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The average heart beats 100,000 times per day, circulating blood and oxygen throughout the body.

Dr. Demilade Adedinsewo (DEM-eee-LAH-day Ah-day-deen-SHAY-wo), a Mayo Clinic cardiologist, says that to keep the heart healthy, there are eight behaviors and numbers to keep in check.

Let's start with sleep.

"Seven to eight hours of sleep at night is recommended for ideal cardiovascular health," says Dr. Adedinsewo. "Fewer hours or poor-quality sleep can lead to physical symptoms that impact the rest of your body, including your heart."

In addition to sleep, it's important to:

• Maintain an appropriate weight.

• Keep blood glucose, blood cholesterol and blood pressure within range.

• Avoid smoking and secondhand smoke exposure.

• Follow an eating plan rich in nutrients, such as the Mediterranean or DASH diets.

• Exercise.

"Get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity every week," says Dr. Adedinsewo. "This does not necessarily have to be split up 30 minutes, five days a week, even though that's an easy way that we think about it. Really, every little thing that you do adds up."

Related posts:

• Mayo Clinic Minute: Do you practice good sleep hygiene?
• Mayo Clinic Minute: Heart disease in African American women
• Mayo Clinic Minute: How to jump-start your workout

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Dr. Andrew Keaveny, a Mayo Clinic transplant hepatologist, says heavy drinking also can lead to alcoholic hepatitis, which is becoming more common in younger people.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

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"Alcohol can cause liver damage. And in some individuals who drink excessively, it can result in significant complications," says Dr. Keaveny.

Sustained alcohol use can result in alcohol-related liver disease.

"There is a condition called acute alcoholic hepatitis, where the alcohol triggers an acute inflammatory process in the liver, and patients can become really quite sick, quite quickly," he says.

And it's rising among young people.

"Some of the more tragic cases of liver disease related to alcohol received now are due to young individuals who consume excessively, or binge alcohol," says Dr. Keaveny.

Alcoholic hepatitis can develop quickly. Symptoms can include jaundice, confusion, nausea and vomiting.

"They can present with multiple complications of their liver disease, which requires really a multidisciplinary approach to address and manage their issues," he says.

Treating alcoholic hepatitis requires an assessment of liver damage and complications, and addressing the patient's alcohol use disorder. Dr. Keaveny says corticosteroids may be used, but they have limited effectiveness and risks. The next step may be transplant.

"We consider patients for liver transplantation who have acute alcoholic hepatitis. This requires a very careful assessment of multiple factors, their medical, social and psychological factors, to determine whether they may be eligible for liver transplantation," Dr. Keaveny says.

Living with alcoholic hepatitis?

Connect with others like you for support and answers to your questions in the Transplants Support Group on Mayo Clinic Connect, an online patient community.

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A study published in Menopause provides a comprehensive overview of the most common conditions diagnosed in clinical practice among women in the U.S. Upper Midwest during their critical midlife transition.

Overall, eight conditions increased by 45% or more between the ages of 40 and 59, and several conditions were more common in Black women and women living in more socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods.

Jennifer St. Sauver, Ph.D., the study's first author and professor of epidemiology at Mayo Clinic, says that the health of women in midlife is understudied, and comprehensive data about women between the ages of 40 and 59 are lacking.

"Most studies examine men and women together. However, we know that men and women age differently, so it's important to do separate studies to understand these differences," she explains.

Researchers know that hypertension and high cholesterol increase rapidly in both men and women during midlife. However, in this study, the researchers were surprised to see such a significant increase in sleep disorders, acid reflux and conditions related to joint and muscle pain in midlife women, according to Dr. St. Sauver.

Together, these data provide a picture of the most common health conditions that come to medical attention in midlife women and the most rapidly increasing, medically diagnosed conditions during the menopause transition.

Key findings

Eight conditions became significantly more common and increased in women during midlife (ages 40-59).

