April 26, 2019

Mayo Clinic in the News Weekly Highlights for April 26, 2019

By Emily Blahnik

Reuters, In many states, pregnancy invalidates a woman's DNR by Linda Carroll — Most states have statutes that invalidate a woman's advance directive if she is pregnant, a U.S. study finds. And because those statutes are often not clearly outlined in the DNR form, women filling out an advance directive most likely would not know that it wouldn't apply if they were pregnant, researchers reported in JAMA. "Two-thirds of states that had restrictions didn't disclose that in the advance directive document," said study leader Dr. Erin DeMartino of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. "So a person could in good faith fill out a DNR and assume that unless she decides to annul it herself it would be a valid document moving forward." DeMartino and her colleagues were surprised at how common the pregnancy exceptions were. Additional coverage: Daily Mail, Popular Science, Medical Xpress, Medical News Today

New York Times, Scientists Create Speech From Brain Signals by Benedict Carey — “It’s formidable work, and it moves us up another level toward restoring speech” by decoding brain signals, said Dr. Anthony Ritaccio, a neurologist and neuroscientist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., who was not a member of the research group….The new system, described on Wednesday in the journal Nature, deciphers the brain’s motor commands guiding vocal movement during speech — the tap of the tongue, the narrowing of the lips — and generates intelligible sentences that approximate a speaker’s natural cadence.

USA Today, Millennials' health is declining: They may be worse off than Gen X, report finds by Ryan W. Miller — …Within the top 10 conditions affecting millennials, six were tied to behavioral health, a finding that Dr. Vincent Nelson said was particularly concerning… Dr. William B. Leasure, a psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic and chair of its integrated behavioral health department, said affordable access to mental health treatment beyond traditional, face-to-face appointments is needed, too. "There are not enough mental health providers to cover the entire population ... we can't do that all ourselves," he said. "We need to involve other resources and primary care providers."

USA Today, After nearly dying, Ball State football player lifts up everyone around him by Ryan O’Gara — A few weeks ago, Trey had an EMG on his arm to see what nerves were working and what muscles were working. The way he explains it, "I didn’t get a very good report on that." A lot of the nerves aren’t working. His brachial plexus was severed. So in the next few weeks, Trey will head to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to do nerve reconstruction. If his nerves don’t respond, his entire arm will be amputated. At this point, though, that’s fine with Trey. He’s ready for his arm to come off, or he’s ready for it to start working. Doing anything, like going to the bathroom, is a struggle and he requires assistance. He would obviously like to have his arm, but he wants to move forward.

NBC News, Why do we believe liars? by F. Diane Barth — According to literature put out by the Mayo Clinic, “Refusing to acknowledge that something is wrong is a way of coping with emotional conflict, stress, painful thoughts, threatening information and anxiety.” With denial we can reassure ourselves that everything is okay, even when it is not. The reassurance can give a frightened psyche time and space to work on possible solutions, which is harder to do when you are in a state of panic, anxiety or dread."

People, Beyoncé Had Preeclampsia While Pregnant with Twins — How Serious (and Common) Is the Condition? by Jen Juneau — In her new Netflix documentary film Homecoming, out now, the 37-year-old singer opens up about the struggles that she went through while carrying her two youngest children — explaining that she developed preeclampsia during what she dubbed “an extremely difficult pregnancy.”… Preeclampsia, also known as toxemia, is a pregnancy condition that can cause serious complications and is “characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, most often the liver and kidneys,” according to Mayo Clinic.

Yahoo!, 'Today' show's Dylan Dreyer opens up about miscarriage and secondary infertility struggle by Amy Haneline — The Mayo Clinic says that the causes of second infertility could range from damaged sperm production, uterine conditions, complications with prior pregnancies or changing factors (age, weight, medication). In Dreyer's case, she said that her blood work showed that she has a very low egg count. She also had significant scarring on her uterus from the emergency cesarean section she underwent while having Calvin. Additional coverage: USA Today

Reader’s Digest, Here’s Why Osteoporosis Is a Bigger Problem Than People Realize by Sari Harrar — “After a heart attack, people are evaluated and put on a plan with medication and lifestyle changes to prevent another one. The same thing should happen after a fracture,” says Bart Clarke, MD, the president of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and a researcher at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.

