JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Alzheimer's disease, marked by memory loss, trouble concentrating and thinking, and changes in personality and behavior, devastates patients, their families and loved ones. With new treatments available for people with early signs of Alzheimer's disease, there is a growing need for accessible and cost-effective tests to diagnose Alzheimer's disease sooner. In a new study, Mayo Clinic researchers confirmed the accuracy of an FDA-approved blood test that can be used at outpatient memory clinics to diagnose the disease in patients with a range of cognitive impairment. The findings are published in Alzheimer's and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.

Standard ways of measuring the buildup of toxic proteins in the brain that indicate Alzheimer's disease include positron emission tomography, or PET scans, and spinal taps. But these tests can be expensive and invasive. More accessible, non-invasive and cost-effective biomarkers — measurable indicators of a disease — are needed to improve diagnoses broadly in clinical settings. 

"Our study found that blood testing affirmed the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease with 95% sensitivity and 82% specificity,” says corresponding author Gregg Day, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist, dementia specialist and clinical researcher. "When performed in the outpatient clinical setting, this is similar to the accuracy of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of the disease and is much more convenient and cost-effective."

The research team says their findings show promise in:

• Better identifying research participants with Alzheimer's disease brain changes.
• Screening and selecting patients with Alzheimer's disease for clinical trials.
• Assessing how patients respond to therapy in clinical trials.
  

More than 500 patients receiving treatment for a range of memory issues at the outpatient Memory Disorder Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Florida participated in the study. They included patients with early- and late-onset cognitive impairment, typical and atypical Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia and vascular cognitive impairment. 

Patients ranged from 32 to 89 years old, with the average age of symptom onset being 66. Alzheimer's disease was determined to be the underlying cause of the symptoms in 56% of the patients. The team also conducted serum tests to measure kidney disease, which can influence plasma biomarker concentrations. 

Mayo Clinic Laboratories tested for two proteins in blood plasma that are associated with amyloid plaque buildup, the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease: Aβ42/40 and p-tau217. The researchers found that p-tau217 levels were higher in patients with Alzheimer's disease versus those without the disease. Higher plasma p-tau217 concentrations were also associated with impaired kidney function, which researchers say should be taken into account when performing the blood test. 

Plasma p-tau217 concentrations were positive in 267 out of 509 patients, including 233 of 246 patients (95%) with cognitive impairment attributed to Alzheimer's disease.

The study was featured at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in April. 

In a previous study, researchers from the Mayo Clinic Laboratories team showed the utility of these blood tests compared to amyloid PET scans in research participants. 

Dr. Day says the next steps in this research are to evaluate blood-based testing in more diverse patient populations and people with early Alzheimer's disease who show no cognitive symptoms. The team also wants to evaluate disease-specific factors that may alter biomarker accuracy in clinical trials.

Other Mayo Clinic authors include Yoav Piura, M.D., Christian Lachner, M.D., Joshua Bornhorst, Ph.D., Alicia Algeciras Schimnich, Ph.D., and Neill Graff-Radford, M.D. For a full list of authors, funding and disclosures, see the paper.

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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:

• Tia Ford, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Pick's disease, a neurodegenerative disease of unknown genetic origin, is a rare type of frontotemporal dementia that affects people under the age of 65. The condition causes changes in personality, behavior and sometimes language impairment. In patients with the disease, tau proteins build up and form abnormal clumps called Pick bodies, which restrict nutrients to the brain and cause neurodegeneration. The only way to diagnose the disease is by looking at brain tissue under a microscope after a person dies.

In a new study, Mayo Clinic researchers have identified gene expression changes in the brains of people with Pick's disease. Since Pick's disease is a rare neurodegenerative disorder that cannot be diagnosed during life, their findings offer valuable insights that may help guide the development of biomarkers and therapeutic strategies.

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida, University College London in England and collaborators worldwide have established the Pick's Disease International Consortium to study a specific MAPT gene variation known as MAPT H2 that makes the tau protein and acts as a driver of disease. They investigated a connection between the gene and disease risk, age at onset, and duration of Pick's disease. Their findings are reported in The Lancet Neurology.

