Mayo Clinic In The News Weekly Highlights

Editor, Karl Oestreich; Assistant Editor, Carmen Zwicker

Mayo Clinic in the News is a weekly highlights summary of major media coverage. If you would like to be added to the weekly distribution list, send a note to Laura Wuotila with this subject line: SUBSCRIBE to Mayo Clinic in the News.

AP
Study: Many Cancer Patients Could Be Spared Brain Radiation
by Marilynn Marchione

A major study could change care for many of the hundreds of thousands of people each year who have cancer that spreads to the brain from other sites. Contrary to conventional wisdom, radiation therapy to the whole brain did not improve survival, and it harmed memory, speech and thinking skills, doctors found. "This is the classic question: Which is worse, the disease or the treatment?" said one study leader, Dr. Jan Buckner of the Mayo Clinic. Radiation helped control the cancer, "but at the cost of cognitive decline."

Reach: The Associated Press is a not-for-profit news cooperative, owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members. News collected by the AP is published and republished by newspaper and broadcast outlets worldwide.

Additional coverage: Aguas Digital, MedBroadcast, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Huffington Post, Yahoo! Canada, Houston Chronicle, Medscape, US News & World Report, Voice of America, OncLive, MedPage Today, NBC News, Brain Radiation: The Treatment is Worse Than the Illness, Study Finds

Context: A new study presented at the 2015 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology suggests that the practice should be reconsidered. More than 650,000 patients a year in the U.S. are diagnosed and treated for cancers that spread to the brain. For about 200,000 of these patients, those with 1-3 small brain metastases, a combination of whole brain radiation therapy and radiosurgery, a highly focused form of radiation therapy, have been the standard of care. While whole brain radiation therapy improves tumor control it did not improve survival and it was shown to have deleterious effects on patients cognitive abilities. “This is the classic question: Which is worse, the disease or the treatment,?” said Jan Buckner, M.D., an oncologist at Mayo Clinic and senior author of the study. More information can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Contact: Joe Dangor

Today.com
17 exceptionally easy ways to relax — from people who know how to chill

Send out good vibes…"I pause and think of a few people who love me and trust my intentions," says Dr. Amit Sood, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic. "I send silent good wishes to the person in front of me."

Reach:  NBC News Digital reaches an audience of more than 58 million unique visitors.

Context: In The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living, Mayo Clinic stress management and resiliency expert Amit Sood, M.D., draws on decades of groundbreaking research to offer readers a scientifically proven, structured and practical approach to reducing stress. He explains the brain’s two modes — focused mode and default mode — and how an imbalance between the two produces unwanted stress, and he shares new insights about how the mind works, including its natural tendency to wander. In this easy-to-follow guide, Dr. Sood provides actionable steps to cultivate emotional and mental strength, find greater fulfillment and nurture a kind disposition.  You can learn more about Dr. Sood at Resilient Living.

Contact: Brian Kilen

Wall Street Journal
Medicine Shows Growing Potential to Repair and Regenerate Body Parts
by Diane Cole

The idea of the body healing itself may be close to making a huge leap forward. Much closer than we think. The rapidly evolving field of regenerative medicine—including stem cells, 3-D printing and bioengineering, among other technologies—is helping repair, and even regenerate,
body parts and tissues damaged by disease, trauma or age. “Regenerative medicine is not trying to create the bionic man but to harness the healing powers of the human body and buttress them,” says Andre Terzic, director of the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Medicine in Rochester, Minn. That means treating chronic or degenerative ailments and replacing failing organs. In the U.S. alone, more than 120,000 people are on organ-transplant waiting lists.

Reach: The Wall Street Journal, a US-based newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company, has the largest print circulation in America with 1.4 million (60 percent) of a total of 2.3 million. Its website has more than 4.3 million unique visitors each month.

Context: A unique aspect of the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine is that its activities are not just laboratory based or clinic based. They're both — and everything in between. Efforts in each of the center's programs, which build on Mayo's extensive research resources and clinical practice, span the full spectrum of discovery science, translational research and clinical application. Andre Terzic, M.D., Ph.D., has pioneered regenerative medicine at Mayo Clinic. He has authored more than 450 publications, advancing diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for heart failure. His works include team-science efforts in the discovery of genes for dilated cardiomyopathy and atrial fibrillation. He led efforts in the development of next-generation regenerative solutions, including first-in-class products for heart repair. His scientific manuscripts have been cited more than 10,000 times.

Contact: Jennifer Schutz

Post-Bulletin
Mayo Clinic's proton beam pricing wins praise
by Paul Scott

…So it comes as some surprise to learn, as reported last week in the Wall Street Journal, that Mayo Clinic plans to charge insurers no more for proton therapy than it charges for IMRT. The policy, while established within Mayo since 2010, appears to have gone largely unstated in the reporting on plans for proton beam therapy centers at Mayo. In a 2012 response to the Emanuel piece, Mayo Clinic CEO John Noseworthy did not mention the policy.

Reach: The Post-Bulletin has a weekend readership of nearly 45,000 people and daily readership of more than 41,000 people. The newspaper serves Rochester, Minn., and southeast Minnesota.

Previous Coverage on Proton Beam Therapy

Context: Mayo Clinic hosted a grand opening event for the Richard O. Jacobson Building, home to the Mayo Clinic proton beam therapy program on May 9. The new facility will begin treating patients in late June. More information can be found onMayo Clinic News Network.

Contact: Joe Dangor

FOX News, Stem cells, 3-D printing hold promise for sight restoration and organ replacement (From WSJ)… The rapidly evolving field of regenerative medicine—including stem cells, 3-D printing and bioengineering, among other technologies—is helping repair, and even regenerate, body parts and tissues damaged by disease, trauma or age. “Regenerative medicine is not trying to create the bionic man but to harness the healing powers of the human body and buttress them,” says Andre Terzic, director of the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Medicine in Rochester, Minn. That means treating chronic or degenerative ailments and replacing failing organs. In the U.S. alone, more than 120,000 people are on organ-transplant waiting lists.

Everyday Health, A Blind Man Sees His Wife Again Through a Bionic Eye, by Dr. Sanjay Gupta — Allen Zderad’s journey into blindness was long and slow. He has a severe form of retinitis pigmentosa, which steadily destroys the retina. For more than a decade he has been effectively blind, unable to see the face of his wife Carmen. Zderad (prounounced Zayr-ad) is one of a handful of blind people in the country who agreed to try a new bionic retina that is surgically implanted inside the eye. After the surgery at the Mayo Clinic, he stood facing his wife as she walked between him and a white board.  “Yes!” he shouted, “I picked you up!” As the scientists applauded, Allen and Carmen embraced each other in tears.