Reader’s Digest Canada, 10 Warning Signs of Heat Stroke by Jessica Migala — Infants, the elderly, and people with chronic diseases are especially vulnerable to heat stroke, according to the CDC. The Mayo Clinic points out that fainting may be the first sign of heat stroke in these individuals. During a heat wave, keep a watch on people who fall into these groups; call 911 if they should pass out and consider CPR if necessary—brush up on the seven essential CPR steps here.

Prevention, Everything We Know About Mick Jagger's Heart Valve Surgery Recovery by Korin Miller — Heart valve surgery is done to treat heart disease, an issue with one of the four valves in your heart that keep your blood flowing in the right direction, according to the Mayo Clinic. Each valve has flaps that open and close during a heartbeat and, when they don’t open or close the way they should, it can disrupt the blood flow through your heart and body.

Woman’s Day, The 7 Signs of Lung Cancer Women Need to Pay Attention To by Colleen Stinchcombe — The CDC notes that men get lung cancer more often than women by a small margin. Among nonsmokers, however, Harvard Medical School reports that women get lung cancer more frequently. Additionally, men and women tend to get different forms of the disease, though the symptoms of lung cancer in women and men are generally the same. Unfortunately, by the time symptoms occur the cancer tends to already be at an advanced (often incurable) stage, as the Mayo Clinic states.

Modern Healthcare, Peer networks drive software decisions among hospital CIOs by Jessica Kim Cohen — …When Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic decided to implement a new EHR roughly five years ago, it searched for a system that could manage the academic medical center’s clinical, billing and revenue-cycle systems across all of its sites. Bringing in vendors to perform usability and functionality tests with hospital staff also played a major role in its final decision to choose Epic. “Because Epic is so heavily represented in large academic medical centers, many of our newer staff, residents, fellows, have practiced in an Epic medical center,” said Dr. Steve Peters, co-chair of the Plummer Project, Mayo’s nickname for the EHR installation. Mayo brought its final sites live on Epic in 2018, more than a year after launching the systemwide project in July 2017.

Bustle, 13 Lifestyle Changes That Help Migraines, According To People Who Get Them by Mika Doyle — 3. Learn Mindfulness. Dr. Jennifer Robblee, a 35-year-old Headache Fellow at Mayo Clinic who has experienced migraines since she was a teenager, tells Bustle she manages her migraines by "learning mindfulness to help with the pain and associated symptoms [of migraines], as well as to optimize stress, which can contribute to migraine. I have used various apps like Headspace and Buddhify to learn it."

Becker’s Hospital Review, ASU, Mayo Clinic name 6 health IT startups to 1st MedTech Accelerator program by Andrea Park — The Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University in Tempe have announced the six healthcare technology-focused startups that will join their inaugural MedTech Accelerator program. The accelerator will help early-stage medtech companies develop and perfect new products, license intellectual property and sponsor necessary research and studies. The six startups will pursue their goals through personalized development plans, an entrepreneurship curriculum, mentoring and consumer interactions. Both ASU and Mayo Clinic have sponsored startup development programs in the past, but the MedTech Accelerator marks their first joint accelerator. Additional coverage: Healthcare IT News, Health Data Management. HIT Consultant

Becker’s Hospital Review, Mayo Clinic, Amazon, Johns Hopkins considered top places to work by Jackie Drees — More than half of the brands consumers would be most proud to work for are health institutes or technology companies, according to YouGov BrandIndex's 2019 Workforce Rankings. For the report, YouGov BrandIndex surveyed an unspecified number of participants ages 18 and older. Here are the 10 companies that participants rated most favorably when asked: "Which of the following brands would you be either proud or embarrassed to work for?" 1. Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.) 2. Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore).

Denver Business Journal, Venture capital fund with former Mayo Clinic exec to raise $50 million by Monica Vendituoli — Other companies raising money this week were funding businesses in the real estate and technology industries.

FOX 7 Austin, The Mayo Clinic Guide to Raising a Healthy Child — At Mayo Clinic Children's Center, more than 200 medical providers in 40 medical and surgical specialties offer integrated care to over 50,000 children and teenagers every year, inspiring hope and providing healing. Dr. Angela Mattke, M.D. from the Mayo Clinic Children's Center joins us in the FOX 7 studio to address key questions and concerns many parents have about the preschool and school-age years.