Mayo Clinic researchers identified the first MAPT gene mutations for a behavioral form of dementia in 1998, and other genetic changes associated with related dementias in 2001, which paved the way to understanding the mechanisms of tau-related disease. This new study confirms a tau genetic factor linked specifically to Pick's disease and opens up new avenues of therapeutic design.

"Our research could have profound implications for the development of therapies for Pick's disease and other related neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy," says Owen Ross, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic neuroscientist and senior author of the paper. The consortium hosts a database of clinical, pathological and demographic information about patients with the disease who donated their brain tissue for science.

To conduct the study, researchers investigated brain samples of 338 patients confirmed to have Pick's disease to compare with blood samples from 1,312 neurologically healthy individuals. Patients confirmed to have the disease came from 35 brain banks and hospitals in North America, Europe and Australia between 2020 and 2023. The Mayo Clinic Brain Bank was among the sites in the study that provided the largest collection of samples.

Analyzing DNA from the blood samples and brain tissue, the research team recorded baseline information on study participants, including age at disease onset, age at death for those with Pick's disease, and sex and age at blood collection for the control group. Disease duration was calculated by the difference between age at Pick's disease onset and age at death. In addition, the researchers looked at clinical characteristics such as clinical diagnosis, impairment in behavior and language.

"We found that the MAPT H2 genetic variant is associated with an increased risk of Pick's disease in people of European descent," says Dr. Ross. "We were only able to determine that because of the global consortium, which greatly increased the sample size of pathology cases to study with Pick's disease."

The team's next steps are to expand the consortium to the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America, further resolve the genetic architecture of the disease, and assess this specific genetic variant as a biomarker or test for clinical diagnosis of Pick's disease. There is currently no clinical test or diagnosis available for Pick's disease. For the first time, the creation of the consortium may allow for the development of a clinical test.

Funding for this research at Mayo Clinic was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the State of Florida Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program, and Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. For a full list of authors, collaborating institutions and disclosures, see the paper.

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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: 

• Tia Ford, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu 

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Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

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Preventing a stroke is a crucial aspect of healthcare, as about 80% of all strokes are preventable. The focus is on managing risk factors to reduce the long-term risk of stroke.

A stroke results from a blocked or torn blood vessel that decreases blood flow to the brain. In the U.S., stroke is a leading cause of death and disability.

“Because about 80% of all strokes are preventable, we really focus on prevention,” says Dr. Stephen English, a Mayo Clinic neurologist.

Preventing stroke risks

Tips for lowering stroke risk include maintaining blood pressure under 130/80 and keeping cholesterol and blood glucose at appropriate levels.

"(Other modifiable risks include) things like smoking cessation, treatment of sleep apnea with a CPAP device, and some other potential treatments," he says. "We want to make sure that the risk factors are mitigated to help reduce the long-term risk of stroke."

There are risk factors for stroke that cannot be changed. These include age, sex, race and family history. “There are four nonmodifiable risk factors we typically think about. The first is age, so age greater than 55; males; people that have a family history of prior stroke; and then people that are of African American descent,” says Dr. English.

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ROCHESTER, Minn. — Every year, some mothers die after giving birth due to heart problems, and many of these deaths could be prevented. The ability to screen for heart weakness before pregnancy could play a crucial role in identifying women who may need additional care to improve pregnancy outcomes. Mayo Clinic researchers, led by Anja Kinaszczuk, D.O., and Demilade Adedinsewo, M.D., tested artificial intelligence (AI) tools, using recordings from an electrocardiogram (ECG) and a digital stethoscope, to find unknown heart problems in women of childbearing age seen in primary care.   

Study findings published in the Annals of Family Medicine show high diagnostic performance of these technologies to detect left ventricular ejection fraction below 50%, indicating heart muscle weakness. These tools were tested on two groups of women aged 18 to 49.  

• Group 1: 100 women already scheduled for an echocardiogram (the best test to evaluate heart muscle function). They also had a standard clinical ECG and digital stethoscope recording of the heart’s electrical activity and heart sounds.  

• Group 2: 100 women seen for routine primary care visits to see how often the AI tools would find heart problems.   

The AI-ECG demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of .94 while the AI digital stethoscope, Eko DUO, achieved an even higher AUC of 0.98, indicating strong diagnostic accuracy. In the second cohort, the prevalence of positive AI screening results was 1% for the AI-ECG and 3.2% for the AI-stethoscope. 

