Health & Wellness - May 2014 Archives

May is Celiac Awareness Month and Saturday, May 31, Mayo Clinic expert Joseph Murray, M.D., will join us to discuss whether celiac disease really is becoming more prevalent. Plus, Dr. Murray will talk about other immune reactions people experience when eating foods with gluten and whether the general population should jump on the gluten-free fad. Join us! Myth or Matter of Fact: Eating a gluten-free diet without being diagnosed with a gluten allergy is a bad idea. To hear the program LIVE on Saturday, click here. Follow #MayoClinicRadio and tweet your questions. Mayo Clinic Radio is available on iHeart Radio. Listen to this week’s Medical News Headlines: News Segment May 31, 2014 (right click MP3)  

Celebrate National Cancer Survivors Day Italian style Take part in an annual national celebration that honors people whose lives have been touched by cancer. ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY2i5eGF7Q0 Just about everyone searches the Internet now and then for health information. But for some that searching becomes an obsession. They spend hours looking ...

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My child’s school has had a lice outbreak for two months. The problem does not seem to be going away. Is it true that some types of lice are resistant to over-the-counter treatments? Are there more potent options to eliminate head lice? ANSWER: Although they are often effective, over-the-counter treatments for head lice don’t work in all cases. Some strains of lice can be resistant to the over-the-counter treatments. If head lice persist despite treatment at home, then it’s time to ask your doctor about prescription medication alternatives. Head lice are tiny, wingless, parasitic insects that live and feed on blood from a person’s scalp. Head lice cause a lot of fear, anxiety and concern. Fortunately, although they are a nuisance, head lice don’t carry any transmissible diseases that are dangerous. Head lice can spread easily. They may go from one person to another through direct contact, or they may be passed through shared items, such as combs, brushes and towels. Head lice tend to stay within about an inch of the scalp, anchoring onto a hair shaft. If you suspect that you or a family member has head lice, the best places to look are behind the ears and along the back of the neck, near the scalp. Lice are very small, about the size of a strawberry seed. Their eggs, or nits, resemble tiny pussy willow buds. Nits can be mistaken for dandruff, but they can’t be easily brushed out of hair.

THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES Tai chi: A gentle way to fight stress The gentle movements of tai chi reduce stress and offer other health benefits. Back pain at work: Preventing pain and injury Whether it's dull or sharp, back pain can make it hard to concentrate on your job. Learn what causes back pain at work and what you can do to prevent it. EXPERT ANSWERS Who gets rheumatoid arthritis? Learn which risk factors might make you more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis. Silent heart attack: What are the risks? A silent heart attack occurs with few, if any, symptoms. Find out more. HEALTH TIP OF THE WEEK Fruit how-to: Peach honey spread Want a new way to enjoy more fruit? Try this peach honey spread. Slice up 1 fresh peach or substitute canned peaches, but drain them first. In a bowl, combine peach slices, 2 tablespoons honey and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Mash with a fork until the mixture is the consistency of chunky applesauce. Serve as a topping for pancakes or French toast, or serve it over roasted chicken or pork. Click here to get a free e-subscription to the Housecall newsletter.

Lift off with us Saturday, May 24, when we have out of this world researchers on Mayo Clinic Radio! Abba Zubair M.D., Ph.D., from Mayo Clinic in Florida, and Jan Stepanek, M.D., from Mayo Clinic in Arizona, will join us to discuss research happening in one of the new frontiers of medicine — SPACE! Dr. Zubair will tell us about an experiment on the International Space Station which could help patients recover from stroke, and Dr. Stepanek will share the latest science research in aerospace medicine. Please join us!  To hear the program LIVE on Saturday, click here. Follow #MayoClinicRadio and tweet your questions. Mayo Clinic Radio is available on iHeart Radio. Listen to this week’s Medical News Headlines: News Segment May 24, 2014 (right click MP3)  

Miss the show? Here is the podcast: Mayo Clinic Radio Full Show 5-24-14 44min mp3 Lift off with us Saturday, May 24, when we have out ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvAHK0hkxX0&feature=youtu.be Journalists: This nat pkg. is available in the downloads. LA CROSSE, Wis. —  The Reverie Harp® is a therapeutic lap instrument that's comfortable to hold and easy to play, and its pentatonic scale ensures a pleasant sound. So, Tom Vaughn and Dana Lochner decided to share the soothing melodies and vibrations with patients at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse in the form of harp therapy. Vaughn says it's very helpful for those dealing with pain and anxiety. “It’s meditation without having to go to the classes. You can play a tune while the other harpist is doing the typical therapy of the harp on the patient. The vibrations are very important.”  The harp therapy can even be used to substantially help lower blood pressure in high-anxiety patients. Vaughn described a particular patient in the ICU whose blood pressure dropped by 60 points in just 15 minutes. Within six months the therapists went from treating 25 patients to playing for nearly 200. One of those patients is Lois Przywojski, a retired Mayo Clinic intensive care nurse. She helped start the program a few years ago and now she's benefiting from the melodic tones as she deals with the pain and anxiety of lung cancer. She says the harp therapy helps her reflect during her chemotherapy treatments.  “You can feel the vibrations, it seems to just kind of settle things down ... it just helps a person relax.” MEDIA CONTACT: Rick Thiesse, Mayo Clinic Health System, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

Gardening restores the body and soul Gardening offers cancer survivors the opportunity to get some exercise, stay healthy and nourish the soul. Stage ...

JACKSONVILLE, Flórida, 21 de maio de 2014 — Pesquisadores da Clínica Mayo em Jacksonville, Flórida, descobriram uma enzima que, segundo eles, está estreitamente ligada ao nível de agressividade do câncer do pâncreas em um paciente. Os pesquisadores dizem que o estudo, publicado no jornal Molecular Cancer Research, fornece percepções fundamentais sobre a forma mais agressiva da doença, que é um dos tipos de câncer mais fatais para o ser humano. O estudo também se refere a alguns possíveis avanços clínicos no futuro, tais como uma maneira de medir o benefício para pacientes, individualmente, e traz percepções sobre uma terapia potencial para interromper a atividade da enzima, conhecida como Rac1b.

  It was a cold winter morning and two-year-old Paulie wasn't in his bed. He had wandered outside the family farmhouse during the ...

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am 52 and have been diagnosed with dry macular degeneration. What could cause this in a person my age? ANSWER: No one knows exactly what causes macular degeneration, an eye disease that can lead to loss of sight in the center of your field of vision. But the risk for macular degeneration goes up as you get older. Other factors play a role, too. A family history of the disease, race, lifestyle choices such as smoking and diet, and underlying medical conditions can all increase the likelihood of developing macular degeneration. The macula is the part of your eye that allows you to see fine details in your vision. You need it for tasks such as driving, reading and recognizing faces. The macula is located in the center of your retina — the layer of tissue on the inside back wall of your eyeball.