- Vials of Smallpox Discovered in Lab Near Washington http://nyti.ms/1mIPURI
- An Hour of Exercise Can Make Up for a Day of Sitting Down http://ti.me/1jdX8fL
- Interrupted Sleep Can Be As Harmful As No Sleep http://bit.ly/1rSwagi
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July 10th, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Mayo Clinic Calls for Standardization of Safe Imaging Protocols for Children
ROCHESTER, Minn. — The benefits of medical imaging far outweigh the risks when children receive The Right Exam, ordered The Right Way, with The Right Radiation Dose. However, overuse and misuse of imaging change the benefit-risk ratio and Mayo Clinic is leading a collaborative effort to ensure a national protocol is put into action. The commentary, published online in the Journal of Patient Safety, calls for the American College of Radiology, the Joint Commission, the Intersociety Accreditation Commission, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to require three safety practices for accreditation of all American hospitals and advanced diagnostic imaging facilities. “No hospital or medical imaging facility in the country should be granted the privilege of imaging children unless it first meets fundamental safe practice performance measures,” says Stephen Swensen, M.D., lead author and radiologist, Mayo Clinic.
Sound bites with Dr. Swensen are available in downloads. Read the rest of this entry »
July 10th, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Mayo Clinic Announces Online Video Education for Medical Professionals
By Brian Kilen 
Online video lectures for medical professionals from Mayo Clinic
ROCHESTER, Minn. – Mayo Clinic is now making its video education medical grand rounds lectures and clinical presentations on recent innovations in patient care, education and research accessible to other medical professionals in the new online medical professional video center.
These lectures contain new practice procedures, treatment options and research covering a wide variety of specialties.For example, a video lecture on Choline C-11 treatment for recurrent prostate cancer describes the benefits to patients as well as the production, imaging and processing facilities necessary to provide the treatment. Another, fecal microbiota transplant, provides step-by-step details of how the procedure is completed so providers and patients can see the process from beginning to end. Read the rest of this entry »
July 10th, 2014 · Leave a Comment
By Dana Sparks 
Should children be tested for high cholesterol?
Pediatric white blood cell disorders
Rheumatoid arthritis: Protect your health with vaccines
July 9th, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Oboe Becomes a Surgical Instrument
By Dennis Douda 
For all of the high-tech and futuristic technology finding its way into health care, Mayo Clinic surgeon Shelagh Cofer, M.D., proves that old-fashioned common sense has its place too. How do you make sure a procedure to restore a musician’s wind power has worked before you leave the operating room? You just bring a little something extra. [TRT 2:24]
Journalists: The video package and extra b-roll of the patient/musician performing are available in the downloads. To read the full script click here.
July 8th, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Expert Alert: Sundeep Khosla, M.D. to Testify – Modernizing Clinical Trials
Watch now LIVE 10 am ET Energy & Commerce Committee Hearing.
Principal Investigator and Director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCaTS), Sundeep Khosla, M.D.,is testifying before the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health as part of the Committee’s 21st Century Cures Initiative Wed., July 9, 2014. Dr. Khosla will focus his testimony on the need and opportunity to modernize clinical trials. “I applaud the Committee’s 21st Century Cures Initiative and, in particular, the Health Subcommittee’s focus on the clinical trial process,” says Dr. Khosla. “It is imperative that we streamline and modernize clinical trials’ processes to accelerate the speed of discovery to delivery of more effective, innovative and personalized treatments for patients.” In addition, Dr. Khosla commends the Committee’s attention to the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program. He continues, “The work of the CTSA program and its 62 sites is very important and offers great opportunity to speed translation and implementation of high priority clinical trials.”
Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
MEDIA CONTACT: To interview Dr. Khosla about modernizing the clinical trial system, please contact Colette Gallagher, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu
July 8th, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Tuesday Q & A: Child’s chronic cough may be symptom of asthma
By lizatorborg 
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My son, 8, has been coughing off-and-on at night for a few weeks and says his chest hurts, but he never complains about it during the day. Could he have asthma? How is it diagnosed? If it’s very mild, would he still need treatment?
ANSWER: Based on the symptoms you describe, it is possible that your son has asthma. His doctor can confirm the diagnosis using a test that measures lung function called spirometry. Even in mild cases of asthma, treatment usually is recommended to help relieve symptoms.
When someone has asthma, the small airways in the lungs narrow, swell, and produce extra mucus. This can lead to a variety of signs and symptoms. In children older than 3, wheezing is typically the most specific asthma symptom. But in some kids, a chronic cough may be the only asthma symptom that they have. A persistent cough at night, an illness that includes a cough that lasts more than three weeks, or coughing in response to cold air, exercise, or laughing may all be the result of asthma.
When asthma is suspected in a child who is 5 years or older, the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program expert panel recommends lung function testing using spirometry. For this test, your son will take a deep breath and breathe out as hard as he can for several seconds into a tube that is attached to a machine called a spirometer.
Read the rest of this entry »
July 7th, 2014 · Leave a Comment
By Dana Sparks
THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES
Sunless tanning: What you need to know
Sunless tanning products can provide a safe, natural-looking tan — if they're applied carefully and correctly.
Memory loss: When to seek help
Memory loss may indicate normal aging, a treatable condition or the onset of dementia. Find out how to help yourself or a loved one.
Urinary incontinence surgery in women: The next step
If symptoms of stress incontinence or an overactive bladder are disrupting your life, surgery may be an option.
EXPERT ANSWERS
Sea salt vs. table salt: What's the difference?
The most notable differences between sea salt and table salt are in their taste, texture and processing.
Coping with anxiety: Can diet make a difference?
Dealing with anxiety is a challenge. Eating habits may play a role.
Click here to get a free e-subscription to the Housecall newsletter.
