Research - April 2014 Archives

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Neuroscientists at Mayo Clinic in Florida have defined a subtype of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that they say is neither well recognized nor treated appropriately. http://youtu.be/w4xQeNQVFoc The variant, called hippocampal sparing AD, made up 11 percent of the 1,821 AD-confirmed brains examined by Mayo Clinic researchers — suggesting this subtype is relatively widespread in the general population. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 5.2 million Americans are living with AD. And with nearly half of hippocampal sparing AD patients being misdiagnosed, this could mean that well over 600,000 Americans make up this AD variant, researchers say.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — April 24, 2014 — Mayo Clinic researchers have uncovered a novel tumor suppressive role for p53, a cancer-critical gene that is mutated in more than half of all cancers found in humans. The researchers found that loss of p53 function caused overproduction of the kinase Aurora A, an enzyme involved in the process of cell division. That overproduction leads to mitotic spindle malformation and aberrant separation of duplicated chromosomes over daughter cells, a phenomenon that predicts tumor metastasis and poor patient outcomes. The findings appear in the journal Nature Cell Biology. Normal human cells have 46 chromosomes. It has long been recognized that developing cancer cells reshuffle their chromosomes and, more recently, that chromosome-number abnormalities help transform normal cells into cancerous cells that metastasize and resist treatment.

Presentations at Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology ROCHESTER, Minn. — April 23, 2014 — Mayo Clinic ophthalmology researchers have found a likely indicator of Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy. Following up on a genome-wide association study, Keith Baratz, M.D., and others discovered no single genomic variant that caused Fuchs, but found that a repeated noncoding trinucleotide sequence correlated with the condition in patients 68 percent of the time. The findings will be presented on the afternoon of May 4 at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual conference in Orlando, Fla. (Poster 1003-A0392)

A verba de US$ 39,5 milhões para financiar o estudo do AVC é uma das maiores já concedidas a pesquisadores da Mayo Clinic na Flórida. JACKSONVILLE, Flórida — Medicamentos são tão seguros e eficazes quanto a cirurgia ou implante de stent para prevenir um acidente vascular cerebral (AVC), causado pelo acúmulo de placas nas artérias carótidas? Isso é o que o neurologista da Clínica Mayo na Jacksonville, Flórida, Thomas G. Brott quer descobrir. “Essa é uma pergunta fundamental”, diz Thomas Brott. “A qualidade dos medicamentos que temos hoje indicam que não é mais necessário realizar procedimentos invasivos em pacientes que não apresentam sinais de advertência de AVC. Mais de 100.000 cirurgias das carótidas e de implante de stents nas artérias carótidas são realizadas todos os anos nos Estados Unidos, em pacientes em risco — e isso pode não ser necessário”, ele afirma.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Friday, April 25, is National DNA Day, the date which commemorates completion of the Human Genome Project, the national effort to identify and decode all 6 billion letters in human DNA. Since that time, medical researchers and practitioners have found new ways to apply genomics for everyone who needs healing, and thanks to staggering technological advancements and next-generation sequencing, the cost to sequence a patient’s genome has decreased from $3 billion for the first human genome in 2003 to approximately $1,500. MEDIA: Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine, is available for interviews and background about the future of genomic medicine, as well as information about the latest practices and transformative clinical trials. To interview Dr. Farrugia contact Sam Smith, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu Watch video on genome sequencing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JUu1WqidC4&feature=youtu.be  

https://youtu.be/bbNqjSGG0uI The $39.5-million grant to fund stroke study is one of largest ever awarded to investigators at Mayo Clinic in Florida  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Is medicine as safe and effective as surgery or stenting in preventing a stroke caused by the buildup of plaque in the carotid artery? Thomas G. Brott, M.D., a neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Florida, aims to find out. “It’s a critical question. The quality medicines we have today may mean that it is not necessary to perform invasive procedures on patients who do not have warning signs of stroke,” Dr. Brott says. “More than 100,000 carotid surgeries and carotid artery stentings are performed each year in the United States on such patients at risk — and that may not be necessary.” To find the answer, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) has awarded Dr. Brott and his colleague, James Meschia, M.D., $39.5 million — one of the largest grants ever awarded to Mayo Clinic in Florida investigators. The grant funds a seven-year clinical trial that will enroll 2,480 patients in 120 centers in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. The study, known as CREST-2, is expected to begin enrolling patients this summer. Management of the patient data and the statistical analysis will be carried out at the University of Alabama at Birmingham under the direction of George Howard, Dr.PH.

Growing Stem Cells in Space to Treat Stroke Patients Abba Zubair, M.D., Ph.D., medical and scientific director of the Cell Therapy Laboratory, at Mayo Clinic in Florida, was recently awarded a grant to send human stem cells in space to see if they grow more rapidly in space than stem cells grown on Earth. Dr. Noseworthy on "Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo" John Noseworthy, M.D., President and CEO of Mayo Clinic, discussed the future of health care on "Opening Bell With Maria Bartiromo” along with Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of American Action Former and former Congressional Budget Office director. Dr. Noseworthy explained how we are facing a time of unprecedented change in the health care system and that we are just beginning to take our first steps in this long journey. Preparing for the Future of Health Care How does a health care organization prepare for the challenges ahead in the future? John Noseworthy, M.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic, shared his perspectives on the Twin Cities Public Television’s (tpt) acclaimed weekly public affairs show, Almanac.

Collaboration to support medical innovation, improvements in patient care and the economy Ireland — Mayo Clinic today announced a five-year collaboration with Enterprise Ireland, the Irish enterprise development agency, to advance novel medical technologies originating from Mayo Clinic. The announcement was made this morning in Dublin by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny T.D., the prime minister of Ireland, at the Medical Device 360° conference. Journalists: B-roll and sound bites with Mayo and Enterprise leaders are available in the downloads. This is a unique collaboration providing an alternative source of funding for translational medical research, especially significant at a time when U.S. funding for research is challenging to obtain. Enterprise Ireland has committed up to $16 million in the agreement. “This collaboration bridges a financial gap for translational research,” says Greg Gores, M.D. , executive dean for research at Mayo Clinic. “It provides funding in between the early-stage basic research and the stage when a technology is ready for the marketplace. In the U.S., this stage is expensive and difficult to fund. We are providing the technologies and Enterprise Ireland the funding. Both of us are contributing to technology advancement.” The novel medical technologies are Mayo Clinic innovations that have the potential to make it easier for patients to be diagnosed or treated. The development of one technology is already underway at National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI.G). The inventor, Vijay Singh, M.B.B.S., a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, developed a device to treat acute pancreatitis, a disease in which the pancreas is rapidly damaged, causing excruciating pain and often resulting in prolonged hospitalization or sometimes death. Experts at NUI.G are currently preparing the device for human clinical trials, which will be conducted by the university.

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) named Mayo Clinic the winner of the 2014 INFORMS Prize, an award given to one organization that has applied operations research and management science disciplines in pioneering, varied, novel and lasting ways. “Operations research is deeply rooted in our organization,” says Mayo Clinic President and CEO John Noseworthy, M.D.  “It started with Henry Plummer’s work on an integrated paper medical record more than 100 years ago and continues today through the sophisticated analytics and operations research infrastructure that we use to improve the work we do for patients.” Current examples include blood management, cardiac care redesign and forecasting efforts to improve patient access. Mayo Clinic employs more than 500 OR/MS practitioners who use methods such as optimization, forecasting and mathematical modeling to enhance strategic planning, care process redesign, inventory management and project management.