Arizona - July 2015 Archives

12 specialty areas in Arizona ranked nationally on the “Best Hospitals” list PHOENIX - Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix is ranked No. 1 in Arizona and the Phoenix metro area in the annual U.S. News & World Report America’s Best Hospital List released today. Hospitals included in the U.S. News Report such as the Mayo Clinic, are part of an elite group recognized for “breadth of excellence,” according to the magazine. Mayo Clinic in Arizona ranked nationally in 12 specialties including Cancer; Cardiology and Heart Surgery; Diabetes and Endocrinology; Ear, Nose and Throat; Gastroenterology and Gastroenterologic Surgery; Geriatrics; Gynecology; Nephrology; Neurology and Neurosurgery; Orthopedics; Pulmonology and Urology. “Recognitions like this are a testament to our skilled and compassionate staff who place patients' needs first every day,” says Wyatt Decker, M.D., vice president and chief executive officer for Mayo Clinic in Arizona. “Mayo Clinic has a long tradition and deep organizational commitment to delivering high-value health care that best meets patients’ needs. We take great pride in developing the most innovative treatments and care delivery models in an effort to best serve our patients. Examples include the proton beam and new cancer center facility now under construction on our Phoenix campus, as well as our telemedicine programs which are bringing much needed specialty expertise to rural parts of our state.” MEDIA CONTACT: Jim McVeigh, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 480-301-4522, Email: mcveigh.jim@mayo.edu

PHOENIX – New diagnostic criteria were introduced this week for neuromyelitis optica, now called neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, which is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that is sometimes mistaken for multiple sclerosis. An international consensus panel, chaired by Mayo Clinic neurologists Dean Wingerchuk, M.D., and Brian Weinshenker, M.D., reviewed the medical literature and recent scientific discoveries relating to NMOSD to develop new diagnostic criteria. The Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation sponsored this panel. NMOSD can affect the optic nerves, brain stem, spinal cord and brain. It can cause a spectrum of symptoms, including visual loss, paralysis and episodes of persistent hiccups, nausea and vomiting. Detection of aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin G antibodies (AQP4-IgG), using a blood test that was developed by Mayo Clinic investigators, is highly specific for NMOSD and facilitates the diagnosis. Some patients have the key features of NMOSD, but do not have detectable antibodies. The new criteria address both possibilities. MEDIA CONTACT: Jim McVeigh, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, Email:newsbureau@mayo.edu