• Disorders of lipid metabolism (high cholesterol)
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Sleep/wake disorders
• Thyroid disorders
• Esophageal disorders (especially acid reflux)
• Osteoarthritis (joint wear and tear)
• Tendon and synovial disorders (problems with joints and connective tissues)
• Menopausal disorders (especially hot flashes)

Black women and women living in socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods were more likely to have many of these conditions. Black women were more likely to have high blood pressure and esophageal disorders (especially acid reflux) compared to white women across all age groups. Women living in more deprived neighborhoods had a significantly higher prevalence of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep disorders and esophageal disorders.

"Our data provide a comprehensive picture of the most common conditions coming to medical attention in midlife women. They are useful for understanding common diagnoses in women during the menopause transition and suggest that additional attention should be focused on Black women and women with lower socioeconomic status to ensure that common midlife conditions are identified and addressed," says women's health researcher and coauthor Stephanie Faubion, M.D., Mayo Clinic in Florida.

The findings also underscore the need for increased research to understand underlying biological changes in women at midlife and how these changes contribute to the development of many conditions throughout the aging process. Such research may suggest future treatments that could be beneficial for multiple conditions. In addition, the findings highlight the need for increased attention to the health needs of Black women and women with lower socioeconomic status to ensure early diagnosis and treatment of common midlife health conditions.

The study used data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project in Minnesota, including medical records from approximately 1.4 million people in the Upper Midwest. Researchers analyzed data from 86,946 women between the ages of 40 and 59. They examined diagnoses recorded in electronic health records between 2016 and 2019.

Review the study for a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding.

Related: Managing menopause symptoms

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Dr. Keith Knutson, a cancer vaccine researcher at Mayo Clinic, explains how the development of personalized lung cancer vaccines is giving hope to patients.

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It may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but it is reality. Mayo Clinic researchers are developing personalized lung cancer vaccines.

"We actually make a vaccine that's specific for each individual's cancers," says Dr. Knutson.

The process involves analyzing cancer cells to create a one-of-a-kind vaccine.

"We can take a small part of that cancer and sequence that cancer and get the information that we need to design the vaccine," he explains.

The vaccine uses the immune system to identify and combat cancer.

"We can use that vaccine to hopefully prevent the disease from coming back, or we can use it to help shrink a tumor when given with other types of therapies," Dr. Knutson says.

You can reduce your risk of lung cancer by quitting smoking and avoiding exposure to secondhand smoke.

Read more about Dr. Knutson's work on the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center blog.

Related posts:

• Innovation in lung cancer screening, treatment
• Tomorrow's Cure podcast: How personalized vaccines combat cancer

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Alzheimer's disease affects nearly seven million Americans over the age of 65, or 1 in 9 people in this age group, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Symptoms such as memory loss, trouble concentrating and performing familiar tasks, and personality changes start slowly and progress. Researchers have come a long way in understanding Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD). A new consensus study report, "Preventing and Treating Dementia: Research Priorities to Accelerate Progress," identifies prevention and treatment strategies for the next decade.  

"We need cutting-edge treatments to help improve the lives of patients who are suffering from debilitating symptoms of dementia and prevention for those at risk," says Nilüfer Ertekin-Taner, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Neuroscience at Mayo Clinic and leader of the Genetics of Alzheimer's Disease and Endophenotypes Laboratory at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida. "Neurodegenerative diseases not only affect patients but also the friends and family who care for them."

Dr. Ertekin-Taner served on the select ad hoc committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) which conducted a study assessing the state of research on AD/ADRD and outlined critical research priorities for treatment and prevention, as well as potential barriers to progress. The National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke asked NASEM to form the committee in response to a request from the U.S. Congress to accelerate research into these diseases.

Researchers looked broadly at the field, including basic to translational to clinical research; lifestyle interventions aimed at preventing and treating AD/ADRD; barriers to advancing progress in the field; and the most promising areas of research. The study looked at Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body dementia and other vascular causes of cognitive impairment and dementia.

