Health & Wellness - November 2013 Archives

A healthy approach to eating is important for everyone but for people with diabetes and prediabetes – having a higher than normal blood sugar level – appropriate monitoring and management of diet is crucial. Mayo Clinic Health System registered dietitian Sue Seykora offers these meal-planning tips to help keep diabetes under control or maybe avoid it all together. For more information, please click here.  Carbohydrate counting Carbohydrate counting is a meal-planning approach that focuses on the total number of

The Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program of Mayo Clinic; Nemours Children’s Clinic, Jacksonville; and Wolfson Children’s Hospital has been awarded a three-year accreditation renewal by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). The foundation awarded the accreditation renewal after thorough site visits at all collection, transplantation and laboratory facilities at the three locations. The joint program was created in 2001 to allow for greater collaboration in physician and staff expertise, research and clinical protocols.  Since it was established, the combined program has transplanted patients with a variety of illnesses including leukemia, neuroblastoma, sickle cell disease, bone marrow disorders, multiple myeloma, lymphoma, brain tumors, Ewing’s sarcoma and amyloidosis. “We are excited to receive this accreditation. It is a welcome recognition and ‘badge of honor’ for our program. It also informs and assures our patients, referring physicians and insurance companies of the highest standards of patient care and laboratory practices in our program,” said Vivek Roy, M.D., hematologist/oncologist at Mayo Clinic in Florida and medical director of the adult Blood and Marrow Transplant Program. Click here to read the entire news release. To hear more from Dr. Roy, click on the video below.  Journalists, this video is also available in the downloads below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHrBkkdDEdw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY8j1UznqIg Pain, swelling and stiffness in your joints are all symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. But because these symptoms come and go, the condition can sometimes ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNBu55Zz48E People with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other chronic forms of inflammatory arthritis can face many life-threatening complications and now heart disease tops the list. Patients ...

Mayo Clinic Studying Genomics of Antiplatelet Heart Medication http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DheqVPuMro0 Each year in the United States, 600,000 to 800,000 heart stents are placed to restore blood flow through coronary arteries. Patients are then given medication to keep blood clots from forming near the surgical site. Such clots can be deadly, causing heart attack and stroke. But, which antiplatelet medication is best? The answer may lie in your genes. “The current standard of care after angioplasty is to prescribe clopidogrel for one year, regardless of a person’s individual genotype, even though we have known for several years that variation in the CYP2C19 gene may diminish the benefit from the drug,” says Naveen Pereira, M.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist and principal investigator. Click here to read the full news release. Journalists: Sound bites with Dr. Pereira and animation of a heart stent placement are available in the downloads.

Building on its reputation for delivering high quality and compassionate care to the communities in which it serves, St. Francis in Columbus, Ga., becomes the most recent member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network.The Mayo Clinic Care Network shares Mayo Clinic's knowledge and expertise with health care systems interested in working together to enhance the quality and delivery of health care for their patients. St. Francis is the first organization in Georgia to join the Mayo Clinic Care Network.   Robert Granger, president and CEO of St. Francis, says, “St. Francis is proud to be a Mayo Clinic Care Network member. Our physicians will be able to reach out to Mayo Clinic specialists as they consider the care needs for their patients. This collaboration will enhance patient care for the citizens of Columbus and the Chattahoochee Valley.” Read the news release and view photos from today's news conference. Journalists: Mayo Clinic campus b-roll is available in the downloads. High resolution photos are available for download below: 20131113_StFrancis-Photo-01.jpg

Perguntas e Respostas JACKSONVILLE, Flórida, 14 de novembro de 2013 — A exposição ao sol, sem proteção, é um risco que a maioria das pessoas não leva a sério. Elas ignoram o fato de que isso pode causar câncer de pele – ou não lhe dão importância. A verdade é que o câncer de pele é a forma mais comum de câncer no mundo e uma das principais causas de morte. No mundo, são quase 3,5 milhões de casos por ano, que levam pelo menos 12 mil pacientes à morte. De acordo com as estatísticas da Sociedade Americana do Câncer, um em cinco americanos desenvolvem a doença em sua vida.

JACKSONVILLE, Flórida — O uso de um procedimento endoscópico minimamente invasivo, para remover o câncer de esôfago superficial, em estágio inicial, é tão eficaz quanto a cirurgia para excisão e reconstrução do esôfago, de acordo com um estudo de pesquisadores da Clínica Mayo de Jacksonville, Flórida. A pesquisa, publicada na edição de novembro do jornalClinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, examinou resultados nacionais do tratamento endoscópico, comparando-os com os daesofagectomia, a cirurgia para a remoção do esôfago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LykwYiMT7rM&feature=youtu.be&hd=1 Research has shown that the intestinal microbiome plays a large role in the development of type 1 diabetes. Now, researchers at Mayo Clinic have demonstrated that gluten in the diet may modify the intestinal microbiome, increasing incidences of Type 1 diabetes. Mayo Clinic immunologist and study author Govindarajan Rajagopalan, Ph.D., says, “These changes suggest that the presence of gluten is directly responsible for the diabetes-creating effects of diet and determines the gut microflora.” Gastroenterologist and study author Joseph Murray, M.D., says, “While this is purely an animal-based study, it allows us to manipulate these mice in such a way as to study the effects of certain diets, and these diet changes seem to make an impact on the likelihood of developing the mouse equivalent of type 1 diabetes.” The research is published Nov. 13, in the journal PLOS ONE. Click here for news release. Journalists: Audio sound bites with Dr. Rajagopalan and Dr. Murray are available in the downloads.

Dear Mayo Clinic: My father was recently diagnosed with diabetic kidney disease. Is there a chance this can be reversed, or will he have it for life? What changes, if any, should he be making to his diet? Answer: It is not uncommon for people who have diabetes to develop kidney problems. When diagnosed early, it may be possible to stop diabetic kidney disease and fix the damage. If the disease continues, however, the damage may not be reversible. Diabetic kidney disease, also called diabetic nephropathy, happens when diabetes damages blood vessels and other cells in the kidneys. This makes it hard for them to work as they should. In the early stages, diabetic kidney disease has no symptoms. That's why it is so important for people with diabetes to regularly have tests that check kidney function.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxYweB-9Z7Y&feature=youtu.be&hd=1 The list of complications from type 2 diabetes is long: vascular and heart disease, eye problems, nerve damage, kidney disease, hearing problems and Alzheimer’s disease. Physicians have long thought of osteoporosis as another outcome. Based on a Mayo Clinic study published in Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, that’s confirmed: You can definitely add skeletal problems to that list. Mayo Clinic endocrinologist and senior author of the study Sundeep Khosla, M.D., says, “This is the first demonstration — using direct measurement of bone strength in the body — of compromised bone material in patients with type 2 diabetes. Clearly, the skeleton needs to be recognized as another important target of diabetes complications.” Click here for news release. Journalists: B-roll of and sound bites with Dr. Khosla are available in the downloads.

http://youtu.be/uS9HGetALFM Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida, the University of Florida in Gainesville, and the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle have received a $7.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to take a new and more expanded approach to identifying drug targets to treat and possibly prevent Alzheimer’s disease. The investigators are working together to understand the role that innate immunity — the body’s defense system — plays in Alzheimer’s disease, a disorder of dementia that is rapidly increasing as the population ages. Neurologist and neuroscientist Nilufer Taner, M.D.,Ph.D., says, “Our goal is to understand exactly if and when an innate immune response is good, and when it is bad, and to identify drug targets that enhance this protective effect and shut down the destructive side of this inflammation.” Click here for news release. Journalists: Sound bites with Dr. Taner are available in the downloads.