News Releases - September 2014 Archives

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, which launched earlier this year, is expanding its wellness offerings to include a weight management plan and spa services. The Healthy Weight Plan and Rejuvenate at the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program will open this fall and enhance the already popular wellness plans available for guests. “We are excited about taking wellness to the next level,” says Donald Hensrud, M.D., the program’s medical director. “Our expanded services embrace the idea of involving the entire body and mind. No matter your age or health needs, if you’re looking to better manage stress, lose weight, get active, or eat and cook healthfully, our program offers a diverse selection of wellness options for anyone seeking whole-body wellness.” Healthy Weight Plan Losing weight and making lifestyle changes can feel overwhelming. Mayo experts understand this challenge. The plan brings together the collective knowledge of weight management and behavior change experts.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic announced today that it is part of a team of research centers chosen by Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to evaluate the effectiveness of different treatment strategies for women with uterine fibroids. AHRQ has awarded the team a $3.95 million, first-year grant for the project, called Comparing Options for Management: Patient-Centered Results for Uterine Fibroids (COMPARE-UF). Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) will serve as the research and data coordinating center for the teams. “We are very excited to have funding to provide the key clinical evidence that all women and their physicians need to make informed choices about fibroid treatments,” says Elizabeth Stewart, M.D., chair of Reproductive Endocrinology at Mayo Clinic and the clinical leader of the study.

ROCHESTER, Minn. ― Here are highlights from the September issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter. You may cite this publication as often as you wish. Reprinting is allowed for a fee. Mayo Clinic Health Letter attribution is required. Include the following subscription information as your editorial policies permit: Visit www.HealthLetter.MayoClinic.com or call toll-free for subscription information, 1-800-333-9037, extension 9771. Full newsletter text: Mayo Clinic Health Letter September 2014 (for journalists only). After celebrating, survivors often face anxieties and fear Adjusting from being a cancer patient to a cancer survivor isn't just about celebration and gratitude. The September issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter covers why this transition isn’t always smooth or easy. In addition to dealing with fatigue or other side effects of surgery or treatment, patients may be surprised by feelings that can include fear and uncertainty, anxiety, sadness and irritability.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 29, 2014 — Analysis of more than 8,000 women who participated in the world’s largest study of two treatments for HER2-positive breast cancer reinforces other findings from the clinical trial showing that trastuzumab (Herceptin) should remain the standard of care for this cancer, says a Mayo Clinic researcher. http://youtu.be/BcFszcq4CJo

More than 8 of 10 say they would make same choice again, Mayo Clinic study finds ROCHESTER, Minn. — More women with cancer in one breast are opting to have both breasts removed to reduce their risk of future cancer. New research shows that in the long term, most have no regrets. Mayo Clinic surveyed hundreds of women with breast cancer who had double mastectomies between 1960 and 1993 and found that nearly all would make the same choice again. The findings are published in the journal Annals of Surgical Oncology. The study made a surprising finding: While most women were satisfied with their decision whether they followed it with breast reconstruction or not, patients who decided against reconstructive surgery were likelier to say they would choose to have both breasts removed again. In the reconstructive surgery group, women who needed additional operations due to complications, breast implant-related issues or other reasons were likelier to regret their prophylactic mastectomy, though overall, most women with breast reconstructions were satisfied with their choices. MEDIA CONTACT: Sharon Theimer, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, Email: newsbureau@mayo.edu

ASCO immediate past president and Breast Cancer Research Foundation Scientific Committee Chair to offer keynote address at Individualizing Medicine 2014: From Promise to Practice ROCHESTER, Minn. ― Mayo Clinic announced today that Clifford Hudis, M.D., immediate past president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), will deliver the keynote address at Individualizing Medicine 2014: From Promise to Practice. Individualizing Medicine 2014 is scheduled for Oct. 6–8, with optional workshops and sessions before and after the conference. Presentations will cover a wide range of topics, including cardiovascular disease, the role of genomics in the pharmacy, insurance and reimbursement issues, the use of deep sequencing for predictive medicine, and more. A complete schedule and list of speakers is available on the conference website. Focused concurrent sessions are also available. MEDIA CONTACT: Sam Smith, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005,newsbureau@mayo.edu Journalists: Lab b-roll and sound bites with Richard Weinshilboum, M.D., co-director, Individualizing Medicine Conference, are available in the downloads.