ABC Good Morning America, How a Wheelchair-Bound Football Player Was Able to Walk at His College Graduation — Chris Norton says it was a “dream” of his to walk across the stage at his college graduation. Four years after fracturing his neck and compressing his spinal cord in a football accident that left him wheelchair-bound, the 23-year-old did just that, walking across the stage Sunday at Iowa’s Luther College to accept his diploma. “I set that goal and I knew I had to work as hard as I could to make it happen,” Norton said today on “Good Morning America.”…

HealthDay, 2 Drugs Show Promise Against Blood Cancers by Dennis Thompson — Two new drugs have shown promise in slowing the march of two incurable blood cancers, researchers report. One drug, ibrutinib, appears to greatly improve standard treatment for patients with recurring chronic-lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common adult leukemia in Western countries…"We found that if you add ibrutinib to the standard regimen, progression-free survival was significantly improved as a direct result of the ibrutinib," said lead author Dr. Asher Chanan-Khan, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla.lymphoma Additional coverage: Health magazine, US News & World Report, Pioneer Press, Washington Post

KMSP, 'Fast Track' medical treatment an option before FDA approval by Jeff Baillon…The main artery that carries blood from Jack Snyder's heart developed a serious problem. A section of his aorta was swelling like a balloon and ready to pop… To prepare for the operation, doctors at the Mayo Clinic used a 3-D printer to make a replica of Snyder's damaged aorta. They took the model and hooked it up to a pump to simulate Snyder's heartbeat and blood pressure. Then, they practiced inserting an experimental stent, a tube-like device, inside the aneurysm. It's a risky and tricky maneuver.

Politico, Health care spending billions to protect the records it spent billions to install by Arthur Allen…Some big name health plans and health systems have been hit — including one Washington-area health plan that covers some lawmakers and federal workers. “The adversary is way ahead of us right now,” says Jim Nelms, who is the Mayo Clinic’s first chief information security officer and who previously held the same position at the World Bank…One of Nelms’ first efforts at Mayo was to get 20,000 employees to switch to a dual recognition system, which uses frequently changing pass codes. He encountered disbelief at first. “A lot of the response was, ‘We live in a cornfield in the middle of Minnesota,’” he said. “’Who wants to hurt us? Who can even find us here?’”

Comcast Sportsnet, How will Nats compensate for Werth's absence? — The Nationals are going to be without Jayson Werth for awhile, likely until sometime in August after a specialist at the Mayo Clinic discovered two small fractures Thursday in his injured left wrist. That's not good news for the Nats, who now face at least two more months without their No. 3 hitter and trusted veteran outfielder.

Idaho Statesman, Oz and Roizen: It’s just a hobby, or is it? — Bonnie Raitt says that her parents would drag her out to play the guitar for visiting family and that picking and strumming was just a childhood hobby…But a new report from the Mayo Clinic shows that one benefit is certain: It sets you in the direction of a healthier life. Researchers tracked 256 people for four years, from about age 87 to 91, and found that those who continued to make time for arts, crafts and other hobbies were a whopping 73 percent less likely to show signs of fuzzy thinking and memory slips.

Fall River Herald News, Health Watch: Taking action, with skin cancer on the rise — Wondering what the best foods are to fuel your little one’s growth? According to the Mayo Clinic, parents should guide their kids toward nutrient-dense foods to ensure proper development. These foods include protein-filled foods like lean meats, beans and eggs; fruit (rather than sugary fruit juice); vegetables (especially dark green leafy veggies); whole grains; and low-fat dairy products. Additional coverage: South Coast Today,

Fox 13 Tampa Bay, Graduation brings back memories of mother for Sickles High Senior — For most high school students, graduation starts a new chapter in life, but for one Sickles High School senior and her family, it is the end to their story. For Ciara Baucom, crossing the stage Thursday night at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa meant finishing a mission her mother never got to complete more than two decades ago. “I'm extremely proud of Ciara. I'm very excited about it," said Vivien Ondrich, Ciara's grandmother, "but I can't help but remember how much it meant to my daughter to be there, to graduate.”… She was in and out of the Mayo Clinic throughout her senior year, missing prom and graduation. Cynthia's little brother Scott, graduating in the same class, accepted his sister's diploma on her behalf, receiving a roaring applause from their classmates.

Lexington Herald-Leader,  Calling more Smokebusters — The Smokebusters of Middlesboro Elementary School fell short of bringing home Destination Imagination's top prize, but they won something even bigger: A healthier, brighter future for their friends, families and hometown…. The program, with support from such mainstays as IBM and the Mayo Clinic, seeks to develop a new generation of innovators who will use science and service to solve 21st-century problems. The attributes the program tries to cultivate in youngsters sound like a checklist for other Kentuckians working to make a difference: "Patience, flexibility, persistence, ethics, respect for others and their ideas, and the collaborative problem solving process."

LaCrosse Tribune, Mayo-Franciscan buys land near Arcadia for clinic — Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare has bought about 12 acres of land south of Arcadia for $445,000 to build a new clinic, a spokesman said. Precise plans for the property, on Hwy. 93, have not been determined, but the facility is expected to focus on primary care, the spokesman said. “We were seeking land that is both visible and accessible for patients,” said Eric Erickson, Mayo-Franciscan’s primary care vice president. “This land parcel will accomplish both those goals. Now that the land is secure, plans to build a new clinic can proceed.”

WUSF, Shriners Hospitals and Mayo Clinic Team Up — Shriners Hospitals for Children has joined one of the nation's best known hospital groups. The group announced it will be teaming up with the Mayo Clinic during a press conference Tuesday at Shriners International Headquarters in Tampa. Mayo physicians will consult with Shriners hospitals across the country to offer their expertise and expand the hospitals' medical resources.

Hollywood Reporter, Vice's HBO Doc 'Killing Cancer' Leads to $2 Million in Donations (Exclusive) — Three months after airing on HBO, Vice documentary Killing Cancer has helped generate more than $2 million in cancer research donations. The Mayo Clinic is announcing Thursday that it has received $1 million in gifts from more than 10,000 donors that will go toward research at its Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. Vice Media CEO Shane Smith personally matched the first $1 million in donations, resulting in more than $2 million in total gifts for the Rochester, Minn., health care company. "The money raised in the Killing Cancer campaign will have impact right away, helping advance cancer research and finding cures for patients," said Mayo Clinic president and CEO John Noseworthy…

Bellingham Herald, Researchers calculate 'risk score' for breast cancer from genetic data — Recent large-scale genomic analyses have uncovered dozens of common genetic variants that are associated with breast cancer. Each variant, however, contributes only a tiny amount to a person's overall risk of developing the disease. A Mayo Clinic-led team of international researchers has now combined 77 of these common genetic variants into a single risk factor that can be used to improve the identification of women with an elevated risk of breast cancer. This factor, known as a "polygenic risk score," was built from the genetic data of more than 67,000 women.