Atlanta Journal Constitution, Scientists identify 104 high-risk genes for schizophrenia disorder by Fiza Pirani — Researchers with Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified more than 100 high-risk genes for schizophrenia, a serious mental disorder known to cause people to interpret reality abnormally. According to the Mayo Clinic, people with schizophrenia often experience a combination of hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking and behavior, all of which can be severely disabling.

HealthDay, Americans Sitting More Than Ever, and Tech Is to Blame by Dennis Thompson — Dr. Gerald Fletcher, a cardiologist with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fl., reviewed the study findings. He said, "People rationalize and say, 'Well, I just went to the health club,' but then they go out and do all of the other bad things." On top of working out, people can reduce sitting time by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, holding stand-up work conferences instead of sitting around a table, and getting up from their desk once an hour to stretch, he suggested. Additional coverage: US News & World Report

HealthDay, Veggies, Fruits and Grains Keep Your Heart Pumping by Steven Reinberg — As if you needed any more proof that fruits, vegetables and whole grains are good for you, a new study finds they may cut your chances of heart failure by 41%. Conversely, the so-called Southern diet, which focuses on meats, fried and processed foods and lots of sweet tea, was tied to a 72% increased risk of heart failure. "Eat more plants, limit red and processed meat," said lead researcher Dr. Kyla Lara, a cardiology fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Lara cautioned that this study cannot prove different diets cause or prevent heart failure, only that they are linked.

Bloomberg, ‘Bubble Boys’ Cured in Medical Breakthrough Using Gene Therapy by Michelle Cortez — An experimental gene therapy has cured eight infants with the so-called Bubble Boy Disease, an immune-system deficiency so severe that children with it were at one time kept in total isolation for fear that even a simple common cold could be deadly...“We are very close to that dream, that we have a fix, which is not partial but a complete fix for these babies,” said Avni Joshi, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who wasn’t involved in the study. “The risk for leukemia seems minimal, but a little longer follow-up seems warranted. I will be completely convinced when we have three to five years of follow up.”

Post-Bulletin, Researcher combined science, art and marshmallow treats for an award-winning Peep diorama by Jeff Kiger — Science can be sweet, when researchers hunger for answers to life-and-death questions … and marshmallow treats. Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences doctoral student Stephanie Anguiano-Zarate's taste for science, art and neon-colored Peeps recently came together as she created a Peep diorama to show a typical day in her life. After 52 hours of work, her creation took the coveted "Silver Peep" award in "The World’s Finest (and Only … As Far as We Know) Science-Themed Peeps Diorama Contest" sponsored by the Open Notebook, a science writing nonprofit organization. Her foray into Easter-candy art started when Anguiano-Zarate spotted a flyer for a science-themed diorama contest at a science writing conference. She brought the flyer back to Rochester, but didn't rediscover it until she was looking for some notes from the conference. Additional coverage: Pioneer Press,Open Notebook

KAAL, Exercise Properly in Order to Prevent Injuries This Summer by Jaclyn Harold — As spring weather makes its way through Minnesota, officials are predicting a lot more physical activity on the weekends.  What Minnesotans need to know is that the best way to prevent injuries during workouts or sporting events is to execute those activities properly."You shouldn't just play your sport to be in shape, you should be in shape to play your sport," said Edward Laskowski, the co-director of Mayo Clinic's Sports Medicine Department. Laskowski says most people associate working out with rigorous weight training or long distance running, when in fact you can safely and effectively exercise your body by simply walking.

KAAL, House of Shields: Helping Brothers in Blue Going thru Medical Challenges by Talia Milavetz — People from all over the world travel to Rochester seeking medical treatment at Mayo Clinic. Adding the cost of hotels to already steep medical bills can be an extra hardship for those out-of-towners trying to make ends meet. That’s something Lesa Molitor struggled with when her husband was diagnosed with cancer. "Oh my husband was a character. He had a huge personality bigger than life,” said Molitor…In 2008, Joe was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a type of disease that causes cancer cells to accumulate in the bone marrow. He needed a stem cell transplant at Mayo Clinic.

