effect profile, the patient sample was too small to draw firm conclusions.“Could I go back to the clinic and tell all my patients who are taking 20 mg of tamoxifen that you can now cut your dose in half to 10 mg or even to the 5-mg dose based on this trial? That would I think be a little premature,” she said.

Live Science, 'Chemo Brain' May Result from Effects on 'Helper Cells.' The Finding Could Lead to Possible Treatments. by Rachael Rettner — Chemo brain includes symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, a feeling of "mental fogginess," memory problems, trouble with multitasking and taking longer than usual to complete routine tasks, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms can linger for months or even years after a patient's final cancer treatment and may prevent some cancer survivors from returning to work.

Food 52, The Absolute Best Way to Minimize a Hangover, According to a Doctor by Ella Quittner — I thought to myself last Saturday, as I awoke later than I wanted to, the edges of a headache creeping in while I sluggishly made my way—all 15 feet—to my kitchen, for a pot of coffee. (This, from 2 1/2 glasses of red wine.) So—after a long nap, an even longer shower, and more bacon-egg-and-cheeses than I'm proud of—I emerged from the weekend in one piece and called Chaun Cox, M.D., a physician with Mayo Clinic Health System, to get some answers… According to Dr. Cox, a lot of it comes down to dehydration. "Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it makes us go to the bathroom more," he says. It contains something called congeners, which are basically substances other than ethanol produced during the alcohol fermentation process—like methanol, acetone, acetaldehyde, esters, tannins, and aldehydes—and which are responsible for some of the way that non-distilled liquor tastes. These, he explains, are toxic to the body, meaning, "generally, they affect how our cells operate. When they do that, the body wants to get rid of them as quickly as possible, so they can’t damage our cells."

Neurology Today, Neurology Today Conference Reporter: AES Annual Meeting by Thomas R. Collins — Approximately 25 percent of drug-resistant epilepsy patients taking cannabidiol (CBD) developed a tolerance to the treatment, researchers said here at the American Epilepsy Society annual meeting. The findings suggest that that the effectiveness of the CBD drug might wane in the long term for some patients, complicating clinical management, said the lead study author Shimrit Uliel-Sibony, MD, a pediatric epileptologist at Tel Aviv University…Joseph I. Sirven, MD, FAAN, professor of neurology at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, AZ, who was not involved with the study, agreed. He said the findings show that there is still much that is unknown in how to best treat patients with cannabidiol oil. The study underscores that there is a learning curve with prescribing CBD, and especially in dosing it, Dr. Sirven said. "We are flying a little blind [at this point]. This study suggests we will learn more about this compound with increasing exposure of patients."

Neurology Advisor, Predicting Outcomes in Parkinson Disease: Utility of EEG — Quantitative biomarkers may be able to identify the risk for PD before symptoms of the disorder are expressed,4 which is achieved by the direct measurement of brain activity to ascertain cortical dysfunction. John Caviness, MD, a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, told Neurology Advisor, “The EEG is very useful. It is an objective physiological biomarker that is reliable, cheap, and easy to do relative to imaging. It has been validated in multiple studies across the world with similar results.”

Bump, What to Do for a Fever During Pregnancy by Korin Miller — Having a fever under any circumstance can be concerning, but a fever during pregnancy can be particularly unsettling. Your immune system is actually weaker during pregnancy, so you’re more susceptible to getting sick—and your symptoms may linger for longer. Aside from feeling especially crappy, it’s natural to worry whether your spike in temperature will affect baby. Here’s what you need to know about keeping you and baby safe and getting you back to good health… If you have a fever during pregnancy, the symptoms you may experience would be the same as if you weren’t expecting. “Being pregnant shouldn’t alter that,” says Julie Lamppa, CNM, RN, a certified nurse midwife at Mayo Clinic… When you have a fever, your internal body temperature rises, which can also increase baby’s temperature, Lamppa says. “When a fetus becomes too warm, their heart rate may increase,” she says. However, Lamppa adds, “this is usually temporary and shouldn’t cause any long-term concerns.”