July 5th, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Weekend Wellness: Spells of dizziness a common problem with many possible causes
By lizatorborg
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am 68 and have periodic spells of dizziness. They don’t last long and I don’t seem to have any other symptoms. Should I see a doctor? What might they indicate?
ANSWER: Dizziness is a common problem with many possible causes. They can range from relatively minor issues, such as certain medications triggering dizziness, to more serious underlying medical problems. When dizziness persists, as in your case, it is a good idea to make an appointment to see your doctor and have the condition evaluated.
Although the term “dizziness” sounds quite specific, there are actually several kinds of dizziness. One involves feeling a loss of balance, as if you are unsteady on your feet or feel like you may fall. Another includes a sensation of being lightheaded or feeling faint, as if you might pass out. A third is feeling as if you are spinning or that the world is spinning around you. This type of dizziness is called vertigo.
It is helpful for you to be able to describe to your doctor exactly what you are experiencing during your episodes of dizziness. Your description can offer clues to the potential source of the problem. For example, conditions that affect the balance mechanism in your inner ear frequently lead to dizziness, with a feeling of vertigo that happens when you move your head.
Read the rest of this entry »
July 4th, 2014 · Leave a Comment
By Dana Sparks
This week's program is a rebroadcast from Donate Life Month, focusing on the importance of registering as organ, eye and tissue donors. Tune in this Saturday, July 5, at 9 a.m. CT, as we discuss organ donation with good samaritan kidney donor Philip Fischer, M.D., and director of the Mayo Clinic kidney transplant program Mikel Prieto, M.D. There is so much to learn about donating the gift of life! Join us!
Myth or Matter of Fact: I'm not in the best of health, so I probably can't be a donor.
To listen to the program on Saturday, click here.
More information about Living Organ Donation can be found here.
The Living Donor Evaluation Form can be found here.
The Mayo Transplant Center can be reached at 866-227-1569
Mayo Clinic Radio is available on iHeart Radio.
Listen to this week’s Medical News Headlines: News Segment July 6, 2014 (right click MP3)
July 4th, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Tips for Cancer Survivors to Keep Cool in the Summer Heat
By Dana Sparks
Tips for cancer survivors to keep cool in the summer heat
Cancer survivors should be careful this season — there's potential for dehydration and sunburn. Try these tips to stay safe.
Functional foods give a boost to your wellness
Researchers are studying how certain foods — called functional foods — can help enhance health and prevent illness.
Cancer survivorship programs
Cancer survivorship programs are services that help cancer survivors live well after treatment. Find out more.
Managing chemotherapy side effects
Chemotherapy treatment carries with it a host of potential side effects — fatigue, hair loss and more. Learn about managing chemotherapy side effects.
July 3rd, 2014 · Leave a Comment
By Dana Sparks
What is wheatgrass? Why is it in my drink?
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
Don't prejudge Alzheimer's wanderers who may really have a goal
July 3rd, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Watch the Sodium When Preparing for Holiday Picnics
By Dana Sparks
Hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and potato salad. Those are the fixings for a fantastic Fourth of July picnic. The problem is this menu can be loaded with sodium, which is bad for your health, especially if you have heart disease. Vivien Williams and photographer Andy Shilts talk with Mayo Clinic cardiologist Stephen Kopecky, M.D., about enjoying holiday food without consuming too much sodium. [TRT 1:52]
Journalists: The video report and additional b-roll are available in the downloads. News Network pkgs. can be edited into vo/sots and incorporated in your reporting.
Read script: Picnic Problems High Sodium
(This report originally aired July 3, 2013)
July 1st, 2014 · Leave a Comment
July 4th Marks 75th Anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s Farewell Speech
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Seventy-five years ago, on July 4th 1939, baseball legend Lou Gehrig delivered the famous speech bidding farewell to the ballpark and his fans. Two weeks before Gehrig had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Accompanied by his wife, Eleanor, Lou left Mayo Clinic with the devastating diagnosis on June 20th 1939, a day after his 36th birthday. He died in June two years later, not quite 38 years old, of the rare neurological disease that would come to bear his name.
MULTIMEDIA ALERT: Journalists, the video package and addition b-roll are available in the downloads. To read the video script click here.
ALS is a type of progressive motor neuron disease that typically strikes at middle to later life and causes nerve cells in spinal cord, brain stem and brain to gradually break down and die. These nerve cells are responsible for muscle function so eventually, ALS can affect Read the rest of this entry »
July 1st, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Proton therapy has advantages over IMRT for advanced head and neck cancers, Mayo study finds
By Joe Dangor 
Rochester, Minn. -- A new study by radiation oncologists at Mayo Clinic comparing the world’s literature on outcomes of proton beam therapy in the treatment of a variety of advanced head and neck cancers of the skull base compared to intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) has found that proton beam therapy significantly improved disease free survival and tumor control when compared to IMRT. The results appear in the journal Lancet Oncology.
“We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the clinical outcomes of patients treated with proton therapy with patients receiving photon IMRT,” says senior author Robert Foote, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Mayo Clinic. “Our findings suggest that the theoretical advantages of proton beam therapy may in fact be real.”
July 1st, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Mayo Clinic Researchers Reveal Treasure Trove of Genes Key to Kidney Cancer
By Kevin Punsky 
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A genomic analysis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), the most common form of kidney cancer, from 72 patients has uncovered 31 genes that are key to development, growth and spread of the cancer, say researchers from Mayo Clinic in Florida. Eight of these genes had not been previously linked to kidney cancer, and six other genes were never known to be involved in any form of cancer.
Their study, in the journal Oncotarget, is the most extensive analysis to date of gene expression’s role in ccRCC tumor growth and metastasis. The ccRCC subtype accounts for 80 percent of all kidney cancer cases. Read the rest of this entry »