Startup company to offer next-generation sequencing-based pharmacogenomics interpretation ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic and venture catalyst Invenshure announce the launch of Oneome, a genomics interpretation company that exports Mayo’s extensive pharmacogenomics knowledge in the form of concise, actionable reports to help providers anywhere deliver the right medication at the right time. Oneome reports will focus on providing pharmacogenomically driven guidance for medications with high levels of evidence in medical literature. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Mayo’s collaboration with Oneome is led by the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine. “Our own genetic makeup can have a significant impact on how our bodies process and use prescription medication, which in turn affects whether or not a drug works the way our doctor intended,” says Oneome co-founder John Logan Black, M.D., a Mayo Clinic physician and co-director of the Personalized Genomics Laboratory in Mayo's Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. “We have developed sophisticated decision algorithms that can help providers use genomic testing to get their prescriptions right the first time.”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Researchers at Jacksonville’s campus of Mayo Clinic have discovered a defect in a key cell-signaling pathway they say contributes to both overproduction of toxic protein in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients as well as loss of communication between neurons — both significant contributors to this type of dementia. Their study, in the online issue of Neuron, offers the potential that targeting this specific defect with drugs “may rejuvenate or rescue this pathway,” says the study’s lead investigator, Guojun Bu, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. “This defect is likely not the sole contributor to development of Alzheimer’s disease, but our findings suggest it is very important, and could be therapeutically targeted to possibly prevent Alzheimer’s or treat early disease,” he says.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine and colleagues at the National University Ireland Galway have signed a formal memorandum of understanding (MOU) to pave the way for joint clinical trials using regenerative therapies. The MOU follows years of close collaboration with NUI Galway’s Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) and the Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials (NFB) and will focus on adult stem cell therapy, gene therapy, biomaterials and biomedical engineering. Furthermore, the agreement facilitates ongoing student and staff exchange between Galway and the United States. MEDIA CONTACT: Jennifer Schutz, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu Journalists: Sound bites with Dr. Windebank are in the downloads. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B98ci3iAknE

PHOENIX — A smell test could someday be one of the tools to screen for people at risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a new Mayo Clinic study. Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. It develops gradually, sometimes starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. But while tremor may be the best-known sign of Parkinson's, the disorder also commonly causes stiffness and slowing of movement. Additionally, there are many non-movement problems, including constipation, loss of the sense of smell, sleep problems, lightheadedness, urinary difficulties, depression and anxiety. The non-movement symptoms can develop many years before movement disorders. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63uNdFZLuy0&feature=youtu.be   Although Parkinson's disease can't be cured, medications may markedly improve symptoms. Currently, there is no accurate diagnostic test for the disease; diagnosis is based on medical history, a review of signs and symptoms, a neurological and physical examination and by ruling out other conditions. Confirmation of the disease can only be made by performing an autopsy.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 12, 2014 — The liver transplant team at Mayo Clinic in Florida has found, based on 12 years of experience, that more than half of patients receiving a new liver can be “fast-tracked” to return to a surgical ward room following their transplant, bypassing a one- or two-day stay in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). http://youtu.be/gGZ-tS6Ih4g In the September issue of the American Journal of Transplantation, the physicians and researchers have turned their knowledge of who can be safely fast-tracked into a scoring system that other transplant centers can also use — thus sparing patients potentially overly aggressive treatment and saving substantial health care dollars. MEDIA CONTACT: Paul Scotti, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 904-953-0199. Email: scotti.paul@mayo.edu

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Physicians envision a future in which genomic data from patients is heavily used to manage care — but experts have questioned the accuracy and reliability of these analyses. Now, a study by 150 researchers in 12 countries finds real strength and agreement across RNA genomic sequencing techniques and laboratories — as well as ways to improve what little variability exists to set a new high standard. The results of the study were published in Nature Biotechnology in three separate research articles. These results should provide assurance to patients, clinicians and the research community that genomic sequencing is accurate, says E. Aubrey Thompson, Ph.D., a professor of cancer biology at Mayo Clinic in Florida, one of three institutions that led the study. Dr. Thompson is a study co-author and member of the project leadership.