"Statistically, nearly half of pregnancies in this country are unplanned, and approximately 1% to 2% of women may have heart problems they don't know about. Our research findings suggest that these AI tools could be used to screen women before pregnancy, allowing for improved pregnancy planning and risk stratification, early treatment, and better health outcomes which addresses a critical gap in current maternal care," says Dr. Adedinsewo, a cardiologist and senior author of the study.  

This research builds upon earlier published studies, including a pilot prospective study evaluating AI digital tools to detect pregnancy-related cardiomyopathy among obstetric patients in the U.S. and a pragmatic randomized clinical trial of women in Nigeria who were pregnant or had recently given birth. Collectively, this research highlights the potential of AI to modernize cardiovascular screening, enabling earlier identification and management of heart muscle weakness in women of reproductive age. Further research is underway to explore the potential of using these technologies to screen for heart weakness in broader populations.  

Mayo Clinic has licensed the underlying technology to EKO Health for its digital stethoscope with embedded ECG electrodes and to Anumana for the 12-lead ECG. Mayo Clinic and some study authors have a financial interest in this technology. Mayo Clinic will use any revenue it receives to support its not-for-profit mission in patient care, education and research. 

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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: 

• Terri Malloy, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu 

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Mayo Clinic in Florida has received its third Magnet designation, the highest international honor for nursing excellence, from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), with several exemplars noted. Exemplars are areas where the Florida campus significantly exceeded Magnet standards for clinical excellence.  

"While redesignation happens every four years, our nurses and care teams display excellence every day," says Jamie Macaluso, Magnet program director for Mayo Clinic in Florida. "It's a wonderful feeling to hear appraisers recognize our staff for their hard work and interactions with patients."   

Mayo Clinic in Florida first achieved the designation in 2015 as a reflection of its nursing professionalism, teamwork and expertise. The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program distinguishes organizations that meet rigorous standards for nursing excellence. The site also earned a designation in 2020. Globally, only a small and select group of U.S. healthcare organizations have achieved Magnet recognition. Less than 10% of hospitals nationwide have the Magnet designation. 

Mayo Clinic outperformed the benchmarks in all nursing units for:  

• Hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections
• Patient Burn Care  
• Surgical Errors  
• Care Coordination  
• Careful Listening  
• Courtesy and Respect 
• Patient Education  

Magnet appraisers commended the nurses in Florida for their collaborative work in designing and implementing technology in patient care settings and through programs like Advanced Care at Home, Cancer CARE Beyond Walls and STAT Care at Home. They also highlighted nurse participation in the Alligator Tank and robot pilot programs.

"This honor is a true reflection of the unwavering dedication from our exceptional nurses, nurse leaders and clinical care team members," says Tera Gross, chief nursing officer for Mayo Clinic in Florida. "The commitment to fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation ensures that our Mayo Clinic values are embodied in every aspect of patient care. Through their efforts, we continue to set the standard for nursing excellence and uphold the principles that define Mayo Clinic's Model of Care."

Research has shown that Magnet recognition offers significant advantages to healthcare organizations and their communities. One of the key benefits is higher nurse job satisfaction, which contributes to a more motivated and engaged workforce. Also, hospitals with Magnet status tend to receive higher patient ratings, reflecting a better overall hospital experience. These hospitals report lower mortality rates, improved patient outcomes and higher quality of care.

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Hailing from the historic town of Natchitoches, Louisiana, Roderick Baptiste has spent the last 17 years in Columbus, Georgia. His journey, marked by unexpected health challenges, began to unfold when he moved to Georgia in 2008. During a routine visit to his local primary care physician, an underlying heart issue and high blood pressure were discovered. This led to a diagnosis of congestive heart failure and stage 3 kidney failure.

The path to Mayo Clinic

For several years, Roderick made efforts to manage his condition. "I was treated and was being sustained with changes in medications and many prayers," says Roderick. "In August of 2014, my cardiologist referred me to Mayo Clinic in Florida, and this began my Mayo Clinic experience." At that time, his heart function had declined to a mere 10% ejection fraction, a measurement of the heart’s ability to pump oxygen-rich blood to the body.

