Minnesota - December 2012 Archives

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The public is invited to enjoy four Rosemary and Meredith Willson Harmony for Mayo Program concerts in January. Performances will be on Mondays from 12:10 to 1 p.m., unless otherwise indicated. The schedule is: Jan. 7: Michael Johnson, whose hit songs include "Bluer than Blue," will perform an acoustic folk concert in Barbara Woodward Lips Atrium, subway level, Rochester Methodist Hospital, Charlton Building, 10 Third Ave. NW. Billboard Magazine has called Johnson "a dazzling guitarist and wonderfully expressive singer." He has toured around the world with country and folk icons, including Alison Krauss and Union Station and legendary comedian, the late George Carlin. Johnson's 16 albums also include songs such as "Give Me Wings," Billboard Country Song of the Year in 1986. Johnson recently released "Moonlit Déjà vu," his first new studio album in 15 years. Jan. 14: The Rochester Chamber Music Society will perform a concert in Lips Atrium. Formed in 2003, the group is dedicated to intimate instrumental and vocal combinations that promote artistically excellent chamber music. Pianist Horacio Nuguid is artistic director.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — It's the medical resource behind discoveries that have affected patients around the globe, treasured by researchers and funded by the National Institutes of Health for nearly 50 years: the Rochester Epidemiology Project. This comprehensive medical records pool makes Olmsted County, Minn., one of the few places in the world where scientists can study virtually an entire geographic population to identify trends in disease, evaluate treatments and find factors that put people at risk for illness — or protect them. And, as it nears the half-century mark, the project is still growing. Health care providers in seven southeastern Minnesota counties are adding patients' records, including Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Wabasha and Winona, more than doubling the number of area residents included. VIDEO ALERT: Video with Dr. Rocca is available for journalists to download on the Mayo Clinic News Network. The project has followed a half-million lives since it began. Co-directors Walter Rocca, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist and epidemiologist, and Barbara Yawn, M.D., research director at Olmsted Medical Center, describe how it developed and where it is going in this month's Mayo Clinic Proceedings. "The Rochester Epidemiology Project is unique, especially because of its historical capability. We go back to 1966, and we can look at big chunks of histories of people's lives," Dr. Rocca says. "It's extremely valuable to be able to answer medical questions that have to do with prevention, better care and also with understanding the cost and the effectiveness of our interventions." The project has supported more than 2,000 studies. Research making headlines in recent years includes the findings that women who had their ovaries removed before menopause are at higher risk of dementia; multiple exposures to anesthesia before age 3 are linked to more than double the incidence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; skin cancer is up dramatically in people under 40, especially young women; smoke-free workplace laws save lives; mild cognitive impairment is more prevalent in older men than in older women; and traumatic brain injuries are likely more common than had been believed. Fewer than 5 percent of Olmsted County's residents opt out. Those who take part can help science without getting poked and prodded or even meeting a researcher. The project can be used to study pretty much any condition; dozens of studies that otherwise wouldn't be possible are under way at any given time. The biggest change the Rochester Epidemiology Project is seeing mirrors the nation's changing demographics. While whites of Northern European descent have long made up most of Olmsted County's population, a new wave of immigration means that 1 in 4 children isn't of European descent, Dr. Rocca says. Currently, researchers looking for ethnic differences in studies can compare their findings from the project with a much smaller group of ethnically diverse patients, to see whether there are differences or it's a moot point, he says. The project has its origins in the earliest days of Mayo Clinic. Long before computers existed, Mayo archived patient medical records, believing they would someday prove valuable to researchers. In 1966, Mayo obtained NIH funding to link medical records from health care providers across the county, including Olmsted Medical Center and the Rochester Family Medicine Clinic, and the Rochester Epidemiology Project was born. Eventually technology caught up and the records were put on computer.