Research - November 2015 Archives

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, but another type called dementia with Lewy bodies, or DLB, comes in second. Both diseases ...

International conference Dec. 1 – 4 brings together experts, patients and caregivers ROCHESTER, Minn. — Lewy body dementia is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. But if you’re not familiar with it, you’re not alone. “Lewy body dementia is the most common disorder you’ve never heard of,” says Bradley Boeve, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist who will speak at the International Dementia with Lewy Bodies Conference Dec. 1-4 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Lewy body dementia shares similar symptoms of memory issues like Alzheimer’s and slow, stiff movements like Parkinson’s disease. But people with Lewy body dementia may act out their dreams while asleep, or they may have visual hallucinations that can lead to unusual behavior, such as having conversations with deceased loved ones. Getting an accurate diagnosis is the key to improving patients’ lives, says Dr. Boeve, co-investigator of the Mayo Clinic Dorothy and Harry T. Mangurian Jr. Lewy Body Dementia Program. “We want to help patients stop the diagnostic odyssey of seeing many different clinicians, undergoing many different tests over an extended period of time with no clear answers and all of the frustration that goes with this,” Dr. Boeve says. Journalists: Sounds bites with Dr. Boeve are available in the downloads. For an interview with Dr. Boeve, contact Susan Barber Lindquist at 507-284-5005 or newsbureau@mayo.edu.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMxK5Ll0IHw

ROCHESTER, Minn. – Mayo Clinic has developed and launched a new concept for Discovery’s Edge, its research magazine. The new approach adds videos, animations, medical imagery, weekly news briefs, and news features, while maintaining its longstanding appeal to thousands of readers interested in medical discoveries and emerging research. Discovery’s Edge continues its popular in-depth articles on medical research written by some of the nation’s top science writers. The new platform complements the print and digital magazine versions, which appear twice annually, and replaces an online presence that began in 2004. In 2016, a Spanish language edition will be available. “Today’s research determines tomorrow’s medical treatments,” says Gregory Gores, M.D., Mayo Clinic’s executive dean for Research. “Discovery’s Edge is our messenger, telling our story on behalf of the thousands on our research teams working to find those solutions.” MEDIA CONTACT: Bob Nellis, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, email: newsbureau@mayo.edu

It was 33 years ago that President Ronald Reagan launched the first national Alzheimer's disease awareness campaign. Since then, research has developed ways to manage ...

It was 33 years ago that President Ronald Reagan launched the first national Alzheimer's disease awareness campaign. Since then, research has developed ways to manage symptoms ... but ...

Watch today's Mayo Clinic Minute Do brain games help those living with Alzheimer's disease? Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of  Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's Disease Research ...

Watch today's Mayo Clinic Minute Alzheimer's disease affects millions of Americans and their families. Caring for a person with this progressive disease can be physically and ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Researchers at Mayo Clinic have discovered an unexpected effect from a gene known to increase diabetes risk. They assumed the specific allele in the gene TCF7L2 which increases the risk of type 2 diabetes impairs insulin production in response to increased insulin resistance. Some slight evidence of that was found, but more significantly the researchers discovered that this variant impaired a person’s ability to balance blood sugar (glucose) by suppressing glucagon – the hormone that raises the level of glucose in the bloodstream. The findings appear in the journal Diabetes. “This was surprising. It demonstrates a completely novel mechanism of predisposition to diabetes that could lead to novel therapies,” says Adrian Vella, M.D., Mayo Clinic endocrinologist and senior author of the study. “Ultimately, this sheds new light on how this gene actually predisposes to diabetes.” MEDIA CONTACT: Bob Nellis, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, Email: newsbureau@mayo.edu