The waiting game

Life took a slower pace in 2014 as daily activities became increasingly challenging. "Walking, talking, and normal, day-to-day routines slowly became more and more difficult to manage on my own," says Roderick. By August 2019, he had entered total kidney failure and required dialysis. Despite being listed for a heart and kidney transplant in December 2014, the wait extended for five long years, filled with monthly travels to Mayo Clinic for testing and assessments. Spring of 2019 brought multiple hospital admissions, and by December, his health had significantly deteriorated. In January 2020, Mayo Clinic admitted Roderick as an inpatient until a transplant could be performed. After a 23-day wait, he received a new heart and kidney on Feb. 22, 2020.

A connection beyond surgery

Six months after his transplant, Roderick reached out to his donor's family. His donor's mother responded, and since then, they have built a strong relationship, maintaining contact through visits, phone calls, texts and video conferencing.

Living his best life

Today, Roderick says he feels amazing, living his best life with no health issues to report. His story is a testament to the lifesaving effect of organ donation and transplantation. To those considering becoming organ donors, Roderick offers heartfelt encouragement: "If you check the box as a donor, you could help save so many lives."

The post Double-transplant patient marks 5-year anniversary with thriving health appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Scott Spaulding's relationship with Mayo Clinic in Florida started before he learned he had throat cancer. He'd been coming to the campus for liver issues and was impressed with the care he received.

"They were responsive, they were on time, they had so many resources available, including the latest technologies and equipment," Scott says. "It made an impression on me."

Still, when a spot on his neck — what he described as "a little BB under my skin" — led to a diagnosis of throat cancer, he initially went somewhere closer to his home in St. Marys, Georgia, for cancer treatment. About a year later, though, Scott's cancer came back, and his thoughts immediately turned to Mayo Clinic.

"I was already going to the Mayo Clinic, and I really liked it," he says."So I decided to talk to them about treating my cancer."

Because it was his "second time through with cancer," Scott wanted to make sure he did his homework. He met with the hospital where he was originally treated, another cancer center, and Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center to hear their plans for how they would attack his disease.

"I really wanted to be at the Mayo Clinic because I thought there would be a lot of value in having all of my issues treated in one place," he says. "But I also wanted to be really careful. Because I’m not a doctor, I needed someone to help me make these serious treatment decisions."

In Scott's opinion, Dr. Yujie Zhao, an oncologist at Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center who specializes in head and neck cancer, presented the best case.

"She told me that because the cancer had spread from lymph nodes in my neck to lymph nodes in my chest, we should start with chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy first to treat my whole body and then do radiation therapy," he says, adding that Dr. Zhao explained it would be a multipronged attack on the cancer to kill cancer cells that had spread to other areas.

"Others proposed radiation therapy first," Scott says. "I wasn't sure which way to go, but Dr. Zhao did the best and most thorough job of explaining why we should approach it the way she proposed. So I told her, 'Let's get going.'"

"The outside recommendation for upfront radiation was based on the impression that the disease was a primary lung cancer," notes Dr. Zhao. "However, after a thorough workup, we confirmed that it was metastatic disease (or cancer that had spread) from the previous head and neck cancer, leading to a different treatment approach."

Comprehensive care for complex cases

Scott's throat cancer was challenging because it wasn't his only health condition, Dr. Zhao says. However, Mayo Clinic has the experience and expertise to navigate complex diagnoses.

"Head and neck cancer is a multidisciplinary disease," she says. "It requires working across specialties as a team to provide the care patients like Scott need."

After completing his treatments, Scott has been in remission from cancer for about a year. 

"So far, my cancer's all gone," he says. "You keep your fingers crossed, but you have to have a positive attitude about it."

Recently, Scott resumed some activities he enjoys, like golfing and fishing. 

"Going through cancer and treatment for cancer takes it out of you for quite a while," he says. "But it's better than the alternative, I'll tell you that."

The high point throughout the journey, Scott says, is how much help and support he has received from Mayo Clinic. 