Post Bulletin, Mayo Clinic hires consultant to map out Discovery Square — To help fire up Discovery Square as "a catalyst" to create jobs in downtown Rochester, Mayo Clinic has contracted a feasibility study, independent of the Destination Medical Center Corp. Mayo Clinic has hired the DMC development manager, Hammes Co. of Madison, Wis., to analyze the Discovery Square piece of the DMC vision and offer a market plan of how the medical and technology research area might be developed. Mayo is paying Hammes $1.5 million to conduct the study, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Federal Baseball, Nationals' Jayson Werth reportedly has two small fractures in left wrist, out two months — In discussing Jayson Werth's decision to visit Dr. Richard Berger at the Mayo Clinic today to have his sore left wrist examined further by the doctor who performed surgery on the same wrist back in 2005, Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo explained to reporters, including the Washington Post's Chelsea Janes that the "range of motion" in Werth's wrist actually improved over the last couple days…

Gawker, Green Juice Will Not Cure Your Cancer — Cancer misinformation runs rampant on the internet. Headlines on “natural living” websites expose the alleged truth about doctors and scientists in cahoots with Big Pharma. According to the self-styled experts behind these stories, so-called studies claim that everything from baking soda to coconut oil to green juice can cure cancer…When asked whether cancer will be a far less dire sentence for my children’s children than for millennials like me, Mayo Clinic cancer researcher and Technology Assessment Committee Chairman Dr. David I. Smith told me, “You don’t even have to go out as far as your children’s children. As a matter of fact, and I’m a generation and a half back from you, my generation needs to hold on a little longer.

Voice of America, Pentagon Accidentally Sent Anthrax to US Labs, Overseas Base — Over two dozen people are undergoing precautionary treatment for anthrax after the U.S. military accidently shipped live samples of the deadly bacteria to civilian commercial labs in nine states and a military lab in South Korea…Facts About Anthrax: Anthrax spores are formed by anthrax bacteria. Although not contagious, the spores can remain dormant for decades. Anthrax bacteria occurs naturally in soil in many parts of the world, but may be weaponized, most often in powder form. Domestic livestock such as sheep, cattle, horses and goats are common anthrax hosts. Source: Mayo Clinic

WPTV (MCNN post), UTV summer safety tips — They are popular, practical and fun but quickly can turn dangerous or even deadly. Utility terrain vehicles, or UTVs, are growing in popularity. Much like the popular, single-rider all-terrain vehicle, or ATV, the UTV is designed for hauling on rough terrain but allows two people to sit beside each other. According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, since the beginning of 2015, six UTV fatalities in Wisconsin have been reported. Victims range in age from 10 to 77. Half of all reported victims were not wearing helmets at the time of the accident. UTVs often are capable of reaching speeds up to 55 miles per hour. David Ciresi, M.D., a trauma surgeon at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, says most of these events are preventable.

Glamour (blog), Get a Bikini-Ready Belly With This Toy (Zero Crunches Required) — Skip the gym and still slim down for bikini season (yes, you can!): Playing with a Hula-Hoop can help you net brag-worthy abs, according to a new study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Cue the celebration for your inner child…Experts from the Mayo Clinic recommend swinging the nostalgic toy for at least 10 minutes at a time. While you do, you’ll torch about the same number of calories as you would during a slow jog (upwards of 500 an hour)—but you can hoop while hanging with your friends at a park or the beach.

Fox News (Reuters), Researchers oppose unvalidated gene panel tests for cancer links — A group of international researchers is making the case that genetic tests that look for multiple hereditary genes suspected of being linked to breast cancer should not be offered until they are proven to be valid and useful in clinical practice.  Such tests, made by several companies including Myriad Genetics Inc, Ambry Genetics, Invitae and Illumina Inc, cover up to 100 inherited cancer genes, including more than 20 for breast cancer…"The reality is that we don't have good risk estimates for mutations that occur in many of the genes on the panels," said Fergus Couch, a breast cancer expert at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Additional coverage: West Texas News

Star Tribune, Some health plans want you to travel for care by Christopher Snowbeck… UnitedHealth’s insurance division is expanding a new centers of excellence program that covers travel for patients seeking knee or hip replacements at certain hospitals. Such programs make sense given changes with the Affordable Care Act, said Dr. Charles Rosen, medical director for Mayo’s department of contracting and payer relations… “There’s a need to look for the specialty care, the highly complex care procedures, to be done elsewhere,” he said. Even so, such programs generate a “very small” share of all Mayo patients, Rosen said.

BuzzFeed, Here’s What You Need To Know About Birth Control And Blood Clots by Casey Gueren…Some of the main risk factors for VTE are major surgery, being hospitalized for an acute illness, immobility, cancer, obesity, and trauma to your legs, ankles, hips, or pelvis, Dr. John Heit, professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases at Mayo Clinic, tells BuzzFeed Life. For women, the risk of clots is also higher during pregnancy, right after giving birth, when taking hormone therapy, and when taking many types of hormonal birth control. There’s also evidence that the risk of blood clots in veins is somewhat inherited, says Heit.

Saint Cloud Times, Ex-smoker finds fresh air after life in a haze by Dave DeLand — The exact moment when Melissa Nelson knew she would never smoke another cigarette is indelibly etched into her memory, in disturbingly graphic detail. She's in Rochester, standing outside the pharmacy at the Mayo Clinic. She sees the future. As of June 1, Nelson has been cigarette-free for 45 days. Her last one was April 17 — the day she checked into the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center to start an eight-day residential program for chronic smokers.

FOX Sports, New practice facility for Wolves, Lynx opens to rave reviews — One of the backboards spontaneously combusted Thursday, but workers had it replaced before the Lynx's afternoon practice 24 hours later. Guys in neon-yellow vests and hardhats still mill around the Timberwolves and Lynx Courts at Mayo Clinic Square, adding some finishing touches before next month's official grand opening. The team's staff won't officially move across the street from their old Target Center offices till Monday.

Washington Post, Personalized medicine could mean big business for D.C.-area companies by Amrita Jayakumar… Despite the interest in personalized medicine, physicians caution that it is still a nascent field and warn against the notion that it could be a panacea. For the vast majority of patients today, DNA sequencing offers little insight beyond what traditional approaches yield, said Michael Joyner, a professor of anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic who has been vocal about the potential limitations of personalized medicine.

ABC News, Devon Still: Daughter Leah Has 'Serious Complication' in Cancer Fight by Michael James — Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still is seeking prayers tonight for his young daughter, Leah, after reporting a setback in her fight against cancer… At age 4, Leah had been diagnosed with a stage 4 neuroblastoma, ESPN reported. The cancer develops from immature nerve cells and most commonly affects children younger than 5, according to the Mayo Clinic.

WEAU Eau Claire, Mayo Clinic Health System – Franciscan Healthcare acquires land for new clinic in Arcadia, Mayo Clinic Health System – Franciscan Healthcare in Arcadia has acquired land to be used for the construction of a new clinic facility. The approximately 12-acre plot is located on Highway 93 as one approaches Arcadia from the south. “We were seeking land that is both visible and accessible for patients,” said Eric Erickson,Vice President for Primary Care.