The report identified 11 research priorities for further NIH-funded biomedical research, including:

• Developing better tools, including novel biomarker tests and digital assessment technologies, to monitor brain health across the life course and to screen, predict and diagnose AD/ADRD at scale.

• Implementing advances in clinical research methods and tools to generate data from real-world clinical practice settings that can inform future research.

• Identifying factors driving AD/ADRD risk in diverse populations, particularly understudied and disproportionately affected groups, to better understand disease heterogeneity — including molecular subtypes and disparities in environmental exposures — and to identify prevention opportunities and advance health research equity.

• Characterizing the exposome and gene-environment interactions across the life course to gain insights into biological mechanisms and identify opportunities to reduce AD/ADRD risk and increase resilience.

• Integrating innovative approaches and novel tools into the planning, design and execution of studies to accelerate the identification of effective interventions.

• Advancing the development and evaluation of combination therapies (including pharmacological and nonpharmacological approaches) to better address the multifactorial nature of AD/ADRD.

• Evaluating precision medicine approaches for the prevention and treatment of AD/ADRD to better identify interventions likely to benefit specific groups of individuals.

The report calls for breaking down silos for more collaborative, multidisciplinary research; fostering inclusive research to eliminate health disparities; developing innovative funding strategies; and increasing innovation in research through the expansion of public-private partnerships, among others.

"The past decade of research investments in AD/ADRD has led to significant progress in our understanding of these diseases, bringing us closer to treatments," Dr. Taner said. "In the next decade, we must maintain the momentum of research and innovation to translate these advances to cures for millions of patients and caregivers affected by the dementia epidemic."

Note: Dr. Ertekin-Taner will participate in a webinar on Jan. 15 with other committee members to discuss the report.

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Dr. Kristin Robinson, a breast radiologist at Mayo Clinic, says there are several options when it comes to these screening tests. She recommends working closely with your healthcare team to determine what is the best supplemental screening available and right for you. 

One option is molecular breast imaging (MBI). A Mayo Clinic study shows that MBI is more effective than mammography alone for women with dense breasts.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

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Why supplemental breast screening is recommended

"Breast density is important for really two separate reasons. One, the dense tissue on a mammogram looks white, and cancer looks white, so you can imagine if we're trying to find a small breast cancer in a sea of white breast tissue, it can be very difficult," says Dr. Robinson.

And second, those with dense breasts have a slightly higher risk of developing breast cancer.

"For those reasons, we encourage women who have dense breast tissue to consider supplemental screening," says Dr. Robinson.

One screening you may hear about is MBI, a test developed by the Mayo Clinic. It's done in addition to a mammogram. It uses a radioactive tracer that can identify cancer cells.

"And since breast cancer is growing quickly, it's recruiting blood flow, it has more energy than the surrounding breast tissue, it will uptake that radiotracer more so than the normal tissue," she explains.

And by doing so, it lights up and becomes clearer to see for a radiologist compared to the normal surrounding tissue. 

To find out if MBI or other screening options are best for you, talk with your healthcare team.

"If you have dense breast tissue, really consider supplemental screening because we know that detects a significant number more breast cancers than mammograms alone," Dr. Robinson says.

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Most patients with Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (ADRD) experience the gradual onset and progression of cognitive symptoms, leading to decline over years or decades. However, in a small subset of patients, symptoms begin rapidly, leading to dementia within one year and complete incapacitation within two years of symptom onset. A new study at Mayo Clinic aims to determine why patients with Alzheimer’s disease and ADRD develop this rapidly progressive dementia (RPD).

"The factors that give rise to extreme, rapidly progressive clinical traits are unknown," says Gregg Day, M.D., a neurologist and clinical researcher at Mayo Clinic in Florida. "These cases are challenging to treat in practice because there are many possible causes and diseases to consider, many tests that can be done and a clear need to coordinate evaluations rapidly."

Dr. Day will lead a team of researchers from Mayo Clinic in Florida and Rochester, Minnesota, to study the biology of RPD through a project funded by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIA/NIH).