KAAL, Recent CPR Certification Helps Save Life — …Cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death is an electrical problem of the heart. Basically where there is no effective heartbeat and no blood flow to the vital organs of the body. A heart attack is a circulation problem effectively where there is a blockage in one of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. So two different problems," said Dr. Ammar Killu, who is a Cardiac Electrophysiologist at Mayo Clinic.

KTTC, Measles near record in U.S. as cases continue to climb by Linda Ha — “Measles can kill a person, measles can leave a person handicapped for life,” said Dr. Robert Jacobson, a pediatrician at Mayo Clinic. “Most people who get measles do recover but we have to remember that it’s very hard on young people.” The best protection against measles is Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to the CDC. The first dose at 12 through 15 months of age. The second dose 4 through 6 years of age. “We do ask that people who are in school, healthcare, or are international travelers to have two vaccinations, otherwise most adults are just fine with once vaccinations. This vaccine for measles is a remarkable one in that it gives life-long protection. 97 percent of people who have received two doses are immune for life,” said Dr. Jacobson.

KIMT, NIACC Student tells his story about living and thriving with Tourette’s by Brian Tabick — Giving a speech is a challenge for anyone but it's even more difficult for Trevor Smith, who faces physical ticks due to a mild case of Tourette's. He says those ticks worsen the more nervous he becomes. Mayo Clinic said he has one of the worst cases of Tourette syndrome they have ever seen. "On a scale of 1-10., I think it’s about a seven or 8 at any given time,” he said. “I hid it from everyone else,” he said. “When I wrote my song, 'Crazy,' it was just kind of like opening my eyes are still things to get excited about in life,” Smith said. He performed that song at the 2018 Tourettes Association Gala and then the call came that would change his life. Mayo Clinic Foundation would pay 85 percent of the cost for a procedure to limit his ticks.

Med City News, Failure of once-promising Alzheimer’s drug reinforces doubts about amyloid beta by Alaric Dearment — Verubecestat, an orally administered small-molecule drug, is a BACE-1 inhibitor designed to reduce the production of Abeta and limit deposition of amyloid plaques. But this time, the drug wasn’t just ineffective: Patients receiving it actually saw a worsening of symptoms compared with those in the placebo arm. In an editorial responding to the study, Mayo Clinic neurologist Dr. David Knopman wrote, “To be blunt, [amyloid beta] lowering seems to be an ineffective approach, and it is time to focus on other targets to move therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease forward.”

Med City Beat, Mayo Clinic film now streaming on Netflix — If you are like me and cut the cord years ago, then you will be pleased to learn that the recent Ken Burns film on Mayo Clinic is now on Netflix. The two-hour documentary — which premiered on PBS last September — was recently added to the subscription-based streaming service.

Star Tribune, Nonprofit opens new wellness facility in north Minneapolis to combat obesity by Kelly Smith — Melvin Anderson is tackling obesity and diabetes in north Minneapolis one family at a time. The former Gopher football and NFL player is opening a new wellness facility off Plymouth Avenue N. and Lyndale Avenue to fill a void in fitness classes and nutrition counseling in the community… With 12 staff, Anderson has ambitious long-term goals to combat generational obesity by turning the facility into a specialty health care clinic. He's working with experts at the Mayo Clinic and University of Minnesota to evaluate the program later this year. At the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Joyce Balls-Berry, a psychiatric epidemiologist, said the study will also fill a gap in Minnesota in health research specifically focused on minority communities.

Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine, Pro Care In the Heart of Downtown Minneapolis by Suzy Frisch — While training for the Twin Cities Marathon last summer, Claire Walling felt every mile in her back and hip. She battled through the pain to finish the race, but Walling knew she needed medical help to fully recover. Despite several visits to a physical therapist, Walling’s nagging pain persisted. The provider just wasn’t addressing the root of her problem. A friend suggested that she see Dr. Jonathan Finnoff, D.O., a sports medicine physician and physiatrist at Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine in downtown Minneapolis. Finnoff diagnosed Walling with femoroacetabular impingement, a condition that causes bones in the hip joint to rub together during movement. He explained how he arrived at that diagnosis and ruled out others.