Next Avenue, How Realistic Is Dying at Home? by Bill Ward — On Jan. 29, 2014, David C. Skipworth died in Garland, Texas at age 67 after a long illness, holding his wife Sandra’s hand and listening to the National Anthem. In his own home. In his own bed. Like many Americans, dying at home was important for this Vietnam veteran. A 2018 Stanford University School of Medicine study found that 80 percent of us prefer that scenario. Instead, about three-quarters of older Americans die in nursing homes or hospitals… “People these days are more ill when they’re dying,” said Dr. Cory Ingram, director of palliative medicine in population health at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “The time from being diagnosed to dying is longer. Before, there might have been one [physical] problem; now there are multiple issues that require more nursing care. People have more sophisticated care needs than they did, say, 20 years ago.”

MedTech Dive, BioSig partners with Mayo Clinic for electrophysiology recording system trial by Nick Paul Taylor — Working with Mayo Clinic, BioSig has performed preclinical studies in dogs to assess the effectiveness of the system. The findings of those studies encouraged BioSig to push forward with development of PURE EP, leading it to receive 510(k) clearance from FDA in August and embark on a clinical program. BioSig put the first piece of its push into the clinic in place late last month when it entered into an agreement with Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute to run first-in-human studies. The agreement with Mayo Clinic gives BioSig a second center at which to test PURE EP and tightens its ties to researchers familiar with the technology.

Medical Xpress, Smoking linked to cognitive dysfunction in fibromyalgia — Ryan D'Souza, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues surveyed 668 patients with FM to examine the correlation between tobacco smoking and cognitive function. The primary outcome of interest was cognitive function as measured by the 38-question multiple-ability self-report questionnaire (MASQ). The researchers found that 14.07 percent of the patients self-identified as smokers. In unadjusted analysis, smoking was identified as a significant risk factor for lower total cognitive functional score and lower MASQ subscale scores in language, verbal memory, visual-spatial memory, and attention.

Bottom Line, You survived breast cancer…Here’s how to stay on top of your health — There is a proven step you can take to vastly decrease the chance that a cancer recurrence will sneak up on you and go unnoticed while it is most treatable. Unfortunately, a surprising number of breast cancer survivors are skipping this potentially lifesaving step. What is this step? Nothing exotic—it’s just annual screening with mammography (a breast X-ray). How many women are skipping this step? That’s what researchers at the Mayo Clinic just found out with their latest study. The study: Mayo researchers followed 27,212 women for close to three years after surgery to remove one breast with cancer, and about 4,700 of these women were followed for at least five years. While 87% had a breast cancer screening test in the year following their surgery, 13% did not…and by the fifth year, 19% of the women were skipping annual screening…Source: Kathryn J. Ruddy, MD, MPH, oncologist, coleader of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center Symptom Control/Survivorship Cross-Disciplinary Group at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

CBC, Tennis tops list of sports for increasing life expectancy — Researchers tracked thousands of people for up to 25 years, including what sports they played and when they died. They found tennis players lived longest among the activities they looked at — ahead of soccer, swimming and cycling…Most physical activity is beneficial, but according to this latest piece of research published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, not equally so — at least when it comes to increases in life expectancy. Researchers looked at 9,000 people for up to 25 years, tracking what physical activity they did and when they died. They used data from the Copenhagen City Heart Study, a long-running study into heart health.

KWTX, Respiratory virus is making a comeback, can be deadly by Paul J. Gately — “RSV is the most routine cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia in children younger than 1 year of age in the United States and is also a significant cause of respiratory illness in older adults,” Mayo Clinic doctors say. The Mayo Clinic report says symptoms of RSV in both children and adults include congested or runny nose, dry cough, low-grade fever, sore throat, and mild headache. In severe cases it can spread to the lower respiratory tract, causing pneumonia or bronchiolitis--inflammation of the small airway passages entering the lungs—and the symptoms, including fever, severe cough, wheezing, rapid breathing or difficulty breathing and a bluish color of the skin due to lack of oxygen, can worsen.

Bustle, 5 Signs You’re Hydrated Enough & You Can Finally Stop Stressing by Brandi Neal — If you're not sure how to tell when you're hydrated enough, and sipping H2O is always on your mind, there are some signs you've had enough water and can finally stop stressing about it already. According to the Mayo Clinic, when you start to feel thirsty you're already dehydrated, which is why it's important to sip throughout the day so you don't get thirsty. File this under: easier said than done… "When you're thirsty, you could already be dehydrated, having lost as much as 1 to 2 percent of your body's water content. And with that kind of water loss, you may start to experience cognitive impairments — like stress, agitation and forgetfulness, to name a few," the Mayo Clinic reported.