Specifically, the research team and collaborators aim to:

• Determine the factors that make patients with Alzheimer's disease and ADRD susceptible to RPD.
• Study the contributions of amyloid and tau toxic proteins and vascular changes in the brain to rates of progression in patients with Alzheimer's disease and ADRD.
• Identify cellular pathways that contribute to rapid declines in patients with Alzheimer's disease and ADRD.

The researchers plan to collect clinical and genomic information from 120 diverse patients with rapid progressive Alzheimer's disease and ADRD over the next three years. Findings in patients with RPD, identified through Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers studies nationally, will be compared with data from participants with typical progressive Alzheimer's disease and ADRD enrolled in studies at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Mayo Clinic.  

The team hopes to learn how factors such as age, sex, medical history, structural and social determinants of health, genetic variants and other brain changes may make some patients more susceptible to rapid decline. Findings will be validated through expansive protein analyses in cerebrospinal fluid from an independent group of patients with autopsy-confirmed rapid progressive Alzheimer's disease and ADRD. Results will be extended to identify biomarkers and disease-modifying targets that may improve diagnosis and treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease and ADRD.

"This project represents a substantial investment from NIH to study patients with RPD," says Dr. Day. "We hope the results of our research will inform new approaches, diagnostic tests and treatment targets that will improve outcomes in patients with AD/ADRD. The ultimate goal is to slow down the pathologic progression of disease in these patients, independent of their rate of decline."

The research will combine Mayo Clinic's expertise in digital innovation and telemedicine to engage patients across the United States. This study will also leverage Mayo's Clinical Trials Beyond Walls program, which allows patients to complete some, if not all assessments from the comfort of their own homes or local community facilities. The decentralized clinical trials initiative is designed to remove barriers to clinical trial participation by providing digital solutions and remote services to reimagine the trial experience for all involved, including participants, investigators, study teams and clinical care providers. Decentralized research ― studies conducted outside the walls of traditional research facilities ― may use a wide range of technologies and services such as telehealth, remote monitoring, mobile phlebotomy, retail pharmacy and home healthcare.

Other Mayo Clinic researchers working on this project include:

• Christian Lachner, M.D.
• Neill Graff-Radford, M.D.
• Leonard Petrucelli, M.D., Ph.D.
• Tania Gendron, Ph.D.
• Manoj Jain, M.D.
• Owen Ross, Ph.D.
• Nilufer Ertekin-Taner, M.D., Ph.D.
• Dennis Dickson, Ph.D.
• Melissa Murray, Ph.D.
• Vijay Ramanan, M.D., Ph.D.
• David T. Jones, M.D.
• Prashanthi Vemuri, Ph.D.
• Alicia Algeciras-Schimnich, Ph.D.
• John R. Mills, Ph.D.
• Rickey Carter, Ph.D.
• Lauren Haydu, Ph.D.

The research will be made possible through NIH grant award number R01 AG089380.

Related:

Researchers identify new criteria to detect rapidly progressive dementia

Researchers find other diseases may mimic rare brain disorder linked to dementia

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In a new study, Mayo Clinic researchers and collaborators have described — for the first time — the prevalence of autoimmune diseases in the U.S. Their research, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, reports that about 15 million people are estimated to have one or more of 105 autoimmune diseases. The study also found that autoimmune diseases occur most often in women and identified the top autoimmune diseases by prevalence, sex and age.

"Knowing the number of patients with an autoimmune disease in the U.S. is critical to assess whether these diseases are increasing or decreasing over time and with treatment," says the study's corresponding author, DeLisa Fairweather, Ph.D., vice-chair of translational research for the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Florida. "Knowing this number is also critical for funding agencies to raise money and awareness for research into autoimmune diseases as a group and for individual autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis. Knowing which diseases occur more often in males or females and at what age is critical in understanding the pathogenesis of disease and how they impact the healthcare system."  Dr. Fairweather also leads the Translational Cardiovascular Disease Research Laboratory.