South Florida Reporter, There Are Three Types Of Skin Cancer — There’s no questions that sun exposure increases your risk of skin cancer.  Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Dawn Davis, a Mayo Clinic dermatologist, says there are three main types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.

South Florida Reporter, Why Vaccines Are Especially Important For Older People (Video) — The older you get, the harder time your body has fighting off infections and diseases. That’s why Dr. Gregory Poland, who heads up the Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group, says it becomes more crucial to get vaccinated as you age.

Arizona ABC 15, Arizona State University researchers make breakthrough in detecting CTE by John Patrick — Arizona researchers have collaborated to discover new techniques in detecting CTE in living patients. Depression, anxiety, and memory loss are all symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE…Arizona researchers from Arizona State University, Mayo Clinic, Brigham, Women’s Hospital, and Avid Radiopharmaceuticals teamed up to make a massive breakthrough in detecting CTE; viewing CTE signatures in the brains of living NFL players. Additional coverage: The State Press

Mankato Free Press, Pink eye guidelines updated by Brian Arola — Having pink eye historically meant a day off from school and a prescription for eye drops, but new guidelines call for a change to this approach. The Minnesota Department of Health’s recently updated recommendations, aligning with the American Academy of Pediatrics, say pink eye should be treated more like the common cold. It means children who don’t have a fever don’t need to be excluded from schools or day care, as long as they can be trusted to practice good hygiene. Dr. Jennifer Johnson, Mayo Clinic Health System family medicine physician, said the shift reflects the medical community’s greater understanding of how ineffective antibiotic eye drops are in treating the viral illness. Pink eye generally clears up on its own within seven to 14 days. “That mindset shift is going to be big for people to realize you don’t need to be on drops,” she said. “There’s nothing magical about being on drops for 24 hours.” Additional coverage: KEYC Mankato

Albert Lea Tribune, How to save a life by Sarah Kocher — First responders zipped a Glenville-Emmons student into a body bag Thursday as a reminder of what can happen when people drive impaired, distracted or unbelted. Glenville-Emmons High School hosted a mock crash for its student body, in which National Honor Society students served as actors at the scene of a collision… The mock crash involved responders from Glenville Fire Department, Mayo Clinic Ambulance, Mayo One, Minnesota State Patrol, Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office and Bonnerup Funeral Services.

Austin Daily Herald, Safely dispose of prescription drugs with local drug boxes — Mayo Clinic Health System encourages community members to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths by expanding your spring cleaning to your medicine cabinet in honor of National Take Back Prescription Drug Day on April 27. “Patient safety is a top priority and while we often talk about the importance of safely using medications as they are prescribed, disposing of them properly is equally important,” said Rick Knoll, R.Ph, pharmacy manager at Mayo Clinic Health System – Albert Lea and Austin.  “Unused or expired prescription medications can be disposed of correctly utilizing the free local drop box programs in your community.”

Chippewa Herald, Speech-language pathologist joins Mayo Clinic Health System–Red Cedar in Menomonie — Brooke Kluck, a speech-language pathologist, recently joined the Rehabilitation Services Department at Mayo Clinic Health System – Red Cedar in Menomonie…“I chose Mayo Clinic Health System because of its reputation for excellent patient care and focus on continued professional growth for employees,” Kluck said.

Chippewa Herald, Happy workers, positive results: How Chippewa Valley businesses address mental health of their workforce by Katie McKy — Mayo Clinic Health System is the second largest employer in Eau Claire. Being a caregiving company, Mayo recognizes that tendering good healthcare comes from a foundation of good self-care. Tina Bialzik, employee well-being specialist, Mayo Clinic Health System, said: “At Mayo, the needs of the patients come first. However, in order to best care for our patients, employees must first care for themselves. Our personal lives affect our work life and vice versa, so we offer programs, resources and opportunities that help our staff thrive personally and professionally.” Mayo recognizes that good mental health isn’t enabled by a single source.

Bemidji Pioneer, ‘Mayo Angels’ offered us a place to breathe by Roxane B. Salonen — …When it seemed clear the best place to solve the mystery would be at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where medical conundrums are a particular interest and passion, we updated our Caringbridge story, and within hours – in the middle of a sleepless night – read a startling and unexpected email: “We are in Rochester waiting for you. Our house is your home during your stay.” I call them the “Mayo Angels,” for they were the glimmer of light for which we longed, a haven in the middle of a confusing storm that had shaken us to the core. Almost daily, the gentle words would arrive from the east, assuring us that all was in place for our arrival, pre-guiding us through our future course.