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus was awarded a $5.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to identify vascular risk factors in aging and dementia, and translate that knowledge into studying potential targets for treatment. The grant is one of the first awarded as part of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act, which called for an aggressive and coordinated national Alzheimer’s disease plan. The first goal of the national plan is to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. Guojun Bu, Ph.D., molecular neuroscientist, and Nilüfer Ertekin-Taner, M.D., Ph.D., neurologist and neurogeneticist, are the principal investigators for the study. Both are based on Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus. Several additional investigators on Mayo’s Florida and Rochester, Minnesota, campuses, as well as Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, will be involved. Jounalists: Sound bites with Guojun Bu, Ph.D., and Nilüfer Ertekin-Taner, M.D., Ph.D., are available in the downloads. MEDIA CONTACT: Kevin Punsky, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 904-953-0746, punsky.kevin@mayo.edu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jB5i2UZgC0

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Patients who develop ovarian cancer appear to have better outcomes if they have a history of oral contraceptive use, according to a study by Mayo Clinic researchers published in the current issue of the journal BMC Cancer. “Multiple studies from a variety of sources have indicated that oral contraceptives are associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer, one of the most deadly cancers in women,” says Aminah Jatoi, M.D., an oncologist at Mayo Clinic and co-lead author of the study. “However, few studies have explored the connection between the pill and outcomes in patients who ultimately develop the disease.” In their study, Dr. Jatoi and co-author Ellen L. Goode, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at Mayo Clinic, examined the outcomes of ovarian cancer patients who were seen at Mayo Clinic from 2000 through 2013. Each patient was given a risk factor questionnaire about prior oral contraceptive use. Of the 1,398 patients who completed the questionnaire, 827 responded that they had previously taken birth control pills. MEDIA CONTACT: Joe Dangor, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu  Journalists: Sound bites with Dr. Jatoi are available in the downloads. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZubD3SK0L8

ORLANDO, Fla. – A group of researchers led by Mayo Clinic has discovered that disclosing genetic risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) results in lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), also known as bad cholesterol. The findings of the Myocardial Infarction Genes (MI-GENES) Study were presented today at the annual American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2015 as a late-breaking clinical trial. In this study, the investigators tested the hypothesis that incorporating genetic risk information into CHD risk estimates would lead to lowering of LDL levels. Participants were randomized to receive a CHD risk estimate that included genetic risk information versus an estimate based on conventional risk factors alone. Conventional risk factors include high blood pressure, diabetes, physical inactivity and a history of smoking. Six months after risk disclosure, the LDL levels were nearly 10 milligrams per deciliter of blood lower in those randomized to receive genetic risk information. The lower LDL levels resulted from a greater proportion of individuals in this group being started on statin medication. “This study demonstrates for the first time that disclosing genetic risk information for a common disease such as CHD can result in changes in a relevant health outcome, in this case, LDL levels,” says Iftikhar Kullo, M.D., Mayo Clinic cardiologist and lead author. “The study also demonstrates the feasibility of placing genetic risk information into the electronic health record to empower patients and physicians to make decisions related to initiation of a statin medication. This is an important advance in the area of precision medicine for cardiovascular diseases.” MEDIA CONTACT: Traci Klein, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-990-1182, Klein.traci@mayo.edu Journalists: Sound bites with Dr. Kullo are available in the downloads. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHcGI91HJqA

ORLANDO, Fla. — New research shows that drinking one 16-ounce energy drink can increase blood pressure and stress hormone responses significantly. This raises the concern that these response changes could increase the risk of cardiovascular events, according to a study presented today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2015. The findings also are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “In previous research, we found that energy drink consumption increased blood pressure in healthy young adults,” says Anna Svatikova, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiology fellow and the first author. “We now show that the increases in blood pressure are accompanied by increases in norepinephrine, a stress hormone chemical, and this could predispose an increased risk of cardiac events – even in healthy people.” Mayo Clinic researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study on 25 healthy volunteers with an average age of 29. Each participant consumed a 16-ounce energy drink and placebo drink within five minutes, in random order, on two separate days, with a maximum of two weeks apart. The placebo drink was similar in taste, texture and color, but lacked caffeine and other stimulants of the energy drink, such as taurine, guarana and ginseng. MEDIA CONTACT: Traci Klein, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-990-1182, Klein.traci@mayo.edu