To conduct the study, Dr. Fairweather and co-senior author Aaron Abend from the Autoimmune Registry used electronic health record data from over 10 million patients from six large medical systems in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Iowa, Wisconsin and Missouri who had been diagnosed with at least one of 105 autoimmune diseases considered in the study. They then extended the data to an estimated U.S. population of 333.3 million. The researchers developed a program algorithm to compute the first nationwide prevalence estimate of autoimmune diseases as a category. Dr. Fairweather says previous U.S. estimates were based on meta-analyses and extrapolations for individual autoimmune diseases, which can make estimations of prevalence inaccurate. She says many challenges have existed to obtain accurate prevalence data, including the lack of international consensus on a definition of autoimmune disease.

The findings indicated that about 15 million people, or 4.6% of the U. S. population, were diagnosed with at least one autoimmune disease between January 2011 and January 2022, and that 34% of those individuals were diagnosed with more than one autoimmune disease.

The study also found:

• Females (63% of those with autoimmune disease) were almost twice as likely as males (37%) to be diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.
• 65% of patients had one autoimmune disease.
• 24% of patients had two autoimmune diseases.
• 8% of patients had three autoimmune diseases.
• 2% of patients had four or more autoimmune diseases.

The top five diseases based on prevalence were rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, type I diabetes, Graves' disease and autoimmune thyroiditis.

"What dramatically stands out with this assessment is that the most prevalent autoimmune diseases occur in women and autoimmune diseases that occur more often in men occur rarely," says Dr. Fairweather. "This raises important questions that need to be answered with more research. For example, could this be the result of diagnosis bias, or is this a fundamental biological sex difference?"

Dr. Fairweather served on a National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) committee on autoimmune diseases and testified before Congress in May 2022 to give recommendations for advancing research in autoimmune diseases. This led to the establishment of a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Autoimmune Disease Research within the Office of Research on Women's Health. In December 2023, the NIH sought input from members of the scientific community, federal partners, academic institutions, the private sector, health professionals, professional societies, advocacy groups, patient communities and other interested people for the development of an NIH-wide strategic plan to advance autoimmune disease research.

Dr. Fairweather says her team has provided the program algorithm freely to the research community, allowing anyone to leverage this research tool to replicate the study using almost any healthcare database. In addition, researchers can use the tool over time to track shifts in the prevalence of autoimmune diseases, offering valuable insights for future research.

This research was partially funded by a National Institutes of Health grant under award R01 HL164520. For a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding, see the paper.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, respiratory infections like colds, flu and RSV are rising across the U.S. 

When you get sick, it’s helpful to understand how to manage your symptoms effectively, especially if you’re at higher risk for complications. Dr. Tina Ardon, a family medicine physician at Mayo Clinic, offers tips for managing common viral illnesses and when to seek medical care.

Recognizing symptoms

Flu symptoms include sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, fever, body aches and fatigue. These symptoms may overlap with other illnesses, like the common cold, but key differences exist. Colds generally develop gradually, while flu symptoms typically appear suddenly within two or three days of exposure to the virus.

Managing your symptoms

Start using over-the-counter medications such as pain relievers or cough suppressants to alleviate your symptoms. Staying hydrated is essential; drink plenty of water, broth or warm tea to nourish your body. Using a humidifier or taking a steamy shower can help ease congestion and make breathing easier.

Your body needs time to heal, so rest is crucial. "If you can, I highly recommend you stay home from school and work so your immune system can recover," says Dr. Ardon.

Try the following to help manage symptoms:

• Stay hydrated: Drink water, juice, or warm lemon water with honey to ease congestion and prevent dehydration. Avoid alcohol, coffee, and caffeinated drinks.
• Use warm liquids: Sip chicken soup, tea or warm apple juice to help with congestion.
• Try honey: Honey can soothe coughs in adults and children over 1 year old. Add it to warm tea or lemon water.
• Rest: Let your body recover with plenty of rest.
• Add moisture: Use a cool-mist humidifier or vaporizer to relieve stuffiness. Clean and refill daily.