WXOW La Crosse, Breast cancer warrior chosen as 2019 Big Blue Dragon Boat Festival ambassador by Brittany Lake — Many of you are counting down the days until summer and exactly two months from April 22, thousands of paddlers will venture out onto the Mississippi River for the 7th annual Big Blue Dragon Boat Festival in La Crosse. The race benefits Mayo Clinic’s Center for Breast Care. Every year there is an ambassador for the event, a local breast cancer survivor who supports the cause. The 2019 Dragon Boat Festival ambassador is Lisa Mellen. Once a week at the Mayo Clinic gym in La Crosse it’s a sea of pink. One stroke at a time, a team of women practice for the upcoming Dragon Boat Race.

WKBT La Crosse, Some adults may need to be revaccinated as measles outbreak continues by Mal Meyer — A local physician said anyone with concerns should consult their own provider.  "I would recommend for my patients, for other patients to discuss with their primary care doctors to see if they would benefit from another measles vaccination," said Dr. Andrew Zhao, a family care physician with Mayo Clinic Health System.  Some people may find they may not be able to get vaccinated because of their risk for complications.  "If they have other conditions that can leave to their immune symptoms to be at greater risk for infections, then that would certainly recommend revisiting that topic with their doctors," Zhao said.

La Crosse Tribune, Mayo facilities recognized for sustainability efforts by Kylie Mullen — A national organization focused on reducing health care's impact on the environment has recognized Mayo Clinic Health System – Franciscan Healthcare in La Crosse and Mayo Clinic campuses in Arizona, Florida and Rochester for environmental sustainability efforts. Practice Greenhealth, which represents health-care organizations committed to continuous improvement in sustainability practices and programs, awarded the institutions for outstanding performance and leadership in sustainability.

WQOW Eau Claire, Mock car crash steers to deter drunk driving — Prom season usually means dresses, tuxes and dancing, but sometimes it leads to drinking and driving. That’s what officials behind mock car crashes are trying to prevent….Although this is just a mock scene, officials from Mayo Clinic Health System told News 18 the consequences of drinking and driving are very real. “It really makes them think around those high-risk times, around prom and graduation, and hopefully other times as well as we go into the summer months where teens have more free time,” said Kim Strasburg, trauma and injury prevention coordinator for Mayo Clinic Health System. “Hopefully we teach them ways to make smart choices and what could be the consequences of making a poor choice.” Strasburg said parents should have conversations regularly with their teens about the dangers of drunk driving to help prevent a tragedy.

Medical Design & Outsourcing, Mixed realities in medtech: Ready for prime time? by Nancy Crotti — The folks at Mayo Clinic don’t think so either, according to Mark Wehde, section head of technology development for engineering at Mayo, which is based in Rochester, Minn. The engineering division does a lot of 3D modeling and printing and computational analysis, and will be adding a titanium printer to make custom implants, Wehde said. “One of the things that Mayo is trying to figure out is how do we share our knowledge with the rest of the world, and I think some of these technologies are going to help us to do that,” he added.

Medical Xpress, Loan forgiveness, educational debt may affect practice patterns — Caleb J. Scheckel, D.O., from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, and colleagues assessed intended practice patterns of recent graduates of colleges of osteopathic medicine and whether practice patterns correlate with medical education debt. The authors analyzed responses from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine survey of pending medical school graduates (2007 through 2016)… We can also see that programs offering loan forgiveness to physicians who choose primary care are working," a coauthor said in a statement.

Healio, What’s in a name? How Wegener’s granulomatosis became GPA — Simple logic would dictate that naming a disease after a physician with confirmed Nazi associations would be met with resistance in the medical community. But when that disease was named before it was known that the clinician was part of the Sturmabteilung, or SA, the issue becomes somewhat more complicated. Such is the case with granulomatosis with polyangiitis, previously known as Wegener’s granulomatosis, initially named after German physician Friedrich Wegener. Physician and history buff Eric L. Matteson, MD, professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, explained the complicated scenario on Healio’s Rheuminations podcast. “Friedrich Wegener was a physician pathologist who trained pre-World War II, but during World War II he was a member of the brown shirts, or SA,” he said. “He was assigned as chief pathologist in occupied Poland.”