Hamilton Spectator, Mayo Clinic News Network: Familiarity with dog may breed bites — Prior studies have shown that most dog bite injuries result from family dogs. A new study conducted by Mayo Clinic and Phoenix Children's Hospital shed some further light on the nature of these injuries. The recently published study, in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, demonstrated that more than 50 per cent of the dog-bite injuries treated at Phoenix Children's Hospital came from dogs belonging to an immediate family member. Additional coverage: Detroit Free Press, Visalia Times-Delta, Valley News N.H., Pioneer Press

Star Tribune, Health briefs: Biomarkers for ovarian cancer — Arizona State University researchers said they have identified three promising biological signals that could help detect ovarian cancer before patients display any symptoms. Researchers from the university’s Biodesign Institute said identifying the biomarkers is another step toward early detection. In the U.S., ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological cancer, killing more than 15,000 women a year, said Dr. Kristina Butler, a gynecological oncology specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale.

Columbia Daily Tribune, Rochester offers more than the Mayo Clinic by Wayne Anderson — We traveled to Rochester, Minn., two days early to get acquainted with the area before attending a Road Scholar program at the Mayo Clinic about advances in modern medicine. With 105,000 residents, the city is about the size of Columbia. But when we reached downtown, our question was, “Where are the shops?” The center of town consists mostly of several major hotels and an immense medical complex, the Mayo Clinic, which employs nearly 30,000 people — almost as many as the University of Missouri has students.

Chicago Tribune, Adult diseases can strike children because of poor diet and obesity by Megy Karydes — Once seen only among an older population, adult diseases such as fatty liver disease, hypertension and osteoporosis are being diagnosed more and more in children…"Several studies have shown that obesity is under recognized by parents as well as by physicians," said Dr. Seema Kumar, pediatric endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic Children's Center. "Parents in general tend to think they will outgrow it. ... It also depends on the ethnic group they're coming from. In some cultures, being overweight is actually a sign of prosperity. So they may actually not even consider that as a problem."

Bloomberg, Selling Hope: How the Business of Cancer Is Taking Off in China by Natasha Khan — One of China’s coal capitals, Datong is paying for years of heavy, gritty pollution. Cancer rates are soaring in the northern city despite efforts to vanquish the smog, and the disease accounted for a third of deaths in 2012.…Mayo Clinic is supplying knowledge and expertise to a health-care company in China and considering opening a referral office in the country, said David Hayes, medical director of international collaborations. And in Boston, Harvard’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is exploring a variety of options to build a Chinese presence. Additional coverage: Washington Post

Huffington Post, Menopausal Symptoms and Non-Hormonal Therapy by Stephanie Faubion — Mayo Clinic Women’s Health Clinic, PATIENT QUESTION: Is there anything that can be done for menopausal symptoms that doesn't include taking hormones? I've had breast cancer in the past so am unable to take hormones, but I wake up nearly every night because of night sweats and have occasional hot flashes during the day.

WEAU Eau Claire, New Mayo Clinic Health System grant program awards more than $182,000 to nonprofits in northwest Wisconsin by Lindsay Alowairdi — By investing more than $182,000 in grant money awarded to nonprofits in northwest Wisconsin, Mayo Clinic Health System is working to improve the health of communities in the region. “When we initiated this concept, our premise was that health is more than just the absence of illness; health is a balance of people’s physical, emotional and social well-being,” says Randall Linton, M.D., president and CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System in northwest Wisconsin. Additional coverage: WQOW Eau Claire

DOTmed, How human behavior leads to surgical errors: study by Lauren Dubinsky — When it comes to surgical errors, human behavior plays a major role. There are 628 human factors that contribute to 69 different surgical errors, also known as “never events”, according to a new Mayo Clinic study published in the journal Surgery.  Mayo Clinic researchers used human factors analysis, which is a system that was developed to investigate military aviation accidents, and uncovered the 69 never events among 1.5 million invasive procedures that occurred over the span of five years and the reasons behind them.

Mankato Free Press, Speaking of Health: People with aphasia can be at loss for words by Monica Anderson — Mayo Clinic Health System, “I know what it is, but I just can’t say it!” Sometimes it’s hard to find that word you’re looking for — whether it’s someone’s name, a common object or something else. But for people with a disorder called aphasia, it’s as if the words they know get mixed around constantly. This causes problems with expression and comprehension.

ConsumerMan Radio, TOP-RATED SUNSCREENS & BUG REPELLENTS — Also: Some well-known retailers may be running 'fake' sales, the latest numbers on food poisoning and a study of dog bites. A new study of dog bites done by the Mayo Clinic finds that more than half the dogs belonged to the patient's immediate family. American Veterinary Medical Association: Dog Bite Prevention Phoenix Children's Hospital: What Can You Do About Dog Bites

WEAU Eau Claire, 'Strike Out Stroke Night" raises awareness — According to Mayo Clinic Health System, every three minutes, someone dies of a stroke. Scott Gunderson is one of the lucky ones, he had a stroke and survived. Friday he threw out the first pitch at the Eau Claire Express game… Mayo Clinic Health System says stroke is the number one cause of serious, long-term disability in the U.S.

MedPage Today, ASCO: Ibrutinib -- a first-in-class BTK protein inhibitor -- added to standard therapy for CLL, by Study author: Asher A. Chanan-Khan, MD, Chair, Hematology/Oncology at Mayo Clinic.

MedPage, ASCO: Triple Agent Tx Thwarts CLL Progress by Michael Smith — A triple-threat regimen for patients with relapsed chronic-lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) outperformed standard therapy, researcher said here. In a randomized phase III trial, adding ibrutinib (Imbruvica) to a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 80%, according to Asher Chanan-Khan, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, and colleagues.

RTT News, Baxter Ventures, Mayo Clinic, Velocity Pharma Create Vitesse Biologics — Baxter Ventures of Baxter International Inc. (BAX), together with the Mayo Clinic and Velocity Pharmaceutical Development, LLC Monday announced the formation of Vitesse Biologics, LLC, with a focus on early stage research and development, by leveraging expertise in various fields.

Star Tribune, Mayo didn't deliver 'original work,' lawsuit alleges by Christopher Snowbeck — A California company alleges that Mayo Clinic failed to deliver original technology that the firm says it was created to commercialize, according to a lawsuit filed Monday. Filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, OmegaGenesis Corp. says it was formed to develop and market technology from Mayo Clinic related to angiogenesis, which is the creation of blood vessels. But Mayo Clinic employees had done very little to develop the technology, and instead sold OmegaGenesis on technology that previously had been developed elsewhere, according to the lawsuit. Additional coverage: Bloomberg

Jacksonville Business Journal, Will UF Health be 'forced to close its doors'? by Colleen Michele Jones — Even with the chips down, UF Health Jacksonville CEO Russ Armistead is hopeful that the institution will remain viable. But it's not going to be easy: If state lawmakers can’t come up with a fix at a special legislative session that begins this week in Tallahassee, the 8th Street facility will be staring down a nearly $40 million deficit in its operating budget. UF Health, which serves many uninsured patients in Duval County, receives about $95 million in federal low income population funding annually, $37 million of which would be reduced under the state budget proposed by Gov. Rick Scott. Scott’s proposal instead seeks to spread out LIP funding to other hospitals in the hospital, including Baptist Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, St. Vincent’s and other providers.