"The resources you have available to you, the fact that they're all in one place is so helpful," he says. "I still have an issue with a chronic cough. A lot of times, you get scarring in your throat from radiation therapy. So they're trying to figure out whether it's nasal drainage getting trapped in my throat because of the scar tissue or allergies or sleep apnea. They're very thorough. They're evaluating everything. 

"They're also very honest. They'll say to me, 'Hey, you've got scarring in your throat. We may not be able to fix this 100%, but let's figure out what we can do to help it as much as possible.' I like that attitude."

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When an aggressive lymphoma threatened to derail a couple's happily ever after, the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center helped them find a future.

Joanne McDonnell likens her longtime romance with her husband, Paul, to that of June Carter and Johnny Cash. The two have known each other since they were kids — specifically, third grade for Joanne and fifth for Paul. "She was my best friend's little sister," Paul explains. 

So, two years ago, when doctors told Joanne there wasn't anything else they could do for Paul's diffuse large B-cell lymphoma — an aggressive form of blood cancer — Joanne refused to believe their story was over.

"I know death comes for everyone, but I also knew it wasn't his time," she says.

Paul McDonnell learns his cancer is in remission.

Instead, Joanne, a retired human resources specialist for the Department of Defense, spent the next several months relying on two sources she'd come to trust: research and Dr. Madiha Iqbal, Paul's hematologist and oncologist at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center in Jacksonville, Florida.

Facing hurdles

Paul learned he had cancer four years ago. He'd scheduled an appointment with an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist because he had swelling along the jawline on one side of his face. A biopsy a day or two later revealed it was lymphoma.

Initially, Paul underwent six months of chemotherapy-based treatments, but they weren't working well, so Paul's doctor, who knew Dr. Iqbal, referred him to her. Paul's doctor hoped that Dr. Iqbal, who specializes in bone marrow transplant and a form of immunotherapy called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy, might be able to help.

Dr. Iqbal first considered a bone marrow transplant for Paul. Bone marrow transplant, also called stem cell transplant, involves replacing a patient's damaged bone marrow with healthy cells. However, Dr. Iqbal said she and her team became a "little hesitant about the transplant" when they started to encounter obstacles with the process. Paul's body wasn’t producing enough stem cells to use for a transplant and his bone marrow was showing signs of damage from the chemotherapy treatments he'd received. 

"These hurdles derailed the plans we had for him," Dr. Iqbal says. 

Then, the team found signs his lymphoma had spread.

A novel treatment for aggressive lymphoma

In the past, oncologists didn't have much to offer patients with lymphoma, specifically diffuse B-cell lymphomas, who'd had two chemotherapy-based treatments and still had disease, Dr. Iqbal says. Today, however, they have a new tool in CAR-T cell therapy. CAR-T cell therapy works by altering a patient's T cells, or white blood cells, so they can recognize and destroy cancer cells.

"CAR-T cell therapy has significantly changed outcomes for patients with aggressive lymphomas, especially for those whose disease isn't very responsive to chemotherapy," Dr. Iqbal says. "Close to half of patients who, in the past, would have succumbed to their disease, are now able to go on with their lives thanks to this innovative treatment."

Dr. Iqbal started the process for Paul to receive CAR-T cell therapy. Then she faced a major hurdle: Paul's cancer had metastasized, or spread, and a tumor had grown so big it had penetrated his bowel and ruptured it. Paul was admitted to the hospital in critically ill condition — too sick for CAR-T cell therapy, and too sick to even undergo surgery to repair his bowel. 

Instead, doctors placed a tube into his bowel for drainage and placed him on total parenteral nutrition, meaning he had to have all his nutrition delivered directly into his bloodstream.  

"It was a serious situation at that time," Dr. Iqbal says. "While hospice was discussed as an option, I knew Joanne didn't want to give up on him."

After talking with Joanne and Paul, Dr. Iqbal decided to pursue a treatment course that would help get Paul's disease under control so they could try CAR-T.  

Navigating a road forward

Although nervous, Joanne was grateful to have a potential path forward for Paul. "Dr. Iqbal educated us, gave us books, answered our questions," she says. "She never discredited anything we said or asked. She was a big help for me as Paul's advocate."

Dr. Iqbal prescribed two rounds of chemotherapy to get Paul's disease under control. Soon afterward, he began to feel better. His tumor had also shrunk enough that Dr. Iqbal's team was able to collect his cells, and, about a month later, infuse them back into his body to target and kill cancer cells. 