Healio, Incident HF risk reduced in adults with plant-based diet — A plant-based diet had an inverse association with incident HF risk compared with the southern diet, which had a positive risk for incident HF, according to findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Kyla M. Lara, MD, MS, and colleagues sought to determine associations of five dietary patterns with incident HF hospitalizations among U.S. adults. A plant-based diet had an inverse association with incident HF risk compared with the southern diet, which had a positive risk for incident HF, according to findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Kyla M. Lara, MD, MS, and colleagues sought to determine associations of five dietary patterns with incident HF hospitalizations among U.S. adults

Neurology Today, In a Randomized Trial, Trofinetide Ameliorates Symptoms in Pediatric Rett Syndrome by Susan Kreimer — Sunil Mehta, MD, PhD, a psychiatrist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, commended the “very well-designed study” for providing “compelling evidence that trofinetide used to treat Rett syndrome should move into phase 3 clinical trials.” He added that the “data regarding safety was reassuring that a larger trial can be ethically conducted.” As an exploratory study, the phase 2 trial “wasn't large enough or long enough to prove that this drug is safe for clinical use.” For instance, potentially rare events such as 1 death in 1,000 individuals would have evaded detection, Dr. Mehta said.

UCI Mind, VIDEO: Distinguished Lecture on the Brain with Dr. Ronald Petersen, Mayo Clinic — UCI MIND, in partnership with UCI School of Biological Sciences and UCI Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, hosted the annual Distinguished Lecture on the Brain in March at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. Guest speaker Ronald C. Petersen, MD, PhD, Director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, delivered an insightful lecture on the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in the era of biomarkers to hundreds of audience members, both in-person and via livestream. The full lecture is available below and on our YouTube channel.

Healthcare News, Health Self-monitoring Market including top key players like Fitbit, Garmin, Lumo Body Tech, Mayo Clinic, Ovia Health, Google, Samsung, Apple, Microsoft — Health Self-monitoring Market delivers a close watch on leading competitors with strategic analysis, micro and macro market trend and scenarios, pricing analysis and a holistic overview of the market situations in the forecast period. Self-monitoring is a new trend in personal health where individuals use electronic devices and software technologies to collect, process and display a wide range of personal data to help them monitor and manage their personal health.

MD Linx, Pain catastrophizing may help explain link between PTSD, chronic pain — "Psychosocial treatment approaches that directly target tendency to catastrophize in response to pain may hold the potential to have salutary effects on both chronic pain and PTSD," Dr. Wesley P. Gilliam of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and colleagues write in The Clinical Journal of Pain, online April 3. Chronic pain affects up to three-quarters of individuals with PTSD, while up to a third of those seeking care for chronic pain have PTSD, the authors note. "Patients who experience both conditions report greater strain, affective distress, and disability when compared to those with either chronic pain or PTSD alone," they add.

Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News, Beware Predatory Journals – More Than 40 Target Gastroenterology by Pippa Wysong — If you’re like Michael Wallace, MD, every day brings an onslaught of invitations to submit papers to suspicious-sounding publications. Although Dr. Wallace, the editor-in-chief of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, finds the pitches merely annoying, for unsuspecting authors they can cause more than a little mischief. Welcome to the unsavory world of predatory journals. “Each morning, I open up my inbox and there are no fewer than 20 invitations to submit articles to journals that have no credibility. No impact factors. They don’t have a PubMed listing,” Dr. Wallace, a professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., said in a recent interview. Using locking software doesn’t help, added Dr. Wallace, who recently wrote an editorial on the topic for his (legitimate) journal.

Daily Mail, Could going vegan protect you from heart failure? New study says a plant-based diet cuts the risk of hospitalization by 40% by Mary Kekatos — Eating a plant-based diet could lower the risk of needing treatment for heart failure, a new study finds. Researchers say that consuming a diet heavy in fruits, vegetables, beans and fish lowered the risk of being hospitalized with heart failure by up to 41 percent…The team, led by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, says the findings show the important of heart failure prevention, a condition that is difficult to treat and requires costly healthcare.

