Author Archives: jstreed

Gene Testing may be Key for Treating Some Women with Breast Cancer

Journalists:  For links to web-video and audio files, see the bottom of this post.
Findings from a new study prompt Mayo Clinic researchers to recommend CYP2D6 gene testing for postmenopausal women about to begin tamoxifen therapy. New data confirms that women with an inherited deficiency in the CYP2D6 gene important for the metabolism of tamoxifen have [...]

Discovering Key to Tamoxifen’s Effectiveness in Treating Breast Cancer May Lead to New Treatments

Journalists: For links to web-video and audio files regarding this study, see the bottom of this post.
Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that a chemical known as endoxifen appears to be the primary metabolite responsible for the effectiveness of tamoxifen in treating breast cancer, and that it works against cancer in an entirely unexpected way.
Their study, [...]

Mayo Clinic Researchers Find Elective Surgery after Stent Placement Should be Delayed

Mayo Clinic researchers have studied the largest group of patients to date to understand the risk of non-cardiac elective surgery for those who have cardiac stents. The two papers, along with an editorial, are in the current issue of Anesthesiology.
The research indicates that patients who have cardiac stents placed in arteries should wait before having [...]

Mayo Clinic Receives Grant to Study Deep Vein Thrombosis

John Heit, M.D., a cardiovascular physician at Mayo Clinic, received today a $1.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for its Genes, Environment and Health Initiative. Dr. Heit’s grant will be used to study the genome-wide association of venous thrombosis (blood clots in the veins).
Deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot in a [...]

New Deep Brain Stimulation Sensor Measures Chemical Levels in the Brain

Updated 9/18/08
A Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) consortium of Mayo Clinic physicians, scientists and engineers developed a wireless sensor that can detect chemical activity in the brain. The new system, called a wireless instantaneous neurotransmitter concentration sensor (WINCS), is connected to an electrode that will be surgically implanted in the brain to provide real-time measurements of [...]

Mayo Clinic Surgeons Propose Measures for Indicating Quality of Lung Surgery

Even though 30,000 patients in the United States undergo lung surgery each year, no standard criteria exist to measure the quality of their care. In the current issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Mayo Clinic surgeons have proposed a system of lung surgery quality indicators for surgeons and the public as a method to [...]

Mayo Clinic Researchers Develop Improved Tool to Rank Sickest Patients Waiting for Liver Transplants

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed an improved statistical model that could help ensure that the sickest patients receive liver transplants first.
Researchers found that including serum sodium concentration in the statistical model now used could reduce by 7 percent the number of patients (as many as 50 people) who die each year while waiting for a [...]

Mayo Clinic Finds Mild Cognitive Impairment is Associated with Diabetes Duration and Severity

A new Mayo Clinic study found that individuals with earlier onset, longer duration and greater severity of diabetes appear to be more likely to have mild cognitive impairment. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional stage between normal aging and the earliest features of Alzheimer’s disease.
“There is an obesity epidemic in this country. Since obesity [...]

Story ideas for health reporters covering the Summer Olympic Games: better athletes, the physiology of performance, the lactate threshold, the aging athlete and much more.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The world record pace for the marathon continues to improve for both men and women. For men, the record pace for the marathon is now about as fast as the record pace for the 10,000-meter just after WWII. Today, champion athletes are running more than four times farther at speeds of well [...]

Mayo Clinic Finds Rates of Mild Cognitive Impairment Higher Than Expected

A new Mayo Clinic study has found that the number of new cases of mild cognitive impairment is approximately 5 percent per year. This is higher than the anticipated 1 or 2 percent incidence rate and highlights the urgency for developing new and better therapies for Alzheimer’s disease
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional state [...]