Planning ahead 

For people at higher risk of flu complications—such as older adults or those who are pregnant or have chronic conditions or weakened immune systems—consider discussing a care plan with your doctor before getting sick. “If you’re at higher risk, we may recommend closer monitoring or additional care,” says Dr. Ardon.

High-risk patients diagnosed with the flu might be prescribed antiviral medications. These prescription drugs, available as pills, liquids, inhaled powders, or intravenous solutions, target the flu virus directly and require a medical prescription.

It’s important to note that flu antivirals differ from antibiotics, which treat bacterial infections, and antiviral treatments for other illnesses like COVID-19. Flu-specific antivirals won’t work for COVID-19 and vice versa.

When to seek medical attention

While most respiratory illnesses resolve on their own, you should seek medical care if your symptoms worsen or if you experience any of the following:

• Trouble breathing
• Chest pain
• Dizziness or confusion
• Severe dehydration or weakness

For children, also watch for:

• Fast breathing or blue lips
• No tears when crying or no urination
• Symptoms that improve but then return or worsen

Dr. Ardon says recovering from a respiratory virus can be managed at home for most people. "Knowing when to get help can make all the difference," she says.

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Growing mini-organs to find new treatments for complex disease

Mayo Clinic investigators are growing three-dimensional human intestines in a dish to track disease and find new cures for complex conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease. These mini-organs function like human intestines, with the ability to process metabolites that convert food into energy on a cellular level and secrete mucus that protects against bacteria. These 3D mini-intestines in a dish, known as "organoids," provide a unique platform for studying the intricacies of the human gut.

"We think this has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach disease research. We hope to save time and resources and avoid the development of therapies that fail upon translation into patients," says Charles Howe, Ph.D., who leads the Translational Neuroimmunology Lab. "Understanding which treatments show potential for success in human organoids could dramatically accelerate the rate of new therapies for patients with unmet needs."

Brain stimulation shows promise in treating drug addiction

Physicians use neurostimulation to treat a variety of human disorders, including Parkinson's disease, tremor, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome. A Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon and his colleagues believe one form of that treatment, called deep brain stimulation (DBS), is poised to solve one of the most significant public health challenges: drug addiction.

"Drug addiction is a huge, unmet medical need," says Kendall Lee, M.D., Ph.D., who has published nearly 100 journal articles on DBS along with his colleagues. Key to treating it, he says, is cutting off the pleasurable "high" that comes with the addiction — which DBS potentially can do.

A new class of AI aims to improve cancer research and treatments

Mayo Clinic researchers have invented a new class of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms called hypothesis-driven AI, which is a significant departure from traditional AI models that learn solely from data. The researchers note that this emerging class of AI offers an innovative way to use massive datasets to help discover the complex causes of diseases, such as cancer, and improve treatment strategies.

"This fosters a new era in designing targeted and informed AI algorithms to solve scientific questions, better understand diseases and guide individualized medicine," says co-inventor Hu Li, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic systems biology and AI researcher. "It has the potential to uncover insights missed by conventional AI."

What's lurking in your body? Mayo probes health risks of tiny plastic particles

Similar to natural elements like iron and copper, people can ingest, absorb, or even inhale microplastics and nanoplastics and their chemical additives. A landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine links microplastics and nanoplastics found in plaques of human blood vessels to a potential increased risk of heart attack, stroke or death.

"Plastics have made our lives more convenient and spurred many medical advances, but we must understand their impact on human health for the years to come," says Konstantinos Lazaridis, M.D., the Carlson and Nelson Endowed Executive Director for Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine.

Mayo Clinic researchers' new tool links Alzheimer's disease types to rate of cognitive decline

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered a series of brain changes characterized by unique clinical features and immune cell behaviors using a new corticolimbic index tool for Alzheimer's disease, a leading cause of dementia. The tool categorizes Alzheimer's disease cases into three subtypes according to the location of brain changes and continues the team's prior work, demonstrating how these changes affect people differently. Uncovering the microscopic pathology of the disease can help researchers pinpoint biomarkers that may affect future treatments and patient care.