KTTC, Registration begins Monday for Minn. medical marijuana by Toryn Hill — Registration begins Monday for those looking to become medical marijuana patients in Minnesota. Though the medicine won't be legally available via state-sanctioned dispensaries until July, the state is now accepting applications from patients… Under the terms of Minnesota law, hospitals will be allowed though not required, to dispense smoke-free marijuana in pill, oil or tinctures form. It's unclear what role, if any, Mayo Clinic will play in the distribution of medical marijuana. In a statement to KTTC, Mayo Clinic said, "Participation in the Minnesota Medical Cannabis program is voluntary for health care providers. Mayo Clinic has developed a policy and associated procedures to guide providers who choose to participate in the program."

Lab Soft News, Mayo Clinic and Rochester Hatch Plan to Become a Destination Medical Center — Eight years ago, I blogged about the plan to develop Dubai Healthcare City (DHC) as a major node in a global healthcare network (see: Dubai Healthcare City as a Global Healthcare Node). DHC was designed to support medical tourism for affluent consumers around the world who were unable to obtain quality care in their home countries.

Forbes, Paying For Mammograms: We're Thinking About It All Wrong…The American Cancer Society maintained its recommendation that preventive screening start at 40, as did the Mayo Clinic. Politicians took note, and made an exception in Obamacare for mammograms, such that the 2009 USPSTF revision was ignored when it came to Obamacare’s “free” preventive care.

Wall Street Journal, Fat is Back...The Rise of Creamy Yogurt by Ellen Byron— The yogurt aisle is getting fat. Leading brands and fast-growing niche players are coming out with new varieties of yogurt made with whole milk. The unabashedly full-fat yogurts are thicker, creamier and, executives say, more satisfying than the long-popular low-fat versions. And to many people, full-fat also tastes better…“Sure, you might consume more calories eating full-fat dairy products, but if it’s saving you from eating a 300-calorie candy bar a few hours later, you’re still ahead,” says Katherine Zeratsky, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “It’s about how it fits into the overall picture of one’s diet.” PDF

Wall Street Journal, Mayo Clinic CISO Says Health-Care Data Harder to Protect Than Financial Information by Kim Nash — Mayo Clinic CISO Jim Nelms, who previously spent 14 years at The World Bank securing financial information in war-ravaged countries and regions devastated by natural disasters, says protecting health-care information is far more difficult. “Medicine is 10 to 15 years behind in IT practices than other industries,” he said. To hunt for nascent problems, Mayo Clinic has created a “threat intelligence group” within security. The group’s founder recently quit for a vendor job, illustrating one of the tougher CISO challenges: keeping good people. CIO Journal talked with Mr. Nelms about what makes health-care vulnerable and why cybercriminals win. Additional coverage: Wall Street Journal (The Morning Download blog)

Washington Post, Health experts have figured out how much time you should sit each day by Brigid Schulte — You may want to stand up while you read this -- and a lot of other stuff…James Levine, an obesity expert at the Mayo Clinic and author of the book, “Stand Up,” though not involved in the guidelines, said they were a good start. In his work, he found that the reason why some people seem to eat a lot, never work out, yet never put on weight, is because they’re standing, walking and moving more throughout the day, rather than sitting for hours on end. Additional coverage: Chicago Tribune, Tampa Bay Times

WJCT News Fla., Mayo Clinic: Don’t Skimp On Sunscreen, Jacksonville by Cyd Hoskinson — Before you head to the beach, remember to slather on the sunscreen. That’s what Jacksonville doctors are reminding people with summer right around the corner. The American Cancer Society estimates more than 135,000 new cases of melanoma skin cancer are diagnosed each year in the U.S. Dr. Richard Joseph is an oncologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and a nationally recognized expert on deadly melanoma.

Attn:, Your Work Bag Can Add More Stress Than Actual Work by Laura Donovan — Even though I was bullied constantly and claimed that a socially unacceptable rolling backpack would just give the other students more opportunities to be cruel, my parents said it was more important to take care of my postural health than blend in with the others… I recently attended the 2015 West Coast ISPA Media Event, where a Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program representative provided me with a full postural analysis…Dr. Phil Hagen, who works in the Division of Preventive, Occupational and Aerospace Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., told ATTN: that the long-term postural issues young people face often stem from our ability to maintain imperfect posture for long periods of time.

Herald Sun Australia, Baby steps for the Apple Watch revolution by Supratim Adhikari — Apple Watch may be the catalyst that drives wearable technology into mainstream acceptability, but Apple’s latest device still doesn’t harness the full potential of wearables, especially in healthcare. Lorna Ross, director of design at Mayo Clinic Centre for Innovation in the US, told The Australian that Apple Watch and a plethora of other fitness-focused wearables in the market were only scratching the surface.

WESH Orlando, Mayo Clinic News Network: How does human error lead to surgical errors? Why are major surgical errors called “never events?  Because they shouldn’t happen — but do. Mayo Clinic researchers identified 69 never events among 1.5 million invasive procedures performed over five years and detailed why each occurred…Medical teams are highly skilled and motivated, yet preventing never events entirely remains elusive, says senior author Juliane Bingener, M.D., a gastroenterologic surgeon at Mayo Clinic. The finding that factors beyond “cowboy-type” behavior were to blame points to the complexity of preventing never events, she says. Additional coverage: Infection Control Today, Science Daily, Becker’s Hospital Review

Cancer Therapy Advisor, Etirinotecan Pegol Benefits Patients with Advanced Breast Cancer by Jason Hoffman — Etirinotecan pegol provided a clinically meaningful benefit to patients with late-stage advanced breast cancer, particularly in those with brain and liver metastases, a study presented at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting has shown. Speaking on whether a new chemotherapy option is necessary for the treatment of advanced breast cancer, Edith A. Perez, MD, principal investigator and Deputy Director at Large for Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Jacksonville, FL, said, “Additional options are needed for patients after treatment with an anthracycline, taxane, and capecitabine.”

KIMT, Women’s Special Care Unit earns awards by Jeron Rennie — The Women’s Special Care Unit at Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin has earned a big honor. The Minnesota Department of Health awarded them with the Breastfeeding Friendly Maternity Center Five Star Designation and the Mother-Baby Ten STEPS (Striving Towards Excellence in Perinatal Services) Award. “Our providers also take great care in educating our moms regarding breastfeeding and infant care,” said Women’s Special Care Unit Nurse Manager Nancy Hoversten. “This just kind of reflects the efforts of physicians and nurses as well.”

Ocular Surgery News, Intense pulsed light explored as therapy for meibomian gland dysfunction — Researchers and experienced eye care providers are supporting the use of intense pulsed light to treat patients with meibomian gland dysfunction and dry eye disease…“The leap in understanding is that, for many people, dry eye is part of a skin condition and that the meibomian glands in the eyelid skin are the problem, or at least a major contributor to the vicious cycle of inflammatory dry eye,” Joanne F. Shen, MD, an ophthalmologist at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, said.