The therapy was successful.

"Paul was far from an ideal patient to go into CAR-T cell therapy," Dr. Iqbal says. "We never want to put a patient through an intensive treatment if they're not healthy enough to withstand it. But because we were able to give him that stabilizing chemotherapy treatment that got him into a bit of a better place, it provided us with a window of opportunity to go ahead with the CAR-T cell therapy. And he was lucky, obviously, that it's resulted in him having a long-term remission."

A year and a half after Paul’s CAR-T cell therapy, he still has no evidence of disease. "He's a changed man ever since," Dr. Iqbal says, noting Paul's quality of life has improved drastically.

Joanne agrees: "She saved Paul's life."

Now, the married couple of nearly 43 years is "trying to figure out how to live again," Joanne says. "I tell Paul every day that God spared him for a reason. Thank God Dr. Iqbal didn't give up on him."

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JACKSONVILLE — More than 2 million people in the United States are living with limb loss — 1.7 million of whom use a prosthetic limb. One of those people is Hamaad Khan, D.O., a first-year internal medicine resident with Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education (MCSGME). With the guidance and resources available at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Khan is developing an idea that could significantly improve outcomes for patients using prosthetics.

In December, Dr. Khan won Mayo Clinic in Florida's 2024 Alligator Tank — a "Shark Tank"-style pitch competition presented by Mayo Clinic Research Innovation — with his idea to bring sensor technology to prosthetic sockets, which are used to help fit amputees to their prosthetic limbs.

Alligator Tank is open annually to individual innovators from the Mayo Clinic in Florida campus as well as teams with at least one member based on the Florida campus. Contestants are judged by a five-member panel hailing from across the Florida campus, including researchers, consultants, engineers and business developers. (Mayo Clinic's Minnesota and Arizona campuses have similar competitions, known, respectively, as Walleye Tank and Roadrunner Sprint.)

Despite competing against more seasoned innovators, Dr. Khan came out on top, receiving $50,000 in funding, with an additional $500 for being voted the crowd favorite. His success could only be realized through MCSGME, where trainees are empowered to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset and develop groundbreaking, innovative solutions to lead the global transformation of healthcare.

Innovation a lifetime in the making

Dr. Khan was born with only a partial left arm, having experienced Amniotic Band Syndrome in the womb — a condition where parts of the amniotic sac wrapped around his forearm, hindering its development. He started using prosthetics at three months old and required a new prosthetic arm every time he outgrew the previous one. By 17, he had been through nearly 20 prostheses, each one taking several weeks of fitting and sizing prior to use.

As he got older, Dr. Khan was fitted with a cable-powered prosthesis, enabling greater functionality and giving him the confidence to complete emergency medical technician training. He volunteered as an EMT, serving several years as chief of his university's volunteer EMT service during his undergraduate education. This solidified his desire to pursue a career in medicine, where he will specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation beginning in July 2025.

Dr. Khan knows the trials and tribulations that an ill-fitting socket presents and felt strongly that the functionality and daily use of prosthetics depends almost entirely on the improvement of this core element.

"I have always been fascinated by how clinicians use a simple yet effective method to create personalized sockets for their patients, but there have been few significant advancements in this process in recent years," he says. "I figured it was time to bring in something new."

Each prosthetic socket is custom made and acts as a direct interface between the prosthesis and the patient's limb. Studies show that ill-fitted prosthetics can lead to pressure injuries, skin breakdown, hypersensitivity and other problems that may keep people from using their prosthesis daily.

The idea Dr. Khan pitched at Alligator Tank brings sensor technologies into the socket itself, identifying areas during the fitting that might lead to discomfort or injury with continued use of the prosthesis.

"The goal is to catch these problem points early in the socket creation process and provide a comfortable fit for the patient with greater time and cost effectiveness," he says.

From innovator to entrepreneur

As a patient and a physician, Dr. Khan knew that finding a way to accelerate the socket-fitting process while lowering clinician costs presented a great business opportunity.