Vancouver Sun, Local amputee bikes through Asia helping others who have lost limbs by Susan Lazaruk — Doctors used to call post-amputation phantom limb pain — described as shooting, stabbing, cramping, pins and needles, crushing, throbbing or burning — a psychological problem, “but experts now recognize that these real sensations originate in the spinal cord and brain,” according to the Mayo Clinic website.

News 18 India, Pelvic Pain Has Crippled Millions of Women's Lives. How Long Before Doctors, Society Take it Seriously? by Samiksha Pattanaik — Mayo Clinic, a leading non-profit medical research centre in the US, describes chronic pelvic pain (CPP) as "pain in the area below your bellybutton and between your hips that lasts six months or longer." It can not only be a symptom but also a disease in its own right. Sometimes, it can be a symptom of a single disease, and in other cases, it can be a result of multiple conditions. For example, women with endometriosis can also have adhesions, pelvic nerve problems and many other disorders.

KSBY San Luis, New CA bill to limit vaccination exemptions introduced, opponents rally outside capitol by Dustin Klemann — On Wednesday, hundreds of opponents of mandatory vaccines rallied in Sacramento to oppose a California proposal to give state public health officials instead of local doctors the power to decide which children can skip their shots before attending school. “Measles can kill a person,” Dr. Robert Jacobson said, a Mayo Clinic pediatrician. “Measles can leave a person handicapped for life. I think a lot of people are complacent. They say ‘measles doesn’t happen in our community, it doesn’t happen to our family.’ They don’t realize that it’s really just one plane ride away.”

Medscape, Aneurysm Recurrence Reduced by Hydrogen Coil in HEAT Trial by Caroline Helwick — Final results of the randomized New Generation Hydrogel Endovascular Aneurysm Treatment (HEAT) trial show the second-generation hydrogel coil was superior to the bare platinum coil in reducing aneurysm recurrence rates. A number of secondary endpoints were also improved with the hydrogel coil, Bernard R. Bendok, MD, chair of the department of neurologic surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, reported. As Bendok pointed out, recurrence after aneurysm treatment continues to be a problem. A number of measures have been attempted but most have failed. "Anything we can do to improve that would be a good thing," he told Medscape Medical News. "It's my hope to show that hydrogel coils have started to address this problem."

Medscape, Neurosurgeons Are Working Harder, for Less: Here's Proof by Caroline Helwick — If neurosurgeons feel they are getting shortchanged for the work they do, they're right. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic, Arizona, recently quantified just how much less reimbursement the nation's neurosurgeons are receiving, compared with 20 years ago — and it's considerable. "Altogether, the Medicare compensation for the 20 most commonly performed neurosurgery procedures fell by 25.8% from 2000 to 2018," reported Kent R. Richter, BS, a second-year medical student at Mayo who conducted this analysis with Naresh P. Patel, MD, the senior author. He presented the findings here at the 2019 American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting.

Infosalus.com (Madrid), La dieta más efectiva contra la insuficiencia cardiaca — La insuficiencia cardiaca afecta a más de 5,7 millones de adultos y se espera que ese número aumente. Las estrategias de prevención de la insuficiencia cardiaca … la investigación está limitada sobre los patrones dietéticos y la insuficiencia cardiaca incidente en pacientes sin enfermedad cardiaca… "La necesidad de estrategias preventivas basadas en la población para la insuficiencia cardiaca es crítica", afirma la autora principal del estudio, Kyla Lara, investigadora de cardiología en la Clínica Mayo en Rochester, Minnesota, Estados Unidos. "Estos hallazgos respaldan una estrategia dietética basada en la población para reducir el riesgo de incidente de insuficiencia cardiaca", añade. Additional coverage: Panorama.com.ve (Venezuela)

Panama America, Pablo Moreno Franco, apasionado por la calidad de atención — El doctor Pablo Moreno Franco es oriundo de Las Tablas y actualmente trabaja en cuidados intensivos de trasplantes, en Mayo Clinic, uno de los mejores hospitales de Estados Unidos.

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Editors: Emily BlahnikKarl Oestreich

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