FOX21 Two Harbors, Benefit Will Help Young Woman — A 20-year-old from Two Harbors will have open heart surgery next week. In February, an MRI would reveal Paige Ohlund had a congenital heart defect with holes in the walls of her left and right side of her heart. June 12th, Ohlund will undergo open heart surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

CNN, Teens search Internet for healthy living advice for 'surprising' reasons by Ben Tinker — These days, many teens are looking for all the answers -- for better or worse -- starting with a Google search box. "The teenage years are ... a time when young people grapple with a tangle of health concerns, many uniquely important during these particular years of life," says a first-of-its-kind Northwestern University study…Google says it works with a team of medical doctors to carefully compile, curate and review the highlighted medical information, which appears on the right hand side of your search results when Googling a term such as "heart attack." The company says all the facts displayed have been checked by medical doctors at Google and the Mayo Clinic for accuracy. Additional coverage: ABC15 Arizona, News7Jax

Everyday Health, Trauma Centers Save Lives — Maybe Yours by Dr. Sanjay Gupta — Twins Matthew and Melissa survived this head-on collision. Their chances were 25 percent better because they were within reach of a level-1 trauma center. The closest trauma center was 120 miles away at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and a helicopter was sent to get them. As the siblings were flying toward Minnesota, two trauma teams were getting ready to receive them.…“The trauma team mobilizes so quickly it’s amazing,” says Amy Williams, MD, Medical Director of Hospital Operations at the Mayo Clinic. “There are the trauma general surgeons the orthopedic surgeons, the urologists, you name it, they’re there.”

Vaccine News, Vitesse Biologics forms to speed therapeutic innovations — Mayo Clinic, Baxter Ventures and Velocity Pharmaceutical Development LLC, recently collaborated to form Vitesse Biologics LLC, which is specially structured to further speed and advance innovative therapeutics for oncology, immunology and hematology. "We are excited about the possibilities for this new collaboration, and particularly for this new model for early stage drug development," Mayo Clinic Executive Dean for Research Greg Gores said. Additional coverage: PharmaBiz

Corpus Christi Caller Times, Death row inmate who killed officer wants organs donated — A man awaiting execution for killing a Corpus Christi police officer wants his death to save lives. Daniel Lee Lopez, 27, set out to persuade the state to allow death row inmates the ability to donate their organs.…Some organs could be used post-execution such as a kidney or liver, but not the heart, Dr. Brooks Edwards told the Associated Press. Edwards is a transplant cardiologist and director of the Mayo Clinic Transplant Center in Rochester, Minn.

HemOnc Today, Risks of adjuvant WBRT may outweigh benefits for limited brain metastases — Whole-brain radiation therapy after stereotactic radiosurgery controlled brain metastases but did not improve OS in patients with one to three small brain metastases, according to phase 3 study results presented at the plenary session of the ASCO Annual Meeting…“Adding whole brain radiation therapy to stereotactic radiation reduces the number of patients who have recurrence of the tumors that have been treated and reduces the number of new spots that appear in the brain,” Jan C. Buckner, MD, a professor of oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said during a press briefing.

Popular Science, Google Flunks Out Of Medical School by Christie Aschwanden…At first glance, the content--common symptoms, typical treatments--doesn’t seem much different from what you’d find combing through reputable sources on your own. That’s because the information was crowd-sourced from hundreds of physicians across the country and fact-checked by a panel of doctors at the Mayo Clinic, says Prem Ramaswami, a product manager at Google. “Each fact is validated by 11 doctors--it’s a consensus opinion,” says Kapil Parakh, a cardiologist and public-health expert who’s working on the Graph.

TIME, Here’s How Much We Spent on Prescription Drugs Last Year by Lacie Glover — Costs for the top 5 most popular drugs can vary widely. We remain a prescription nation. Nearly 70% of Americans are taking at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic and Olmsted Medical Center. What’s more, about 20% of Americans use at least five prescription medications. That same research shows that prescription drug use has been increasing steadily in the U.S. for the past decade.

KAAL, Local Patient Speaks on Medical Marijuana Struggles…In the meantime, hospitals are still figuring out their best policies. We reached out to Mayo Clinic and Olmsted Medical Center for their policies on allowing patients to apply for medical marijuana. OMC says they are still tweaking their policies, which are expected to be finalized early next week. Mayo says they have developed a policy and associated procedures to guide those providers who do choose to participate in the program.

Florida Times-Union, Health Notes: Mayo Clinic honored by the American Nurses Credentialing Center — Mayo recognized for nursing excellence Mayo Clinic’s Jacksonville campus has been recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center with a Magnet Recognition Program designation. This credential recognizes health care organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice. Mayo Clinic is one of only 20 hospitals in Florida and 401 nationally with Magnet Recognition Program status.

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, It Seems to Me: Residency program model should be preserved here…Yes, we can start another program at Mayo Clinic Health System that would train physicians, but it will not use the same educational model or the clinic that has been developed utilizing state, federal and local dollars, including those from all of the local medical providers, and that will be a loss to this community and our future. I applaud Mayo for starting another program in this area because that can help us produce more physicians, many of whom will stay in this region.

San Luiso Obispo Tribune, Mayo Clinic News Network: Debunking 5 myths about organ donation, as need for donors increases by Ginger Plumbo — More than 120,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant nationaide. Mayo Clinic alone has more than 3,000 patients on its waiting list. Getting more people to register as organ, eye and tissue donors is a major goal across the U.S., yet myths influence that decision for many people, doctors say. Dr. Brooks Edwards, Mayo's director of the William J. von Liebig Center for Transplantation and Clinical Regeneration and a transplant cardiologist, discusses some common myths about organ donation

Chicago Daily Herald, Bulls coach Hoiberg: LeBron best player in game by Mike McGraw — On a day generally filled with optimism about the Bulls' future, someone brought up the name that threatens to ruin whatever Fred Hoiberg has in mind for his new team -- LeBron James. The Bulls have been knocked out of the playoffs by one of James' teams four times in the last six years…Hoiberg back from surgery: Just over six weeks ago, on April 17 at the Mayo Clinic, new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg had his second open-heart surgery. This one replaced a malfunctioning aortic valve. He was asked about his health status at Tuesday's introductory news conference. "If there was a danger in me doing this I wouldn't have taken this job," Hoiberg said. "As I replaced that valve, they said the danger was coaching last year with it. Additional coverage: Chicago Tribune

Vernon Register-News, Hospital receives 3-D mammography equipment — Good Samaritan Regional Health Center has expanded breast health services with a comprehensive breast health program which now includes 3-D mammography. "Thanks to our Foundation, we are introducing 3-D mammography to our state-of-the-art hospital," said Phil Gustafson, president and CO of St. Mary's Good Samaritan, Inc. "Behind this new technology, we have a Mayo-trained radiologist who specializes in breast imaging.