The opportunities at Mayo Clinic allowed Dr. Khan to develop his Alligator Tank pitch. In addition to consulting with friends who have experienced limb loss and professional prosthetists who make the devices, he spoke with several Mayo physicians who regularly care for amputees and witness the effects of poor socket fit. They encouraged Dr. Khan to explore ways to improve and update the current process for prosthetic fitting.

He also worked closely with faculty within Mayo Clinic's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation department who helped him develop his idea, Internal Medicine faculty who encouraged his interest in innovation and helped him make many connections within their Mayo Clinic network, and faculty involved with Mayo's partnership with Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital who taught him about common problems facing amputees and introduced him to patients living with limb loss.

Dr. Khan is now working with Mayo Clinic Research Innovation, Mayo Clinic Ventures and other internal resources as he continues his efforts to turn his idea into a reality.

Fostering entrepreneurial spirit in Mayo's trainees

Clinical innovation and entrepreneurship are strategic areas of importance for MCSGME. Trainees can enroll in a four-week elective course or a year-long academy, both aimed at helping develop and strengthen skill sets in clinical innovation and thinking. Additionally, Mayo Clinic in Florida was the first in the nation to create a formal innovation curriculum embedded into its Internal Medicine residency program, in which Dr. Khan is currently a trainee.

Abdallah El Sabbagh, M.D., associate program director for innovation for the Internal Medicine residency, says Dr. Khan's success is attributable in large part to the support and connections he found at Mayo Clinic, which fosters innovation and creates such opportunities for its trainees.

"For years, innovation has remained an untapped resource in medical training, despite its undeniable importance in advancing patient care and transforming healthcare delivery," he says. "We are fortunate that Mayo Clinic recognizes the immense value of innovation and has committed significant resources to making it a priority in medical education.

"Dr. Khan's story should inspire trainees across all of Mayo Clinic that anything is possible in this institution and that they should carry forward with their ideas, as creativity knows no age, hierarchy or background. What it knows is that the needs of the patients come first."

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Dr. Maher Baz, a Mayo Clinic transplant pulmonologist, says a lung transplant is a complex and major surgery that can significantly improve a patient's survival and quality of life. 

Watch: Dr. Maher Baz discusses lung transplantation

Journalists: Broadcast-quality sound bites with Dr. Baz are available in the downloads at the end of the post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Name super/CG: Maher Baz, M.D./Transplantation Medicine/Mayo Clinic.

When it's time for a lung transplant

A lung transplant is typically considered when a patient's disease severely impacts day-to-day functioning and/or threatens survival. 

“About 30% to 40% of those who need a lung transplant have late-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and need quality-of-life care,” Dr. Baz says.

Lung transplantation for patients with pulmonary fibrosis, emphysema or COPD can greatly improve overall health. For many, a transplant reduces dependence on oxygen, helping them live more active and independent lives.

"We feel that their quality of life will improve significantly after the transplant. Because they're no longer on oxygen, they can be out and about, walk farther, go on vacations and improve their survival," says Dr. Baz. "There's a subpopulation, especially for fibrosis; we think we can add several years to their survival.”

Advancements in lung transplantation

Medical innovation has dramatically evolved the lung transplant process, making transplants safer and more effective for patients. One of the most significant advances is a system that tests and preserves donated lungs.

"We have something called ex vivo lung perfusion, or EVLP. It's where we put the donated lungs on a breathing machine, circulate fluid in them, test them for about three to four hours and ensure they are good lungs," Dr. Baz explains.

This method ensures donated lungs are viable for transplantation, significantly boosting the availability of usable organs. It means shorter wait times and more opportunities to find suitable donors.

Improved care

Thanks to improved personalized patient care, rehabilitation, infection management and rejection treatment advancements, both short-term and long-term survival rates for lung transplants have improved significantly.

Transplant, says Dr. Baz, can be life-transforming. "It will take patients from being dependent on oxygen, dependent physically, to independent of oxygen and an independent lifestyle. And it can do that often within a few weeks after transplant surgery."

It's important to note that a lung transplant isn't right for everyone. Many factors determine eligibility, so working closely with your care team to evaluate the best treatment option is important.

Related posts:

• A journey of resilience and hope
• Mayo Clinic’s transplant center in Florida reaches 800th lung transplant milestone, on track for record-setting year

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