"Our team found striking demographic and clinical differences among sex, age at symptomatic onset and rate of cognitive decline," says Melissa Murray, Ph.D., a translational neuropathologist at Mayo Clinic.

Mayo scientists explore swabs for early endometrial, ovarian cancer detection

Early detection improves treatment outcomes for endometrial and ovarian cancers, yet far too often, women are diagnosed when in advanced stages of these diseases. Unlike many other cancers, there are no standard screenings for early detection of endometrial and ovarian cancers. Mayo Clinic researchers have uncovered specific microbial signatures linked to endometrial and ovarian cancers, and they are working toward developing innovative home swab tests for women to assess their susceptibility.

"This research not only brings us closer to understanding the microbial dynamics in cancer, but also holds the potential to transform early detection and treatment strategies to positively impact women's health globally," says Marina Walther-Antonio, Ph.D., an assistant professor of surgery leading this research.

Reversing racism's toll on heart health

People who experience chronic exposure to racism may be affected by factors such as intergenerational trauma, reduced access to healthcare, differential treatment in healthcare settings and psychological distress. These negatively affect heart health and can have a cumulative effect throughout a person's life. Researchers from Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota published a paper which provides a new framework describing how racism affects heart health among people of color in Minnesota. The researchers are focused on reversing these disparities.

"This framework will help scientists explore and measure how chronic exposure to racism, not race, influences health outcomes," says Sean Phelan, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic health services researcher. "This will help enable researchers to design interventions that address the root causes of these disparities and improve heart health for people of color everywhere."

Teamwork and research play a key role in Mayo Clinic's first larynx transplant

A team of six surgeons and 20 support staff combined expertise from the Department of Otolaryngology and the Department of Transplantation in an extraordinary 21-hour operation at Mayo Clinic. The team transplanted a donor larynx to a 59-year-old patient with cancer whose damaged larynx hampered his ability to talk, swallow and breathe. This groundbreaking surgery was only the third larynx transplant in the U.S., and the world's first known successful total larynx transplant performed in a patient with an active cancer as part of a clinical trial.

"All transplants are complex, but there are more tissue types and moving parts with laryngeal transplantation than other transplants," says David Lott, M.D., lead surgeon. "Mayo Clinic's team science approach made it possible for us to offer this type of transplant on a scale that was previously unattainable."

Space: A new frontier for exploring stem cell therapy

Two Mayo Clinic researchers say that stem cells grown in microgravity aboard the International Space Station have unique qualities that could one day help accelerate new biotherapies and heal complex disease. The research analysis by Abba Zubair, M.D., Ph.D., a laboratory medicine expert and medical director for the Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics at Mayo Clinic in Florida, and Fay Abdul Ghani, Mayo Clinic research technologist, finds microgravity can strengthen the regenerative potential of cells. 

"Studying stem cells in space has uncovered cell mechanisms that would otherwise be undetected or unknown within the presence of normal gravity," says Dr. Zubair. "That discovery indicates a broader scientific value to this research, including potential clinical applications."

Mayo Clinic’s largest-ever exome study offers blueprint for biomedical breakthroughs

Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine has achieved a significant milestone with its Tapestry study. It generated Mayo's largest-ever collection of exome data, which includes genes that code for proteins—key to understanding health and disease.  

Researchers analyzed DNA from over 100,000 participants of diverse backgrounds, providing important insights into certain genetic predispositions to support personalized and proactive medical guidance.  "The implications of the Tapestry study are monumental," says Konstantinos Lazaridis, M.D., the Carlson and Nelson Endowed Executive Director for the Center for Individualized Medicine. "As this study continues to inform and transform the practice of personalized medicine, it also sets a new standard for how large-scale medical research can be conducted in an increasingly digital and decentralized world."   

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. 

Media contact:

• Colette Gallagher, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

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