ABC News, Why Anthrax Spores Are So Hard to Kill by Susanna Kim — The Pentagon said today dozens of laboratories across the country may have inadvertently received live anthrax, though at no risk to the public's health. But the disclosure highlights the question: Why didn't the Department of Defense lab technicians' gamma rays kill the spores before they were shipped? Dr. Pritish Tosh, formerly of the CDC who is a physician of infectious disease at Mayo Clinic and member of Mayo's vaccine research group, said most people think of anthrax as a biological weapon, but it's a naturally occurring infection.

Wall Street Journal, A Fast-Growing Medical Lab Tests Anti-Kickback Law by John Carreyrou — fast-growing Virginia laboratory has collected hundreds of millions of dollars from Medicare while using a strategy that is now under regulatory scrutiny: It paid doctors who sent it patients' blood for testing…Prescribing the Plavix test routinely to patients "is not something we would endorse," says Allan Jaffe, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist. It is appropriate only for patients with blood-clot risk whom doctors want to treat with the drug, he says.

Post-Bulletin, Partnership puts Mayo in drug development race by Paul Scott — Mayo Clinic has agreed to partner with a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer and the biotech arm of a venture capital firm to create a new company called Vitesse Biologics, the clinic announced Monday. The new company will attempt to move cancer, hematology and auto-immune illness drugs onto market in a shorter time. The partnership will place Mayo in the role of conducting early stage clinical trials for patients benefiting from emerging treatments…"This the first time Mayo has entered into this type of partnership," said Dr. Greg Gores, executive dean for research at Mayo, "and to the best of our knowledge, it is a unique partnership in the country."

Post-Bulletin, Peregrine falcons receive bands, namesakes by Rachel Cohrs — A chorus of "awww"s filled Geffen Auditorium on Wednesday at the announcement that not one, but two peregrine falcons were to be named in honor of longtime participants in the Mayo Clinic's peregrine restoration partnership. A fluffy white baby falcon was named "Scholzy" after Don Scholz, 94, who has been with the Mayo Clinic in medical and volunteer capacities for 66 years. The young bird was one of four falcons banded at Mayo's annual event. Additional coverage: KTTC, KAAL , KARE11, KIMT

KIMT, Documentary helps collect $2 million in donations for Mayo Clinic by DeeDee Stiepan — You may have seen a documentary on HBO called “Killing Cancer.” Part of it was shot at Mayo Clinic. The man behind VICE Media, which produced the film, was so impressed with the work Mayo is doing regarding using viruses as cancer treatment, that he wanted to let them know. Shane Smith started gathering donations and agreed to match whatever was given. He then informed Mayo Clinic they would be receiving $2 million dollars. “It was a lot through social media,” explains Laura Strand, Director of Annual Giving at Mayo. “It was the first that we’ve seen social media take off for us in terms of donations.”

Minneapolis /St. Paul Business Journal, They rebuilt Block E. Will tenants come to Mayo Clinic Square? (Photos) by Nick Halter — The redeveloper of Block E is showing off the $50 million renovation that added a limestone facade, metal accents and a lot more glass. While the new Mayo Clinic Square has come a long way from the old Block E eyesore, the first two floors of the Minneapolis building remain 41 percent vacant.

Yahoo! Health, Sheryl Sandberg’s Heartbreaking Post About Grief Holds Lessons for Us All by Jennifer Uffalussy…Real empathy is sometimes not insisting that it will be okay but acknowledging that it is not. When people say to me, “You and your children will find happiness again,” my heart tells me, Yes, I believe that, but I know I will never feel pure joy again. Those who have said, “You will find a new normal, but it will never be as good” comfort me more because they know and speak the truth. The Mayo Clinic’s Edward Creagan, MD, an oncologist, concurs, noting that while time helps, it doesn’t cure. Part of the mourning process is learning to accept this new normal, the way that life continues even in the face of pain.

Mankato Free Press, Somali health project aims to build trust by Nate Gotlieb…"There is a huge gap and mistrust that happens with doctors and Somalis," Fardousa Jama said. "We just want to help bridge the gap." That desire led to the Somali Health Literacy Project through Mayo Clinic Health System, which kicks off Friday at the St. Peter Community Center. The project will consist of 18 classes during the next 18 months on health topics ranging from defining health to diabetes and depression. Mayo doctors said they hope the project can improve trust between providers and the Somali community and decrease emergency-room and urgent-care visits. "When people come into the doctor, we assume a certain understanding of health," said Dr. Erin Westfall, who led the effort to coordinate the project. "Those assumptions aren't accurate, and it leads to a lot of safety issues."

Creative Times UK, Treadmill is a great machine, but it needs to be used with caution by Hema R…Treadmill can increase employees’ productivity? This may sound weird, but some companies are installing treadmill desk for their employees! University of Minnesota’s researcher Avner Ben-Ner almost managed to tickle everyone’s funny bone by suggesting that treadmill desks are good for employee’s health and also good for company’s productivity. Phoenix based Mayo Clinic’s Dr. James Levine also supports Avner Ben-Ner’s opinion. He stressed on the point that office workers need to get out of their chair for better health.

Volume One (Wis.), Fun and Fit in the Sun by Susan Barber Lindquist… Mayo Clinic Health System and the YMCA of Eau Claire joined together in 2011 to offer Camp Wabi on Long Lake, near New Auburn, as a way to address the growing childhood obesity problem. In the United States, obesity has quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2012, nearly 21 percent of adolescents were obese, up from 5 percent in 1980…Parental involvement is essential to help children overcome weight issues, notes Mayo Clinic Health System pediatrician John Plewa, M.D., Camp Wabi medical director. Before camp starts, parents learn how to help their camper live a healthier lifestyle at home.

PBS Newshour, That free trial? It might not be so free after all — A little button to the side of an article you’re reading about health and wellness on the Mayo Clinic website catches your eye: Lose up to six to ten pounds in two weeks by following the Mayo Clinic diet, based on the New York Times best-selling book. It’s intriguing. After all, you’ve wanted to lose ten pounds for a while now and nothing seems to work. If anyone should have good advice on diets, it should be the Mayo Clinic. It’s one of the leading medical authorities in the world.

Austin Daily Herald, Mayo receives award for work with new moms and babies…Mayo Clinic Health System’s Women’s Special Care Unit was recently awarded the Minnesota Breastfeeding-Friendly Maternity Center 5 Star Designation and the Minnesota Mother-Baby Ten STEPS (Striving Towards Excellence in Perinatal Services) Award by the Minnesota Department of Health. “Our campus has been designated baby-friendly for the last five years and this five-star designation is a continuation of those efforts,” Nancy Hoversten, R.N., Women’s Special Care Unit and OB/GYN Clinic nurse manager, said in a press release.

