Minnesota - June 2012 Archives

ROCHESTER, Minn. — June 14, 2012.  When shoulder pain doesn't respond to physical therapy, medication, rest or prescribed exercises, a range of surgery options can ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — June 14, 2012.  Dental machines that use computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing are making it possible to have a crown procedure done ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — June 14, 2012.  Nordic walking — walking with poles — burns more calories than ordinary walking of the same intensity. However, most ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — June 14, 2012.  Mayo Clinic announced today that Lawrence W. and Marilyn W. Matteson of Moline, Ill., have given $10 million to help launch the Mayo Clinic Proton Beam Therapy Program. With this gift, Mayo Clinic will also use matching gift funds to establish the Lawrence W. and Marilyn W. Matteson Fund in Cancer Research. Mayo's Proton Beam Therapy Program will use the most advanced intensity-modulated technology known as pencil beam scanning, which few centers now use. Construction of the proton beam facilities in Rochester, Minn., and Phoenix, Ariz., are under way, and one of four gantries in the proton therapy facility being built in Rochester, Minn., will be named in their honor. The first treatment rooms will be available for patients in 2015 in Rochester, Minn., and in 2016 in Phoenix, Ariz. Unlike conventional radiation therapy, which can damage healthy tissue while it destroys the tumor, proton therapy delivers nearly its entire dose within the tumor, sparing healthy tissue surrounding the cancer. This form of therapy is especially vital in sensitive areas such as the brain and lungs and is especially useful for treating children, who are at higher risk for radiation damage because their bones and tissues are still growing. "Mr. Matteson is a grateful patient who has been very impressed with the care he received at Mayo Clinic," says Robert Foote, M.D.,chair of the Mayo Clinic Department of Radiation Oncology in Rochester Department of Radiation Oncology in Rochester. "Mr. and Mrs. Matteson wanted a way to show their gratitude and chose to donate funds that will help us ease the burden cancer has on patients, especially young children." "This gift is going to benefit children who are going through terrible cancers to not have the residual effects they would have with regular treatment," said Mrs. Matteson. "The side effects won't be something that follows them for the rest of their lives." The Mattesons generously supported The Campaign for Mayo Clinic, a successful $1.3 billion fundraising initiative that concluded in 2009. Mr. Matteson and his son, Larry, of Burlington, Iowa, are the founders of L.W. Matteson, Inc., a marine construction and dredging company in Burlington. The company maintained one of the largest fleets of dredging and marine construction equipment on the Mississippi River. The company was sold in 2010. Mr. Matteson and his son maintain ownership of Matteson Marine, which operates switch boats on the Mississippi. Mrs. Matteson is retired from John Deere.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — June 13, 2012.  There is a lot of conflicting advice about prostate cancer screening. A recent U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommendation against prostate-specific antigen testing, regardless of age, has added to men's confusion about how to protect themselves from a cancer that hits roughly 240,000 new patients every year and claims 28,000 lives. VIDEO ALERT: PSA: To Test or Not To Test To download broadcast quality video of this report, please register for the Mayo Clinic News Network. Mayo Clinic urologists recommend a personalized approach to determining whether or not a patient should consider PSA screening for prostate cancer. This approach should begin at age 40 and include: Individual and family medical history. The patient's age, recognizing the age-related increase in cancer risk. The patient's ethnic background, noting that African-American men have the highest risk of prostate cancer. A discussion of the pros and cons of PSA screening. Other medical conditions that can affect PSA score. Organizations that recommend PSA screening generally encourage the test between ages 40 and 75 and in men with a higher risk of prostate cancer, says Mayo urologist Jeffrey Karnes, M.D. "It may be a simple test but it's not a simple decision," Dr. Karnes says. "A PSA test is something you should decide after discussing it with your doctor, considering your risk factors and weighing your personal preferences." Cancer overall is the No. 2 health threat to men. June is Men's Health Month, highlighting health issues of particular concern to men and strategies for prevention and treatment. Dr. Karnes and other Mayo Clinic urologists are available for media interviews about prostate cancer screening strategies for men in their 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s that take into account the pros and cons of PSA testing. They're also available to talk about new gene-based prostate cancer screening tests on the horizon.

WHAT: Audio news conference to announce new agreement between Mayo Clinic and Medica WHO: John Noseworthy, M.D., President and CEO, Mayo Clinic David ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — June 11, 2012.  The billions of bugs in our guts have a newfound role: regulating the immune system and related autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, according to researchers at Mayo Clinic and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Larger-than-normal populations of specific gut bacteria may trigger the development of diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and possibly fuel disease progression in people genetically predisposed to this crippling and confounding condition, say the researchers, who are participating in the Mayo Illinois Alliance for Technology Based Healthcare. The study is published in the April 2012 issue of PloS ONE. "A lot of people suspected that gut flora played a role in rheumatoid arthritis, but no one had been able to prove it because they couldn't say which came first — the bacteria or the genes," says senior author Veena Taneja, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic immunologist. "Using genomic sequencing technologies, we have been able to show the gut microbiome may be used as a biomarker for predisposition." The roughly 10 trillion cells that make up the human body have neighbors: mostly bacteria that often help, training the immune system and aiding in digestion, for example. The bacteria in the intestines, in addition to a relatively small number of other microorganisms (the gut microbiome), outnumber human cells 10-to-1. Researchers found that hormones and changes related to aging may further modulate the gut immune system and exacerbate inflammatory conditions in genetically susceptible individuals. Nearly 1 percent of the world's population has rheumatoid arthritis, a disease in which the immune system attacks tissues, inflaming joints and sometimes leading to deadly complications such as heart disease. Other diseases with suspected gut bacterial ties include type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Researchers with the Mayo Illinois Alliance for Technology Based Healthcare say that identifying new biomarkers in intestinal microbial populations and maintaining a balance in gut bacteria could help physicians stop rheumatoid arthritis before it starts. "This study is an important advance in our understanding of the immune system disturbances associated with rheumatoid arthritis. While we do not yet know what the causes of this disease are, this study provides important insights into the immune system and its relationship to bacteria of the gut, and how these factors may affect people with genetic susceptibilities to disease," says Eric Matteson, M.D., chairman of rheumatology at Mayo Clinic, who was not a study author.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — June 8, 2012.   Mayo Clinic ranked highly among Midwest-based providers in U.S. News & World Report's 2012-13 Best Children's Hospitals rankings. The ...

LANSING, Mich. — June 8, 2012.   Mayo Clinic officials today announced Sparrow Health System, based in Lansing, Mich., as a member of the Mayo Clinic ...

WHAT: Mayo Clinic and Sparrow Health System will announce a formal agreement between the two organizations. WHO: David Hayes, M.D., Medical Director, ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — June 7, 2012.  Just the idea of performing CPR can intimidate the average person, whether it's the thought of what's at stake ...

RED WING, Minn. — June 7, 2012 —Representatives from Mayo Clinic, Fairview Health Services and Fairview Red Wing Health Services signed a tentative agreement today for Fairview Red Wing Health Services to become part of Mayo Clinic Health System. This agreement comes after months of discussion. The parties will work to finalize the details of the agreement and acquisition during the next several weeks, targeting July 1 for Mayo Clinic Health System to assume operations. "The goal of our discussions has always been to focus on how we can best meet the health care needs of the area," says Rob Nesse, M.D., CEO, Mayo Clinic Health System. "Mayo Clinic and Fairview Red Wing have had a long-standing relationship of working together to provide care. This integration will assure our patients, families and the communities we serve that they have access to the best possible care as close to home as possible and to know that their care is backed by Mayo Clinic's knowledge and resources."