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — As winter begins, temperatures drop and hours of daylight fade, it's not uncommon for people to begin feeling sluggish, moody or stuck in a funk. Those symptoms are typical of someone experiencing seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, a type of depression that typically occurs during the winter. As many as 1 in 5 Americans have SAD, and 75 percent are women, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Journalists: Dr. Frye will be a guest on the Mayo Clinic Radio Sat., Dec. 8, 9–10 a.m. CST. Go to Mayo Clinic Radio to listen LIVE. Follow #mayoradio during the show. Symptoms include sleeping too much, overeating, loss of energy, social withdrawal and difficulty concentrating. People in northern climates are more likely to experience SAD. While many people experience some elements of SAD, Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Mark Frye, M.D., says you should seek professional help if your symptoms begin to affect your ability to perform at work or take a toll on your personal relationships. Seeking help is particularly important if you begin to feel hopeless or have thoughts of self-harm, he says. Dr. Frye offers these tips to keep your mood and motivation steady throughout the winter: Get outside. There is no substitute for natural light. If you work during the day, try to go for a walk during a break or lunch. Light therapy boxes can help boost your mood when you're unable to get outdoors. Get regular exercise: at least three times a week for 30 minutes. Stay social. Interact with family and friends regularly. What causes SAD? Sunlight enters the brain through the eyes, stimulating the production of a neurotransmitter, serotonin, that supports nerve cell functioning, including mood. Less light results in lower serotonin levels. Darkness stimulates the production of melatonin, which promotes sleep. It's the combination of less serotonin and increased amounts of melatonin that causes SAD.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic is being recognized this week as one of the top hospitals in the nation by the Leapfrog Group, an independent, ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Whooping cough, or pertussis, is making headlines, nearly all of them bad news. At least 18 children have died in recent months in what the U.S. government calls the highest infection rate in 70 years. And the problem is global, with similarly increasing rates reported overseas. While preventing the disease is in part up to medical experts, everyone can take some basic steps, such as getting vaccinated and staying home when ill, says Gregory Poland, M.D., an infectious diseases expert and advisor to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Journalists: For multimedia resources and membership, visit the Mayo Clinic News Network. Pertussis is a contagious respiratory disease that is particularly difficult for infants, young children, pregnant women and the elderly, but can affect anyone. The characteristic "whoop" occurs about two weeks after what appear to be cold symptoms. The whoop refers not to the actual barking cough, but to the intake of air after the cough. "In the U.S., well over 18,000 cases have now been documented — outbreaks larger in scope than in the last 50 or more years — and these are certainly just the tip of the iceberg," says Dr. Poland. If not recognized and treated, pertussis may provoke severe headaches, vomiting, extreme fatigue, chronic coughing for up to three months and in extreme cases broken ribs and other serious consequences. If you hear the whooping sound or experience vomiting along with these symptoms, you should seek medical help. Dr. Poland says a range of factors could be causing this year's upsurge in whooping cough — in some cases a 1,000 percent increase over two years ago.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Most patients whose breast cancer has spread to their lymph nodes have most of the lymph nodes in their armpit area removed after chemotherapy to see if any cancer remains. A study conducted through the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group and led by Judy Boughey, M.D. a breast surgeon at Mayo Clinic shows that a less invasive procedure known as sentinel lymph node surgery successfully identified whether cancer remained in lymph nodes in 91 percent of patients with node-positive breast cancer who received chemotherapy before their surgery. In sentinel lymph node surgery, only a few lymph nodes, the ones most likely to contain cancer, are removed. The findings are being presented at the 2012 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. MULTIMEDIA ALERT: Animation and a video interview with Dr. Boughey are available for journalists to download on the Mayo Clinic News Network. "Since treatment with chemotherapy before surgery can eliminate cancer in the lymph nodes in some patients, we were interested in evaluating whether sentinel lymph node surgery could successfully identify whether cancer remained in the lymph nodes after chemotherapy," says Dr. Boughey. Removing only a few lymph nodes reduces the risk of surgical complications such as numbness and arm swelling, she says. Researchers studied 756 women with node-positive breast cancer who received chemotherapy as an initial treatment. Of study participants, 637 patients had both sentinel lymph node and axillary lymph node surgery. Sentinel lymph node surgery correctly identified whether cancer lingered in 91 percent of patients, including 255 patients with node-negative breast cancer and 326 patients with continuing node-positive disease. Researchers also found that 40 percent of the patients had complete eradication of the cancer from the lymph nodes. The study had a false-negative rate of 12.6 percent and the false negative rate was significantly lower with the use of dual tracers (blue dye and radiolabeled colloid) to identify the sentinel lymph nodes. Dr. Boughey says that technical factors in surgery are important to help ensure correct staging, the process of determining how far cancer may have spread.