CNN, Is your pediatric heart hospital  keeping secrets? We have answers by Elizabeth Cohen — Advocates for health care safety will tell you that hospitals that operate on babies' hearts should keep no secrets about the success of their operations. A CNN investigation reveals, however, that more than half these programs do keep their data secret. Here's a list of the programs and which are transparent and which are not. The more check marks you see next to a hospital’s name, the better. We hope that by shedding light in these dark places we'll help save babies' lives. Mayo Clinic is listed.

The Bulletin (Ore.), Mayo Clinic News Network: Playing it safe on bikes by Micah Dorfner…Head injuries are the most common and often most serious injury sustained on a bike, in-line skates, scooters or skateboards. Wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of death or injury due to a head injury. “Summer weather promotes great outdoor activities, such as biking and skateboarding,” says Dr. Steven Adamson, Emergency Department director of Mayo Clinic Health System in Lake City. “However, bicycle and skateboard injuries are far too common in the emergency department. Wearing a helmet and appropriate safety gear along with following safety rules can prevent many injuries. Adults and kids need to take appropriate safety precautions.”

Washington Post, Jayson Werth on fractured wrist: ‘My goal is to be back with the club August 1′ by James Wagner — For 23 hours of each day, Jayson Werth’s left wrist is in a splint as two small fractures in it heal. But for one hour of reprieve, he takes the splint off and can do some light exercises to help maintain his grip strength…“There were pros and cons of doing the CT scan early,” Werth said. “Sometimes it takes some time to see it anyways. But when you have the plate, and have all that metal in there, on the CT scan, they call them artifacts, and they kinda give you a false read. It was more my choice to wait until I got to Mayo for the CT scan. But we wouldn’t have treated it any differently. For the majority of the day, I was in a splint.”

Austin Daily Herald, Clinics donate $500 for wounded vets by Colby Hansen — The Mayo Clinic Health System — Albert Lea and Austin — Austin Campus donated $500 to the Nation of Patriots to help combat wounded veterans on their return home. The check was presented May 21. To read more, visit the Nation of Patriots web page at nationofpatriots.com.

Arizona Daily Sun, Mayo Clinic News Network: Debunking 5 myths about organ donation, as need for donors increases by Ginger Plumbo — More than 120,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant nationwide. Mayo Clinic alone has more than 3,000 patients on its waiting list. Getting more people to register as organ, eye and tissue donors is a major goal across the U.S., yet myths influence that decision for many people, doctors say. Dr. Brooks Edwards, Mayo’s director of the William J. von Liebig Center for Transplantation and Clinical Regeneration and a transplant cardiologist, discusses some common myths about organ donation… Additional coverage: Tri-City Herald,

Dark Daily, Mayo Clinic Researchers Determine That Use of High Definition Optical Technology Enables Physicians to Identify Precancerous Polyps Immediately — High definition optical technology is reaching the point where gastroenterologists are able to identify pre-cancerous polyps with 96% accuracy during colonoscopies, according to a recent study conducted at the Mayo Clinic. Pathologists will want to pay close attention to the published findings of this study. That’s because GI biopsies represent a significant proportion of specimens referred to anatomic pathologists.

Vida y Estilo, 5 ejercicios diferentes para 5 problemas de salud by Guadalupe Flores, Realizar ejercicio es fundamental para tener una buena salud, sin embargo hay que tener cuidado en el tipo de actividad que realizamos, pues no todas están indicadas para las mismas finalidades. A continuación te explicamos qué clase de ejercicio debes hacer de acuerdo a la meta de salud que tengas . Son recomendaciones del médico Edward Creagan de Mayo Clinic .

La Cronica, Evaluar el índice de masa corporal en niños con sobrepeso puede llevarlos por una vida sana, En mi experiencia como endocrinóloga pediatra, cometa la Dra. Seema Kumar, de Endocrinología Pediátrica de Mayo Clinic en Rochester, Minnesota, no existe edad específica para empezar a preocuparse sobre el peso de un niño, sino que es recomendable que se realice un seguimiento puntual en cada visita médica normal, a partir del nacimiento. Additional coverage: Mundo de Hoy

Univision Salud, Hallan sub-tipos de obesidad ¿llega la cura? Por Gabriela Garcia, En un esfuerzo por buscar tratamientos más eficaces para tratar la obesidad, científicos de la Clinica Mayo realizaron un estudio en el que identificaron cinco subcategorías de esta enfermedad.

Men’s Health (Netherlands), 6 Fouten Waardoor Je Niet Afvalt…Zo kom je van deze slechte gewoonte af: Donald Hensrud, medisch hoofdredacteur van The Mayo Clinic Diet, zegt ''als je televisie wilt kijken, wees dan ondertussen actief of ga eerst even trainen. Dan wordt het televisiekijken niet een gewoonte maar een beloning.'' Zorg ten allen tijde dat je op tijd naar bed gaat. Slaap is namelijk een gezonde gewoonte die je gewoon moet volhouden.

Cronica de Houston, Los rayos ultravioleta son el enemigo en verano para evitar el cáncer de piel…“Muchas personas piensan que la primera quemada de la temporada es una especie de ritual que les ayuda a preparar la piel para el verano. Usar protector solar al inicio y durante el verano es lo que puede proteger (…) sin esa primera quemada, que puede realmente aumentar las probabilidades de desarrollar cáncer de piel años más tarde”, dijo a Efe el dermatólogo y especialista en cáncer de piel de la Clínica Mayo Jerry Brewer.

Viday Salud, Alternativas de tratamiento para las mujeres con fibromas, La Dra. Elizabeth (Ebbie) Stewart, directora de Endocrinología Reproductiva en la Mayo Clinic, comenta que las mujeres cuentan con varias alternativas, pero la mejor se determina en base a los síntomas, el tamaño, la cantidad y la ubicación de los fibromas, así como el punto en el que se encuentra la paciente en su vida reproductiva. Estas alternativas constan en un artículo de Práctica Clínica escrito por la Dra. Stewart en la edición la revista profesional New England Journal of Medicine.

Cronica Mexico, Tú puedes evitar accidentes infantiles por Bertha Sola, Cuando la gente piensa en niños y traumatismos, por lo general imagina accidentes automovilísticos. “Sin embargo, la realidad es que las caídas son la causa principal de las lesiones infantiles y en su mayoría ocurren en casa”, comenta el Dr. Christopher Moir, cirujano de niños en el Centro Pediátrico de Mayo Clinic, de Rochester Minnesota, que ha atendido una amplia variedad de lesiones debido a caídas. Additional coverage: La Salud, mx

El Sol De Toluca, ¿Es posible revertir la vasectomía con éxito después de haberse realizado?...El Doctor Landon Trost, de Urología de Mayo Clinic en Rochester, Minnesota comenta que: "El propósito de revertir la vasectomía es permitir que los espermatozoides lleguen al semen desde los testículos. Por lo que existen dos maneras de realizar la reversión de la vasectomía: la primera es una reparación más simple, llamada vasovasostomía, en la que se vuelven a unir los extremos de los conductos deferentes (conductos que transportan los espermatozoides al semen desde los testículos y se separan durante la vasectomía)…”

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