Star Advertiser, Breathing tubes fail to save many older patients by Paula Span — Intubation, for instance, is often something a physician can foresee. Older patients who have cardiorespiratory conditions (emphysema, lung cancer, heart failure), or who are prone to pneumonia, or who have entered the later stages of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease — any of them may be nearing this crossroads. When they do, Dr. Michael Wilson, a critical care physician at the Mayo Clinic, opts for a particularly humane approach. As he recently described in JAMA Internal Medicine, before he inserts the tube, he explains to the patient and family that while he and the staff will do everything they can, people in this circumstance may die. “You may later wake up and do fine,” he tells his patient. “Or this may be the last time to communicate with your family,” because intubated patients cannot talk.

Tech Target, Medical device risk management hinges on strong processes by Makenzie Holland — Medical devices today face an environment riddled with security threats due to lack of encryption, unpatched software and operational security gaps. And healthcare organizations are feeling the effects. Kevin McDonald, director of clinical information security at Mayo Clinic, pointed to a study conducted by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives that revealed almost one-fifth of providers had experienced malware on medical devices. McDonald, a cybersecurity expert, said there are medical device risk management steps healthcare CIOs can take to reduce security risks posed by connected medical devices.

Health Imaging, Precision radiology may become possible with deep learning-based abdominal CT segmentation by Matt O’Connor — A deep learning algorithm developed by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, segmented abdominal CT images to determine body composition similarly to, and at times, better than trained radiologists. In the study, published online Dec. 11 in Radiology, researchers created an algorithm based on U-Net architecture and trained it to perform abdominal segmentation on a dataset of 2,430 2D CT exams. The algorithm was tested on 270 CTs and a separate set of 2,369 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). All exams were performed between 1997 and 2015 on patients with an average age of 67 years old. with pixels external to the body.  When compared to the reference segmentation, the algorithm “met or exceeded” the expert’s manual effort, according to first author Alexander D. Weston with Mayo Clinic’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physiology, and colleagues. “Our results suggest that an accurate 3D segmentation is possible by using a simple 2D model, which could vastly reduce both the complexity and the amount of training data required to develop a segmentation tool,” Weston and colleagues wrote.

Health Imaging, Ultrasound after DBT could scrap need for diagnostic mammogram by Melissa Rohman — Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota found that 98 percent of digital breast tomosynthesis-detected masses sent to ultrasound directly were adequately evaluated without the use of diagnostic mammography, according to research published Nov. 29 in the British Journal of Radiology. Sadia Choudhery, MD, radiologist at the Mayo Clinic, and colleagues analyzed 212 masses from screening digital breast tomosynthesis scans that were sent either to diagnostic mammography or ultrasound. The researchers noted the size, shape, and margins of the masses as well as breast density, how visible the masses were on ultrasound and the diagnostic assessment and pathology of all masses.

Insider Louisville, Will new U.S. policy make it too hard for Kentuckians to get liver transplants? by Darla Carter — The goal of the policy, which is based on a system of concentric circles on the map, is to better equalize the distribution of livers across the country and to comply with a federal rule that says the most urgent candidates are to be transplanted first, said Dr. Julie Heimbach, a Minnesota transplant surgeon. She chairs the OPTN/UNOS Liver and Intestinal Organ Transplant Committee that was tasked with coming up with a fair policy. “Because we’re gonna be able to transplant the people at most risk of death, we should, hopefully, overall save more lives,” said Heimbach, who works for the Mayo Clinic.

Vice, Je me suis injecté des minéraux dans le bras pour être moins fatigue — Le bien-être est un mode de vie, pas une solution miracle à coup d’intraveineuses, et ce peu importe ce qu’on y met », affirme Brent Bauer, directeur du programme de médecine complémentaire et intégrative de la Mayo Clinic. Il ajoute que les nutriments sont mieux consommés dans le cadre d’un régime alimentaire sain, et que le fait de les prendre par voie intraveineuse ne fait qu’introduire un risque, faible certes mais inutile, d’infection et de déséquilibre électrolytique.

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

Editor, Karl Oestreich;  Assistant Editor: Emily Blahnik

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